NOAA SHIP THOMAS JEFFERSON AIDS HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS
Story by AST Debbie Ethridge. Photos by ENS Madeleine Adler

October 15, 2005 — On the afternoon of September 9, with the nation’s flags at half mast, NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON steamed into the Gulf of Mexico, arriving at Pascagoula, Miss., to advance Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Its crew began work immediately upon arrival.

JEFFERSON’S mission was to conduct a hydrographic survey of critically impacted areas and the approaches to Pascagoula as part of an effort to restore shipping-dependent trade and commerce in and out of this vital shipping port. The main concerns included shoaling, obstructions and any dangers to navigation that might hinder marine transportation to the Gulf States.

At sunset, the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER, also tasked to the relief effort, passed the JEFFERSON. A glowing sun sank into a hazy grey bank of clouds kissing flat calm seas, an amazingly peaceful site after the storm which recently wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans, La., to Mobile, Ala. The first day had come to an end, but much work remained in the coming days.

The following day bustled with activity. Both of JEFFERSON’S survey launches were deployed for preliminary survey activities, vessel certification and equipment calibration. However, a temporary tide gauge (many of the original tide gauges were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina) had to be installed at the NOAA base in Pascagoula before survey operations could commence at full throttle. A second tide gauge was also installed in Gulfport, Miss., a few days later.

As the tide party approached the Pascagoula shoreline, Katrina’s devastation became apparent — the coastal region was covered with litter and debris, buildings were ripped apart and a strong odor emerged from the destruction. The sights were a sharp contrast to the tranquil, undisturbed white sand beaches of the barrier islands, Horn and Petit Bois, which somehow managed to escape Katrina's wrath and greeted the tide party at the Lower Pascagoula Channel.

LTjg Sarah Mrozek, a NOAA Corps officer assigned to the NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services in that region, led the tide party and was pleased with the day’s progress. Staff from the NOAA CO-OPS joined with crew members onboard the NOAA SHIP THOMAS JEFFERSON to help install the temporary tide station for post-Katrina hydrography. The installation could not have gone better! "Thanks to those on the ship, as well as those on land, for your hard work and long hours which contributed to the success of the installation. An additional thanks, goes out to the NOAA crew of Pascagoula, who welcomed us at their facility,” said Mrozek after another long work day was coming to a close.

Day after day, the work started at dawn and continued until dusk, when talk of daily tasks filled the mess deck as late evening meals were finally eaten. Unidentified floating objects often piqued the interest of crew members, but only to serve as constant reminders of what once was. While some items remained a mystery, many were easily identified: signs, pieces of wood, a kayak, trash cans, a small chair and a portion of a dock more than 29 feet long.

As Hurricane Ophelia skirted North Carolina and Rita incubated in the southern Caribbean, calm clear days allowed survey operations to progress without delay and much was accomplished. On September 20 — eleven days after arriving — 948 miles of survey data acquisition had been completed over the Upper and Lower Pascagoula Channels and its safety fairway using multibeam and side-scan sonar.

Captain Emily Christman, commanding officer of the THOMAS JEFFERSON, explained that "assigned survey areas consisted of shipping channels and corridors around the channels. Data was collected first in the channels themselves, and channel depth and feature plots were provided to local authorities immediately upon completion to aid in their decision making." Ironically, the U.S. Coast Guard and local port authority had been using the NOAA Ship GORDON GUNTER as their headquarters in Pascagoula. "Additional preliminary plots will be delivered when the data acquisition in the full survey area is complete. Fully processed data will follow the normal route through the Office of Coast Survey to the nautical chart,” Christman later added.

With the first leg of its mission complete, the JEFFERSON headed to Pensacola to wait out Hurricane Rita and prepare for its next assignment.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson

Media Contact:
Jeanne Kouhestani, NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, (301) 713-3431 ext. 220