Posts Tagged ‘Endurance 17’
A cruise with a view
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…
Read MoreThrough the fog and surf
Thursday afternoon saw the R/V Thomas G. Thompson slipping its moorings and gliding through the fog back out to sea for leg two of the Endurance 17 mission. While leg one was focused on recovering and deploying moorings along the Washington line of OOI’s Coastal Endurance Array, leg two is focused on doing the same…
Read MorePop goes the weasel
During the first leg of Endurance 17 the recovery of an inshore surface mooring did not go according to plan. The early steps of recovering this mooring (which sits in approximately 30 meters of water), connecting to the buoy and cabling that attaches it to the MFN (Multi-Function Node) went smoothly. With the buoy attached…
Read MoreRecovery
In an earlier post Trenity Ford explored a bit of what it takes to deploy a mooring and its related parts, but that is only one-half of the operation. For each mooring or profiler that gets deployed, a different one must be picked up and recovered. OOI operates the Coastal Endurance Array on a 6-month…
Read MoreWhy It Matters
By Darlene Trew Crist As we steam towards the Oregon coast, I thought it might be helpful to share my perspective of all of the hard work that has occurred over the past eight days at sea and why it matters. Twelve adults of various ages and genders, who comprise the Endurance 17 Team, worked…
Read MoreIt’s a Wrap
This morning the Endurance Team recovered the anchor for the Washington Offshore Profiler Mooring from 533 meters below the surface. It was the last piece of equipment to be recovered or deployed during leg 1 of the Endurance 17 expedition. The R/V Thomas G. Thompson is now steaming into the Oregon shore to outrun a…
Read MoreMore Unexpected Visitors
This morning as work on the back deck was winding up with the last anchor secured, the Endurance 17 team was greeted by a huge pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins. The dolphins joyfully swam along the starboard side of the ship, jumping over the ship’s wake, and winning the race. It was a grand site. …
Read MoreA Three Operation Day
Half of the Endurance 17 team was on deck at 6 am to begin operations early for there was a lot to accomplish. Before breakfast, the team had brought the Washington Coastal Surface Profiler Mooring onboard and had secured it to the deck. After breakfast, the rest of the contingent joined in for a full…
Read MoreLife at Sea
The best way to describe life at sea is it functions as a routine. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Deploy or recover ocean observing equipment. Break for lunch. Deploy or recover ocean observing equipment. Break for dinner. Finish deploying and recovering ocean observing equipment, if needed. Most deck operations are completed before dark, so everyone figures…
Read MoreSnazzy Snap Hooks
One of the challenges of recovering ocean observing equipment is to snag large, heavy equipment in moving water and guide it to the rear of the ship for pickup. The Endurance 17 team has made the snagging of this equipment much easier with an innovative design that uses modified commercial off-the-shelf pelican hooks – typically…
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