We completed most of the second line of SUESI deep-tow operations early morning yesterday and transitioned into OBEM receiver recoveries. Unfortunately, the seas were not kind to us near the end of the tow line, and we were forced to turn off course due to gale force winds and confusing sea surface current patterns. On the bright side, we only missed about 10 out of 145 kilometers of planned towing on the seaward end of the profile.
Below is a time lapse movie of our most recent SUESI deployment. As you can see, most of the work entails getting the 300 meter antenna and copper electrodes in the water.
Of the 15 OBEM receivers recovered thus far, the data look fabulous. Anxious to see how the data look on the remaining sites. We also decided to leave behind three OBEMs near the trench axis to collect long period magnetotelluric data, since we only need 30 receivers for the upcoming northern SUESI tow line.