Updates
Remarkable Underwater Robot
Two REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are components of the Coastal Pioneer Array at its new location in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB). Their mission is to collect data through the water column and in between moorings, serving as an additional data source and validating data collected at the stationary moorings. The two AUVs at…
Read MoreHistoric, Continuing Collaboration
The U.S. National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative (NSF-OOI) and the Northeast U.S. Shelf (NES) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project have been collaborating since 2017, when the original OOI Coastal Pioneer Array was deployed 75 nautical miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Representatives from the NES-LTER project would join the Pioneer Deployment and Recovery expeditions in…
Read MoreUNOLS Volunteers Pitch In
The Endurance 20 team includes two UNOLS Cruise Volunteers on each leg. These volunteers are graduate students looking for opportunities to go to sea. On this leg, Marlena Penn and Cassia Cai joined the Endurance 20 team aboard the R/V Sikuliaq.
Read MoreFirst of First
This morning, April 3, 2024, marked the beginning of the Coastal Pioneer Array in its new location in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. The team began prepping for the deployment of the Central Surface Mooring (CNSM-1) at 6 am Eastern. The mooring was in the water and its instruments functioning shortly after 9 am. Well done, team!
Read MoreCTD Casts While Underway
During transit to the Mid-Atlantic Bight from Woods Hole, the team conducted CTD sampling to continue the work of The Northeast U.S. Shelf (NES) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER), which strives to understand and predict how planktonic food webs are changing in the region and possible impacts on higher trophic levels.
Read MoreCrabs Galore
Image of crab pots surrounding the ship as the R/V Sikuliaq and the Endurance 20 team were adjacent to the Washington Inshore Surface Mooring. The primary purpose of this radar is to detect sea ice, but it works well on crab pot floats too. The circle’s radius is ¾ nm.
Read MoreSecure Back Deck
The R/V Neil Armstrong is fully loaded with ocean observing equipment for the first deployment of the Coastal Pioneer Array at the Mid-Atlantic Bight. To ensure all equipment stays in place, regardless of conditions, the ship’s back deck has holes drilled into the floor that allows the team to securely fasten and tie-down the…
Read MoreSurvival Suit Training
Safety training happens as soon as the ship is underway. Here Andy Robinson dons a survival suit and demonstrates how to get air out of it for maximum effectiveness.
Read MoreAnd We’re Off!
IMG_9893 And we are off! The Coastal and Global Scale Nodes team is aboard the R/V Neil Armstrong headed to the Mid-Atlantic Bight for the first deployment of the Pioneer Array there. This is the view from the ship as we head to sea for the next 10 days.
Read MoreLoading Complete
Pioneer MAB surface moorings and vehicles were loaded on the RV Neil Armstrong. The team setup the moorings for deployment, verified instrument operation, and prepared the shipboard labs for cruise operations.
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