NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Guertin
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
June 10 – June 22, 2023
Mission: 2023 Summer Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Walleye Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska
Geographic Area of Cruise: Islands of Four Mountains area, Western Gulf of Alaska
Location (2PM (Alaska Time), June 13): 54o 19.3929′ N, 161o 35.5129′ W
Data from 2PM (Alaska Time), June 13, 2023
Air Temperature: 7.2 oC
Water Temperature (mid-hull): 6.5oC
Wind Speed: 9.25 knots
Wind Direction: 144.73 degrees
Course Over Ground (COG): 254.48 degrees
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 11.34 knots
Date: June 14, 2023
As a trained scientist and educator who is passionate about communicating science, I’m always thinking of different ways we can tell stories and share our data with non-scientists and students. I have been crocheting temperature data since 2017 and sharing my temperature scarves that record daily maximum temperature values for a location. In 2018, I began a journey of quilting science stories (see my blog post on the Teacher At Sea Alumni Association (TASAA) blog, Sharing Stories of the Louisiana Coast Through Quilts). While I’m on Oscar Dyson, I’m going to be creating another type of story/data visualization, based upon the observations I make looking up at the sky – and I hope you will join me!
A full description of my Stitch the Sky At Sea project is available on the TASAA blog. But note that you can do any variation, use any colors, select any style of stitching… the project is yours to create! I started the project with my visual observations back home (Philadelphia, PA) on June 1, before I flew to Alaska. This is the color scale I’m using and selecting which yarn matches what I’m seeing in the sky. It has been overcast my entire time in Kodiak (AK) so far – you can see the jump in color!
Photos: Announcing the Stitch The Sky At Sea Project (top left); Photos of blue skies at my home (Philadelphia) and where I had a one-night layover during travel (Seattle) with rows stitched onto the beginning edge (top middle); Photo of what the sky has looked like every day I was in Kodiak before sailing – completely clouded over (top right); The five colors of yarn I’m using for the five shades of the sky I’m observing the same time each day (bottom center). The yarn is from The Tempestry Project and in the colors of Aurora (top left), Downpour (top right), Cumulus (middle), Nimbus (lower left), Nebula (lower right).
This table will include my recorded observations. Again, you can stitch what I’m seeing, stitch what you are seeing in your location on the same date – or stitch both data for comparison! I’ll continue stitching through the end of the month to see what I can learn from my observations between these locations.
| June | Location | Sky color observed (by myself) | NOAA’s sky cover value | Notes |
| 1 | PHL | bright blue | 0.1 | At home, waiting to depart |
| 2 | PHL | bright blue | 0.2 | |
| 3 | SEA | bright blue | 0.1 | Flew out of Philly early AM, day in Seattle |
| 4 | Kodiak | dark gray | 1.0 | Arrived in Kodiak, stay in hotel |
| 5 | Kodiak | dark gray | 1.0 | |
| 6 | Kodiak | dark gray | 1.0 | |
| 7 | Kodiak | dark gray | 1.0 | |
| 8 | Kodiak | dark gray | 1.0 | |
| 9 | Kodiak | dark gray | 1.0 | |
| 10 | transit | white | 0.9 | Departed Kodiak, day of transit |
| 11 | transit/ shelter | light gray | 0.9 | transit/sheltering in Larsen Bay |
| 12 | transit | white | 0.3 | restart transit at 5AM |
| 13 | transit | light gray | 0.9 | *starting this date, sky cover value as reported in Cold Bay |
| 14 | transit | dark gray | 1.0 | Arrival at first transect site, survey begins |
| 15 | transects | dark gray | 0.9 | |
| 16 | transects | light blue | 1.0 | |
| 17 | transects | bright blue | 0.4 | |
| 18 | transects | light gray | 0.7 | |
| 19 | transects | dark gray | 0.9 | |
| 20 | transects | dark gray | 0.8 | |
| 21 | transit | dark gray | 1.0 | *sky cover value as reported in Kodiak |
| 22 | dock in Kodiak! | dark gray | 1.0 | Left Kodia at 4PM (AK Time), flew to Anchorage, then Seattle |
| 23 | SEA | light blue | 0.3 | Travel day, Seattle to Philadelphia – sky cover for Seattle |
| 24 | PHL | dark gray | 0.9 | *sky cover for Philadelphia |
| 25 | PHL | white | 0.6 | |
| 26 | PHL | light gray | 0.9 | |
| 27 | PHL | white | 0.9 | |
| 28 | PHL | light blue | 0.6 | |
| 29 | PHL | light gray | 0.6 | [Canadian wildfire smoke covering the region today 🙁 ] |
| 30 | PHL | light gray | 0.6 |
I will be taking photos of the sky and plotting them along with the ship location in this Google Earth file (just the days we are at sea – not the days on land).
I’m excited to be able to wear so many hats while at sea – scientist, educator, communicator, and crafter! If you decide to stitch along, please share your work!
