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TC-99-05 Swordfish Oceanography

TC-99-05 Swordfish Oceanography
April 26-May 9, 1999
CTD Operations
     May 4, 1999    The TOWNSEND CROMWELL continued CTD casts (right) along the 158 N meridian and we reached our northern most station at 33 degrees north on Saturday, May 1. Our track line has brought us in contact with the winter front (as indicated by the satellite image) which is characterized by a sea water temperature drop to 21 degrees Celsius and a peak in chlorophyll levels. The elevated chlorophyll levels indicate high levels of phytoplankton which feed on the high nutrient levels found along the front. This phytoplankton forms the base of a food web that results in higher yields of swordfish. The weather has become more rough with seas at 8 feet and winds over 20 knots. This has made the deployment and recovery of the 1000 pound CTD instrument a challenge. As the ship rolls in the larger waves, the instrument has an increased chance to collide into the ship when it is being lifted over the side. It takes great skill by the winch and crane operators to deploy the instrument safely. coastw~1x.gif - 10375 Bytes
     The Subtropical Front (left) is farther north this year than it has been in past years, and we reached our end station of 33 degrees North before we passed over it. As we are on a schedule, we turned south and started steaming 725 nm to survey a site for a subsurface oceanographic mooring buoy. The survey site is 85 nm SW of the island of Niihau and will include mapping the ocean floor with a powerful depth sounder to determine a safe, flat bottom to moor the buoy, and additional CTD casts to determine water column characteristics. The actual mooring will be deployed later in the Fall by another NOAA research ship, the KA'IMIMOANA (which means "Ocean Seeker" in Hawaiian). The KA'IMIMOANA is a larger ship containing cranes capable of lifting the buoy's 5000 pound anchors and deploying them over the side.
     Related web sites: Yesterdays cruise write-ups for TC-99-05
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Last modified May 4, 1999