|
Operations will consist of side-scan sonar work, CHIRP and Uniboom
|
|
seismic-reflection profiling, benthic coring, sifting and sampling,
|
|
ROV surveys, scuba diving surveys, weather studies, rawindsonde
|
|
launches, bird surveys, deep-sea current meter retrieval/placement
|
|
and plankton trawls.
|
|
|
|
Operational Plans
|
|
|
|
The following plans can only be considered a guide as to how the
|
|
to predict weather, operations, scheduling problems and equipment
|
|
failures:
|
|
|
|
a) Benthic Coring/Side-Scan Sonar/CHIRP/Uniboom:
|
|
Benthic cores will be taken in water depth not exceeding 300
|
|
meters with a box corer. Core samples will be analyzed and
|
|
stored. At each coring site, a SeaCats cast using the
|
|
McArthur's SeaCats is requested.
|
|
|
|
A sub-surface profiler fish, the "CHIRP," will be towed before
|
|
and during coring operations. At other times, the CHIRP will
|
|
be used exclusive of the Coring operations. (A Uniboom may be
|
|
aboard during parts of the cruise as a backup to the CHIRP.
|
|
|
|
Side scan surveys will be conducted by USGS personnel.
|
|
|
|
One of the analysis performed will be with a Gamma-ray
|
|
Attenuation Porosity Evaluator (GRAPE), which uses a Cs-137
|
|
gamma-ray source. The personnel bringing this equipment aboard
|
|
will provide a copy of his/her NRC permit, and the associated
|
|
safety protocol and precautions. The NRC permit holder will be
|
|
soley responsible for the safe operation and storage of the
|
|
GRAPE device.
|
|
|
|
b) Benthic Organisms:
|
|
Working in conjunction with the coring project above,
|
|
biologists from UCSC will be on board to opportunistically
|
|
sample organisms that come to the surface in the cores.
|
|
|
|
c) ROV:
|
|
An ROV from NASA-Ames will be used for stereo video transects
|
|
over the tops and sides of 3-6 offshore pinnacles along the Big
|
|
Sur coast. These will provide baseline data on biodiversity,
|
|
distributions and abundances of larger invertebrates, algae and
|
|
rockfishes. The ROV has a 340m tether and is controlled from
|
|
the ship. Two pinnacles will be examined on each of three days.
|
|
The ROV data will also be used to select dive sites for the
|
|
second leg.
|
|
|
|
d) SCUBA Diving:
|
|
With data from the ROV dives as a guide, the six offshore
|
|
pinnacles between Pt. Pinos and Big Creek will be surveyed for
|
|
biodiversity, using photography and collection/abundance
|
|
measurements of organisms. Dives will be between depths of
|
|
30-100'. We estimate 6 dives per pinnacle (site), for a total
|
|
of 36 dives for the project. A dive plan approved by the
|
|
Director of the NOAA Diving Program will be provided to the
|
|
ship before any research dives are conducted. The dive plan
|
|
will include the names of all potential divers. Ship divers
|
|
may be asked to participate in these dives.
|
|
|
|
e) Weather:
|
|
Three 24-hour periods are required to sample diurnal cycles in
|
|
the near coastal winds. Sampling consists of surface
|
|
meteorological observations and Rawinsonde launches at
|
|
intervals of 1-3 hours. Prior to ship departure, scientists
|
|
will mount sensors on the ship at locations relatively free
|
|
from superstructure. A drifting buoy may be launched as part
|
|
of this project. During the second leg, Rowinsonde launches
|
|
will also be made as time permits.
|
|
|
|
f) Plankton Study:
|
|
Plankton trawls will be conducted opportunistically. The
|
|
plankton nets can be hand operated, but easier from a small
|
|
winch. They consist of metal rings 0,5 or 1.0 meters in
|
|
diameter plus a 2-meter long mesh bag.
|
|
|
|
g) Deep-Sea Current Meter:
|
|
This work will consist of:
|
|
1) Acoustically communicating with the current meter at
|
|
36.45N, 122.63W and sending its release command with an
|
|
over-the-side transducer,
|
|
2) Picking up the current meter string upon location at the
|
|
surface,
|
|
3) Deploying a replacement current meter string to be brought
|
|
aboard,
|
|
4) Survey-in and communicate with the current meter, so that
|
|
we are assured of successful functioning.
|
|
The mooring is in about 3200 m of water. The mooring anchor
|
|
will stay on the bottom and the mooring will float to the
|
|
surface sans anchor. There is only about 50 m of mooring cable
|
|
which can be faked on the deck. The recovery will require use
|
|
of the deck capstan to pull the mooring up over the A-frame
|
|
from the surface.
|
|
|
|
h) Bird Surveys:
|
|
Systematic observations of the distributions, abundances,
|
|
behavior and correlated environmental conditions will be made
|
|
opportunistically during daylight hours, using personnal
|
|
binoculars as well as the ship's 25x150 instrument mounted on
|
|
the flying bridge.
|
|
|
|
Itinerary
|
|
|
|
Leg I:
|
|
|
|
March 28 Arrive San Francisco (Pier 30 @ 0900 to fuel;
|
|
depart pier 30 at 1500; tie up at pier 35 at 1600.),
|
|
begin staging for cruise. Complete all staging
|
|
by close of business on 31 March.
|
|
|
|
March 30 Pre-Cruise meeting on board McArthur at 1300 hours
|
|
with principal first leg researchers and ship command.
|
|
|
|
April 2 Depart San Francisco at 0800 for first coring station
|
|
off Ano Nuevo
|
|
|
|
April 2 - April 11
|
|
1) Coring and CHIRP seismic-reflection profiling operations
|
|
24hrs/day.
|
|
2) Biologists sort cores for organisms.
|
|
3) SeaCats cast at each coring site.
|
|
|
|
April 11 Evening - Put in at Coast Guard Wharf in Monterey
|
|
to offload equipment; Alternative is to ferry personnel
|
|
from Monterey or Santa Cruz Harbor. (Note that it may
|
|
not be possible to use the aft crane to unload gear
|
|
in Monterey because of the pier design. Furthermore,
|
|
weather may prevent the ship from reaching the pier.
|
|
Therefore, plans should be made to unload only gear
|
|
which can be hand carried.)
|
|
|
|
April 12 - April 14
|
|
1) Day: conduct ROV dives on Pinnacles along Big Sur Coast
|
|
(from Carmel (36 o 40'N) to Big Creek (aprox 36 o 50'N).)
|
|
2) Night: continue CHIRP seismic-reflection profiling
|
|
operations.
|
|
3) Conduct opportunistic plankton trawls.
|
|
|
|
April 15 Dock in Monterey in early morning.
|
|
Transfer personnel and equipment; depart Monterey by 0900.
|
|
(Note that it may not be possible to use the aft crane
|
|
to unload gear in Monterey because of the pier design.
|
|
Furthermore, weather may prevent the ship from reaching
|
|
the pier. Therefore, plans should be made to unload
|
|
only gear which can be hand carried.)
|
|
|
|
Notes ---
|
|
Data Responsibilities
|
|
|
|
a) Data and samples:
|
|
disposition and archiving of data and sample scollected
|
|
aboard the ship for the primary project. As the representative
|
|
for the dissemination of copies of these data to participants
|
|
on the cruise and to any other requesters.
|
|
|
|
a single copy of all data collected by ship's personnel.
|
|
This data transfer will be documented on NOAA Form 61-29,
|
|
Letter Transmitting Data.
|
|
a list of all data collected by the scientific party.
|
|
|
|
The Commanding Officer is responsible for all data collected
|
|
for ancillary projects until those data have been transferred
|
|
to the projects' principal investigator or their designee.
|
|
Data transfers will be documented on NOAA form 61-29.
|
|
Copies of ancillary project data will be provided
|
|
|
|
b) Records and reports:
|
|
Marine Operations Abstract (MOA).
|
|
McArthur's officers will maintain the MOA during the cruise.
|
|
All times should be recorded as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
|
|
The ship's position will be entered for all operations, and
|
|
other wise every 30 minutes or when changing course or speed.
|
|
of the operations will be integrated into the MOA.
|
|
of the MOA upon completion of the cruise.
|
|
|
|
a cruise report within 30 days of completing the cruise.
|
|
(PMC OP ORDER 1.3) This report will include as an attachment
|
|
the Ship Operations Evaluation Form.
|
|
|
|
Contact Personnel
|
|
|
|
Scientific operations: CDR. Terry D. Jackson, NOAA
|
|
MBNMS
|
|
299 Foam St., Suite D
|
|
Monterey, CA 93940
|
|
(408) 647-4258
|
|
|
|
Ship operations: LT. John E. Herring, NOAA
|
|
1801 Fairview Ave. East
|
|
Seattle, WA 98102
|
|
(206) 553-4548
|
|
|
|
Notes from USGS Bulletin
|
|
Brian Edwards, Rob Kayen, and others from USGS, on Monday completed a
|
|
marathon box-coring program on the Monterey Bay Sanctuary shelf, collecting
|
|
a total of 108 box cores. Brian and Hank Chezar continued on NOAA's ship
|
|
McArthur for a several-day program to biologically explore the "Pinnicles"
|
|
area, southwest of Monterey, with a new ROV of NASA's, where they hope to
|
|
help NASA and ourselves learn of the utility of their new ROV, with an eye
|
|
to future use. Jim Gardner, one of the architects of this sampling and ROV
|
|
program, looked on from the shoreline (or from his porch in Montara),
|
|
domiciled for the week with homemaker duties.
|
|
|
|
MBNMS Sampling Begins: The Monterey Bay National Marine
|
|
Sanctuary (MBNMS) Project recently completed 9+ days of bottom
|
|
sampling on the continental shelf between the Golden Gate and
|
|
Carmel and 3 days of ROV work on pinnacles off the Pt. Sur coast.
|
|
During the sampling work, we occupied 108 stations as part of a
|
|
cooperative effort between BUSGS, EPA, NOAA, Calif. Dept. Fish &
|
|
Game (CDFG), and the UCSC biology department. We sited sampling
|
|
locations in a randomly located statistical pattern developed in
|
|
conjunction with EPA's EMAP design criteria. Box core samples were
|
|
collected for sedimentological (BUSGS), pollution (BUSGS & CDFG), and
|
|
macro- and micro-biological (USGS & UCSC) studies. As appropriate,
|
|
box cores were sub-cored with the Kayen subsampling device and
|
|
sub-cores were analyzed on-board with the Schultheiss Whole-core
|
|
Logging System. All other analyses will be completed in shore-
|
|
based laboratories. In addition, we collected CHIRP high-resolution
|
|
seismic-reflection profiles between sample sites as well as in
|
|
three small surveys off the San Lorenzo, Pajaro, and Salinas Rivers
|
|
in an effort to map recent flood deposits. We recovered distinct, but
|
|
thin flood layer deposits (very soupy, highly oxidized muds) three to
|
|
five miles offshore of the river mouths (< 0.5 cm thick off the San
|
|
Lorenzo, and about 2 cm thick off the Pajaro and Salinas rivers).
|
|
These deposits were too thin to be resolved by the CHIRP system.
|
|
NOAA provided the free ship-time on their "Class III" 175-foot-long
|
|
McARTHUR and organized a press conference and dignitary walk-
|
|
through of the McARTHUR at the end of the sampling leg.
|
|
|
|
We coordinated the ROV work between NASA and the UCSC biologists
|
|
as preparation for UCSC diver surveys of pinnacles off the Pt. Sur
|
|
coast. NASA's interest in this effort was 1) to use their small 250
|
|
pound vehicle in open ocean conditions and 2) to explore the
|
|
potential for future cooperative research with BUSGS scientists. The
|
|
NASA ROV vehicle lacks on-board navigation - a significant
|
|
operational limitation. The vehicle, however, is small,
|
|
maneuverable, has excellent video resolution, and can be used from
|
|
small boats with 110 VAC (both 30 amp and 20 amp) circuits. Dual
|
|
forward-looking cameras with pan-and-tilt capability allow 3-D
|
|
viewing, an arguable plus for driving the vehicle but fun when using
|
|
the "virtual reality" helmet. The operator can select either forward-
|
|
looking or downward-looking images for tape recording. The 1000-
|
|
foot-long tether produced significant drag in currents and required
|
|
anchoring McARTHUR at each station; hence limiting our operational
|
|
depth to about 45 meters. In all, the ROV has potential given
|
|
appropriate project needs.
|
|
|
|
Our thanks to MARFAC for squeezing this operation into their very
|
|
busy April schedule. Amazing how they continually juggle, address,
|
|
and meet competing needs for personnel and equipment. Mobilizing
|
|
in San Francisco and demobilizing in Monterey made their work that
|
|
much more difficult. Larry Kooker and Walt Olson provided their
|
|
usual stellar service. Rob Kayen filled in for Jim Gardner at the last
|
|
minute - Jim owes Rob big-time! My thanks also to Mike Torresan,
|
|
Peter Dartnell, Fran Hostettler, Kaye Kinoshita, and Leda Beth Gray.
|
|
Thanks, Brian.
|
|
|
|
EQUIPMENT SUPPLIED BY SCIENTIFIC PARTY:
|
|
|
|
A) SIDE-SCAN SONAR WITH ALL ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
|
|
(1M X .3M X .3 M IN SIZE,
|
|
100 KHZ FREQUENCY, ABOUT 90 DB OUTPUT;
|
|
WINCH OCCUPIES A 2 M SQUARE FOOT PRINT ON DECK.)
|
|
B) UNIBOOM WITH ALL ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
|
|
(A SURFACE-TOWED SLED, 1.5 M SQUARE,
|
|
HAND-DEPLOYED OVER THE FANTAIL,
|
|
1KHZ FREQUENCY, ABOUT 100 DB OUTPUT)
|
|
C) BIOLOGICAL SAMPLING EQUIPMENT FOR COLLECTION
|
|
OF ORGANISMS REMOVED FROM BENTHIC SAMPLES
|
|
D) DIVER OPERATED PHOTOGRAPHIC, BIOLOGICAL
|
|
COLLECTING AND SURVEYING EQUIPMENT
|
|
E) EMERGENCY BREATHING OXYGEN KITS FOR LAUNCHES
|
|
F) MISC. SCUBA DIVING EQUIPMENT
|
|
G) PLANKTON NETS
|
|
(THEY CONSIST OF METAL RINGS 0,5 OR 1.0 METERS IN DIAMETER
|
|
PLUS A 2-METER LONG MESH BAG) AND
|
|
ASSOCIATED SAMPLING EQUIPMENT
|
|
H) HELIUM BALLOONS AND 6 HELIUM CYLINDERS
|
|
(EACH CONTAINER IS APPROXIMATELY A 12 INCH DIAMETER
|
|
STEEL CYLINDER ABOUT 5 FEET IN LENGTH
|
|
WEIGHING ABOUT 80 POUNDS.)
|
|
I) RAWINSONDE SYSTEM
|
|
J) VARIOUS METEOROLOGICAL SENSORS
|
|
MOUNTED TO SHIP'S SUPERSTRUCTURE
|
|
K) DRIFT BUOY
|
|
L) MISCELLANEOUS PERSONAL COMPUTERS
|
|
M) TWO BOX CORING SYSTEMS
|
|
(BIG BLUE WHICH GIVES A 40 CM BY 40 CM SAMPLE AND A
|
|
STANDARD NEL BOX CORER WHICH GIVES A 20 CM BY 30 CM SAMPLE)
|
|
- BOTH WEIGH ABOUT 1500 LBS
|
|
N) CHIRP SEISMIC-REFLECTION PROFILER
|
|
WITH ALL ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT (EG-WINCH).
|
|
THE CHIRP SYSTEM (DATASONICS CAP-6000) FISH
|
|
WEIGHS 300 LBS IN AIR AND IS ABOUT 0.75 M LONG.
|
|
THE LAB CONSOLES ARE TWO 9" RACKS, EACH ABOUT 22" HIGH.
|
|
THEY WEIGHT ABOUT 100 LBS TOTAL.
|
|
THE FISH TRANSMITS A SWEPT BAND FROM 1 TO 10 KHZ AND
|
|
HAS AN OUTPUT OF ABOUT 200 DB REFERENCED TO 1M.
|
|
O) USGS MULTI-SENSOR CORE LOGGER
|
|
(RADIOACTIVE SOURCE-300 LBS - MUST BE STORED INSIDE)
|
|
P) NASA-AMES ROV (300 LBS) AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
|
|
Q) PORTABLE AIR COMPRESSOR - IN A CRATE
|
|
ABOUT 4 X 2.5 X 2.5 FEET LEFT ON DECK; ABOUT 120-150 LBS;
|
|
GASOLINE POWERED, WITH ABOUT 5 GALS. OF GASOLINE
|
|
R) 500 METERS OF 1/2 INCH WIRE TO SPOOL ON TO BRADEN WINCH
|
|
M295MB EQUIPMENT SUPPLIED BY MCARTHUR:
|
|
A) SHIP'S LAUNCHES AR-3 AND AR-4 EQUIPPED WITH RADIOS,
|
|
300 FT ANCHOR LINES, AND POSITIONING EQUIPMENT
|
|
B) EMERGENCY OXYGEN RETAINED ABOARD MCARTHUR AND
|
|
ABOARD THE LAUNCHES
|
|
C) DEPTH SOUNDER
|
|
D) SCUBA AIR COMPRESSOR AND 8 SCUBA CYLINDERS
|
|
E) WINCHES AND A-FRAMES FOR DEPLOYING CORERS, PLANKTON TRAWLS,
|
|
AND OTHER OVER THE SIDE EQUIPMENT
|
|
F) BATHYMETRIC AND NAVIGATION EQUIPMENT
|
|
G) POSITION LOGS
|
|
H) SEACATS
|
|
|
|
EQUIPMENT NOTES: sidescansonar with all associated equipment:
|
|
(1m x .3m x .3 m in size, 100 khz frequency, about 90 db output;
|
|
winch occupies a 2 m square foot print on deck.)
|
|
uniboom with all associated equipment
|
|
(a surface-towed sled, 1.5 m square, hand-deployed over the fantail,
|
|
1khz frequency, about 100 db output)
|
|
planktonnet: they consist of metal rings 0,5 or 1.0 meters in diameter
|
|
plus a 2-meter long mesh bag) and associated sampling equipment
|
|
rawinsonde system driftbuoy
|
|
boxcore two box coring systems (big blue which gives a 40 cm by 40 cm
|
|
sample and a standard nel box corer which gives a 20 cm by 30 cm sample)-
|
|
both weigh about 1500 lbs.
|
|
sis1000: chirp seismic-reflection profiler with all associated equipment
|
|
(eg-winch). the chirp system (datasonics cap-6000) fish weighs 300 lbs in
|
|
air and is about 0.75 m long. the lab consoles are two 9" racks, each about
|
|
22" high. they weight about 100 lbs total. the fish transmits a swept band
|
|
from 1 to 10 khz and has an output of about 200 db referenced to 1m.
|
|
depthsounder
|
|
planktontrawl
|
|
bathnav: bathymetric and navigation equipment
|
|
seacats
|
