Nancy Lewis
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana
September 15 – 27, 2003
Mission: Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO)/TRITON
Geographical Area: Western Pacific
Date: September 22, 2003
Sunrise: 0610
Sunset: 1817
0515: 4 N CTD
0900: Shellbacks on bow
1215: Deploy Test Wind Buoy
Repair 5 N 140 W Buoy
SOLO
Weather Observation Log
Latitude: 4 degrees., 22.7’ N
Longitude: 139 degrees, 58.8’ W
Visibility: 12 nautical miles (nm)
Wind direction: 160 degrees
Wind speed: 10 knots
Sea wave height: 2-3 feet
Swell wave height: 4-6 feet
Sea water temperature: 28.0 degrees C
Sea level presuure: 1013.0 mb
Dry bulb pressure: 27.8 degrees C
Wet bulb pressure: 24.6 degrees C
Cloud cover: 4/8 Cumulus, altocumulus, cirrus
Air temperature: 27.8 degrees C
Science and Technology Log
I promised that I would return to a discussion of the ADCP, or Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler. You can see from the Daily Log’s Plan of the Day when these were deployed, but they are deployed at the following locations: (0-147 E, 0-165 E, 0-170 W, 0-140 W). On which of these locations did we deploy the ADCP on this leg of the cruise?
These moorings are subsurface, and the data is only available after their recovery. Typically, the depth is 300 meters, and these buoys use the Doppler effect to gather data on ocean currents at that depth. I have posted several pictures on the website of the ADCP, and to me, it looks like a satellite when it was on board the ship. In the water, it looked like a big orange fishing bobber.
Our buoy ops (operations) are beginning to wind down, and we recovered no TAO buoy today, as you can see from the plan of the day. There was a repair done to the 5 N 140 W buoy. A whole group went out to do that, and used the time while out at the buoy to do a little fishing. Two large fish came back on the RHIB, a yellow-fin tuna and a mahi-mahi. Kamaka was preparing the fish by cutting filets and making poke for tomorrow’s lunch.
I’d like to make available for teachers a lesson plan submitted by Suzanne Forehand from Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Because the schools have been closed due to the hurricane, it is not available as yet on the web. Teachers may request a copy from me, and I will send it as an attached file to an e-mail. I would like to thank Ms. Forehand for her collaboration on this project, andI hope that their electricity is restored soon. I look forward to hearing from the students at Plaza Middle School in Virginia Beach.
Personal Log
Oh, the life of a lowly Wog! Traditionally, those who have crossed the equator at sea for the first time are treated to a variety of secret initiation ceremonies where one is designated a “wog”. Shellbacks are those people who have already made the passage, and it is their delight to devise various tortures to inflict on the wogs. The 6 of us on board here were ordered up on the forward deck early this morning, and the fun began. I cannot give away any of these secrets, but suffice it to say that we all got a saltwater shower. From here on until we complete the initiation, we have to wear our clothes in ridiculous ways, and bow and scrape to the honorable shellbacks. At the end of several days of this entertainment for all the shellbacks, we then become a shellback ourselves and will be issued certificates and a card that we will hold on to forever to avoid having to endure the same in the future. In the 19th century this tradition was carried to extremes with such measures as keel-hauling the wogs, and some very serious, life-threatening acts of hazing. It is toned way down from those days, and all is done with a spirit of fun and good humor.
I have been busy looking at the photos I have taken on the digital camera, and of course selecting ones to be sent to Maryland to be posted on the website. There were various glitches today with the computer I am working on, so my work had to be done in fits and starts throughout the day.
Tom and I played 2 games of sequence this evening against the CO and Doc and we won the championship! The competition is fierce around here because the winners get a T-shirt or cap from the ship’s store. I guess I’ll find out if it was wise to beat the Captain hands down like that. I am scheduled to play him next in Scrabble.
Question of the Day: What is the origin of the word “hurricane”?
Aloha until tomorrow!
Nancy Lewis
