Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 06:38:49 +0000 (GMT)
From: Jason Goodman <sci5@knorr.whoi.edu>
To: seadiary@MIT.EDU
Subject: XBT woes
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970211062223.23715A-100000@mike.knorr.whoi.edu>
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56 59' N, 53 47' W
Temp: -13 C, Winds 12 m/s
Seas: Half of the Labrador Sea is frozen onto the deck.

  We're in the central deployment area, where the real good data is 
supposed to lie.  We're deploying XBTs every 5 nautical miles (about 
every half hour) to map out the region.  We've been having real trouble 
with the XBTs: Bob got some for free, but they're 8 years old, and don't 
return useful data.  The newer ones work better, but they're showing 
strange spikes in temperature as they descend.  Theories abound as to why 
this is happening; after we ran out of sensible ideas, the suggestions 
for fixing the problem started sounding like voodoo.  "Let's take one 
down into the engine room for a few minutes to warm it up."  "No, try 
again with the wind on the port bow."  "No, the starboard bow!"  "We 
should have the ship go faster."  "No, slower!"
  We're getting better results now, with the ship going faster, but maybe 
the fates are just tired of toying with us.
  The captain is getting concerned about the amount of ice building up on 
deck.  The afterdeck is covered in about two inches of frozen salt water, 
with four inches of snowy slush on top and salt water rolling around to 
make a sort of soup.  We're going to stop, maybe tomorrow, so the crew 
can hammer the ice off with big wooden mallets.  Seriously!
  It's really cold out there, and will probably be getting colder.  Early 
this evening, it was -20 C (-4 F) with 50-knot winds.  It'll probably be 
like that tomorrow, too, after this low pressure system passes.
  More later, perhaps: gotta go chuck another XBT in the water.