Date: September 13, 2019
Rough seas meant that the ROVs could not be safely deployed on September 13, 2019. As a result, the team conducted all day mapping operations in a previously unmapped area north of the intended dive site. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deep Connections 2019. Download larger version (jpg, 3.6 MB).
Our intended dive today was at the Block-Alvin Intercanyon, an area predicted to have a moderate to high likelihood of hosting deep-sea corals by habitat suitability models. Unfortunately, weather conditions did not allow for remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations, with sustained winds of 30 knots, wind gusts of up to 40 knots, and 6-9 foot seas. As a result, the ROV dive was cancelled and the mapping team conducted all day mapping operations in an area just north of the dive site, which had not yet been mapped using high-resolution sonars.
