Finishing Line 2

The team finished up the second line of data collection, with line two encompassing the area between the shallow South Carolina coast and an endpoint 510km east with 4500m depth. The ship moves slowly but surely at speeds ranging from 7.5-9km/hour (with drag caused by the heavy streamer and airgun load trailing behind), so the collection of line two took about 2.5 days. The team was pleasantly surprised to sail into a patch of really good weather, with clear skies, almost no wind, and a glassy ocean surface.

Photos and updates from Harm

The R/V Marcus Langseth’s operations always work around the movements and migratory patterns of aquatic wildlife. The ship’s team includes protected species observers, and this photo shows the tower that provides the wildlife biologists with enough visibility to spot pods of whales, dolphins, and any other marine mammals within proximity of the boat.

The technical team and chief scientist Anne took advantage of good weather and took the work boat out to the end of the streamer/airgun array. They evaluated how the streamer and air gun were riding at 10m depth by filming the acoustic source with an underwater camera.

The crew lowered the work boat into the ocean via cables on the side of the Marcus Langseth.