Posts Tagged ‘RCA’
Calm Weather, Smooth Operations
September 7-11, 2023: Leg 4 started with a promising note–good weather and calm seas. Ten new VISIONS students boarded the R/V Thomas G. Thompson to have their first experiences at sea. A large part of operations during Leg 4 are focusing on recovering and redeploying cabled Deep Profiler moorings that host an instrumented vehicle, which at…
Read MoreLeg 3 Fini!
September 4-6, 2023: In spite of weather delays, the objectives of Leg 3 were accomplished. Two of the Leg 3 dives took place at International District, surrounded by hydrothermal vents and chemosynthetic animal communities. The team deployed a RAS/PPS sampler which collects fluid and DNA samples from the vents, specifically a vent known as “Tiny…
Read MoreHigh Waves Delay Operations
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…
Read MoreWeather Delays
August 31, 2023: Due to weather considerations, the R/V Thomas G. Thompson has postponed its departure for Leg 3 of RCA operations. The new plan is to leave the dock at ~1400 September 1. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy an image of stunning soft coral that grows on the carbonate deposit called Pinnacle at…
Read MoreSuccessful Second Leg
August 29, 2023: The R/V Thomas G. Thompson arrived back in Newport to end Leg 2 around 12:30 local time. The team went into high gear to offload and reload the back deck for Leg 3, which heads back out on the 31st. The previous day was a busy one. Jason completed a Benthic Experiment Package…
Read MoreUnderwater Swaps
August 27, 2023: The team arrived at Southern Hydrate Ridge on schedule (~0600). During dive J2-1536, Jason swapped out junction box MJ01B. A series of instrument swap dives occurred at the same location. The medium-powered junction box (MJ01B) the was turned successfully. Jason then went back into the water for dive J2-1537 with a digital still…
Read MoreRobots to the Rescue
August 26, 2023: Just as the team was about to get underway to Southern Hydrate Ridge, a call came in from the R/V Rachel Carson. One of their AUVs was drifting neutral at ~40 m water depth following a mission and couldn’t be recovered. They had attempted to send a signal to the AUV to release…
Read MoreSmall Boat Operations
August 25th, 2023: The team is now at Axial Base. ROV Jason was launched on dive J2-1530 to cut the EM cable of the profiler pod (which had been stuck at 40 m below the surface). Using a hydraulic bandsaw on the front of the ROV, the cut was completed and the ROV returned to…
Read MoreDemob and Mobilization
August 23-24, 2023: Demobilization of Leg 1 and mobilization for Leg 2 have been completed. Some personnel have been swapped. Eight new VISIONS students have arrived and are settling in onboard, ready to acquire their “sea legs.” And the Leg 1 infrastructure was offloaded to be replaced by lots of gear for Leg 2. The…
Read MoreEnd of Leg One
August 22, 2023: Leg 1 came to an end under calm seas and blue skies, as compared to four days of weather during the leg, with winds up to 35 knots (40 mph). Despite the weather, the RCA team had multiple successes. They turned two science platforms on each of the Shallow Profiler Moorings at…
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