The ICON team has completed work on a feed of data from the Little Cayman station to NOAA's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). This means that the Little Cayman data will be included in the National Weather Service's (NWS) operational stream and will be made available globally for research and operations. In particular, these data will now be included in the models used by NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) in developing forecasts for hurricanes and tropical storms.
The NDBC website for the Little Cayman station can be found here:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=lciy2
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Online Data Source
Near real-time data from the station can be viewed online at the ICON Web site for this station:
http://ecoforecast.coral.noaa.gov/index/0/LCIY2/station-home
Please also note that sensor information, graphs, events, ecological forecasts (models) and more can be gleaned from this site. Note also that satellite data from several sources are integrated with the in situ information for purposes of modeling and recognizing events of interest. For more information on ecological forecast constructs and this Web site, please contact Lew Gramer at AOML.
Photo by Jim Hendee
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Biological Observations
A qualitative biological survey was conducted in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands adjacent to the NOAA/ICON pylon and on Snapshot Reef on 22 and 23 July 2009, respectively. Only a few coral colonies exhibited paling or mild bleaching. Multiple colonies of Siderastrea siderea were mottled, displaying a blue or purple coloration (i.e., this is how this species looks when it begins to pale). It is likely that this is just a result of the normal seasonal declines in zooxanthellae densities and tissue biomass that occur in summer given that few other species or individuals exhibited noticeable paling.
Some coral colonies exhibited signs of the coral disease "white plague." Fortunately, infected colonies appeared to be few and far between. This image illustrates what appears to be recent mortality due to white plague on a colony of Montastraea annularis (all images taken by and courtesy of Dr. Jen Dupont, NOAA Knauss post-doctoral scholar). Drs. Marilyn Brandt and Carrie Manfrino have obtained a long-term dataset which shows that white plague has been the most significant cause of coral mortality in Little Cayman over the last 5-10 years. In fact, Dr. Marilyn Brandt (personal friend and colleague of mine) did a large portion of her Ph.D. work on Little Cayman, where she built an agent-based, data-driven model on the spread of disease on coral community structure. Researchers in the past have implicated coastal runoff and nutrification as the driver of the increase in coral diseases throughout the Caribbean. Marilyn's findings are extremely important in that she has shown that coral disease can be the main cause of mortality for sites without significant land-based sources of pollution. Way to go Marilyn!
There were a fair amount of clionid sponges overgrowing some dead coral skeletons. The image below illustrates clionid colonization of a Diploria labyrinthiformis skeleton. Some species of Cliona are known to actively overgrowth and kill live coral tissue, but it is not known if what was observed is a result of direct overgrowth or solely clinoid recruitment to the dead coral skeleton following mortality. Clionid sponges are of particular concern because they can be significant bioeroders as they directly dissolve coral skeletons and reef framework.
Seawater temperatures were warm when the station went online (29.9 - 30.0 degrees Celsius), but it is unknown if these are representative of the 'normal' seasonal cycle (climatology) for this site because of the lack of long-term in situ data.
Derek P. Manzello, Ph.D.
Some coral colonies exhibited signs of the coral disease "white plague." Fortunately, infected colonies appeared to be few and far between. This image illustrates what appears to be recent mortality due to white plague on a colony of Montastraea annularis (all images taken by and courtesy of Dr. Jen Dupont, NOAA Knauss post-doctoral scholar). Drs. Marilyn Brandt and Carrie Manfrino have obtained a long-term dataset which shows that white plague has been the most significant cause of coral mortality in Little Cayman over the last 5-10 years. In fact, Dr. Marilyn Brandt (personal friend and colleague of mine) did a large portion of her Ph.D. work on Little Cayman, where she built an agent-based, data-driven model on the spread of disease on coral community structure. Researchers in the past have implicated coastal runoff and nutrification as the driver of the increase in coral diseases throughout the Caribbean. Marilyn's findings are extremely important in that she has shown that coral disease can be the main cause of mortality for sites without significant land-based sources of pollution. Way to go Marilyn!There were a fair amount of clionid sponges overgrowing some dead coral skeletons. The image below illustrates clionid colonization of a Diploria labyrinthiformis skeleton. Some species of Cliona are known to actively overgrowth and kill live coral tissue, but it is not known if what was observed is a result of direct overgrowth or solely clinoid recruitment to the dead coral skeleton following mortality. Clionid sponges are of particular concern because they can be significant bioeroders as they directly dissolve coral skeletons and reef framework.
Seawater temperatures were warm when the station went online (29.9 - 30.0 degrees Celsius), but it is unknown if these are representative of the 'normal' seasonal cycle (climatology) for this site because of the lack of long-term in situ data.
Derek P. Manzello, Ph.D.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Station begins transmitting!
The station began transmitting around 3:05pm today, when Mike Jankulak flipped the "on" switch and said from aloft, "We're on!"
Photo by Jennifer Dupont
Instrument Installation Video
This video (utilized in a more comprehensive YouTube presentation) shows composite steps involved in installing the electronics (see Electronics Installation, previous), including scaling "the stick," stringing cables from top to bottom, installing meteorological instruments, hoisting the "brain" (data logger and electrical relays) from the boat to the top, mounting of the underwater instruments (light sensor, CTD), and testing the radio transmission from the pylon to a laptop on the boat. Mike Jankulak on the pylon, Captain Lowell Forbes assisting in lifting the brain, Derek Manzello (black dive suit), and Jim Hendee in the water.
Videography by Myfanwy "Von" Rowlands
Videography by Myfanwy "Von" Rowlands
Electronics Installation
Station electronics were installed on the pylon on Tuesday, July 21st and Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009. Work was carried out by a team consisting of Drs. Jim Hendee and Derek Manzello (NOAA/AOML in Miami, FL), Dr. Jennifer Dupont (NOAA/OAR International Activities Office in Silver Spring, MD), Lowell Forbes (CCMI/Little Cayman Research Centre) and myself, Mike Jankulak (University of Miami).
Monday evening and Tuesday morning, all electronics components were assembled on the workbench as a final test of equipment, wiring and programming (see photo, left, of the "brain," or control unit, featuring the datalogger and GOES transmitter). Work at the pylon began Tuesday afternoon, with the installation of the temporary climbing rungs and safety lines. Next, the underwater cables were run from the waterline, through the internal conduits and up into the top chamber -- the cable for the underwater light sensor was run through the southernmost conduit and the other two cables (for the CTD, or conductivity-temperature-depth sensor, and the CT, or conductivity-temperature sensor) were run through the second, northernmost conduit.
The movement of heavy equipment was temporarily halted so that divers could install the underwater instruments and mounting brackets (see photo at right). During this period, the wiring of these cables to their connectors was completed at the top of the pylon, and the cable attachment point for the GOES transmitter's satellite antenna was checked for possible saltwater damage from its brief immersion during pylon installation. When the underwater work was complete, the station's two rechargeable batteries were hoisted aloft and installed in the upper chamber, bringing an end to the day's work.
Wednesday morning, work at the pylon resumed. Two of the three aerial instrument masts were installed, one holding the station's Vaisala WXT520 (Weather Transmitter, providing data for winds, air temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity and precipitation), complete with bird deterrent spikes, and the other other holding the RM Young Wind Monitor (a marine-grade anemometer) and Electronic Compass. A smaller mount holding the GOES transmitter's GPS antenna was attached off the side of one of the main masts which hold the satellite transmitter antenna and the navigation light. The third mast was temporarily mounted to measure its orientation (approximately 20 degrees north of due east) in preparation for installation of the surface light sensor.
Back on the boat, the surface light sensor was attached to its mount and the mast grounding wires were prepared for installation. The afternoon pylon work consisted of installing the standalone air temperature sensor, which is positioned behind one of the north-facing solar panels, and the surface light sensor on its aluminum mast. After all cables were run into the pylon's upper chamber and their connectors securely attached, it was time to install the "brain," or control unit. This package of electronics was carefully hoisted aloft and inserted into the upper chamber, taking care to lower it past the protruding wires and connectors still to be attached.
Once the "brain" was set in place, all of its connections were made: grounding wire, batteries (two), solar panels (five), transmitter satellite antenna, transmitter GPS antenna, air temperature sensor, wind monitor, electronic compass, Vaisala weather transmitter, surface light sensor, underwater light sensor, CTD and CT. At this point the station's power switch was placed in the ON position (see related blog post).
Boatside once more, a laptop was connected to an RF401 radio transmitter (powered off the boat's battery) to communicate with the newly-powered station and confirm that all instruments were functional. All equipment was confirmed to be operating as expected, except the satellite transmitter (which would be confirmed operational later that day, after several hours of transmissions were received) and the solar panels (whose correct operation is inferred from the daily rise in station battery voltages, which would not be confirmed until the next morning's sunlight). There remained only the "tidying" phase of the operation: divers/snorkelers retrieved the "groundtruth" CT (which is only connected to the station during maintenance and cleaning), clipped off the ends of all cable ties, and attached a rubber sheet to protect the underwater cables at the waterline. Aloft, all of the external openings to the electronics chamber were plugged with aquaseal and a dozen dessicant packs were left inside before closing it up. The last important step was the installation of the grounding wires to connect all of the station's aluminum masts to one another, to the lightning diffuser brush (the station's highest point), to the station electronics, and to a zinc plate on the outside of the pylon near the ocean floor. When all work was complete, the station's safety lines and climbing rungs were removed.
The team is extremely grateful to the staff of and visitors to the Little Cayman Research Centre for their hard work and warm welcome, including but not limited to Dr. Carrie Manfrino, Lowell Forbes, Jon Clamp and Brenda Gadd. Myfanwy Rowlands is also to be commended for her amazing photo and video footage from the operation.
Photo credits for this post: J. Dupont (underwater work) and M. Jankulak (control unit)
Monday evening and Tuesday morning, all electronics components were assembled on the workbench as a final test of equipment, wiring and programming (see photo, left, of the "brain," or control unit, featuring the datalogger and GOES transmitter). Work at the pylon began Tuesday afternoon, with the installation of the temporary climbing rungs and safety lines. Next, the underwater cables were run from the waterline, through the internal conduits and up into the top chamber -- the cable for the underwater light sensor was run through the southernmost conduit and the other two cables (for the CTD, or conductivity-temperature-depth sensor, and the CT, or conductivity-temperature sensor) were run through the second, northernmost conduit.
The movement of heavy equipment was temporarily halted so that divers could install the underwater instruments and mounting brackets (see photo at right). During this period, the wiring of these cables to their connectors was completed at the top of the pylon, and the cable attachment point for the GOES transmitter's satellite antenna was checked for possible saltwater damage from its brief immersion during pylon installation. When the underwater work was complete, the station's two rechargeable batteries were hoisted aloft and installed in the upper chamber, bringing an end to the day's work.Wednesday morning, work at the pylon resumed. Two of the three aerial instrument masts were installed, one holding the station's Vaisala WXT520 (Weather Transmitter, providing data for winds, air temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity and precipitation), complete with bird deterrent spikes, and the other other holding the RM Young Wind Monitor (a marine-grade anemometer) and Electronic Compass. A smaller mount holding the GOES transmitter's GPS antenna was attached off the side of one of the main masts which hold the satellite transmitter antenna and the navigation light. The third mast was temporarily mounted to measure its orientation (approximately 20 degrees north of due east) in preparation for installation of the surface light sensor.
Back on the boat, the surface light sensor was attached to its mount and the mast grounding wires were prepared for installation. The afternoon pylon work consisted of installing the standalone air temperature sensor, which is positioned behind one of the north-facing solar panels, and the surface light sensor on its aluminum mast. After all cables were run into the pylon's upper chamber and their connectors securely attached, it was time to install the "brain," or control unit. This package of electronics was carefully hoisted aloft and inserted into the upper chamber, taking care to lower it past the protruding wires and connectors still to be attached.
Once the "brain" was set in place, all of its connections were made: grounding wire, batteries (two), solar panels (five), transmitter satellite antenna, transmitter GPS antenna, air temperature sensor, wind monitor, electronic compass, Vaisala weather transmitter, surface light sensor, underwater light sensor, CTD and CT. At this point the station's power switch was placed in the ON position (see related blog post).
Boatside once more, a laptop was connected to an RF401 radio transmitter (powered off the boat's battery) to communicate with the newly-powered station and confirm that all instruments were functional. All equipment was confirmed to be operating as expected, except the satellite transmitter (which would be confirmed operational later that day, after several hours of transmissions were received) and the solar panels (whose correct operation is inferred from the daily rise in station battery voltages, which would not be confirmed until the next morning's sunlight). There remained only the "tidying" phase of the operation: divers/snorkelers retrieved the "groundtruth" CT (which is only connected to the station during maintenance and cleaning), clipped off the ends of all cable ties, and attached a rubber sheet to protect the underwater cables at the waterline. Aloft, all of the external openings to the electronics chamber were plugged with aquaseal and a dozen dessicant packs were left inside before closing it up. The last important step was the installation of the grounding wires to connect all of the station's aluminum masts to one another, to the lightning diffuser brush (the station's highest point), to the station electronics, and to a zinc plate on the outside of the pylon near the ocean floor. When all work was complete, the station's safety lines and climbing rungs were removed.
The team is extremely grateful to the staff of and visitors to the Little Cayman Research Centre for their hard work and warm welcome, including but not limited to Dr. Carrie Manfrino, Lowell Forbes, Jon Clamp and Brenda Gadd. Myfanwy Rowlands is also to be commended for her amazing photo and video footage from the operation.
Photo credits for this post: J. Dupont (underwater work) and M. Jankulak (control unit)
Up & Down
After arrival at the station, Mike Jankulak navigates up and down via the aluminum rungs as adjustments are made to cabling and instrument installation.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
The "Stick" is Installed!
The fifth ICON Station is vertical! On July 7-8, 2009, the CREWS/ICON pylon was erected at the pin/plate site offshore of LCRC. Led by CCMI staff member Jon Clamp, a composite dive team of Cayman Islands Department of Environment personnel and local divers secured the Pylon to the previously installed anchoring pins through the use of lift bags and manual methods. Technical advice and training on deployment procedures was provided by NOAA/AOML oceanographer Jules Craynock. Construction divers included D.O.E Keith Neale, Delwyn McLaughlin, Robert Walton, and Wade Moore of Power and Light, Little Cayman. CCMI staff member Lowell Forbes assisted Jon Clamp in the rigging and tensioning of the pylon structure. U/W photographic coverage of the operation was conducted by Myfanwy Rowlands (on a scholarship from the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society) and CCMI staff member Claire Dell. The pylon was properly secured with a blinking navigation light visible from dusk to dawn and at a distance of rougly 3 nautical miles. Planned Instrumentation installation on the pylon and final transmitting of oceanographic data will be for July 21-23, 2009.Jules Craynock
Photos by Myfanwy Rowlands
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