Pioneer 18

As we wrap up the Pioneer 18 cruise and head back to port in Woods Hole, it is a time to thank all those responsible for the great success of the Pioneer array, and reflect on the fact that the Coastal Profiler Mooring shown here, PMUI-17, will be the last Pioneer mooring deployed on the…

 Coastal Profiler Mooring (CPM) line packs are tested early in the morning on deployment days. CPM anchors are recovered by means of an acoustic release. The release frees a float which rises to the surface pulling the line pack – an aluminum frame wound with thin, strong synthetic line- which unspools as the float rises.…

The Northeast US Shelf is a biodiverse area that leads to some fascinating meetings with nature. The Pioneer Array’s mooring platforms on the shelf provide a solid structure that becomes home for many marine species like barnacles, mussels, and scallops. I never knew what barnacles actually looked like until I saw them on our buoys.…

A Coastal Profiler Mooring buoy is connected to a hauling line for recovery. The deck team uses snap hook on the end of a pole to clip into a bale on the buoy deck. The pole and hook are designed to pull apart, leaving the line connected to the buoy. The line is fed through…

The Pioneer 18 deck team is up early to prepare for mooring deployments. Handling gear needs to be prepared, equipment needs to be tested, and the environmental conditions need to be assessed. A cup of coffee can get lost in the shuffle. This one sits between the termination of the 403.7 m section of wire…

Offloading of Leg 1 of Pioneer 18. It’s always exciting to see a fully loaded vessel like the R/V Neil Armstrong be unloaded, cleaned, restocked, and mobilized for another leg.  The WHOI dock was busy with crane, people, and equipment moves that were all carefully orchestrated from the ship’s bridge and the land-based team.

Large, deck-mounted binoculars known as “big eyes” are used for marine mammal observations. NOAA Research Wildlife Biologist Peter Duley joined Leg 1 of the Pioneer-18 cruise and brought the big eyes along. Stationed on the bow for nearly all available daylight hours, Peter was able to make 43 different marine mammals sightings, including Bottlenose, Common,…

The main objectives for Leg 1 of the Pioneer-18 cruise were to complete the mooring turns (recovery of previously deployed mooring and replacement with refurbished equipment) for three Coastal Surface Moorings. Four additional objectives were also completed, resulting in four additional anchors, plus three additional buoyancy modules and line packs. The result was a very…