Storm a Comin'

For the last week, we have been enjoying relatively calm seas.  Swells rolled in from distant storms, but the local weather was quite enjoyable. Now the storm that pummeled the east coast of the US last week is headed our way. This storm is expected to give us winds up to ~36 knots and ~7-8 m (~21-24 ft) waves!  This is too rough for the more vulnerable components of our gear such as the airguns, which are dangling beneath floats behind the ship.  Additionally, our data quality suffers when the weather worsens. When the winds pick up to ~25 knots, we’ll pull in some of our gear, and then turn around to face the storm and ride it out.  In the meantime, we are preparing by strapping things down in the main lab and stowing loose items that might roll around and fall over once the ship really starts to roll.

Wish us luck!

Donna Shillington

17th June

Map of forecast wave heights posted in the main lab. The big bulls-eye is right over our field area...