Scripps Adds New Research Vessel
package to meet all their criteria.”The newest research vessel joins the fleet at Scripps, which is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean, earth and atmospheric science research, education and public service. The organization’s fleet has plied the waters along the West Coast, Alaska, Indonesia and Mexico, gathering critical data that has helped guide marine industries and governments in making policy decisions.Much of the research work the newest Scripps vessel will conduct requires operating at slow speeds performing tasks like mapping the ocean floor. The ship’s twin
Study: Sunflower Sea Star Population in Peril
once abundant along the West Coast of North America, according to research by Cornell University and the University of California, Davis, in Science Advances.“At one time plentiful in nearshore waters, the sunflower sea stars right now cannot be found off the California coast and are rare into Alaska,” said Drew Harvell, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, a co-lead author. “Numbers of the sea stars have stayed so low in the past three years, we consider them endangered in the southern part of their range, and we don’t have data for northern Alaska.&rdquo
LRAUV: Arctic Oil-Spill-Mapping Robot Put to the Test
can be developed and deployed.”To help the Coast Guard map oil spills under ice, the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has been working on an underwater robot for the past four years through a DHS Center of Excellence, the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) at the University of Alaska Anchorage, in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.The result of this research is the Tethys Long Range Autonomic Underwater Vehicle or LRAUV, a helicopter-portable, torpedo-shaped system with oil sensors and navigation capabilities
McLane Research Announces New WTS-LV Deep Option
. GEOTRACES GP15 cruise. WTS-LV samplers with dual Vertical Intake filter holders are specified by the GEOTRACES program, a global effort to better understand the world’s oceans through their trace elements. Cruise GP15 was the first meridional section of GEOTRACES through the Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Tahiti.WTS-LV samplers collect a single water sample onto 142mm filter media. The Dual Filter model features separately metered, modular 142mm vertical intake filter holders for parallel filtration. In addition to the new Deep feature, other options for this single event sampler include 4L/min
NSF Awards Contract to Continue Ocean Observatories Initiative
online.Each institution will continue to operate and maintain the portion of OOI assets for which it is currently responsible: WHOI will operate the Pioneer Array off the Northeast U.S. coast and the Global Arrays in the Irminger Sea off the southern tip of Greenland and at Station Papa in the Gulf of Alaska; UW will operate the Regional Cabled Array that extends across the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate and overlying ocean; OSU will operate the Endurance Array off the coast of Washington and Oregon; and Rutgers will operate the cyberinfrastructure system that ingests and delivers data for the initiative
Phoenix SRDRS Receives Operational Readiness Certification
command (Submarine Squadron ELEVEN) to maintain certification of the operators and equipment for independent operations. This periodic evaluation specifically certified URC and Phoenix to participate in the eighth iteration of the CHILEMAR exercise in San Diego waters and the SSN RESCUEX this fall in Alaska. The SSN RESCUEX will be the first time that the Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS) will mate with a U.S. submarine.Following the ORE certification and a brief in port period, the Phoenix team proceeded back to sea with URC to participate in the CHILEMAR VIII rescue exercise
Autonomous Vehicle Completes Survey Mission off Alaska
An autonomous surface vessel recently went the distance for a hydrographic survey mission along a remote stretch of Alaskan coastline.ASV Global and TerraSond said they recently completed a hydrographic survey for charting off the coast of Alaska. The 10,649km survey was carried out by an ASV Global C-Worker 5 unmanned vessel alongside the Q105 survey ship acting as the mother vessel. Fitted with a multibeam echosounder, the C-Worker 5 carried out 53 percent of the survey.Throughout the operation the C-Worker 5 was remotely monitored using ASV Global’s ASView control system from a station on
US Destroyer Wreckage Discovered off Remote Alaskan Island
, Ph.D., acting under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and acting NOAA administrator. “It’s important to honor these U.S. Navy Sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.” Mapping an underwater battlefieldAbner Read was on patrol at about 1:50 a.m. Alaska time when the massive explosion – presumed to be from a Japanese mine – ripped the destroyer apart. Somehow the crew kept the main part of Abner Read’s hull watertight, and two nearby Navy ships towed it back to port. “This was catastrophic damage that by all rights should
Scientists Map Fast-moving Fault off Alaska
Researchers from NOAA, U.S. Geological Survey and their partners have completed the first high-resolution, comprehensive mapping of one of the fastest moving underwater tectonic faults in the world, located in southeastern Alaska. This information will help communities in coastal Alaska and Canada better understand and prepare for the risks from earthquakes and tsunamis that can occur when faults suddenly move.Since 2015, scientists have been gathering data on the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system, a 746-mile long strike-slip fault line that extends from offshore of Vancouver Island, Canada
Navy Tests Scale Models in Big Facilities
for propulsor evaluations in turns and captive model stability and control experiments. The center also has access to a reservoir in Maryland where scaled models of both ships and submarines are tested.But some of Carderock’s most impressive capabilities reside far away, at facilities from the Alaska to the Bahamas, and from Tennessee to Idaho.Carderock’s Combat Craft division in Little Creek, Va., manages a number of small craft projects to include design, construction, acquisition and sustainment.The South Tongue of the Ocean Acoustic Measurement Facility (STAFAC) in the Bahamas and the
Old Sea Ice is Disappearing from the Arctic Ocean
the 1981–2010 average, but not a record setter.Sea ice generally exits the Arctic through the Fram Strait east of Greenland, and NSIDC reported that the low extent of multiyear ice may have been driven by a vigorous transport of sea ice during the 2017–2018 winter. The Beaufort Gyre north of Alaska has traditionally acted as a nursery for growing sea ice, but warmer conditions have impeded the gyre's ability to preserve older ice since the start of the 21st century.ReferencesArctic winter warms up to a low summer ice season. (2018, May 3). National Snow and Ice Data Center. Accessed May
New Members Join NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Advisory Panel
advice for improving a range of services and products that support safe navigation and coastal resilience. The new members of the panel are: Sean M. Duffy Sr., executive director, Big River Coalition, New Orleans, La. Retired USCG Capt. Ed Page, executive director, Marine Exchange of Alaska, Juneau, Alaska Julie Thomas, senior advisor, Southern California, Coastal Ocean Observing System, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif. Two members of the panel were reappointed: Ed Kelly, executive director, Maritime Association of the Port of New York/New
US Navy Submarines Surface in the Arctic Circle
A pair of U.S. Navy submarines recently surfaced in the Arctic Circle as part of multinational maritime exercise north of Alaska. Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) and Seawolf-class fast attack submarine, USS Connecticut (SSN 22) surfaced in the Arctic Circle March 10 during the multinational maritime Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. Both submarines, as well the UK Royal Navy submarine HMS Trenchant (S91), are participating in the biennial exercise in the Arctic to train and validate the warfighting capabilities of submarines in extreme cold-water conditions
US States Slow Trump Offshore Oil Drilling Expansion Plan
look at," Zinke told Reuters at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. Governors from across the West Coast and much of the East Coast are meeting with the Interior and objecting to areas off their states for drilling. State discussions could last through year end. So far, officials in Alaska, Maine, Georgia and U.S Gulf Coast states other than Florida have said they were open to expanding drilling. California and other states have said they would deny needed permits for onshore services or transport. "You can't bring energy ashore unless you have access to state waters
US Senators from 12 States Seek Offshore Drilling Exemptions like Florida's
, a process that could take a year. Democrats are not alone in pressuring Zinke to exempt their states from drilling. South Carolina's Republican Governor Henry McMaster asked Zinke for an exemption, citing the value of his state's coastal tourist economy. Maine Governor Paul LePage and Alaska Governor Bill Walker are the only coastal state governors who support the expansion of offshore drilling, with many of the rest seeking exemptions in the wake of the Florida decision. Zinke's abrupt announcement on Florida also took industry groups by surprise. National Ocean Industries
Alaska Requests Limits on US Offshore Drilling
Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state's coast. While Walker supports offshore oil development, he said the Interior Department should focus on the most prospective areas off Alaska – the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic and Cook Inlet in southern Alaska – and drop all others from the leasing plan. In asking for proposed lease sales to be dropped, Walker, an independent, joins governors of several other coastal states after Zinke's
NOAA Releases 2018 Hydrographic Survey Plans
ships – Thomas Jefferson, Ferdinand Hassler, Rainier and Fairweather – will set out along with private contractors to tackle their assigned survey projects over the course of the 2018 field season. Below are NOAA’s priority areas for planned survey projects 2018: Alaska North Coast of Kodiak Island – Last surveyed in 1932, this survey project focuses on areas inadequate for safe navigation, particularly along the corridor of vessel traffic transiting from Kodiak. West of Prince of Wales Island – These complex waterways are critical
