Survey at Behm Canal and Chatham Strait

DN161 of the year
DN38 of the Internship

JUNEAU, AK
We have spent the last week in Juneau for a long in-port after working on the Chatham Strait survey. Two weeks are allotted for this in-port and we are all taking full advantage of it!

BEHM CANAL
The Behm Canal survey is complete and part of Chatham Strait. Here is an informational poster I put together, showing what we found at Behm Canal. At the bottom of the poster you can see an extinct volcano and a historic riverbed at the top.

A lot of time and effort goes into surveying and it really pays off when you get to see cool stuff! Here are a few images of the data that I took while processing.

 

 

We have been very fortunate with the weather while under way. Most days were in the 60s and sunny. The sunsets are getting better and better and we can't believe some of the scenery that surrounds us everyday.

View from the porthole in the Holodeck

The Rainier

Doing a level run at Behm Canal

One of my shipmates leveling

Arriving at Petersburg, AK

  

Departing Petersburg

CHATHAM STRAIT
We will be returning to Chatham Strait to finish up the survey. Here is another informational poster showing our coverage. This area was last surveyed in 1897 by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) Steamer Patterson. We even received images from that survey. On the right side of the poster is a comparison photo of the Patterson in 1897 and the Rainier in 2013, taken at Gut Bay. The photo on the top left side is the entrance to Gut Bay.

Here are some more photos from our last leg. Some were taken in Sitka, where we stopped for a few hours to refuel. Others are on our way to Juneau.

 

  

  

Sitka, AK

Mount Edgecumbe, a dormant volcano just outside of Sitka.

This dormant volcano has a unique history. It is a stratovolcano and has three known eruptions in the past, the last of which occurred around 2220 B.C. It is reported that it also had a false eruption that was created on April Fools Day 1974 by a local who wanted to prank the town. This local brought mounds of old tires and dropped them into the crater, ignited them, and watched as the town of Sitka panicked. The Coast Guard was called in to investigate the smoke coming from the crater and found the tires burning, along with an enormous spray painted sign in the snow saying "April Fools" (According to local newspapers). I always find it amusing to learn about local Alaskan history.

We are heading back to Chatham Strait on Saturday. Until next time, greetings from Juneau!

Homecoming

Day Number (DN) 132 of the year
DN 10 of the Internship

I arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska via Seattle via Denver on May 3rd, 2013. The ship had already left their homeport, Newport, OR on April 28th so, I was to meet them in Alaska.
The arrival to the Ketchikan International airport was surprising to me. I knew the airport would be small, but not that small. As I stepped off the plane, I walked down a flight of stairs and arrived at the only baggage claim carousel that hadn't been updated since probably the 1960s. As I was waiting for my luggage, one of the airport attendants made a bag of popcorn. So, I now have an association of popcorn and the Ketchikan International airport.

Two of my shipmates collected me from the airport and brought me back to the ship. It was a strange and familiar feeling bringing my luggage on board. I was lucky to have arrived on a Friday, which gave me some time to unpack, get settled and catch up with some of my shipmates. We all of course, went out for dinner and drinks the first night I got back.

The morning of the second day of my arrival was spent struggling my way into a wet suit at Snorkel Alaska, a dive and snorkel shop in Ketchikan. A large group of the Rainier crew signed up for a morning of snorkeling. After our safety debrief, we were guided to the chilly water and spent the next hour floating about, checking out the vibrant seafloor near the beach. The water was 45 degrees and relatively clear. This was my first time snorkeling.

Rainier Crew off to go snorkeling in Ketchikan

Heading down to the beack

Me. Yes, that is me...squished into the suit and mask...holding a starfish

We got underway from Ketchikan to our first survey area on Monday morning, May 6th. The first survey area is located at Behm Canal. This canal is very interesting to survey as we have already seen upwards of 500 meter depths. The shoreline drops off drastically, in some places from 15m down to 200m or more. This presents a challenge for the surveyors in the launches trying to obtain data in the shoaler areas. On the other hand, our swath with the ship's sonar is very large and we are able to collect very clean data.

Once we arrived in Behm canal, two crews went out on the skiffs to set up the tide gauge and the HORCON (GPS) station. Everything is up and running and we are working our way through the canal.

As you can see, we have already gathered quite a bit of data in the 7 days that we have been here.

We had fantastic sunny weather the first few days at Behm Canal. Yesterday and today have been much more typical Alaska weather for this time of year. It has been rainy and foggy. The water has been immensely calm and I find myself going out on the deck to watch the fog roll over the snow capped mountains.

Gorgeous views at Behm Canal

Picking a launch after a day of hydro

Eerie calm water, grey, foggie, drizzle

In the plot room - ship's acquisition

Our view this afternoon of Walker Cove

We will be heading to Petersburg, AK next week where we will enjoy the "Little Norway" viking festival. I've heard a lot of things about it and can't wait to check it out. That's all for now. Greetings from Alaska!