October 4, 2024

High Winds, Rough Seas, and Winch Problems

High Winds, Rough Seas, and Winch Problems

We had issues with the winch and cable that support the weight of the jumbo gravity coring system (” Big Bertha”) as it descends and ascends through the water column. We had to change the coring operation to the starboard (right) side of the ship, where there is a smaller sized winch that we could utilize. The starboard winch supports less weight than the previous one, so we required to utilize a smaller coring head and much shorter pipelines. Chris Fanshier and Ben Freiberg (shown below) are doing a great task handling the healing of the cores thinking about the sea surface conditions.

From January 16 to 19, the R/V Pelican transited from overseas Jamaica towards Haiti along the Jamaica Passage. Underneath the ocean waters, on the seafloor, we could track the linear trace of the submarine Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault zone on surface maps. We took sediment cores during the night time.
Image: Cecilia McHugh
We had issues with the winch and cable that support the weight of the jumbo gravity coring system (” Big Bertha”) as it comes down and ascends through the water column. We needed to change the coring operation to the starboard (right) side of the ship, where there is a smaller sized winch that we could use. The starboard winch supports less weight than the previous one, so we required to utilize a smaller sized coring head and much shorter pipelines. This suggests that the length of the core we recuperate is shorter, so the sediment layers do not reach as far back in time. With the Big Bertha system, we might recuperate 6 meters. With this smaller sized system, only one meter.
Picture: Cecilia McHugh
Instrument problems and rough seas prevail in seagoing expeditions and we generally have numerous back-up systems in case something breaks while we are far away from land. This is such a case.
Storm moon and rough seas along the Jamaica Passage. Image: Cecilia McHugh
As the dominating winds that blow along the Jamaica Passage gained ground, the swells ended up being higher and the oceans rougher. The Jamaica Passage is an open seaway where winds tend to be strong, making coring operations challenging. Chris Fanshier and Ben Freiberg (shown listed below) are doing a great job dealing with the recovery of the cores considering the sea surface area conditions. They are both really knowledgeable, and we are fortunate to have them.
Chris Fanshier (back) and Ben Freiberg (front). Photo: Cecilia McHugh

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Cecilia McHugh|January 20, 2022