Dr. Ed Baker preparing for the next CTD tows and casts. Geoff Lebon (Chemical Oceanographer), prepares chemicals in the Wecoma laboratory.

Teacher Logbook - R/V Wecoma

Missy Holzer 's Sealog:
CTD Cruise Day 5
Weather at 1630 hours PDT: Cloudy skies with winds of 10 knots from the Northwest. Barometric pressure is 1019.8 mb, and the temperature is 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Ocean swells are 4-5 feet out of the Northwest.

Where to go, when to go, what to bring are just a few pieces of the picture in planning for a research cruise. It is up to the leadership and guidance of the chief scientist to plan the cruise so it's successful in meeting its objectives, otherwise a tremendous amount of quality data, time, and money are wasted. The NeMO Cruise is extremely fortunate to have Dr. Ed Baker, as it's chief scientist, as he possesses the necessary abilities to orchestrate a research cruise such as this.

The major roles of the chief scientist are in the organization and scheduling of the details for the cruise. The first and most important part of organization is not in the staff and supplies, but in the objectives of the cruise instead. Dr. Baker must decide which research objectives are the most important, and how much time each of the objectives takes. Then it must be decided how to get done what needs to get done in the amount of time allotted for the cruise. Prioritizing the research objectives can be a challenge when 3 different geographical areas are included in the cruise plan, and "down time" also needs to be included in case anything foreseen occurs during the cruise time. Field research in oceanography must be carefully planned and organized to take account the dynamics of what is being researched; the ocean is constantly changing and the remnants of hydrothermal activity don't last forever. After the science objectives are organized, the staff and supplies can be coordinated.

Precruise, during the cruise, and after the cruise, scheduling is a key to making all the research go smoothly and the objectives are met. Before the cruise Dr. Baker ensures that the necessary materials from the NOAA PMEL lab are transported to the port and loaded on the ship, keeping in mind that if it isn't on board when the ship leaves the port then it can't be obtained while out at sea. Scheduling the staff while on board is a challenge whether there is a large science team or a small science team, a large science team may be difficult to coordinate, and a small science team needs the proper amount of expertise on each "watch." Scheduling research time so that all the science objectives are met while on board is another challenge, but with input from the science staff, decisions can be made. Dr. Baker stresses that his role as a chief scientist is a collegial position where he and the balance of the science team make decisions together in order to maximize the quality and quantity of data acquired during the cruise.

Coordinating a "response cruise" is a challenge since a science team is given a week to ten days to coordinate everything required to go out to sea to a current eruption. A response cruise acts on information gathered from hydrophones that are constantly listening for seismic activity. The seismic activity is a clue to the NeMO team that an eruption may have just occurred. If the response team is ready, the rewards may be great.

Dr. Baker's research objectives for this cruise are in the continuation of a long term data series in order to determine what happens overtime after an undersea volcanic eruption. A time series of data has been gathered for Axial volcano, which erupted 3.5 years ago, and Cleft segment, which erupted about 15 years ago. Dr. Baker is interested in the dynamics of the entire volcanic field and therefore has scheduled in a visit to multiple sites during this cruise. He wants to gain an understanding of the volume and composition of the eruptions around Juan de Fuca Ridge and compare them to eruptions of other undersea volcanoes. He does this by monitoring how long the eruption signal persists (heat flux), and thus hopes to determine what kind of geology is conducive to hydrothermal venting around the world.

Someone is fortunate if they can say their work is fun and also find it is a privilege to do what they have always wanted to do in life. Dr. Baker feels this way and it is his hope that even though we don't always see immediate results, his research will help us to understand our planet better and to take better care of it.