WHOI Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Station (WHOTS) : WHOTS-9 2012 mooring turnaround cruise report

Abstract

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Site (WHOTS), 100 km north of Oahu, Hawaii, is intended to provide long-term, high-quality air-sea fluxes as a part of the NOAA Climate Observation Program. The WHOTS mooring also serves as a coordinated part of the Hawaii Ocean Timeseries (HOT) program, contributing to the goals of observing heat, fresh water and chemical fluxes at a site representative of the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean. The approach is to maintain a surface mooring outfitted for meteorological and oceanographic measurements at a site near 22.75°N, 158°W by successive mooring turnarounds. These observations will be used to investigate air–sea interaction processes related to climate variability. This report documents recovery of the eighth WHOTS mooring (WHOTS-8) and deployment of the ninth mooring (WHOTS-9). Both moorings used Surlyn foam buoys as the surface element and were outfitted with two Air–Sea Interaction Meteorology (ASIMET) systems. Each ASIMET system measures, records, and transmits via Argos satellite the surface meteorological variables necessary to compute air–sea fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum. The upper 155 m of the moorings were outfitted with oceanographic sensors for the measurement of temperature, conductivity and velocity in a cooperative effort with R. Lukas of the University of Hawaii. A pCO2 system was installed on the buoys in cooperation with Chris Sabine at the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. A set of radiometers were installed in cooperation with Sam Laney at WHOI. The WHOTS mooring turnaround was done on the NOAA ship Hi’ialakai by the Upper Ocean Processes Group of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The cruise took place between 12 and 19 June 2012. Operations began with deployment of the WHOTS-9 mooring on 13 June. This was followed by meteorological intercomparisons and CTDs. Recovery of the WHOTS-8 mooring took place on 16 June. This report describes these cruise operations, as well as some of the in-port operations and pre-cruise buoy preparations.