DAY ONE (9/17/12)

The R/V Falkor left the Port of Corpus Christi with near-perfect weather conditions.  During the trip to the exploration sites, the team celebrated Dr. Thomas Shirley’s 20^th birthday at sea during his 30-year career with a gourmet birthday cake and live musical entertainment.  Dr. Shirley, Chief Scientist of the expedition, will lead the team by directing underwater multibeam mapping, surface faunal observations, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) 3-D videography, and geological and biological samples collected by the ROV.

Crew member Ramón sings for crew member Nona and

Dr. Shirley, who share the same birthday. Image credit: Harriet Nash

 

 

Image credit: Harriet Nash

While in transit, the science party convened to finalize the route for multibeam data collection of all high-priority sites after a data processing lesson from SOI’s marine technology crew.  Three passes, with 10-percent overlap, will generate data swaths that will be processed and mapped to produce detailed 3-D images of the banks.  The vessel arrived at the first site, Bad Mud Bank, at 1800.  The multicolor imagery of Baker Bank, however, generated the most excitement among scientists in the video control room on the first day due to the site surface complexity evident immediately upon the first pass over the site.  Dr. Shirley assigned each team member 2-hour shifts of data processing for the first 36 hours of multibeam data collection at the South Texas Banks.  By the end of day one, with only six hours of site-specific multibeam data collection, we already completed the first of three data swaths for the most important sites.

Dr. Wes Tunnell processes raw multibeam data.

Image credit: Harriet Nash; Schmidt Ocean Institute

Day 1 Sunset
Image credit: Harriet Nash

 

Written by Harriet Nash for Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Cruise Objectives

The primary objective of the cruise is to obtain high-resolution multibeam mapping of the South Texas Banks which have not yet been mapped. Other objectives include:

-         - CTD and ADCP casts adjacent to the banks to allow comparisons of their hydrography.

-         - Three ROV transects across each bank (or as many as time permits) from the seaward to the landward side. A sediment sample will be collected at the base of each bank at the beginning and end of each ROV transect, rock/coral samples will be collected when possible, and selected voucher specimens will be collected along each transects.

-         - Micro and macroalgal studies will be conducted on and around each bank with particular focus on primary productivity and the presence of toxic microalgal species.

Cruise Summary

The first of two cruises, led by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, will conduct high resolution, multibeam mapping of a series of mid- to outer-shelf banks off the South Texas coast. Only a few of these banks have been mapped in detail previously. We will also use the shipboard ROV to conduct three video transects across as many of the banks as time will allow, moving from seaward to landward over the crests. Voucher specimens will be collected to identify macrofauna in the video transects. Sediment will be sampled at the base of each bank on either side, and rock (fossil coral) samples will be collected when possible with the ROV. Micro and macroalgal studies will also be conducted in the water column and on the banks with particular focus on primary productivity on the banks, possible red tide organism presence, and the presence of other toxic benthic dinoflagellates. An on-deck flow-thru incubator with manipulated light quality/quantity and nutrient content analysis will be used in these experiments. Hydrographic measurements will be made with the CTD rosette above and away from each prominence. Current flow measurements will be mapped with the ADCP.