NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Brezinsky
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 8 – April 22, 2004
Day 4: Monday, April 12, 2004
Latitude: 59.31.830N
Longitude: 149 10.28’W
Weather: clear Visibility: 29.5-49.5 ft (very high)
Wind direction: 355 degrees
Wind speed: 6 (m/s)
Sea wave height: virtually flat
Sea level pressure: 143mb
Cloud cover: Nimbostratus
Science and Technology Log
This morning we are off the coast of Seward. We have been having difficulty retrieving a mooring because it is not vertical in the water. At the base of the mooring there is a switch that releases the mooring from the anchor by remote control. The switch also has a sensor that tells the ship what the position of the mooring is. Apparently the mooring is horizontal in the water rather than vertical and that is likely the reason why we cannot
find it. The boat will return with a remote rover that will find and retrieve the mooring.
For now, we will continue on and get the next mooring which is closer in to the coast.
Personal Log
The seas are flat, the sun is shining and the coast is stunningly beautiful. We are close enough to land that I can see individual features. There is a very large coastal glacier directly inshore from us. I will try and look up the name of that glacier and report tomorrow on that.
Question of the day: What is the definition of a glacier? How are glaciers being used to track global change over geologic time?
Laura
