The Calm Before the Storm

   Only a matter of hours separate us from setting sail on our planets largest ocean, the Pacific. As we make our final preparations the excitement mounts.  Soon Dr. D, Erika, and myself will be surrounded by open water imagining what the ocean floor is like and how the recovery of our scientific instruments will unfold. 

    Starting tomorrow we will be out on the Pacific Ocean collecting Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS's) that have been recording seismic data for the last year.  These OBS's are located on the North American continental shelf and the oceanic Juan de Fuca plate, some located beneath more then 4000 meters (12,000 feet) of water.  We will be recovering 15 of the 64 OBS's that were deployed in 2011, part of an amphibious array that stretches from Northern California to Vancouver Island, B.C. and from the North American coast to almost 600 Km (400 miles) out at sea.