Dive 2925 Starboard Observer - Marv Lilley
Roughly the first half hour of the tape of this dive was lost when I apparently inadvertently pushed the rewind rather than the stop button. Now that I have discovered it, I will apply thiis technique more frequently My memory is that we started somewhere in the middle of the valley and have traversed west to the wall. During the traverse, we crossed the large fissure on which Delaney believes the major sulfide structures of the Main field reside.
1001 X-4996, Y-6461, headed south, our goal is to find Dudley, then S&M and continue south. Out my window is flat sheet flow with blocks of sulfide here and there that probably tumbled down the western wall. We are now swinging back to the east to again find the major fissure and follow it south.
1002 Going east downslope, X-5000, Y-6451, hdg 092. I see a bench with flat sheet flow beyond which the bottom drops out of sight.
1003 X-5009, Y-6454, depth 2192, still headed east over flat sheet flow, we are recrossing a small fissure that was just west of the major one we are headed back toward.
1005 A discussion ensues as to whether we have reached the fissure we seek. John and I say yes, Pat doesn't think so. John and I win the argument and this turns out to be one of the few times Pat is semi-wrong. He would have figured it out soon, but we did help. We turn south to follow the fissure.
1006 X-5055, Y-6453, depth 2198, alt 4, hdg 191, following the fissure south. John is currently ejaculating over the sonar map. I see sheet flow out my window coming downslope toward me. Pat says the fissure is 15 m deep.
1008 Still see sheet flow with some low relief lobates.
1010 X5047, Y-6408, A pile of anchor chain in front of us. Likely a 91 J-hook drop. We just missed the fissure.
1011 All I see is lobate.
1012 X-5028, Y-6373, Pat sees a large sulfide structure, says it may be Hulk and wants to go up to look at it. John says no, we are 100 m north of Hulk.
1015 X-5018, Y-6352, Another sulfide at the edge of the fissure, we keep going.
1018 X-5013, Y-6327, I see another large fissure cutting perpendicular to the one we are following. Appears to be about 2 m wide, lobates on either side.
1019:22 Extremely flat sheet flow. I see marker 55, gray pvc disk with orange numbers. X-5009, Y-6316, depth 2916. The fissure divides and we guess which one to follow but I can't distinguish.
1023 X-5000, Y-6284, See a sulfide deposit draped down the wall of the fissure.
1024 Just passed a very lagre cross-cutting fissure out the stbd window.
1027 X-4972, Y-6237, We have found another large sulfide and are going up to look for a marker. Found marker L. depth 2182, alt 13. We have missed Hulk and are on TP. At marker L, X-4966, Y-6241, hdg 061.
1035 On another sulfide structure. We have found marker AA deployed yesterday on dive 2924. Our job now id to determine whether this is Dudley or not. X-4985, Y-6180. Top lab has us at X-5064, Y-6145.
1040 We have searched the structure for old markers and found none.
1046 We decide to pretend the structure is Dudley and head in the direction of Dante.
1050 We are tooling around sulfides but see no markers, decide to head for the west wall to find ourselves.
1052:38 I see pvc marker 100 out starboard window. X-4973, Y-6185, hdg 290. We are at another sulfide structure. Pat thinks it is Dante.
1056 We have found marker X, this is indeed Dante. X-4958, Y-6219, depth 2191. This means that marker AA is on Dudley. We found the base of marker 7A that was placed on Dante on dive 2933, evidently the polypro burned away. We place marker 6A at the same place.
1109 We are leaving the 6A site on Dante to go back to Dudley on a heading of 150. Nav no good.
1119 Back at NW side of Dudley. Now convinced we know where we are.
1133 Have looked all around Dudley and cannot find marker 8Q left in 91. We head west to find the fissure to follow south to S&M.
1134 Crossed a small fissure.
1134:50 Crossing a larger fissure, turn south to follow to S&M, X-4924, Y6188, hdg 181. John has the fissure out the port window and as usual I am looking out at lobates.
1138 Lobates.
1140 John is telling Pat how to drive so that he can keep the fissure in view out the port window. Pat not happy.
1141 Fractured sheet with some lobate. X4913, Y-6119, depth 2190, alt 5.
1143 We are at S&M, see Dudley lying in the tube worms. Also see time lapse camera left during ROPOS cruise.
1147 Looking around S&M for smoker to sample.
1202 Pat is tinkling.
1217 We are sampling a smoker on the SE side of S&M. X-4914, Y-6068, depth 2192, alt 13, hdg 279. The temperature is 362-368 on the manifold. We take the port major and gas tight and deploy marker A9.
1224 Leaving S&M, headed for Milli-Q
1226 X-4922, Y-6063, hdg 182, over sheet flow with a toppled over chimney in view.
1230 At Milli-Q looking for old markers.
1236 X-4507, Y-6300, hdg 177, large tube worm field to the west side of Milli-Q.
1252 Sampling at Milli-Q. We took discrete major red 3 and gas tight 2. Temp 370.9 with Alvin High T probe. X-4930, Y-6060, depth 2188, alt 5, hdg 151. We deployed marker Ab at this sampling site and discovered that old marker E was virtually in the same place. Tubeworms had apparently colonized it and sunk it. We also put big marker 1E o
n top of Milli-Q.
1332 Taking samples at a second site on Milli-Q. Temp-370.2 with Alvin probe. Took major #12 and gas tight 5, deployed marker A4. X-4894, Y-5989.
1335 Looking at Milli-Q as a possible camera site. Definitely looks possible.
1353 Finished taking niskins over Milli-Q.
5m - aft niskin
10m - mid niskin
15m - forward niskin
Out of power, weights away