Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 20:46:22 -0500
Progress Report R/V Revelle Friday, January 30, 1998 After hours on deck in a plastering 30 knot horizontal snow, we cast over an optical drifter buoy at 65 deg, 10 min S, 170 deg 6 min W, secured the decks and began our way back north to begin the last of the SeaSoar grids. This last vertical profile station was a reoccupation of an intense bloom we found just about two weeks ago, and the last in our series of vertical profile stations. The bloom has since moved farther to the south and has voraciously consumed large quantities of carbon dioxide and silicate. The waters were again an uncanny green and many pteropods and other zooplankton were to be seen in plankton tows and while peering over the side. The infancy of this bloom was first detected some 300 miles to the north during the Survey I (October/November) cruise and has been growing and moving south through the Process I (December) and Survey II (January) cruises. We have noticed a displacement in the maximum bloom signal (minimum in pCO2 and maximum in chlorophyll) of about 20 miles between our occupations of this feature. Instead of chasing it further to the south, the optical buoy will now carry on measurements in our absence and report on it's evolution. Clear skies upon arrival brought hope that a satellite image of ocean color would be available to enable us to determine the zonal extent of this bloom. But these hopes faded as the barometer plummeted to 960, winds and seas rose once again as the ship steamed northwards. An image for another day. By morning, large waves on our port side have taken out 1 1/2" seawater pipe providing cooling for the incubators on the 02 deck forward and repairs are now underway to keep experiments cool for the rest of the cruise. The SeaSoar refurbished and the optical plankton counter reinstalled, the fish is being deployed at 611 deg 42 min S, 171 deg 54 min W, as I write. We are looking forward to another productive 4.6 days of SeaSoaring followed by one last Mocness tow prior to our steam back to Lyttelton N.Z. by 0800 February 8. Kenneth Coale Chief Scientist JGOFS/APFZ Survey II