2015
Activities Report for the Cruise PE_1606 (CMRET cruise GOM01-15) to Mississippi Canyon aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the operations report and event log of activities designed to perform necessary engineering tests of equipment including the speed-of-sound probe with gravity corer at the site of the Gulf of Mexico seafloor observatory, MC118 and at MC798. Please note, some of the photos within the document were not available.
2014
Activities Report for Cruise GOM02-14-MC118 and MC798 aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the operations and activities of an 8-day cruise to two sites in Mississippi Canyon, northern Gulf of Mexico, including the site of the Hydrates Seafloor Observatory and the location of a newly discovered seafloor chemosynthetic community. Operations include engineering tests of new and redesigned instruments and vehicles and the recovery of a system designed to monitor changes in resistivity in the shallow sub-seafloor at a site of known hydrate occurrence.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM01-14-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report contains an account of operations of the MMRI/CMRET/STRC April 9-12, 2014 cruise to MC118 aboard LUMCON’s R/V Pelican. Cruise activities conducted in support of the DOE investigation of Time-Lapse Electrical Resistivity Methods and In Situ Observations of Multiple Oceanographic Parameters included surveying by means of direct current resistivity methods and deployment of a lander instrumented with oceanographic sensors and a resistivity array.
2013
Activities Report for Cruise GOM01-13-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report contains an account of operations of the MMRI/CMRET/STRC June 30-July 3, 2013 cruise to MC118 aboard LUMCON’s R/V Pelican. Cruise activities included the deployment and event log of the Integrated Scientific Platform for Instrument Deployment and Emergency Recovery (I-SPIDER) and survey activities.
2012
Activities Report for Cruise GOM02-12-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report contains an account of operations of the MMRI/CMRET/STRC July 16-21 cruise to MC118 aboard LUMCON’s R/V Pelican. Cruise activities included the deployment and recovery of the instrumented Autonomous Benthic Instrument Lander (ABIL), performance of ECOGIG lander operations at MC297 not completed during their Endeavor cruise – video documentation of lander and instrument orientation/disposition, video-surveying of surroundings and placement of instruments from the lander onto the seafloor.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM01-12-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report contains an account of operations of the MMRI/CMRET/STRC April 17-21 cruise to St. Bernard Shoals and MC118 aboard LUMCON’s R/V Pelican. Cruise activities included the recovery of sand cores from the shoals via vibracorer, recovery of samples for heavy metals analysis from a cold seep, and recovery of devices from the seafloor observatory for data recovery and for refurbishing.
2011
Activities Report for Cruise GOM05-11-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report contains an account of operations of the MMRI/CMRET October 13-16 cruise to MC118 aboard LUMCON’s R/V Pelican. Cruise activities included the deployment of a new, MMRI-fabricated multipurpose calibration mooring as well as a repeat deployment of the ROVARD, surveying with a geochemical/visual/sample-recovery lander and the first ever remote recovery of data from the seafloor for an extended period (3 months) using the Woods Hole Optic Telemetry System.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM03-11 aboard the R/V Acadiana This report contains an account of operations of the MMRI/CMRET/STRC May 30-June 2 cruise to St. Bernard Shoals and the Mississippi River Birdsfoot Delta aboard LUMCON’s R/V Acadiana. Cruise activities included the collecting of sediment cores from target areas in St. Bernard Shoals for potential beach replenishment resources and quantifying and characterizing in "near real-time" the flood/sediment plume emanating from the main passes of the Mississippi River during the peak-flow of the historic 2011 flood.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM1-11-MC118 aboard the M/V Bunny Bordelon This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from March 28 to April 9, 2011. The objectives of this cruise were to collect 4-C (shear) data from the shallow subsurface in the area of the Seafloor Monitoring Station/Observatory using both active and passive energy sources and ocean bottom seismometers as receivers and to retrieve the Benthic Boundary Layer Array of chemical sensors following its 6-month deployment.
2010
Activities Report for Cruise GOM4-10-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from September 9 -15, 2010. The purpose of the cruise was to attempt the deployment of the Horizontal Line Arrays, Chimney Sampler Arrays and geochemical pore water samplers (Peepers); access water column and seafloor conditions in the wake of the Macondo spill; and to attempt to acquire an AUV photo survey of the seafloor at MC118.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM2-10-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from April 20 to April 29, 2010. The purpose of the cruise was to perform engineering tests on the Station Service Device ROV, test a new deployment system for the SSD, verify instrument locations on the seafloor, recover push-cores with the SSD, install the Integrated Data/Power Unit and the Data Recovery System for the Seafloor Observatory, and to deploy and/or recover instruments. Tests of the SSD and the new deployment system and installation activities were accomplished and push-cores were recovered but no instruments were recovered.
2009
Activities Report for Cruise GOM2-09-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the activities of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from June 1 - 8, 2009. The purpose of the cruise was to 1) recover the Benthic Boundary Layer Geochemical Array, 2) Conduct Direct Current Resistivity Profiling with the Station Service Device Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), 3) Utilize the Station Service Device ROV for inspection, recovery and coring operations, and 4) Conduct Bio-etching experiment.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM1-09-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican This report describes the activities of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from March 3 – 14, 2009. The purpose of the cruise was to deploy a Benthic Boundary Layer Geochemical Array, re-install the seafloor observatory Data Recovery System and Integrated Data/Power Unit, retrieve instruments and samplers from the seafloor and collect targeted push cores with the Station Service Device ROV, and deploy and test a membrane inlet Mass Spectrometer – Microbial Filter System.
2008
Activities Report for Cruise GOM2-08-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from May 31 to June 10, 2008. The purpose of the cruise was to install the Integrated Data/Power Unit and the Data Recovery System for the Seafloor Observatory, conduct a subbottom survey of the site and to deploy and/or recover instruments. Installation activities were successfully accomplished but only limited success was achieved with the other activities due to equipment and environmental issues.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM1-08-MC118 aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from April 22-28, 2008. The purpose of the cruise was to collect sediment samples using gravity and box coring devices, and to deploy a second Pore Fluid Array. Acoustic transponders were used in the sampling and deployment activities and provided a high degree of accuracy in these activitie
2007
Activities Report for Cruise GOM4-07-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from November 4-13, 2007. The report includes the operations report and event log of survey efforts using the station service device, exchange of the storm monitoring device, sea trials of mass spectrometer and microbial filter, and core collection.
(video) Research Cruise to hydrate mound in Mississippi Canyon Block 118, July 2007 This 6-minute presentation shows recovering instruments at the hydrates observatory with the new Station Service Device (SSD) from preparation through deployment to retrieval of the SSD.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM3-07-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from July 2-8, 2007. The report descibes and illustrates the second series of sea-trials for the Hydrates Research Consortium's Station Service Device or SSD, the remotely operated vehicle designed especially to support activities at the Hydrates Sea-floor Observatory at Mississippi Canyon 118
2006
Activities Report for Cruise GOM4-06-MC118 aboard the R/V Seward Johnson This report includes the logs and summaries of the ten dives made with the Johnson Sea-link manned submersible to the methane hydrates site at Mississippi Canyon Block 118, September 9-17, 2006.
- Cruise Participants - List of Participants and Affiliations
- Site Map - High resolution bathymetry with key locations plotted
- Jesse Hunt's Dive Logs - A detailed log of each dive as recorded from top side
- Dive 3566 - Higley/Woolsey: Locate PFA and deploy Biolec
- Dive 3567 - Joye/Martin: Deploy hydrate collector, collect push cores and water samples
- Dive 3568 - Camilli/Pizarro: Recon site for geochemical instrument deployment, test Mass Spectrometer (Note: see WHOI Cruise Report for more information on this dive)
- Dive 3569 - Sassen/Discovery Chnl: Deploy microbial collector, film for TV show
- Dive 3570 - Camilli/Pizarro: Replace osmo sampler package on PFA (Note: see WHOI Cruise Report for more information on this dive)
- Dive 3571 - Santos/Farr: Deploy Geochemical arrays (BBLA, CSA and bubble counter) (Note: see WHOI Cruise Report for more information on this dive)
- Dive 3572 - MacDonald/Lloyd: Deploy camera, peepers and osmolander
- Dive 3573 - Woolsey/Noakes: Recon Hydrate Bridge - Sleeping Dragon, collect hydrate
- Dive 3574 - Mendlovitz/Farr: Stereo Camera images, check Biolec, retrieve bubble counter
- Dive 3575 - Camilli/Pizarro: Stero camera and Mass Spec survey, deploy Biolec (Note: see WHOI Cruise Report for more information on this dive)
- WHOI Cruise Report - Research Activities and Preliminary Cruise Report of the WHOI group
Activities Report for Cruise GOM3-06-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican This report covers the first of two cruises to survey site of the Hydrate Research Consortium’s Sea-Floor Observatory in Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118, Northern Gulf of Mexico, using the CMRET’s deep-towed Shallow Source – Deep Receiver seismic survey system, April 17-24, 2006.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM2-06-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican Activities Report for Cruise GOM2-06-MC118 aboard the R/VPelican This report covers the initial at-sea tests of the DeepSee Drift Camera at the site of the Sea-floor Observatory, Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 Northern Gulf of Mexico, March 24-28, 2006.
Operations Report and Event Log of Cruise GOM1-06-MC118, aboard the R/V Pelican This is a report of initial efforts to survey the site of the hydrates Monitoring Station/Sea-floor Observatory by acquiring seismic reflection profiles across the mound in MC118 using the Surface-Source-Deep-Receiver (SSDR) technique.
2005
Activities Report for Cruise GOM3-05-MC118 Aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from October 15-21, 2005 aboard the R/V Pelican. The purposes of this cruise were 1) to install, calibrate, test and put to use the ultra-short base-line (USBL) locating system, 2) to collect CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) data in support of the design of a seismic survey of the block, and 3) to collect sediment and water samples to further characterize the sea floor and shallow subseafloor environments at MC118.
Operations Report Of Cruise GOM2-05-MC118 Aboard the R/V Pelican. This cruise included the Deployment Of The Initial Components Of The Sea Floor Monitoring Station - The Pore-Fluid Array And The Geophysical Line Array - Via The Sea Floor Probe System And Collection Of Core Samples, Mississippi Canyon 118.
Activities Report for Cruise GOM1-05-MC118 Aboard the R/V Pelican This report describes the activities and results of a scientific research cruise to Mississippi Canyon Federal Lease Block 118 from January 25-27, 2005 aboard the R/V Pelican. The primary tasks accomplished during the cruise include 1) deployment of Seafloor Probe, 2) sediment coring, and 3) acoustic evaluation of a bottom-founded pipeline.