Current status: At present H2O is not operational.

Update, October, 2003

The Junction Box was upgraded and repaired at Woods Hole, and the H2O Junction Box Power supply was repaired at SOEST during the summer, 2003. A TG Thompson cruise to the H2O site sailed from Seattle on Sept. 19 and returned on October 16. The cruise was to reinstall the Junction Box, three new experiments, and a Small Experiment Module to operate the already-installed seismic package. The power supply was not operating correctly with the junction box, and repairs made during transit did not appear to solve the problem. A medical emergency forced the ship to transit to Honolulu, costing six days, and a hunt for the Junction Box when it broke off the wire on the way to the bottom cost another three days. The JBox was redeployed and plugged into the cable, but half of the power supply modules failed, such that it could only support a subset of the planned experiments. With time running out, the SEM was installed, and the seismometer was plugged into the Junction Box. Unfortunately there was neither time nor power for installation of the biology experiment or the two magnetic experiments. The ship left the site with the seismic system and a new high-rate hydrophone and pressure sensor working well.

Three days later, data stopped flowing from H2O. Study of engineering data from the junction box power supply suggests that there was a shunt fault to sea water between the power separation filter in the junction box and the power supply.

Resumption of operations and installation of the new experiments - including a borehole seismic system to be installed at an ODP drill hole at the site - will require that the Junction Box again be recovered and repaired. Negotiations with the National Science Foundation and a system design review are currently in progress.

Update: May, 2003

A cruise to H2O on the T.G. Thompson recovered the Junction Box for upgrades and repairs. The Junction Box was replaced temporarily by a Junction Box Bypass to operate the seismic system during the repair period, but, unfortunately, the JBB did not function, and it was also recovered.

May 26, 2003 is the last day when seismic data are available from H2O.

 

Fred Duennebier