The Next 'SEEPS 15'

Ship

R/V Atlantis

Vehicles

AUV Sentry, HOV Alvin

Cruise Party

Christopher Reddy: Principal Investigator
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Fye 107B, MS#04 Woods Hole, Ma. USA 02543
+1 508 289 2316
creddy@whoi.edu

Robert Swarthout: Principal Investigator
Appalachian State University United States
+1 585 727 0799
swarthoutrf@appstate.edu

David Valentine: Principal Investigator, Chief Scientist
University of California Santa Barbara 1006 Webb Hall, Department of Earth Science Santa Barbara, CA US 93117
+1 805 893 2973
valentine@geol.ucsb.edu

Departure: St Pete (Tampa) on Sep 2, 2022

Arrival: Pensacola on Sep 18, 2022

Mobilization Date: Aug 31, 2022

Demobilization Date: Sep 19, 2022

Supporting documentation:

»All_Research_Areas_DLV.shp
»ResearchAreas.pdf

Operations Area: Gulf of Mexico

Lat/Lon: 26° 47.092′ N / 94° 31.827′ W

Depth Range: min / max (m)

Will the vessel be operating within 200 NM of a foreign country? Mexico, but in US waters
Are visas or special travel documents required? no

Science objectives

The primary scientific objective of the cruise is to track the dissolution of hydrocarbons to the ocean by assessing the chemical changes to oil during the progression from sea floor to atmosphere, and to develop approaches to quantify the flux or discharge of oil using unmanned aerial vehicles.

Secondary objectives include assessing the ability of bacteria to consume select components of oil, a survey of oily brine pool(s), sampling and experimentation with water column microbiota, application of Sentry for mid water column chemical plume mapping, sampling of Sargassum communities, and sampling of sea surface trichodesmium blooms.

Science Activities

Alvin Operation at Oil and Gas Seeps and Brine Pools.  This will include:  Oil Sampling; Water Sampling; Slurp sampling; mineral sampling; Coring. 

UAV Operations: UAV (aerial drone) operations will take place from the Atlantis and will involve chemical sampling of surfaced hydrocarbons.  We would like to conduct our drone operations during daylight hours while Alvin is in water, at the dive location. 

CTD Casts:  We plan CTD casts to collect water samples.  This is primarily a nighttime activity.  Estimated number of casts for the entire cruise is 20.

Sentry Operations:  We plan Sentry operations when Alvin is not in the water (= mainly overnight).  We plan to use the MBES, camera system, side scan sonar, subbottom profiler, CTD, oxygen sensor, custom methane sensor (being supplied by Anna Michel), and a hydrocarbon sensor.

Small boat (RHIB) sampling of oil slicks from natural seeps, of trichodesmium surface blooms, and of Sargassum patches.  This will be accomplished using a  net and or pole approach and is dependent on weather and sea state.  We would like to conduct these operations simultaneous with Alvin operations.  We also may wish to use small boat operations in support of UAV flights.

Pre-cruise planning meeting: Teleconference

Stations:

Funding Agency: NSF #1756947

- added NSF #1756947 on Jul 6, 2022 7:24 PM by
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R/V Atlantis

Shipboard Equipment

ADCP 75 kHz
Bathymetry System 3.5 kHz
Deionized Water System
Fume Hood
Multibeam
Navigation - Heading
Navigation - Position
Transponder Navigation - Sonardyne USBL

Shipboard Communication

Basic Internet access via HiSeasNet

CTD/Water Sampling

911+ Rosette 24-position, 10-liter bottle Rosette with dual T/C sensors
SBE43 oxygen sensor
Wet Labs ECO-AFL fluorometer
Wet Labs C*Star transmissometer (660nm wavelength)
Wet Labs FLNTURTD Combination Flourometer and Turbidity Sensor

Critical CTD Sensors: 

MET Sensors

Air temperature
Barometric Pressure
Relative Humidity
Short Wave Solar Radiation
Wind speed and direction

Sample Storage

Climate Controlled Walk-in
Freezer -70°C 25 cu. ft.
Freezer -70°C 3.2 cu. ft. ea.
Refrigerator 8.6 cu. ft.
Scientific Walk-in Freezer


Storage Notes:

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? no

Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation for other than Alvin operations? no

Navigation

USBL

Navigation Notes:

Winches

CTD Winch with .322" Electro-mechanical wire

Winch Notes:



Wire Notes:

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

Portable Vans

Chemical Storage Van

Other Science Vans:

Specialized Deck Equipment

Mooring Deployment/Recovery Equipment Required: no	Type:
Cruise Specific Science Winch Required: no	Type:
Nets Required: no	Type:

Over the Side Equipment

Will you be bringing any equipment (winches, blocks, etc.) that lowers instruments over the side? no

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: yes

Small Boat Operations: yes SCUBA Diving Operations: yes

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? yes

Describe deployment method and quantity:
We are compiling our supplies, including chemicals, and will bring SDS sheets with us shipboard.  

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes: no

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise? yes

Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other):  Multibeam and ADCP experience would be very useful.

Other required equipment and special needs: 

AUV Sentry

Site Survey

Will you provide detailed charts of the work area(s)?  no
Current Chart(s):


If no, will you need Sentry to generate maps of the work area(s)?  yes

Will you need post-dive maps of the work area generated?  yes

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? no

Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation? yes

Will you be using Doppler/GPS navigation? yes

Sensors & Samplers

Magnetometer
410/120kHz Sidescan sonar
850 kHz Sidescan sonor
CTD
Dissolved oxygen
Multibeam maps
Optical back scatter
Sub bottom profiler
What type of samples do you expect to collect?
If only...

Science Supplied Equipment

Are you supplying equipment to be used with AUV Sentry?  yes

Has this equipment been used on Sentry before?  yes

Please give a brief description of the equipment, its intended purpose, the cruise # it was last used on if any and its deployment method.
We have two instruments we would like to integrate into Sentry.  The first is a fiber optic methane sensor developed by Ana Michel's group.  Alexandra Padilla (WHOI postdoc) will sail to focus on that instrument.  The second instrument is a Chelsea Aqautracka Flourometer. This piece of equipment velongs to Rich Camilli and has been used previously on Sentry.

Does this equipment use an external pressure housing?  no

Has the pressure case been tested to the anticipated depth of deployment?  no

Air weight(s) of this equipment?

Water weight(s) of this equipment?

Does the equipment require data or a power interface from the vehicle?
  yes

Does the equipment meet the electrical requirements of the Sentry User Manual?  yes

Cameras & Video

Digital Still Camera: Color

Additional Information

Brief operations description or comments: Alvin operations will take place during the day, with Sentry operations worked in between Alvin dives, e.g., overnight.  Sentry will be used to scout potential dive targets for Alvin, with typical dives involving MBES, Sidescan, Subbottom, and photoimaging.  Sentry will also be used for chemical mapping including mid-water - using the methane sensor and the Chelsea Aquatracka.

Note:  I am unsure about details of these two equipment items and will need to interface with Ana Michel and Rich Camilli.

HOV Alvin

Site Survey

Will you provide detailed charts of the work area(s)?  no
Current Chart(s):


If no, willl you need R/V Atlantis to generate maps of the work area(s)?  no

Will you need post-dive maps of the work area generated?  no

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? no

Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation for other than Alvin operations? yes

Vehicle Equipment

Push corers (12-pack rack)
Search sonar
Scoop nets
CTD
Small capacity slurp samplers
Large capacity slurp samplers: multi-chamber
Bio collection boxes: 12 x 12 x 12
Bio collection boxes: 12 x 12 x 24
Major (dual) pair water sampler(s) with ICL temperature probles
Niskin bottles (2L bottle)
Special micro-bio box 12" x 18" x 12"
Tube cores: 12 core array (12" x 18" milk crate base)
Tube cores: 24" tube cores


What type of samples do you expect to collect?
Oil, sediment, water, seep gas, brine, asphalt, carbonate.

Elevators

Will you be using elevators to transport samples to the surface?  no
If yes, how many would you anticipate? 

Science Supplied Equipment

Are you supplying equipment to be used on HOV Alvin?  yes

Has this equipment been used on Alvin before?  no

Please give a brief description of the equipment, its intended purpose, the cruise # it was last used on if any and its deployment method.
We will bring sampling devices to collect seeping oil.  We are using a simple design that mimics a core tube and can be used with the core tube racks.  We are also designing a system that relies on flow and we would potentially hook into Alvin's existing pumps.  




Does this equipment use an external pressure housing?  no

Has the pressure housing been tested per Alvin Pressure Test requirements?  no

Air weight of this equipment?

Water weight(s) of this equipment?

Does the equipment require a power interface from Alvin?  no

Voltage required

Power required

Data Interface

Does the equipment meet the electrical requirements of the Alvin User Manual?  no

Please provide power and comms specifics, wiring diagram, pinout, and wiring harness in advance of the cruise.

Does this equipment require hydraulic inputs from Alvin?  no
Hydraulic schematic of the equipment requirements.

Does this equipment require manipulation?  yes

If yes, please describe how the equipment is to be manipulated:  The Oil and gas samplers will be mounted to the front basket and deployed/retreived with handles, using the manipulator.



Will this equipment be deployed off the vehicle?  no

If yes, please describe how the equipment is intended for deployment: 

If yes, will the equipment be disconnected from the vehicle and left in situ?  no

How long will the deployment be? 

Will the equipment be recovered by the same vehicle?  no

Do you intend to recover any other previously deployed equipment?  no

If yes, please describe this equipment: 

Does this equipment use any glass spheres, ceramic housings or similar (non-metallic materials) for either buoyancy or as pressure housings?  no

Do you require any electronic equipment in the personal sphere? no

Has the computer or control panel been gas tested for use in the personnel sphere?  no

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized? no

Additional Information

Brief operations description or comments:
We will visit oil and gas seeps, and brine pools. Our goal is to collect seeping oil at the sea floor, with zero atmospheric exposure upon retrieval.

We could use advice on brine pool sampling, as B-ruce has more experience with brine pools than we do.
Date Submitted: Jul 6, 2022 8:00 PM