First Sound Source Mooring
This morning we woke up early to get ready for the first sound source mooring deployment on this cruise leg. As described in earlier posts, the sound sources will be used to track subsurface floats drifting with the deepest currents in the North Atlantic. Each sound source will transmit an 80-second long acoustic tone once…
Oceanography and Sound
Sound is used by humans and marine life to communicate underwater. This is partly because electro-magnetic waves (including light) do not penetrate very far through water. Sunlight is more or less gone below a few 10s of meters, and the rest of the ocean depths are in complete darkness. On the other hand, sound travels…
Physical versus Intellectual ability
Today I was recalling a topic that I discussed years ago with a professional personal coach. At the time, I was preparing to go on another research cruise, this time on an unfamiliar research vessel (from Greece) and with many students and scientists I had not met previously. I was quite anxious about the trip….
Good News for Floats, Part 3
Picking up from Part 2 (because I forgot to paste in the text for the whole story).. The monitoring float heard very clear signals from two of the three sound sources, and a hint of the third one too. The latter sound source is rather far away from where the floats were deployed, and on…
Remember Gumby?
Right after leaving port this morning, we had a routine safety meeting and drill. As part of this, we were shown how to use short-term oxygen systems (with just enough air to get out of your cabin in the event of a fire). I couldn’t see the demonstration, so I just asked if I could…
Good News for Floats, Part 2
This brings me to the first good news for the OSNAP float program. The first three of the 10 OSNAP sound sources were deployed from the Knorr as it made its way from Woods Hole to Reykjavik. At the same time, two “monitoring” RAFOS floats were released with a shortened mission. Their purpose was just…
Departure Day
We finally left Reykjavik today at 0900 as scheduled, under sunny skies. Temps are still chilly – around 50F. But we are steaming downwind so the ship has a rather gentle roll – good for getting those sea legs. We are heading more or less to our first moorings site, which will take about two…
First Good News for OSNAP Float Program!
This morning the OSNAP float group got some good news. Before I reveal the good news, I need to explain how floats are being used in OSNAP. Freely drifting, neutrally buoyant floats will be released from the ship and sink down to near the sea floor. There they will drift with the deepest currents in…
World Cup Action in Iceland
Even though Iceland doesn’t have a team competing for the World Cup, the residents are just as crazy about soccer as most of the rest of the world. Last night we caught the end of the Brazil-Columbia game at a local English bar with huge TV screens all around. And the place was packed with…
Another Day in Port – Getting Ready to Sail on Sunday
Work continued around the Knorr today as the various groups from the U.S., U.K. and the Netherlands loaded their oceanographic instruments on board and began assembling the deep-sea moorings. The moorings typically consist of several very long pieces (called “shots”) of wire rope that are shackled together to make one long string that might be…
About Amy Bower
Amy Bower is a physical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has been chasing ocean currents in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans for over 25 years, primarily by releasing acoustically tracked floats far below the sea surface. Legally blind since her mid-20s, Amy uses adaptive technology to continue her research.
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