Updates
Stowaways
November 13, 2022
Sometimes marine life hops aboard the moorings, making their way to the deck. The Pioneer team does it best to return the marine life to its natural habitat as quickly as possible. Examples of stowaways are a small Trigger fish gently held by Pioneer team member Irene Duran. The fish got caught in the small ‘cave’ at the interface between the electromagnetic (EM) chain and the Near Surface Instrument Frame…
Profiler Mooring Recovery
November 13, 2022
Friday was a great day to be aboard the Armstrong. The weather cooperated and the team recovered the inshore profiler mooring. Shown here are some of its components in the order in which they were recovered: Submersible surface buoy, subsurface flotation sphere, and wire-following profiler. The latter is instrumented and moves up and down the mooring wire recording ocean observations.
Two on Deck
November 12, 2022
The Pioneer Array 19 team marked Veteran’s Day with the successful recovery of the Coastal Inshore Surface Mooring. Like glider 559, the mooring was initially hooked on the starboard side of the boat. Unlike the gliders, the large buoys are guided toward the back of the ship for recovery through the A-frame. From there, the 8,000-pound buoy is brought on board with a heavy-duty winch. The two recovered buoys reside…
Glider Hooked
November 12, 2022
Pioneer Team member Jessica Kozik hooks glider 559 so it can be brought on board ship. The “hook”, or connection to the hauling line, is accomplished with a long pole and specially designed grappling hook that snaps open and quickly shut upon contact.
Watching for Whales
November 12, 2022
Peter Duley is a marine mammal observer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He joins many Pioneer expeditions to survey the waters for whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals. While he surveys the water with his “Big Eyes” binoculars, he also keeps track of birds and other creatures that may happen by.
Entangled Fishing Gear
November 12, 2022
When the Pioneer 19 team recovered the Offshore Surface Mooring, it came with fishing gear entangled in the buoy tower. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but it can be detrimental to the mooring system. The fishing line sometimes gets wrapped around the wind turbines, which charge the batteries that power the instrumentation. When this happens, not only do the fishers lose some of their gear, but the ability to…
Gumby Try-ON
November 10, 2022
As the R/V Neil Armstrong steamed toward its first site at the Pioneer Array, the crew took the science party through safety training to ensure that all participants were familiar with onboard safety equipment, including the “Gumby” immersion suit. The suit is awkward to put on and sometimes looks a bit comical, despite the serious nature of its purpose. Once successfully ensconced inside Gumby, observer Mark Hanson, Senior Contract Officer…
Empty Back Deck
November 9, 2022
The @R/V Neil Armstrong left the dock at Woods Hole, MA with an unusual empty deck. Deck Lead Chris Basque joins Third Mate Mariah Kopec-Belliveau in the uncommonly spacious area. The Pioneer 19 Team will be recovering the Coastal Pioneer Array and will not be deploying new moorings. The next time Pioneer will be deployed will be in 2024 a new location in the Southern Mid-Atlantic Bight.
Final Recovery
October 25, 2022
This expedition is not a typical one. Rather than being loaded to the brim, the R/V Neil Armstrong will leave the dock with a fairly empty back deck. This open area will allow for the recovery of three surface moorings, five profiler moorings, four gliders, and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle over the course of the two-week expedition. The expedition will be conducted in two legs because of the large size…
A cruise with a view
October 4, 2022
The start of October found us with the sun rising over the Oregon Coast as we recovered and deployed a mooring as part of OOI’s Coastal Endurance Array. As this was their closest mooring to shore, we were rewarded with the stunning view of Yaquina Head LIghthouse glowing in the morning sun. The work on the moorings took the whole day as we recovered the buoy, mooring, and anchor from…