Joint MMM-FRM equipment tending

The intent of this document is to aid in planning which MMM devices should be tended in the four FRM cruises. The current considerations are:

• One FRM cruise each will be conducted during the following periods:
  • Spring (March-May); random site selection seed = 20240401
  • Early Summer (May-July); 20240601
  • Late Summer (July-September); 20240801
  • Autumn (September-November); 20241001
• As MMM instruments will be tended in April 2024, Spring and Early Summer cruises (c. 1-3 months after tending) will have minimal value and are no longer investigated
• MMM moorings will be tended on Day 1 of candidate FRM cruises
• MMM operations must be conducted after all pots are deployment due to limited deck space
• 1-2 MMM moorings can be tended, largely dependent on distance from final FRM site and sea state
• MMM mooring priority will be ranked according to:
  • Ease of access from FRM cruises
  • Spatiotemporal presence of target species
  • Battery life of individual instruments
  • Redundancy with other MMM moorings, the Metocean buoy, and the RTWB
• A5, V4, and V5 have redundancy with each other and Metocean buoy
• T1C no redundancy (but easiest to get to)

Map

Summary of map

Late Summer

Starting at the farthest-southern site and working northward, FRM deployment will finish at site UK-13. UK-13 is 15 minutes south of V4; all other MMM are in a straight line back to Ocean City, MD.

Autumn

Starting at the farthest-southern site and working northward, FRM deployment will finish at site UL-10. UL-10 is approximately 30 minutes south west of V4; additional transit time will be involved to “back-track” to this site. UL-10 is approximately 23 minutes due south of A5-C.

Overall summary

• T1-C and V5 can be tended during any FRM cruise
• A5-C and V4 would be best fit in the Late-Summer FRM cruise