The second week at sea has been much like the first, very busy. There was a change in plans however which required an entire day of transit to a new work site and our waypoints were made up on the fly. This didn’t slow down operations however once we arrived to the new location. Along with tons and tons of CTD’s we have been deploying and picking up a Woods Hole Glider (measures Internal waves, surface waves, wind speed and direction), Wire Walker (Surface wave spectra), and more of the OOBS (Ocean Observing Buoy System). Most of these devices are dropped off and left to collect data for roughly a day or so and then we get a GPS fix on them and go pick them up.
Weather wise, its been pretty inconsistant which is to be expected in this area. One moment it will be clear and sunny then next it is stormy with sideways rain and lightning. For the most part the seas have been forgiving with smaller swell sizes so the ship hasn’t been rocking too hard.
Today is actually the last day at sea and we are currently in transit back to Bermuda. We should be making it back tomorrow (May27) around roughly 1300. It has been a great first cruise with BIOS and an amazing science crew to work with. All the guys from John Hopkins as well as Scripps have maintained great, positive vibes and are nothing less than respectful to the crew and the intern (me). I could only hope to work with a team like this in the future.
Picture of me getting ready help recover a Woods Hole Glider
*Photo taken by Nick Mathews