Jet skis loaded on a trailer on a survey trip of the Oregon Coast

Author: Jeff Wood, Faculty Research Assistant, CEOAS (College of Earth, Oceanic and Atmospheric Science)

As part of Peter Ruggiero’s research at OSU, we perform a Nearshore Bathymetry Survey on the Outer Coast of Oregon and Southern Washington, taking depth readings to map the seafloor from the surf zone to offshore about 2 kilometers.

In Oregon, our data collection goes into updating FEMA Tsunami Hazard mapping, mapping a different county in Oregon each summer for the past three years. In Southern Washington, and the northern extent of Clatsop County, Oregon, our group has a 15 year annual data set that is used to assess morphological changes along the beaches surrounding the Mouth of the Columbia River, used to determine beach erosion/ progration rates within the study areas.

We launch and land the Jet Skis on the beach using dollies (shown strapped to the boats in the pictures) when boat-ramps are not readily available in the vicinity of our study area. Our safety crew follows the survey vessels along the beach in the truck, spotting them and ready to assist if the operator is knocked off the boat while within the breaking zone of the surf.

We work in collaboration with the US Geological Survey (USGS), Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI).

Photo Authors vary from Heather Baron, Diana Di Leonardo, and Jeff Wood.

Jet Skis on a survey trip of the Oregon/Washington

Jet Skis on a survey trip of the Oregon/Washington

Redeploying the 60th instrument mooring in the depths of Crater Lake. Pictured: (From left to right) Bob Collier, Professor CEOAS, Mark Buktenica, National Park Service Biologist and OSU Alum , and Chris Moser, Senior Faculty Research Assistant hold a sediment trap that collects particles settling down to a depth of 582 meters.

Author: Bob Collier, Marine Geochemistry, CEOAS (College of Earth, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences)

Place: Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park, Sept. 11, 2012

Redeploying the 60th instrument mooring in the depths of Crater Lake.

This research project has yielded 30 years of continuous observations of the physics, chemistry, and biology in the deepest lake in the United States (7th deepest in the world). Every time this sediment trap is redeployed, the crew signs it, leaving a history of people and memorable events along the way.

Our friends at OSU Motor Pool have gotten us there (and back again) for over 30 years, with over 30,000 miles logged! THANK YOU!

For more information, see: http://chemoc.coas.oregonstate.edu/~bobcollier/

Pictured: Bob Collier, Mark Buktenica, National Park Service Biologist and OSU Alum

Pictured: (Left to right) Bob Collier, Chris Moser

Pictured: (Left to right) Chris Moser, Walt Waldorf

Large trucks for tough work... OSU Motor Pool vehicles get you where you need to be! (Author Mark T. Ford pictured)

The High Desert of Oregon, Lots of Sagebrush and Volcanoes!

Author: Mark T. Ford, Geology and Geophysics, CEOAS (College of Earth, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences)

Place: High Lava Plains of Oregon

My research into the causes of volcanism in the High Lava Plains of Oregon took me to all kinds of places. I traveled from the top of the snow-capped Steens Mountains, down to the chain of lakes in the Warner Valley and across the Alvord Desert. From the flanks of Newberry Volcano to the sunstone mines outside of Plush, I trekked all over eastern and southern Oregon. At first glance, there is little more than open space, sagebrush and volcanoes over much of that land. A few hours each day were spent driving long distances at high rates of speed on the highways with a few more hours driving very slowly to cover just a few miles on two-tracks and gravel “roads.”

On my travels, I met a number of interesting characters including Fred Otley, a cattle rancher in eastern Oregon. He seemed keenly interested in my work and welcomed me to enter any of his land holdings to sample volcanic rocks. “Let’s break out a map and see where you want to go,” he said. To which I replied, while digging through my pile of maps to get the ones covering the nearby areas, “How much land do you have?” He responded, “Well, I’ve got land I ain’t seen yet.” That’s a lot of land! Legendary central Oregon rancher and author Reub Long of Fort Rock fame once quipped, “You don’t measure distance by miles but by looks. It is ten looks across the Oregon high desert.” In my estimation, ten “looks” equals about 350 miles.

In addition to meeting characters and collecting lots of rock samples, I also got a chance to see and experience some interesting phenomena and some great scenery. While I was camped out in the wild lands most of the time, occasionally I would stay at a hot springs to help sooth my boot-weary feet and relax my bones and joints. I also saw two jet fighters “dog-fighting” over the Christmas Lake area, the largest juniper tree in the state, lava tubes and caves, the “Lost Forest,” which is located in an otherwise barren desert, countless wild burros and antelope, sundogs encircling the noon-day sun, raging rangeland fires, eagles at some of the mountain lakes and much, much more. But, maybe the best scenes of the entire field season were the stars, sparkling in all their heavenly glory, set perfectly in the dark Oregon desert sky, serenaded by a chorus of coyotes.

Floods and Fish: Photo by Oregon State University

Watch the Oregon Field Guide streaming video after the break.

OSU News & Communications News release from OSU News & Communications
Oregon Live Archived article from the Oregonian

Image: John Nabelek

Place: Basin & Range area near Pleasant Valley, Nevada.

John Nabelek’s crew in April, working in the Basin & Range area in Northern Nevada near Pleasant Valley. The experiment utilized passive seismic recordings to examine the nature and shape of the Pleasant Valley fault at depth. This was a proof-of-concept experiment, using 35 seismometers in a closely-spaced linear array to image the fault with seismic waves recorded from distant earthquakes. The experiment collected data for 18 months and spanned three valleys in the Basin and Range.

The "Wildman" Part Two

Use the link below in the Read More section to see Part Two of The “Wildman”.

Updated: 3/29/2012

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Links to some great articles featuring the work of Randy and others:

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/spring-1999/river-runs-through-it

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/researchers_track_coolwater_ha.html

If you haven’t seen Part 1 of The “Wildman” you can access the YouTube link from a previous post.

Western Oregon Research Sites

Eric Dinger

Forest Engineering, Resources and Management

College of Forestry

Listing a place name is a normal step in requesting vehicles through the University Motor Pool. For a sample of some of the cities customers travel to see a previous post Share Your Story.

Some customers are lucky if roads even reach the places they need to travel. For some perspective on this issue read on.

Here are some of Eric’s better ones:

Destinations

• I love Peedee, OR
• Hang-a-left-at-Eddyville-and-drive-for-half-an-hour, OR
• Middle of nowhere, Coast Range, OR
• The Sticks, OR

Some of Eric’s comments in reservation requests are just as funny. We liked this one:

“This is the rare occasion when I am going somewhere completely on paved roads!  I know, its crazy!  I’ve got to be at a conference in Portland at 0800 on Tuesday Feb. 15th.  …”

Thanks Eric for adding a little humor to our day.

Biscuit Fire: Photo by National Forest Service

Jay Sexton

Forest Ecosystems and Society

College of Forestry

“Here is a link to an OPB Oregon Field Guide spot that ran on Feb 23rd, 2012 – and has me cutting down a snag and, Brett Morrissette & I sampling it in the Biscuit Fire area near Gold Beach.

The good parts are at minute 3:28 – 4:58 , although the rest of the story is good too – but the falling snag is the best part. They cut out my speaking part for misbehavior – they wanted me to say “20 feet” but I would only say “4-5 meters” so they had Bernard say 20 feet instead. (time 4:06).”

Visit OPB to learn more or watch the embedded video below.

We had a great time aboard the new research vessel the Oceanus yesterday. Sunny skies and relatively calm waters combined to give us a rosy view of what we’re sure is hard and rewarding research work.

Our hosts Daryl Swensen, David O’Gorman and Toby Martin from the Martech group in the College of Earth, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences allowed us to participate in a day of training exercises designed to ready the ship and crew for an upcoming inspection by the National Science Foundation.

See the picture blog below for a brief perspective of the exciting work happening in Corvallis and around the world.

We watched as the crew practiced anchoring, collected soil and water samples, deployed a glider and performed docking trials. If it weren’t rosy enough the day even finished with gray whale sightings and a full moon to follow back to Corvallis.

Profile of research that goes where Motor Pool cars can't.

A view from the bridge.

Customer sighting: Martech Superintendent Daryl Swensen as he guides crane operators loading submersible equipment.

Submersible water sampling rig being retrieved from the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured Above: Soil sampling rig being loaded for offsite storage. Pictured Below: Daryl Swensen looking on after a day of training exercises aboard the Oceanus.

She will be back. Her glider is still in the water collecting data.

Beaver being released by Vanessa Petro. Courtesy OSU Terra Website.

Terra provided a great overview of research work being done by master’s student and customer Vanessa Petro. When Vanessa first picked up her research truck we thought she was pulling our leg about using beavers to create salmon habitat. The question naturally came to mind “Who supplies the beavers?”

Read more at Terra Online and find Vanessa’s podcast.