Sinh Nguyen: Big Ocean, Big Mission, July 21, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Sinh Nguyen

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

July 7, 2025 – July 24, 2025

Mission: Larval Bluefin Tuna Slope Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Ocean, Slope Sea

Date: 7/21/2025

Weather Data:

4:27 PM Eastern Time

screenshot from the "Windy" app, showing a map of wind direction and speed in the eastern United States and Atlantic Ocean. A white dot near the continental shelf east of Delaware marks Sinh's current location. The colors and wind marks indicate a storm over the ocean to the east. — Information source: Windy app

The current temperature is 26°C (°79F).

The wind speed is 270 knots (21mph). Source: Windy app.

Science Log

Mighty Primary scholars: Our mission has officially started! NOAA Ship Pisces sailed to an area of the ocean called Slope Sea. Slope Sea is what scientists use to describe a part of ocean here on the East Coast.

topographic and bathymetric map of the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Northeast Atlantic Coast, up through Canada, and part of Greenland. — *The Slope Sea is a region, or area, of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Photo credit: NOAA*

map of the northeast Atlantic Ocean color coded to show ocean temperatures. "Slope Sea" is identified offshore, east of Delaware and New Jersey. — *We’ve been sailing to areas with the best conditions for larval bluefin tuna to spawn, where larval bluefin tuna are born.* Each color represents water temperature. On the scale (right), from blue to red represents colder to hotter water temperature.

a man stands at the front of the mess hall (we can see the tables with condiment baskets) next to a large screen mounted on the wall, displaying a slide (version 1) — Chief Scientist Dave gave a presentation on the goals of our mission.

Activity: Let’s explore Slope Sea on Google Earth!

Click on this link: https://earth.google.com/web/@40,-68,7.90643423a,629.4080939d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CgRCAggBQgIIAEoNCP___________wEQAA?authuser=0
Search these coordinates: 40°N, 68°W
Click the “Ocean” option if you want to see more!

Remember, our mission is to survey (catch and identify) larval bluefin fish. Since one of our science members focuses on surveying seabirds, there are 8 of us left for work. We are divided into two equal teams for the shifts, or watches.

Sunset Crew

This team works from the 3PM to 3AM watch. They get to see the sunset!

a man standing at a work table in the wet lab — Chief Scientist Dave

close up view of a woman flipping through a book — Autumn

a woman sitting at a desk with multiple computer monitors — Betsy

Sinh, in his Teacher at Sea t shirt and a backwards baseball cap, holds up a small sample vial and smiles for the camera — Myself

Sunrise Crew

This team works from the 3AM to 3PM watch. They get to see the sunrise!

group photo of four women in matching light-blue t shirts on deck (Version 1) — Sunrise crew is representing! Photo credit: Allison Black

group photo of four women in matching light-blue t shirts on deck (Version 2) — Sunrise crew is representing! Photo credit: Allison Black

a woman poses for a photo with a safety skills dummy in the wet lab — Kristen

a woman kneeling on the deck next to a piece of scientific equipment looks up and smiles for a photo — Amanda

a woman in a hard hat and life vest crouches next to a suspended larval fish trap and a drifter, on the aft deck at night — Sarah

a woman rinses down a plankton net into a sieve in the wet lab — Chrissy

a woman stands at the rail on the flying bridge of NOAA Ship Pisces. She looks through a camera with a large, long lense. Words on top of the image read: "Seabird Crew. Allison surveys seabirds on the flying bridge, the highest point of NOAA Ship Pisces! She then identifies them for research."

Seabird Crew

Allison surveys seabirds on the flying bridge, the highest point of NOAA Ship Pisces! She then identifies them for research.

With Allison, watching for seabirds or marine animals!

Sinh stands at the alidade, an instrument mounted on a pillar on an upper deck of NOAA Ship Pisces. The sky and ocean are a bright blue, and there is a low line of clouds at the horizon. (version 1) — This tool is like binoculars.

Mighty Primary scholars: Here’s a math connection. How many hours are there in one shift? If we combine both shifts, what is the total number of hours?

hands use a squeeze bottle to fill a small sample vial; we see a microscope on the table in front of this person. Words on top of the imeage read: "We've all been coordinating (working together) for these four tasks to be done:"

We’ve all been coordinating (working together) for these four tasks to be done:

Computer for CTD and Data

a woman sits at a computer desk with multiple monitors; she looks up at one of the higher monitors, which is displaying four outdoor camera feeds

We look at CTD data. We use walkie-talkies to coordinate with deck crew and NOAA Corps Officers so that it is dropped into the sea. When it’s returned, we record data.

We then print out CTD information (remember conductivity, temperature, and depth) to label our bottles of samples.

Sinh sits at a computer desk next to a woman in a blue sweatshirt. they both look up at the computer monitors displaying video and data feeds. — Recording CTD data

Sinh sits at a computer desk next to a woman in a blue sweatshirt. Sinh looks ahead at a lower computer monitor. — Recording CTD data

We make sure all the data is saved and then backed up, or stored, so that other scientists can use them for more research.

Washing Bongo Nets

two crewmembers in hard hats and life vests stand around the retrieved bongo nets, which are splayed out on deck. It is nighttime. Words on top the image read: "After catching planktons (tiny fish and other small creatures), we wash the nets carefully, so we don’t lose any samples."

After catching planktons (tiny fish and other small creatures), we wash the nets carefully, so we don’t lose any samples.

Bongo nets return to deck.

Chrissy washed down plankton into a tray.

Preserving samples

close up view of a sample jar in someone's hands containing plankton suspended in solution; it is a bit out of focus. Words on top of the image read: We wash and store planktons in jars to keep them safe.

We wash and store planktons in jars to keep them safe.

Dave carefully washed plankton down to be preserved and then observed.

a woman wearing large orange overalls stands at a metal table in the wet lab, an empty sample jar in her hands. — Amanda stored collected plankton into jars, which are then studied and then saved for later research.

These bottles are stored in ethanol, which helps preserve (protect) the DNA of planktons.

fingers smooth out a printed label affixed to the white lid of a sample jar — We print CTD information from the computer to label collected samples.

Identification (ID)

We look closely and carefully at planktons’ physical properties to identify them.

a woman adjusts the lenses of a microscope at a lab bench — We use a **microscope** for this.

What is a microscope?

A microscope is a tool that allows small creatures or objects to be seen. Almost like looking through binoculars or a camera to zoom in.

view over a woman's shoulder as she flips through a guidebook. her phone is on the table next to the book, displaying an image of a plankton. — Autumn was observing and identifying what kinds of planktons we saw on the microscope.

view through a microscope of several types of fish larvae on a petri dish — Autumn was observing and identifying what kinds of planktons we saw on the microscope.

Sinh looks through a microscope on a bench. his Teacher at Sea hat is backwards so the rim stays out of the way. there is a pair of tweezers on the bench in front of him. — I had to pay close attention! I had to move the planktons around a lot using a tweezer (can you locate it in the picture?)

Sinh, in the foreground, leans over a tray holding tweezers in his right hand and a light cord in his left hand. in the background, Dave points at a guidebook laying open on a table next to a microscope, and speaks with another person who is mostly obscured by Sinh. — Pouring the samples into a tray helped us pick out certain plankton to observe. The light and the tweezer definitely helped!

Can you guess what we were looking at?

in the wet lab, Dave holds up a sample jar for two other science team members to look at. we see two additional people in the background, facing away from the camera. — Sometimes, when a scientist is really good at one task, he or she would stick to it throughout the entire shift.

You’ve learned about NOAA Corps Officers who work in the bridge and support our science missions. We’ve also been working closely with the deck crew to make our surveying possible.

close up view of a bulletin board. a nautical chart forms the background. five images have been posted to this section, labeled "Deck Dept." Their captions read: Chief Boatswain James "Boats" Walker, AB Brandon Wang, Freeman, AB Rodney English, and AB-F Todd Fatkin. — The deck crew helps the ship work safely. They make sure everything on deck working right.
Photo credit: NOAA Ship Pisces

view of the bongo nets lying folded flat on the aft deck of NOAA Ship Pisces; beyond, we can see the CTD rosette. the sky and water are bright blue. — Nets on deck

at night, three crewmembers wearing life vests lean over the railing. one holds a purple line (rope) attached to buoys and feeds it over the rail. — Nets on deck

view over multiple decks of the Pisces while it is in port; possibly over a small boat covered and in storage — They do things like drive small boats to and from the ship.

a pile of ropes on the gangway leading up to NOAA Ship Pisce — They do things like drive small boats to and from the ship.

A video of deck crew members making sure ropes were tied to the dock.

Personal Log

Right now, I’m writing to you from the flying deck, or the very top part of the ship.

The flying deck is a wide, open area where scientists can get a great view of the ocean, sky, and marine life.

This is part of an anemometer that measures wind speed and direction.

Allison gets very excited when she sees fish or seabirds! If we’re not with her on the flying bridge, she sends photos and videos:

A brown booby bird flying around NOAA Ship Pisces. Video credit: Allison Black

a dolphin leaping entirely above the water — Photo Credit: Allison Black, NOAA

a seabird grasps a piece of something (a fish?) in its bill as it swims along the ocean surface — Photo Credit: Allison Black, NOAA

a group of people on deck surrounded by life jackets and bagged survival suits; the drill has not begun yet — We spent more time practicing safety drills. It’s important that all crew members know about safety equipment.

We went over how to evacuate our staterooms in case there’s a fire and lots of smoke. This included hands-on practice. We were blindfolded to make it feel real!
Was scientist Allison able to evacuate safely?

view of the buffet bar in the mess hall; a line of people work on fixing their plates — Good healthy food is super important on a ship! We eat three meals a day in the mess (kitchen). There are continental foods, fruits, and drinks we can enjoy all day and night. Do you recognize some of the food here? What is something you’d like to eat aboard?

Right now, because of my shift, I sleep in so I miss breakfast. I make it up by having a big lunch instead. Throughout the afternoon and night, I snack on lots of vegetables and fruits.

The stewards in our mission cook and prepare all the delicious food for everyone. They make sure the scientists and crew stay strong and healthy by serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They work in the kitchen (remember: called the galley or mess).