Day 1: Alaska 2024 GNSS-A Deployment - Safety First, Science Second!

Apply-to-Sail graduate students boarding the R/V Sikuliaq at its homeport in Seward on the morning of June 19. [PC: Behnaz Hosseini].

All aboard! The R/V Sikuliaq was officially underway at 16:30 UTC this morning, and is bound for our first deployment site, KOD1, with an anticipated arrival early tomorrow morning. After a hearty breakfast and observing the ship's departure from the bridge, the science crew participated in multiple safety drills, including a fire drill and an abandon ship drill under the guidance of the ship's talented crew. Everyone practiced donning both a life jacket and an immersion suit. 

Ship's crew and science crew jointly participating in an abandon ship drill on the aftdeck. [PC: Behnaz Hosseini].

Following lunch, the science crew rallied in the Main Lab to discuss logistics and science operations over the next two weeks, including transponder deployment configurations for 6 standard sites as well as 1 dense mesh site. 

PIs Dr. Spahr Webb, Dr. Andy Newman, and Dr. Surui Xie delivering a brief overview of the scientific goals of the expedition along with the planned deployment sites. [PC: Behnaz Hosseini].

We then headed to the aftdeck to familiarize with the instrumentation up close, including wave gliders and transponders. 

Engineer Dr. Glenn Sasagawa giving the graduate students an overview of the instrumentation that will be used during this geodetic survey, including transponders (top) and wave gliders (bottom). [PC: Behnaz Hosseini]. 

Around 22:00 UTC, Watch Group 2, consisting of 4 graduate students, 1 PI, and 1 engineer, began their inaugural 12-hour shift. Objectives for the first watch shift included updating the coordinates and labels for all 28 transponders, recording trip information (time, location, course, any noteworthy observations or activities) on an hourly basis in a logbook, and exploring high-resolution bathymetric maps near the planned deployments to make sure the optimal sites have been targeted. Stay tuned for tomorrow, when the science crew will deploy the first wave glider and transponder triad at site KOD1! 

Four graduate students working a watch shift on the aftdeck of the R/V Sikuliaq. [PC: Behnaz Hosseini].