The Hunt for the Alligator 2004 Hunt for the Alligator Expedition Log for Wednesday, August 25, 2004 High Winds, High Seas Michiko MartinNOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program
The Alligator expedition crew listened with disappointment as YP679 Captain Kevin Harbison explained that high winds and seas would prevent our day’s survey work. Outstanding preparation means little to Mother Nature. We knew as we were planning the cruise that Cape Hatteras weather could pose a problem. After all, it was weather conditions that led to the loss of the Alligator in 1863. And, it was only a couple of weeks ago that Hurricane Alex flooded Ocracoke Island and threatened this week’s mission: we were not sure whether the tropical storm had impacted the bottom depths of Silver Lake Harbor in Pamlico Sound that would prevent the 108-foot Yard Patrol craft from pulling in and out of the pier. Today we learned that high seas would cancel our cruise. An east-west oriented, stationary front extended through our operating area off North Carolina barrier islands. A front is a boundary between two different air masses. A strong gradient, or change, exists between the air masses and sets up conditions where "weather" occurs. Today was no different as strong easterly winds of 10-20 knots set up 4-6 foot seas—waves too large for a small vessel conducting hazardous oceanographic survey operations. All day, the scientists and explorers huddled in strategic meetings to determine what changes needed to be made to respond to today’s cancellation of operations. Would we postpone Thursday’s diving operations? Would we still deploy the Remotely Operated Vehicle tomorrow? Would we still be able to conduct a complete survey of our targeted area? Today was a perfect example of why at-sea researchers must remain flexible to changes and must always conduct contingency planning. Fortunately, our researchers and mission planners considered the possible effects of adverse weather, and we head into an early 5 am launch tomorrow morning with minimal impact to our overall mission. Michael Overfield Chief Scientist/Archaeologist Winds within our search area are predicted to gust to 25 - 30 miles per hour today. This would cause offshore wave heights to range between 6 - 8 feet. After consulting the weather forecast, the Captain and myself conferred and agreed it would be in the best interest for the safety of the scientific staff and boat crew to remain in port today. The survey plan laid out for this week allows for two weather days (days were the weather is poor and would not allow for the safe operation of the YP). Work continued today in analyzing the data collected on Sunday and Monday and allowed time to design survey lines over the areas of interest identified during the 24-hour operation. |
