NOAA Teacher at Sea
Debbie Stringham
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather
July 5 – 15, 2005
Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: North Pacific, Alaska
Date: July 14, 2005
Weather Data
Location: U.S. Coast Guard Dock, Kodiak, AK
Latitude: 57 48.6′ N
Longitude: 152 21.9′ W
Visibility: 10 nm
Sky Description: partly cloudy
Science and Technology Log
The ship has reached Kodiak, AK and has docked at the U.S. Coast Guard Station. Preparations are already underway for an inspection and the departure of crew members and arrival of returning or new crew members. The next leg will focus on fisheries research so preparations of the winches for nets is underway.
I’m a little wistful in returning to shore. I’ve grown accustomed to the rocking of the ship and have thoroughly enjoyed my entire experience aboard the FAIRWEATHER. I’m amazed at the autonomy of the ship and the crew aboard. I’m walking away with valuable and useful information that can be applied in laboratory experiments in the classroom and can hardly wait to implement them.
Tonight, I spend my last night aboard the ship and tomorrow morning depart for a day ashore Kodiak and then a long flight home. What an amazing experience this has been!
Answer from Previous Day
Believe it or not, the Indonesian tsunami and Alaska 1964 earthquake are important to hydrographic survey. Plates shifting near Indonesia created the large tsunami that traveled so far and decimated so many villages. The 1964 earthquake, also caused by shifting plates, creating likewise devastating effects. This impacts hydrographic survey, because the navigation charts printed before 1964 would not show the rise in sea floor of over 30 feet that occurred because of the shifting plates!