The NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson is underway on a mission to deploy a variety of ocean monitoring instruments in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The instrumented floats, drifters and gliders, operated by the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center, Miss., will help researchers monitor the surface and deep currents, including the Loop Current, that are distributing the oil. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations operates the 208-foot hydrographic ship, homeported in Norfolk, Va. It was initially deployed to the Gulf in early April to conduct surveys to update nautical charts and to baseline benthic habitats in the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary. The data from the Naval Oceanographic Office instruments will be shared with the scientific community and used to improve the accuracy of circulation models in the Gulf of Mexico. A NOAA Lockheed WP-3D Orion also has been gathering data on the Loop Current while other NOAA aircraft have been mapping the spill's extent and surveying marine mammals in the affected area. (Source: NOAA, 05/26/10)
Shipbuilding and maritime related news from the Central Gulf Coast region
Thursday, May 27, 2010
NAVO, NOAA partner to monitor spill
The NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson is underway on a mission to deploy a variety of ocean monitoring instruments in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The instrumented floats, drifters and gliders, operated by the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center, Miss., will help researchers monitor the surface and deep currents, including the Loop Current, that are distributing the oil. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations operates the 208-foot hydrographic ship, homeported in Norfolk, Va. It was initially deployed to the Gulf in early April to conduct surveys to update nautical charts and to baseline benthic habitats in the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary. The data from the Naval Oceanographic Office instruments will be shared with the scientific community and used to improve the accuracy of circulation models in the Gulf of Mexico. A NOAA Lockheed WP-3D Orion also has been gathering data on the Loop Current while other NOAA aircraft have been mapping the spill's extent and surveying marine mammals in the affected area. (Source: NOAA, 05/26/10)