Heading Home

Over the last 24 hours, the crew of the Karen Elizabeth completed 4 stations. These 4 Stations fill out the outer and mid-shelf stations we need in the northern Mid-Atlantic Bight based on time of day. Since the model and fisherman have indicated the importance of time of day, it is important that we sample the same stations during the day and again at night.




Early this morning the F/V Karen Elizabeth completed Station # 26. Station 26 is the final sampling station of the trip. It was done in the middle of the shelf south of Martha's Vineyard. They are now steaming home and expecting to get back at the dock around 3:30pm this afternoon. We thank the entire crew for the incredible effort they made to make this a successful trip. They were able to get their work done on board and keep us all posted throughout the week.



As the Karen Elizabeth steams into Pt Judith, ru07 passes them to the west as it heads out to the shelf break. RU07 is an ocean glider like the one that has been strapped to the house of the Karen this whole week. Unlike RU10, RU07 is deployed as it is designed. It is an underwater robot sampling the the ocean from seafloor to surface as it heads along its route. Instead of sending files from ship to shore as was done with ru10, ru07 is sending back real-time ocean data every time it surfaces and makes a satellite phone connection to our lab. Here is the latest ocean data sent back from our ocean going robot.

Temperature:


Salinity:


Chlorophyll concentration (a measure of phytoplankton concentration)


You can follow along as ru07 makes its way south toward New Jersey at our website here: http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/auvs/. Just click the name of the glider (ru07) to see the real-time data!

Unlike the remote sensing satellite and HF radar data that has been used so far in our model development, the gliders give us data on how the ocean varies throughout the water column. This data is a look into the future. It is these scales and structures that match closer to the tools that Chris and the rest of the crew of the Karen Elizabeth were using as additional indicators of where and when to fish. I look forward to learning from the fisherman and ocean scientists on how best to bring this data into the products!

So as one successful trip ends another begins. We continue to study the ocean in ways that have not been possible before.