The goals of R/V Wecoma operations are:
1. Mooring recovery and placement at station NH-10 along the Newport Hydroline.
2. Occupy a grid of stations over the Oregon and Washington continental shelf and slope to measure hydrographic (T, S, pressure), bio-optical (chlorophyll fluorescence, light transmission) and chemical (nitrate, dissolved oxygen) parameters. Combine these data with ADCP measurements of subsurface velocity to explore biophysical interactions.
3. Collect water samples for membrane lipid and DNA- and RNA-based microbial community analyses, primary and secondary production rates and water chemistry studies across environmental gradients in pelagic environments of the Columbia River estuary, the Columbia River plume, the Columbia River at Beaver Army Dock and along established sampling lines along the Oregon and Washington coasts.