To comply with China Classification Society (CCS) regulations, R/V TKK was landlocked for about three weeks in early December when she went into dry dock at Mawei Shipyard, Fuzhou, Fujian Province for necessary routine inspection and maintenance. It was the second time that R/V TKK had been in dry dock since the delivery. 

The maintenance of this round included a thorough inspection of the vessel’s interior and exterior hull structure, upgrades or repairs of sections of equipment for marine geophysics, as well as oceanographic and meteorological instruments. During the dry-dock maintenance at the shipyard, an impressive large soccer ball shaped object was also installed on the top of the central mast of R/V TKK, making the ship look quite different. It is the C-band dual-polarization Doppler weather radar.

Installation of the Doppler weather radar completed. Photo: Jianwei Weng

The Doppler weather radar onboard R/V TKK works at C-band range (wavelength 3.75 ~ 7.5 centimeters) and is often used for precipitation measurements. It sends and receives microwave pulses. The pulse has vertical and horizontal signals, called dual-polarization. The emitted radio waves are normally scattered by raindrops, ice crystals, snowflakes, and other particles in the atmosphere. Then the reflected electromagnetic waves are received by the radar’s antenna and processed by designed algorithms to eventually produce an echogram. The returning signal reveals the information on the number, size, shape, and movement of rain, hail, ice and snow, allowing scientists to understand the intensity, distribution, and evolution of precipitation.

With the completion of the dry docking, R/V TKK set sail back to her homeport Xiamen on the very last day of 2019 in her excellent condition, and ready to continue supporting oceanographic research. As the new year begins, let’s make a fresh start.