Author: Mary Cook

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Mary Cook, December 9, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mary Cook
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
December 5, 2004 – January 7, 2005

Mission: Climate Prediction for the Americas
Geographical Area: Chilean Coast
Date: December 9, 2004

Location: Latitude 19°39.99’ S, Longitude 80°16.85’ W
Time: 8:30 am

Weather Data from the Bridge
Wind Direction (degrees) 138.27
Relative Humidity (percent) 84.01
Temperature (Celsius) 18.65
Air Pressure (Millibars) 1014.24
Wind Speed (knots) 12.00
Wind Speed (meters/sec) 5.10

Thought for the Day

“No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can not be altogether irreclaimably bad.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish writer

Science Log

This morning we are passing over a significant underwater ridge called the Nazca Ridge. The ridge is a series of mountains rising from the ocean floor. Yesterday, the ocean bottom was 5,000 meters down. This morning it was just 960 meters deep. We dropped CTD’s over this shallow area and we had to be very careful not to let them hit the bottom. When I was operating the radio for the CTD commands to the winch, I accidentally said “Bring it up at 600 meters per minute” (It was supposed to be 60 meters per minute). Thankfully, that speed is an impossible one for the winch to do! Because it would have shot out of the water like an Olympic sprinter!

Congratulations to Mary Castleman, an eighth grader at Southside Middle School in Batesville, Arkansas! She correctly answered the “Question of the Day”. Mary said, “A muster station is a place where people get together before going to a lifeboat loading station.” Thanks, Mary, for your extra effort!

At “6:00 Science on the Fantail” tonight, we interviewed Paul Bouchard, the senior engineering assistant for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Paul is a hard worker with a good sense of humor. His job is to prepare, maintain, and repair all the various units of instrumentation on the Stratus 5 mooring so the scientists can analyze the data retrieved. Paul explained all the instruments mounted atop the buoy. There are instruments that measure temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, air pressure, short and long wave radiation, wind speed and direction, Also, there are several units that extend underneath the buoy for a few hundred meters that record temperature, conductivity, depth, and water current. These instruments take readings every minute and send the data via satellite every hour. The Stratus 5 mooring is the most sophisticated array of instrumentation for the collection air-sea interaction data in the world! Another amazing fact is that there’s five miles of rope and chains connecting the buoy to the anchor at the bottom of the ocean floor. Paul said that all the instruments are battery powered. Three thousand “D” cell batteries are used to keep it going for over a year! The buoy has a “bleeper” on it to alert ships so they won’t run into it. The Stratus 5 will be deployed in three days! It’ll be a big moment. For the last year, lots of hard work, problem-solving, dreams and money have gone into the Stratus 5 and soon it will finally be a reality.

Personal Log

This afternoon, I had to find the laundry room because well, I didn’t have any clean clothes left to wear for tomorrow. So I ventured into the bowels of the ship in search of the laundry room. It’s five decks from my stateroom. That’s a lot of stairs to climb up and down. Actually I need the exercise. Anyway, while my clothes were washing, I ran back upstairs to help Frank Bradley do the 2:00 radiosonde launch. With that completed, I then ran back down the stairs to put the clothes in the dryer. Then, I walked back up to the main lab and answered a few emails. After about 20 minutes, (you know the drill) I went back down to fold my clothes then carried them up five flights to my room. So I sat down on my bed to rest for just a minute and woke up an hour later!

After interviewing Paul, Diane and I decided we wanted our picture taken on the most sophisticated mooring instrument in the world. So we climbed around on it and had an impromptu photo session.

I’d like to say that I’m enjoying all the emails from students, friends, and family. You make me smile. I’m happy that you’re interested enough to send me a message. And too, it makes me feel connected even though I’m way out here in Pacific. So keep ‘em coming!

Until tomorrow,

Mary

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Mary Cook, December 8, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mary Cook
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
December 5, 2004 – January 7, 2005

Mission: Climate Prediction for the Americas
Geographical Area: Chilean Coast
Date: December 8, 2004

Location: Latitude 19°39.99’S, Longitude 77°07.27’W
Time: 8:30 am

Weather Data from the Bridge
Wind Direction (degrees) 126.27
Relative Humidity (percent) 72.01
Temperature (Celsius) 18.87
Air Pressure (millibars)
Wind Speed (meters/sec) 7.30
Cloud Type Stratus at 2810 feet

TODAY’S BIG NEWS!

I tossed the first adopted drifting buoy overboard with the help of Dr. Bob Weller of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution! My eighth graders and I at Southside Middle School in Batesville are proud to be the first school to adopt a drifting buoy. We will periodically access the buoy’s coordinates online and track it as it moves with the ocean currents. It’s a great feeling to be a part of this important scientific endeavor!

Question of the Day

How do you think I can determine the exact elevation of the clouds?

Positive Quote for the Day

To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love, are the two greatest proofs, not only of goodness of heart, but of strength of mind. William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English essayist

Science Log

Yesterday evening, we had our first interview with a scientist. We’re going to try and schedule one every evening and call the session “6:00 Science on the Fantail”. The fantail is the back of the ship. It’s flat and open with an A-frame used to hoist and guide objects off of the ship. Alvaro Vera is an engineer with a Master’s degree in oceanography and is from the Chilean Armada (Navy). Alvaro and his team have been working for over a year preparing to deploy the first tsunami buoy in the Southern Hemisphere. They have trained in Seattle and gotten the buoy ready for this moment. A tsunami is a wave generated by an undersea earthquake. The instruments for this buoy can detect changes in pressure at the bottom of the ocean as small as 2 centimeters and will give the coastal areas about one hour warning. He said that about 100 years ago a tsunami devastated Arica on the coast of Chile. For this reason and continued threat, it is important that the Chilean population living along the coastal areas have ample warning of an impending tsunami.

Today, we sent several Styrofoam cups down to 1500 meters depth in the ocean. We decorated the cups with drawings, the date and location, then put them in mesh bags. When the cups were brought back to the surface they were miniatures! Styrofoam has air between the particles and as the water pressure builds during the descent the air is forced out and the cup is compressed.

This afternoon, two acoustic releases were tested. An acoustic release is used to release the buoy from the anchor at the bottom of the ocean by using a signal from the surface. One worked. The other did not. The working acoustic release will be used with the Stratus 5 moored buoy that is scheduled to be deployed this weekend. The acoustic release will sit at the bottom of the ocean with the anchor until this time next year. When the scientists come back to replace the Stratus 5 buoy with the Stratus 6 buoy, they’ll signal the release and it will separate the anchor from the buoy. The anchor is then left on the ocean floor.

Personal Log

This evening I went out on the ship’s bow and took a deep breath. My, the ocean is big. And blue. And deep. And always moving. Who can comprehend it? I know I’m just a little speck floating along the surface, but for some reason I don’t feel insignificant. I feel satisfied. And curious. I wonder how the early seafaring explorers felt? It doesn’t seem to matter whether I’m working in the lab, answering emails, wearing a hard hat and life vest on the fantail, or just sitting on the bow looking over the shimmering water, I really like what I’m doing. I’m getting to know some of the other people on board. As we waited for the acoustic releases to be pulled up from a depth of 1500 meters, I had the opportunity to just hang out with Bruce, Bob, and Paul. Bruce did his pirate’s “Aarrrgh” and told a bit about the true story of Moby Dick. Bruce Cowden is the ship’s boatswain. He and his crew keep the ship in working order. He’s also an artist and is illustrating a book about our cruise. His artistic talent is impressive. Everyday, I eagerly await his next illustration. Bruce designed the tattoos around his ankles which resemble Tahitian tiki idols. He said there’s one for each of his two sons. Bruce let me operate the A-frame hoist on the back of the ship as they were lowering the acoustic releases into the water. I felt like “Bob the Builder”! I have to say it is fun operating big machinery!

Today, I learned that both Jonathan Shannahoff who is the man in charge of all the CTD launches, and I have been to Lake Baikal near Irkutsk, Russia. I enjoyed sharing and looking at the pictures of his trip.

It seems to me that the people on this ship have been everywhere in the world. They’re just amazingly intelligent and adventurous individuals.

Until tomorrow,

Mary

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Mary Cook, December 7, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mary Cook
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
December 5, 2004 – January 7, 2005

Mission: Climate Prediction for the Americas
Geographical Area: Chilean Coast
Date: December 7, 2004

Location: Latitude 19°41.54 S, Longitude 74°55.66 W
Time: 10:00 am

Weather Data from the Bridge
Wind Direction 156.10
Relative Humidity (percent) 70.98
Temperature (Celsius) 19.07
Barometric Pressure (Millibars) 1014.09
Wind Speed (Knots) 12.46
Wind Speed (Meters/sec) 6.51
Cloud type: Stratus at 2950 feet

Question of Day

What is a muster station?

Personal Log

It’s another great start for this seafaring teacher! A pod of about 12 pilot whales are hovering around the ship. They’re black with a crescent-shaped dorsal fin that breaks the water surface like a shark’s fin. It looks like they are about 10 feet long and I can hear a swoosh as a spray of water shoots up into the air when they exhale. As I was standing on the deck scanning the ocean for the whales, the cool breeze in my face, I was thinking how blessed I am to be here and my heart swells with gratitude for the grandness of it all. I just love to look out over the horizon where the sky meets the water and I wonder what other magnificent creatures are lurking below!

Today, I will be working a small part of the CTD deployment in conjunction with the Chilean Armada (Navy) team. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth. The CTD array contains a series of canisters that are opened at various depths to collect water for gas and nutrient sampling. As the data are collected and displayed, they will locate the ocean’s thermocline in this area. The depth of the thermocline can be used as a component to better understand El Nino which can affect worldwide climate changes. My job as part of the CTD deployment is to be the English speaking person on the radio to relay information to the winch operator as the CTD rosette is being lowered into the water and then brought back on the ship. We had an extensive meeting with all people involved and ran a practice deployment to make sure responsibilities and communications were clearly understood. Everything must run smoothly like clockwork or expensive equipment could get damaged or even worse someone could get injured. A lot of prior research time, effort, and money have gone into these projects and it would be a shame to botch a deployment.

Frank Bradley and I just successfully launched another radiosonde (weather balloon). After we launched it, we went back into the computer room to check the data being transmitted. Dan Wolfe explained that according to the data the thick, overcast stratus cloud layer was thinning. Shortly thereafter, the sun popped out and it was a gorgeous, bright sunshiny day!

Jeff Lord helped me get our drifter buoy out of storage and I placed the stickers of the Southerner man and all the 8th graders’ signatures on it. Southside School is the first school to ever adopt a drifting buoy. We are excited to be one of the first schools involved in the “Adopt a Drifter” program.

At 6:30 this evening, Diane and I will conduct “Science on the Fantail” with Alvaro Vera, leader of the Chilean Armada group that deployed the tsunami warning buoy. I will report on his interview tomorrow. I have watch duty from 20:00-24:00. During nighttime watches, I may have to go outside in the DARK. It’s really, really dark out here, too! All the ship’s outside lights are turned off. Anyway, if they deploy buoys at night I have to go out and help do whatever they need. While working on the deck at night everyone must attach a strobe beacon to themselves so if they fall overboard someone will be able to see them in the dark ocean waters. “Hey, who’s afraid of the dark?”

Until tomorrow, I’m signing off.

Mary

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Mary Cook, December 6, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mary Cook
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
December 5, 2004 – January 7, 2005

Mission: Climate Prediction for the Americas
Geographical Area: Chilean Coast
Date: December 6, 2004

Location: Latitude 19° 50.49` S, Longitude 73° 22.51`W
Time: 8:30 am

Weather Data from the Bridge
Wind Direction (degrees) 144.45
Relative Humidity (percent) 68.72
Temperature (Celsius) 18.65
Barometric Pressure (Millibars) 1012.77
Wind Speed (knots) 11.36
Wind Speed (meters/sec) 5.51

Question of Day

Based on the name, what do you think a thermosalinograph measures?

Personal Log

Good morning, everyone! Wow! What a great way to get a good night’s sleep, in a gently rocking ship. It’s like sleeping on a waterbed. The morning shower was a challenge, though. Being wet and soapy even on a gently rocking ship could be very dangerous. After breakfast, we met with Dan Wolfe and Chris Fairall for radiosonde deployment training. A radiosonde is a really cool giant helium filled balloon with instruments attached to a cord dangling beneath it. The radiosonde must be assembled and calibrated before launching. As the instruments detect the relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and temperature readings they transmit these data back to the computer onboard the ship. A radiosonde lasts for about one and a half hours and goes about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) high. Dan actually deployed a radiosonde and we watched it go up, up and away! Then we went back into the lab and observed the data coming into the computer. I can’t wait until it is mine turn to deploy a radiosonde!

Our next training session was led by Jeff Lord and he showed us how to deploy the drifter buoys and the Argo floats. These are fairly simple to get into the water. Just record their identification numbers, fill in the log sheet for time, date, GMT, latitude and longitude, then toss them overboard. The drifting buoys are small and they measure surface temperature and pressure. The drifters have a long caterpillar-shaped drogue extending far down into the water that ensures the buoy will drift with the ocean currents and not the wind. In a few days we will deploy the first of fifteen drifter buoys and my students at Southside School will adopt this one and keep track of it online. I am amazed at the designs of all these instruments. It’s almost unbelievable what ingenuity has gone into these designs. Some are high-tech and some are low-tech but they all work together to obtain the necessary data for the scientists.

The Argo floats sink down to 2000 meters then float to the surface. On their way up they measure temperature and salinity. When the float reaches the surface, it then sends the information to a satellite. The float has a bladder that deflates and it sinks again to repeat the process. The Argo floats can keep on going for two to four years depending on their battery life.

After our training sessions, Diane and I sat down with Bruce Cowden, the ship’s boatswain, who’s also an artist, to brainstorm for a children’s book about the science work of this cruise.

At 1415, we had our “surprise” safety drills: a fire drill and an abandon ship drill. The fire drill was pretty simple. Upon hearing the alarm, we reported to our muster stations. Then the chief scientist called the bridge and said that all persons were present.

The abandon ship drill was quite another story. When we heard the alarm, we had to go to our staterooms to get our life vests and emergency bag containing the big red “gumby suit”. Then we went to our lifeboat station and put on the suit. Its purpose is to keep you dry and afloat in the event you were forced to abandon the ship.

Diane and I are taking water surface temperature readings every thirty minutes. This is really kind of fun. There’s a thermometer in a tube-shaped “bucket”. The bucket is attached to a long cord. We then swing it over the edge of the ship into the water until the bucket fills up. We raise the bucket and read the temperature immediately. This is compared to the temperature reading on an instrument mounted underneath the ship called a thermosalinograph.

Later this afternoon, we finally arrived at the deployment site for the Chilean Armada tsunami buoy. We are about 200 miles off the coast of Chile. The ship hovered over the location while the buoy was hoisted by a crane then swung over the edge and lowered into the water. At this time the men are unrolling over 5000 meters of cable to attach to the anchors which happen to old railroad wheels. It will take about one hour for the anchors to sink to the bottom of the ocean. The bottom pressure recorder will then be lowered. It detects the slightest changes in pressure as small as two centimeters and sends messages back to the surface buoy which then relays that to a satellite which has direct ground communications. The ship will stay in this position for a few hours to make sure the tsunami buoy and ground pressure recorder are communicating with each other. A RHIB ride is in the near future!

And I hope I’m on it. RHIB stands for rigid hull inflatable boat and they go really fast! Some of the workers will be riding out to the tsumani buoy to check everything out before we leave it.

I’ve just found out that I will have morning watch each day from 0800 until 1200. Everyone on board is assigned a daily four hour watch duty. My duty will be in the main lab and I will stay in contact with the bridge and help out when needed.

So tune tomorrow for more on our exciting adventure!

Mary.

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Mary Cook, December 5, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mary Cook
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
December 5, 2004 – January 7, 2005

Mission: Climate Prediction for the Americas
Geographical Area: Chilean Coast
Date: December 2-5, 2004

Personal Log

This afternoon we will board the NOAA Research Vessel RONALD H. BROWN and depart from Arica, Chile and steam westward for the Stratus buoy. I look forward to this adventure with great anticipation and a little trepidation. I’ve never been out to sea for three weeks and can’t help wondering how I will react to this challenging environment. I’ve already met several of the crew and scientists, all of whom have been very cordial and hospitable. I look forward to interviewing them, working with them and just getting to know these incredible people who’ve dedicated themselves to this research effort that will help us better understand the Earth’s systems and benefit mankind in so many ways.

As I reflect upon the last few days since we’ve arrived in Chile, I am overwhelmed by all the wonderful experiences that have been bestowed upon me. First of all, I must mention my mentor Dr. Diane Stanitski. She is a great teacher and a sincere encourager. She is patient yet exudes an energy that’s contagious. Diane has already gained my trust and I look forward to her continued mentoring. Another person with whom I have worked closely is Dr. John Kermond. Dr. Kermond’s the movie-maker. He makes documentaries for NOAA. He’s a very good coach for a novice like me, and a fine tour guide, too. Both he and Diane have put me at ease, modeled proper on-camera techniques and given me advice that’s helped me considerably. I like being their student because I’ve witnessed their expertise and I know they genuinely have a love for this work. What more could a student ask for?

Well, let me tell about some of the sights we’ve seen in the last couple of days while waiting for the cruise to begin. We’re staying at the Hotel Arica. It’s a resort situated right on the beach. I can hear the big waves crashing on the rocks and smell the salty air from my room. It’s a very comforting sensation. The first morning here as I walked along the beach and out on the rocks looking at the ocean, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! There’s just something about it that causes my spirit to soar. It’s so mysterious and grandly beautiful.

Then Diane and I went to the ship to participate in a tour for school children from the Escuela America. The mayor of Arica and the local television station were there, too. The kids were great, well-behaved and asked interesting questions! They were third graders and eighth graders. This tour is part of the education efforts of the NOAA.

After the tour, we went to the top of El Morro, a hill that looks like a giant mound of sand. It stands guard over Arica with a statue of an open-armed Jesus overlooking the city and the harbor. We shot a movie clip of Diane and me giving a brief history of Arica.

The next day we journeyed into the Atacama Desert and Andes mountains to have a look. But first we stopped to get water and food because we were going into such a remote area. Wow! The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on the Earth. It’s a stark yet breathtaking sight to behold. Even though this is a desert there’s abundant evidence of water erosion where a multitude of rounded rocks have been carried into gullies.

As we were driving we suddenly began to see some interesting cacti. These were the Candelabro cacti which grow only between 2500-2800 meters elevation. They have a narrow life zone and are fragile for that reason alone. We were told by a local Chilean woman that they grow very slowly and only after about 30 years will the cactus begin to grow the branches at the top. Diane and I also collected a few rocks to take back to my classes.

As we continued along the main highway that connects Bolivia to the ocean, we stopped at Pueblo de Mallku. This is a village of six! Actually, it’s a homesteaded property of a very interesting family who are conducting the Center for Renewable Energy Resources in conjunction with the university in Arica. They live out in the middle of the desert in a nearly subsistence lifestyle with their closest neighbors being several miles away. They were eager to show us their setup which was quite amazing. They have a solar oven, solar water heater, and a high-tech electrical generator. They have built their dwelling from hand-mixed adobe and cactus logs. They home school their children who’ve compiled a book of local plants and animals along with traditional indigenous Chilean instructional songs on cultivation and medical uses of the plants. During our visit they served us tea with bread and jam. It was quite tasty. The tea was a concoction of leaves and boiling water that will help a body adjust to the extreme altitude.

After we said our goodbyes, we continued to ascend toward the Chungara Lake area. As we went higher and higher on the winding road, two snow-capped volcanoes came into view! I noticed the air started to get very chilly and it was windy. We saw llamas and alpacas grazing in the mountain meadows along the snow-melt streams from the mountaintops. These animals are curious critters! When we stopped for a photo op, they’d perk up their ears, take a long look at us, chew for awhile as though they were thinking about us, then move away occasionally looking back to see if we were looking back. We were fortunate to get to meet a pet alpaca named Cookie. Cookie likes to eat cookies. She was owned by some merchants who had a craft stand near the border stop. John dug out the last of the coconut cookies and shared them with Cookie. She was a true blue friend after that! Cookie’s fur is thick wool and can sell for a high dollar in the U.S.

At this point we were at about 14,000 feet elevation and I was really feeling it. I had a headache, dizziness, and my leg muscles were quivering from fatigue only after a short walk. I didn’t drink enough tea back at Pueblo de Mallku! So we got back in our trusty Puegot and descended to a village called Putre. Putre is a town that caters to tourists. They were happy to see us and very outgoing. Everyone we saw said “Hola” and waved with a smile. We went into a tiny grocery store and purchased supper. We had meat, egg, and olive stuffed empanadas followed by a delicious fig and coconut pastry.

We then took the long and winding road in total darkness back to Arica.

Now I am aboard the NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN and we’ve been sailing for six hours. No land in sight. We’ve had two meetings and a delicious supper in the galley. They have an interesting sign in the eating area that says, “Eat it and beat it” There aren’t enough chairs to seat all 45 people at once so when we finish eating we must get up and go elsewhere. It seems everyone has lots of work to do anyway.

Our first meeting was about ship rules and regulations with a focus on safety. We will have our surprise fire drill tomorrow at 2:15 pm promptly! Our science meeting was about the several scientific endeavors and the logistical problems to solve. Our chief scientist Dr. Bob Weller of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, encouraged us all to be helpful and considerate.

Some members of the Chilean Navy and Concepcion University are on board to deploy a tsunami detecting buoy which will get underway tomorrow afternoon. We will be deploying CTDs (conductivity, temperature, and depth sensors), and ARGO floats which go down 2000 meters then float to the surface measuring salinity and temperature. Once they break the surface then they send the information to a satellite. These floats then go back down and do it all over again. We’ll also be sending up radiosondes (weather-balloons) and tossing out drifting buoys which measure temperature, pressure, and ocean current pathways. Then the “biggie” is the Stratus 5 buoy! We’ll be out into the Pacific Ocean about 800 miles off the coast of Chile when we do this work which will take about six days. All this stuff is so cool I can’t believe I actually get to witness and participate in even a small way! I’m amazed. I’ll be giving you more information as the time comes so stay in touch and don’t forget to look at the pictures.

Mary