Upgrading the Boat

This week I worked at one of the other USM campuses to work with our engineering and hydrography team to upgrade the boat. We collaboratively designed, constructed, and affixed components to house the two sensors we will attach to the boat during field deployments: the nitrate sensor and the water quality sensor. The housing, seen in the picture here, is a PVC pipe with holes to allow water flow, and it is attached to the boat frame with an a-frame. Additionally, we added extra supports at the bottom to prevent the sensors from falling through if there is a catastrophic failure and carabiners at the top to create additional holds or handles. After putting these additional pieces on the boat, we took the boat to the small pool pictured here for weight, float, and maneuvering tests, since the only times we've piloted the boat were without additional weight. I'm pleased to say the boat performed well even with the two sensors and I can't wait to take the boat out into the field for our first true deployment. We were going to set sail tomorrow but the weather is not favorable so we will plan three trips next week. For each trip, we will let the boat drive on auto-pilot to make a slow transect (straight line path) across the rivers and bays we are sampling. While the boat is moving, the sensors will collect and store data on the water temperature, nutrient levels, and other parameters at the water's surface. We will also conduct a vertical profile at the mid-point of each transect so that we can get measurements for the surface, mid-depth, and seafloor to help inform the biogeochemical model for our projects.

Stay tuned next week for an update on the first two of these field experiences!

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