Nick Huynh

Hello folks,

Nick Huynh, our carbon isotope and dissolved organic carbon tech, has
been doing some writing of his own. He doesn't have a blog set up just
yet, but he was interested in posting his writing anyway. I love it, so
I offered to put it on this blog. Here it is!

-Brendan



2 April 2014


Current coordinates are -65.2608, -149.9692. Air temperature is -0.2
with a wind chill of -17.6 centigrade, which is warm enough for a
venture outside to invigorate the blood with fresh air, but cold enough
to discourage staying out for longer than a single play through Led
Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. In the eight minutes that Robert Plant's
voice climbs mountains and Jimmy Page's guitar flows around river bends,
your face begins to tingle from the needle-like pricks of a persistent
wind, your hands numb from lack of motion, and your body shivers for
want of something to calm your quivering bones. That brief exposure to
the relatively mild conditions of the Southern Ocean is enough to leave
you astounded by the will and patience of those who braved the adventure
to Antarctica a century ago. How Earnest Shackleton and his crew
survived two winters after their wooden Endurance succumbed to the
pressure converging ice floes, bearing slightly more than their wools,
drifting with fragile hope, and fighting onslaughts of boredom, is a
feat that will always remain incomprehensible to me.


4 April 2014

March passed with 32 days, four time changes, a few iceberg sightings,
two Antarctic Circle crossings, and one really long steam to the
starting point, or station, of our science cruise. Our heading from that
point has been due north, towards the humidity, grass-skirts, and sky
blue waters of the French Polynesia. Our aim is to launch a new set of
autonomous instruments in the Southern Ocean and repeat a survey of the
physical and chemical properties that define the waters between 67ºS,
150ºW and 15ºS, 150ºW. The array of data that we collect will be
contributed to a internationally maintained dataset on global ocean
processes, including temperature, salt, and oxygen circulation, as well
as carbon and nutrient cycling. We hope that with this high quality,
repeated dataset, we can help bring understanding to how the ocean has
changed over time and how it may change in a future painted by the
accelerated rise of atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidification.

Marine Tech Meghan King and NASA scientist Scott Freeman deploying an
Inherent Optical Profiler (IOP), an instrument that measures the amount
and kind of light, uninfluenced by the sun, retained within the water
column.

There are 56 of us working towards this goal, all with a range of
responsibilities, narrow and wide, but all equally important. 18 make up
the crew of the 22-year old, 308 feet long, eight-deck deep Research
Vessel/Ice Breaker (RV/IB) Nathaniel B. Palmer. 9 consist supporting
staff members, who maintain electronics and communications as well as
operate, deploy, and retrieve machinery. These men and women are the
core of what keeps the ship moving and working at a safe efficiency
through the furious waters of the Southern Ocean. Without these
dedicated few, scientific objectives could not be realized. There 29 of
us in the science party, representing institutions from around the
world, including the Australian National University, Columbia University
LaMont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Florida State University, NASA, NOAA,
Princeton, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Texas A&M University,
University Brest, UC Santa Barbara, University of Conception, University
of Hawaii, University of Washington, and Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution. Aside from the Chiefs of Science, who oversee all science
operations, each member of the science party is responsible a specific
component of the expedition objective, whether that is to collect
seawater for a specific analysis, to measure water for a certain
parameter, to deploy a set of instruments, to manage activity around the
CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) water profiling bottle
rosette, or to manage and analyze all incoming and outgoing data. All of
the scientists aboard are ocean-going veterans with years of experience.
Each wields a knowledge of their field that has helped to stimulate and
exercise the underused regions of my mind. I have thoroughly enjoyed
listening to each share their interests and perspectives and I am so
pleased to be sailing, working, and living in their company.

5 April 2014

OPTIMUM TRACK SHIP ROUTING (OTSR) ADVISORY FOR RV NATHANIEL B. PALMER:
NO FEASIBLE ECONOMIC DIVERT EXISTS TO AVOID THESE BROAD AREAS OF HIGH
SEAS.

Because of gale force winds gusting at speeds greater than 30 knots and
swells reaching heights taller than the tallest giraffe, all science
deployments have been suspended, leaving many of us temporarily without
work. We've been walking through the hallways like sober drunkards for
the past 48 hours, trying to find conversations and distractions here
and there to keep ourselves occupied. There have been frequent trips to
the galley, where there is always a freshly baked dessert that tests
discipline, to the bridge, where the 360º view of the horizon recalls
the reality that we are alone, and to the 02 lounge, where you can
become endlessly lost in the world of film. The rowing-running-cycling
competition is still underway, with the Kill-ometers waiting for the
tides to help them gain the lead against P16Stacked. The cribbage
tournament has begun with Steve Howell, our expert on the Lowered
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, an instrument which uses sound to
measure current speeds, gaining the first win against one of our experts
on dissolved inorganic carbon, Dana Greeley. While the weather induced
holiday has been conducive for sleep and play, we are all itching to
deploy the next CTD and move our science forward. I don't believe anyone
is more eager than our Chief Scientist, Lynne Talley, who has been
scrupulously eyeing storm charts and working fervidly with the Captain
to plan our future course.

Relentless blows
Fighting wind angers sea
Poised like mantis

Watching the strong winds and powerful waves clash and bite at the
steel sides of our ship is enough to understand why the Southern Ocean
remains one of the most under-sampled regions of the world and why there
is a paucity of understanding on its processes. It is critical that we
continue trying to conduct science in the region despite its hostile
conditions to not only continue developing our fundamental knowledge of
the oceans, but also to become more conscious of how our Earth is being
changed by our human footprint.

Global ocean circulation is primarily driven by the formation of
deepwater masses that result from differences in water temperature and
salinity. The Southern Ocean is a major region where this deepwater
formation occurs; in certain areas of the Southern Ocean where intense
winds blow and sea ice melts, surface waters can become cooler or
saltier than the waters beneath it and as a result, can sink to depth,
becoming deepwater that circulates in the ocean basins for centuries
before coming into contact with the atmosphere again.

This deepwater formation is a major conduit for the long-term storage
of atmospheric carbon dioxide into the ocean interior and consequently,
makes the Southern Ocean influential in moderating the rate of
human-incurred climate change. It is therefore vital that we make
accurate observations of how deepwater formation and circulation
patterns in the Southern Ocean respond to the long term effects caused
by rising atmospheric CO2 emissions, including ocean warming, ocean
acidification, and regional wind intensification, in order to predict
how the whole Earth system will respond to climate change.

Hopefully this weather will relax sooner rather than later so that we
can get back to surveying the seas and achieving our aims. Until then,
well, for now I suppose I'll have another hot chocolate to keep me warm
while I loiter about and remain poised like a praying mantis.


5 April 2014

"Good news. Cock your bottles, we've got the O-K to deploy within the
hour." -Marine Projects Coordinator, Ken Vicknair

Far out.


14 April 2014

Like moths attracted to a porch light, fishing vessels are lured by the
commanding stature of the RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Capable of
penetrating through 3 feet of ice at a cruising speed of 3 knots, the
Palmer is attuned to performing its primary mission making remote and
inaccessible regions accessible to scientific measurements. While
serving this purpose, however, the Palmer also inadvertently opens up
Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish, also respectively known as Antarctic
cod and Chilean sea bass, fishing grounds to small fishing operations.

Antarctic fishers sail on ice-strengthened vessels, which are fortified
to withstand clashes with drifting ice floes but are not equipped with
enough steel and power to plow through the thick ice sheets that protect
the deep dwelling toothfish the fishers seek. Knowing that the Palmer
makes transits around Antarctica during the austral summer when the
continent's pack ice is still extensive but melting, these fishers have
recognized that they can minimize the duration of their transit,
maximize their fishing time and yields, reach their quotas before
season's end, and return to their families with their pockets full if
they simply follow the Palmer's cruise track.

This past austral summer, three fishing vessels somehow located the
Palmer as it was transiting through the pack ice with a scientific party
planning to conduct research in the Ross Sea. These vessels were able to
find the Palmer through the ship's AIS signal, which can be detected
within a 30 mile radius, and subsequently hailed the Palmer via VHF
radio to request that the icebreaker lead them through the ice. Though
no laws that exist that forbid these fishing vessels from following
ice-breaking research vessels, the Palmer is prohibited by the United
States Coast Guard from leading non-authorized vessels through Antarctic
pack ice. Adhering to this regulation, the Palmer declined the fisher's
requests but could do nothing to stop the vessels from following behind.
These fishing vessels eventually fell far away from the Palmer's course
and thus did not pose a problem for the icebreaker. However, this
incident unlikely to be the last and the Palmer may eventually be forced
to rescue vessels that followed it too far into the pack ice.

Fishing vessels that venture too far into the Antarctic pack ice not
only put risk on themselves, they also put unnecessary risk on the
forward progress of the Palmer's science program and possibly incite
sustainability concerns from the scientific team.

In the case that the trailing fishing vessels become trapped in ice,
the Palmer would need to delay the science program being hosted and
rescue the trapped fishers, which is only natural as the preservation of
human life is paramount to the work of science. Nevertheless, the time
lost to these rescues would still be upsetting not only because the
rescues were preventable, but also because acquiring ship access and
realizing scientific projects in the Southern Ocean requires incredible
effort and capital.

Additionally, after trapped fishing vessels are freed and brought to
safety, there will be the question of who is to claim responsibility for
subsidizing the cost of rescue.

The time and funding for research cruises reallocated to rescue
missions may be simply lost in a similar manner to a recent incident
this past December; tourists sailing on a Russian vessel became trapped
in Antarctic pack ice and were rescued by the joint collaboration
between an Australian and a Chinese icebreaker. No one has yet claimed
liability for the rescue nor have the Australian and Chinese rescuers
been compensated for their efforts.

In addition to the aforementioned concerns, it's likely that the
scientists and their sponsors may feel a little hesitant to indirectly
support the practices of the Antarctic fishers as the Antarctic and
Patagonian toothfish, which are readily sold throughout the world, are
both threatened by overfishing and unsustainable practices.

There's bound to be a solution that appeases both parties, but I'm not
sure what would distinguish a feasible idea from and impractical one.
Perhaps the countries and organizations issuing fishing licenses and
transit permits for Antarctic waters can also provide a state-funded
ice-breaker that can assist as well as regulate the Antarctic and
Patagonian toothfish fisheries. Presumably easier said than done though.

Our group is sailing in the midst of the austral summer when sea ice is
less of an issue for the fishers who bear enough salt to brave the
southern seas; I realize that this short piece brings to attention an
issue that does not relate to our daily lives or experiences on the
Palmer, but it is an issue that piqued my interest and I believe worth
addressing, considering the intensifying scientific work and increasing
ship traffic in the Southern Ocean.