Through the use of multibeam mapping, which produces a 3D bathymetric map of the seafloor, and ROVs and submersibles, which are used to visually view the bottom, we have been able to get an idea of what the Oculina Bank looks like.

The Oculina Bank extends over 90nmi along the shelf edge from Fort Pierce to Daytona, Florida, from 32 to 68 km offshore at depths of 60-100m. Over the past thousand or more years, the ivory tree coral, Oculina varicosa, has built up coral mounds or bioherms, on a foundation of carbonate bedrock. The 60 mile stretch of limestone pinnacles, mounds, and ridges (5-35m above bottom and 100-300m in width) from Fort Pierce to Cape Canaveral is the area covered by the Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC). These features are overlain to varying degrees with a veneer of living or dead coral, coral rubble, sand, or mud. When we analyze videotapes from ROV dives and assign a habitat to fish species or when we analyze digital still photos for percent habitat cover, there are six habitat types we encounter on the Oculina Banks. These include:

1. sand;
2. standing dead coral (Oculina coral that still has structure, but is no longer living);
3. live Oculina;
4. coral rubble (small, broken fragments of dead coral);
5. ledge and rock outcrops (hardbottom with some vertical relief); and
6. pavement (hardbottom with no vertical relief).

On this cruise, we are trying to map the deeper portion of the Banks which will complete mapping of the Oculina Experimental Closed Area (OECA).

Premature ending…

Weather set in last night and has put an early end to the cruise. Beautiful day for just about anything else but putting an AUV into the sea. We will try to save two days of time so we can come out again next year. A successful research expedition at sea is a little like a sports team. Champions are marked both by talent and chemistry. Working with the Liberty Star feels like a winning team. Thanks to the USA ship and AUV teams for the dedication and friendship.

Last night’s ROV dive accomplished many different objectives:

• first recordings of rock shrimp
• one of three night dives (which is likely why we saw rock shrimp)
• ground-truth of previous multi-beam survey in and around Chapman’s Reef; Amanda Maness is working on her Master’s Thesis and building a habitat map using a software program called QTC MultiView — the dive imagery fills in some important data gaps in this map.

We are fortunate to be working closely with the South Atlantic Fishery Council in all our Oculina efforts. Council staff help us in many ways, from setting survey and dive sites, to outreach and education programs. We are all working on the “Oculina Experimental Closed Area Evaluation Plan”, a plan of action for the next ten years for mapping, research, monitoring, enforcement and outreach. Our mapping efforts will contribute one more puzzle piece, and help develop a model plan for the recently designated Deep Sea Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern.

One of the capabilities of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is to manage data from different sources. With this type of software we can combine geographical data (in this case multibeam and backscatter maps) and biological data (fish counts, abundances, habitat observations, etc).

Once we have the data from the AUV processed, we can add it into the GIS as images (GeoTIFF files) or as XYZ files (easting, northing, depth) which we can convert to a grid. With the former one, we have just a visual representation of the area but it doesn’t give us any other information. However, with a Grid, each cell (with a resolution that depends on the multibeam sonar of the AUV) has a depth value attached to it. That way, we can know the exact depth for each point of the map. These multibeam maps allow us, for example, to find rocky habitats, perfect places for spawning aggregations, or to find possible places for Oculina. Moreover, if we have multibeam maps from different years we can also calculate change in abundance of Oculina throughout a period of time.

With the tapes from the ROV dives we can calculate fish abundance estimates or determine the habitat type for each point along the dive. With the still pictures taken throughout each dive, we can calculate the percent of habitat cover. All this biological data can be combined and spatially analyzed using GIS, for the purpose of monitoring fish populations and describing how they interact with various habitat types.

It is the combination of multibeam maps and fisheries data that will provide a better understanding of the area. It will also allow us to see trends through a period of time. In the end, all this information will help protect closed areas in a better way.

What does your job entail?
I am in charge of program development and raising funds to support center programs at NOAA’s Undersea Research Center. I am also the Chief Scientist for the Oculina mission. This involves preparing a cruise plan prior to the cruise and taking care of any changes in the cruise plan during the mission.

What do you like best/least about your work?
The best part of my job are the cruises. It’s rewarding to execute the research we worked hard to get funded. The thing I like least about my job is the lobbying.

Do you have any advice for others interested in your work?
I recommend a strong educational background, especially in math and science. An advanced degree will be necessary to become a director.

When you are not working, what are your hobbies?
Golf, flyfishing, and exercising.

What is your favorite book?
Go Dog Go by Dr. Seuss

What is your favorite movie?
Pulp Fiction

What is your favorite saying or motto?
“Golf is a good walk spoiled.”

What would be the one place you would like to travel to?
New Zealand

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I will probably still be the director of NURC, hopefully having built up the program over the years. Even if I’m not the director, I definitely see myself still working in the marine conservation field.

Last night we decided to cancel the last Eagle Ray dive and begin ROVing (Remotely Operated Vehicle diving). We based this decision on the failure of enough AUV equipment, including elements that help ensure recovery of the vehicle, and on the difficulties we have experienced with the multi-beam data (as noted in a previous log). If we cannot dive the AUV again, the trip successfully met its main objective, which was to test the Eagle Ray’s capabilities and performance offshore. More operational experience and repairs are needed before we can start supporting outside proposals.

The main reason we acquired Eagle Ray is to do high resolution habitat mapping of deep offshore areas, which are hard to map from surface vessels. Off the southeast U.S., this includes many new marine managed areas designed to protect deep corals (like the Oculina Experimental Closed Area and Habitat Area of Particular Concern). We are faced with a critical challenge — if we designate an offshore reserve, we should be prepared to assess its effectiveness. So far, we have not had enough funding to effectively monitor the Oculina protected area. Where will the resources come from to support the mapping, research and monitoring, not to mention enforcement activities?

Until 2005, with a mandate from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and leadership from NOAA Undersea Research Center at UNCW and NOAA Fisheries, researchers received support from the Coral Reef Conservation Program. Program management decided in 2006 to eliminate any funding for deep corals. We have been told that there is a deep coral initiative submitted for 2009, two years after the Council needs to make a decision about the boundaries for the Oculina Experimental Closed Area! Like it as not, we are competing for limited federal resources and many other ocean initiatives. Still, if the management entity (SAFMC) most responsible for sustaining living resources in federal waters puts deep coral ecosystem conservation as its number one priority, shouldn’t federal agencies charged with carrying out the required science for management respond accordingly? — to my mind, a rhetorical question.

Our ROV first dives, ever, in the deep portions of the Oculina Experimental Closed Area show a shell, sand, mud substrate. Common critters include portunid crabs, moray eels various small sea basses, starfish and sea pens. Tile fish are fished commercially — we saw one near its burrow. The bottom is covered with pockmarks, burrows and tracks — it may not be a reef, but is a thriving soft bottom community under the Gulf Stream.

What does your job entail?
I manage day to day operations for NURC. This involves mission management, equipment maintenance, and personnel issues. For the Oculina mission, I am the leader of the AUV team and the ROV pilot.

What do you like best / least about your work?
I enjoy the variety of the different operations. The thing I like least about my job is the equipment and maintenance problems.

Do you have any advice for others interested in your work?
I’d advise others to get a strong computer or electronics background. It also helps to be mechanically inclined and you have to be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time offshore.

When you are not working, what are your hobbies?
Canoeing, playing with my dog, travel

What is you favorite book?
Any of the J.R.R. Tolkien Series

What is your favorite movie?
Any movie based on marvel comics

What would be the one place you would like to travel to?
Canada

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Retired and learning how to flyfish.

About thirty years ago, the Oculina Banks were dominated by large, predatory fish such as snapper and grouper, however due to overfishing and the destruction of essential fish habitat (i.e. Oculina coral heads), the abundance of these reef fish has substantially diminished and been replaced by smaller, non-exploited species such as small sea bass, butterflyfish, damselfish, and wrasses.

Groupers are of particular importance to us because they are an exploited species and their life history characteristics make them even more vulnerable to overfishing. Many are protogynous hermaphrodites meaning that they all start out as females and have the ability to become males, which a small portion of them will do given the appropriate environmental cues. This leads to highly female-skewed ratios. Some groupers spawn in large groups and display strong site fidelity, offering knowledgeable fishermen the possibility to harvest large numbers of reproductively active fish in a short period of time. Dominant males aggressively defend these spawning aggregation sites and are more easily caught than during non-spawning periods, leading to further skewing of the sex ratios. Some of the grouper species found in the OHAPC include scamp, gag, warsaw grouper, speckled hind, red grouper, rock hind, and snowy grouper. Currently, the most abundant species is scamp. Oculina coral heads also serve as nursery habitat for several juvenile reef fish species including speckled hind and snowy grouper.

Since 2001, we have been conducting remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys of the Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC) and the surrounding areas outside the reserve to monitor the fish populations and how they interact with various habitat types. Back at the lab, videotapes from the ROV dives are analyzed. This involves identifying and counting all fish observed and describing what habitat type they were found on. To estimate fish abundances, we calculate densities (number of fish per unit area) by estimating the area of view of the video camera. This standardizes the data and allows us to compare numbers of fish among habitat types and management areas (inside vs. outside the reserve). Given enough time, we hope to see grouper densities begin to return to levels they were at prior to overfishing.

Awoke to another beautiful day at-sea — five more days of this would be heaven (but not likely given forecast for this weekend). Land-based scientists can operate independently of weather in most cases. Out on the ocean, it is at the same level of importance as eating and sleeping, both of which it can severely impact. We are definitely limited by sea state in AUV and ROV operations. The bottleneck is getting the vehicles in the water and back on deck. Like the adage that most car accidents happen a mile from home, most damage and injuries occur in the short span of time it takes to cross the air-sea interface. Sea state is reported in various ways; most common is the Beaufort scale which assigns numbers from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane). We do not operate in anything above Force 5 (wind speed 17-21 knots, wave heights 6-8 ft.). Yesterday was Force 2 (wind 4-6 kn, waves 1 foot), today is Force 3-4 (wind 7-16 kn, seas 2-5 ft.), tomorrow?

I spoke in an earlier log about the new breed of cyber-oceanographer that will be required for the new age of technologies (e.g., AUVs). For comparison, when we go on a scuba diving mission, it may take an hour before the dive to prepare, including 2 “check-lists” for the dive plan and gear status. Occupied submersibles involve a few more checklists to cover sub equipment status, and a few hours to prepare for a dive. The NURC Remotely Operated Vehicle (Phantom S2) involves 3 lists to prepare to dive and about two hours of preparation. Eagle Ray AUV has 11 different pre-dive check-lists, and 3 post-dive lists. Dive programming, inspections, maintenance, and start-up procedures take almost 4 hours before each dive, not including the 10-13 hours of battery charging required between dives. In addition, they stand watch for up to 12 hours each day. Occasionally, the AUV team gets to eat, sleep, and watch the weather.

We recovered cruise dive 3 at 0800 after a fitful dive in the deep portion of the Oculina Experimental Closed Area. We have the vehicle returning to surface after every other survey line (2-3 hours), so we can give it a new geographic fix; normally we could update the vehicle using the Ultra-short baseline (USBL) positioning system, which is still not functional. This cuts into battery life and survey time. We may not be able to get back in the water until tomorrow morning, so we can launch in daylight. Today will be spent processing data and preparing for next dive, including trying to fix some of the almost 50 bugs we now have encountered and remain to be resolved.

NASA has long been a partner with NOAA in joint satellite activities. In 2002, NOAA and NASA co-sponsored a workshop at the Kennedy Space Center focused on how Inner/Ocean and Outer Space scientists and technologists may work closer together under the sea. There we met Mike Gernhard, astronaut, diver scientist and engineer. At the time, Mike was President of United Space Alliance, operators of NASA’s space shuttle booster rocket recovery ships, M/V Liberty Star and Freedom Star.

Mike offered use of these ships for support of undersea research off the southeast. NOAA gets use of first class support ships and NASA benefits from shared technology development (such as Eagle Ray).

NASA has an Earth Sciences Division that provides insight into the planet’s health, including the oceans. Their Exploration Program is striving to reach the moon and Mars by 2050. The ocean is providing analogous extreme environments that simulate living in space. So, often I hear ocean scientists and engineers lament the amount of money NASA gets (5 times the NOAA budget); instead we need to join them to serve our mutual earthly objectives.

What does your job entail?
My day to day work consists of managerial responsibilities — supervising crew, maintenance, and taking care of underway operations. For this mission, I interact with the scientific crew and make sure things are running smoothly and communicate with the office back at port.

What do you like best/least about your work?
Going to sea is both the thing I like best and least about my job. It’s hard being away from home and family so much.

Do you have any advice for others interested in your work?
Getting a license on your own is tough…I recommend first attending a Merchant Marine Academy.

When you are not working, what are your hobbies?
Spending time with my family, boating, fishing and camping.

What is your favorite book?
I enjoy books about the ocean as well as anything by Carl Hiaasen.

What is your favorite movie?
Bull Durham

What would be the one place you would like to travel to?
Fiji

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’d like to try and become a harbor pilot. I see it as the pinnacle of my profession.