P06 leg 1 Week 2
by Sabine Mecking and Isa Rosso
(chief and co-chief scientists of P06 Leg 1)
RVIB N. B. Palmer, NBP17-06/P06 Leg 1: Weekly Scientific
Report 02
32.08°S, 172.80°E
11:30pm, Monday, 17 July 2017 (local time and day)
air: 16.4°C, water: 19.2°C, winds: 17 kt from NNE
on station 66
Two weeks into the cruise, we are currently occupying station 66 on a ridge on the west
side of the South Fiji Basin. Over the last week, we have passed the Lord Howe Rise, the
New Caledonia Trough, and a couple of other ridges and troughs with station depths
ranging from 500-3200m and close station spacing. Everyone is looking forward to
deeper waters and more regular (seemingly large) 30nm station spacing that we will
encounter in a week or so, during the second half of leg 1. After a few rocky days on the
NBP earlier in the week, the seas have been relatively calm again thanks to our positon
north of New Zealand, that is protected somewhat from Southern Ocean swells.
We have a great group of students (7 total) onboard who have been responsible
for running the CTD console, operating the LADCP and Chipod, and helping the CFC
group. In addition, the students have been assisting with the collection of various
samples, including alkalinity, pH, salts, DOP, and d15N (plus filtering). They have also
started having a first look at the many types of data collected from the CTD rosette and
the underway systems on this cruise. Favorite past times after/before work hours
include ping pong and movies, plus social time during the additional midnight meal
(“midnight rats” from 23:30-0:30), that is kindly provided by the awesome cooks of the
NBP.
CTD operations have been going well. As soon as the swells picked up, we
started adjusting wire speeds in the upper 1000m or so during the downcasts, to make
sure that tensions did not drop below 500lbs. Bottle salts and CTD salinities agree well,
and calibrations by ODF are in progress. The not-so-good news is that the CFC system is
currently down because water entered the wrong parts of the system. Jim Happell has
been up for the last 16 hours trying to dry things out via baking and to get the gas
chromatography baseline back to normal. There are signs of hope, and we are all
crossing our fingers. The alkalinity system had a few issues last night too, but is back in
operation now.
We just left the Australian EEZ for the second time (Norfolk Island’s 200nm zone
provides an additional offshore EEZ for Australia). One SIO Solo float and one drifter
were launched on July 12 between the two Australian EEZs. In the next few days, two
more floats, one UW Argo and one SIO SOLO, will follow.
We continue to meet with the Captain and MPC of the NBP on the bridge every
day after lunch, to discuss weather and wave outlook, CTD operations and any other
issue that may have come up. We continue to be grateful for ECO’s and ASC’s support
and the long hours that everyone in the science party has been putting in.
Grazie!
(chief and co-chief scientists of P06 Leg 1)
RVIB N. B. Palmer, NBP17-06/P06 Leg 1: Weekly Scientific
32.08°S, 172.80°E
11:30pm, Monday, 17 July 2017 (local time and day)
air: 16.4°C, water: 19.2°C, winds: 17 kt from NNE
on station 66
Two weeks into the cruise, we are currently occupying station 66 on a ridge on the west
side of the South Fiji Basin. Over the last week, we have passed the Lord Howe Rise, the
New Caledonia Trough, and a couple of other ridges and troughs with station depths
ranging from 500-3200m and close station spacing. Everyone is looking forward to
deeper waters and more regular (seemingly large) 30nm station spacing that we will
encounter in a week or so, during the second half of leg 1. After a few rocky days on the
NBP earlier in the week, the seas have been relatively calm again thanks to our positon
north of New Zealand, that is protected somewhat from Southern Ocean swells.
We have a great group of students (7 total) onboard who have been responsible
for running the CTD console, operating the LADCP and Chipod, and helping the CFC
group. In addition, the students have been assisting with the collection of various
samples, including alkalinity, pH, salts, DOP, and d15N (plus filtering). They have also
started having a first look at the many types of data collected from the CTD rosette and
the underway systems on this cruise. Favorite past times after/before work hours
include ping pong and movies, plus social time during the additional midnight meal
(“midnight rats” from 23:30-0:30), that is kindly provided by the awesome cooks of the
NBP.
CTD operations have been going well. As soon as the swells picked up, we
started adjusting wire speeds in the upper 1000m or so during the downcasts, to make
sure that tensions did not drop below 500lbs. Bottle salts and CTD salinities agree well,
and calibrations by ODF are in progress. The not-so-good news is that the CFC system is
currently down because water entered the wrong parts of the system. Jim Happell has
been up for the last 16 hours trying to dry things out via baking and to get the gas
chromatography baseline back to normal. There are signs of hope, and we are all
crossing our fingers. The alkalinity system had a few issues last night too, but is back in
operation now.
We just left the Australian EEZ for the second time (Norfolk Island’s 200nm zone
provides an additional offshore EEZ for Australia). One SIO Solo float and one drifter
were launched on July 12 between the two Australian EEZs. In the next few days, two
more floats, one UW Argo and one SIO SOLO, will follow.
We continue to meet with the Captain and MPC of the NBP on the bridge every
day after lunch, to discuss weather and wave outlook, CTD operations and any other
issue that may have come up. We continue to be grateful for ECO’s and ASC’s support
and the long hours that everyone in the science party has been putting in.
Grazie!
 |
| Students collecting and filtering samples, operating the CTD console, and preparing the LADCP |
 |
| Preliminary CTD salinity data for first 54 stations of P06 2017 repeat |
 |
| Topography of western South Pacific showing completed stations along the cruise track |
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