Integration of Ocean and Light Data

It's not gone unnoticed that the light and ocean data from this buoy have until now not been included in AOML's reports and database.  This was due to a miscommunication between AOML, which processes the output of the buoy, and YSI, which created the buoy programming.  AOML's near-real time processing of CREWS data depends on having one hourly summary table with data from all station instruments, but the buoy's current program only provides 10-minute data summaries for light and ocean data and spreads these data summaries across three data tables, one per instrument.

I am in the process of altering the buoy's CRBasic programming to correct this problem.  Once these changes are complete the programs will be handed off to CCMI/LCRC for upload to the buoy.  Very likely this programming update will be timed to coincide with the buoy's annual refurbishment, when it will be brought to shore for cleaning, repainting, and instrumentation swapout.

We always knew that new routines would have to be created to process the first year's worth of buoy data after the fact.  Those routines have now been created, and with their creation it now becomes possible (through a minorly hackish kludge) to process ocean and light data in near-real time as well.

Complete data reports, including light and ocean data, are now available here for the first time:

http://www.coral.noaa.gov/static/data_ccmi2_Web_12.html

See also the links at the bottom of that page for "Detail" reports that include every parameter reported by the buoy, including diagnostics, and also the "Ten-Minute" reports that show some of the higher-frequency data that are summarized in the "Hourly" reports.

The light+ocean data have also been integrated into the "Ecoforecast" expert system that is running on our Gensym/G2 server:

http://ecoforecast.coral.noaa.gov/index/0/CCMI2/station-home

And the light+ocean data are also queryable through our beta-versioned CHAMP Portal product:

http://www.coral.noaa.gov/champportal/

Note that the CHAMP Portal currently has known issues with user concurrency -- only one visitor at a time may run a query, while others who attempt to connect will see a progress message that will remain fixed in place until the first visitor's query has finished.  Developers are hard at work on this issue and we hope to release a fix very soon.

As a final note about CCMI2 data integration, I have now set up a feed of data from this station from AOML to the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC).  As of this writing the feed is undergoing quality assurance on the NDBC end.  I will post an update (including a link) once the feed has gone live on the NDBC web site.

cheers,
Mike J+

Installation of anodes

On our last visit to the buoy we noticed the chains had started to pitt and the anodes were worn.  We have ordered new anodes to be replaced and today we added two 1" shaft anodes to each chain.  We plan to add more anodes to the main structure once they arrive.

Warning of mass bleaching of hard corals

Ecological forecast received from NOAA’s Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) warns of mass bleaching of hard corals.

The warning was issued on Wednesday, 2014-Aug-13 as a result of high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) recorded at the ICON Reef station in Little Cayman (LCIY2) just offshore from the Central Caribbean Marine Institute.

PALE BUT NOT BLEACHED: Researchers today documented individual colonies with yellow and pale yellow colorations along the inner shelf of Grape Tree Bay (<3m depth) near the CREWS buoy.  Early indicator species are the Orbicella (formerly Montastraea) faveolata, O. annularis, and the agariciids. A single colony of Pseudodiploria (formerly Diploria) strigosa with pale coloration was observed adjacent to a colony with normal coloration (see picture). Although individual corals were pale, neither mass bleaching nor whole colony bleaching (i.e. white tissue) were observed.

DARK SPOTS: Individual Siderastrea siderea colonies were mottled or beginning to show signs of dark spots.
It is estimated that 5-10% of the above mentioned species were discolored.  All other species observed appeared normal in color.  Dive computer temperatures indicated 86°F at Grape Tree Bay.

Calm waters surrounding the Little Cayman CREWS this week.  Our new OA lab is screaming busy with three simulation experiments running around the clock. (in the background)

Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance occurred today.  There was a small blockage in one of the CTD inlets and once that was removed the salinity readings returned to normal.  All other instrumentation was cleaned and continues to report accurate information.

February Routine Maintenance

A spontaneous heavy rain storm on Thursday afternoon forced us to postpone the routine maintenance on CCMI2 until Friday, February 14th. Friday's morning waters were extremely flat calm, slowly growing rougher over the course of the day. The afternoon was an ideal time for Sam and Tom to share the Valentine's love and revisit CCMI2 for an inspection and clean.

There has been an important development over the past few weeks. Last time we visited the buoy,  the West-facing support buoy was closer to the surface than the East-facing support buoy. We assumed that was caused by the NE winds that day, giving the West-facing lines and chains more slack. However, over the past few weeks, we have noticed that the West-facing support buoy was partially emerged out of the water. Friday's visit was during a period of W winds, and the buoy was still sitting at the surface. This now confirms to us that the East-facing line, particularly the black elastic line that attracts gooseneck barnacles between the main buoy and the support buoy, has been ultimately stretched as a result of the predominantly NE winter winds. A decision regarding the need for replacing the line has not yet been made.

On the bright side, there were many fewer gooseneck barnacles to be plucked. The cleaning of the lines and structure dealt with mostly the same reddish-brown turf algae as before, but in slightly thicker abundance due to the warming weather. With low currents, the barnacles and clumps of algae that were sent slowly drifting down to the bottom quickly surrounded us in a murky cloud and caught the attention of many hungry queen triggerfish and black durgons.

All connection points and chains showed no signs of damage or change, with the exception of the duct tape surrounding the loop of rubber sheath on the lines near the anchor points. In this photo from early January, you can see that the duct tape has started to come off. Now, nearly two months later, it's almost entirely unravelled, but we'll continue to monitor it for any effect it may have on the splice.

Storm Damage Check & Clean-up

Today, a team of three divers visited the CCMI2 buoy during a short window of calm seas. Since January 16th, sustained winds have been predominantly from the north and in excess of 8-10 mps (15-19kts) with gusts up to 12mps (23kts), giving the CCMI2 plenty of pitch and roll. All sensors have been continually logging and transmitting, making the main focus of the dive to check for any structural damage and give the entire subsurface structure a good cleaning.

Tom and I began work cleaning the attachment lines, as algae and barnacles had been noted on the January 2nd inspection. The lines from the sea floor to subsurface attachment buoys were easy to clean and mostly only covered in a light layer of reddish-brown turf algae. The lines from the subsurface attachment buoys to the chains (which then attach to the buoy substructure) are partially made of elasticized rope, and appear to be preferred by gooseneck barnacles. Approx. 60 barnacles as well as more turf algae were removed from the lines.

Jon inspected the attachments, shackles and chains on the seafloor, noting that everything was in sound condition. The abrasion on the chain between the two attachment points seen on the Jan 2nd dive has not worsened.

I was then able to scrub the outsides of the metal substructure and clean the subBIC arm of more algae, removing a handful of gooseneck barnacles along the way. The eye of the subBIC was much less biofouled than on Jan 2nd, indicating that a 2-3 week cleaning frequency is likely optimum. Sacrificial anodes still have adequate material and the conductivity cell on the CTD was gently cleaned although relatively unaffected by algae.

All cables and connections topside appeared in place and unaffected. The solar panels are still clean and all MET instruments were operational upon visual inspection.

Until mid-February! See photos below.

Tom cleaning the main rope - scrubbing makes the rope go back to bright white. 

Sam picking barnacles off the black elasticized rope after being scrubbed for algae.

Sam cleaning the subBIC arm and metal structure of the buoy.