Here are a few photos from previous cruises that the person working in this position took to try and explain what a part of my new job will entail. I will be making sure the instruments I am in charge of are ready to be put in the mooring string and are ready to collect data. The moorings are often in place for up to a year at a time. Our instruments are at a depth of 30 to 500 feet. Other instruments, from other researchers, are also on the mooring string, typically.
The instrument, at bottom of picture, (a spectrophotometer that uses an ultraviolet light source to measure how much nitrate is dissolved in the sea-water) and the battery pack to power the instrument, at top of picture.
The frame that holds the battery pack and instrument.
Loaded frame.
Deploying the mooring.
The rail car wheels that anchor the mooring to the bottom of the ocean. The orange buoys in the string keep the instruments in a straight line (sort of. strong currents can cause the mooring to tilt)
A small mooring string. The yellow tube is a remotely controlled release mechanism. When it is time to take the mooring out of the water a radio signal is sent and this thing releases itself from the chain/train wheels keeping the whole string of instruments under the water. The orange buoys you see above the release mechanism bring the instruments to the water surface.
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