Updates
Making the connection
April 26, 2022
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 a block on the A-frame and then to a winch that is used to lift…
Morning coffee
April 25, 2022
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 rope and the Wire Following Profiler bump stop on the PMUO mooring.
Welcome visitors
April 21, 2022
Leg 2 of the Spring Pioneer cruise got some unexpected visitors! A group of 6-7 pilot whales swam by to say hi and see what cool science OOI and NES-LTER are doing at the New England Shelf.
Off at sunrise
April 20, 2022
After waiting out a late-season nor’easter during the in-port period between legs, the second leg of Pioneer began this morning at sunrise. The R/V Neil Armstrong left the dock at Woods Hole as the sun peeked through the sky for another nine days at sea. While the sun was rising, the air still cool and breezy.
From ship to shore
April 19, 2022
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.
Big eyes
April 19, 2022
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, White-sided, and Risso’s Dolphins as well as Pilot, Sperm, Humpback, and Finback Whales. Once an…
A full deck
April 18, 2022
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 crowded deck for the return to Woods Hole. Photo: Al Plueddemann©WHOI.
Heads up
April 18, 2022
Everyone on deck pays close attention when the large OOI Coastal Surface Mooring buoys are recovered. The buoy tower spins when the hull is picked out of the water, and the deck team needs to be ready with a snap hook to clip into the circular rails on the tower top and arrest the motion.
Waiting for a position
April 14, 2022
WHOI technicians Chris Basque (left) and Jim Ryder (center) wait with the Armstrong Bos’n (right) to get a position message from the GPS beacon (white cylinder). The OOI moorings are outfitted with several of these tracking beacons that report GPS positions back to shore via satellite. Prior to deployment, the beacons are turned on and tested.
Strapped in and ready
April 14, 2022
The InShore Surface Mooring (ISSM) is staged at the fantail of the Armstrong ready for deployment. The bright yellow paint on the buoy deck and upper hull provides visibility, while the blue paint has anti-fouling properties to minimize biological growth during the deployment.