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For the Week of September 5, 2021
Weekly Hydro Ship Activity Report
Welcome to NOAA's Weekly Hydrographic Ship Activity Report! We hope you enjoy this reader-friendly layout for our weekly report as we update you on the progress of our NOAA-ship and contractor-run surveys. Please continue to direct your correspondences to progress.sketches@noaa.gov.
Highlights of this edition
- NOAA Ship Rainier completed her survey season. Fairweather is alongside in Ketchikan, AK and Thomas Jefferson is alongside in Norfolk, VA. Ferdinand R. Hassler continues to work offshore from New Jersey for the Approaches to New York project.
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Four contracted projects remain in the field at this time: Approaches to Egegik Bay, AK; Bering Sea Reconnaissance Survey; Pascagoula, MS; and Port Freeport & Approaches, TX.
NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson operated Un-crewed Aerial Systems to collect images for the Coast Pilot. Senior Survey Technician, Kevin Brown, captured this one on Sept. 10 of the historic Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, south of Annapolis, Maryland.
NOAA Ships
FERDINAND R. HASSLER
OPR-C319-FH-21 Approaches to New York
Recap
- NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler continued work on H13475 and H13480, in addition to completing mainscheme acquisition on H13477.
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- NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler will focus on processing all of the sidescan data from sheets H13475, 13476, and 13477 in order to develop all identified features and address all holidays on those sheets.
THOMAS JEFFERSON
OPR-E349-TJ-21 Central Chesapeake Bay, MD
Recap
- NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson completed acquisition on Central Chesapeake, sheets H13509 and H131510 and pulled in port in Norfolk, VA.
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- Pending repairs to the Fast Rescue Boat, the ship will be getting underway to work offshore Chesapeake, OPR-D304-TJ-21, H13424.
FAIRWEATHER
OPR-L361-FA-21 San Francisco Bay, CA
Recap
- NOAA Ship Fairweather is alongside in Ketchikan, AK for crew rest, shelter-in-place, and mechanical maintenance.
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Fairweather will be alongside Ketchikan, AK, until the next scheduled departure on 18SEP2021.
RAINIER
Recap
- NOAA Ship Rainier is alongside the Marine Center Operations Center - Pacific in in Newport, OR.
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Looking Forward
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Rainier completed her survey season.
Contracted Vessels
OPR-J315-KR-21 Pascagoula, MS
Recap
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Blake completed Hurricane Ida response surveys in Louisiana and returned to Gulfport, MS.
Looking Forward
- Preparing fill and investigation plans
- No survey operations planned. Potential to resume next week.
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OPR-K380-KR-21 Port Freeport & Approaches, TX
Recap
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Atlantic Surveyor commenced survey operations on H13505 (Sheet 4).
- A routine port call spanned part of 9/7 and 9/8/2021.
- As the marine weather conditions continued to deteriorate towards the end of the day on 9/11/2021, data quality also became unacceptable during the last line of the day. This final survey line of the day was completed just prior to the Julian day (JD) rollover into JD255, and after completion we suspended survey operations due to the adverse weather conditions which are forecast to worsen through the weekend and into next week with an increasing potential for a tropical development in the western Gulf that could work its way toward the middle to upper Texas coastal areas late this weekend.
Looking Forward
- Sunday 9/12/2021 we plan to complete transit to dock, Freeport, TX, and remain there ahead of the continued adverse weather forecast to come with Tropical Storm NICHOLAS.
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Atlantic Surveyor survey operations will continue on H13505 (Sheet 4) as weather conditions allow, and anticipated by mid-week.
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OPR-R340-KR-21 Approaches to Egegik Bay, AK
Recap
Vessel Activities:
- Work this week was primarily collection of MBES mainscheme in H13442 and
H13443. Sealegs vessel was able to work three days this week to address nearshore areas of H13442 and H13443.
- In addition, work included splits and infills in H13441, and XLs in H13439, H13441,
H13442, and H13443.
- Bottom samples also collected when in their vicinity with an additional nine acquired
this week.
- Per NOAA, COVID19 contingency funds converted to 297 additional LNM this week
(reflected in new planned LNM below). It is anticipated that the additional LNM provides sufficient LNM to complete H13443 and make some progress into the H13443_ext area.
- Completed vessel rotation/resupply to/from Dillingham on 9/7.
- Work remaining consists of: Some additional XLs in all sheets, infills in H13438,
complete mainscheme in H13443, and nine more bottom samples (in H13442 and
H13443).
Tide Work:
- GNSS Buoy was pulled by the Q105 on 8/31 after collection of 30 days of data
- No significant issues noted in available tide gauge telemetry from the two stations
- Note that the full tide range is being observed at the Dago Creek Mouth (Pilot Point)
tide station
- Tide station install reports submitted on 9/10 (Egegik) and 9/11 (Dago Creek Mouth)
- LNM collected to date: 5,368 (of 5,726 planned)
Looking Forward
Vessel Activities:
- Complete remaining work noted above. On-site vessel operations may conclude this week, weather permitting.
- Weather downtime expected at least a portion of this week.
Tide Work:
- Staff shot trip planned to Egegik / Pilot Point 9/14 – 9/17.
S-R364-KR-21 Bering Sea Reconnaissance Survey
Recap
- SD1030 and SD1034 continued survey along route “2b”
- SD1033 and SD1067 continued survey along route “2a”
- Vehicles periodically deviated from the track routes this week to move in directions
favorable to the hydro-generators. They returned to the predefined routes as soon as
possible after the maneuvers were complete.
- SD1033 and SD1067 passed within about 15 NM of the 30 NM whaling buffer around Nome. The other USVs were not in close proximity to any whaling communities this week.
- Mission Days completed as of end of day 9/11/21 (UTC): 35 (of 65 planned)
Looking Forward
- SD1033 and SD1067 will finish route “2a” and begin transit for site 4 or 5 (TBD).
- SD1030 and SD1034 will continue survey along route “2b”.
- A low pressure system in the Bering Sea region is expected to bring higher speeds
through the water and increased hydro-generator power production early in the week.
- SD1033 and SD1067 will be offshore of the Norton Sound whaling community buffer zones this week. SD1030 and SD1034 will likely reach this area as well by late in the week. At their closest approach they may be within 1-2 NM of the Nome, White Mountain, and Golovin buffer zones, which extend 30 NM offshore from those communities.
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