Science Verification Cruise I

Ship

RV Neil Armstrong

Vehicles

Cruise Party

Doug Nowacek: Principal Investigator
Organization Name
+1 252 504 7566
doug.nowacek@duke.edu

Chad Smith: Chief Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 38 Water St. 3rd Floor, MS#37 Woods Hole, Ma. USA 02543
+1 508 289 3811
csmith@whoi.edu

Departure: Charleston, SC on May 5, 2016

Arrival: Charleston, SC on May 13, 2016

Mobilization Date: May 3, 2016

Demobilization Date: May 14, 2016

Supporting documentation:

Operations Area: Continental Shelf Edge, off North Carolina

Lat/Lon: 35° 20.535′ N / 74° 51.43′ E

Depth Range: min / max (m)

Will the vessel be operating within 200 NM of a foreign country? no

Science objectives

Test the capabilities of the R/V Neil Armstrong and evaluate the ship's performance and suitability in the following areas:

• Mooring Deployment and Recovery
• CTD and Scientific Seawater System for biological analysis (Radiation Van Required)
• Deploy Argo Float
• Additional Activities yet unassigned as of 1/15/16

Science Activities

Mooring Recovery and Deployment
Doug Nowacek (Duke)
Sci Party Size: 5 People
Retrieval and potential redeployment of a deep water mooring (HARP) off Cape Hatteras.
Location: 35° 20.535 N, 74° 51.430 W
We will be bringing a 70 kHz Simrad EK-60 system that will need to be temporarily deployed over the side for verification exercises.

1. Survey site for appropriate location

2. drop mooring, with pause to verify operation of the active acoustic devices

3. short echo sounder survey over the mooring location to: i) obtain simultaneous measurements from surface and mooring; ii) verify operation of the new echo sounder system being deployed. 

CTD and Scientific Seawater System
Tammi Richardson (USC)
Sci Party Size: 3 People
Targeting cryptophyte populations for collection and preservation and would also be taking samples for pigment analyses. Here are the details:
1. Equipment - CTD (including fluorometer and PAR meter if available) and Niskin bottles for water collection; Use of the ship's flowing seawater (to run through an ALFA spectral fluorometer) for continuous sampling, use of a winch for doing profiles of spectral irradiance (I have a spectral radiometer, it just needs to be deployed). We'd need lab space for filtering water and for the ALFA (it's small).
Radiological Work: 14C photosynthesis measurements (if Lab van is available)

Argo Float Deployment
Pelle Robbins (WHOI)
Sci Party Size: 1 Person
Deployments are quite simple (see photo below). The individual floats are packaged in biodegradable boxes which are simply lowered into the ocean. The boxes weigh 60 lbs and each deployment requires 2 people and about 15 minutes. We would not plan to send anyone of the cruise, though we possibly could if needed.  Our dates are flexible.  We don't have a specific location to go to but our goal is to maintain relatively uniform coverage in the Western North Atlantic.  We would adapt to whatever cruise tracks other scientists request. Our only requirement is to deploy in waters of at least 2000m depth.

 We would plan to deploy 4-10 floats, depending on where the ship will be headed. I've enclosed a map of the current float coverage below - yellow regions are areas which have the highest priority for more floats - however since the floats drift with the currents the distribution is always changing and will look different by spring of 2016.

Pre-cruise planning meeting: Teleconference

Doug Nowacek - Duke Tammi Richards - USC Pelle Robbins - WHOI

Stations:

  HARP Recovery
  Distance: 295
  Days: null
  Latitude: 35° 20.535’ N
  Longitude: 74° 51.43’ E

Funding Agency: ONR/NAVY #00000000000

- added ONR/NAVY #00000000000 on Jan 15, 2016 1:04 PM by
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R/V Armstrong

Shipboard Equipment

Science Underway Seawater System
Dynamic Positioning System
Computer Network
POS-MV
Crane

Shipboard Communication

Basic Internet access via HiSeasNet

CTD/Water Sampling

Wet Labs ECO-AFL fluorometer
911+ Rosette 24-position, 10-liter bottle Rosette with dual T/C sensors
Biospherical underwater PAR (1000m depth limit) with reference Surface PAR

Critical CTD Sensors: 

Storage Notes:

Navigation

GPS

Navigation Notes:

Winches

Mooring / TSE winch

Winch Notes: Winch from John Kemp for Mooring recovery & deployment



Wire Notes:

Slip ring required? no	Number of conductors:
Non-standard wire required? no	Type:
Traction winch required? no	Describe:

Portable Vans

Isotope Van

Other Science Vans:

Over the Side Equipment

Will you be bringing any equipment (winches, blocks, etc.) that lowers instruments over the side? yes

Details: 

• 70 kHz echousounder can be mounted in a tube, moon pool, or pole over the side.
• HARP Mooring (Kemp)

Special Requirements

Elecrical Power: no	Identify:
Equipment Handling: no	Identify:
Inter/intraship Communications: no	Identify:
Science Stowage: no	Identify:
Water: no	Identify:

Additional Cruise Items/Activities

Explosive Devices: no Portable Air Compressors: no Flammable Gases: no

Small Boat Operations: no SCUBA Diving Operations: no

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? yes

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes: no

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise? no

Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other):  Mooring Technician(s)

Other required equipment and special needs:  14C photosynthesis measurements (Rad Van)
Date Submitted: Jan 15, 2016 1:04 PM