Touching Up

Manny Collazo applies some touch-up paint and fiberglass in the middle of the usual afternoon rain drizzle during the week.

Solar Panels Added

Mike Shoemaker (sitting) attaches the solar panels while Manny Collazo assists.

When the time comes to install the electronics, the "brain" will be loaded down the tube from the end you see here. The holes in the collar surrounding the orifice, and just under the solar panels, will hold the masts which support the wind and weather instruments, including the light sensor.

DBJM1 Data Reports

Once the station becomes operational, the data will be available here:

http://ecoforecast.coral.noaa.gov/index/0/DBJM1/station-home

Note that other data sources are available already, including satellite and HYCOM modeling data.

Jim

Update from Discovery Bay

We have leaded the bottom of the tube and re-glassed the top back on. Today we bottom-paint where we glassed over the leading hole, and I requested yesterday that Peter Gayle buy some white or yellow marine paint (while in town for his presentation) for the top fiberglassed area.

The navigation light ran all night; it originally had a bad connector from the battery to the LED dome, but I cut it off and hard-wired it; thats when the programing held. We'll be putting on the masts, light, solar panels and lightning brush as soon as the top is painted. I'll let Jules do the stretch-wrapping just before he does the installation of the stick next week.

-- Mike Shoemaker

DBJM1 Operation Starts

The station has finally been constructed and was packaged up in a container for shipping and left AOML today for Discovery Bay.

Jim

Bottom Plate Installed

During the week of February 27, 2006, a supporting bottom plate was installed for a Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) station near the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory (DBML) on the north shore of Jamaica at 18^o 28.367' N, 077 ^o 24.949' W by Jules Craynock, Hector Casanova (AOML), and John Halas (EMI), with supporting help from Jim Hendee (AOML) and Peter Gayle of DBML and his staff (Anthony Downes, Keeno Townes and Dalton).

The DBML CREWS station is being installed under a cooperative Caribbean program called Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) funded by World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility, with personnel support from NOAA and others. The main objective of the MACC project is to facilitate the creation of an environment for climate change adaptation in the Caribbean Community's small island and coastal developing states. Countries participating in the project are: Antigua & Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Kitts; St. Lucia; St. Vincent & the Grenadines; Trinidad & Tobago.

The CREWS station will measure wind speed and direction, precipitation, barometric pressure, air temperature, photosynthetically available radiation above and below the water, ultraviolet light above and below the water, sea temperature, salinity and partial pressure of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide studies are especially important in determining the influence of a changing global climate on coral reef growth patterns, while sea temperature and light studies help to determine the influence of a changing environment on the phenomenon of coral bleaching. The CREWS station will eventually provide data to establish long-term environmental trends. Such data and trends will support many ongoing and future research programs in coral reef ecosystem dynamics at DBML.

Likely Site Found

John Halas and I found a likely spot at:

18^o 28.367' N, 077 ^o 24.950' W

Jules Craynock and Hector Casanova found another spot close by, but I think this one is the one. Anthony of DBML helped us out.