(click map to enlarge)

Station positions, distances, steaming times between stations, and work time on station based on leaving Charleston, SC and coming into port at the end of the cruise at San Juan, Puerto Rico. Work time was computed assuming a nominal depth at each station of 4,500 m. The MOC-10 (towed on 0. 68" diameter cable, with 45 - 55^o wire angle, net speed of 1.5 - 2.5 kts) will require a cable payout of 1.4 to 1.6 times water depth or 6300 to 7200 MWO. Deployment will require 2 - 3 hours at 50 m/min. A 10 - 15 m/min haul-in rate from 4500 m to 1000 m and 30 m/min for last 1000 m will require 4 - 6 hrs. While sampling, the MOC-10 will filter 500 - 800 m³/min or a total of 120,000 - 300,000 m³ for the stratified nets. The total MOC-10 haul length time would take 6 - 10 hr. A typical 0 to 1000 m 1-m² MOCNESS tow will take about 3.5 hours and total volume filtered would be 4,000 to 7,000 m³. A similarly deployed ¼ m² MOCNESS with fine mesh netting will take the same time. If at a station, two of each tows were conducted this would take about 28 hours. Blue water dives would take 4 hr each; 2 will total 8 hr. Total station time would be ~36 hours. Thus, total steaming time (including to and from port) + station time = 19 days. Allowance for bad weather (2 day) brings the total ship time needed to ~ 21 days.