Using support from an NSF RAPID grant, we went on the R/V Point Sur to measure water properties outside of Galveston Bay. We used an ADCP to measure the vertical structure of the horizontal currents and the ship's rosette to measure properties in the water column. We were especially focused on the freshwater plume that exits Galveston Bay on ebb tide, so we stayed fairly close to shore.
We arrived at R/V Pelican in Galveston in the middle of the night:
Students managed the rosette and ran the hand-held CTD and associated computer:
Techs monitored from inside the ship:
We passed through the edge of the ebb tide plume! You can see it as two different colors of water, and there is a convergence at the interface where the water is white. Fish (and therefore fishermen) like to hang out here:
The conditions started to get gnarly on the last night, and we had to stop using the rosette in the middle of the night for safety:
Many seagulls welcomed us into Galveston:
End of the cruise:
