NOAA Teacher at Sea
Dana Tomlinson
Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana
March 1 – 27, 2002
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2002
Lat: 8°S
Long: 110°W
Seas: 2-5 ft
Visibility: unrestricted
Weather: partly to mostly cloudy, possibility of rain showers
Sea Surface Temp: 82-86°F
Winds: 5-10 knots
Air Temp: 85-74°F
Today was kind of bittersweet for me but I doubt the crew feels that way. Today, we recovered the buoy at 8°S 110°W and deployed a new one. This will be the last time I have to see the buoy operations, as it is the last recovery/deployment until after the Galapagos Islands – and that’s where I get off. The crew goes on to Manzanillo, Mexico, and then returns to Honolulu, their home base. The operations went perfectly on both ends today, and now the crew gets a chance to catch up on everything they can’t do when they’re doing buoy ops.
We are now in transit from the 110°W line directly east to the 95°W line. We will be in transit for several days. During that time, like I said, the crew will be getting their regular chores done and the scientists will be preparing for the buoy “fly bys” we’ll be doing on the 95°W line. A fly by is when we locate the buoy, the scientists go out to it in the RHIB to check on it, and then fix anything that needs fixing or calibrating with the instrumentation. This transit is a chance for everyone to catch their breath for this next round of operations.
Question of the Day:
The ship is traveling at about 12 knots. How long will it take us to get from the 110°W to the 95°W? Hint: you’re going to have to find out how many miles it is between degrees of longitude – Internet anyone?
Answer of the Day:
Once again, Brian R. of San Diego tells me that the Pacific Ocean, on the average, is 13,740 ft deep, or about 4188 meters deep. But does anyone know how deep it is at its deepest point??? Let me hear from you. 🙂
Til tomorrow,
🙂 Dana
