Week 5 – New cruise, new crew members, and new objectives!
Question of the day!
What is the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest?
Most people only consider land-based volcanoes like Mount Saint Helen or Mount Hood when thinking of volcanoes, but there is an underwater volcano that claims this title! It is Mount Axial, which has erupted 3 times in the last 25 years.
Mount Axial is located approximately 270 miles off the coast of Newport, OR and is one of the over 450 volcanoes that make up the “Ring of Fire”, which spans over 25,000 miles! This underwater “hot spot” last erupted in 2015 and has slowly been building up with magma and scientists are studying the seafloor changes to track and possibly detect when the next eruption will occur. This is where JASON comes in!
The objective is for JASON to transport and then set up scientific equipment at depths ranging from 1500-1600 meters. This project should only take around two weeks to complete.
Friday (6/17)
This morning the new crew members came aboard and as before, went straight to work!
Main tasks for today included:
- Tether cable termination (in the previous cruise there was some damage to the cable near JASON’s docking head).
- Once the cable was finished, a pull test was completed to ensure the cable termination was s+uccessful. This required rigging the cable up to the ship’s deck and applying approximately 18,000lbs of pressure with JASON’s crane/winch systems.
- The end of the day was spent regreasing the winch system and attaching the grated mesh fencing to the back of the system.
Saturday (6/18)
Much like the first cruise, this day was filled with basic prep tasks:
- Creating a layout of Jason’s basket (extendable/retractable front porch) to include collection boxes, empty crates, the slurp nozzle mount, and scientific equipment mounts. The empty crates were also prepped to hold knives on the sides which could be used for severing ropes, weighted plates that could be removed, and the temperature probe was also added to the basket layout.
- Filled the primary and auxiliary boxes.
- Bled the air out of the lines.
- Completed Pre-Dive procedures to test systems
Sunday (6/19)
Day of Departure!
- The rental manipulator arm was removed after an oil leak was observed during a check and a repaired manip-arm (which was sent out previously and just returned before the cruise) was attached.
- The first three hours was dedicated to strapping down and securing all JASON systems, equipment, and supplies to prepare for vessel launch. Anything that could potentially move needed to be secured.
- Zip-tie party time! JASON’s cables, wires, and connections were zip-tied to ensure total security. This is where we double and triple check to ensure electrical harness system is stable and secure.
- The thrusters, auxiliary and primary boxes, and comp systems were bled for air bubbles and will be bled multiple times over the next couple days. The ship’s movements will help shift any air bubbles to the top of the lines so by deployment day, the air will be completely expelled.
- Today we completed the Pre-Dive vehicle checks twice and will continue to complete until our first launch.
- At 6pm, the vessel left port and the 20hr transit began.
****On the way out I was able to perch up on the fourth level of the ship and spotted 3 orcas! I was hoping to have the opportunity to see a whale at some point and it took my breath away! At least, until I yelled to the crew on the deck so they could also witness this spectacular sight.
Monday (6/20)
Much of today was spent training. The new team leads walked through the Engineer and Navigator duties and responsibilities thoroughly. This JASON crew had 2 new individuals, and this would be their first cruise.
Afternoon tasks included:
- An all-crew fire drill. Everyone met in the main science lab with their float suits and life jackets and went over the steps of how to react to a fire on the ship and possible abandon-ship situations.
- Twp more Pre-Dive checks were completed and successful.
- Continued bleeding of JASON’s systems.
At midnight the first launch of the Nooner cruise was successful.
Tuesday (6/21)
Shift schedules began and I stayed on the 4-8am and pm shifts.
- 4-8am shift: co-piloting in the engineering position (engineering chair).
- I noticed while completing hourly checks that the Jetway Voltage output (which is always set to 105 volts) had jumped up to 113 volts.
- I manually decreased this back to 105 volts but within an hour, it began to increase again up to 108 volts.
- I again decreased the voltage and started checking every 5 minutes to ensure it did not continue to fluctuate.
- At 8am, the next shift started and the voltage issue was communicated and would be monitored.
- At 9:15 am, wake-ups were done to gather everyone on deck because we were recovering JASON.
- The voltage fluctuation continued after my shift and JASON lost power twice. Though it was restarted, the decision was made to bring JASON back on deck to address the issue.
- By 10:30, JASON was on deck.
- The Jetway voltage issue was due to the adjustable potentiometer knob and was repaired.
- JASON was relaunched at 2pm.
- 4-8pm shift: co-piloting as engineer chair.
Wednesday (6/22) (THIS WAS A VERY EXCITING DAY!!!)
- 4-8am shift: co-piloting as engineer chair and then……
I was able to pilot/fly JASON for a full hour. I then got to land on the seafloor at a depth of over 1500 meters and operate the starboard manipulator arm and retrieved a piece of pillow lava about 3.5 x 5 inches big.
- From 4-6pm I continued to co-pilot.
- 6-8pm was spent overseeing the winch and crane system while JASON was being recovered.
- At 8pm, JASON was back on deck and being serviced.
Thursday (6/23)
Early start to the day! We launched JASON at 4am and started a 4-day dive (as long as everything operates accordingly).
- 5-8am: co-piloting
- 4-8pm: co-piloting
The seafloor that JASON flew above is quite the sight! Layers of pillow lava, large crevasses that end in overspilling lava formations, and caved-in structures just amazed me! Absolutely stunning!
This week was filled with total amazement! I now have my lava rock sitting next to me as I write this and am considering how to get it back home with me. I am filled with gratitude and so thankful to MATE and WHOI for allowing me to be a part of this.
Tip of the week:
No map is better than a bad map. This may sound a bit silly, but it has been said a few times over the last few days. The navigation system has been going in and out, so when it tends to be “glitchy” and not display all of the data, we fly without it. If you were to operate with inaccurate readings and presume what is being shown is correct, catastrophe could follow! Especially in this environment. At one point, the seafloor went from 1547 meters up to almost 1450 meters! If you were to have insufficient navigation/mapping and set an auto course and depth, a collision would most definitely occur and potentially result in vehicle devastation. The 100-meter incline was abrupt, like climbing the side of a cliff. Though it was an unusual occurrence on this transit, it is a very real example of a possible event which could occur.
