On account of persistently rough seas today, we had to put a hold on our deployments. So in lieu of our typical science update, we will use today's blog post to summarize our milestones and accomplishments in numbers to-date.
Since Day 1 (June 20), we have traveled over 500 nautical miles from the Sikuliaq's homeport at the Seward Marine Center southwest all the way offshore of Unimak Island. That's quite the distance! Along this route, we've traversed waters as shallow as several hundred meters in Resurrection Bay and as deep as 5000 meters near the Aleutian Trench. Additionally, we have endured waves up to 10 feet tall!
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Bathymetric and contour map of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Arc, with our trajectory plotted (red line). Green polygon marks our current location. Map downloaded from the R/V Sikuliaq internal Map Server.
To-date, we have deployed 1 wave glider, and 17 transponders at 5 standard triad sites (KOD1, STK1, CHK1, SNK1, UNI1) and the MESH site. We have additionally conducted 8 CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) casts.
Two wave gliders and 28 transponders stationed on the aftdeck on June 20, patiently awaiting their deployment. The deck is looking a lot more empty now, with only 1 wave glider and 11 transponders remaining.
Additionally, 7 members of the science crew (including 4 PIs and 3 graduate students) have presented research talks thus far.
Graduate student Hugo Reveneau presenting his research to the rest of the science crew.
On the recreational side of things, we've shared 26 meals in the Mess Hall, watched 4 movies in the Lounge, played at least 30 ping pong matches in the Main Lab, and watched 2 Minke whales spouting starboard of the ship.
The numbers don't lie--the Alaska 2024 GNSS-A Deployment aboard the R/V Sikuliaq has been a great success so far, both scientifically and socially. Stay tuned for more!
Thank you so much for sharing your activities and experiences in the blog! I'm learning new things which I always appreciate. Keep up the great scientific work!
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