Posts Tagged ‘R/V Sikiluaq’
Inside the Role of a Subsurface Mooring Lead
In the demanding field of oceanic exploration, a dedicated team of professionals from the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) conducted the 11th annual cruise to the Station Papa Array in the Gulf of Alaska aboard the R/V Sikuliaq. Central to this mission was James Kuo, a Subsurface Mooring Lead (SML) at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), whose responsibilities were crucial to the voyage’s success.
Key Responsibilities
As the SML, James Kuo manages two flanking moorings and one hybrid profiler mooring. His primary responsibility is to ensure all instruments are fully operational before, during, and after deployment. This involves conducting thorough checks at each stage to confirm the equipment is in optimal condition for the year-long deployment. Occasionally, he must also address any issues that arise during deployment before leaving the array site, ensuring everything is functioning as intended.
During deployment, James primarily monitors engineering metrics, such as power consumption, to evaluate the health of the moorings. He also reviews scientific data—including pressure, temperature, and current velocities—to assess the moorings’ status and ensure that the instruments are positioned at the correct depths. This thorough approach provides a complete understanding of both instrument performance and the environmental conditions affecting the moorings.
When James and his team retrieve previously deployed moorings, they carefully inspect the instruments and analyze the data to identify any failures and determine their causes. Significant findings are annotated in the data stream to help scientists understand any anomalies during processing. Depending on the nature of a failure, these insights may lead to procedural changes or design modifications to improve future deployments.
Veteran of the Seas
James is well-versed in life at sea, having participated in approximately 28 cruises throughout his career. James is well-known for his ever-present smile while working to overcome daily challenges aboard the ship. Over his nine years at WHOI, he’s had the opportunity to explore diverse and exotic locations, including the Arctic, Norway, Italy, Chile, Uruguay, Iceland, Alaska, and various other domestic ports. Each expedition offers him a unique travel experience, venturing to places that are often beyond the reach of most travelers.
Career Development
James’s career in oceanography began in college as an intern at Scripps Institution of Oceanography where he assisted with various tasks and mooring assemblies. After graduating from University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a degree in Structural Engineering, he joined Scripps full-time, focusing on mechanical design of moorings using CAD software.
During the first OOI Southern Ocean cruise in 2015, James collaborated with the WHOI team responsible for deploying the OOI Surface Mooring. A year later, WHOI recognized James’s expertise and offered him a position to continue his work with OOI. He focused on Subsurface Moorings, where he eventually became an expert in the field, mastering the intricacies of Subsurface Mooring platforms.
Future Aspirations
As the SML on the Papa expedition, James tackles a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, offering both significant challenges and rewarding opportunities. His journey from intern to Research Engineer reflects the dedication and expertise that have allowed him to excel in oceanographic research.
Looking forward, James sees significant growth opportunities at WHOI. He recently secured funding for a proposal to develop a mixed reality system for underwater ROVs, a project that is already underway. “The diverse projects and innovative opportunities offer the potential for a fulfilling and dynamic career,” said James.
[caption id="attachment_34599" align="alignnone" width="640"] James Kuo, Research Engineer[/caption]
Read More Global Station Papa Team Recovers Two Years of Data
The winds seemed to have blown in favor of the Global Station Papa 8 team last month. Their mission to “turn” (recover old and deploy new) moorings went without incident, and two-years of data were recovered after COVID canceled the 2020 cruise.
On July 18, the seven members of the Station Papa 8 team set out aboard the R/V Sikuliaq from Seward, Alaska following a seven-day COVID isolation period. The weather was beautiful the first three days while in transit to Station Papa, located in the Gulf of Alaska in the Northeast Pacific, and weather remained favorable for work for the rest of the cruise.
Over the 16-day period at sea, the team successfully deployed and recovered two flanking moorings and one hybrid profiler mooring, and deployed and recovered two open ocean gliders. While on station, the team also conducted 11 CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) casts that help calibrate the instruments and validate the data they collect.
This eighth turn of the Station Papa Array was particularly important because the annual expedition to turn the array last year was canceled due to constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instrument data are downloaded upon recovery, and following a Quality Assessment/Quality Control (QA/QC) review, nearly two years of ocean observation data may have been recovered. As part of the review, OOI’s Coastal and Global Scale Node team will inspect the instruments for bio-fouling and reagent use to assess whether there was any significant impact to the data.
“We were really pleased to see that the instruments were still collecting and recording data, even after being in the water for almost two years,” said Kris Newhall, chief scientist of the Station Papa 8 expedition. “In spite of limited battery power and challenging conditions, most instruments continued to collect data for the duration of the two-year extended deployment.”
[embed]http://https://vimeo.com/585980063[/embed] [media-caption path="http://https://vimeo.com/585980063" link="#"]Shown above is the recovery of a Global Station Papa Array subsurface mooring by the team aboard the R/V Sikuliaq. The mooring was coated with marine life that had been growing there for the past two years. The team cleaned the mooring as the ship transited to its next station. Video courtesy of Bern McKiernan. [/media-caption]The periodic turning of the moorings present opportunities to incorporate design innovations into the arrays. The new moorings have improved controllers and new positioning beacons with GPS and flashers built into the housing, which will help increase performance and simplify recovery.
The team returned to Seward on August 2, then made their way back to their home port in Woods Hole, MA. The data retrieved from the moorings will help researchers investigate topics related to climate, ocean circulation, biological productivity, and ocean acidification in this important region of the Northeast Pacific.
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