Posts Tagged ‘Pioneer 18’

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.

The OOI Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was used to conduct an inspection (using the ROV cameras) of equipment on the seafloor. The ROV mission team monitors progress during the dive from a control station, with the lights out to enhance contrast for the imagery. Jared Schwart is in the foreground. Jennifer Batryn is to his…

A Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) rests on the bow of the R/V Neil Armstrong. This is a bird that is rarely found north of the Caribbean, and is an extreme rarity as far north as the Pioneer Array. Brown boobys feed on flying fish, and this bird may have been looking for its favorite prey…

Deployment day for the Offshore Surface Mooring (OSSM). The Multi-Function Node (MFN) sits on the fantail of the R/V Neil Armstrong awaiting final testing. The acoustically-triggered release (yellow case) is connected to the ship’s winch wire and will be disconnected when the MFN reaches deployment depth.

During Pioneer 18, ten moorings will be recovered. Once close to the ship, crew members grab the moorings with a hook, and direct them to the stern of the ship to be brought onboard

Three gliders will be deployed during Pioneer 18 and remain in the water for the next six months, collecting data in the water column between the Pioneer moorings.

Weather conditions and time constraints during the Pioneer 17 cruise precluded complete recovery of the Offshore and Upstream Offshore Profiler Moorings. If time and conditions permit, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) lead Jared Schwartz will used an ROV to complete the recovery of these two moorings, as well as several anchor recoveries.

The Pioneer 18 Recovery and Deployment mission will be conducted in two legs. The back deck of the R/V Armstrong will be filled with equipment on both legs as the team recovers ten moorings and deploys eight moorings and three gliders.  Shown here are three coastal surface moorings.