Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Cruise Planning Synopsis


AR33: PEACH Recovery

Ship

RV Neil Armstrong

Cruise Party

Harvey Seim: Chief Scientist, Principal Investigator
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 3202 Venable Hall, CB#3300 Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA 27599
+1 919 843 3604
hseim@email.unc.edu

Departure: Nov 16, 2018

Woods Hole, MA

Arrival: Nov 29, 2018

Woods Hole, MA

Operations Area

Offshore of Cape Hatteras, NC
Lat/Lon: 35° 30.0′ N / 75° 0.0′ W
Depth Range: 20 / 4000
Will the vessel be operating within 200 NM of a foreign country? no

Science Objectives

The PEACH project will identify the processes that control the exchange of waters between the shelves along the eastern seaboard of the US (Middle Atlantic Bight and Southern Atlantic Bight) and the open ocean. The processes will be investigated to determine the dominant forcing mechanisms (e.g., Gulf Stream, atmosphere, buoyancy). The understanding of shelf-deep ocean exchange gained through PEACH will be applicable to other regions where shelf and basin-scale currents converge. The detailed examination of shelf response made possible by the sampling scheme, the dynamical understanding achieved by a coupled observation-model exploration of dynamics, and the simulation skill developed over the wide seasonal and interannual variation in forcing will transform our capacity to anticipate the response of the coastal ocean to forecasted climatic evolution of forcing in the coming decades.

Science Activities

This cruise will be the last PEACH cruise and the priority is to recover deployed assets.  We also will repeat much of the CTD survey work done on past cruises.  Specifically, at the PEACH study site off North Carolina (order dependent on weather conditions), we will:

  • recover 2 meteorological buoys (B1 and B2)
  • recover 4 small bottom frames along 30 m isobath (may require divers if pop-up floats fail)
  • recover 6 bottom pods along 100/200 m isobath
  • recover articulated profiler in 1500 m depth (requires TSE winch)
  • recover 7 PIES (900m+ water depths)
  • collect deep CTD stations over PIES 
  • repeat CTD sections - 2 cross-shelf ilnes, at 35.75N and 34.8N - and alongshelf on 200 m isobath.
  • deploy weather ballons during cold air outbreak and NE wind events
  • conduct adaptive sampling with shipboard CTD near the Point, Hatteras Front, and near deployed gliders
  • deploy Argo floats
We will bring gear to drag for moorings, if necessary, and will use the thru-hull transducers for communicating with acoustic releases whenever possible.

We will collect some water samples, for calibration of salinity, and possibly for nutrient analysis. 

Mooring locations are included in a spreadsheet attachment. 

Additional Info

Pre-cruise Planning Meeting: Teleconference

Stations:

Supporting documentation:

»PEACH_sites_actual.xlsx
»AP_test_mooring-Final-crop.pdf
»Buoy_Information_(UNC-CH).pdf

Funding

Funding Agency: NSF
Grant or contract number: OCE-1558521

Scientific Instrumentation for R/V Armstrong

Shipboard Equipment

Bathymetry System 12 kHz
ADCP 300 kHz
Sippican XBT System (Mark 21)
Bathymetry System 3.5 kHz
ADCP 150 kHz
A-Frame
Science Underway Seawater System
EK80 Sonar
Dynamic Positioning System
ADCP 38 kHz
Crane
Shipboard Equipment Notes: Will need TSE winch for mooring recoveries.
Will need radio direction finder for PIES recoveries
Will need Buzz Aldrin to support possible dive operations 
Would like to borrow O2/emergency kits to support dive operations, rack to hold air tanks

Shipboard Communication

Basic Internet access via HiSeasNet
Shipboard Communication Notes: will acquire SST and SSH imagery regularly in support of operations.

CTD/Water Sampling

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

Critical CTD Sensors

Hydrographic Analysis Equipment

Salt Bottles (2 cases of 125 ml provided)

MET Sensors

Barometric Pressure
Air temperature
Precipitation
Relative Humidity
Wind speed and direction
Short Wave Solar Radiation
Long Wave Solar Radiation
Storage Notes:

Navigation

Will you be using Long Base Line (LBL) navigation? no
How many nets? null
How many tansponders? null
Will you be using Ultra-short baseline (USBL) navigation?no

Navigation

GPS
Navigation Notes:

Winches

Other Portable Winch
Winch Notes: will need TSE winch for mooring recoveries
Winch Notes:

Standard Oceanographic Cables

Slip ring required? no
Non-standard wire required? no
Traction winch required? no

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:no
Small Boat Operations:yes
SCUBA Diving Operations:yes

Hazardous Material

Will hazardous material be utilized?no
Describe deployment method and quantity:

Radioactive Material

Radioiosotopes:no

Additional Information

Is night time work anticipated on this cruise?yes
Specialized tech support (Seabeam, coring, other):
Other required equipment and special needs:
tuggers are helpful for mooring recoveries

Checklist & Notes

Checklist

U.S. Customs Form: no
Diplomatic Clearance: no
Date Submitted:
Date Approved:
Agent Information:
Countries:
Notes:
Isotope Use Approval: no
Isotope Notes:
SCUBA Diving: no

Checklist

SSSG Tech: