This vessel does hydrographic research, so we typically do mapping of the ocean floor,
make sure there are no wrecks or obstructions in any of the charted areas.
We make sure that all of the commerce ships can get in and out as need be. Since we've been down in the Gulf
I've sort of switched roles from being a deck officer and doing survey
to now being in charge of all the HAZMAT (hazardous materials) and HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waster Operations and Emergency Response) training, and then being in charge of the operations that are involved with the oil.
The Rosette is brand new for this project. We brought it on board so that we would be able to do water sampling,
and then [we also] have some sensors on there that will allow us to determine if there's a presence of
crude oil or not. The CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) monitors oxygen concentration,
CDOM (Colored Dissolved Organic Matter),
and presence or absence of crude oil.
It's been a great opportunity to kind of be right up in the mix of everything, be hands on and participating.
I've had the opportunity to move from the bridge down to the platform where all the work is being done, and make sure
that I'm communicating with the bridge exactly what's going on
in the fantail, and then making sure everyone is safe,
operations are smooth, and then being trained on the water sampling as well.
I think that we're definitely adding to the scientific knowledge of what's happening in this area.
Whether or not we're actually finding crude oil is still a little bit up in the air, however I know that the research that we're doing
is going to be beneficial to everything that's going on.
Working for NOAA is great.
