Pioneer MAB Initial Deployment

It is definitely a team effort!  Chris Basque, Eric Hutt, John Jordan, John Kemp, Matt Latvis, Nico Llanos, Kris Newhall, Jim Ryder all on deck completing the connections of the electromechanical chains and stretch hoses to the surface moorings and Near-Surface Instrument Frames.  

Meghan Donohue assembles an Anchor Recovery Module (ARM).  The ARM includes the anchor for the Multi-Function Node (MFN) as well as a flotation module and recovery line.  The flotation module and recovery line allow the MFN anchor to be recovered, leaving nothing behind, and minimizing the impact to the seabed environment.    

John Lund and Mike McCarthy assemble the tower for the new Pioneer MAB Shallow Water Mooring.  The tower will hold data telemetry modules and aids to navigation such as GPS, lights, and radar reflectors.  

Expanded and Upgraded!  WHOI mechanical engineer Dan Duffany, with input from the OOI-CGSN team, designed the new Near-Surface Instrument Frame – Large (NSIF-L, right).  The NSIF-L will be deployed on the Pioneer MAB Central Surface Mooring and will accommodate the original OOI instrumentation as well as the new Imaging Flow Cytobot, particle size, and turbidity…

On their way.  Here Kris Newhall, Jim Ryder, and Chris Basque, with support from WHOI Facilities, remove the Pioneer MAB Coastal Surface Moorings from their stands, tip and secure the buoy for transport to the WHOI dock.  The next step will be loading the buoys on the RV Neil Armstrong.

Three Pioneer MAB Coastal Surface Moorings, along with their Near Surface Instrument Frame (NSIF) and Multi-Function Node (MFN) and risers, operating and collecting test data prior to mobilization on the RV Neil Armstrong.  The moorings operate for several days to test all systems, including data delivery to the OOI Cyberinfrastructure, prior to deployment.

Jennifer Batryn, Nikki Arm, Irene Duran, and Ellen Roosen perform a compass spin of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to be deployed on Pioneer MAB.   It is important to do the compass calibration prior to deployment to correct for the introduction of magnetic materials during setup.