John Sammons, August 4, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
John Sammons
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV
July 25 – August 4, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Survey
Geographic Region: Northeast U.S.
Date: August 4, 2005

Weather Data from the bridge

Latitude: 42° 5’ N
Longitude: 67° 28’ W
Visibility: undetermined
Wind direction: E ( 107 degrees)
Wind speed:  12 knots
Sea wave height: 3’
Swell wave height: 0’
Sea water temperature: 14°C
Sea level pressure:  1022.2 millibars
Cloud cover: 30% Partly cloudy,cumulus

Question of the Day: Last day at sea

Yesterday’s Answer: Scallops are categorized as invertebrates. Scallops belong to the animal kingdom.

Science and Technology Log

On Thursday, we got word that our ship would be back in port by early Friday morning between 4 and 7 a.m. Once we complete the last 20 or so stations, it will be time to clean up and prepare the ship for docking. A large spider crab was brought in at station 454.

The chart below shows a selected number of species and the total and average catch weights from July 25–August 3.

1) Use a calculator to find the average masses of the goosefish and sea scallops. You can find these averages by dividing the total mass by the total number caught.
2) Which species had the most average mass?
3) Which species had the least average mass?
4) Which two or three species have about the same mass?
5) Complete the last column in the table by finding everyday objects that have similar masses. Choose at least ten.
6) Select the top ten heaviest species and create a bar graph comparing their masses.

Personal Log

A Fond Farewell 

The time has come to say goodbye to all our friends for now,
The night watch worked from 12 til six, it’s time to take a bow.
Larry crunched the numbers and helped it make more sense,
Vic was the head scientist who made things seem less tense.
KB shared her knowledge in a very caring way,
While Lara measured up the scallops quickly every day.
Erin took the sign and camera to the pile to pose,
It was Kris who was in charge and kept us on our toes.
Nikolai had a funny way of helping us all learn,
And with that said I, John, must conclude, it’s over, let’s adjourn!

Ode to the ALBATROSS IV 

By John Sammons

Arrived on early Sunday eve to find the ship was docked,
Passing through the metal gate that I only thought was locked.
Resting from her recent trip, she makes a humming sound,
Waiting for her crew to board and get a look around.
The sun reflects and sparkles in the ever choppy sea,
I wonder what this exciting adventure will bring to me.

The waves come toward the ALBATROSS and into the lengthy side,
Feel the rocking back and forth, so hold on for the bumpy ride.
Prepare the dredge and send it forth to bring up another load,
Bring out the baskets and buckets and pads to get in a sorting mode.
Place the containers on the scale then measure the scallop’s shell,
Soon the shift will come to an end with only stories left to tell.

Steaming forward to the station that is just right up ahead,
Six hours is up, and our shift will end, so it’s time to go to bed.
Before I rest and take a nap, some chow I would like to eat,
It will be good to rest a little while and get off from my feet.
The food is great, so many choices that we are able to choose,
Just fill ‘er up and head to bed and settle for a snooze.

Time to muster and be alert for another shift begins,
Shells and starfish wait for us, along with things with fins.
Pull up a bucket and a pad to sample and to sort,
It’s been three days since ALBATROSS steamed from the distant port.
Ouch! I bellowed as a scallop clamped onto my finger,
Upon the deck you sort and scoop, but dare not stand and linger.

Let me stop and ponder now about the time I’ve spent,
It seems like days and nights have passed, they’ve come, they’ve gone, they went!
Zigging left and zigging right, we have sailed right out to sea,
It seems so wide and open, such an awesome sight for me.
There’s so much to learn from everyone who works upon this ship,
It’s hard to think that soon we’ll be halfway through our trip.

Stand in awe as the sun begins to finally set,
Awash in orange and red and yellow, it is hard to forget.
What a lasting beauty as the sky begins to glow,
Its splendor in the many colors that it will show.
Waiting for its lasting blaze of light to end the day,
Now I lay me down to sleep, I ask of Him, I pray

The heavy dredge is ready for another timely tow,
Expect to catch the scallops, to the surface they will go.
Dropping to the bottom where its 80 meters deep,
Spending fifteen minutes dragging and bringing in the keep.
Then they’re sorted on the surface while hiding in their shell,
The aging/growth ridges on their outside’s what they tell.

Working two shifts makes it hard to fully stay awake,
But ignoring the wakeup call could be a big mistake.
So much to choose from when it’s finally time for us to eat,
Better be there when it is your time to get a decent seat.
Take a minute or two to rest while the ship is on a steam,
When it’s time to go to bed, enjoy that time to dream.

Ten minutes to go before it’s time for another CTD,
When the crew will set and drop it down into the sea.
It only takes a moment for the thing to take a dash,
To the bottom it will go, watch that it doesn’t crash.
Then it’s time to drop the dredge and ready for the tow,
Soon you’ll hear them haul it in, and it’ll be time to go.

With just a few days left before we enter the home port,
We still continue to collect and sample and we sort.
The number of each species catch continues to go up,
We even brought a dogfish in that was only just a “pup”.
What more can we expect to find within the capture net,
From this station to the next one, we’ll take what we can get.

The time has come to say goodbye to all our friends for now,
The night watch worked from 12 til six, it’s time to take a bow.
Larry crunched the numbers and helped it make more sense,
Vic was the head scientist who made things seem less tense.
KB shared her knowledge in a very caring way,
While Lara measured up the scallops quickly every day.
Erin took the sign and camera to the pile to pose,
It was Kris who was in charge and kept us on our toes.
Nikolai had a funny way of helping us all learn,
And with that said I, John, must conclude, it’s over, let’s adjourn!