On September 6th the R/V Atlantic Explorer departed for a routine cruise in the Sargasso Sea. Bermuda Atlantic TIme Series (BATS) cruises are one of the main missions for BIOS. Sampling at the BATS station has been going on for over 40 years, making it one of the longest running oceanographic time series in the world.
The start of the cruise had rougher seas than normal, so I spent a few days seasick and finding out which medicine works best. After things smoothed out, and I adjusted to the ship, I was able to complete 3 am – 3 pm shifts with one of the two marine technicians working on the R/V AE.
Some of the procedures carried out during the cruise included CTD rosette casts, mooring deployments, and glider deployments. I usually helped during each procedure by ensuring that the instruments or moorings were safely and properly deployed, and communicating between the scientists and crew members.
Some other things I learned about on this cruise were the local network and satellite network connection aboard the ship. The marine tech is responsible for monitoring the connection, and making sure scientists have fast enough internet if needed. The local network is also important for making data available and backing it up in multiple places in case something were to happen.
Additionally, I worked with the marine technician to organize and inventory the cables on the CTD and test for continuity. Some of the custom cables did have issues, which may be leading to some errors in the data.
Here are some pictures from a glider recovery, and lubricating the CTD winch!
A small zodiac is launched from the ship to recover the glider when it becomes visible on the surface.
The winch cable should be lubed freqeuntly to prevent rust!
Until next week!