Updates

The R/V Sikuliaq has a modern CTD deployment and recovery system requiring only the winch operator and marine technician to deploy and recover.  As part of every OOI mooring cruise, the Endurance 18 team collects CTD data to validate mooring time series and glider measurements.

Endurance 18 Deck Lead Alex Wick tosses a recovery line to the crew of the ship’s small boat.  The ship’s small boat was sent to shackle the recovery line to the Washington Inshore buoy.

While all science data are collected on Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), the ship and science party run on local time. On Saturday the R/V Sikuliaq 2nd Mate posted a placard reminding everyone about Daylight Savings Time.  Wouldn’t want to be late for breakfast!

The Endurance 18 science party includes Lukas Winkler Prins, a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. Lukas’s research is on sediment transport associated with restoration of salt ponds into wetlands. He is participating in this cruise via the UNOLS Cruise Opportunity program. This program provides graduate students (and recent grads) the chance to participate…

A feature of the R/V Sikuliaq is that the cranes and A-frame can be controlled by a belly-pack. This enables the ship’s bosun (Semin to the left) to stand next to our deck lead (Alex Wick) during operations. The deck can be noisy, and clear communication between these two is essential.

The Endurance 18 science party includes Athena Abrahamsen, a second-year undergraduate Oceanography major at OSU, shown here on the upper deck of Sikuliaq leaving Yaquina Bay on March 7 and assisting with mooring deployments on March 8. Athena is an undergraduate student research assistant working for OOI. She completed her winter quarter coursework ahead of…

While an undergraduate at OSU, Samantha Richards was a student research assistant with the OOI Endurance Array.  After earning her degree in Ocean Science, she became an OSU Marine Technician. While OSU awaits its new Regional Class Research Vessel, the R/V Taani, Sam is working as a MarTech on other UNOLS vessels, such as the R/V…

The team observed a very low rainbow on the first day of the spring 2023 Endurance cruise. Rainbows can be visible when the solar elevation is less than 42 degrees, meaning they are often observed in the morning orevening. However, this rainbow was observed north of the R/V Sikuliaq shortly after departure around 12:45 when…

  One technical improvements that will be deployed during Endurance 18 is a new steel frame over the solar panels to prevent damage caused by frequent sea lion visitors. This is one of many incremental technical improvements that are made to OOI arrays to optimize their operations while at sea.