Author Archives: noaashippisces

Pisces – Packin’ it In

Posted on October 3, 2010

The weather turned rough overnight and didn’t improve in the morning.  Gusty winds made operations difficult and dangerous, and since we only had a few more hours till it was time to head for home we decided to call it … Continue reading →

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Pisces – Remembering the Men of the Deepwater Horizon

Posted on October 2, 2010

We steamed away from the Deepwater Horizon site at sunset under a cloudless sky.  As the rigs and ships receded over the horizon, it was difficult to picture the very different scenario that was occurring the night of April 20.  … Continue reading →

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Pisces – Meet the Chief Scientist

Posted on October 1, 2010

Our chief scientist, Dr. David Valentine, is a professor of Geochemistry at University of California Santa Barbara.  We managed to tear him away from his work long enough to ask him a few questions. How did you get involved in subsurface … Continue reading →

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Pisces – Seep Mapping

Posted on September 30, 2010

In addition to CTDs, core sampling and camera-tow operations, another aspect of our mission includes the mapping of natural hydrocarbon seeps in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon site. The Pisces was designed to be used as a fisheries research … Continue reading →

Posted in Pisces, Sea Floor, Sediment Sampling, Water Sampling | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Pisces – the Tow-Cam

Posted on September 29, 2010

Last night, we deployed a tow camera to take photos of the sea floor to look for any evidence of oil that may have settled there, and for hydrocarbon seeps. Ken Feldman, a contractor working for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, … Continue reading →

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Pisces – Now that you’ve got those cores, what are you going to do with them?

Posted on September 28, 2010

Another long day of coring… Still, J.P. found some time to show us what he does with the sediment samples he collects. “Once we bring the multi-corer up, we remove the corers and let them settle for a bit.  Then, using … Continue reading →

Posted in Pisces, Sediment Sampling | Tagged , | 22 Comments

Pisces – How does that thing work, anyway?

Posted on September 27, 2010

We continued our core sampling today.  During a break in operations, J.P. Walsh of East Carolina University explained how the sampling device works. Basically what it consists of is a frame with corers mounted on a weight stand.  While the … Continue reading →

Posted in Pisces, Sediment Sampling | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Pisces – If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another…

Posted on September 26, 2010

Our second day at sea…still getting everyone trained on deploying equipment and collecting samples, but everything is progressing nicely.  The only hitch was a malfunctioning winch we use to deploy the corer.  The engineers got to work on it right … Continue reading →

Posted in Life at Sea, Pisces, Sediment Sampling, Water Sampling | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pisces – Back out to Sea

Posted on September 25, 2010

After delaying our departure for just over half a day to await vital parts for the science gear, we finally left Pascagoula.  We saw lots of pelicans, dolphins and other sea critters, as well as several terns that were diving … Continue reading →

Posted in Life at Sea, Pisces, Sediment Sampling | 1 Comment

We’re Baaaack!

Posted on September 17, 2010

We broke off our operations around midnight and headed to port.  We made all our preparations to enter port, and arrived at the channel entrance around 7:30 am.  It was an early start, but nobody seemed to mind, since it … Continue reading →

Posted in Life at Sea, Pisces | 3 Comments