Problems with the lab equipment during the second half of the leg were mostly in the first few days of the cruise as various instruments were turned on for the first time in awhile. Six successful heat flow Adara measurements were taken. It was necessary to put in some off-shift hours supporting one of the Adara deployments and the Minolta color scanner. Assistance was given removing TOTCO components that will be used as spares and testing Lamont's borrowed Marisat B installation.
Special Projects
A replacement piece of gym exercise equipment was received in Panama and assembled on the transit. There was much discussion on where the monolithic Promaxima assembly should be located. Users were very pleased with the smoothness, range of challenge, and varieties of exercise it offered.
Around a continual shuffle of alligator boxes of core liner, the core lab roof was completely chipped, primed, and painted. Scalloping was noted on thinning roofplates, to 2-3 inches in from the edges. The rails around the deck were replaced; the 4 in drain lines were replaced and moved.
A rain gauge sponsored and built by Grant Petty from Purdue University was brought aboard in Barbados for trial use. Scientist Jim Ogg assumed responsibility for the device. Actual rain values (ground truths) were to be compared with estimates derived from satellite images and used to refine the algorithms for area rainfall. Some good data were collected and some changes were suggested for a more rugged version. The instrument and software were returned at Charleston. Perhaps it will be deployed on another leg.
Safety
No METS participants sailed on the first half of the leg. Most of the usual participants on the second half of the leg were on night shifts and excused.
Air Quality /environmental survey forms from TAMU Health and Safety were available to the scientists and specialists for those who wished to participate. Sedco/Catermar did not participate. An abbreviated CO2 survey of 10 areas in the ship house and labs was made for background information.
Problems
Water leaks from the hold access hatch below the catwalk persisted despite attention from the deck people on two occasions. Captain Oonk added the hatch to the drydock work list where a better design might be implemented. On one instance the captain had the area mopped while the area was being used to prepare the off-going shipment.
Although there were plans to install the new plastic-lined chemical pipes under the lab stack, it was not done this leg.
To 171B Laboratory Statistics