April 2-3: Smooth Seas, Steady Progress

Favorable weather—light winds and calm seas—allowed the team to make significant progress over the past two days.

Operations began early with the successful deployment of the Near Surface Instrument Frame (NSIF) and buoy, followed by a CTD cast for cross-calibration at CNSM. The team stayed on station for several hours to complete post-deployment testing and begin setup for the NOSM-2 mooring, which was fully deployed later that afternoon.

The next morning, the SOSM-1 mooring was efficiently recovered just after breakfast. Within a few hours, the buoy, riser, MFN, and anchor were all secured on deck.

With recovery complete, attention shifted to AUV operations. Roger (AUV 06263) was deployed for the Across Shelf survey, followed by Scotland (AUV 06264) for the Alongshore leg. Post-deployment CTDs and communications checks confirmed both vehicles were operating well. The team is currently sampling Along Shelf CTD stations and will intercept the AUVs mid-survey to reset communications before recovery.

Once the AUV survey concludes, the ship will return to CNSM for additional meteorological comparisons between the old and new buoys.

Deck photo showing all three surface mooring buoys, MFNs, and other mooring components. one of the profiler mooring buoys is also visible on the deck after departing. (c): Sawyer Newman

Mooring components on deck before the CNSM deployment. (c): Sawyer Newman