Week three primarily consisted of dredging. My current shift is 6 hours on and 6 hours off. Depending on the dredge load it can be very physically challenging. After the load is dropped on the dredge table I shovel the contents to the sorters. Some very heavy dredge loads result in upwards of 30 minutes of shoveling. Typically on a productive day we can achieve 4-5 dredges per 6 hour shift. I have also become relatively confident with the CTD casts: during these I prep the CTD by taking off all plugs and caps from the pumps and sensors communicate with the science watch chief so I know the station number and cast number then I communicate with the engineer with the bottom depth and I watch the sensors and make sure they are functioning as expected. When the CTD reaches the bottom water bottles are popped that collect a water sample and we recover the CTD. We then secure it in the ship and flush the system and hose it with freshwater.
On the steam back to port the WHOI technation discovered that a connection to the Habcams electronics bottle was damaged to the point of failure. At port the NOAA tech and I inspected the Habcams electronics bottle and blown connector. Because there were no blown fuses we came to the conclusion that the issue was caused by a short circuit within the connector caused by a water intrusion or insulation breakdown. He also taught me to look for signs of arc damage within a connector which can indicate a breakdown in the insulation. After the problem was diagnosed I assisted the NOAA team with reconnecting the electronics bottle and testing system power.
Overall I had a great time and learned a lot this week. I got experience troubleshooting the R/V sharps computer systems and helped fix an issue with a gyro signal transmission with my mentor and I got time with the NOAA team troubleshooting the Habcams electronics system. The dredge work was very rewarding and fun. I am also excited about all of the contacts I have made. I have met some awesome people from NOAA and WHOI who I hope will be great future references.
