Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT)
in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa


HOT-142: Chief Scientist Report


Chief Scientist: F. SANTIAGO-MANDUJANO


           HOT-142 Chief Scientist's Cruise Report
                       R/V Kilo Moana
                      November 23-27, 2002

Departed:  November 23, 2002 at 1000 (HST)
Returned:  November 27, 2002 at 1200
Vessel:  R/V Kilo Moana
Operator:  University of Hawaii
Master of the Vessel: Captain Phil Smith
Chief Scientist: Fernando Santiago-Mandujano
STAG Electronics Technician: Steve Poulos
STAG Deck Operations: David Gravatt

1.  SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES

 The objective of this cruise was to maintain a collection of
hydrographic and biogeochemical data at the Hawaii Ocean Time-series
(HOT) stations. Four stations were to be occupied during the cruise,
in the following order:

1) Station 1, referred to as Station Kahe, is located at 21 20.6'N,
158 16.4'W and was to be occupied on November 23 for about 3 hours.

2) Station 2: ALOHA (A Long Term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment) is 
defined as a circle with a 6 nautical mile radius centered at 22 45'N, 
158W. This is the main HOT Station and was to be occupied for 3 days 
from November 24 to November 26.

3) Station 6, referred to as Station Kaena , is located off Kaena Point
at 21 50.8'N, 158 21.8'W was to be occupied on November 26 for about
2 hours.

4) Station 10, located in a shallow area near Kaena Point (21 37.5'N,
158 28'W) was to be occupied on November 26 for about 3 hours.

 A single CTD cast was to be conducted at Station 1 to collect
continuous profiles of various physical and chemical parameters. Water
samples were to be collected at discrete depths for biogeochemical
measurements.

 Upon arrival at Station ALOHA, the deployment of a free-drifting
sediment trap array was to be conducted, followed by a full-depth CTD
cast. After this, CTD casts at strict 3 hour intervals were to be
conducted for at least 36 hours for continuous and discrete data
collection, followed by another full-depth CTD cast. The final activity
at this station was to be a cast with an optical package containing the
AC-9 and the Fast Repetition Rate fluorometer (FRRf).

 One more free-drifting array was to be deployed for 12 hours for
incubation experiments on November 25.

 After work at Station ALOHA was accomplished, the ship was to transit
to recover the floating sediment trap array. After the sediment traps
were recovered, the ship was to transit back to Station ALOHA to
conduct two consecutive AC-9/FRRf casts. After these casts were completed,
the ship was to transit to Station 6.

 A near-bottom CTD cast (~2500 m) was to be conducted at Station 6
including salinity samples for calibration, after which the ship was 
to transit to a shallower area (~800 m) near Kaena point (Station 10) to 
conduct a 3-hour CTD yo-yo cast.

 A Profiling Reflectance Radiometer (PRR) and a Tethered Spectral 
Radiometer Buoy (TSRB) were to be deployed for half-hour periods
near noon time on November 23, 24 and 25. 

 An automated trace element (ATE) sampler was to be deployed on November 26.
 
 The following instruments were to collect data throughout the cruise: 
a thermosalinograph and fluorometer, and an anemometer.


2.  	SCIENCE PERSONNEL

WOCE group:
Carlson, Daryl	             Volunteer				UH
Fitzgerald, Daniel           Research Associate			UH
Leroux, Elise                Volunteer				UH
Lukas, Roger                 Principal Investigator		UH
Rii, Shimi                   Research Associate			UH 
Santiago -Mandujano, Fernando (Chief Scientist, Res. Assoc.)	UH
Valenciano, Mark             Electronics Technician		UH


JGOFS group:
Björkman, Karin               Research Specialist		UH
Clemente, Tara                Research Associate		UH
Franck, Valerie               Scientist				UH
Fujieki, Lance                Computer Specialist		UH
Gasc, Anne                    Research Associate		UH
Gregory, Tom                  Research Associate		UH
Morris, Paul                  Technician			UH
Sadler, Dan                   Research Associate		UH

Others:
Shinozuka, Yohei	      Graduate Student			UH
Bicknell, Steven              Assistant	 	 Super Ships Productions Inc.
Fulmer, Terrance              Director 		 Super Ships Productions Inc.
MacDonald, Frederick          Camera/DOP	 Super Ships Productions Inc.



3.  GENERAL SUMMARY

 
 Operations were conducted as planned, with some interruptions due to
CTD and CTD wire problems. As a result the first four casts at Stn. ALOHA
were conducted about one hour behind schedule, and one cast of the 36-hr 
burst sampling was cancelled.

 Twelve 1000-m CTD casts and two deep casts were conducted at Station
ALOHA.  One 1000-m CTD cast was conducted at station Kahe. One
near-bottom cast (~2500 m) was conducted at Station 6, and one
two-hour CTD yo-yo cast was conducted at station 10.

 The array of floating sediment traps and the incubation array
were deployed and recovered without incidents. The floating arrays
drifted westward. 

 The PRR and TSRB, as well as the AC-9/FRRf were deployed as planned.

 The ATE was not deployed because there were no adequate sampling bottles 
on board.

 The thermosalinograph and fluorometer data from the continuous
uncontaminated water system had some interruptions during the cruise
due to leaks in the system.

 Yohei Shinozuka was measuring marine aerosol with an instrument installed
on the bridge deck. The instrument functioned correctly during the cruise.

 A fire started in the engine room on November 27 at 0030. The fire was
promptly extinguished by the crew. No major damages were reported.

 Personnel from Super Ships Productions Inc. were filming the cruise's
activities and interviewing some of the ship's and science personnel for 
a TV documentary for the Discovery Channel Canada.
 
 We arrived back at Snug Harbor on November 27 at 1200. Minor unloading took
place because the following ship's cruises were also related to the project.


4.  R/V KILO MOANA, OFFICERS AND CREW, TECHNICAL SUPPORT

 This was the first HOT cruise on the new R/V Kilo Moana. Some of the
ship's instruments and equipment related to our work had not been
installed (e.g. ADCP), or were not completely functional (e.g. 
thermosalinograph). The following is a list of items related to our
work that were found in the need of attention; some of them had 
already been addressed when this report was written.

- The CTD winch/crane system has several shortcomings that prevented us
  from doing safe and efficient CTD casts. Some of the problems have 
  been addressed earlier elsewhere. During this cruise the wire slipped 
  from the crane's top sheave twice, damaging the CTD wire. The wire
  had to be cut and reterminated, which affected the cruise schedule and
  which resulted in substantial loss of usable wire on the winch drum.
  These incidents show the inadequacy of the system to do CTD work.

- The thermosalinograph and fluorometer data collection from the continuous 
  uncontaminated water system had various interruptions during the cruise 
  due to leaks in the system. Also, the external temperature sensor 
  may have a problem since it was giving higher values than the sea surface 
  temperatures measured with our bucket thermometer.

- Water sampling from the Rosette's bottles is done on the back deck.
  A tarp has been rigged to prevent sample contamination from rain, however
  this does not protect from sea spray or water coming from the sides.

- The ship's sonar is unable to detect the signal from our pinger attached
  to the CTD package. It is possible that the 12 Khz noise from the continuous
  uncontaminated system's pumps interferes with the pinger's signal, which 
  works at the same frequency.

- A display with information about winch wire out, speed and tension is 
  needed in the CTD control lab.

 Other operations such as array deployments and recoveries were conducted
without any problem.

 The ship's officers and crew were most helpful and accommodating. 
They showed enthusiasm and concern for our work and were very flexible in 
receiving changes in our operational schedule.
In particular, the officers and crew's response during the engine's
fire incident was very fast and professional.

 Technical support during this cruise was excellent. STAG personnel were
available at any time to assist in our work and made things much easier
for us.

 Some of the science personnel reported that during the fire incident they 
could not hear the fire alarms in their rooms or on the back deck. This
problem with the alarm system was apparently addressed and solved after the 
cruise. 

5.  DAILY REPORT OF ACTIVITIES (HST)

November 16, 2002; Loading Day

 Equipment loaded on this day. Not able to test CTD system because a new
CTD wire was not installed on the drum until November 17. The system was 
tested the first day of the cruise.

November 23, 2002

 The ship departed from Snug harbor at 1000. Fire and abandon ship
drills conducted at 1100, followed by a science meeting during
which the cruise activities were reviewed, and safety issues were
addressed.

 Arrived to Kahe Station at 1300 and a weight cast (400 lb) to 1000 m
was conducted during which M. Valenciano inspected the CTD wire.
The PRR and the TSRB were deployed at 1400. 

 The CTD cast was conducted at 1500, after which the ship headed towards
Station ALOHA.

 Winds were 8 kt, sea state 2.

November 24, 2002

 Arrived at Station ALOHA at 0045. Sediment traps deployed without
problems.  

 The CTD had problems on board before starting the deep cast and was
replaced with the backup CTD. The secondary conductivity sensor failed
during the upcast and was replaced by a backup sensor after the deep
cast.

The first four casts at ALOHA were conducted about one hour behind
schedule.  A total of six CTD casts were conducted this day.

 Light winds (~8 kt), sea state 2

November 25, 2002

 The CTD cable came off the crane's end sheave when the CTD was at 1,000
m during cast 7, causing visible damage to the cable. The internal
conductor wire was not damaged and the cable was put in place on the
sheave by lowering down the crane's top section. The cast was
continued and the CTD brought safely on board.  About 1,110 m of cable
were cut to remove the damaged section, and the ending was
reterminated. One CTD cast was skipped from the 36-hr series.
The 36-hr CTD burst period ended with cast 13.

 The primary productivity array was deployed without problems at 0630, and
retrieved safely at 1700. The array drifted 2.5 nm SW from the center of 
ALOHA Stn.

 The PRR and the TSRB were deployed at noon.

 The AC-9 was successfully deployed at 12:30 using the CTD wire and crane.

 The winds increased to 14 kt, sea state 3-4, 10 ft swell, raining at and 
around the station.

November 26, 2001

 The second deep CTD cast that started at 2300 on November 25 was completed
by 0220.

 The AC-9/FRRf was depoyed at 0300 using the CTD wire. The wire slipped the
sheave when the AC-9/FRRf was at 130 m and the wire got damaged. The AC-9/FRRf
was retrieved safely, but about 150 m of wire were cut and reterminated
to remove the damaged section.

 The sediment traps were retrieved without any problem at 0730. The
array drifted nearly 20 nm west-north-west from the center of ALOHA.
One of the orange plastic floats got detached from the array and was
lost at sea.

 PRR/TSRB operations were conducted at ALOHA Stn at 1200, followed by
two consecutive AC-9/FRRf casts. The AC-9/FRRf was deployed through the
A-frame using STAG's capstan.

 A near-bottom cast (~2500 m) was conducted at 2200 at Station Kaena 
(Stn. 6).

 Raining during the night and morning. Winds ~10 kt. Small seas but large
swells 10+ ft.

November 27, 2002

 A fire started in the engine room near 0030. All science crew reported
to the staging area. The ship's crew extinguished the fire, which
started when a ventilation filter accidentally cought fire. No major
damages were reported. Operations resummed at 0130.

 A two-hour CTD yo-yo cast was conducted at Station 10 starting at
0300.

 Arrived at Snug Harbor at 1000. Minor unloading took place because the
following ship's cruises are also related to the project.


Sub component programs:

Investigator:                   Project/Institution:
-----------------               --------------------
Bob Bidigare                    HPLC pigments/UH

Ancillary programs:

Investigator:                   Project/Institution:
-----------------               --------------------
Charles Keeling                 CO2 dynamics and intercalibration/SIO
Paul Quay                       DIC and 13C/UW
Mark Abbott/Ricardo Letelier    optical measurements/OSU

Others:
Karin Björkman                  phosphorus cycling/UH