Gail Tang

August 11, 2023August 16, 2023

Gail Tang: Teacher NOT at Sea, July 14, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Gail Tang

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

August 4, 2023 – September 1, 2023

Mission: Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (HICEAS)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Hawaiian archipelago

Date: July 14, 2023

Update!

We got notification that we have a Chief Engineer. However, we also got news that the ship needs some repair. The new sail date is now Friday July 21, which means I will not be able to sail on Leg 1 and that I will be returning home. Luckily, Chief Scientist Erin Oleson, the Teacher at Sea Program, and my university granted me permission to sail on Leg 2 of the HICEAS Survey! I will teach my classes on board NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette, so I will truly be a Teacher at Sea!

Engineer Highlight

In my previous post, I talked about the structure of the crew on the ship. We currently have four engineers on the ship: Jason Dlugos (3rd Assistant Engineer), Dylan Hepburn (3rd Assistant Engineer), Greg White (JUE), and Shannica (Neek) Matthews (General Vessel Assistant). I was fortunate to spend a good deal of time with each of the engineers. The engineers are responsible for a myriad of tasks on the ship, and the primary one is making sure the engines of the ship function properly. The engine room also holds generators, as well as the salt water filtration system that cools the ship and provides the ship with drinking and cleaning water. I am simplifying the engine room for this post, but it is very clear that the jobs of the engineers on the ship are absolutely crucial to mission success.

Shannica crouches in the engine room, gripping a ribbed yellow hose with her right hand. She's turned her head to call to someone over her left shoulder. She wears yellow earphones. She is surrounded by machinery, pipes, other yellow hoses, and a row of wrenches mounted on the wall behind her. — Shannica (Neek) Matthews, General Vessel Assistant, Wiper in the Engine Room

Greg stands between two of the ship's large engines and looks directly at the camera, his hands on long rails that line each engine. His earphones are propped up high on his head, not covering his ears at the moment. — Greg White, Junior Engineer (JUE) in the Engine Room

In this photo, taken from an outer, lower, deck (or perhaps the dock) we are looking up at two levels of decks above the main. On the highest deck, Jason leans over the rail, supporting himself on a lower railing rung, to smile for the photo. Behind him we see two bright orange fast rescue boats in their storage berths, and a mounted satellite system. Below Jason, Dylan leans casually on a rail on a lower deck. — Top: Jason Dlugos, 3rd Assistant Engineer. Bottom: Dylan Hepburn, 3rd Assistant Engineer.

In this post, I will share some of my conversations with Neek. Neek’s homebase is in Virginia. After high school, she worked in the shipyard painting ships and installing insulation. She spent most of her time at dry dock, but then learned about opportunities working on traveling vessels. She started looking into jobs on vessels that explored the world. Now, she splits her time working on ships at the shipyard and ships out at sea. Through her job, she’s traveled nationally to Seattle and Hawaii, as well as internationally to Japan, Greece, Italy, and France. She said it’s the best decision she’s ever made! What she enjoys the most about her work is that she gets to solve problems and be creative.

In her current position, Neek is learning new things in the engine room so that she can work more within that department in the future. Her company is also sponsoring her to take classes to further her engineering career. As the Wiper, she performs her work in every space of the ship. She describes her responsibilities as keeping spaces clean (picking up trash and wiping down oil and water), and making sure everything is secure. Both cleanliness and security are very important for all of our safety aboard the ship. When I’ve run into Neek on the ship, she’s been working with Dylan on fixing plumbing on toilets, examining leaks, and using the technique of sounding to measure the height of fluids in tanks. Unfortunately, Neek is only on Leg 1 so we will miss sailing with each other on NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette! Regardless, it’s been a blast hanging out with her and the other engineers!

Science and Technology Log

The Marine Mammal Observers (MMO), Birders, and I continue to help the Monk Seal and Green Turtle groups prepare for their projects. Since everything is so new to me, I really enjoy learning about the science!

I helped Biologist Shawn Murakawa from the Marine Turtle Biology & Assessment Program sort green turtle humeri! In my conversations with Shawn and in my reading of the National Sea Turtle Aging Laboratory Protocol for Processing Sea Turtle Bones for Age Estimation (Goshe et al., 2020) she provided, I learned about the process and will provide a summary of it below.

Humeri bones are important in estimating the turtle’s age and growth since there are currently no known age estimating techniques using external structures. By looking at the cross-sections of these humerus bones, scientists can analyze growth marks to estimate the age of a turtle—similar to looking at the rings of a tree, but not quite. This age-estimation method is called skeletochronology. Before all this, scientists need to carefully clean the humerus bones and then dry them—a process that can take up to 30 days. Measurements of the bones such as diameter and length are taken, followed by cutting cross sections. Thin 2-3 cm cross-sections are decalcified and then stained with hematoxilyn. The stained thin section is now ready to be mounted on a slide for imaging. An example of the final result for a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) is shown below:

a blue, vaguely oval-shaped image that reveals a discernible growth rings. two points along a horizontal line are labeled "A - annulus"; a red line connects the two, with the measurement 7.57 mm. The annulus seems to span the middle of the image, before the rings start. Two points, farther out from the center, are labeled "B" and connected with a horizontal red line with the measurement 11.95 mm (maybe). This may mark the outer range of the clearly readable rings. — Stained cross section of a humerus bone from a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle

I helped to sort bones that were already dried. If the clearing and drying process is not sufficient, the bones begin to degrade and are no longer useful for skeletochronology. My job (then Suzanne Yin, Allan Ligon, and Dawn Breese joined me later) was to sort the bones into three categories:
1) moldy bones for discarding
2) good candidates for skeletochronology that came from turtles with no tumors from Fibropapillomatosis
3) good candidates for skeletochronology that came from turtles with tumors from Fibropapillomatosis.

According to the NOAA (2011), fibropapillomatosis is a tumor-causing disease that debilitates sea turtles and can cause death depending on the severity and size of the tumors. While the disease is most common in green sea turtles, it is now found in all seven sea turtle species. It is not yet known how this disease is spread or caused so there is not yet any treatment for it.

a hand holds up a thick bone, maybe 6 inches in length, sealed in plastic, above a plastic bin on a metal table. — Turtle Humerous Bone

Gail takes a selfie in front of a metal table containing six or seven plastic-wrapped bones — Turtle Humerous Bone

Later, Yin organized a group of us to go take a tour of the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), a University of Hawaiʻi campus on Moku o Loʻe (Coconut Island). Lars Bejder, the director of the Marine Mammal Research Program at the institute, was our host and gave us a tour of the labs on the islands. Some of the research conducted by the labs include testing out shark deterrents, creating structures to grow coral, and recording the body condition indices of female whales during gestation and after birth. For internship and volunteer opportunities, check out their webpage: https://www.himb.hawaii.edu/education/interns_volunteers/

a line of people stand looking over a railing on a pier over calm, inland water. one man points his right arm to direct their gaze. beyond the water is a shoreline with buildings and palm trees. something - nets or scientific sampling equipment - extends from the pier down into the water. — Touring the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology

Lars stands at a table in a laboratory, his hands on a paper chart in front of him. also on the table are large conical, spiral things, perhaps bones or coral structures. four women on the tour stand around the table and look at the chart. — Touring the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology

After the tour, we listened to a talk by Jessica Kendall-Barr, a Scripps Postdoctoral Scholar at the Center for Marine Biotechnology & Biomedicine at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in UC San Diego, on the sleeping behavior of Elephant Seals. Jessica’s integrated art and science into her talk which made it very engaging. She did a really good job motivating the research and outlining the implications of the results. In a nutshell, wild animals have developed sleeping adaptations to balance feeding and sleeping while avoiding predation (Kendall-Barr et al., 2023). For example, “cows sleep-chew, horses sleep-stand, ostriches sleep-stare, and frigate birds sleep-fly” (Kendall-Barr et al., 2023, p.260). After developing a new submersible system to record brain activity, heart rate, depth of dive and elephant seal motion, Kendall-Barr et al. (2023) showed that elephant seals sleep-spiral at depths of approximately 300 m, where they are largely out of sight of predators, for a total of about 2 hours a day over the course of 7 months. The results have implications on conservation efforts as well as aid in understanding conditions for human free divers.

You can access the article here:

Brain activity of diving seals reveals short sleep cycles at depth

References:

Goshe, L.R., L. Avens, M.L. Snover, and A.A. Hohn. 2020. National Sea Turtle Aging Laboratory Protocol for processing sea turtle bones for age estimation. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-746, 49 p. https://doi.org/10.25923/gqva-9y22.

Kendall-Bar, J., Williams, T., Mukherji, R., Lozano, D., Pitman, J., Holser R., Keates, T., Beltran, R., Robinson, P., Crocker, D., Adachi, T., Lyamin, O., Vyssotski, A., & Costa, D. (2023). Brain activity of diving seals reveals short sleep cycles at depth. Science, 380, 260-265. DOI:10.1126/science.adf0566

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Fisheries. (2011, February 11). Fibropapillomatosis and Sea Turtles – Frequently Asked Questions. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/fibropapillomatosis-and-sea-turtles-frequently-asked-questions#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFibropapillomatosis%2C%E2%80%9D%20commonly%20referred%20to,also%20form%20in%20internal%20organs.

Personal Log

I had been looking forward to sailing since 2019 and was thrilled to finally meet the scientists and crew; they are all so inspiring! Each task the Chief Sci had us work on was all so exciting and new. I truly enjoyed working with the MMOs and Birders to support the monk seal and green turtle research teams. When I first got the notification that the mission was delayed a second time, curtailing it to just one week at sea, I was devastated because it meant I would be probably going home. I am really grateful that Erin (Chief Sci) and Emily (Teacher at Sea) could arrange for me to join leg 2! I’ve been learning the visual surveying procedures and bonded with the MMOs and the birders so I’m overjoyed to be returning. Let’s just keep in mind that I’m not guaranteed to sail because anything can still happen.

Below are some group pictures with my team!

Gail and five colleagues seated at a table in a busy, well-lit restaurant — Introduced dim sum to a couple of folks! Left to right: Dawn Breese and Mike Force (Birders), me, Ernesto Vasquez, Allan Ligon and Paul Nagelkirk (MMOs). Photo credit: Paul Nagelkirk

a group selfie (by Jason, seen in close-up) at a volleyball court. Gail is wearing her Teacher at Sea t-shirt. — Volleyball! Jason Larese, Suzanne Yin, Paul Nagelkirk, Kym Yano, Erin Oleson, Me, Juan Carlos Salinas, Ernesto Vasquez

group photo of 8 people on a picnic bench. not far behind them is a beautiful view of a cove, a coastal city, and mountains. the sky is cloudy with patches of bright aquamarine sky. — Late lunch at He’eia State park. Back row: Ernesto Vasquez, Allan Lingon, Paul Nagelkirk, Me, Juan Carlos Salinas. Front row: Dawn Breese, Suzanne Yin, Andrea Bendlin. Photo credit: A postal worker on their lunch break.

a silly group photo at night, on the dock, with the ship darkly visible in the background. Gail is wearing a NASA t-shirt (hey!) and flower leis. Jason has jumped in front of everyone. — My last night at the ship. Back Row: Logan Gary, Darryl Henderson II, Paul Nagekirk, Dylan Hepburn, Andrea Bendlin, Ernesto Vasquez. Middle Row: Nich Sucher, Evan Schneider, Denzil Simons. Front: Me, Greg White. Photobomber: Jason Dlugos.

Food Log

a whiteboars reads: Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Spaghetti & Meat Sauce. Salmon. Garlic Bread. Broccoli. Salad bar. Mushroom ravioli. Brownies. Bone-apple-tea!! — Menu for Wednesday, July 12

plated meal: toast with tomatoes, eggs, tater tots, sausage, bacon. — Breakfast

plated meal: shrimp, rice, salad, broccoli, asparagus — Breakfast

The food on board continues to be too good. On weekdays while in port, we get breakfast and lunch. The menu is displayed on a whiteboard. As you can see in the image, there is usually a little spark of joy written on them that bring a smile to my face. (I think Medical Officer Jamie Delgado writes them!)

Ichthyoplankton researcher, Justin Suca, invited us to a Fish Fry to enjoy the fish he and his friend, sailor Ateeba, speared. It was my first fish fry and it was incredible! They caught Tako (Octopus), Nenue (Sea Chub), A’awa (Table Boss), Uhu (Parrotfish), and Kumu (Goatfish). They prepared the Tako as ceviche, Nenue as poke, A’awa as fish nuggets, and very interestingly, the Uhu and Kumu were prepared Chinese-style. Chinese-style fish is first steamed (in this case Justin “steamed” in foil on the grill), usually with ginger, garlic, and green part of scallions. After steaming, heat up oil, pour it on the fish, and delight in the sizzling sounds. Add some shoyu (soy sauce), and maybe some Shaoxing cooking wine, if you wish. The Kumu was my absolute favorite. It was so silky and smooth.

a line of harvested octopi an dfish on a black rock on the edge of a beach, the surf visible behind — Spearfished tako, nenue, uhu, kumu

a fish cooked whole on foil on a tray — Spearfished tako, nenue, uhu, kumu

Kailua Beach. Left to right: Justin Suca, Gabriella Mukai, Kelly Anne Kobayashi, Atiba, Don Kobayashi, Me. Photo Credit: Cody Kobayashi

Did You Know?

Since the toilet water is pumped from sea water, you can see the bioluminescent life if you turn off the lights while flushing! I found the best time to do it is early in the morning when no one has used the toilet in a while. MMO and roomie Andrea Bendlin shared this little special gem with me.

July 7, 2023August 2, 2023

Gail Tang: EngiNEAR, EngiFAR, Wherever You Are, July 6, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Gail Tang

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

June 29 – July 17, 2023

Mission: Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (HICEAS)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Hawaiian archipelago

Date: July 6, 2023

Quick update!

The mission was set to depart June 28, but I have been living on NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette in port on Ford Island since June 29. Just like the service industry, the maritime industry has suffered major staffing shortages post-pandemic. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet has several ships that are in need of crew members. NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette is no exception as we are in need of a Chief Engineer to fill in while the permanent one is on leave. To my students who are reading this, check out some opportunities available for you! https://www.noaa.gov/work-with-us

Ship Structure

To provide some context, I’ll give a very brief overview of the departments needed to run NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. Getting this research vessel underway is a gargantuan task that involves the teamwork of several different departments: NOAA Corps, Stewards, Deck, Engineering, Survey, Medical, Electronic Technician and Scientists.

NOAA Corps Along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service, NOAA Corps is one of the uniformed services. Commanding Officer (CO) Fionna Matheson leads the whole ship. Her NOAA Corps team consists of the Executive Officer (XO), Operations Officers (Ops), and Junior Officers (JOs). (There are a lot of acronyms!)

Stewards Many of you know the importance of food to me culturally, historically, and culinarily, so you can guess that the steward department is my favorite one aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette! Christopher Williams, Chief Steward (Chief Stew), works with Denzil Simons, Chief Cook, to help me put on some extra pounds on board. The food is so delicious on board. I’ve heard it’s the best of the fleet. See my Food Log at the end of the blog for more details.

Deck The Deck Department is led by Chris Kaanaana (Boatswain – many call him “Boats”). He works with the deck hands, Lead Fisherman, Able-Bodied Seafarers (AB), and General Vessel Assistants (GVA).

Engineering The Engineering department is led by a Chief Engineer. With our permanent Chief and First Assistant Engineer both out right now, Third Assistant Engineer Jason Dlugos is the lead while we are in port. He’s assisted by another Third Engineer, a QMED and a Wiper. They work to make sure the ship’s engines and machinery run!

Survey The Survey Team is led by Nich Sucher. Normally, Nich is a one-person department. On this project, he is joined by one other Survey Tech, Evan Schneider, for some cross-training. They are responsible for some of the scientific instruments on board.

Medical I learned from Jamie Delgado, the Medical Officer (MED-O), that NOAA ships traveling over 200 miles from land have MED-Os.

Electronic Tech Joe Roesseler, Electronics Tech (ET), works with the electronics and communications systems on the ship.

Scientists The scientists are broken up into four groups: Marine Mammal Observers (MMO), Seabird Observers, Acousticians, and a Plankton team. They are all under Chief Scientist, Erin Oleson.

Science and Technology Log

Despite not having sailed, I have learned a tremendous amount of information. Aside from the Cetacean team, I have been working on some small projects for the Monk Seal Team and the Sea Turtle Team.

The Monk Seal team focuses on protecting the native Hawaiian Monk Seal population. The MMOs and I spent several days upgrading ‘stretcher’ nets for the monk seal team, swapping out older wooden poles for lighter weight carbon fiber poles. The nets are used to capture and transport seals, sometimes to relocate them to avoid human-seal interactions or an aggressive male seal, if they are sick or injured from shark predation or fishing gear, or to conduct health evaluations.

a man sitting on a chair holds a black pole across his lap with his left hand; it's strung into a large net that extends down to a pile on the floor. He points at the pole with his right hand and smiles at the camera. He's wearing an orange shirt that, somewhat strikingly, matches the color of the floor almost exactly. — Ernesto Vasquez (MMO) showing off his net.

view of a pole with black webbing laced into white net. ahand holds the base of the pole. we see crossed legs beneath the net; Gail is taking the photo down at her lap. — Ernesto Vasquez (MMO) showing off his net.

The Monk Seals are also tagged in their flippers. After a while, the numbers on the tags wear off so there is a code drilled into each tag. The code was developed by elephant seal researchers in the Farallon Islands (email correspondence with Monk Seal Scientist Brenda Becker). I thought this coding system was so clever because it is designed in such a way that each number can be uniquely read without spaces and without mistaking it for another number, all with just one symbol: the mighty dot. It reminds me of some of the early coding schemes in cryptography. Usually in cryptography, a message is encoded so it cannot be read by an interceptor. However, in this case, the code is created to help understand and read the “message”, or in this case the numbers.

code pattern for the numerals 1-9 and 0. it looks similar to Braille, but the code is not the same. — Drilling Pattern for Monk Seal Tags (Image from drilling document provided by Brenda Becker)

15 red plastic tags in three rows sit on a gray towel. they are numbered 960 to 964, 950 to 954, and 970 to 974. A pile of higher numbered tags is in the background. — Me drilling the tags (Photo Credit: Paul Nagelkirk)

Another fun thing we did was practice launching the small fast boats. Once we’re underway, the small boats get launched to get biopsies and perhaps tag the animals. I got to climb down the Jacob’s ladder and get on the small boat. Here’s a short video I made showing the process. The photos of me are taken by Yin.

[Scientists: Erik Norris, Calla Llloyd-Lim, Allan Ligon, Paul Nagelkirk, Suzanne Yin, Ernesto Vasquez, Deck: Chris Kaanaana, Matt Benes, TJ William, Darryl Henderson II, Octavio De Mena, NOAA Corps: Luke Evancoe, Tegan Murray]

Personal Log

Though I was so excited, the first couple of days were pretty overwhelming as everything was new to me. I was learning about Hawaiian history, the Hawaiian Language, Hawaiian flora and fauna, the ship layout, the scientific protocols, 40-50 people involved with the HICEAS mission, the mission itself, the NOAA Fleet, the day-to-day operations, careers etc. Having been here for nearly three weeks, though, I’ve acclimated. I still learn something new everyday. The MMOs have taken me under their “fins”, so to speak, and we have become like family. We share meals and experiences together. We also collaborate on crosswords! We celebrated Yin’s (Lead MMO) birthday at a Thai/Lao restaurant.

twelve people seated around a table in a restaurant. Yin, in the foreground, takes the photo as a group selfie. she's wearing a crown made of blue and yellow felt, lined with fluff. — NOAA Fisheries Photo Credit: Suzanne Yin. Clockwise starting from Yin, Dawn Breese (Birder), Andrea Bendlin (MMO), Kym Yano (Survey Coordinator), Allan Ligon (MMO), Mike Force (Birder), Ernesto Vazquez (MMO), Me, Paul Nagelkirk (MMO), Erin Oleson (Chief Scientist), Jennifer McCullough (Lead Acoustician), Marie Hill (Cruise Lead)

Food Log

As I mentioned, the food has been amazing. Chris and Denzil prepare the food in the Galley and we usually eat in the Mess or the Forward Mess. My favorite meals have been the Beef Stroganoff and Taco Tuesday!

plated meal — Collards, Mac and Cheese, Beef Stroganoff

plated meal, with a NOAA Teacher at Sea no-spill mug nearby — Collards, Mac and Cheese, Beef Stroganoff

close up view of a mountain apple held between a thumb and some fingers — Mountain Apple foraged by Matt Benes

Matt Benes (Able-Bodied Seafarer) foraged some mountain apples on a recent hike on Waimano Ridge Trail and shared some with me, Logan Gary (Able-Bodied Seafarer), and Tegan Murray (Junior NOAA Corps Officer–Ensign). It has a very subtle taste and the texture reminds me of an Asian Pear.

In a subsequent post, I will share some pictures of the living space on the ship. For now, please follow along on the HICEAS Story map: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b3bbf0e90d0141f7bf47edc5339ccb7a

Did You Know?

There are many boat superstitions? For example, you’re not supposed to whistle on a ship because you’d be “whistling up a wind,” which you don’t want if you’re out at sea!

June 23, 2023June 24, 2023

Gail Tang: Where There’s a Whale, There’s a Way!, June 23, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Gail Tang (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

June 28, 2023 – July 27, 2023

Mission: Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (HICEAS)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Hawaiian archipelago

Date: June 23, 2023

Introduction and Background

Gail Tang proudly showing off the NOAA SWAG

Hi Everyone! My name is Gail Tang and I am an Associate Professor of Mathematics at University of La Verne located in Southern California, about 35 miles east of East Los Angeles. I have been the Math program chair for 5 years. I teach mainly upper-level math classes for majors, but also really enjoy teaching the lower-level courses since it is in these classes where I can identify future math majors/minors. Shout out to those who added a math major/minor after one of these classes. You know who you are!

As I’ve been telling people about my summer plans, several questions have come up which I will answer below.

Where am I going?

In a few days, I am flying to Honolulu, Hawaii to start orientation for my Teacher at Sea (TAS) experience. TAS is a program of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for any educators at any level teaching any subject! This could be YOU! Check out more here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/teacher-at-sea-program

What are the goals of Teacher at Sea with NOAA?

The TAS program has two main goals (TAS Online Training Documents, 2023):

To increase environmental literacy, outreach, and educational initiatives
To recruit and retain a highly adaptable technically competent and diverse workforce

Thus, during my time out at sea, I will be learning about NOAA research as related to ocean literacy principles, as well as education and training paths for NOAA-related careers. When I return home, I will work to create some math lessons using research methods, data collection, and data analysis learned aboard the ship. I will also create a lesson to highlight NOAA-related careers. I’m particularly excited about passing on career information to my students!

What kind of research do TAS participate in?

There are three types of cruises that TAS can get placed onto (TAS Online Training Documents, 2023):

Fisheries – conduct biological surveys and physical science studies “to protect, restore and manage use of living marine, coastal, and ocean resources through ecosystem-based management.”
Oceanographic – to increase the understanding of the world’s oceans and climate by measuring “ocean currents, ocean temperatures, atmospheric variables, surface salinity, carbon dioxide content, and sea-level atmospheric conditions.”
Hydrographic – chart the ocean floor using “multibeam sonar to collect depth measurements of the seafloor.”

Which type of cruise will I be joining?

I will partake in a fisheries cruise aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette for a marine mammal survey near the Hawaiian Archipelago. The ship was originally built for the U.S. Navy and was formerly known as U.S. Naval Ship Adventurous. It is 224 ft, can go up to a speed of 10 knots, and has a range of 17487 nautical miles. Visit the ship’s website for more information: https://www.omao.noaa.gov/mo/ships/oscar-elton-sette

What type of research is involved in HICEAS?

HICEAS (pronounced High Seas) “will survey the Hawaiian archipelago with a focus on studying whales, dolphins, seabirds, and their ecosystem (i.e., oceanography sampling).” (Email correspondence with Emily Susko, March 1, 2023). The last time the survey was conducted was in 2017 and the 2023 survey will be the fourth HICEAS survey.

Through reading the blog posts about the 2017 survey, I learned that there are two teams: the visual team and the acoustic team. The visual team is trained to use 25-powered binoculars (nicknamed “big eyes”) to spot marine mammals. I am hoping I’ll learn to spot the difference between a white cap and a splash from a dolphin! The acoustic team will also keep track of the cetaceans (order of marine mammals, whale, dolphin, porpoise) under the surface using hydrophones and sonobouys.

Each surveyor privately records their estimates of the number of cetaceans they observed as not to influence others. Later all the estimates are calibrated. This reminds me of the mathematical concept called the “wisdom of crowds”. Basically, it says that a crowd’s prediction (or in this case estimate) is more accurate that the predictions (estimates) of any one individual’s. Truly an example of a group-worthy task, as we say in mathematics education! Watch this ~4-minute video of Dr. Talithia Williams, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd, demonstrating the wisdom of crowds: https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvpn-sci-crowds/understanding-a-crowds-predictive-ability-prediction-by-the-numbers/

How did I find out about TAS?

Dr. Emily Cilli-Turner, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at University of San Diego, is a TAS alumna. In 2018, Dr. Cilli-Turner participated on a Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson for three weeks off the coast of Alaska. She told me about her experience and helped me apply. I actually applied twice, having been rejected the first time. Moral of the story: be persistent and use your failures as learning opportunities! To read about Dr. Cilli-Turner’s time at sea, visit her blog: https://noaateacheratsea.blog/category/2018/emily-cilli-turner/

How long will I be on board NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette and what will it be like?

Each HICEAS survey has been about 180 days across two ships. The 2023 survey has 5 legs aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette (I am on the first leg for 4 weeks!) and 2 legs on NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker. TAS Staci DeSchryver joined the 2017 survey aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette and filled me in on some of the day-to-day life experiences. Staci shared some of the incredible learning experience and didn’t want to tell me everything in order to keep some things a surprise. Some interesting things I learned through Staci as well as the blogs/materials:

Unless we are going onto one of the Fast Rescue Boats aboard the ship, we do not disembark from the ship for the entire 4 weeks.
I will eat the best fish I’ve ever eaten.
Fresh fruit and veggies run out at about week 3.
There was one room on the ship that many of the staff would get seasick.
There’s a movie room and a gym. There have been stationary bikes on deck in the past.
I will be sharing a “stateroom” or “bunkroom” with others.
I will be among 14 scientists (Marine Mammal Observers, Birders, Acousticians, Oceanographers) and about 22 crewmembers.

Personal Log

I first applied to the TAS in 2018 and then applied again in 2019. I was accepted as a TAS for the 2020 field season and was anticipating sailing Summer 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the sail to 2021, and then to 2022. Now in 2023 (about 4.5 years later!), I am scheduled for the HICEAS survey. To say I’m excited is an understatement. However, there are a number of reasons a cruise does not set sail so I am holding onto the excitement until I am on the ship! One characteristic the program really stresses is flexibility because there are so many factors that impact these research expeditions.

I am most looking forward to the learning opportunities aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. Though scary, uncertainty is thrilling, especially when it’s paired with prospects to view the world from a new and unimaginable perspective. As Michelle Obama says in her audiobook The Light We Carry:

“Go forth with a spoonful of fear, and return with a wagonful of competence.” (2:16:59)

Did You Know?

False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are a priority of the HICEAS survey. Despite their name, they are actually a member of the dolphin family (the delphinids). Their name comes from the similarity of skull shape to the killer whale rather than visual appearance. This population has been on the endangered species list since 2012. Their biggest threat are interactions with fisheries; fishermen see them as competitors and the species are prone to net entanglement. (International Whaling Commission, Marine Mammal Commission)