TROPICAL ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN (TAO) PROGRAM

                                                                             

                                                       FINAL CRUISE INSTRUCTIONS 

                                                                           FOR

                                                                       RB-04-11

                                                       October 27 – December 1, 2004

 

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:

 

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                     TAO - Dr. Michael McPhaden

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                     GCC - Dr. Dick Feely,

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory            Dr. Rik Wanninkhoff

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                     Atmospheric Soundings- Dr. Nick Bond

NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory                     DMS, Dr. Timothy Bates

NOAA, Environmental Technology Laboratory                         ETL- Dr. Chris Fairall, Dr. Jeff Hare

NOAA, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab.          Drifters- Craig Engler

University of Hawaii                                                              ADCP -  Dr. Eric Firing

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)               Phytoplankton - Dr. Francisco Chavez

Brookhaven National Laboratory                                            PRP- Dr. Michael Reynolds

 

   

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 

A major objective of the TAO/TRITON Array is to facilitate understanding, modeling, and prediction of global interannual climate fluctuations associated with the El Nińo-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon.  To this end, the TAO Project has implemented an ocean-atmosphere observing array in the tropical Pacific Ocean to initialize, force, and verify ocean prediction models.  The TAO/TRITON Array consists of approximately 70 ATLAS moorings and current meter moorings within 8-12 degrees of the equator and spanning the Pacific Basin from 95 W to 165 E.  Data from the array are both internally recorded and reported in real-time via Service Argos.  The array is being maintained under sponsorship of NOAA’s Environmental Research Laboratories as part of the ENSO Observing System for NOAA’s Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate Prediction Program.

 

TAO Program Director

Dr. Michael J. McPhaden

PMEL, TAO Project Office

7600 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98115

(206) 526-6783,  -6744 (fax)

Michael.J.McPhaden@noaa.gov

 

Area:    Eastern Equatorial Pacific

 

Itinerary:                                                           

RB-04-11           St. Maarten, NA                                                             Depart: 21 October 2004

                        Balboa, Panama                                                            Arrive/depart: 27 October 2004

                        Arica, Chile                                                                   Arrive 01 December 2004

                       

 

 

 

CRUISE DESCRIPTION

 

Cruise Objective and Plan:

 

The objective of this cruise is the maintenance of the TAO Array along the 95W and 110W  meridians.  The scientific complement will load mooring equipment on the ship in Charleston, SC during the week of September 13th. The ship will depart St. Maarten, NA on October 21 and transit through the Panama Canal to arrive Balboa, Panama on or about October 27.  Scientific personnel will embark on October 27, 2004 in Balboa, Panama.  The TAO cruise will complete operations on or about December 1, in Arica, Chile, where all scientific personnel will debark and all scientific gear will be offloaded.

 

 

         AMC  Operations:                                                          TAO  Operations:

         LCDR Jim Meigs, NOAA                                                 LCDR Brian Lake, NOAA

         NOAA/AMC (AMC1)                                                       PMEL, TAO

         439 WEST YORK ST                                                     7600 Sand Point Way NE

         Norfolk, VA 23510-1114                                                  Seattle, WA 98115-0070

         (757) 441-6844                                                               (206) 526-6403

         Jim.Meigs@noaa.gov                                                     Brian.Lake@noaa.gov

 

 

1.0  PERSONNEL

 

1.1   CHIEF SCIENTIST AND PARTICIPATING SCIENTISTS:

 

Chief Scientist:              David Zimmerman

 

The Chief Scientist is authorized to revise or alter the scientific portion of the cruise plan as work progresses provided that, after consultation with the Commanding Officer, it is ascertained that the proposed changes will not: (1) jeopardize the safety of personnel or the ship; (2) exceed the overall time allotted for the cruise; (3) result in undue additional expenses; (4) alter the general intent of these instructions. 

 

A list of participating scientists follows in this set of specific cruise instructions.  All participating scientists will submit a NOAA Health Services Questionnaire form approximately four weeks prior to sailing.

 

Participating Scientists

 

Name

Sex

Nationality

Affiliation

David Zimmerman

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/TAO

Keith Ronnholm

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/TAO

Korey Martin

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/TAO

Mathew Fowler

M

USA

NOAA/PMEL/VENTS

 
Gary Wick
 
M
 
USA

NOAA/ETL

 
Sandra Castro
 
F
 
USA

University of Colorado

 
Virendre Ghate

M

India

University of Miami

Ieng Jo

M

Cuba

University of Miami

Henry Arteaga

M

Ecuador

Naval Oceanograpic Institute (INOCAR)

Jeremiah Reynolds

M

USA

Brookhaven Nat. Lab.

 

 

      

 

 

2.0  OPERATIONS

 

The cruise track and details of station work are summarized in Appendices A and B.  The cruise will involve underway operations (Section 2.01) between stations, including  CTD/water sampling stations (Section 2.02), mooring recoveries, deployments, and repairs (Section 2.03).  During the cruise, it is requested that the vessel provide to the Chief Scientist an updated operations spreadsheet (similar to Appendix A) with actual times and speeds made good for the entire cruise.  The TAO project will provide regular updates of buoy positions during the cruise in order to recover those adrift.

                                               

2.01      Underway Operations

 

2.01.1  ADCP (Firing)

 

A ship-mounted ADCP system will be used to continuously measure the currents in the upper ocean along the trackline. At a minimum, data from the ADCP will be logged from the start of the transit once in international waters (or waters for which there is research clearance) and continue until leaving international waters.  For calibration purposes it is essential that bottom tracking be activated at the start and end of a cruise when in water depths shallower then 500m.  The ship's Electronics Technician will be in charge of data storage (hard drive to disks and/or CD’s as necessary).  The ADCP will be interfaced to the ship’s GPS receiver and will receive data at one second intervals.  The clock on the ADCP IBM computer will NOT be reset while underway.  ADCP operating parameters will not be changed without the permission of the Chief Scientist; in consultation with Dr. Eric Firing, and after informing TAO personnel of the intended parameter change.  All ADCP data will be provided to the chief scientist and sent to Dr. Eric Firing at the University of Hawaii.

 

Accurate ship navigation is essential for valid ADCP current measurements.  The ship will provide a fully operational GPS receiver and Seapath 200 system (or equivalent) for navigation input.  Ship’s ET will select proper GPS codes to enable ADCP navigation data collection.  The ADCP will be interfaced with the ship's gyro so that accurate heading information is available to the ADCP.   A  manual comparison of the ADCP heading/gyro reading will be logged by the Electronics Technician while the ship is dockside, at the beginning of a cruise and checked periodically throughout the cruise. For calibration purposes, “Bottom Tracking” should be activated whenever the ship is transiting water shallower than 500m.

 

Due to compatibility problems, the ADCP is not interfaced to SCS, so GPS navigation and gyro inputs must be connected directly to the ADCP system.  If the ADCP becomes interfaced to the SCS, then the ADCP data will be recorded on both the ADCP recording system and the SCS.  Appropriate data storage systems will be connected to the ADCP system for ADCP data collection.  The ADCP data recorded on the IBM has course and speed information from the navigation data which is exactly time coincident with the ADCP ensembles.

 

The ADCP system will be operated by ship personnel and will continuously log data to the ADCP zip storage disks during the entire cruise.  If necessary, the ADCP data disks will be changed when full.  Full disks will be labeled and backed up.  An ADCP log will be maintained by the Electronics Technician and a check of the ADCP recording of heading, time, velocity and navigation information will be done periodically to ensure the system is operating properly.  Any inconsistencies, such as heading, time, and/or navigation input not in agreement with actual/expected, will be noted in the log and reported to the Commanding Officer and Chief Scientist.

 

Principle Investigator:

Dr Eric Firing, University of Hawaii                       efiring@iniki.soest.hawaii.edu

 

 

 

 

2.01.2  SST and SSS

Sea surface temperature and salinity will be recorded continuously with a SEABIRD SBE-21 accurate to within 0.1 C and 0.01 psu.  The Survey Technician will translate the data from the thermosalinograph to ASCII.  It is the vessel’s responsibility to ensure that the thermosalinograph is calibrated, at a minimum, annually.

 

2.02      CTD Observations

A Sea-Bird 9 plus CTD with dual temperature and conductivity sensors will be the primary system and will be provided by the program.  An oxygen sensor will also be provided for the primary system.  A backup Sea-Bird 9 plus CTD with dual sensors is also required and will be provided by the ship.  A Sea-Bird carousel and twelve 10-liter Niskin bottles will be used to collect water samples for the analysis of salinity.  A backup Sea-Bird carousel and spare Niskins will be provided by the program.

 

At a minimum, 1000 meter CTD casts shall be conducted at each mooring site between 8N and 8S for sensor inter-comparison purposes.  As time permits, additional or deeper CTD's should be conducted whenever addition of the CTD’s will not impact scheduled mooring work.  For example, if the ship would arrive at the next mooring site in the middle of the night, it is preferable to do CTD’s on the way, rather than remain hove to waiting for daylight.  Another example would be when mooring operations are significantly ahead of schedule.  Note that for moorings with subsurface conductivity sensors, primarily located along 95W and 110W, two additional profiles should be collected prior to the mooring recovery for sensor calibration purposes if time is available.  The additional casts will be to 200 m and only two salinity samples will be collected, one at 200 m and one in the surface mixed layer to be determined from the downcast profile.  The usual 1000 m or deep CTD with 12 salinity samples collected should be done after the new mooring deployment.  These 3 casts should be spaced around the mooring site and not all in the same place.

 

Beyond those at mooring sites, CTD's should be conducted in the following order of priority:

 

1000m CTD’s at one degree latitude intervals between 12N and 8S , along the ship's trackline. 

 

Extend 1000m CTD’s at mooring sites to a minimum of 3000m or a maximum depth of 200m from bottom.

 

      1000m CTD’s every one-half degree of latitude between 3N and 3S

 

If the time required for a CTD would cut into the required daylight hours for a mooring operation or would delay the ship from arriving in port on schedule, the Commanding Officer may omit a CTD, after consulting with the Chief Scientist.

 

For each cast, the CTD operator should be notified at least 30 minutes prior to arriving on station in order to ready the underwater package and power up the instrumentation (i.e. turn on the deck unit) giving the electronics time to equilibrate.  The data acquisition program and VCR should be started just prior to deployment. 

 

Once the CTD has been deployed, it should be held at 10 m for 2 minutes to activate the pumps and remove any air bubbles in the sensor tubing.  The winch operator should then raise the package to just beneath the surface being careful to not let the sensors come out of the water. The CTD operator will hit “markscan” and then instruct the winch operator to start down. 

 

Descent rates should be 30 m/min from 0-50 m, 45 m/min from 50-200 m, and 60 m/min beyond 200 m.  An entry in the Marine Operations Abstract should be made for each CTD cast at the maximum cast depth by the bridge watch.  Ascent rates should not exceed 60 m/min.  If possible, all 12 Niskin bottles should be closed at specified depths in the water column.  After recovery and data acquisition is completed,  the deck unit should be turned off.

 

CTD data will be acquired and processed on the ship’s computer equipped with SEASOFT software.  The capability to display CTD data using the SCS system and monitors will be available. The CTD operator will complete the CTD cast logs.  The CTD operator or bridge watch will maintain the CTD weather log.

 

Water samples for salinity analysis will be taken from each Niskin bottle on every cast (or as specified by the Chief Scientist).  The Survey Technician will run salinity analysis on the ship's autosalinometer within 2-3 days after the samples are collected using ACI2000 software.  The autosalinometer will be standardized with IAPSO standard seawater, provided by the program, before each salinity run.  Bottle salinity data will be used post-cruise at PMEL for conductivity sensor calibration.

 

In order to reduce the cost of standard water needed to calibrate CTD data, the number of salinity samples has been reduced.   PMEL proposes taking 8 samples per station instead of 12; not sampling half degree stations; and running 40 samples per standard instead of 36.   Questions regarding these revised procedures should be directed to Kristy McTaggart.

 

The Chief Scientist in consultation with the FOO will set a cruise CTD operator schedule for the science party to assist and cover 24 hour CTD operations as needed relative to the CST’s workload.

 

Principle Investigator:

Dr Gregory Johnson, PMEL                    206-526-6806     Gregory.C.Johnson@noaa.gov

 

2.03  Mooring Operations

 

Mooring Operations are scheduled to be conducted as shown in Appendix A.  Operations will be conducted from 8S - 95W to 12N - 95W and then to 8N - 110W thence to 8S - 110W.  The following mooring operations are anticipated, though the work may be changed by direction of the Chief Scientist; in consultation, with the Commanding Officer.

 

 

Location

Mooring Type

Operation

Status

8°S 95°W

ATLAS

Recover/Deploy

 

8°S 95°W

Haruphone

Recover/Deploy

 

5°S 95°W

ATLAS

Recover/Deploy

 

2°S 95°W

ATLAS

Recover/Deploy

 

0°   95°W

ATLAS

Recover(?)/Deploy

Not Transmitting

0°   95°W

Haruphone

Deploy Only

 

2°N 95°W

ATLAS

Recover/Deploy

 

5°N 95°W

ATLAS

Recover(?)/Deploy

Not Transmitting

8°N 95°W

ATLAS

Visit

 

8°N 95°W

Haruphone

Recover/Deploy

 

12°S 95°W

Haruphone

Recover Only

 

8°N110°W

ATLAS

Visit

 

8°N110