The land instruments

As a volunteer on the GeoPRISMS experiment I was given the opportunity to learn about active seismic onshore survey deployment. The deployment took place from September 8 to 16. During that time the team deployed 80 RT130s along the two seismic profiles in North Carolina and Virginia.  We first prepared the instruments and learned how to deploy them. 

Synchronizing the GPS clocks of the RT130 before deployment in the courtyard of the instrument center. Each instrument is powered by a deep cycle battery.

Pnina Miller (IRIS/PASSCAL) shows how to correctly orient the GPS antenna during the volunteer training

After the preparation we independently deployed the seismometers along the two profiles. Ana Corbalán and I installed 16 RT130s along the southern profile.  

 

Ana and I on our way to our next seismic station

The insulation was tough but gratifying. The weather in North Carolina is unpredictable. At times it was hot and humid. I was drenched in sweat burying the sensors. Other times we were caught in torrential downpours working under a tarp; terrified by the sound of thunder. The sites were located on mostly private property, hosted by people who were eager to help with the experiment. The interaction with the local people enriched the experience. Many of them showed true southern hospitality. 

 

Station deployed!

From an academic prospective I learned about survey design, instrument deployment and the logistics. This provided a distinctly unique experience that is unavailable in the classroom environment. Beatrice and Dan were tremendously helpful and supportive. I learned a great deal about active seismic from my conversations with them. They’re passionate about nurturing future geophysicist. The GeoPRISMS is an altruistic endeavor for them. I am thankful to them for investing so much of their time and expertise into the project. 

The GeoPRISMS experiment has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to help with the deployment and look forward to my involvement in the recovery of the instruments! A future workshop will be held for processing the data and the inversions. This pre to post educational approach is invaluable to me as a future geophysicist.

Posted by Christopher Novitsky 

The Land Deployment Team!

From L-R: Yanjun Hao, David Boyd, Dam Lan, Ana Corbalan, Christopher Novitsky, Pnina Miller, Jason Leiker, Kara Jones, Beatrice Magnani (front), James Farrel (back), Dan Lizarralde.

It took us a while, but here we are, the team that deployed the land seismometers on Sept 12-15. The instruments are now continuously recording the Langseth shots and will continue recording for few more weeks. The East Carolina University in Greenville, NC graciously allowed us to use one of the research facilities on their West Campus (a place with a fascinating story - blog on that coming soon!) as the headquarter for operations. We will be back to the field at the end of October to pick up the instruments, download/save the data and demob.

Posted by Beatrice Magnani

The Night Watch in Action!

We've captured the process of recovering and deconstructing a Scripps OBS thanks to Harm's nifty GoPro camera attached to the crane. This OBS was a little tricky to hook, but otherwise it was a smooth recovery!

Time series of the recovery after the OBS has been attached to the crane. Photo Credit: Ernie Aaron.

See ya'll later,
Jenny Harding
R/V Endeavor

What are we up to

September 25, 2014

        For those of you following at home, it might be a bit confusing on which ship is doing what and where. I've made a little cartoon timeline that will hopefully illuminate our progress so far.
       There are two ships currently in the Atlantic: the OBS deploying R/V Endeavor and the seismic shooting R/V Langseth. The R/V Endeavor has been putting OBS down and picking them back up again on lines 2, 3, and 4 while the R/V Langseth has shot seismic along line 2 and 3, and is going to head over to shoot on line 4 soon.

See you later,

Kate Volk aboard the R/V Endeavor

Group photo time

September 24, 2014

Well we have finished deploying OBS on line four and are now transiting back to the beginning of line 3 to start picking OBS back up again. At this point, we've all fallen into our jobs and are working like a well oiled machine. Each shift was able to deploy around 9 or 10 OBS in 12 hours time, moving smoothly from one site to the next. To celebrate our progress so far, I've got some group photos to share.

The science party from left to right: Gary, Dylan, Afshin, Harm, Brandon, Pamela, Jenny, and Kate (Photo credit: Dave DuBois, edited by Gary Linkevich)

The WHOI and SIO OBS technicians from left to right: Ernie, Peter, Mark, and Dave (Photo credit: Gary Linkevich)

The whole science group (Photo credit: Ethan, edited by Gary Linkevich)

The science group in the WHOI van with the WHOI OBS (photo credit: Dave DuBois)

See you later,

Kate Volk aboard the R/V Endeavor

Dinner Time

September 23, 2014

Good eats! We couldn’t do this cruise without our great Chief steward Mike. Mike keeps the morale up on the ship by preparing three fabulous meals a day, plus providing ample snacks and baked goods. I’ve especially enjoyed the coffee cake, macaroni and cheese and tomato soup, oh and pretty much every dessert he’s made. Mike is especially awesome at accommodating everyone on the ship and providing tons of variety for us. He includes meat dishes as well as vegetarian, whole wheat, and vegan options, all of them yummy!

The galley, Mike is preparing for dinner (Photo credit: Kate Volk)

Mike making dinner (Photo credit: Kate Volk)

 

Mike in the Galley (Photo credit: Kate Volk)

Dessert (Photo credit: Kate Volk)

Kate, Gary, Kurt, and Dylan enjoying a meal (Photo credit: Kate Volk)

See you later, 

Kate Volk aboard the R/V Endeavor

UPDATE: September 23rd

September 23^rd, 2014

1641

The last few days have been a bit rough, with intermittent rain, winds at 15 – 30 kts, and 6 – 10 foot seas, but that didn’t delay our progress at all. When I woke up for watch late yesterday morning, the sun was shining, the seas were calm, we successfully completed recovery of the OBSs that we had deployed on Line 2, and we were in transit to the beginning of Line 4 to begin our redeployment. Now, over the past 26 hours, we have deployed OBSs along the entirety of Line 4 (22 instruments) and begun our transit to the south end of Line 3 to begin recovery of those instruments.

Until next time,

Dylan Meyer aboard the R/V Endeavor