Month: July 2015 Page 1 of 2

Let The Science Begin

On July 31, 2015

Our transit to the Marshall Islands ended last week and we are now underway once again. The second leg of my internship has officially started, in which we will be working with a science party from various universities to measure vertical turbulence and mixing in the surface layer of the central equatorial Pacific. These small-scale phenomena play a large role in how heat is distributed across the tropical Pacific, which in part dictates how the ocean and atmosphere interact and subsequently influence the climate across the globe.

The science party is onboard now and eager to get their project started. Despite our excitement, however, we had a mechanical setback in Majuro that pushed our departure date back a few days. Furthermore, the ship has a refit period in Honolulu starting August 19th or so, meaning we cannot extend the cruise to compensate for the delay. As a result, the science party has had to change up the game plan a bit, but we will still be able to collect plenty of data for ~10 days across 4 degrees of latitude near the equator. We are all very excited and looking forward to arriving at out first sampling site (N 04° 00.000’ W 170° 00.000’) in 3 days and getting the the instruments in the water!

I didn’t blow up the ship!

By Amber Batts

On July 30, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V Hugh R. Sharp, University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment

For the past week on The Sharp we have been on a 24 hour multi beaming mission. Today we recovered the mooring we deployed on July 24th and the next few days we will begin to fill in missed or ruined (by dolphins) data.

_{^{Amber Batts and Mohsen Badiey (University of Delaware Dean) getting ready for mooring deployment (07/24/15)}}

One thing I can say about being on a ship is….things are constantly breaking. For example, one of the monitors used (for navigation software) on the bridge decided it no longer wanted to turn on. Thankfully there are two. A replacement monitor was ordered and should be at the dock when we return on Monday (even though I entered in the wrong credit card number – a big oops). Today, an external hard drive being used by the data processor for CARIS decided to freeze up. It is the hard drive that contains the past ten days worth of processed data from the multi beam survey. And even during recovery of the mooring, the acoustic release gave out an error that slightly held up operations.

Point being….one should always be prepared to solve a problem quickly!

I am on day 36 and cabin fever may be setting in but I do appreciate the ability to communicate via satellite internet! That definitely helps. I am at the halfway point of my internship and I believe my favorite part of this experience is getting to know some of these scientists. There are some very interesting people on these cruises and I enjoy hearing stories of how they ended up in their chosen fields. I don’t have anywhere near as interesting a story to tell back to them but it doesn’t matter.

I’ve learned how to turn on a generator, which is actually quite easy, but nerve racking at the same time. Well, for a first timer at least. I was told if I didn’t do it right…..I’d probably blow up the entire ship 🙂

Hence the look on my face in the picture. Needless to say, nothing blew up today.

_{Turning on generator #2 for mooring recovery 07/30/15}

My third and longest trip

By Ken McQuarrie

On July 27, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, R/V Point Sur

Well I am back from my longest trip of this internship. We were out to sea for 11 days. This trip was very interesting to me, mostly because we were using a ROV on it. After an 18 hour trip to our first deployment location we deployed wave gliders and other gear that we would eventually pick up on our return. The instruments we deployed were set in water that was over 2000 meters deep. We then moved to an area that was about 600 meters deep and deployed more gear. That is where we used the ROV. The ROV was recently reconfigured to operate at those depths but was never tested until we deployed it. During our first dive with it we had some video issues, the thrusters were causing noise in the line. After descending all the way to the bottom to view a package to make sure everything was going good with it we were bringing it back up. At about 150 feet the GFI on the deck box kept tripping.

Eventually we were able to retrieve it and bring it back on board. In between dives we were working on fixing the video. It never really got any better. The next day we made a second dive with it. We made it down to 575 meters, completed that mission and brought it back to the surface. At about 150 feet we started blowing the GFI again but was able to bring it back on board. The third dive was also to 575 meters. Once again we were able to complete the mission but on the way back up we had the same problems. The next morning I woke up to find out that at least one of the vertical thrusters was full of water. We spent the next day and a half tearing apart the ROV to check the rest of the thrusters. Come to find out that both of our vertical thrusters had water in them. After drying them out and cleaning them we hooked them back up to test to see if they worked. We were only able to get one back to working order. We had to reconfigure the ROV to accommodate only one vertical thruster before our fourth and final dive. The decent on the fourth dive was slower and the seas were the roughest that it has been the whole trip. It made for a huge challenge but eventually we made it to the bottom, viewed the package, and made the scientist happy and brought the ROV back to the surface safely. Over the next couple days we assisted the scientist deploy and recover their gear. It was an amazing learning experience for me. I will be taking back a great deal of knowledge back to my classmates to share with them. As for me, I am getting ready to head over the R/V Pelican for my final trip of this internship. We will be conducting a study of hypoxia zones from the flow of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico using a CTD sensor array.

New England Mud Patch

By Amber Batts

On July 23, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V Hugh R. Sharp, University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment

We arrived in Lewes, Delaware last Saturday and had a few days at dock preparing for the next deployment. Three separate winches had to be added to the back deck. We also added a side frame, combustion chamber and CHIRP to be used on the cruise.

First 12 days on the Point Sur

By Ken McQuarrie

On July 17, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, R/V Point Sur

Well it has been twelve days since I arrived in Gulfport Mississippi and boarded the R/V Point Sur. Over these past days I have had many great experiences and have learned a lot. The first trip that we went on involved working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). After leaving port we had a 40 hour transit to Galveston Texas where we picked up more scientists then an 18 hour trip down the coast to the Corpus Christi area. During the transit I was able to learn about the CTD, help change out the control bottle on it, troubleshoot why it wouldn’t talk to the computer and fixed the issue. I also had time to do some networking of computers on the boat. When we finally arrived at the testing site we took sediment samples, dredged for worms and clams, and photographed cross sectional views of the bottom.

We arrived back in port and the next day we took out a group of students from the University of Southern Mississippi out to do some research.

The crew on the Point Sur are wonderful to work with. The food is amazing.

This was my first time on a boat in the ocean. It is not much different than being on the Great Lakes. I did not realize how many oil rigs were really out in the Gulf of Mexico. At night it looks like a city on the water.

Right now we are getting ready to head back out for 11 days. The boat is being loaded with a bunch of gear. There is a rov and two big wave gliders and a few smaller ones. This trip is going to be exciting, it is geared toward what I want to do when I get out of school. When I get back from this next trip I will give another update.

Week 2 – From Port to the Deep Blue

By Brandon D'Andrea

On July 15, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive

Smooth seas and sunshine has been the theme of our cruise thus far. I’d like to think I’ve adjusted to life at sea after a week, but we’ve been sailing in relatively sheltered waters until now so only time will tell.

It’s been a busy week of CTD maintenance and repairs. We started with redoing the cable termination, which provided me with my first real soldering experience. I must say, soldering is more like an art than anything I’ve done so far and the experience of the MTs onboard became very evident when comparing their soldering jobs to mine. Next, we removed and cleaned/inspected each of our 24 SBE bottles mounted on the carousel. Each bottle was wiped down and any cracked O-rings or rusted circlips were replaced. After the bottles were finished, we moved onto the carousel itself. Unlike steel or titanium CTD frames, ours is an aluminum alloy that is light enough to house several instruments and still be under our cable’s max safe working load of 1.74 tonnes. However, the problem is that it needs a thermoplastic coat (to ensure trace metal analyses can be done) which eventually wears off and starts to peel. Taking the bottles off our frame revealed a few spots needing repair, so we carried the frame into the staging bay and started grinding away (pictured above) at the worn coating and corrosion. The next step will be to heat the exposed metal to 150C and apply a new layer of powder coating, then it should be good to go! The issue here is that some spots are worn out completely around the frame (as seen in the picture) and the powder coating needs to be applied in an upright position, so we’ll have to either do the repair in very small sections (not ideal..), or try slowly rolling the frame down the hangar while hitting all sides of the repair with the heat gun and powder. Either way, it will be a fun challenge!

Every part of this cruise has been a learning experience so far, and I hope it stays this way as we push forward to the Marshall Islands. We’re set to arrive in Majuro next week, where we will stay for 4 days and prepare for the three-week science leg along the central equatorial Pacific.

Back to Corvallis

By Sonia Brugger

On July 14, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive, Oregon State University, CEOAS, R/V Oceanus

It’s been approximately a month since I left for San Diego. Since then I have completed a mooring deployment cruise and a sediment coring/imaging cruise. I must say it’s been a busy month and It feels rather strange to be back on shore.

While I am back I will have to head to our Newport storage facility to pick up some items for my next cruise (spare PMI grips, sensors, etc) and I will continue to try and solve my Triaxus problem.

Searching for Deep Sea Prey

By Amber Batts

On July 9, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V Hugh R. Sharp, University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment

I am one week into cruise 1 of 3 that I will be on during my internship. This cruise began in Nassau, Bahamas where we picked up the science crew. From there we have spent the last seven days traveling up and down the islands at a Navy base (AUTEC) with an AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) collecting acoustic data. The AUV is deployed at 0600 and goes underwater along a pre programmed route that we follow so we can pick it up in the afternoon.

At the same location we deploy the AUV, a CTD scan is done at 600 meters to collect data about the water profile such as water temperature and salinity. Immediately after, a trawl is put out and pulled behind the vessel at a depth of about 1700 meters. The catch is used to determine the deep sea prey of whales. A hydrophone is also dropped into the water and pulled along behind the stern to pick up any sounds of whales. We do this entire process twice a day, putting the AUV back on board just before sunset (we tried once in the dark; QUITE difficult).

So far things have been operating smoothly. There was an issue with the CTD cable which was producing 9 modulo errors on a single cast, so the technician and I went up and pulled out the slip ring to the sea cable termination and soldered several wires and everything worked perfectly afterwards. Definitely a good learning experience for me. Other than that, the days are going by without any problems. I’ve also been learning a little bit from the engineers whenever I have a chance. I watched them fill up the hydraulic oil reservoir and operated the winch for the A frame today. I figure anything I can learn will be useful.

All together I have been on this boat for 15 days straight and still haven’t lost my mind or gotten sea sick so I think all is well! I still love it and I have so much more to learn. There are two people on this cruise that are former MATE interns. The Chief Scientist, Chad Waluk and the Marine Science Technician, Kenneth Fairbarn.

RV Langseth: Last blog post

By Tyler Hackett

On July 8, 2015

In Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Marcus G. Langseth

The image above is a picture of myself (far left) and a few other people onboard. In this picture I am in a harness just after we brought the seismic source up the slip.

So tomorrow my last day onboard the RV Langseth and I head back home. The past 6 weeks have been a very challenging and life changing experience for me. We encountered both smooth and rough seas while off the coast of New Jersey. I’ve learned everything from spicing rope and air gun mechanics to p-cable operations, seismic operations, and life long people skills. I met people aboard that are now lifelong friends and people that I hope to work with in the future. The technicians and navigators on board helped to make me feel right at home and welcomed me into their family without question.

The past week of operating was very hectic and busy. We were able to successfully be in production for several days straight. Even though the entire prospect was not filled in, we were able to complete over 90% of it. This is a miracle considering the difficulties the Langseth faced a year ago trying to complete the same project. Once we made it to port we had to pack up everything to be sent back to Geometrics and NCS Subsea. The two days at the dock were filled with crane operations and preparations for the next cruise. Even though I will not be joining them on the next cruise I wish them smooth seas and safe travels.

This is the last blog I will be writing, if anyone would like to know more information about my cruise and my experience feel free to email me at thackett2012@my.fit.edu

First day aboard the RV Falkor

By Brandon D'Andrea

On July 5, 2015

In MATE Blog Archive

Two flights and 17 hours later, my journey from Honolulu to Singapore was complete. The RV Falkor was docked at the Harbourfront Centre terminal a few miles from the airport, and despite tripping on the gangway with my suitcase in hand (first time wearing steel toe boots…) my first day aboard was truly amazing. Arriving in the early morning gave me a full day to get settled and go through the familiarizaiton/safety tour, as well as a welcome dinner on deck with some of the crew. They were all very fun and equally sarcastic, especially when I told them this is my first extended trip at sea… The playful harrassment began as soon as they found out I’ll be crossing the equator AND the dateline on my first cruise (took many of them 10+ years to do this). Nonetheless, I couldn’t be happier thus far and am very excited/anxious to get underway tomorrow morning. We have a 16 day transit to Majuro, where we will meet up with an oceanographic research group from the University of Hawaii (go bows!) and sail the rest of the way to Honolulu.

More to come next week!