Giant Hairy Bearded Man

STATION PAPA, June 11, 2024: Recovery operations were set to begin once the deployment operations were successfully completed and the decks cleared. A little time was also allotted between the deployment of new and recovery of the old to provide overlapping data to intercalibrate the moored instruments. The recovery operations brought back the old moorings that had been deployed a year ago. Covered with a dense growth of organisms and encrusted with biofouling, with many goose barnacles, the old moorings took on an almost anthropomorphic appearance, resembling a “Giant Hairy Bearded Man.”

Video: Recovering the Synactic sphere while Jim Edson handles the tag lines helping to stabilize the sphere.

Recovery of a biofouled Syntactic sphere upon which Goose barnacles have made a home.

Biofouling around recovered Syntactic sphere with Goose barnacles clinging to the surface.

Recovery of another Syntactic sphere from 500 m depth, with no visible biofouling.

Recovering the glass balls as the last part of the recovery operations after recovering two giant syntactic sphere, temperature salinity sensors at various depths and acoustic release along the mooring line.

With the weather not on our side, we’ve adjusted our plans to make the most of the sunset’s glow. Working into the evening doesn’t feel exhausting with the late sunset, enabling us to make up for lost time during the storm. With the improvised plans, the team has successfully completed tasks up to date. As we move forward, our sights are set on recovering another mooring and glider.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates on our upcoming adventures!

Pictures and text by Aditi Sharma, POGO Shipboard Fellow, June 11, 2024