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Poised for Action

August 9, 2018

Every six months, the imposing, sensor-laden moorings that make up the Ocean Observatories Initiative Pioneer Array need to be “turned”—hauled out of the water and substituted with clean, repaired, and freshly charged replacements. Working in the ocean at the edge of New England’s continental shelf has many challenges, including unpredictable weather and sometimes turbulent seas. Maneuvering moorings into and out of the water from the deck of a ship is itself no easy feat: It requires skill, experience, and seamless coordination between scientists and crew. The blue-and-yellow buoys of the three Coastal Surface Moorings pictured here each weigh about 10,000 pounds, and their gray anchor frames, loaded with instruments, weigh another 10,000. (Photo Rebecca Travis, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)