CRUISE REPORT

 

Cruise Number: EW02-05

FOCI Number: 1EW02

Ship: Maurice Ewing

 

Area of Operations: Unimak Pass, Gulf of Alaska

 

Itinerary:  

Dutch Harbor - May 12, 2002

Seward, AK- (touch and go) – May 22, 2002

Kodiak, AK - May 25, 2001

Participating Organizations:

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

AFSC/RACE/FOCI

Chief Scientist:    

William Floering

NOAA/PMEL

206-526-6480

William.Floering@noaa.gov

Personnel: 12 May – 25 May

Dr. Calvin Mordy                     NOAA/PMEL

Carol DeWitt                            NOAA/PMEL

Doug Jongeward                      NOAA/PMEL

Allen Macklin                           NOAA/PMEL

Tim Nesseth                             NOAA/PMEL

Steve Smith                              NOAA/PMEL

James Bunn                              NOAA/PMEL

David Wisegarver                     NOAA/PMEL

Personnel: 22 May – 25 May

Dr. Jeff Napp                           AFSC/RACE/FOCI

Jennifer Lanksbury                    AFSC/RACE/FOCI

Charles Greenlaw                     BAE Systems

Objectives of Cruise:

1.      To recover and deploy subsurface and surface oceanographic instrumentation moorings in support of

2.      To complete CTD casts for mooring instrument calibrations and to further identify ocean structure and water movements in this area.

Summary of Operations:

(Statistical data:  Number of specific operations and samples collected from COD.)

Operations:                     

CTD casts                                            85

Mooring deployment                             26 (2 surface, 24 sub-surface)

Mooring recoveries                               15 (1 surface, 14 sub-surface)

Satellite tracked buoy deployment         1

Samples Collected:

CTD salinity comparison samples                      82

Chlorophyll samples                                          142

Nutrient samples                                               545

 

Summary of Cruise:                                                                                                                          

The primary objective of this cruise was to recover and deploy an extensive array of oceanographic moorings.  Mooring related activities were usually accomplished during hours of daylight (0700-2300).  CTD casts were completed in conjunction with mooring recoveries and deployments, CTD lines were completed primarily during the night.   Within this report are tables listing the times and dates each mooring was recovered or deployed and a table listing the position, time and date of each CTD cast.  There is also a chart of each mooring location and one showing each CTD cast location. 

We departed Dutch Harbor, AK a few hours late on May 12th.  The extra time at the dock was necessary to insure that approximately 75,000 lbs of equipment we brought aboard was safely secured on deck and in the laboratory spaces.  We proceeded to the southern side of Unimak Pass and deployed a subsurface mooring.  From here we had a couple day steams to the south side of Kodiak Island.  The seas and wind reduced our cruising speed to 5-6 knots costing us 12 hours or so of project time.  We were fortunate that this was the only period of rough weather and were able to make up the lost time over the course of the remainder of the cruise.

South of Kodiak Island we deployed the 4 Barnabus Canyon and 2 off shore Chiniak subsurface moorings.  Post deployment CTD casts were taken at each site.  From here we steamed east and offshore to the FATE mooring location, south of Seward, AK.

 

We deployed the FATE subsurface ADCP profile mooring and with some difficulty recovered the FATE surface mooring.  It appears the surface FATE mooring was deployed with a longer then expected mooring line causing the acoustic release to lay horizontal on the ocean bottom.  The acoustic release would not operate correctly until we recovered enough of the surface mooring (anchor attached) to pull the release into a vertical orientation.  At that point the release responded properly, dropped the 5000 lb anchor and we were able to recover the remainder of the mooring.   The 2002 FATE surface mooring was then deployed without incident.   A single Argos drifting buoy was deployed in the area of the FATE mooring (drifter #34251).

We moved north toward Seward to the first of 13 moorings on the GLOBEC line.  With the exception of GBM3, a surface mooring, the recoveries and deployments along this line were routine and successful.  Please refer to the mooring table and chart of mooring locations for the dates and times these moorings were completed. 

 

Arriving at GBM3 we could not visually locate the 9 foot diameter mooring surface float and due to the earlier failure of the Argos mooring position transmitter we had little information to determine where the mooring had drifted to.  We could communicate and locate the acoustic release for GBM3; it was on the ocean bottom, right where we had deployed it last September.   In the period between the completion of this cruise and the writing of this report the surface float and instrument tower was discovered aground on the Alaskan Peninsula near Hollow Bay, on the north side of Shelikof Strait.  The equipment was recovered (along with one SeaBird SeaCat) by a commercial fishing boat and returned to Kodiak AK.  Upon examination of the recovered portion of GBM3 it appears that a section of the half inch long link chained broke, setting the surface float adrift and dropping the remainder of the mooring to the ocean floor.  During leg two of this cruise we made a number of passes over this site pulling large grapple hooks along the bottom; however we were unable to snag the remaining equipment from mooring GBM3.  Currently plans are progressing to lease an ROV to recover the on bottom portion of GBM3. 

 

On 22 May we broke operations to complete a touch and go inport in Seward Alaska.  Two people from AFCS/RACE/FOCI and one industry representative were embarked for the purpose of setting up an acoustic plankton counting instrument to be deployed in the area of mooring GBM3.  We also dropped off one PMEL employee that required additional medical attention for a finger that was injured during mooring operations.

Following the personnel transfer at Seward we steamed back to the GBM3 location.  A new GBM3 surface mooring was deployed along with a subsurface mooring that included the acoustic plankton counter and an iron sampler.

 

Completing the planned operations on the GLOBEC line we steamed west to a line of 3 subsurface moorings south of Gore Point.  The recovery and deployment of GP32, 34 and 36 was routine and without incident.

Following our operations on the Gore Point line we steamed west to the inshore Chiniak Bay mooring (CB1).  This mooring was recovered and re-deployed.

 

The work at CB1 marked the end of Cruise EW-02-05 and the completion of our objectives.  We arrived at the Kodiak Coast Guard Base the afternoon of May 24th, approximately 14 hours ahead of our original schedule.

 

Summery of Mooring Operations:

 

 

Summery of CTD Stations:

 

R/V EWING      May 2002

 

CTD#    MAY     GMT     Latitude        Longitude       Depth

 

       1      13    7:3854 deg  18.03N  164 deg 44.25W  85 M

       2      15    9:0056 deg  58.96N  152 deg 26.93W  140 M

       3      15   11:1056 deg  44.17N  152 deg 32.12W  156 M

       4      15   12:0556 deg  43.18N  152 deg 29.91W  168 M

       5      15   13:0556 deg  42.37N  152 deg 27.44W  188 M

       6      15   13:5356 deg  41.49N  152 deg 24.93W  175 M

       7      15   14:3956 deg  40.65N  152 deg 22.30W  88 M

       8      15   18:0556 deg  41.14N  152 deg 24.40W  157 M

       9      16    0:1657 deg  27.57N  151 deg 34.76W  112 M

      10      16    3:0757 deg  30.92N  151 deg 26.23W  137 M

      11      16   20:3158 deg  15.39N  147 deg 41.05W  2369 M

      12      17    3:5058 deg  14.88N  147 deg 40.00W  2367 M

      13      17    7:0658 deg  15.89N  147 deg 32.02W  2102 M

      14      17   10:0058 deg  20.57N  147 deg 39.80W  2100 M

      15      18    0:3958 deg  13.07N  147 deg 44.40W  2350 M

      16      18   10:3458 deg  15.69N  147 deg 41.22W  2369 M

      17      18   12:4958 deg  18.37N  147 deg 50.30W  1959 M

      18      18   17:4058 deg  31.48N  148 deg 54.97W  115 M

      19      18   18:5458 deg  36.58N  148 deg 53.00W  116 M

      20      18   22:1659 deg  02.35N  148 deg 42.00W  197 M

      21      19    1:1859 deg  02.80N  148 deg 41.82W  191 M

      22      19    2:3358 deg  55.70N  148 deg 34.41W  246 M

      23      19    6:3458 deg  55.30N  148 deg 37.79W  259 M

      24      19    9:2558 deg  41.96N  148 deg 51.56W  206 M

      25      19   11:0158 deg  31.48N  148 deg 54.96W  114 M

      26      19   11:2758 deg  31.43N  148 deg 55.03W  116 M

      27      19   12:2358 deg  36.77N  148 deg 52.96W  117 M

      28      19   13:2858 deg  41.95N  148 deg 51.02W  212 M

      29      19   14:4358 deg  47.74N  148 deg 49.41W  254 M

      30      19   16:0158 deg  53.47N  148 deg 47.03W  292 M

      31      19   17:2258 deg  57.99N  148 deg 44.34W  252 M

      32      19   18:3059 deg  02.54N  148 deg 41.41W  199 M

      33      19   19:4359 deg  07.62N  148 deg 47.31W  144 M

      34      19   23:2459 deg  07.74N  148 deg 46.53W  144 M

      35      20    1:4659 deg  16.46N  148 deg 57.86W  189 M

      36      20    7:3558 deg  42.98N  149 deg 16.53W  157 M

      37      20    8:3458 deg  46.83N  149 deg 14.99W  181 M

      38      20    9:4958 deg  52.94N  149 deg 13.03W  201 M

      39      20   10:4358 deg  56.05N  149 deg 12.00W  215 M

      40      20   11:3758 deg  59.16N  149 deg 10.97W  226 M

      41      20   12:4859 deg  05.32N  149 deg 08.86W  146 M

      42      20   13:5059 deg  09.52N  149 deg 08.34W  171 M

      43      20   17:3659 deg  09.81N  149 deg 07.56W  173 M

      44      20   20:5059 deg  21.72N  148 deg 15.05W  173 M

      45      20   23:0659 deg  22.24N  148 deg 14.75W  175 M

      46      21    1:3759 deg  38.60N  148 deg 39.22W

 

 

Summery of CTD Stations (cont.):

 

      47      21    3:5759 deg  39.52N  148 deg 39.69W  185 M

      48      21    5:2859 deg  45.71N  148 deg 58.12W  196 M

      49      21    6:5659 deg  45.77N  148 deg 58.22W  196 M

      50      21   15:4858 deg  23.33N  148 deg 04.43W  1415 M

      51      21   18:2558 deg  32.61N  148 deg 12.66W  1455 M

      52      21   20:1758 deg  40.75N  148 deg 20.99W  276 M

      53      21   21:4258 deg  47.50N  148 deg 29.39W  288 M

      54      21   23:2458 deg  58.36N  148 deg 37.81W  242 M

      55      22    0:4459 deg  06.99N  148 deg 46.24W  151 M

      56      22    2:0459 deg  15.62N  148 deg 54.55W  168 M

      57      22    3:2559 deg  24.58N  149 deg 03.08W  202 M

      58      22    5:0159 deg  34.10N  149 deg 15.53W  224 M

      59      22   10:1059 deg  33.95N  149 deg 12.15W  214 M

      60      22   11:3959 deg  41.56N  149 deg 19.61W  225 M

      61      22   14:4759 deg  49.74N  149 deg 27.10W  275 M

61-A          22   15:2559 deg  50.19N  149 deg 27.42W  270 M

      62      22   19:3559 deg  41.84N  149 deg 22.35W  245 M

      63      23    1:0459 deg  42.05N  149 deg 21.19W  245 M

      64      23    9:5858 deg  40.82N  149 deg 16.87W  137 M

      65      23   11:1258 deg  46.74N  149 deg 15.30W  179 N

      66      23   12:2058 deg  52.95N  149 deg 13.09W  205 N

      67      23   13:1358 deg  56.09N  149 deg 11.96W  216 M

      68      23   14:0958 deg  59.13N  149 deg 10.88W  223 M

      69      23   15:1759 deg  05.30N  149 deg 08.93W  147 M

      70      23   23:0459 deg  17.78N  148 deg 57.77W  187 M

      71      24    5:2958 deg  46.54N  150 deg 05.00W  156 M

      72      24    6:2758 deg  52.27N  150 deg 05.08W  187 M

      73      24    7:3458 deg  58.01N  150 deg 05.07W  222 M

      74      24    8:4059 deg  03.53N  150 deg 04.81W  204 M

      75      24   10:1959 deg  06.02N  150 deg 05.00W  189 M

      76      24   11:1259 deg  08.95N  150 deg 04.97W  135 M

      77      24   15:0159 deg  06.20N  150 deg 59.84W  159 M

      78      24   19:3659 deg  06.33N  150 deg 59.02W  165 M

      79      24   21:0658 deg  57.02N  150 deg 55.48W  157 M

      80      25    1:3758 deg  57.80N  150 deg 56.31W  145 M

      81      25    3:2658 deg  44.75N  150 deg 52.10W  186 M

      82      25    5:2658 deg  44.91N  150 deg 52.50W  187 M

      83      25   13:4957 deg  43.27N  152 deg 17.26W  195 M

      84      25   15:2657 deg  43.19N  152 deg 17.35W  194 M

 

 

Summery and Acknowledgements:

 

This cruise marked the first time PMEL/OERD-2 attempted extensive mooring operations aboard R/V Maurice Ewing.  As can be expected, with any new platform there was some settling in time at the start of the cruise.  Through the tireless efforts of the Captain, mates and deck department we were able to make the adjustments to the vessels equipment and back deck layout necessary to meet our cruise objectives.  For future considerations, the Ewing was a suitable platform for the subsurface moorings, CTD casts and Bongo Tows.  They also have an uncontaminated sea water system that we took advantage of, an onboard computer system and multi-beam sea floor mapping capabilities.  Available back deck working area is limited by the large booms (port and stbd) used for towing sonic discharge arrays.  These booms make surface mooring work more difficult and preclude “over the side” mooring operations but with some careful planning and a little ingenuity we successfully recovered and deployed 2 surface moorings. The vessel has minimal free board (3-4 feet) which can be an advantage in good weather but makes for a very wet work deck in seas greater then 5-6 feet.  To utilize the core winch we needed to attach a block to a crane for a level wind.  In moderately rough weather the shock load on this crane as the vessel pitched would force us to halt operations or risk damaging the crane. 

As expected, all members of the scientific party and the representatives from PMEL engineering branch willingly put in the long hours and the extra effort necessary to make this cruise a success.  The working relationships that developed between the vessel crew and scientific party was very productive and very positive.   

 

Note: To keep the mooring and CTD locations discernable the scale was reduced on the following two charts.  The subsurface mooring deployment and the CTD cast completed in Unimak Pass are not shown on these charts.

 

 

Chart of CTD Locations:

 

Chart of Mooring Locations: