Subject: NEGOM-8 science rpt for Wed 26 April
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 07:57:39 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We finished final station (L02S00C) at 7 AM this morning and we're now deadheading north to the Horn Island sea buoy. Our ETA Pascagoula is 11 AM. The transect across the Warm Slope Eddy yesterday went well; all instruments and programs collected good data. Total bottom samples = 40 grabs + 32 cores. Ryan and Scott did a fine job! We'll see you in CS tomorrow.

-doug and norman send

Subject: NEGOM-8 science rpt for Tues 25 April
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 07:10:26 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We finished Line 1 at 05:30 CDT this morning. We are presently headed SE to do a deepwater CTD+XBT transect, beginning at 28 18N and 88 05W and continuing until we reach L02S10C. This will extend Line 2 seaward into deepwater by about 40 n miles. By extending Line 2 seaward (we plan to do 3 CTDs + 3 XBTs in deepwater before we get to L02S10C in water depth of 1000 m), we hope to begin this extended line in the confluence between cyclone to the south and anticyclone to the north and get a radial transect through the anticyclone today. On our NEGOM lines 1, 3, 4, and 5 we mapped the northern perimeter of this feature (this was outlined by locally low SSS) but on none of these lines were we able to close the southern boundary. If weather cooperates, we should reach Pascagoula by 09:00 CDT tomorrow morning.

The cold front came through last night and sea state today is lower than yesterday. Ship is still rolling but not slamming or yawing today. Nice change!

-doug and norman send

Subject: supplemental NEGOM-8 science rpt for Mon 24 April
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 07:06:44 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We finished Line 3 just after 14:00 CDT. We will not get offshore into the northern perimeter of deepwater cyclone today because of wind/sea conditions. Turns out that I gave you incorrect wind direction in my previous msg today (hmmn, I should never compose mail before I've had coffee). Wind has been blowing all day from the WSW (not from north), so in other words the cold front (#3 for this trip) has not yet reached us. Since a ride out into deepwater today would have put us in the troughs, both going out and coming back, we are now steaming west (into the seas) to Line 1. We should arrive at L01S01C about 9-10 PM tonight and early Tuesday the 25th we will evaluate the possibility of getting out into deeper water after we finish Line 1, before we start our final line of stations (Line 2) to end at Pascagoula .

-doug sends

Subject: NEGOM-8 science rpt for Mon 24 April
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 10:24:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

Heavy weather today; seas running 5-8 ft in advance of cold front. Wind at 8 AM was 20-25 knots out of the north. We're running down Line 3 today and at 8:30 CDT we are coming up on our cluster of 4 closely-spaced stations at the shelf break (100 m, 200 m, 500 m, 1000 m). We'll decide by early PM whether or not we will continue offshore (seas are projected to build to 8-10 ft) or whether we will cut across (8 hr ride in the troughs, urgh) to Line 1.

We have not rec'd altimetry update since 19 April; I would appreciate if you could fax one this morning, so we can see whether the location of cyclone has changed significantly, OK? Equiment working OK but people starting to get irritated by the motion of the ocean today. Hope this blows thru soon.

-doug and norman send

Subject:

NEGOM-8 science rpt for Sun 23 April

Date:

Sun, 23 Apr 2000 10:19:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>
To: wnowlin@tamu.edu, mkhoward@tamu.edu, ann@portia

We started Line 4 this morning at 07:00 CDT. Seas dropped rapidly after passage of cold front yesterday, and it's a beautiful Easter Sunday today. We've now completed 70 CTD stations on Lines 11-5; this leaves just 29 NEGOM CTDs to go on Lines 4-3-1-2. We plan to do 3 supplemental CTDs as we drive south to 28.0N, 87.9W on Monday afternoon, to sample the northern perimeter of the cyclone that AVHRR imagery faxed to us yesterday says is centered 27.5N, 88W. People and equipment working well. No problems to report.

-doug and norman send

Subject: Report
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 10:15:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We started Line 5 Station 1 at 13:20CDT.
We experienced 30kt winds and 6-8 ft seas last night for a brief period.
Seas are calm here near to shore.

Subject: NEGOM-8 science rpt for Sat 22 April
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 10:26:58 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We are finishing Line 6 this morning (at 07:30 we were on Sta 3, within sight of Panama City beachfront). The cold front passed through this part of the NE Gulf last evening and it's sunny but windy today (15-20 knots from the north and temp outside is 60F- brrr!). Sixty CTD stations done, now, and 39 to go. People and equipment working well. No problems to report.

-doug and norman send

Subject: NEGOM-8 science rpt for Fri 21 April
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 08:48:20 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

No problems to report. We completed Line 7 just after 07:00 CDT this morning. We're at 87 06W and transiting the 1000 m isobath from Line 7 to Line 6 as I write this report (08:30 CDT) and we will do Line 6 today. If we continue at this pace we'll be off Panama City (and in cell phone range again) on Saturday morning.

This week's AVHRR imagery that was faxed to us from USF shows cold surface signature of a cold eddy along the E wall of the Loop Current off Sarasota FL. But we can't see any cold surface signature of cyclone SW of Miss River delta that most recent altimetry faxed to us by CCAR says is centered 27.5N, 88W. If time allows, we propose to survey the northern periphery of that cyclone at 88W by driving several tens of miles into deeper water after completing Line 3 on Monday (then finish our cruise 8 survey with Lines 1 and 2, as planned). Whether we have time to drive south into cyclone will depend on if our survey pace is slowed by cold front that weather forecast says is expected to pass over us tonite/tomorrow. Our target ETA Pascagoula is 9:00 CDT on Wed morning the 26th.

-doug and norman send

Subject: Report
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 12:58:50 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We finished Line 7 Station 2X at 9:24 CDT 4/20/2000. Everything is proceeding smoothly. Bob Brown is learning a lot and is carrying his load working with the CTD and gravity corer.

The surface waters are very different this cruise. There is no sign of Mississippii River water. With the exception of near the Florida rivers, surface salinities are well above 36. Lowest salinity of the trip so far was 34.5 in 10m of water off Cape San Blas.

Norman and Doug

Subject: NEGOM-8 science rpt for Thurs 20 April
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 11:16:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We finished Line 8 last night and started Line 7 just after breakfast this morning. At 08:30 CTD, we were on 2nd CTD station on this line. No problems to report; people and equipment are working well. NOAA twin otter aircraft made two overflights yesterday while we were working inshore on Line 8 (mid afternoon and early evening). Salinity was < 35 and chl was > 0.5 ug/L inshore between Lines 8 and 7 but salinity has increased to 35.4 and chl has dropped as we're heading seaward this morning (underway now between L07S01C and L07S02X).

-doug and norman send

Subject: NEGOM-8 cruise rpt for Wed 19 April
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 12:26:41 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

Hello from blue water! We're working up the slope on Line 8 today. Overnight last night, the NW wind dropped below 15 knots so there are fewer whitecaps today and forecast sent to us by Woody Lee says weather in NE Gulf should continue to improve this afternoon and evening, so tomorrow should be calm. Despite the 5-8 foot seas we had yesterday, all people (including the "rookies") and equipment have been working well.

We finished L08S15C at 08:15 CDT this morning and L08S13C at 10:40 CDT so we should be in about 100m of water when the NOAA Twin Otter aircraft (which has moved up to Panama City) with suite of AOL-3 sensors is next scheduled to overfly us. We can tell you that the Suwanee River outflow didn't extend very far offshore this month (the lowest surface salinity we've documented so far this cruise, as we transited the 10m isobath between Lines 10 and 9), was 35.0. After we drove thru a patch of locally high chl between stations S03 and S05 along Line 9, in an area where SST was 1C cooler than at either station, we've been in consistently warm, high salinity (>36), low chl (<0.1 ug/L) blue water.

Matt Howard, what sort of freshwater inflow might we expect to see when we get to the western half of our field area? We'd appreciate learning from you whether Miss River discharge/outflow has been lower than normal this year.

-doug and norman send

Subject: NEGOM-8 cruise report for Tues 18 April
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 12:24:55 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

People and equipment still working well, though today it's lumpy after 20 knot winds from weak cold front that passed over yesterday. Most of Lines 11, 10, and 9 seaward of the 20 m stations have been blue-water (salinity > 36.0) so we've been seeing locally high chl and low salinity only close inshore. However, when NASA aircraft flew over us last evening as we started Line 9, they told us their instruments showed a patch o productivity along our Line 9 between our 20 m and 50 m stations and about 30 miles/3 hrs of steaming ahead of us. As we worked seaward along Line 9, we in fact drove thru same and documented this with flo-thru fluorometers, AC-9, and Safirs.

At 10 AM CDT today Tuesday, we're heading off shelf on Line 9 (just finishe L09S09C) and we'll be working seaward on Line 9 this afternoon and this evening.

-doug and norman send

Subject: benthic trawling on NEGOM cuise 8
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 12:24:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We did our first otter trawl of the trip last nite and caught about 15 pounds of stuff. We sorted and then froze entire catch (I don't have any formalin aboard). We trawled on bottom for 30 min at 29 20N and 83 52W, in water depth of about 20 m on W Florida inner shelf. We got a diverse catch of small fish (enough to fill a 1-gallon zip-loc bag), shrimp (hmmn, not nearly enough for everyone to have shrimp cocktails), arrow and spider crabs, and a few starfish, sea urchin, sponge, etc etc. This made a good show and tell collection and I hope you'll be able to use contents to compare with what you catch in deeper water.

It's rough today (weak cold front passed over us yesterday and so today we've got whitecaps and 5-8 ft seas) but if time and weather allow we'll trawl at least two more times this trip. Next time, I hope to trawl in 50-60 m depth.

Over the weekend, mates noticed a "big pink lobster" floating at the surface and we drove over to investigate. I dip netted what turned out to be a dead specimen of giant isopod (I'm pretty sure it's Bathynomeus) that was floating (!) at the surface. It's pretty smelly but cuticle is still articulated. I froze it, too (I thought perhaps Mary Wicksten might like a trophy for InvertZoo, to complement the mud lobster I brought her from previous trip).

P.S.: Don't forget to meet my OCNG-401 class tomorrow, Wed from 10:20 - 11:10 in room 206. Please send around a sign-up sheet so I'll kno who/howmany came. Thanks

-doug

Subject: 4-14-2000 12:36 CDT N8 Report
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 13:03:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We have finished all but Station 1 on Line 10. All equipment and people working well. We will start Sation 1 at 12:45CDT.

We are running the 38khz ADCP as well as the 150khz. Transect on the 150khz unit is working nicely with the heading, pitch and roll strings from the Ashtech.

We had NASA overflights on Saturday and Sunday. We have uploaded data from the Scripps experiment and have received reports that their experiment is working well.

We may have 16 hours of additional sampling time if we come into port on the morning of the 26th. Our present plan to use the time wisely is to extend line 1 or 2 out to the center of the ring observed in the altimetery data.

Norman and Biggs

Subject: 4-15-2000 16:25CDT report
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 16:55:41 -0500 (CDT)
From: R/V GYRE Science Operations <guest@gergl1.gerg.tamu.edu>

We left the University of South Florida dock at 0600CDT. The low tide did not pose a problem but we left with the ADCP raised just in case.

We finished station L11S03 at 1455CDT.

The NASA aircraft made one overflight around noon. The NASA equipment on board is working after we made some repairs to stop water leaks.

Everthing is going well.

Guinasso and Biggs

Subject: From Science Gyre Operations
From GYRE Science Operations
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 19:25:27 -0500 (CDT)

Our departure may be delayed because low tide falls at 1102UTC. The phone numbers have changed. Our contact numbers are now

Science party:
713 853 1140 cell phone near shore
877 286 0479 sat cell phone at sea
403 543 8621 fax

Bridge:
888 695 1677 sat cell phone

email:
Science: guest@gerg.tamu.edu
Bridge: gyremail@aol.com

Guinasso and Biggs