US Destroyer Wreckage Discovered off Remote Alaskan Island
For almost 75 years, the stern of the destroyer USS Abner Read lay somewhere below the dark surface of the Bering Sea off the Aleutian island of Kiska, where it sank after being torn off by an explosion while conducting an anti-submarine patrol. Seventy-one U.S. Navy Sailors were lost in the aftermath of the blast, during a brutal and largely overlooked early campaign of World War II.Heroic action by the crew saved the ship, but for the families of the doomed Sailors, the final resting place of loved ones lost in the predawn hours of Aug. 18, 1943 remained unknown.On July 17, a NOAA-funded team of
NOAA Releases 2018 Hydrographic Survey Plans
of the inlet last surveyed in 1917. This project provides contemporary surveys for the area. Southwest Alaskan Peninsula – This survey project updates nautical charting products to support the increase in vessel traffic in Unimak Passage. Fishing fleets in Bristol Bay and Bering Sea frequent this area. Morzhovoi Bay – With parts of the bay last surveyed in the 1920s and 1950s, this survey project focuses on areas inadequate for safe navigation. Point Hope and Vicinity – Vessel traffic is increasing each year as sea ice recedes
Alaska Requests Limits on US Offshore Drilling
in the effort to achieve a vibrant offshore program in Alaska is creating the false impression that there is an imminent attempt to foster development along our entire coast,” Walker said in a statement. Proposed lease sales for other offshore regions in Alaska, in areas spanning the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, should be removed from the plan, Walker said. The Interior Department should also maintain long-established buffers for Native Inupiat whalers and a traditional 25-mile no-leasing buffer along the Chukchi coast, the statement said. Walker's comments echo those of the
Meet the CARTHE Drifter
recently deployed in two large scale experiments (named LASER and SPLASH) conducted by CARTHE to study the upper ocean processes that control the transport of hydrocarbons in the environment. The CARTHE drifters have also been used in various projects from sea turtle research to Arctic research in the Bering Sea, as well as source pollution monitoring in inlets and Port of Miami. The CARTHE drifter is manufactured by GreenWave Instruments LLC (Miami) and distributed by Pacific Gyre LLC (San Diego). The CARTHE consortium is funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI). Specification
First Ever USV-supported Cable Route Survey
For the first time ever, a seabed cable route survey has been performed with support from an unmanned surface vehicle (USV). The survey route included various water depths and strong currents, while facing difficult wind and sea conditions in the Bering Sea offshore Alaska. The project was mobilized immediately following a 9,000km nautical charting survey by Terrasond, of which 4,750km (53 percent) was executed by an ASV Global C-Worker 5 autonomous surface vehicle (ASV). The cable route survey required a new payload including a hull mounted multibeam sonar, a sub-bottom profiler, and a towed
NOAA to Deploy Saildrones for Climate Study
, reaching some areas never before surveyed with such specialized technology. In mid-July, scientists will send off the first unmanned, wind and solar-powered vehicles from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, with two sailing north through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean and another transiting the Bering Sea. Traversing Alaska’s inhospitable waters, the remote-controlled vehicles will track melting ice, measure carbon dioxide in the ocean and count fish, seals and whales. For the first time, the vehicles will journey through the Bering Strait into the Arctic with a newly adapted
US Coast Guard Shipwreck Found – 100 Years Later
17 knots. The cutter’s armament included four 6-pounder 3-inch rapid firing guns and one 15-inch torpedo tube. Following the Spanish-American War, McCulloch patrolled out of its homeport of San Francisco, cruising the Pacific Ocean from the Mexican border to Cape Blanco, Ore. Built for Bering Sea patrols, the cutter deployed to enforce fur seal regulations in the Pribilof Islands off Alaska and served as a floating courthouse for far-flung Alaskan towns. Last October, a joint NOAA and Coast Guard training mission confirmed the location of McCulloch’s remains. Working off
Modernization of The U.S. Fishing Fleet
the ubiquitous Pacific Northwest. Modernization of the North Pacific Fishing Fleet, a study by The McDowell Group for the Port of Seattle, has made the rounds and given weight to the idea that a major fleet upgrade really is underway. With average 2014 gross revenues having run between $2 million for Bering Sea/Aleutian Island trawl vessels to $16 million for some catcher-processors, there’s a feeling that owners can afford new vessels that might cost $15 million for the first group or $130 million for the second. Despite the big harvests, just one large vessel a year has been built or
New Vessel Aims to Transform the Fishing Industry
,” Downs said. In order to improve working conditions for the crew, all fishing gear is inside and hauled through an interior moon pool – another first for the U.S. – so the fishermen are no longer exposed to unpredictable weather and associated risks of fishing in the Bering Sea. This also helps extend the time of fishing operations under severe weather conditions and gives high maneuverability and station keeping capabilities, according to the designer. Additionally, the shipbuilder said the vessel has been built with a heavily weighted box keel design to keep weight
ASV Global, TerraSond Complete First Unmanned Hydrographic Survey
ASV Global and TerraSond have completed a 5172 nautical mile hydrographic survey in the Bering Sea, off Alaska. TerraSond used the C-Worker 5 Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) alongside its Q105 survey ship for a duration of 36 days. The C-Worker 5 completed 2275 nautical miles of survey lines operating as a force multiplier, running parallel survey lines to the Q105. Both vessels ran multibeam sonars and simultaneously towed side scan sonars. The C-Worker 5 was operated using ASV Global’s ASView control system from a control station on the Q105 vessel. ASView used exported survey lines
