ECU SSTORM Research Group Blog

Eye on Irene: Watch Out for the First Atlantic Hurricane This Season

2011-08-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Although Hurricane Irene doesn't have an impressive structure (e.g., an eye) at the moment, this sizable storm is forecast to stregthen to a Category 3 storm in a few days. Models of this system (as shown above) disagree on the landfalling future of this system, but the coast of North Carolina will certainly experience effects and could be where Irene comes ashore. Residents need to get prepared for potentially a Major (Cat 3+) hurricane.

A Successful Cruise: Thanks to the Captain and Crew

2011-08-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dale, the Captain, at work. He and the Chief Mate, Bobby, and the Second Mate, Larry, helped us get where we needed to go and sample the seabed.

Tina (left, Marine Tech), Mark (center, Chief Enginner), and Robert (right, Asst. Engineer) stand ready to help with docking...and are glad to get rid of us! The were all always will to help answer questions or fix equipment.

Bob, the Steward, serves up a meal of yummy smoked ham for dinner.

Stephen, an Able Seaman, along with the other deck crew, John (theBosun) and Mark (a fill-in Able Seaman), kept a careful watch on the deck operations...and also helped with keep everything clean with the hose!

8 August

It was a pleasure to return to the Gulf of Mexico and specifically to work aboard the R/V Cape Hatteras. The weather cooperated, making the seabed sampling easy, and the Captain and crew helped us collect all the samples we could in the short time we were allocated. The students worked tremendously hard, and Bob, the Steward, kept us well fed and hydrated. It was a very successful trip, and we now have an impressive number of samples to investigate the record of the Mississippi River flood and other events (e.g., Hurricane Katrina) that have impacted the Gulf system.

Once we hit the dock our stuff was packed and ready for unloading. What took us days to set up and collect, was packed into our vehicles within a couple hours. We have a long drive back, but we're glad were returning with a large load of samples!

I'll wrap up the blogging for this cruise by saying a huge thanks to Dale (the Captain who oversaw the mud mayhem and effortlessly guided us to many sites including those in some tough locations), Bobby and Larry (the Mates who navigated us to countless core locations and helped us sample the many sites), Mark and Robert (the Engineers who kept the ship running smoothly and the A/C pumping!...both are critical in the Gulf!), Bob (the Steward who filled our bellies with many meals), Tina (the Marine Tech who ressurected the CTD and assisted with our many needs), and of course, John, Steve and Mark (who worked with closely on deck, watching for our safety and tolerating our muddy mess, and all the while did this with smiles and a sense of humor). The Cape Hatteras is a special ship, which can really do it all, from coring sites where a person can stand (almost) to sampling the water and seabed at great depths. One of the reason the ship is so capable is the experienced, hard-working and amiable crew. I also need to thank the fabulous group of students who worked long hours on this cruise and made the trip extra enjoyable. Additionally, my co-investigators were a pleasure to go to sea with, and I hope we can find future opportunities to work together. THANKS! J.P.

In the name of science...

2011-08-08T00:58:00.001-07:00

If you look close, you'll notice that the daywalkers are working together with the mud-sucking Vampire Shift. That's right, it's one big scientific family as we work to meet our final goal of stations before we have to start steaming to port (Gulfport). It has been a quick cruise, but everyone (scientist an crew alike) has worked hard to get the job done.

We will collect our last core in about an hour…that will make 68 cores! Thanks to everyone for a job well done. Now it's time for the real work…to the lab!

The Sunshine Shift Shines

2011-08-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Sunshine Shift (Kevin, Devon, Jessica, David, Alisha, Reide)

Having a little fun during a very long day.

7 August

While the day watch (Noon-Midnight) has had the luxury of working during relatively normal hours of the day. I must admit they have worked extremely hard and have had fun doing it. They have collected and processed a ton of cores, and they have worked in intense heat, sweating like dogs and covered in mud. They mean business, but make the work fun by talking, singing, and occasionally, dancing. They have had some very tough days, and we have to thank them for a lot of our progress.

Nice job.

Many Jobs on Watch

2011-08-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Devon cleans off an x-ray tray.

Reide, Jessica and David cut yet another core.

J.P. prepares a multicore tube.

Devon (right) and David (left) clean off a sediment tray before x-raying.

7 August

During a watch there are a variety of jobs that need to be done, including sample recording, coring/ctd operations, cleaning, sieving, filtering, erosion chamber monitoring and interaction with the Captain and mates. Some example photos are above.

Vampires Hunt for Ocean Mud

2011-08-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

A moonlight night on the Gulf of Mexico...

A mud vampire soaks up the moonlight.

The vampire team scavenges for ocean sediments on the Mississippi River delta.

They race aboard the R/V Cape Hatteras to find more magical mud.

The vampire team collects critical samples to learn more.

Vampire making sophisticated mud measurements to better understand the sedimentary system.

Slow core collection leads to an unfortunate vampire victim (Co-Chief Scientist Dr. Reide Corbett).

6 August

A strange group of students and faculty aboard the R/V Cape Hatteras are thirsty for sampling the seabed at night. They roam the ocean with the aid of an amiable and talented Captain and crew who assist this odd coven of mud hungry monsters in finding marine sediments. In the Gulf of Mexico, they have found their nirvana, where massive floods supply millions of more metric tons annually. Over the past few days they have used a multicore to collect copious quantities of the gold for ghouls. This black oozing matter is a mysterious mixture of aluminosilicate minerals, quartz sand and organic materials (both microscopic and macroscopic). Humans have altered the amount of material washing into our coastal oceans through damming (which reduces the sediment discharged) and land–use changes (which generally increases material fluxes). Naturally, the vampires are curious to find out more about how and why. But before they can understand the Earth system and human influences, they must obtain key samples to quantify sedimentation rates and compositional details. Quenching their thirst for knowledge will enable them to provide valuable insights which can inform managers and ultimately help their vampire brethren and the related mud-sucking marine macrofauna. Unfortunately, sometimes there are victims if mud sampling is slowed.

Thanks to Alisha Ellis for the spooktacular photos.

Freaks come out at night...

2011-08-05T13:23:00.001-07:00

The Vampire shift starts at midnight…core thirsty scientist ready to take on the elements to gather mud from the seafloor. Dr. JP Walsh (Chief Scientist), together with Dr. Sid Mitra, lead this band of night walkers. I will be the first to admit that the night shift is tough to adjust to…it's hard to be excited about starting your "day" at midnight. But that hasn't slowed this coven of mud suckers.

The night and early morning hours does provide some different sites to see. I have heard tales of tuna, water spouts, famous drill rigs…impressive indeed! It is interesting to see this crew in the morning…the vampires seem to turn into zombies throughout their 12 hour shift. That said, many still pitch in to help during the shift change. It is always great to see so many people working together for a single goal…the science!

The lead scientists (Walsh, Corbett, Mitra, Xu) often get together between shifts to make sure everyone is up to date on the accomplishments of the previous 12 hours and we all agree on the approach for the next 12 hours. We sometimes make slight modifications to our plan as samples are collected and new information on the sea floor deposits are gathered. Today we are steaming toward the Atchafalaya River delta. Planning on several shore perpendicular transects to the west of the delta.

The fun and excitement continues…

A City at Sea

2011-08-05T12:59:00.001-07:00

5 August

The Gulf of Mexico is huge body of water. But when you are on it, you hardly feel alone. There are so many oil rigs and other platforms and structures that the area can look like a city. Attached are a few pictures that show views of GOM infrastructure and ships, including one shot of the Discoverer Enterprise which drilled on of the relief wells for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill last summer. Looking a the map above, it make you wonder how this equipment in the ocean can survive through major huricanes like Katrina.

Waterspouts!

2011-08-05T11:51:00.001-07:00

5 August

The night shift can be pretty slow. But, every now and then we are fortunate to witness some interesting sights, and tonight's watch did not disappoint. In addition to sampling a few important areas, we were able to witness a very impressive thunderstorm, including a couple waterspouts.

The Sun Sets on the Sunshine Shift

2011-08-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Still happy despite being sun blasted.

A busy, muddy deck...a beautiful sign of successful geological research.

A typical Gulf of Mexico view. Oil rigs are everywhere you look.

Fishing remains a huge industry in the Gulf due to the fertile waters.

4 August 1800

After only 6 hours on watch, the day shift is looking pretty haggard... but in a good way. The sun and heat have been relentless, and the work on deck hasn't stopped. But, despite being muddy and sweaty, they wear big smiles and show no signs of slowing down. A huge benefit for all of us is that the sea conditions have been ideal as you can see from the pictures above.

The cores continue to come up full, and we are very happy with our results thus far. We are seeing the same stratigraphic layers we samples on previous cruises with two important changes: 1) a thin layer (about an inch) of deposition from the 2011 flooding has been draped over most of the area and 2) the benthic organisms have continued to stir the sediments, slowly erasing the seabed record of the Gulf's great hurricanes (e.g., Katrina). So far, our expectations are being confirmed, but we'll see what the coming days have to offer.

Stayin' Alive - The Sunshine Shift

2011-08-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Co-Chief Scientist Reide Corbett is ready for sampling frenzy.

Jessic (left) and Devon (right) battle with placing an x-ray tray into a core.

Alisha sieves a sample to examine the macroscopic benthic organisms.

Kevin keeps working on an endless line of samples for filtering.

David examines a new set of cores to start the subsampling process again.

5 August

After getting a good night's rest and a large lunch (actually their breakfast), the day watch (Noon-Midnight) was ready to rock the fantail in the mid-day sun. Co-Chief Scientist Corbett leads this small group (6 people total) of hard-working scientists. It was another very hot and humid day, so even with a tarp for some shade, they were sweating up a storm within 10 minutes of arriving on shift. Fortunately, the steward Bob and the crew, like John (not pictured), are proactive about making sure everyone is well fed and hydrated. John was nice enough to bring out a cooler with gatorade and water! "Service with a smile." he said, but really just a darn nice gesture!

Let the Coring Begin and The Vampires Come Out

2011-08-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

The first core heads over the side.

Scientists wait with baited breath.

Muddy and sleep-deprived, a couple of Vampires (Sid and Ray) use their remaining energy to focus on cutting a core.

4 August

At about 2100 (9 PM), we arrived on our first site. The "Sunshine Shift" started the sampling, but it was just a few hours until the "Vampires" had to report for watch. Our first hiccup in operations arrived quickly when the Marine Tech, Tina, discovered that the CTD water-column profiling system decided to stop working. These kind of challenges are the norm in oceanographic research and can be frustrating for all. But, I've learned t is always better to have a an positive attitude when things don't work as you hope, and it's wise to have a backup plan. Fortunately, our work is focused on collecting seabed samples, so this isn't a major issue. Of course, Tina would work hard in the coming day to see if she could ressurrect the sytem.

The first two cores went relatively smoothly. The Vampires trickled onto the deck at 2345, prepared to do some work...and ready to lose some sleep. The first night of a night shift is always tough because there is no easy way to make the transition. Most people tried to take a nap that afternoon, but that hour or two sleep is of little help the next morning when you still haven't really slept for 30 hours. It was a busy night, and people kept awake by learning their watch responsibilities and getting stuff done. By the morning, our faces and clothes were muddy, and our minds were numb. Everyone needed rest. But, it was a successful, productive night. As you can see from the lack of many pictures, our focus was on survival.

Safety and Science

2011-08-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

Stephanie races to don a gumby suit.

The thrill of victory shines in Stephanie's face.

Dr. Kevin Xu from Coastal Carolina University talks science during a group meeting.

3 August

After a good taco lunch, the scientists turned their attention to Tina, the Marine Tech, who briefed us on safety and other matters, such as conserving water, limiting web use, and being a good shipmate. Additionally, she showed a brief safety video which reviews emergency procedures, e.g., what to do in the event of a fire, man overboard or abandon ship. It was very informative, and everyone played close attention which was good to see. The fact is accidents happen, and everyone needs to be prepared when living aboard a ship. Once completed we did an abandon ship drill, and Bobby, Chief Mate, reviewed additional important safety concerns and procedures.

We returned to the mess area (location where we eat and, in fact, the crew keeps it quite tidy!) to review the science plan and activities with the science party. I (jp) explained how we are not only looking at the affects of recent flooding but aslo will examine changes in the sedimentary layers deposited by hurricanes Katrina, Rit and Ivan. Everyone was very attentive and sounds eager to get to work.

Into the Great Blue Yonder

2011-08-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Leaving Gulfport, MS for the Mississippi River delta.

The pilot boat trails us out of the harbor.

Dr. Kevin Xu showing students the ropes.

3 August

After breakfast at 0730, we moved our vehicles to a designated parking lot. Then, we were busy making sure the equipment was well tied down before we headed out into the open sea. Students took this opportunity to learn and practice some useful knots, e.g., the bowline and trucker's hitch. Basic knot tying is a critical skill that every sea-going person must know.

We left the dock at about 0900 and started steaming to our study site, the Mississippi River delta, which is about 10 hours away (west).

Final Preparations

2011-08-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Principle Investigators for the research.

Chief Scientist Extraordinaire..."Where's the ship?"

August 2

Today, we set up our instruments and equipment for going to sea. Everytime a new group of scientists boards a research vessel, they need to arrange the lab in the most suitable way for their research. The process of loading equipment onto the ship, getting it unpacked, testing it out and securing it to its temporary home usually takes a day or so, depending on the operations and cruise length, location and ship. The Hatteras is a nicely sized vessel with a large deck and 3 lab spaces, so there are a lot of options for oceanographic work.

Automotive Hiking Across the Vast Southeast Coastal Plain

2011-08-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

August 1
Oh beautiful for spacious skies... yes, there is a lot of sky and wooded areas between North Carolina and Gulfport, MS as well as a lot of fast food signs and highway. We just completed the long drive in record time (without speeding, of course). We got nervous a couple times, because we kept returning to Greenville.
We arrived at the RV Cape Hatteras about 9 PM after completing the 14 hour trek. After a good meal, we're ready for some rest and then to get to work loading the ship tomorrow.

Off to the Gulf of Mexico

2011-07-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

July 31

Tomorrow we'll be getting driving to Gulfport MS to board the R/V Cape Hatteras for another oceanographic research expedition. We will be studying the deposition from the recent flooding of the Mississippi River and will contrast our observations with those we made after Hurricane Katrina (see above). The National Science Foundation is funding this rapid response research.

ECU will be well represented on the expedition, with three faculty (Reide Corbett, Sid Mitra and myself, J.P. Walsh, from Geological Sciences and ICSP) and seven students including two undergraduates (Stephanie Balbuena and Jessica Snyder) and five graduate students (4 Geology MS: Alisha Ellis, Ray Tichenor, Katrina Rabien and David Young and 1 Coastal Resources Management PhD: Devon Eulie). We are working in collaboration with a team from Coastal Carolina University, specifically Dr. Kevin Xu and two students, Preston O'Brien Gayes and Kyle St. Clair.
More later...

Dolphins!

2011-02-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm at home and have some bandwidth I thought I'd post some of the videos of dolphins we saw on the way home. I know the kids will love these. It is alwasy fun to have a pod of dolphins visit!

Back to Wellington

2011-02-21T04:57:00.000-08:00

17 Feb 2011

We made it back to Wellington without any troubles and after a night on the town celebrating our arrival back to port, we spent the 17th packing and preparing our equipment and supplies for shipment back to the U.S. Fortunately, the weather was absolutely perfect for our arrival and unloading. Days like that are few and far between in Wellington, so we appreciated it!

We have had a fun and very successful series of cruises in New Zealand, and it is bit sad that our fieldwork has concluded. But, I'm sure we all look forward to spending some time working on data at home... and then returning for a meeting at some point in the future!

Again, I need to thank the Captain and crew of the Revelle and the Kaharoa who helped make our fieldwork safe, enjoyable, and productive. Also, I want to thank all the scientists and volunteers who worked long hours and in some tough conditions to generate some great samples and data.

J.P.

A Rough Start to a Beautiful Ride Back to Welly

2011-02-17T01:40:00.000-08:00

15-16 Feb 2011

OK, well, the beginning of the trip really wasn't beautiful. It was pretty rough and miserable. It rained a little bit on the 15th during our last couple of sites. But, by the morning of the 16th the strong southerly winds that were expected had not materialized, and it ended up being a beautiful ride home.

Heading home on the 16th... with much better weather!

Life on the Kaharoa

2011-02-17T01:26:00.000-08:00

I don't think I really every have shown any pictures of our living quarters, the bridge and the mess. So, I thought I'd share some miscellaneous shots around the ship. The Kaharoa is a smallish ship (30 m or 90 ft), yet she is very capable of doing work on the open ocean and serves as a very comfortable home for its Captain (Simon), Chief Engineer (Dave, this trip), mates (Steve, Dan and Pete), cook (Carol), and up to six scientific crew.

The ship has a comfortable mess area (where we eat) with a TV (with occasional reception) and a nice large and rotating library of DVDs and books, a moderately sized galley, a spacious bridge, two staterooms for scientists (a quad and a double, both with bunk beds), heat and even air conditioning (which we needed on this trip), and well-stocked freezers and dry stores. There are two labs, a wet lab and dry lab and the deck is large enough for most oceanographic research operations. All in all, its a very practical, functional and pretty cozy ship. One drawback of the ship is that it is a pretty lively vessel during a rough sea as we have had the chance to experience on a few occasions. The best part about the ship are its Captain and crew who really have made us feel at home and as I have said earlier are tremendously helpful, skilled and knowledgeable.

Another Good Day

2011-02-17T00:58:00.000-08:00

15 February 2011

On our last day of work, we conducted a lot of coring near our shallowest tripod location. It was a nice morning to start but the wind had picked up, and the seas were developing. After completing several stations, we headed back to the Port of Gisborne where a small boat was lauched to pick up Dr. Andrea Ogston who was finalizing some details of our stay. Once she and Dan were safely back onboard safely, we starting coring and CTDing near the Waipaoa River mouth and moved our way offshore. The wind was blowing about 30 knots, so by the time we made our way into deeper waters, the swells and seas were much bigger, and working was challenging. We finished our last station at ~6 PM, and started our steam towards Wellington. But, it was hardly smooth sailing. At our cruising speed (~10 knots), the boat pitched pretty wildly about making it difficult to accomplish pretty much anything. Carol, unphased by the weather, whipped up a fabulous meal... meat pie, mash potatoes, gravy, peas and cauliflower. We ate happily and then watched Diehard 4 and then Bruno. Both were very entertaining, and the relaxation was much appreciated.

Sun, Fish and Fun

2011-02-14T01:10:00.000-08:00

14 February 2011

It's Valentine's Day, and I must admit the holiday has been pretty much ignored on our oceanographic research vessel. Before our first core, I greeted the crew, Captain and scientists on deck by saying a big "Happy Valentine's Day", and everyone had a good laugh. But, hugs and kisses certainly were not exchanged. In fact if anything, the verbal teasing may have become a bit more intense...that's our fun while we work all day. Although going to see might seem romantic (e.g., the Titanic movie), the charm is somewhat lost when you are working long hours on a steel, industrial ship and typically with a greater number of men. To make the time pass, we all spend lots of time jabbing at other about everything. Sometimes it can get a bit harsh, but ultimately everyone knows, we are just trying to make fun during a long, hard work day.

Anyway, today we did more coring. The highlights of the day were the fabulous weather, the bountiful fishing (during our transits between coring sites) and the active ocean wildlife (dolphins, birds, fish). Around lunch time, the seas were teaming with life; a large pod of dolphins visited and fish schools surfaced underneath flocks of birds. We were fortunate to catch a few albacore tuna (~2.5 ft long) and some kingfish, but the latter had to be thrown back. Tonight we had some fresh sashimi, in addition to a great meal by Carol; it was great. All in all it was a fun day. I'm sure most of us would have rather been at home with loved ones, but nevertheless, it was enjoyable to have such a good shipboard family to share the day with.

Tomorrow is our last day working in the study area. We will head home in the evening. Sounds like it might be a rough trip because a southerly is developing!

Immaculate Reception of the Tripod!

2011-02-12T23:31:00.000-08:00

13 Feb 2011

Well, I just wrote the whole story and it got deleted...so I'm not going to retype it. But the short version is that we found and recovered the tripod! ... there must have been some divine intervention but I won't go in it (basically, it was in a totally different place than where we deployed it... thanks to a trawler) And the good thing is that much of the equipment appears to be in good shape. We'll know more tomorrow, but we are all very happy. I need to go celebrate with a cold beverage!

Cheers,

J.P.

p.s. One of the likely reasons for our good luck was that it is my wife's birthday (the 13th... my lucky number)! Happy Birthday Denise, sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate. Love, J.P.

Heaps More Coring

2011-02-12T00:56:00.000-08:00

Pictures Above: The pics above show that we've had some good weather... but that it got bumpy today (probably ~8 ft swells with moderate seas under 20 knots of wind). It made work pretty challenging. Yesterday, the crew were excited to find out they they would be doing a trip to Tahiti soon... so, they celebrated by wearing their aloha shirts. Also, we were fortunate that we caught a small tuna yesterday, so tonight we had some fresh sushi and some grilled steaks thanks to the Captain, Simon. As an East Carolina University Pirate, I felt compelled to do my best imitation today while cutting a core.

12 Feb 2011

Since I last wrote, we have been doing lots of coring. We've now collected 31 cores in total and recovered 2 of the 3 tripods. So, yes, an immediate concern is third tripod, particularly for me as this has mostly ECU instruments on it. The good thing is that we have talked to the acoustic release by sending sound from a unit on the ship. So, we basically know where the tripod (or at least the release) sits on the seafloor. But, unfortunately, after sending the release command, a float hasn't popped up on the surface. After waiting a couple days for a float to appear, we decided today to try doing some cable and a large chain to try to bump the tripod and release the float. Basically what this entailed was deploying some cable along the seafloor with a chain attached to the end and then trying to form a loop to nudge the tripod. It sounds easy in theory, but I assure you it isn't. And we had no luck. Even our experienced Captain and crew were seeming a bit frustrated. Tomorrow we will need to get more serious and will use a grappling hook to try to snare the tripod. So, now we remain hopeful but are a bit more concerned. Anyway, enough of that negative thinking. Otherwise the trip has gone very well and the weather has been pretty good... no serious wind, waves or rain. So, the trip has pretty much unfolded as normal... our days have been spent coring incessantly (and eating Carol's awesome meals) and are nights are spent is the port of Gisborne... we finish our deck work about 6:30, then eat a yummy dinner, have an adult beverage or two over some fun conversation and then hit the hay. We're planning to head out on the town for a little social time, but we'll be back early as the engine will start up again at 6AM and we willl coring on the open ocean not long after. As I have said, Carol has been cooking up a storm, so we all are probably putting on some kilograms (we are in New Zealand). But we are doing pullups during the days so our arms are getting some exercise. Also, the boat has been moving pretty well, especially today, so we're burning some serious calories trying to do our jobs and even just to stand in place! Today, we we thinking that most people probably can't imagine what is like trying to work and just live on a smallish ship on lively ocean. The simplest things like going to the bathroom and drinking water or coffee become a real challenge! Of course, the other things like move heavy objects or carrying delicate instruments/samples are that much more precarious.

That's all for now. Wish us luck in retrieving our third tripod and collecting lots more mud!

Best,
J.P

Good Day of Coring

2011-02-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

9 February 2011

Today was a long but productive day. We headed out of the harbor at about 6 AM and arrived home 6 PM. We ended up collecting 10 cores, 4 of which were used for our erosion experiments. The weather was pretty much ideal, not too hot and not too cold. Tomorrow will likely be another long day...we're hoping the weather remains good. The team working in the shed has not been mentioned previously in the blog, but they deserve some credit here. Dan and Andrea have been working with all the instruments in a dark, dirty and now hot and smelly shed. Today, they deconstructed one of the tripods and tomorrow they'll do the other along with some calibrations. I'm not sure what is tougher work... being on the rocking shop or slaving away in the shed. A picture will follow soon!

A Long Steam to the Study Area and the Recovery of Tripods

2011-02-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

After a pretty quick day of packing and a brief chance to watch part of the 2nd quarter of the Superbowl, we boarded the Kaharoa and headed to fuel. After that, we steamed out of Wellington.

The ride north was about 24 hours, but it seemed to take a good while longer to get to the study area as the waves were not large but coming from two directions causing an uncomfortable ride. During the transit some of us worked on processing data and others focued on prepping labs. A couple scientists were sick, and I know I wasn't feeling 100% either.

But, we got to the Gisborne area last night at ~8PM and did a CTD cast in ~350 m (~1000 ft) of water. Then we took a core and tried to take another but failed after 4 attempts. We anchored last night in Povery Bay and got an early start in the morning. Dr. Andrea Ogston arrived via zodiac, and after collecting a couple cores, we headed to the tripod sites for recoveries. I'm happy to report that we recovered two tripods after some trouble... and one of them had clearly been hit by a trawler. The third (on which I have my instruments) is still resting on the seabed. We hope its float will release in the coming days... I'll keep you posted. Gotta run for dinner!

Back to Wellington: The Final Reseach Expedition

2011-02-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are back in Wellington! We return for our fourth and final research expedition to the coast of the Waipaoa River, New Zealand. The nearest city is Gisborne on the northeast coast of the North Island. See a map by clicking here. You can read previous blogs to learn more about our activites, but basically, we are here to recover some instruments that are measuring ocean conditions and collect cores of the seafloor sediments. Our work is part of a collaborative National Science Foundation-funded project to understand sedimentation fromevents (floods and storms), and this research is part of large scienfic program called MARGINS that is aimed at investigation of the coastal (i.e., continental margin) geological dynamics around the world. Continental margins are critical areas of the Earth where most humans live and work.

We met the ship this morning, and it was great to see the Captain (Simon) and crew (Steve, Dan, Pete, and Carol, the incredible cook) who we know pretty well at this point as this is our third trip this year on the R/V Kaharoa. Now, we must work hard to get ready to go to sea today. We visited NIWA (see previous blog about NIWA) to collect our gear. During the drive you can see a photo of Wellington (NZ's capital) and Evans Bay, part of Wellington Harbor. Today, the scientists and crew will spend much of the day getting our gear and provisions sorted and prepped for the expedition. We hope to depart the afternoon. Unfortunately, it might be a bit lumpy during our transit north as the wind is blowing at gale force! But, the marine weather around Gisborne isn't looking too bad for the coming week.

Off to New Zealand and a BIG Thanks to NIWA!

2011-02-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

4 February 2010

Today, a group of scientists including myself, J.P. Walsh, flys back to Wellington, New Zealand to participate in our final research cruise. More on the cruise will follow, but I want to focus this blog on giving a huge thanks to our New Zealand collaborators at NIWA.

NIWA stands for the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, and this New Zealand organization conducts ocean and atmospheric research throughout this amazing country and its territorial waters. NIWA researchers are among the top in the world, and NIWA has state-of-the-art facilities and laboraties for accomplishing important research. Our research team has used the R/V Kaharoa (28 m, ~90 ft) for two previous cruises in 2010 (May and September) following our first expedition on the R/V Revelle, a U.S. ship. The Kaharoa is one of NIWA's several research vessels, but it is considerably smaller than the R/V Tangaroa.

Over the past year during the fieldwork for our collaborative research project, NIWA scientists and staff have been incredible. In addition to working with us on analyzing and interpreting our data, they have helped facilitate all aspects of our research, first and foremost, with the complex logistics of coordinating the research expeditions. There are so many things to plan and prepare for in getting ready for an oceanographic trip, such as shipping, supplies, chemical clearances, safety concerns, food, weather, etc. The personnel in the vessels office, the front office and in the Marine Geology group have been thorough, responsive and very professional. Additionally, they have gone the extra mile (or kilometer) on many occasions, allowing us to borrow critical equipment, use needed space and have flexibility during difficult situations. Last but not least, they have been friendly and enjoyable to work with because they are downright good people! Indeed New Zealand is a beautiful country, and I strongly recommend to anyone and everyone that they come to visit at some point (the sooner the better). Furthermore, if you are scientist or business person, I highly recommend connecting to a New Zealand colleague, so you might to have the great pleasure of working with New Zealanders. Their adventourous spirit, high moral character and courteous nature makes the experience of traveling and working in New Zealand that much more enjoyable. But I digress, let me reiterate here our extreme thanks to NIWA for all their help not only over this past year of fieldwork but also during the many years of the MARGINS research program. They have been great hosts. Last and not least, I must specifcally mention a few key NIWA people who helped facilitate MARGINS-related endeavours, Drs. Alan Orpin, Lionel Carter (now at Univ. of Victoria) and Geoffroy Lamarche in the Marine Geology group and Dr. Charlotte Severne, the Chief Scientist of Oceans at NIWA. Without these people, the various science expeditions and projects would have been impossible to complete.

Off to New Zealand ...with the Fam

2010-11-18T19:33:00.000-08:00

Our stoller is loaded down at LAX as we wait trying to get Molly's boarding pass at Air New Zealand. The first couple flights weren't too bad but the next one is LONG. Should be interesting.

Near the Deepwater Horizon Wellhead Site

2010-09-29T12:45:00.001-07:00

We recently were conducting operations near the DWH wellhead site. It has been impressive to see the two relief-well drilling platforms with my own eyes and up close. The rigs remain floating over the shut-in well site as if they are monuments to the unfortunate events that transpired. A few support ships hover around these giant structures, providing some visible evidence of how big these platforms are. It's hard not to think of the many images that have been shown about the oil spill, from the initial explosion and fire to the oil-stained shorelines and birds. Fortunately, oil is no longer flowing from the well. Last night, flying fish swarmed around the stern of the ship as we retrieved the multicore. It was nice to observe fish that appear active and happy (soaring and crashing aimlessly) so close to the site where things looked so bleak not long ago. Of course, we still don't really know the impacts on the ocean below and the long-term ecological consequences. Our work will hopefully shed some light. Read about our research activities at: http://missionlog.noaa.gov/category/pisces/

Fortunately, the weather has been great with fairly mild temperatures. Last night we had a beautiful sunset.

Tough Day But Ready For More Work ... and Featured on the NOAA Web Site

2010-09-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

The last 24 hours have been challenging. We had some trouble trying to collect a core in very deep water (>2200 meters, which is well over a mile deep). Ultimately, we had to give up at one site because we just could not quite tell if/when the corer hit the bottom, and we didn't want to risk tangling up the corer on the seafloor. Then, after a camera sled tow and CTD, we had a major problem with the winch as we pulled a core to the surface. Fortunately, thanks to the hard and smart work of the crew, we were able to not only avoid losing the corer but also we got a nice sample.

On a positive note, we have had some good success so far and look forward to getting back to coring tomorrow.

Today, it was great to see that our work on the Pisces was featured on NOAA's main web site (see photo). Several of the other scientists and I are visible in a photo prepping the multicore. We're famous :)

What We Are Up To

2010-09-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been very busy, preparing for the cruise, coring, etc. So far things have gome o.k.. although we've had our fair share of hiccups. This is par for the course. We are big believers in Murphy's Law.

Anyway, there was some press coverage about our cruise, so I'll let you read about what we're up to from a couple of the news stories online:

http://www.aolnews.com/gulf-oil-spill/article/noaa-launches-mission-to-solve-bp-oil-mystery/19648228

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2010/09/noaas_pisces_heads_to_deepwate.html

Also, there is an official blog for the Pisces where they will likely will post some pics and details:

http://missionlog.noaa.gov/category/pisces/

I need to go to bed because I must be back up in 5 hours for more coring closer to the now-shut-in wellhead.

J.P.

Multicore Assembly

2010-09-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day. I got up and got to work. I was somewhat surprised to learn that the core was just arriving...by FEDEX! (Wow, that must not have been cheap way considering the size and amount of lead). Also, it came disassembled, so I had some work to do (see picture of core in boxes). But, it was basically a large jigsaw puzzle. I've made good progress today and have more time tomorrow. Now I need to help with some computer stuff (GIS). This software will allow us to see where our core sites are relative the bottom and and pipelines, etc. I better get back to work.

Off to the Gulf of Mexico

2010-09-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

I didn't think I'd be writing about oceanographic adventures again so soon after my NZ travels, but I'm now off to the Gulf of Mexico. I've been asked to be a scientist aboard a NOAA research cruise to look for oil on the seafloor. After leaving the Pitt-Greenville Airport (pictured), which is in the process of a major renovation (so we'll no longer have to cram in a bathroomless waiting area), I made it to Charlotte to catch my flight to Gulfport. From there, I'll grab a 45-min cab to Pascagoula, Mississippi. I'll get to the ship, the R/V Pisces, about 10:30...I hope. From, there I hope to find my cabin and get settled in. I must admit, the company that has coordinated my last minute involvement in this cruise (CSS, Consolidated Security Service I think) has been very professional and efficient. Hopefully, the ship preparations, etc will go smoothly.

I'll try to report back tomorrow. We shove off on Friday.

J.P.

Safety Drills, Donuts and Smooth Sailing Back to Wellington, September 13th

2010-09-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

After deploying the tripods, we ran a safety drill. This is required regularly on ships, and it’s always good to be reminded of what to do in the event of an emergency. I had a friend who was the chief mate on a tall ship, and many years ago she recounted to me a story of her having to lead an abandon ship during a hurricane in the Atlantic. I have never forgotten her tale, and to this day I take drills and learning emergency procedures seriously. Of course, this is good advice for all of us to consider on a regular basis for a variety of emergencies, e.g., what to do in the case of a fire at home or work, a car accident, a tornado or an approaching hurricane. During our time in New Zealand, there was obviously much discussion about earthquake response. Videos reminding people to “drop, hold and cover” aired regularly during the past week. Although the enactments were a bit silly their message was simple, clear and could be critically to saving lives. We all need to be ready for the unexpected, particularly at sea where a calm day can quickly turn into a nightmare.
After the drill, Carol had whipped up some amazing homemade donuts and éclairs. Once we filled our bellies and our allotted time with the collection of a few more cores, the Captain turned the ship to the south and began the long steam home. We fortunate to have relatively smooth seas for the trip home, so we could get all our stuff rinsed with freshwater and packed away and then enjoy the beautiful New Zealand coastline, play some cards and relax. All in all it was a very successful cruise.

Tripods Reployed, September 11th

2010-09-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

After a few days of slaving away inside a shed in Gisborne, Andrea Ogston and Dan Nowacki from the University of Washington have downloaded all the previous tripod data, cleaned the various instrument, reinstalled new batteries and reprogrammed the sensors for the next period of measurements. This was an impressive amount of work, but they were able to get it all done because of their considerable experience at this type of work. We were excited to find out that we received lots of great data from the second deployment. For example, I quickly made a preliminary plots of bed elevation changes and wave heights at the “depocenter” site, and it appears that many large wave events (>5 m or 15ft wave heights) occurred over the last few months causing significant (~3 cm) erosion. This was a surprising result as this is a location where long-term sediment accumulation is know to occur. The data collected will provide us with valuable new insights into sediment dynamics seaward of the Waipaoa River.

We were fortunate to have great weather on the day we needed to redeploy the tripods. So, after some quick checks and adjustments, the pods were lowered to the seafloor. This is a somewhat delicate operation as we need to carefully place the expensive, instrumented systems right-side up on the ocean bottom about 40-60 m (120-180 ft) below. For the first two tripods, we used one of the acoustic releases to detach the pods when they hit the bottom, but for the third we needed to use a slip-ring system, where someone on the ship pulls on a line when the tripod reaches the bottom (see picture of Rip and UW team). This is particularly challenging and potentially dangerous in rough weather, but it went without troubles for us thanks to the small sea conditions.

Sun, Cores and a Giant Worm, September 10th

2010-09-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

The 10th was a good day of coring. We collected a lot of cores and had a lot of fun while doing it. One of the highlights of the day was finding a nasty, giant worm in the base of one of the cores. This thing was ugly and mean. Actually, it bit or poked Reide through a glove. We decided to give the worm our own very technical science name "The Waipaoa Mega Aggressive Death Chicken Worm". I'm not sure where the chicken part came from. Yes, it was as scary as it sounds. As you can see from Alan's face, it wasn't all fun and games, but it certainly was a beautiful day.

Clouds, water and rock: New Zealand is a land (and sea) of beauty

2010-09-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

The other day we were diligently working on processing a core when Reide said to me,”Hey J.P., grab the camera.” Jokingly, I said to him “What? Do you want to take a picture of some clouds, water and rock?” The funny thing is that most of our pictures are of just that: clouds, water and rock. Why? because New Zealand is a beautiful country and because on the ocean, the conditions are always changing, constantly bringing new arrangements and colors of these three features. Although a lot of the time, there isn’t much to see from a ship on the ocean. Occasionally, we are lucky to see some incredible views. Below are pictures of a few of the many great views we've had of clouds, water and rock… p.s. Also, I should mention here that it's my sister, Corinne's birthday. Happy Birthday!

Another Day on the Kaharoa, September 8th, 2010

2010-09-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

It’s 5AM, and the engine grumbles to a start. I’m nudged awake as the ship bumps against the wharf. The calls of birds are replaced by the squeaking of the hull against a tire. When I gain consciousness, I realize that it is pitch black, and it’s time to get moving as the Captain, Simon, and crew are preparing the R/V Kaharoa, our research vessel and temporary home, for another day at sea. I’m comfortably nestled in my bunk, so I’m not looking forward to wrestling myself out of my top-bunk perch and getting to work. I heard rainfall during the night, so I suspect the sunshine of yesterday has been replaced by windy, wet conditions. As the first scientist into the mess area, I fill the French press with ground coffee and hot water and say hello to the stirring crew. Carol the cook greets with me with a warm smile and “G’day” and asks what I’d like for breakfast. Her standard breakfast includes eggs (any style), toast, hash browns, baked beans and bacon. Knowing that Carol will be serving lots of other great food during the day, I opt for a couple eggs and toast. Everyone soon fills the mess to “have a feed” before the first core is on deck. I check in with Simon on the bridge to make sure the latitude and longitude positions for the first few stations are acceptable as we steam toward our first site.

The crew and scientists are a seasoned bunch. Upon reaching the station, everyone has their foulweather gear on and is ready for sampling. Despite light rain, deck operations move efficiently. As this is our second cruise on the Kaharoa, the coring procedure is well choreographed. Steve (Chief Mate), Dan (2nd Mate), Pete (AB) and Alan (NIWA scientist) guide the multicore on and off the ship. When cores are landed on deck, Alan orchestrates their disassembling and sub-sampling with the help of Rip (Univ. of Washington), Reide (East Carolina Univ.) and me (J.P., also of ECU). Our typical duties are: core x-raying (Alan), core slicing and bagging (Rip and Reide) and sieving for macrofauna (me...note in picture that I do get dirty). All the while, students Joey Kiker (ECU) and Julia Moriarity (Virginia Inst. of Marine Science) work endless hours in the lab, conducting erosion analyses of cores; they are excellent workers. Once we get into a routine, the coring moves pretty quick, and before we know it, it’s time for another meal or snack. Thanks to Carol, we are very well fed. In New Zealand, they have “smoco” at 10AM and 3PM. “Smoco” is short for smoke and coffee break, and on the ship, Carol serves up tasty snacks, like cake or cookies. Her éclairs are fabulous (see last cruise), but I think my new favorite treat is the freshly made donuts with whipped cream and raspberry jam. Now, I know all this mention of food sounds pretty decadent, but when you’re working hard on the deck of moving ship, discussion of and anticipation for food can really help keep people going. The other thing which aids in enjoyment of the day is the endless teasing and joking that goes on, and it seems on this ship, everyone is involved in the fun. The reality is that is it can be tough working on the ocean. Sleep, food and some fun make it manageable.

Although the day started like a routine one, our scheduled plan had to be shifted because of unforeseen events (which seems to be typical) As most of the world knows, Christchurch, New Zealand experienced a major (7.1 magnitude) earthquake a few days ago (the day we left, September 4th at 4:30 AM). Obviously, this was/is big news across the country. Although we were not directly impacted, everyone aboard knows people who were there. The person most affected was Simon, our Captain, who lives in Christchurch when not at sea. Indeed, we were really happy to have Simon as our Captain because he’s not only a very competent seaman but also a great guy. Unfortunately, on the morning of the 8th, Christchurch experienced another strong earthquake, and as a result, Simon had to get home to deal with problems caused by the recent events. As a result, we returned to port about mid-day on the 8th. A replacement captain, Evan, met the ship that evening. He has lots of experience. He has captained the Kaharoa previously and now typically works on the larger Tangiroa. Evan is friendly and relaxed and will certainly prove to be a very good captain for us as well. Of course, we wish Simon and all in Christchurch well.

Boarded by Fisheries!!!

2010-09-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

Sept 7th,

It was a good day. Weather was pretty nice, and the coring went well. Of course, the food was great as usual. Attached are some pictures. The highlight of the day was definitely being followed by the Navy ship and boarded by the Fisheries officers. We certainly were not in violation of anything, but a ship we saw earlier in the day throwing lingcod over the side likely was not behaving appropriately. Apparently, Fisheries works closely with the Navy on managing the waters. Unfortunately, I need to get back to eat some dinner. I'll let the other pics speak for themselves. Enjoy. J.P.

September 7, 2010 Day 2…or is it 3?

2010-09-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

We have spent a full day coring…collecting multicores along a shore normal transect from inside Poverty Bay to the upper slope. Amazing how everyone quickly moves back into the needed roles in order top efficiently collect and process the samples coming up on deck.

Julia and Joey feel right at home back in the wet lab…like they never left the comforts of home. The Gust microcosm is working well, at least initially…some modification was eventually needed on one of the flow through turbidity cells, but we got it running again. That is one thing that you have to deal with when "at sea"…you can't simply run to the hardware store when something breaks. You simply figure out a way to make it work…you have no other choice!

Rip and I have been on core cutting duty…efficiently slicing through meters of sediment through the course of the day. Doesn't that sound pretty exciting…yes, we are mud slingers! Alan has taken command of our deck operations…at least we let him think he is in charge. Al never stops moving until everything is processed, cleaned up, and the multicorer is ready to go over the side again. He's an animal…after collecting several cores from different stations, Alan leaves the deck long enough to shoot the x-rays of those cores, but that is about it.

Then there is our fearless leader…Walsh tirelessly orchestrates the whole sampling scheme, when and where, and how…if only he would actually get his hands a bit dirty! OK, OK, I am joking…it is quite the team we have out here, everyone working hard and getting the job done.

On shore, Andrea and Dan are busy downloading data from the tripods and prepping them for the next deployment. Hopefully it all comes together over the next few days…still plenty of stations to occupy and need to redeploy the tripods. The weather has been on our side so far…let's see what the next few days have to offer.

Monday Sept. 6, 2010

2010-09-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

9/6/10 Day 1

We made port in Gisborne around mid-day on Monday (6/9/10) with three tripods in tow (not really towing them, they are on deck). Yes, all three tripods were recovered successfully thanks to a truly exception captain and crew, as well as the experienced scientific party (pat, pat, pat…sorry, had to do it)…everyone chipping in when needed.

We spent the first ~26 hours of the cruise steaming for our first site. Once arriving at our deep water station (~350 meters) at about 1945 hours on 9/5/10, we started several hours of CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) stations. We completed a detailed shore normal and parallel transect at about 0400 and then re-rigged the A-frame in order to deploy the multi-corer at two additional stations. Not a bad nights works…finished it off with a big breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast, beans, and fresh coffee).

Aaahhh, but the day was just beginning. As the winds picked up to more than 20 knots (expected to reach a gale this afternoon), white caps as far as the eye could see, we were all anxious to retrieve the three tripods that have been collecting data (waves, currents, temperature, salinity, turbidity) for the last four months…always an unnerving time. Will the tripods still be there, will they respond, send their float to the surface? As you can see, all three are present and accounted for…YES!!!

See the faces of surprise, excitement, elation…or is it confusion? The fun is just beginning…we start first thing in the morning, collecting cores along the margin.

Return to the R/V Kaharoa: Third Ocean Research Expedition

2010-09-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hello! We have returned to Wellington, New Zealand to board the R/V Kaharoa for our third oceanographic research cruise (of four). It's winter in Wellington and a "Southerly" storm blew through last night. It rained long and hard, and the wind was fierce and cold, but today is gorgeous. The skies are clear, and the strong sunshine is helping to warm the chill in the air. Scientists from the University of Washington (Andrea, Rip and Dan), the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (Julia Moriarity) and East Carolina University (J.P., Reide and Joey) are joining Alan Orpin of New Zealand's National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research aboard the Kaharoa to recover instruments on the seafloor and take water and seabed samples. Our team of scientists is excited to be back aboard the Kaharoa as the Captain and crew were great to work with on our last voyage. Everyone quickly gets reacquainted with firm hand shakes and warms smiles and then back to work getting ready for our next adventure. Today has been spent loading gear and provisions, testing equipment and discussing plans and issues. We are happy to know the ship was just in yard and lots of maintenance, repairs and improvements were made. Of course, "improvements" some times need to be tested, so we'll see how that goes. Fortunately, the crew is very helpful and understanding of our needs, so we are confident they will help us anyway they can.
We have worked quickly and now have equipment lashed down or stowed, so it's time to head off into Cook Strait (the channel between the North and South islands which is notorious for unpleasant conditions). Although it is clearly a beautiful day in Wellington (as you can see from the yacht race pics above), it likely won't be so pleasant on the open ocean. Unfortunately, because of the recent weather, the first part of the our journey looks to be bumpy!

We'll keep you posted. G'day, J.P.

A Bumpy Ride Home

2010-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

26 May 2010

We are happy with all that we were able to accomplish in a relatively short time. On the evening of the 25th, we left the study area so we could make it home on the 26th; it is about a 26 hour transit to Wellington from Gisborne. Apparently, we made the journey at just the right time, just after a strong storm hit Gisborne and right as some nasty weather reached Wellington. We couldn’t have timed it better. Having said that, the trip home was hardly smooth sailing. Large swells remained in the waters offshore waters of Gisborne; the messy storm sea conditions had been cleaned up into relatively consistent, large (~12 ft) waves by the strong offshore winds that followed the storm. These waves caused the vessel to rock significantly but in a relatively controlled fashion, and our steaming during most of the 26th was pretty nice, with good views of the rugged Wairapa coastline. However, the last four hours of our trip were pretty miserable. The waves coming from the north were meeting strong southerly winds (>35 knots) around Cook Strait, and some very unpleasant ocean conditions resulted. After turning into Cook Strait, the building southerly waves (those from the south) were coming along our port side (hitting the left side of the ship). This wave direction coupled with the steep and erratic nature of the seas caused the ship to rock and roll violently and significantly. Doing anything other than sitting and watching TV became pretty much impossible. Fortunately, we had pretty well secured our science equipment and personal effects so nothing was damaged; however, a few coffee mugs were casualties of the seas. At one point, I tried to go to the bathroom and that was an adventure in itself.

Cook Strait is a notorious body of water because not only the violent winds and waves it regularly experiences but also the vigorous currents which flow through the area, making the conditions and navigation even worse. Thankfully, we had just a few hours of these conditions before reaching port. Amazingly, Carol was able to cook up a tasty meal even during our worst rolling. When I was in college I worked as a cook on a tall ship the Sea Education Association’s Corwith Cramer, and then as crew/cook on sailboat in the Pacific, both for a few months. These experiences gave me great respect for the challenge of cooking on a moving ship. Carol clearly has mastered these experiences. It is impressive to watch Carol, the Captain and crew operate during these stormy seas. It is at these times their skills and capabilities are most apparent.

J.P.

Finishing Up

2010-05-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

26 May 2010

After leaving Gisborne, we headed to the mouth of the Waipoa River where the river was high and muddy, transporting much material into the coast. We did some water-column measuring and seabed sampling there and then headed offshore on a long transect of similar work. Also, because it was a nice clear sky after the storm blew through, we took water samples for measure suspended sediment concentrations in the water so we could compare it to satellite images of the study area. We finished our last station at about 6:30. Unfortuntately we we're successful at getting cores at the last two sites, probably because of the massive swells that caused the ship to heave up and down quite significantly, but gently. It really was pleasant and nice conditions to work, but tough for coring.

Then, we started our long trip home....steaming from Gisborne to Wellington (on the southern end of the North Island).

Smiles and Silliness

2010-05-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

25 May 2010

We've had some pretty rough weather and have been working hard. But, we still have found time to have some fun. Actually, I have laughed more on this cruise than on any other I can ever remember. And smiles were plentiful (see pics above). The scientists and crew are all good-spirited, and lots of effort is spent taunting and teasing eachother. This trip has really be a pleasant because everyone has gotten along so well, and the group has really enjoyed all the interactions. I give much credit to the crew, who are more friendly and fun than the other vessels I've worked on (of course they are serious and professional when necessary). As you might imagine for a seabed sampling trip, there is a lot of mudslinging both literally and figuratively. Invitably by the end of the cruise, everyone has ended up with mud on their face at some point. We have found various ways to enjoy the rough conditions. For example, above you can see Rip and Reide doing their ski jump imitations as the deck rolls beneath them. In other shots, Rip prepares for a little snack, and I battle the extreme elements. There is much fund to had on research vessels, even in stormy seas.

Mud Creatures

2010-05-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

24 May 2010

One of my (J.P.) jobs on this cruise is to sieve the seabed mud and sand we collect to examine the organisms living within it. The process is pretty tedious and usually involves getting a bit muddy and wet, but it is also pretty fun, partly because I like getting muddy, but also because I never know what animals I’ll find. Just like soils on land, there can be a lot of organisms which make sediments their home. See the pictures above. Not surprisingly, worms (segmented ones called polycheates) are quite common. One of the interesting critters I came across first was a snail with a very ornate shell. Apparently, this snail is pretty well known as it appears on the New Zealand passport. Another interesting critter I found was a shrimp; he/she wasn’t too happy to see me. My favorite seafloor dwellor is the brittle star. These are also quite common and are fun to watch move!

Carol the Cook and her Marvelous Meals

2010-05-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

24 May 2010

It is arguable, but I’m pretty sure the most important person on a ship is the cook. Good food really makes the difference between a happy ship and a miserable one. (Of course, the Captain and Chief Engineer are pretty critical too, but you get my point.) Carol, the cook on the Kaharoa, is awesome, not only does she whip up some fabulous food but also she bounces about the ship making sure things are tidy and people are doing well. Her smile greets us in the morning, along with the massive plate of hot breakfast food she prepares for everyone. About 10:30, we have a “smoko”, essentially a coffee break, but Carol usually makes a tasty treat (e.g., the éclairs pictured above) Lunch arrives about 12:30, and has consisted of a great variety of foods such as yummy sandwiches, pizza and scrumptious mac and cheese. Afternoon tea time is another nice break for a tasty morsel. Dinners are the most elaborate meals, usually including fish or other nicely cooked meat, potatoes or rice, and a variety of vegetables. For example, last night we had our choice of sliced pork with apple sauce, lamb with pepper sauce, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, and potatoes o’gratin. I encourage you to give Carol’s pepper sauce a try; it would be great with beef or lamb. I loved it. Off the top of her head, here ‘s the recipe:

Carol’s Pepper Sauce
300 mls cream
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of cracked paper
1 teaspoon of chicken stock

Carol also prides herself on her delicious desserts. Some of the stand outs include a chocolate self-sourcing pudding, marshmallow ambrosia, and the banoffi pie (which she modified from a magazine recipe). Carol recommends Edmonds Cookery Book. For those looking for a new dessert, give this a try:

Banoffi Pie
Base
150g butter
250 g gingernut biscuits crushed

Topping
125 g butter
395 g can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
300 ml whipped cream
2 bananas, sliced (Carol made ½ with sliced strawberries)
Shaved chocolate to garnish

Directions:
Prepare the base- Melt butter and stir into crushed biscuits. Press into the base and sides of a loose-base flan tin. Refrigerate until firm.

Prepare the topping- Combine butter, sweetened condensed milk and golden syrup in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until boiling, reduce heat, stir constantly further 5 minutes. Spread caramel over base. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Spread slices of banana in a single layer over the caramel. Spread whipped cream over banana. Decorate with remaining sliced of banana (and or strawberry) and shaved chocolate.

Bon appétit!

Rough Morning, Beautiful Afternoon

2010-05-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

23 May 2010, Rough Morning, Beautiful Afternoon

Yesterday's storm is now moving off to our east, so the winds have eased. Simon, our captain, knows we have much to accomplish, so he gets the ship and its occupants moving early. The very able and dedicated crew are quick to rise and have rapidly prepared for our departure from Gisborne (we came in last night to seek shelter from the storm and get some labwork done.) I (JP) hear the engine start at 6AM and start waking up. After a few minutes, I step into the mess area, and people are stirring. Of course, Carol is already slaving away in the galley, preparing another fabulous (and large) breakfast.

On our steam out to our first site, it's obvious that some messy waves have been left behind. We refer to these conditions as a "confused sea", indicating the waves appear to be coming from every which direction, creating a quite uncomfortable ride on the ship. At our first site for sampling, the coring operations don't go smoothly. Due to the challenging conditions, instead of cancelling all operations, we decide to head farther south to a site more in the lee of some of the weather. The sun starts to peak through the clouds. At our second and subsequent sites, we have nice views of the Poverty Bay shelf coastline, with scenic cliffs illuminated by sun rays and rainbows. Ultimately it turns out to be a beautiful and very productive work day. After coring at sunset, we head back into Gisborne at dark, to rest up and maybe get some tripod deployments done in the morning… but another storm approaches.

Rockin' and Rollin'

2010-05-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

21 May 2010, storm arrives

The day after recovering the tripods a storm hit the region, and the weather and seas got ugly... eventually But, we really have a lot to get done, so we decided to head out and try to do some work. The ship got away from the dock about 630, and we made some good progress but eventually the storm conditions caught up with us and coring became unsafe. As we moved offshore to our next site, I (JP) decided it really had gotten too rough to operate safely. This ended our day short, but we were safe and had gotten some samples, so we were very happy.

Gisborne Port of Call

2010-05-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

Steaming into Gisborne.

The Kaharoa isn't so big next to this logging ship.

Steve prepares for docking.

Daniel tends the docking lines as storm clouds approach.

20 May 2010, afternoon

With a ship overloaded with tripods and a storm on the way, we needed to head into port. Gisborne is the northern most city on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island, and it is located in Poverty Bay, just north of the Waipaoa River mouth (the primary source of sediment for our research). The City has a small port, used for logging exports and some container shipping, and it is a regional hub of commercial activity. Also, it is well known for its good waves in the surfing community. My few opportunities to surf here (J.P. talking here) agree with this notion.

Arrival into a port is always exciting for ship crew and passengers, so many were scattered about the ship to view the scenery as we steamed in. Our Captain, Simon, carefully navigated us up the channel, and the crew rapidly and skillfully secured us to the dock . Upon arrival, we worked hard and quickly to get the necessary equipment unloaded. After work was complete, people scattered quickly. Some, like me (J.P.) went to find out about the shed we rented and how we could get equipment moved. Others headed to stores or place with the internet. Still others, just took the time to relax, take a walk and enjoy the stillness and strong TV and phone connections.

Three Successful Tripod Recoveries! ...and before lunch

2010-05-21T02:45:00.000-07:00

20 May 2010, Noon

Last January we deployed some equipment on the seafloor to measure ocean conditions over time. This is a critical part of our project, the mission of which is to understand how layers of sediment are deposited by storms and modified by subsequent processes (in case you aren’t familiar with or forgot what we’re doing). The technology we now have to examine oceanographic processes is truly amazing; for example, we can monitor variations in currents throughout the water column from impressively small, rugged sensors that sit near the sea bottom. We usually attach several different types to a metal frame and deploy this “tripod” to the ocean floor. Then, we return some time later (4 months in our case) and send a special sound to an acoustic device which releases a rope and float which comes to the surface. Now all of this probably sounds pretty simple in concept. But the reality of setting up these various, expensive instruments (most of them $3,000+), strapping them to frames, getting them off a moving ship, lowering them in a controlled fashion to the seabed and then finding them and picking them up months later is really not a easy process. Also, it is a bit nerve racking… for a few months. Yes, we have insurance on most of our equipment, and we certainly have back-up systems and plans, but nevertheless, the whole thing is a bit stressful. Obviously, some of our concern comes from the fact that the ocean is vast and dynamic, but one our greatest worries is the possibility of human interference with our systems. Even in remote waters of New Zealand, fishing is common. During our last deployment we saw several trawlers.

So, hopefully after writing all this, you can appreciate how we were all much relieved to see the tripod floats pop to the surface when released acoustically (although our the primary release on one of the tripods refused to deploy initially!)

Below are some pictures of the tripod recovery process. Notice the deck of the ship filled with the three tripods. We were forced to recover all of them in succession because of our limited ship time and the approach of a storm. We are very happy to successfully retrieved all three and have gone into the port of Gisborne to unload the tripods, download their data (hopefully the instruments worked!) and get them ready for redeployment.

Daniel, one of the ship’s crew, throws a grappling hook to grab the acoustically released tripod float and enable us to haul up the equipment.

Calm seas allow for a relatively easy recovery. Note the crowded deck with the other two tripods already onboard.

Rip Hale, a graduate student at the University of Washington, is happy to see the tripods back...so he might have some good data for his dissertation!

The Captain, Simon, checks out a tripod...and the baby spiny lobsters who have made it their home.

Dr. Andrea Ogston from UW, a queen of tripod work, surveys the tripods for damage. She's happy to see them on deck.

Fun in the mud…

2010-05-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

19 May 2010 Just before Midnight

We have started slinging mud here off the coast of New Zealand. It was about a 27 hour steam around the NE tip of the North Island to our study area, the Waipaoa Margin. It was about 10pm when we arrived…no sense waiting around for daylight, there is mud to collect. The crew of the Kaharoa (Simon, Steve, Dan, Chief, Carol, and Pete) has been fantastic and very accommodating…willing to do what we need to complete the science, including dealing with the fact that we wanted to work through the night (tough when you only have 6 people running a 28m research vessel!)
So, we are planning to core 4-5 stations throughout the night and retrieve the tripods in the morning. Looks like the weather may turn for the worse in a day or so, the more we can get down now the better. Again, the need for flexibility s important when working out here…go with the punches so to speak.
This cruise we are all working on one team…no A and B team. So JP and I will have to set aside our competitive spirit…or at least channel it in a different direction, maybe see who can eat the most of Carol’s fabulous cooking!

Trains, planes, automobiles…

2010-05-21T01:57:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

It seems like we used about every mode of transportation available to actually get our scientific crew to Auckland and ultimately aboard the R/V Kaharoa. It was Monday evening when most (not all, Julia and Joey will meet us in Gisborne) of the WISE ASS (Waipaoa Investigation of Sediment Energetics And Shelf Sedimentation) group finally met for the first science meeting of the cruise. Plans were set for the next day, meeting the ship, loading, and ultimately setting sail. We had hoped to leave Auckland mid-day to get to our study area in time to retrieve one or two tripods before sunset. That turned out to be impossible based on the logistics of loading the Kaharoa, getting needed supplies, and making sure the CTD is operational. Like any oceanographic cruise, you have to be flexible, work with the hand that is dealt. We will work it out, make sure we leave with everything we need! It certainly looks like we have a very capable ship and crew to do the job!

The R/V Kaharoa was berthed at Queens Wharf in downtown Auckland. A city of about 3 million known for its sailing. Apparently the water front had a significant facelift prior to the 2000 America's Cup. It is a nice water front! In fact, we saw an incredible rainbow just as we were loading our gear. We also had an impressive sloop tied up near us…~150 sailboat made for cruising the seven seas…comfortably! I imagine sitting in the hot tub on the bow tucked in a quiet cove of a deserted island would be a nice way to spend an evening. I took a lot of pictures so I can start building my own. Finally, after several hours of loading and prep work, we tossed our lines and left the city to our stern. What a view…Auckland seemed to get prettier as we steamed away at sunset. Let the real fun begin…

Boarding the Ship in Auckland

2010-05-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

So we made it to New Zealand without troubles. Upon arrival to Wellington at 9AM, we went to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) to meet up with Alan Orpin, our NZ colleague. At NIWA we found the equipment we had left in the country and got it ready for being trucked up to Auckland, along with the other ship equipment. With the multicore, CTD, and all of our stuff on the truck, there wasn't much room left.

That afternoon, we met with the Chief Scientist of NIWA, Charlotte. We had a great conversation about the upcoming cruise, our scientific collaborations and future work. She has been very supportive of our efforts, and we are very thankful.

That evening, we stayed in Wellington, and over the next two days we made our way to Auckland to meet the ship. We took a circuitous route north to avoid some nasty weather across the western part of the North Island. We're fortunate to enjoy some beautiful scenery and a few nice stops.

Last night we arrrived in Auckland and have found the other scientists. Today we board the ship and hopefully we start steaming to Gisborne.

Here are some pictures from the last few days...

Back to New Zealand

2010-05-12T21:21:00.001-07:00

Just got on the plane to head back to New Zealand...and I'm sitting next to Bon Jovi! Apparently he's a frequent flyer... thanks for the crackers JBJ!

The Waipaoa River Floods

2010-02-01T13:49:00.001-08:00

Well, the timing of our cruise was perfect. The cruise just ended, and the river just went into flood. The Waipaoa River reached an 8.4 m stage (see figures; these provisional data are from http://www.gdc.govt.nz/environmental-monitoring/)

According to the following article http://www.gdc.govt.nz/assets/Files/Conservation/SER-LandSoilBiodiversity.pdf, this was a 10-year-flood event.

This is exciting because we have three tripods sitting out on the shelf and ready to see some mud. Hopefully, they are happily collecting data at the sites where we left them.

Trying to Get Home

2010-01-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

Well, the cruise was very successful. We collected a heck of a lot of water-column profiles and seabed samples as well as deployed three tripods. The next challenge was/is to get everything packed and home safely. This is not as easy as it sounds. The major hurdles are 1) getting everything to fit in some containers (requires some shopping), 2) getting everything on the flights or shipped (we opted for the former), 3) avoiding samples being taken by customs and last but not least 4) actually surviving the trip. Fortunately or unfortunately, we are suffering through the last step. As I text this message we are arriving in Charlotte after our second red eye. Apparently the jetway we pulled up to was broken so they are towing our plane to who knows where. But we are not really in a rush as we have yet another long layover (3 hr). Our layover at LAX was so long (9 hr) that we decided to leave the airport to find some good Mexican food. The sunset photos are from when we decided to walk back. It was wonderful visit to LA. Hopefully we will be home soon.

There really is just ONE team!

2010-01-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

Our days at sea have come to an end. We sailed into Wellington this
morning and have arrived at the Port of Wellington. After all the
mudslinging on deck and online, hard to believe that JP and I could
handle each others company. Quite the contrary...those that know us
enjoy our competitive nature and see the results that come of it. This
cruise has been no different. We are all quite happy with what has been
accomplished over the last several days, especially JP and I. We talked
at length about the cruise and our next steps in the science...we
haven't solved all the world's problems yet, but we are working on it!

The work completed here in New Zealand could not have been done without
an enthusiastic team of scientist and a competent and knowledgeable
captain and crew...we had the best. Thanks to all...the amount and
quality of work could not have been done without us all working as a team!

B Watch ... the Dream Team

2010-01-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

In fact, we now prefer to call ourselves “D Watch” as we have proven to be the “Dream Team” on deck and in the lab. We had a few slip-ups early, but after learning the ropes (pun intended), you’d be hard pressed to find a drop of mud on our deck or a sample left unfiltered. We secured our lines and labeled all our samples. Notice that we had to wait until the end of the sampling to post a blog because we were so consumed with our work. This was clearly not the case with another watch which apparently found time to blog, watch movies, play ping pong and eat… a lot. I won’t mention any names (A Watch).

But enough of the comparisons, the fact is we had an all-star cast. During our last watch I walked around talking photos of the B watch members as they worked tirelessly doing their typical jobs. See the photos. Read related text below.

Dick - Salty Deckhand and Tripod Master

April - Super Deckie

Alan "The Hammer" Orpin - Mr. Fix-it with X-ray Vision

Bella - Macrofauna/Microfauna Manic

Julene - Deck Sargeant and Extreme Clipboarder

Julia - Erosion Expert

Victoria - Fantabulous Filterer

J.P. - Ping Pong Wizard and Watch "Supervisor" (i.e., slacker)

Note: I have no idea what this thing is that I am posing on. I just thought it made me look smart and official.

On the deck, we had the salty dogs Dick and April; both are former Coasties. They hooked gear and hauled taglines rain or shine, and then lugged cores and bagged samples until the deck was clear. Dick, a seasoned veteran of oceanographic research, also helped coordinate the tripod deployment. Alan “The Hammer” Orpin had a split personality. He was constantly maintaining the multicore and CTD, making sure no bolt was left untightened, and once a core hit the fantail he whirled into action, extracting samples and x-raying sediments. Bella “the Rhinestone Cowgirl” effortlessly operated the A-frame and sieved countless samples while looking chic in her diamond-studded sunglasses. Our Deck Sargeant was Julene. She kept everyone on task and recorded all our actions with her trusty clipboard. Julene also was a core processing machine,although our short supply of core extrusion caps may be a reflection of her passion for rapid core cleaning  Last but certainly not least, I must highlight the hard work of our lab rats, Julia and Victoria. They are the unsung heroes of our watch; they worked long, painful hours in the bowels of the ship. Victoria collected water and filtered samples like crazy. It was not an exciting job, but she made the most of it and snuck out on deck with some regularity to help with deck processes and view dolphins. Julia and Joey (on A watch) were the slaves to the erosion chamber. This equipment required constant attention and TLC, and Julia and Joey did a fabulous job processing many samples. They both hardly saw a ray of sun over the duration of the cruise, yet they maintained a positive attitude and smiling face through it all (almost).

Because of the fact that I had such a great watch, I was pretty much able to kick back, relax and “supervise” operations from the lounge and galley via the TV’s Deck Channel . It was a difficult job, but somebody had to do it.

Tonight is our last night at sea. The labs have been mopped; the equipment stowed. Now, scientists and crew have found a little time to do their laundry and get some much needed R and R during the long steam back to Wellington. We are due to arrive at 0800.

Leadership

2010-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

Leadership is critical to the success of any mission. The role of a
leader is particularly important at sea where the risks are large and
emotions run high. There are many different leadership styles. For
example, some can be excessively relaxed and apathetic, ignoring safety
concerns and proper work protocols, and disparaging and overly critical of
co-workers. Others can be completely the opposite and totally engaged in
and passionate about their work. Such leaders are typically mindful of
all safety guidelines, diligent in following science procedures,
respectful of and friendly with authorities and co-workers. During our
cruise, the watches have been lead by two very different styles (see
photos). The photo of Dr. Reide Corbett highlights how he takes a fairly
"hands off" approach in his leading. What you cannot see in the photo is
one of Corbett's angry tirades on watch, smashing ping pong balls
violently and cursing loudly at shipmates. Dr. J.P. Walsh, on the other
hand, is amiable, attentive and always puts safety first. The superior
performance and greater camaraderie of the "Dream Team" (B Watch) speaks
loudly to the importance of leadership.

The End is Near...

2010-01-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well the collection of samples has finally ceased, but the fun
continues. The A-Team finished up the sampling this morning at 5:50 AM
at a site just off of the Mahia Peninsula. By the looks of some of the
pictures taken prior to our shift, it looks like the B-Team continued to
have a good time. I think their group picture sort of describes the way
they got their work done as well...good thing the A-Team was there to
pick up the slack, eh JP (the B-Team R-L: JP, Alan Orpin, Victoria
Rosin, Julene Marr, Bella Duncan, Julia Moriarty (low), April Brown
(high), and Dick Sternberg). At the B-Team's last station, JP and Alan
were greeted to a pants full of mud...gotta love fun at sea. Although
we are done collecting samples (no more mud), there is still plenty to
do. Everything needs to be broken down, washed with freshwater (see the
wash-up crew on deck), and packed. That said, we have about a 20 hour
steam to our final destination , Wellington, so there is some time for
recreation...FINALLY! Sid and I led the Pirates to victory over the
Huskies in a mean game of Ping Pong...although to be fair it was best 2
of 3. We are finishing up some lab experiments and making sure all of
the gear is ready to be stored.

It's a good day to be at sea!

Down to the wire…

2010-01-20T02:11:00.000-08:00

We have approximately 17 hours left before we must leave our study area and start heading south for Wellington (~24 hours of steaming). The science crew has been working feverishly to collect all the samples we outline every day. We have occupied more than 65 stations (the approximate number at the end of my watch a couple hours ago). Our volunteers from New Zealand have been an incredible resource…we could never have completed all of this research without their hard work and dedication to the science…we really appreciate their efforts!

We have continued to collect CTD data, water column samples, and cores from the sea bottom. JP, Alan, and the day shift also collected some seismic data in Poverty Canyon the night before last. Julia and Joey have been working non-stop on the erodibility measurements from cores collected from a variety of sites across the shelf and slope…this will provide a unique dataset on the spatial variability of this important process (erosion/resuspension).

With all the work that is getting done, it is hard to believe we have still found time to enjoy some free time as well. We have started a make shift ping pong tournament (JP is pretty much ruling…you know that is driving me crazy), a few people jumped in the hot tub, and others have found an interest in the mini-series "Weeds" (the ship has a huge library of DVDs). So everyone finds their own way to wind down after their 12 hour shift…

The weather has really cleared up over the last few days. The sunrises have been spectacular…really make you appreciate being at sea. The seas laid down and we even put the rescue boat in the water yesterday to grab some photos o

The Mud Slinging Continues

2010-01-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

Greetings Everyone! It's Day 6 of our cruise on the R/V Roger Revelle, captained by Dave Murline and the mud-slinging between the "A" Team and the "B" Team continues. As mentioned in an earlier blog, both teams are fervently deploying the CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth), coring for sediments, running the erosion chamber, filtering water, processing cores for isotopes, grain size, x-radiography, organics, running seismic lines, etc. I'd like to note that the volunteers have been incredibly hard-working!! By the way, not that any of us are competitive or anything but the "A" Team (midnight to noon) seems to be conducting ALL of their tasks the most efficiently (be it the wee hours of night or the beautiful sunny days we have at hand). What's particularly noteworthy is that members of the team are still finding time to eat meals during their shift and relax in the ship's hot tub. What can we say….we're just damn efficient…heck…they ought to name a TV series after us! Despite all the hard work, views like Young Nick's Head from the ship sure do make it worthwhile. After the two remaining days of the cruise, we begin our steam to Wellington where a few days of packing up our samples and muddy clothes and perhaps a cold beverage or two awaits!!

This blog was entered by Sid Mitra (a mostly objective member of the "A" team).

The Mud Assault Continues

2010-01-19T03:39:00.000-08:00

Somewhere off the New Zealand Coast: I no longer can remember what day it
is, but I know we've got just 2 shifts left for each watch. The weather
has become very cooperative; the gentle rocking of the vessel reminds us
that we are at sea, but is not much of a hindrance to our productivity.
We continue to CTD and core across, along, and around the Poverty Bay
margin. Some of you might be wondering what the heck a CTD is. Briefly,
this instrument measures the Conductivity (salinity), Temperature and
Depth of the water, along with some other parameters, such as dissolved
oxygen, light transmission (related to turbidity) and flouresnce (related
chlorophyll), depending on the system. We deploy this instrument over the
side of the ship and lower it to the bottom. During the profile we can
watch the data on a computer display. The CTD is also connected to a
water sampling system which allows us to "fire" a water bottle at a given
depth and collect a water sample. We typically do this so we can measure
the amount of turbidity in the water at specific depths to compare with
the instrument-measured data. That's probably enough detail. Attached are
a couple of related pics: one of Kristen and Caroline taking water from
the CTD's Niskin bottles. Two of Reide directing a CTD deployment
(including one taken from a small boat). Also, you can see a close-up pic
of the Poverty Bay coastline as well as an image of the multicore meeting
the Waipaoa River Mouth.

At this point, we have completed over 50 stations and have deployed and
recovered equipment over 100 times. There have been a few hiccups,
including a couple lost tagline poles and a CTD brushing of the bottom,
and few problems continue to pose challenges including a burned out
erosion chamber motor and a struggling x-ray system. But all in all,
things are going well. After completing a long trancsect of CTDs from
from the river mouth to the outer shelf, we ran a short survey over
Lachlan Canyon. This provided some valuable additional data on the
sediment cover of this region, adding to our existing dataset from
previous cruises to understand sediment thickness and character. Of
course, we still have more mud to collect. I better get down to the deck
because my watch starts in 10 minutes!

The A-Team

2010-01-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

Good Day for the A-Team (from R-L: Joey Kiker, Leis Van Kerckhoven, Emma Graham, Carolin Seeburger, Rip Hale, Kristin Lee, Sid Mitra, and yours truly in the back)...ok, I mean the night shift. We had a productive night (I guess technically it is morning; midnight to noon) on our last shift. The sunrise shed light on an incredible landscape (see the background to the A-team photo); we were within a mile or so of the NZ coast, pretty spectacular. We didn't necessarily get through a lot of stations this past shift, but we did a good job on the ones we tackled and had a good time in the process. We all work well together and everyone knows there job...there are many (A-frame operator, squirt boom op, tag liners, the deck captain (that's what I like to call myself), mud cutters, x-radiographer...the list goes on). Unfortunately for Joey, he has been the teams "lab rat", running erosion experiments with our new Gust Erosion Microcosms. We let him scurry out on deck this morning to help with the CTD and multi-corer at one of the sites. Truth be told, he (and Julia on the "B-Team) has been working extremely hard and what can be a fairly frustrating job! We have been working through a few problems with the Gust system (see the photo of me "fixing" the motor assembly...in my defense, this was after my 12 hour shift), but getting great data none the less. Our spatial coverage of the shelf is pretty extensive, even this early into the cruise. We hope increase our spatial resolution near the tripod sights in the next day or so...essentially tying the sites together from a benthic perspective. OK, time to try and fix this motor, finish slicing a core and try to get some rest...

Wet and Bumpy

2010-01-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

The last 24 hours can be described pretty well as wet and a bit bumpy. It has rained on and off so foul weather gear has been required for much of the deck work. We have had quite a bit of trouble with the multicore trigger. Corbett has been befuddled by the problem. But, we have eventually resolved the problem and things are working better for the moment. Alan, Danny (the Chief Engineer) and I (jp) repaired the trigger pins and installed a hose clamp on the core. Hopefully, it will keep working. We have had a fair share of other problems with filtering, etc. but we are ironing those problems out and now are working pretty efficienty. Above are some photos of the main lab and the multicore so you can get a little perspective on the landscape.

A big success yesterday was the succesful deployment of the last tripod. Dick Sternber, Rip Hale and Kristen Lee from UW were superb in orchestrating the tripod prep and recovery. The whole operation was directed by Andrea Ogston who unfortunately couldn't come to sea with us, but thanks to her oversight and expertise it all went over ok.

The picture of the Dog Door is to highlight how important it is to secure things at sea. The second day the Captain yelled at me (as person in charge at the time) because people weren't closing the door and locking it. I have have relayed the message. Now all are safe and happy.

More later,

J.P.

Walsh needs sleep...

2010-01-14T17:40:00.001-08:00

Wow, a face only a mother could love...or could she?

Here comes the rain...

2010-01-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

Well JP called it, it started raining on us at about sunrise and has been doing so off and on. Combine that with 30 knot winds, 6-8 foot seas and you have quite the weather for working outside on an oceanographic research vessel. As has been stated, we are on 12 hour shifts; I (Reide) was lucky enough to get the midnight to noon shift. Although I don't think most of the "senior" people are really going off shift much. THat can take a toll on you...I mean look at the picture of JP for heaven's sake. After some rest, JP and I did manage to plan out next few stations. Over the last 12 hours, we have occupied about 4 different stations; dropping the CTD and collecting water samples, coring, and most importantly ALL of the tripods are now deployed. Cross your fingers...we hope to recover those beauties in about 4 months with loads of wonderful data! With all the tripods now safely on the ocean floor, we will turn our focus to just the CTD and multicore. We hope to knock several stations out in the next seeral hours...the weather is only suppose to get worse and the waves get bigger. Great, who called for that forecast? Time for me to head to my bunk...let the ship rock me to sleep!

A Pretty Good First Day

2010-01-14T07:00:00.001-08:00

It's 3:30AM and I've (JP) been on since about 8 AM. It's time to call it a night. It was a pretty day, actually, it was downright sunny, and a few folks got some serious sun. But now, the wind has picked up and is now blowing pretty good, at ~25 knots. Tomorrow looks like rain... fun.

There has been a lot going on today. In the last hour I've been working on fixing a pump and a filtering system for the Erosion Chamber. This is a typical type of cruise problem. Things always decide to stop working, but now it looks like we're back in business.

Overall, it's been a pretty successful day, but we've certainly had our problems. We got two tripods deployed and have CTDed and cored at a few sites now. We had quite a bit of trouble with the multicore earlier, but after many failed attempts, we eventually for the issue (tigger was not locking in place) and got it repaired. Hopefully we can have a productive day tomorrow.

I need to hit the hay. G'Day, J.P.

Sorry, I'll try to get some pics up in the morning.

And We’re Off….Finally!

2010-01-13T05:23:00.000-08:00

After much preparation getting set up, we've finally set sail for Poverty Bay and adjacent coastal areas (the map is from a recent paper by Clark Alexander and others). Everyone is excited to do some sampling. A tugboat pulled us away from the dock. With the help of a harbor pilot, the Roger Revelle was pointed out of Tauranga Harbor. A small pilot's boat pulled up beside the R/V Roger Revelle to retrieve the harbor pilot. On our way out, we passed by a pleasure cruise – that picture has been included to remind everyone that unlike the folks on the pleasure cruise, we are working hard....really! Anyway, since exiting the harbor, we've been doing about 30 knots heading toward our first station with the hopes that the conditions of the water column and the seabed will be conducive to deploying the first tripod. Estimated time of arrival at the first station is 10:30 Thursday January 14th New Zealand time (that's 18h ahead of US East Coast Time which is indicated in a subtle unobtrusive manner via the date stamp in some of the pictures).

For purposes of evenly distributing workload, two 12h shifts have been set up: a midnight-to-noon shift and a second noon-to-midnight shift; there are eight scientific crew per each shift. Once we get to the first station, the first task will be sending off the rosette with the Niskin bottles and collecting conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data. After that, we will deploy the multi corer and retrieve some cores to get an idea of the seabed. If all looks good, we will deploy the first tripod. Getting everything going at the first station is always a challenge but we have an eager and hard-working group so we will get er done!!

G'day everyone!

The Last Full Day Before Departing the Dock

2010-01-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

Finally…… the last bits of cruise preparation are underway. The crew of the R/V Roger Revelle has been doing their utmost to help us get prepared to depart as planned at 16:00:00h on Wednesday January 13th, 2010. Most of yesterday and today involved final stages of finding and setting up equipment, including loading instrumentation on the tripods and assembling the multicorer. The multicorer will be used to collect sediments along the way at all of our stations. The volunteers are also now onboard helping out by securing everything down. For those friends and family members who are expecting to see us upon our return, if we look a few kilograms heavier, it is mostly for one reason: we can't stop eating the awesome food that Mark the head cook onboard the Revelle has been preparing. This will be the last blog sent from onboard the R/V Roger Revelle before it gets underway sailing out from Tauranga Harbor out into Poverty Bay. High seas, here we come!

Let the fun begin...

2010-01-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 11, 2010

We began moving and unpacking some of our gear on the ship on Sunday afternoon. The main focus was to construct the three tripods and make a list of supplies we needed to pick up (extra bolts, wire, silicone spray, etc.). We moved quickly and accomplished quite a bit in a short time (see the picture of the construction). Today (Monday, January 11), our day started by moving out of our hotel and onto the R/V Revelle. It is quite the research vessel, a very impressive ship and a competant/helpful crew. JP and I (Corbett) were able to pick up the remaining ECU equipment from storage (it had arrived in Tauranga, NZ in early December) and deliver it to the ship. We spent the remaining part of the day unpacking and organizing the labs. This is no small feat…it is a bit more difficult to set up a mobile laboratory. You need to be prepared for all kinds of weather and waves…anything and everything must be secure. Don't want your equipment ending up on the deck because of rough seas! A day in port wouldn't be complete without another trip to the local hardware store for additional supplies (all those little things that were left at "home"). All in all, things are moving quite smoothly…just busy!

On the Ship

2010-01-11T02:35:00.001-08:00

Well, today has been a big day of work on the ship. We have found and loaded all are stuff and are unpacking and organizing it. Now is when we start realizing what we're missing and making contingency plans. So far, we aren't missing anything major, but a few things have forced up to come up with some alternative plans and extra expenses. Of course, this is par for the course.

The Captain and crew have been really great and helpful. They have been very welcoming and clearly are sincere about aiding us in getting our science completed. Last night we had a nice social with them on the dock next to the ship. It was a fun to get to know some of them. Turns out I was at sea in Alaska with one of the engineers, Alex, back in 1995! Yes, it's a small world.

Alan Orpin, our great New Zealand collaborator, arrived this evening. We have enjoyed catching up with him.

Tomorrow will likely be another long day. I better get some rest in my cozy bunk.

G'day,
J.P.

The Poverty Bay Research (PBR) Group Arrives in NZ

2010-01-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

After approximately 35 hours of travel, we arrived in Tauranga, NZ at noon on Saturday January 9th…quite tired, but excited for the adventure to begin. The flight was relatively uneventful and we passed through customs with our equipment in tow. We arrived at our hotel (Oceanside Resort) and met up with the remaining US contingency of the scientific crew. Unfortunately, the R/V Revelle was still going through sea trials, so there would be no accessing the ship until Sunday. With some time on our hands, we decided to take a quick dip in the ocean (JP and I can’t seem to go near a large body of water without going for a swim) and planned to climb Mt. Maunganui in the evening (hoping to catch the R/V Revelle heading through the channel back to port). The swim was cooler than expected, but that didn’t stop us from body surfing for 30 minutes or so. We grabbed lunch, picked up some rations at the store, and worked in our room for a couple hours…yes, that’s right WORKED, this isn’t a vacation after all! Around 1700, we all started heading up the trail (mostly made of steps) to the peak of Mt. Maunganui. We brought a few bottles of local wine along to toast the beginning of the cruise…or at least the beginning of preparing to get on the ship. Afterwards, we trekked back down the mountain, grabbed dinner at a nice Mediterranean restaurant and went a grabbed some much needed shut-eye. I think we are all in bed fast asleep by 2230.

Sunday January 10, 2010

Everyone was up early…not sure if that is because the sun was well into the sky by 0600 or that it was noon on our bio-clocks. In any event, we were up and moving…at least after we all had our first cup of jo. The ship did not make it back into port last night…clearly the word “trial” in sea trial has had its impact. They have been delayed, but the communication I got from the ship stated that they should be back to port around mid-day. That is giving us a bit more time to plan, track down our gear, and obviously write this update to the Blog. Things will begin to get pretty busy in the next several hours…plan to have a science meeting with the group that has assembled so far and head to the ship to begin constructing the tripods.

We took a couple of videos as well…check them out: http://www.youtube.com/user/papaswami2005

More photos can be found here...http://picasaweb.google.com/jpwalsh2/NewZealandTrip#

For those who are trying to keep up with our travels, NZ time is 18 hours AHEAD of US Eastern Standard Time. (FYI…time stamps on the photos are based on Eastern Standard Time)

Video from Mt Manganui

2010-01-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Alas! ...we reached the summit.

Land Ho

2010-01-09T15:17:00.001-08:00

New Zealand in sight! FINALLY. I was promptly yelled at by a stewardess for taking his photo.

Flight friend

2010-01-09T15:15:00.001-08:00

On our LA flight I (jp) was seated next to two nice guys from NJ and Atlanta. Brian from Atlanta was on his way to meet his wife for the first time...literally. He met her on Facebook!! And they were meeting to get married...Amazing!

We're off.

2010-01-07T19:29:00.001-08:00

And it's nice to have the jet out of Greenville. Also, we're glad to get out now as snow is heading this way. Fortunately we got out of Charlotte before any flakes hit.

Cleared Customs

2010-01-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

We made it through the difficult screening in PGV...and are boarding flight#1

Ready to Go

2010-01-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

We are fully loaded. Got charged some heavy fees for excess baggage but are now ticketed.

The Eve Before Departure

2010-01-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

Here's the Graham Building which has been bustling with activity in preparation for the cruise. On the eve of departure, there were many creatures stirring, printing maps, packing boxes, etc.

To Learn More about the Research in New Zealand

2010-01-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Check out the information on this site created for a previous research cruise:
http://coastal.geology.ecu.edu/nz/index.php

Check the Status of the Revelle...

2010-01-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

You can check where the Revelle is at any time (and see photos) but visiting this site:

http://rtapps.ucsd.edu/hiseasnet/rtship/index.php?ship=revelle

Taken from the ship’s camera of the port of Tauranga…

The Roger Revelle

2010-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

You can learn more about the Roger Revelle here: http://shipsked.ucsd.edu/ships/Roger_Revelle/

Some random R/V Roger Revelle pics from the web…

Off to Tauranga, New Zealand

2010-01-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Sid Mitra, Reide Corbett and I (J.P. Walsh) are off to Tauranga, New Zealand tomorrow to meet R/V Revelle.

Where is Tauranga? Find out by viewing in Googlemaps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=tauranga+new+zealand+map&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGIC_enUS262US263&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Tauranga,+Bay+Of+Plenty,+New+Zealand&gl=us&ei=0_xES6SLO4-alAeil71Z&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA

Pulling My Hair Out

2010-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Sid, Reide and I leave for New Zealand tomorrow. Getting everything sorted, packed and/or finalized before the trip is a bit stressful.