June 2010 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11.


NOAATO COLLECT OIL SPILL DATA IN GULF Waterfront News


A NOAA-sponsored ocean mission, set to explore for deep sea corals, has been redi- rected to collect seafloor and water column data from areas near the Gulf of Mexico oil spill source.


Researchers from the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology (NIUST) on a university research ship to obtain core sediment samples from the seaf- loor and water samples from the water column in areas near the Deepwater Horizon spill source. The samples are expected to provide important information about the abundance of marine organisms and the presence of chemicals in ocean water and sediments— information for a baseline against which to measure change if those areas are affected by sinking oil.


The university fleet research vessel Peli- can, operated by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, departed Cocodrie, La., late Tuesday and arrived at the spill source on Wednesday. They will return on Sunday for more supplies, and go back to the site later that week.


The ship had been outfitted and ready to support a different NOAA-funded mission, but it was scrubbed in favor of gathering timely and much-needed data close to the oil


spill source.


“This sampling mission is one of many NOAA responses to the oil spill,” acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA Research Craig McLean said. “It fills an im- portant gap in researching the interaction of spilled oil and the ocean environment. The samples will help us better understand af- fected ocean resources.”


“We plan to sample as close to the well head as is safe, reasonable and allowable,” said Ray Highsmith, executive director for NIUST and principal investigator for both the original and revised mission. “We then plan to travel northwestward toward our long- term study site.”


That study site is about nine miles from the oil spill source and the home of the Gulf of Mexico Consortium’s Methane Hydrate Seafloor Observatory. In the seven years of the observatory’s development, scientists have collected a wealth of geologic, physical, chemical, and biological data describing the area—data that could be important in mea- suring changes there that stem from the oil spill.


With NOAA’s agreement to change missions, scientists and technicians on the ship and ashore worked quickly to adjust


Maine Lobster Ride & Roll Set for July 24 in Rockland


The Ninth Annual Maine Lobster Ride & Roll will take place on July 24 in Rockland. Sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, the ride winds along country roads past swimming ponds and lighthouses, offering stunning views of the Maine coast. Cyclists can choose from four distance options (16, 30, 50 or 100 miles), with staggered start times beginning at 8 a.m. All routes begin and end at Rockland District High School. A new video on the coalition’s Web site (www.BikeMaine.org) shows scenes from the ride and interviews with participants.


The ride is fully supported, with maps, rest stops and SAG wagons. A freshly made lobster roll lunch will be served at the end. Tuna and veggie options are available. The Maine Lobster Ride & Roll is the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s largest fundraising event. Proceeds support the coalition’s work to improve bicycling in


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Maine. Nearly 700 bicyclists participated in 2009.


Pre-registration rates are $85, with a $20 discount for coalition members. Children ages 12 to 17 pay $25, and those under 12 ride free. Participants will receive Maine Lobster Ride socks. For registration forms and more information, please visit www.BikeMaine.org or call (207) 623-4511. Major sponsors of the Ninth Annual Maine Lobster Ride & Roll are VBT Bicycling Vacations, Go Maine, L.L. Bean and the Maine Lobster Festival.


The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has been working since 1992 to make Maine a better place to bicycle. The coalition advocates for Maine cyclists at the Legislature and in Washington, D.C., teaches bicycle safety to thousands of Maine schoolchildren each year, partners with state agencies on a Share the Road media campaign and serves as a resource on local bicycling issues.


staffing and resources.


The research team brought aboard a large box corer used to take seafloor sediment samples and installed a large reel of cable to allow the corer to operate at depths equal to the spill source at 5,000 feet. An instrument called a CTD (Conductivity-Temperature- Depth) will measure the water’s conductiv- ity, temperature, density and oxygen concen- tration at various water column depths, while bottles on the CTD obtain water samples. Before the ship departed, Chief Scientist Arne Diercks and scientists and crewmembers received Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response train-


ing as required by OSHA for those involved in the clean-up of hazardous substances. Oil is considered a hazardous substance. Based at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and the University of Southern Mis- sissippi at the Stennis Space Center, NIUST is a partnership of the University of Missis- sippi, University of Southern Mississippi and NOAA, funded by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Samples from the mission will be studied by NOAA and by labs at the universities of Georgia and North Carolina and others that are members of the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium.


LIGHTHOUSE NEWS


Team Effort set to Restore Owls Head Lighthouse


Owls Head Lighthouse, a crown jewel of the Midcoast Maine region, is having its historic splendor renewed thanks to a team effort by the American Lighthouse Foundation and the United States Coast Guard.


On April 23, 2010 the 24-foot sentinel was enveloped by staging in preparation for two separate restoration projects totaling $248,000.


The two projects, which will occur simultaneously, will address many structural aspects of the 1852 brick lighthouse.


The nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF), headquartered in Rockland, Maine, will repoint the exterior and interior brickwork of the structure, refurbish the interior window frames, iron staircase, the deck and ladder leading to the lantern, as well as repair the light tower’s


stone foundation and recoat the exterior brickwork.


ALF has contracted the $80,000 project to J.B. Leslie Company, Inc. of South Berwick, Maine.


J.B. Leslie Company, Inc. has also worked on restoration projects at other lighthouses such as Pemaquid Point, Monhegan Island, Cape Elizabeth and White Island. The American Lighthouse Foundation and J.B. Leslie Company, Inc. each received a 2009 Honor Award from Maine Preservation for their collaboration on the recent Pemaquid and Cape Elizabeth projects.


The funding for the Owls Head project was made possible thanks to the efforts of U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins.


Owls Head Light is one of three Maine lighthouses (Pemaquid Point and Wood Island being the others) that are benefiting


Continued on Page 19. KUSTOM STEEL


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