High Waves Delay Operations

A group of mola mola (ocean sunfish) follow Jason down during Dive JR -1539. Credit: A. Roberts, University of Washington, V23.

September 1-4, 2023: Leg 3 once again began with unfavorable weather. Even staying in port one extra day didn’t prevent the ship from leaving Newport in rough seas with blustery winds.  Once onsite, high winds and unpredictable swell made it hard to hold position, and too hazardous for Jason dives or even CTD casts.  Only on September 4 did conditions settle down enough to continue operations.  Early in the morning, Jason started dive J2-1544, which will dive International District 2 to swap the medium powered junction box (MJ03D). Stay tuned!