THE ODYSSEY HEADS BACK TO THE GULF

The RV Odyssey is preparing to leave on October 29th for a 21-day bioacoustic research trip into the Gulf of Mexico with a team from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography under the direction of Dr. John Hildebrand.
The Odyssey and crew will be working in familiar territory, they will be running down the deep water drop-off in the Gulf of Mexico where they have been working the last 4 summers in response to the Gulf Oil Spill in 2010.
The Scripps team will be deploying HARPS – acoustic monitoring devices on the floor of the ocean.  They will also be picking up HARPS that the Odyssey deployed almost 10 months ago.

“I am interested in how sound is used by marine mammals and how sound can be used as a tool for assessment of marine mammal populations. Recent advancements in acoustic recording technology have allowed long-term and broad-band records of underwater sound to be collected. These recordings open new windows into the behavior and distribution of marine mammals (as well as other marine organisms such as fish).”  -Dr. John Hildebrand

 
 
 
 
 
Photo 1. 4 large containers of equipment arrive at the Odyssey in Key West
Photo 2.  Crew manhandling weights aboard Odyssey. 50 pound weights are used to drop acoustic packs to the sea floor.  80 are loaded aboard Odyssey – 4,000 pounds or 2 tons
Photo 3.  Acoustic gear being loaded aboard Odyssey.