Month: June 2025

Today makes 42 days on the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. As the monsoons close in and the winds pick up, it is safe to say it has been a complete and total whirlwind!

This research cruise is focused on gathering meteorological data. The use of weather balloons allows the science group to record various data through the atmosphere. The giant balloon is filled with helium, and attached to the bottom is a spool of wire with an instrument known as a Radiosonde. The instrument package measures atmospheric parameters such as pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction. This information is sent back to the scientists via radio signals. Our highest balloon yet rose to 27.5 KM! The team releases a new balloon every few hours, for continuous data streams. I was able to release one as well!

As well as atmospheric data, the science group is interested in oceanographic profiles. This device, called a Scanfish, is towed behind the boat for days at a time. It swims up and down through the water column, and collects profiling data. Deploying the device means all hands on the stern, working to get it over the back smoothly.

Another data source is the CTD. This is one of the most used pieces of equipment on board a research vessel! This science group is interested in water samples as well, so the large bottles you see will be full once we retrieve the device. The role of the marine technician in this deployment is mainly to operate the hydroboom, which is a horizontal crane of sorts. It can carry an enormous amount of weight, and carries the payload up to 10 feet off the side of the ship. The marine tech also communicates with the bridge and the winch operator, ensuring that the deployment goes smoothly. The scientists are responsible for the control of the CTD electronically, and triggering the bottles to close at whatever depths they want water samples from.

It has finally come time that the buoy on deck can be deployed! This specific buoy is experimental, meaning it is the first of its exact kind. The configuration of instruments is hopeful to provide insight into the air-sea interface, having both air and water sensors attached. This also means, however, that no one is sure exactly how the buoy will behave, or if it will be successful at all. Deployment was a slow, and very careful process. Once the buoy was in the water, all we could do was wait and see.

Our buoy has proven to be a bit cantankerous! After less than 24 hours in the water, the electrical systems onboard the buoy began to fail. The buoy is equipped with several large batteries that are charged by 3 solar panels, yet all charge had been lost. Either the solar panels were not functioning properly, or the equipment on board was too demanding for the batteries to keep up with. We decided it was the best option to recover the buoy, and see if repairs could be made on board. Every day spent at sea can be very expensive, so there is no time to waste. Science must go on!

The team was able to repair the electrical issues within the buoys system, and redeployed successfully. For several days, we received good data from the buoy with no signs of further electrical issues. In the meantime, we worked on other operations in the area. We continued to tow the Scan fish, with occasional stops for CTDs, and other data collection. Once it was time to revisit the buoy, disaster had struck. As soon as the buoy was in sight, we could see that the mast was broken. Sadly, there is no telling exactly how it happened, but the most likely culprit is simply weather conditions. The seas and winds have been very high, and the aluminium mast was under much stress. Trying to recover any equipment that is broken is unpredictable at best. The captain of the ship gathered the crew and scientists, and preformed a risk assessment of the potential recovery operation. With the uncertainty, and possible loose pieces that could come off at any point, there were concerns and discussions about the safety of such an operation. We were able to find solutions to our concerns, and decided that recovery was possible. We very slowly approached the buoy, and after two attempts and nearly 3 hours, were able to safely recover the equipment.

At sea, there are an infinite amount of problems and solutions you can encounter. It is important to keep an open mind and to think outside of the box when performing research! This week has proven to me that there are always work arounds and more chances to be had. Though the buoy is officially out of commission for this cruise, theres no doubt that it will float again, eventually. The beauty of an experiment such as this, is that it will only improve from here. The scientists now know the weak points, and how to improve it for its next deployment!

The rain here is picking up, so as we all don our foulies and our rain boots, we wish you luck on all of your endeavors! Stay safe and stay dry out there sailors.

Micah Barton – God Bless – 06/11/2025

Pre Mobilization – 01

By Namith Kennedy

On June 8, 2025

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

Hello readers,

I have completed my first week on the Hugh R. Sharp. My mentor was kind enough to have me come a week in advance of the planned missions to help ease me onto the vessel. This week, I learned and assisted with the remaining general maintenance tasks that marine techs must complete before mobilization.

I loved my mentor’s teaching method. He understood that real skill is built through action. From the first day, rather than feeling like an intern, I felt like I was working on the ship and was part of the crew.

A Brief Day in the Life

Since we are still at port, every day I would wake up at 4 am to go to the gym with a crew member roughly my age. We would get back at 6:30 am to eat and get ready for our work day. The day would start roughly at 7 am, and it almost always began with discussing a brief plan for the day. We would have to coordinate with others to formulate our daily plans, sometimes making material orders or checking on part fabrication orders. Once the day was done, I would usually shower, then relax and go to sleep.

First Work Day

From the first day, my mentor allowed me to take an active role.

I spent the first half of my Tuesday touring the facilities and meeting the crew. The second half of the day, I was between a cable spool and a cable-level management system (Caley). I was adjusting, loosening tension, or cutting the slack of wires as needed to ensure the Caley had its full range of motion while having a clean-looking wire management. Once I completed that job, I became a tool fetcher for the engineers of the vessel for the remainder of the day. The engineers needed to complete their checks before we could continue with the tech’s responsibilities.

The Rest of the Days

Shortly after, I was notified that our first mission would be canceled and replaced with a Sea Trial. The University that was originally scheduled had a conflict and was unable to make it.

On Wednesday, I did more wire management. It was a multiple-person job, as one person had to be on the bridge, carefully pulling the individual wire up to spool it, and the other had to signal when to stop pulling and hold the wires in place.

In the latter half of the day, I did a mechanical CTD cable termination under the supervision of my mentor. There are multiple phases to the mechanical portion of the cable termination, one of the last was pouring molten aluminum to secure the cable, and then tension testing our mechanical connection.

On Thursday, I did the electrical portion of the CTD cable termination. This includes stripping the wire casing, then color coding and crimping the wire ends together. I got to use special wire crimper connectors that used solder, helping waterproof the connections. Once the connections were made, we encased them with scotch cast using a mold. The remaining portion of the electrical work is to connect the cable to the CTD.

At the end of Thursday, we needed to get the Caley stats computer (showing stats like tension on the cable) to display its information on the main computer. This would make it easier for the people on the bridge operating the Caley. We found the supposed IP address and Port Number, but we could not get it to connect to the master display software of the main computer. Thus, I thought to look up command prompts to show IP addresses that the main computer can detect. Once I used the command netstat -ano, and saw that the Caley Stats Computer IP was not detected. From this result, I knew either the Ethernet cable was not plugged in all the way at the Ethernet switch, or the IP address was wrong. Luckily, it was the Ethernet cord not being plugged in at the switch.

Friday was a half-day, the marine techs and I went to a couple of places and stores to pick up a custom transducer mount and other materials that we will need.

Conclusion

The whole crew is extremely nice and fun, and helped me have an amazing first week! On Monday, the 9th, we will start mobilization for the Sea Trial. I cannot wait to learn even more during this upcoming week!