NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karen Meyers & Alexa Carey
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV
August 15 – September 1, 2006
Mission: Ecosystem Monitoring
Geographical Area: Northeast U.S.
Date: August 29, 2006
Weather Data from Bridge
Visibility: <1 nautical mile
Wind direction: o
Wind speed: 20-25 kts
Sea wave height: 2-3’
Swell wave height: 4-6’
Seawater temperature: 14 C
Sea Level Pressure: 1015.2 mb
Cloud cover: 8/8
The rain has stopped but it’s a very foggy day here in the Gulf of Maine – not unusual for this area, according to the officers. I visited the bridge early this morning before dawn and Acting XO Jason Appler mentioned the “cabin fever” that can result from sailing through fog for days on end. We were hoping to see the beautiful coast of Maine but we may pass without ever catching a glimpse if this fog keeps up.
On the second station of our watch, in addition to the bongos, we used another plankton net which extends from a rectangular frame. It’s called a neuston net and it’s towed right at the surface, partly in and partly out of the water. The object of this tow is to catch lobster larvae which, according to Jerry, are often found clinging to seaweed drifting at the surface. We’re doing this sampling for a student who is considering studying the distribution of lobster larvae for a thesis.
Jerry reminded me of two terms I learned at some point in the past but had forgotten. Meroplankton are animals that are residents of the plankton for only part of their lives, e.g., larvae of fish, crustaceans, and other animals. Holoplankton is made up of jellyfish, copepods, chaetognaths, ctenophores, salps, larvaceans, and other animals that spend their entire lives in the plankton.
Jerry has a copy of the book The Open Sea by Sir Alister Hardy, a classic work of biological oceanography. As only one example of his many marine expeditions, Hardy served as Chief Zoologist on the R.R.S. Discovery when it voyaged to Antarctica in the 1920’s. The first half of the book is devoted to plankton and the second half to fish and fisheries. Both parts contain a number of his beautiful watercolors of the animals discussed, painted from freshly caught specimens and all the more remarkable for the fact that they were done on a rocking ship!
Personal Log – Karen Meyers
The seas got pretty bouncy this evening. I had been feeling pretty cocky about my “sea legs” but was getting a little uneasy. However, I did cope without any problems. I don’t really understand seasickness and I get the feeling no one else does either. I wonder how often and for how long one has to be at sea before their sea legs become permanent.
Personal Log – Alexa Carey
It’s like riding a bucking bronco out here on the ocean. Walking, by itself, is forcing me to improve my coordination. I love it. I’m only worried about how I’ll be on land…last time I was swaying back and forth for a few hours. I think Karen got quite a kick out of that.
We’re still taking pictures for the contest. It’s difficult being creative, especially because we’re limited on what we have for resources. We’ve got one picture that I hope turns out well. One of Tracy’s good friends sent her the picture of the Brady Bunch. I’ve been trying to work the picture so that our shift’s faces are in place of the original cast. The only one that truly looks in place is Wes, he actually looks natural! We’re having such a great time!
We all climbed into our survival suits again and took pictures on the stairs. Believe me when I say that sitting on the stairs in those “Gumby” suits, is a very difficult task. Wes was holding all of us up. Tracy had a hold of the side and I was propped up in between them. Alicea was very ready to jump forward in case we were to all start the journey downstairs a bit too quickly. I’m still having an amazing time.
