Snow Day

They called it "snowpocalypse."

Ocean Sciences Building, University of Washington

The storm did make the city a bit difficult to navigate, quite a few people are going without power, and the mountains got loads of snow.  So "snowpocalypse" did cause some problems but it also made skiers and snowboarders very happy.  But all that snow and stormy weather made it impossible to do any field work at the buoys last week.  Our fingers are crossed for some good weather this coming week.

Friday the 13th

This past week we had some fair weather and we were able to visit two of our buoys.  Early in the week we were able to make it to the Pt. Wells buoy.  A problem arose at Pt. Wells recently that involved a derelict fishing net wrapped around two of our anchor lines.

Bumpy ride.

We were able to remove a portion of the net with the help of an additional boat.  Although we got a good size length of the fishing net out of the water we can't be sure of what exactly is left down there.  We have deployed a package of oceanographic instruments and will continue to collect data but the profile depth will be shallower than usual.  The shallower depth will reduce the chance of the instruments getting tangled in any netting that may be still tangled in the anchor lines.  We are working on solutions to address any netting that remains.

Pt. Wells

On Friday (the 13th) we made our way to Hoodsport.  We left in the morning with the intent to swap the on deck computer with a spare.  We were experiencing a communication problem that we were able to trace to the computer.  When we arrived at the buoy the computer was replaced and our communication problem was solved.  But, we began discovering a number of new problems...

Heading into the eerie Friday the 13th fog.

I am by no means a superstitious person but if things were going to go wrong Friday the 13th seemed like the day it would happen.  With that being said the problems we encountered were brought about by a harsh saltwater environment and not bad luck associated with a particular day.  Ultimately we were unable to get the buoy profiling partly due to water getting into a solar panel junction box and causing corrosion on the wires and terminals.  This is likely the reason why we have been having difficulty keeping a charge on our batteries recently at this site. 

At this point it is back to the lab to troubleshoot some problems and come up with a plan on which buoy to focus on next.  The weather is calling for some stormy snowy weather this coming week which may make visiting a buoy difficult.  If that is the case it will be a good time to drink hot coffee and work on projects in the lab.

Old Man Winter

On the buoy we need to power a package of oceanographic instruments, a winch to move the instruments in the water column, a weather station, an on deck computer, and a communication system.  All these aspects of the buoy are powered by four 12 volt marine batteries.  The batteries are wired into two 24 volt battery "banks."  By utilizing solar and wind power we are able to maintain a charge on batteries.

Wind Generator 

 During the winter months our days are shorter and the sunlight is less intense.  That means less power delivered to the buoy and in response we need to decrease our sampling frequency.  We do get some pretty windy days in the winter though which can at times compensate for the lack of sunlight. 

During these winter months we are busy chasing power issues while trying to keep up with the maintenance of all the buoys.

Morning Commute

Welcome!

Welcome to the ORCA Buoy Project Blog.

Carr Inlet

The ORCA Buoy was started in 2000 and provides a near-continual stream of high resolution water quality data from locations in the Puget Sound.  Currently there are six buoys throughout Puget Sound.

This blog will explore the trials, tribulations, and joys of maintaining and operating six buoys.