A study sponsored by the U.S. Minerals Management Service involving researchers from Texas A&M University, Ecologic, Oregon State University, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in coordination with the International Association of Geophysical Contractors to study sperm whales and their response to seismic exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
The first cruise in 2002 is scheduled to take place aboard the Texas A&M University R/V Gyre from 18-June to 09 July 2002. Departure is from Galveston, TX returning to GulfPort, MS. The strawman cruise track is shown below overlaid on the June 30th SSH map, however significant departures from this track are expected as whales are sighted and tagging efforts undertaken. A pdf version of the cruise track showing station identification numbers and suitable for printing or zooming is available here.
The cruise plan (updated 21-May-2002) is available her as a MS_Word_doc or here as a text file.
Recent Sea Surface Height altimetric maps from Bob Leiben's group at CCAR of Colorado University maps show the series of highs and lows in the Gulf which can be interpreted much like weather maps to indicate the direction and strength of the currents.
If you must communicate with someone on board the R/V Gyre during the cruise the information here will help you do so.