FINAL CRUISE INSTRUCTIONS

 

September 21, 2005

NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN

Cruise Number:

RB-05-06

Project:

Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Moorings

Cruise dates:

25 October – 28 November, 2005

Chief Scientist:

Mr. Andrew Shepherd, NOAA PMEL

Working Area:

Eastern Equatorial Pacific

Itinerary:

Depart: Arica Chile

 

Arrive: Rodman, Panama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endorsements

________________________                                             _________________________

 

Dr. Eddie N. Bernard                                                                       Captain Jon Rix, NOAA

Director, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                  Comanding Officer, MOC-Atlantic

Seattle, WA 98115                                                                       Norfolk, VA  23510

 

 

            TROPICAL ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN (TAO) PROGRAM

                                                                             

                                                    FINAL CRUISE INSTRUCTIONS 

                                                                           FOR

                                                            RB-05-06 (GP6-05-RB)

                                                      October 25 – November 28, 2004

 

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:

 

class=Section2>

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                TAO - Dr. Michael McPhaden

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                GCC - Dr. Dick Feely

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory         GCC- Dr. Rik Wanninkhoff

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                Atmospheric Soundings -Dr. Nick Bond

NOAA, Environmental Technology Laboratory                     ETL- Dr. Chris Fairall -Dr. Jeff Hare

NOAA, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab.      Drifters - Craig Engler

University of Hawaii                                                            ADCP -  Dr. Eric Firing

Scripps Institution of Oceanography                                      N and O Isotopes – Patrick Rafter

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                Argo Drifters – Dr. Greg Johnson

 

 

class=Section3>

 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 

A major objective of the TAO/TRITON Array is to facilitate understanding, modeling, and prediction of global interannual climate fluctuations associated with the El Nińo-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon.  To this end, the TAO Project has implemented an ocean-atmosphere observing array in the tropical Pacific Ocean to initialize, force, and verify ocean prediction models.  The TAO/TRITON Array consists of approximately 70 ATLAS moorings and current meter moorings within 8-12 degrees of the equator and spanning the Pacific Basin from 95° W to 137° E.  Data from the array are both internally recorded and reported in real-time via Service Argos.  The array is being maintained under sponsorship of NOAA’s Office of Global Programs (OGP) as part of the ENSO Observing System for NOAA’s Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate Prediction Program.

 

TAO Program Director

Dr. Michael J. McPhaden

PMEL, TAO Project Office

7600 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98115

(206) 526-6783,  -6744 (fax)

Michael.j.mcphaden@noaa.gov

 

Area:    Eastern Equatorial Pacific

 

Itinerary:                                                          

RB-05-06          Arica, Chile                                                                   Depart 25 October, 2005

                        Balboa, Panama                                                            Arrive 28 Novermber, 2005

                       

 

class=Section4>

CRUISE DESCRIPTION

 

Cruise Objective and Plan:

 

The objective of this cruise is the maintenance of the TAO Array along the 95°W and 110°W meridians.  The scientific complement will load mooring equipment on the ship in Miami, FL during September 24 – 26, 2005.  Scientific personnel will embark on October 24, 2005 in Arica Chile.  The TAO cruise will complete operations on or about November 28, in Balboa, Panama, where all scientific personnel will debark.   The scientific gear will be offloaded in Charleston, SC in early December.

 

 

         MOC-A  Operations:                                                     TAO  Operations:

         LCDR Ricardo Ramos, NOAA                                      LCDR Brian Lake, NOAA

         NOAA/MOC-A                                                            NOAA/PMEL/TAO

         439 WEST YORK ST                                                   7600 Sand Point Way NE

         Norfolk, VA 23510-1114                                                Seattle, WA 98115-0070

         (757) 441-6844                                                              (206) 526-6403

         Jim.Meigs@noaa.gov                                                    Brian.Lake@noaa.gov

 

 

1.0  PERSONNEL

 

1.1   CHIEF SCIENTIST AND PARTICIPATING SCIENTISTS:

 

Chief Scientist:              Andy Shepherd

 

The Chief Scientist is authorized to revise or alter the scientific portion of the cruise plan as work progresses provided that, after consultation with the Commanding Officer, it is ascertained that the proposed changes will not: (1) jeopardize the safety of personnel or the ship; (2) exceed the overall time allotted for the cruise; (3) result in undue additional expenses; (4) alter the general intent of these instructions. 

 

A list of participating scientists follows in this set of specific cruise instructions.  All participating scientists will submit a NOAA Health Services Questionnaire form approximately four weeks prior to sailing.

 

Participating Scientists

 

Name

Sex

Nationality

Affiliation

Andy Shepherd

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/TAO

Mike Craig

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/TAO

Korey Martin

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/TAO

Jeremy Harbeck

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL

 

 

      

 

 

2.0  OPERATIONS

 

The cruise track and details of station work are summarized in Appendices A and B.  The cruise will involve underway operations (Section 2.01) between stations, including CTD/water sampling stations (Section 2.02), mooring recoveries, deployments, and repairs (Section 2.03).  During the cruise, it is requested that the vessel provide to the Chief Scientist an updated operations spreadsheet (similar to Appendix A) with actual times and speeds made good for the entire cruise.  The TAO project will provide regular updates of buoy positions during the cruise in order to recover those adrift.

                                               

2.01 Underway Operations

 

2.01.1 ADCP

 

A ship-mounted ADCP system will be used to continuously measure the currents in the upper ocean along the trackline. At a minimum, data from the ADCP will be logged from the start of the transit once in international waters (or waters for which there is research clearance) and continue until leaving international waters.  For calibration purposes it is essential that bottom tracking be activated at the start and end of a cruise when in water depths shallower than 500m.  The ship's Survey Technician will be in charge of data storage (hard drive to disks and/or CD’s as necessary).  The ADCP will be interfaced to the ship’s GPS receiver and will receive data at one-second intervals.  The clock on the ADCP IBM computer will NOT be reset while underway.  ADCP operating parameters will not be changed without the permission of the Chief Scientist, in consultation with Dr. Eric Firing, and after informing TAO personnel of the intended parameter change.  All ADCP data will be provided to the chief scientist and sent to Dr. Eric Firing at the University of Hawaii.

 

Accurate ship navigation is essential for valid ADCP current measurements.  The ship will provide a fully operational GPS receiver and Seapath 200 system (or equivalent) for navigation input.  Ship’s ET will select proper GPS codes to enable ADCP navigation data collection.  The ADCP will be interfaced with the ship's gyro so that accurate heading information is available to the ADCP.   A manual comparison of the ADCP heading/gyro reading will be logged by the Electronics Technician while the ship is dockside, at the beginning of a cruise and checked periodically throughout the cruise. For calibration purposes, “Bottom Tracking” should be activated whenever the ship is transiting water shallower than 500m.

 

Due to compatibility problems, the ADCP is not interfaced to SCS, so GPS navigation and gyro inputs must be connected directly to the ADCP system.  If the ADCP becomes interfaced to the SCS, then the ADCP data will be recorded on both the ADCP recording system and the SCS.  Appropriate data storage systems will be connected to the ADCP system for ADCP data collection.  The ADCP data recorded on the IBM has course and speed information from the navigation data that is exactly time coincident with the ADCP ensembles.

 

The ADCP system will be operated by ship personnel and will continuously log data to the ADCP zip storage disks during the entire cruise.  If necessary, the ADCP data disks will be changed when full.  Full disks will be labeled and backed up.  An ADCP log will be maintained by the Electronics Technician and a check of the ADCP recording of heading, time, velocity and navigation information will be done periodically to ensure the system is operating properly.  Any inconsistencies, such as heading, time, and/or navigation input not in agreement with actual/expected, will be noted in the log and reported to the Commanding Officer and Chief Scientist.

 

Principle Investigator:

Dr Eric Firing, University of Hawaii                    efiring@iniki.soest.hawaii.edu

 

 

2.01.2 SST and SSS

Sea surface temperature and salinity will be recorded continuously with a SEABIRD SBE-21 accurate to within 0.1 C and 0.01 psu.  The Survey Technician will translate the data from the thermosalinograph to ASCII.  It is the vessel’s responsibility to ensure that the thermosalinograph is calibrated, at a minimum, annually.

 

2.02 CTD Observations

A Sea-Bird 911 plus CTD with dual temperature and conductivity sensors will be the primary system and will be provided by the program. A backup Sea-Bird 911 plus CTD with dual sensors is also required and will be provided by the ship.  A Sea-Bird carousel and twelve 10-liter Niskin bottles will be used to collect water samples for the analysis of salinity.  A backup Sea-Bird carousel and spare Niskins will be provided by the program.

 

At a minimum, 1000 meter CTD casts shall be conducted at each mooring site between 8° N and 8° S for sensor inter‑comparison purposes.  As time permits, additional or deeper CTD’s should be conducted whenever addition of the CTD’s will not impact scheduled mooring work.  For example, if the ship would arrive at the next mooring site in the middle of the night, it is preferable to do CTD’s on the way, rather than remain hove to waiting for daylight.  Another example would be when mooring operations are significantly ahead of schedule.  Beyond those at mooring sites, CTD’s should be conducted in the following order of priority:

- 1000m CTD’s at one-degree latitude intervals between 8° N and 8° S, along the ship’s trackline.

- Extend 1000m CTD’s at mooring sites to a minimum of 3000m or a maximum depth of 200m from the bottom.  Four to six deep casts are optimal, occurring at the beginning and end of the cruise as well as at both equatorial sites.

- 1000m CTD’s every one‑half degree of latitude between 3°N and 3°S

- Additional calibration CTD’s to be determined by Chief Scientist.

 

For each cast, the CTD operator should be notified at least 30 minutes prior to arriving on station in order to ready the underwater package and power up the instrumentation (i.e. turn on the deck unit) giving the electronics time to equilibrate.  The data acquisition program and VCR should be started just prior to deployment. 

 

Once the CTD has been deployed, it should be held at 10 m for 2 minutes to activate the pumps and remove any air bubbles in the sensor tubing.  The winch operator should then raise the package to just beneath the surface being careful to not let the sensors come out of the water. The CTD operator will hit “markscan” and then instruct the winch operator to start down. 

 

Descent rates should be 30 m/min from 0-50 m, 45 m/min from 50-200 m, and 60 m/min beyond 200 m.  An entry in the Marine Operations Abstract should be made for each CTD cast at the maximum cast depth by the bridge watch.  Ascent rates should not exceed 60 m/min.  If possible, all 8 Niskin bottles should be closed at specified depths in the water column.  After recovery and data acquisition is completed,  the deck unit should be turned off.

 

CTD data will be acquired and processed on the ship’s computer equipped with SEASOFT software.  The capability to display CTD data using the SCS system and monitors will be available. The CTD operator will complete the CTD cast logs.  The CTD operator or bridge watch will maintain the CTD weather log.

 

PMEL proposes taking 8 samples per station instead of 12; not sampling 1/2-degree stations; and running 40 samples per standard instead of 36.   Questions regarding these revised procedures should be directed to Kristy McTaggart – (206) 526-6692.

Water samples for salinity analysis will be taken from 8 depths per station instead of 12 and running 40 samples per standard instead of 36.  No salinity sampling is required at the ˝-degree stations.  The Survey Technician will run salinity analysis on the ship's autosalinometer within 2-3 days after the samples are collected using ACI2000 software.  The autosalinometer will be standardized with IAPSO standard seawater, provided by the program, before each salinity run.  Bottle salinity data will be used post-cruise at PMEL for conductivity sensor calibration.

 

The Chief Scientist in consultation with the FOO will set a cruise CTD operator schedule for the science party to assist and cover 24 hour CTD operations as needed relative to the CST’s workload.

 

Principle Investigator:

Dr Gregory Johnson, PMEL                   206-526-6806    gregory.c.johnson@noaa.gov

 

2.03 Mooring Operations

 

Mooring Operations are scheduled to be conducted as shown in Appendix A.  Operations will be conducted from 8S - 95W to 8N - 95W and then to 8N - 110W thence to 8S - 110W.  The following mooring operations are anticipated, though the work may be changed by direction of the Chief Scientist; in consultation, with the Commanding Officer.

 

 

Location

Mooring Type

Operation

Status