TO: All JGOFS/AESOPS PARTICIPANTS
FROM: JON ALBERTS

1. The R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER has completed the scientific portion
   of the JGOFS SITE SURVEY Cruise, NBP 96-4, and is presently underway
   for Lyttleton, New Zealand. ETA is 24 September. This represents a
   delay from the original arrival date of 23 September and is due to a
   misfortunes event. While towing a BONGO Net astern the 9/16th wire
   fouled in one of the screws and the BONGO Net was lost. As a result
   of this the ship is underway on one engine and making approximately
   8-9 kts. This delay into port should not impact the port call and
   turn-around for the PROCESS I Cruise. There will also be a delay in
   the departure for the PROCESS I Cruise. This is due to a problem
   with the .322 EM Cable on the CTD Winch. During the SITE SURVEY
   Cruise, they lost conductivity in all three conductors. The cause is
   not presently known and we estimate this occurred at approx. 4000
   meters.  A new .322 cable has been made available through Dr.
   Richard West at NSF and the UNOLS cable pool. Capt. George White has
   kindly offered the Univ. of Wash. wire tensioner which will be
   utilized for this operation. Both of these items will be flown on a
   military SAAM flight which leaves 27 Sept. from California and
   arrives on 29 Sept..  The .322 cable will be spooled onto the Baltic
   Room winch on arrival to the vessel. The estimated departure for
   PROCESS I will be 30 Sept.

2. At this time, any items that were requested for the PROCESS I
   and MOORING cruise to be sent to the home institution, will be
   going directly to Port Hueneme and on to New Zealand. 

3. Through an invitation from Drs. Ducklow, Smith, and Anderson, I
   recently attended the JGOFS Steering Committee Meeting in Honolulu.
   This was a very informative meeting and provided valuable insights
   to the JGOFS Project. Again, I would like to thank the Steering
   Committee for this opportunity to attend. I did present an update
   on the AESOPS Cruises and an informational talk on Antarctic Support.
   Associates. 
 
4. At the Steering Committee Meeting, we received the official
   announcement that the R/V Thomas Thompson will be the vessel for the
   Southern Ocean JGOFS work. I look forward to working with the Marine
   and Laboratory Depts. at the University of Washington.


Thank you,

Sincerely,

Jon Alberts
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*****     Jon Alberts, Science Cruise Coordinator           *****
*****     Antarctic Support Associates                      *****
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