So, here we are! I boarded the R/V Pelican mid morning, April 5th, after spending the night in Kenner, LA. Upon arrival at the LUMCON facilities, I spent the day meeting the crew and becoming accustomed to the R/V Pelican. Around noon, the crew and I used the a-crane to deploy the vessel’s small boat into the water for a test run, prior to our cruise. The marine technician and I were lucky enough to take the small boat for a test run, but even luckier to find a few pods of dolphins swimming around- A sight I later found is blasé to the crew who always sees them. After performing small boat ops, I helped the crew prepare for the cruise. Our vessel’s freezers were down, so I spent most of the later noon removing old freezers and helping to rig them to the top of the ship to store food and additional science samples. Through early evening to dusk, most of the science Intel had arrived and I spent my remaining time exploring the LUMCON area and facilities. Cruise departure time: 12am
While most of my first day tasks slid onto the backburner, I learned an important lesson: ALWAYS bring seasickness medication, despite whether or not you have been seasick before. Evidently, “sea legs” are earned, and I spent most of the day recovering from illness. Though, I can’t complain about the amazing food on board- it was so good I tasted it going both up and down several times…Despite not feeling up to par, I did my best to complete and learn as many new tasks and instruments as possible. I learned the basics of CTD casts both within the tech lab and on aft deck. After observing and assisting in my first on board CTD cast, I removed the tubing for our sensors and did a clean: triton x, DI, bleach, DI and a good spray down prior. In down time, I perfected my soldering- using the hot glue gun method- and worked on terminating RJ 45 Ethernet cables and rewiring them for practice. After the first day, I began to gain my sea legs, just in time for the chaos that would ensure days latter.
By the third day, we had run into every CTD issue possible-which functioned as a phenomenal learning experience. Overnight, an oxygen sensor imploded under pressure during a deep cast. Due to the incredible variation in depth within and along the Gulf of Mexico, sensors must be changed according to their depth range, prior to casts. This oversight resulted in only one of our two oxygen sensors working. In addition to the oxygen sensor imploding, the firing mechanism within the top carousel of the CTD was not closing all our bottles- an issue resulting from either a “dirty” firing mechanism, or an issue within the internal firing unit of the CTD. Our vessel’s technician and I began by soaking the firing carousel in a detergent bath, a troubleshooting method less time consuming than changing out the internal firing unit. After several soaks of our firing carousel- in addition to replacing the top with a new carousel- the issue persisted later into the evening, which told us there was a potential internal issue- but it is important to follow up with deck tests before committing to a big change. While the firing carousel was soaking I assisted in replacing our missing oxygen sensor with a new one, which worked beautifully. But, of course, it’s never that easy and as one issue plummets, another surely surfaces. During a CTD cast, a scientist removing the sensor tubing broke a small screw holding our sensor in place. The sensor was rigged with zip-ties the first time, and a second time when the same issue occurred with another sensor. Part of my job as a marine technician is to function as a liaison between the crew and science Intel- unfortunately sometimes warnings about equipment are not always followed. We made our way to “jacked-up-city”- which I later learned is a sea name for a set of oilrigs that are clustered together, during periods of non-use. An interesting sight, but we were here to deploy sensors and perform box coring. I assisted in lifting a box core off the back a-frame, using the Appleton crane. After performing box coring, and receiving extra equipment from folks at Lumcon, we performed more boat ops. Using the crane, our small boat was lifted out of the vessel, and into the water. A science member, John and I, drove the boat close to a rig, and deployed an instrument attached to a mooring. The experience was exciting and I couldn’t help but to hum the Hawaii-five-O theme song in my head, as soaring through the Gulf. After some circuit issues were resolved in the tech lab, we called it a day.
After my morning tasks and duties, it was back to the white elephant in the room: our CTD. We began by troubleshooting the CTD with several deck tests- one of which involves an on deck procedure of firing and checking bottles. Through radio, our marine technician and I communicated (one on deck, the other in the technician lab firing bottles) to assure the firing mechanism was working before casting again. It is important to use tubing in both the top and bottom of the bottles before firing- as to assure the bottles do not crack under stress or pressure. Another test involves a very similar firing procedure, but instead of cocking the bottles, a technician places a screwdriver at each magnet of the firing carousel, awaiting a click for confirmation that it fired. After several on deck tests, and a discovery within the internal firing unit, it was confirmed the issues were internal, and the SBE 32 unit did indeed need to be changed. In order to change the SBE 32 unit, several CTD bottles were removed, as well as the top shackle, which involved a sensor being removed and covered in electrical tape for protection. After changing out the unit, several more tests were completed, one more firing mechanism soak, and we were back in business. Due to our long transit time, several lanyards were also replaced.
During longer transits later in the week, we performed a transmissometer field calibration test. The test includes filing all the CTD rosette bottles with fresh tap water, going through calibration standards within the computer and our manuals, and running an on deck test to assure our values are similar to the calibrated ones. The calibration ran smoothly and I worked on several lanyards for the CTD. Yesterday, we added heat shrink to some stoppers on our lanyards, and while heating accidentally melted away some of our plastic lining. I replaced these, finished my firing mechanism soak and reattached the firing mechanism on my own. During down time throughout the week, I have been shadowing our vessel’s Captain, in the hopes of driving by the end of the trip. I have my USGS 6-Pak License, so learning the rudder mechanisms, boat mechanics, and steering has been incredibly interesting to me and is a goal I plan to pursue throughout my internship. I have been reviewing radar, navnet, AIS, radio station etiquette (if fishermen, rig workers and captains ever actually follow it), along with the basics of throttle, propulsion and steering. An important aspect within the computers, and especially with all the boat traffic and rigs of the Gulf, is CPA- other known as the distance to stay away from boats or rigs that may have line, pipe, etc. hanging around.
All in all, after learning the stresses of being a marine technician, I seized ship and am the new Captain (see below). Just kidding. Disclaimer: auto-pilot is a great way to pretend like you know what you’re doing.
