Crew of the Wecoma recovering the moorings which have been anchored to the bottom for a year recording current information. Technicians using the acoustics hydrophone to "talk" with the mooring and release it.

Teacher Logbook - R/V Wecoma

Missy Holzer 's Sealog:
Day 2

We know we've made it only because the GPS has told us so. There are no trusty landmarks in the open ocean to lead us to Axial Volcano, only the expertise of the Captain and crew in their navigational skills. Now onto the tasks of the day. Dr. Baker posted a schedule for the day which included the recovery of moorings that were set out a year ago, a couple of CTD casts, and possibly a tow.

As soon as we arrived at our location it was time to find the moorings. The moorings are anchored to the ocean floor and ascend up the water column about 300 meters. How are the moorings going to be brought up to the surface since they can't be seen from the ship? Through the use of acoustics they can be released from their anchors. One of the scientists uses a hydrophone to communicate with the release mechanism at a specific frequency, and then the mooring ascends to the surface with the help of a number of floats placed strategically along the mooring line. Finding the mooring is fairly easy once it has reached the surface since the floats are bright yellow and a red flag is attached to the top of the mooring.

Whether it's in the design of a mooring or in the design of the research protocal, the creativity in oceanographic research is astounding, and is needed in order to accomplish the research goals desired by the scientist. In order to identify the location of hydrothermal vent activity, sampling must be done at various levels in the water column. Temperature, pressure, light scattering, and particulate matter are sampled by placing sensors and samplers at various locations on the mooring. These instruments can then be programmed to take readings at various times as determined by the scientist. The moorings we recovered< today have been in their locations for approximately one year, and while on board preliminary anlaysis will be done on the data they have collected.

Come back online tomorrow to find out about the status of the CTD cast...