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A Day in the Estuary

CMOP field team on a typical day in the estuaryCMOP Field Team from left to right: Nate (volunteer), Greta, Katie, and Michael

We are in the Columbia River estuary performing CTD measurements during slack tide. The weather for the research cruise has been sunny with calm seas. All that good weather is something the CMOP field team isn't use to. They are more accustomed to gray skies and rain, the typical working conditions around Astoria.

Fact is that Astoria ranks number one as the cloudiest city in America. The area has 240 cloudy days per year. They also rank third as the wettest city with 191 days per year of rain. (Source: The Weather Channel)

So when we entered the Columbia River estuary and it was a miserable rainy day, the field team felt right at home.

Offshore Mooring Deployment

A mooring is a collection of devices that are connected to a cable and anchored on the sea floor. The CMOP mooring launched on Friday has a CT sensor mounted on the bottom side of the buoy, below the waterline. CT is an acronym for conductivity and temperature. The benefits of this mooring is the ability to continuously gather salinity (conductivity) and temperature data over the next six months.

Phoebe Launched

Underwater glider sets off on research mission

Phoebe, CMOP's underwater glider, was deployed off the R/V Wecoma near Grays Harbor today. She is on a mission to cover the area between the Queets River and the Grays Harbor line looking for hypoxic water. View her latest observations.

Biofouling

Before and after of instrument in ocean for 6 months
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This photo is an example of biofouling on the scientific instruments attached to the Sitka mooring.

Biofouling or biological fouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, and/or animals on wetted structures.

ADCP
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The acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) stopped working because it was completely encased by gooseneck barnacles. They were so dense that the ADCP could not produce a record of water current velocities.

Retrieving Sitka - An Ocean Observing Mooring

I am aboard the Research Vessel Wecoma heading west on the Newport Hydrographic Line to document the retrieval of the mooring called Sitka.

Shorter is Sweeter

The importance of being brief was one of the take away messages from today's NSF Workshop on Science Journalism.

Science journalist, Cheryl Lyn Dybas from NSF hosted the workshop at the 2010 Ocean Science Meeting in Portland. She presented interesting insight into scientific communication.

Virtual Columbia River

The center released the new Virtual Columbia River web site today.

The Virtual Columbia River includes self-redundant long-term simulation databases of 4D (space-time) circulation, designed to characterize contemporary variability and change.

Graphic of virtual Columbia river The site contains an amazing Columbia River Climatological Atlas.

CMOPARENA

I was quietly writing an article when two high school interns entered my office. Avilash and Tanner wanted to make a CMOP video and needed my help. Being game for something fun, I said sure. This is what we came up with. Enjoy.

Fightin' Phytoplankton

The centers best and brightest take a break for a game of soccer.

Soccer MatchSoccer Match - Nirzwan and Chelsea square off

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