My last morning on the R/V Atlantic Explorer has arrived. Everyone is clearing off the ship from the previous cruise and I am packing my things, making sure I don’t leave anything behind.
This last cruise was different than the previous cruises I had been on since my time on the R/V Atlantic Explorer. It consisted of different back deck operations, which were awesome to watch and help out with.
I got to experience a recovery and deployment of a subsurface mooring that is anchored in 4500 meters of water. The Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) site is located 75km SE of Bermuda and has been around for the past 40 years. It is the longest running time-series, which has helped to understand the ocean biogeochemical cycles. The team for this mooring site has come out twice a year (spring and fall) to recover the mooring and make all of the repairs needed before it gets redeployed.
Recovery of the Teledyn-RDI Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP)
This cruise also consisted of some MOCNESS tows, which stands for Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System. The net we had consisted of 9 nets, which and be manually controlled by the scientists when to open and close a particular net. Each net is designed for capturing zooplankton at various depths in the water column.
Night MOCNESS deployment
Photo by Liz Cunningham
Well I am off to say my last goodbyes and taking in the last moments here in Bermuda. Thanks to all that have made is possible for me to have this wonderful experience.
Fair Winds!