Historic Departure

Credit: Derek Buffitt © WHOI

Credit: Derek Buffitt © WHOI

Credit: Derek Buffitt © WHOI

The departure of the R/V Neil Armstrong from the Woods Hole dock for the second leg of the Pioneer 19 expedition on November 17 was both nostalgic and historic.  Many onboard had been on multiple Pioneer expeditions. Chief Scientist John Lund, for example, (on stern of ship in red) has sailed on 18 of the 19 expeditions to recover and redeploy the Coastal Pioneer Array.  The departure is the last leg of the New England Shelf Pioneer Array expeditions, which commenced in 2016.  The Array was designed to be relocatable and will move to a new site in the Southern Mid-Atlantic Bight in spring 2024.