Day 18 JASON-2

I’ve been waiting for day this all my life, (thirty years anyway). I first heard of Alvin at Disneyland at a display near the submarine ride. Alvin is a small submersible that holds 3 people and can dive to depths of 4.5 kilometers. When thermal vents were first discovered off the coast of the Galapagos Islands in the late 1970’s Alvin was there. I have dreamed of making an Alvin dive ever since. There was a “teacher in space” program, why not a “teacher under the sea?”

Now, at last, here I am—a dream come true. It’s not Alvin but Jason-2. We don’t go under, but we control Jason-2 and watch his every move from the control van on the back deck. It’s so much like being there, you want to reach out and touch. You may not have the romance of being in a submersible but you have the comforts of the ship–you can stretch your legs, the temperature is controlled (Alvin is near freezing at these depths) and you can visit the head (ship-talk for bathroom).

It was too rough to launch Jason-2 last night but the seas are calmer so we deployed at 0630. I like bringing up cores and the sonar mapping projects have resulted in some beautiful maps, but nothing compares to Jason-2. Standing watches for sonar mapping meant watching numbers on a computer screen and plotting locations on a chart. Watches today are filled with excitement as we actually watch the sea floor as we fly over. We can stop and sample rocks, sediments and water and we can deploy and retrieve experimental equipment. With the invention of GPS (Global Positioning System) the ship can put Jason-2 back on an exact location so experimental equipment can be left for hours, days or even years and later collected.

Sonar mapping watches took 3 people: the pilot, the navigator and the chart person, and rarely did anyone else enter the control van. When Jason-2 is deployed there are the 3 members of the Jason Team, a principal investigator and 2 assistants. There is also a steady stream of people wandering in just to see what is going on. The van is wall-to-wall computers and monitors--it looks like something from space control, but then it is space—Inner Space.

At this location, in 1997, Jason-1 developed hydraulic and electrical problems and scientific equipment was left behind, some intentionally and some of necessity. Today we found 3 kinds of water-sampling devices left in 1997 called benthic barrels and a navigation transponder. Not everything was brought back to the surface. Jason-2 can only bring back a specific amount of weight. When Jason-2 can’t carry everything, we lower an elevator and Jason-2 can take equipment from, or load it onto, the elevator.

We saw markers from the previous trip—white plastic bucket lids with numbers anchored to small weights. We even saw a big black plastic trash bag—I trust it wasn’t from a research vessel. With Jason-2, we took small core samples, collected rocks and pieces of small chimneys but I’m out of space--I anxiously await another day to see more and tell more.

Science Summary - Day 18, April 9th

Science Objectives, Day 18:

The eighteenth day of the cruise, April 9th, will be spent examining the Cerulean Springs site at Pacman Seamount's southeastern arm. We will observe and sample the springs site and attempt to recover equipment left there in 1997. The lowering is planned to take all day.

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