The day started with the meeting of Captain, Principal Scientist (PSO) and all the key people, with everyone listening, in which, the PSO gave a briefing about the operations of the day.

Plan A!

Tim explains the Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) instruments

The Ocean Bottom Instrument team carried out dip tests. This happened at 1530 hours – the first science operation of the cruise. The purpose of dip test was to check if the transponders on the OBSs, when in water, are communicating to the system pings from the ship.

The transponders going into water

Marine mammal observation was also carried out during the dip tests – we have to ensure that the area is clear in case our work causes any disturbance to these animals. There were no mammals observed in the region for two hours, hence, good to start multibeam bathymetry recording. This is a technique that uses sound waves to map out the 3D topography of the seafloor.

Watchkeeping has commenced!

After the dip tests and marine mammal observation, we started recording bathymetry while heading towards the site. We expect to reach the location c. 2000 hours and perform few more tests before starting deployment of OBSs at the midnight.
See you tomorrow for more updates!