**CRUISE REPORT**

Cruise Number: KM03-05, Leg 1

**Vessel:** R/V KILO MOANA -- University of Hawaii UNOLS

**Area of Operation:** Gulf of Alaska, Kodiak to Seward

**Itinerary:** 18 April, 2003 Depart Kodiak Alaska

27 April, 2003 Arrive Kodiak Alaska

**Participating Organizations:** NOAA/PMEL/FOCI

NOAA/AFSC/FOCI

Scripps Institute of Oceanography

**Cruise Objectives:** To deploy and/or recover surface and subsurface
oceanographic instrumentation moorings in the Gulf of Alaska. To
complete CTD casts at the mooring locations and to release Argos tracked
drifter buoys along our trackline.

**Chief Scientist:** William Floering, NOAA/PMEL/OERD2

206-526-6480

<William.Floering@noaa.gov>

**Personnel:** Dr. Calvin Mordy M/USA NOAA/PMEL

Carol DeWitt F/USA NOAA/PMEL

Earl Roskie M/USA NOAA/PMEL

Steve Smith M/USA NOAA/PMEL

Rick Miller M/USA NOAA/PMEL

Lisa Munger F/USA Scripps Institute of Oceanography

**Summary of Operations and Samples Collected:**

CTD Casts 22

Salinity Samples 11

Nutrient Samples 12

Underway Thermosalinograph N/A

Dragging operations for "lost" moorings 24 hours

Argos Drifter Buoys Deployed 6

Recovered Moorings 11

Deployed Moorings 16

**Narrative:**

KILO MOANA departed the U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska at 1500 hrs
18 April, 2003. Shortly after leaving port we recovered and deployed the
AFSC CB-1 mooring in Chiniak Bay. We steamed southeast from Chiniak to a
depth of approximately 800 meters where we deployed a marine mammal
haruphone mooring for Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Seattle
National Marine Mammal Laboratory.

Next we traveled east to the FATE surface mooring location. On a
pervious cruise we discovered that the FATE surface mooring had broken
free from its anchor and was adrift somewhere in the Gulf of Alaska. The
acoustic release was still on station, beyond that we had no way to
determine how much of the mooring remained at this site in 2400 meters
of water. Over the next 12-14 hours we attempted to recover the mooring
by dragging a wire with large grapple hooks attached. We paid out 4800
meters of wire (2 to 1 scope) and tried to encircle the mooring and/or
drag across what may remain on the bottom. In that kind of depth with no
marker on your drag hooks it's extremely difficult to know where the end
of your wire is or to place the hooks on what may be a very small
target. We didn't have any luck dragging for what remains of the FATE
surface mooring.

We proceeded to mooring site GBP-12 for a mooring recovery and
deployment. Next was a recovery only at mooring site GB-11. An Argos
tracked drifter buoy was deployed as we were leaving site GB-11. Next
stop was mooring site GB-5 for another subsurface mooring recovery and
deployment. The nitrate meter scheduled to be deployed at this site was
leaking oil on the bench. A substitute nitrate meter was prepared and
deployed at site GB-5. An Argos tracked drifter Buoy was deployed at
GB-5. From here we proceeded to mooring site GB-4. This mooring could
not be recovered. The acoustic release signal indicated that the release
was lying horizontal on the ocean bottom.

The weather was picking up and the weather prediction was for 35 knots
of wind. We left site GB-4, hoping to recover the surface mooring at
GB-3 before the winds and seas increased and the conditions for mooring
operations became unsafe. We launched the ship's rescue boat and
attached a line to the surface mooring to recover it. As the wind and
seas continued to increase we recovered the surface mooring GBM-3 and
deployed the subsurface mooring GBP-3. As we were finishing our work at
site GBP-3 the winds were blowing 35-40 knots. Due to weather we halted
operations at approximately 2000 hours Monday evening.

By Tuesday morning the winds had subsided; we deployed subsurface
mooring GB-4 and deployed an Argos tracked drifter buoy. As the day
progressed the wind increased to 35 to 40 knots and the seas were such
that we did not attempt a CTD cast following this deployment. We tried
to steam north to site GB-2 but the wind was blowing 50 knots and sea
spray was getting inside the fresh air vents for the engine room,
depositing salt water on the electrical controls for the engines and
generators. We adjusted our course and speed to keep water out of the
engine room and slowly steamed for site GB-1.

By Wednesday morning the storm had passed; we attempted to recover
mooring GB-1 but the release was lying horizontal on the ocean bottom. A
new mooring GB-1 was deployed nearby and we steamed to site GB-2. The
situation at site GB-2 was similar to GB-1. The release was lying on the
bottom, the mooring could not be recovered, and a new GB-2 was deployed
nearby. After leaving site GB-2 we steamed back to mooring site GB-3 and
successfully deployed the surface mooring at this site. This mooring is
equipped with a new solar powered flashing warning light and a second
Argos position transmitter. Argos tracked drifter buoys were deployed at
GB-1, GB-2, and GB-3.

Steaming northwest we started work on the Gore Point line first thing
Thursday morning. We recovered and re-deployed mooring GPP-36 then
recovered GP-34 and GP-32 to ensure we would not run out of daylight for
recoveries. Working our way back off shore we deployed subsurface
moorings GP-32 and GP-34.

Had we followed the original cruise plan, after completing our work on
the Gore Point Line we were scheduled to steam west to Shelikof Strait.
The lack of success in recovering the moorings at GB-1, GB-2, GB-3 and
GB-4 raised several new concerns. After consulting with the Seattle
PMEL/FOCI office, it was decided to return to those sites, attempt to
recover the "lost" moorings with a grapple drag and recover/re-deploy 2
of the moorings at a depth closer to 10 meters below the surface instead
of 5 meters. We steamed back to mooring site GB-4 and began dragging
operations on Friday. Two circle drags at GB-4 were tried with no
success. The newly deployed GB-4 mooring was recovered, modified and
re-deployed with a top float depth of 14 to 15 meters.

We tried a circle drag for the iron meter mooring at site GB-3 with no
luck. During the night we steamed inshore to site GB-1. The newly
deployed mooring at GB-1 was recovered, modified and re-deployed with a
new depth to top float of 15 meters. Later in the day we attempted a
circle drag for the "lost" mooring at site GB-2 however we had no
success in snagging what remained of that mooring.

Historically we have had some luck with dragging operations in depths to
250 meters. Due to reasonable concerns the vessel captain took a
conservative approach to dragging and that may have impacted our ability
to snag these moorings. KILO MOANA had \$30,000 of new wire on its
winch, a wire that will be used for a number of projects besides our
mooring dragging efforts. In addition, the ship does not have a tension
meter on the system to tell when they've hung up on the bottom. To avoid
damage to the wire and the crane/block, we were limited to the bare
minimum amount of wire we could lay on the bottom for a circle type
drag.

Following the dragging operations at mooring site GB-2 we headed west
for the Kodiak U.S. Coast Guard Base, arriving at 1200 on April 27,
2003.

KILO MOANA draws a minimum of 25 feet of water. This limits which pier
the ship can tie up to, and when the ship can transit the channel in and
out of Kodiak. The local pilot advised that the ship not transit the
channel at low tide. Waiting for high tide had some impact on scheduling
our arrival and departure.

**Summary of Cruise:**

Days lost due to weather - 12 hours

Days lost due to equipment failure - 0 hours

**Considerations for future cruises:**

As mentioned above, the vessel has a minimum draft of 25 feet,
uncharacteristically deep for a 190 foot ship. The draft presents some
limitations on where the ship can safely travel and tie up.

There were a number of sounders available on the ship but there was some
question as to which ones were corrected for speed of sound, which were
corrected for hull depth, and not all the sounders were available for
viewing on the ship-wide monitor screens. I suspect some of these issues
will be resolved as people become more familiar with the layout and
limitations of the new vessel.

There was a 3000 lb pull general purpose winch that we used extensively
for mooring operations. This winch met most of our requirements but if
the opportunity presents itself, a 5000-6000 lb winch would add to the
ship's capabilities.

For future mooring operations, a hull mounted EGG acoustic release
transducer is recommended.

Space on the aft deck is limited. We staged for 16 mooring deployments
including one surface mooring, not a large cruise by FOCI standards. If
we were planning two surface mooring deployments and 15 or so moorings,
we would not have sufficient space to store and secure all the necessary
equipment. There is an area forward on the port side that is designed to
accommodate two- 20 foot containers. Having one or two 20 foot flats in
that area would greatly increase the deck space needed to secure the
anchors, floats, spools, etc. necessary for mooring operations.

The current vessel computer navigation program is limited and will not
provide a printout of the display screen nor allow the vessel to use its
dynamic positioning system. This computerized navigation system is
scheduled to be replaced in the near future.

**Acknowledgments:**

As Chief Scientist I would like to thank the Captain and crew of KILO
MOANA for the assistance and cooperation that helped make this cruise
successful. The pre-cruise communications with the Captain and support
staff at the University of Hawaii was also extremely beneficial in
matching the ship's capabilities to our requests and requirements.

I would also like to thank the members of the scientific party for
remaining flexible and determined as plans changed and the work day wore
on.

**Attachments:**

Table 1: Station Summary KM03-05

  ---------- -------- ------------- ----------- ------------ -------------
  CTD CASTS:                                                 
  KILO MOANA                                                 
  0305                                                       

  CTD \#     DATE     TIME          LAT N       LONG W       DEPTH M

  1          19-Apr   2:50          57 43.53    152 18.14    153

  2          19-Apr   7:27          57 43.70    152 18.10    142

  3          20-Apr   16:16         58 41.03    148 50.39    204

  4          20-Apr   19:45         58 40.69    148 50.55    197

  5          20-Apr   21:48         58 55.28    148 38.05    257

  6          21-Apr   0:21          59 02.80    148 41.60    191

  7          21-Apr   4:05          59 02.27    148 41.10    201

  8          21-Apr   5:43          59 08.05    148 46.71    145

  9          21-Apr   19:30         59 18.39    148 58.99    143

  10         23-Apr   14:34         59 41.53    149 21.67    239

  11         23-Apr   19:39         59 41.57    149 19.02    228

  12         23-Apr   21:07         59 34.14    149 12.15    219

  13         24-Apr   2:12          59 31.85    149 10.21    210

  14         24-Apr   9:47          59 17.48    148 57.56    182

  15         24-Apr   11:22         59 07.81    148 46.39    144

  16         24-Apr   15:09         59 06.72    150 05.27    159

  17         24-Apr   19:43         58 45.16    150 52.38    174

  18         24-Apr   22:33         58 44.65    150 51.68    179

  19         24-Apr   0:10          58 57.54    150 55.80    148

  20         25-Apr   2:43          59 06:13    151 00.13    158

  21         25-Apr   6:00          59 06.92    150 59.15    168

  22         25-Apr   9:13          58 57.54    150 55.43    154

                                                             

  ARGOS                                                      
  DRIFTERS                                                   

  DRIFT \#   DATE     TIME          LAT N       LONG W       DEPTH M

  37485      20-Apr   23:22         58 55.74    148 38.15    255

  37484      21-Apr   4:36          59 02.30    148 41.60    200

  37512      21-Apr   18:01         59 08.32    148 47.92    144

  37509      23-Apr   19:50         59 41.38    149 18.88    221

  37487      24-Apr   2:32          59 31.78    149 10.16    210

  37490      24-Apr   10:04         59 17.42    148 57.15    182

                                                             
  ---------- -------- ------------- ----------- ------------ -------------

  ------------ -------- ------------- ----------- ------------ -------------
  Mooring                                                      
  Locations:                                                   
  KM-03-05                                                     

                        MOORING       LAT N       LONG W       

                        FATE          58 16.51    147 41.21    

                        02CB-1C       57 43.33    152 17.65    

                        03GB-1A       58 41.67    149 19.91    

                        03GB-2A       59 32.00    149 10.95    

                        03GBM-3       59 18.00    148 58.20    

                        03GB-4A       59 07.69    148 45.65    

                        03GBP-5       59 02.58    148 41.66    

                        02GBP-11      58 55.28    148 37.18    

                        03GBP-12      58 41.00    148 50.92    

                        03GBP-13      59 06.56    150 04.90    

                        02GP-32A      59 06.26    150 59.51    

                        03GP-34A      58 57.77    150 55.97    

                        03GPP-36      58 45.00    150 51.99    
  ------------ -------- ------------- ----------- ------------ -------------

Figure 1: Mooring Positions

> ![](media/image1.jpeg){width="5.620833333333334in" height="4.25in"}

Figure 2: CTD and Drifter Positions

> ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="5.620833333333334in"
> height="4.360416666666667in"}