Updated: Aug. 2, 2013
2013 Planned Field Operations
HFR
High Frequency Radar (HFR) sites in Point Lay, Wainwright, and
Barrow will once again be operational beginning in late June/early
July. Last season's Barrow site will be moved from grid power to an
existing remote power module (RPM) at Point Barrow that utilizes solar
and wind power. The RPM was originally fabricated with Center for
Island, Maritime, and Extreme Environment Security
(
CIMES) funding in 2010.
Additionally, this year a
fourth site will be added at Cape Simpson (east of Point Barrow) in
August. A newly fabricated RPM will power the radar equipment at
Cape Simpson and is funded by the State of Alaska Coastal Impact
Assistance Program (
CIAP).
All sites will be reporting hourly real-time surface
current velocities approximately 100 miles offshore until sea ice ceases
data returns.
- Update 8/2/2013: ice offshore of Wainwright and Barrow is hampering data collection.
High-Resolution Shipboard Survey
The high-resolution shipboard survey utilizing the
Sea Sciences
Acrobat towed research
platform measuring temperature, salinity, pressure, chlorophyll,
dissolved organic matter, and particle concentrations will collect a
second year of data in the northeast Chukchi from the Norseman II
in September. Last year more than 4,000 CTD profiles were collected
over 1,200 nm. Upgrades for the survey this year include a vessel
mounted ADCP.
Drifters
-
Two Pacifc Gyre SVP drifters remain on the Beaufort Shelf, after having been frozen in the sea ice all winter.
-
Twenty Pacifc Gyre Microstar surface drifters will be deployed west of Hanna Shoal in September from the Norseman II.
-
The North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management (NSBW) will be redeploying MetOcean iSPHERE drifters recovered from last year's deployments, and deploying 36 Pacifc Gyre Microstar drifters nearshore throughout the icefree season.
View
Current Data.
Gliders
This year, two
Webb Slocum Gliders and one
Exocetus Coastal Glider will be deployed in the northeast Chukchi. One Webb
Slocum Glider will utilize a long-term Lithium battery and be deployed
from the Westward Wind in late July/early August. The second Webb
Slocum Glider and the Exocetus Coastal Glider will be deployed in
September from the Norseman II. All gliders will record temperature,
salinity, and optics data and be recovered by the Norseman II in
September.
- Update 8/2/2013: Glider 191 was deployed in the Klondike Prospect, July 31, 2013 at approximately 9am.
- View the latest Temperature Section. Positions are available on the Main Data Tool.
Met-Ocean Buoys
Funded under this project, the UAF meteorological buoy will
be deployed once again by
Evans Hamilton RPS in late July/
Early August offshore of Point Lay. Measured properties include wind
speed, wind direction, wind gust, air temperature, water temperature,
relative humidity, barometric pressure, solar radiation, pitch, roll,
and battery voltage. There will also be three industry sponsored
meteorological buoys in the regions of Burger, Klondike, and Hanna
Shoal. All buoys will be recovered when ships leave the area for the
season in early to mid-October.
- Update 8/2/2013: As of today, buoys UAF, MOB1, and MOB2 have been deployed
- View Current Data.
Current meter moorings
The current meter mooring nearest to Wainwright, BC2, will be
recovered and re-deployed from the Norseman II in September, as will
Weingartner's COMIDA project Hanna Shoal moorings. Two additional
Hanna Shoal moorings will be deployed in conjunction with this project
by Robert Pickart, WHOI, from the USCGC Healy. Dr. Pickart will also
deploy moorings in the western Beaufort Sea.
These instruments store data internally, so the data will downloaded after the moorings are recovered.
