Category: 1990-2002

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Diane Stanitski: Day 11, August 21, 2002

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Diane Stanitski

Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana

August 16-30, 2002

Day 11: August 21, 2002

Weather log:
I awoke and went out on the buoy deck this morning to find rain falling from overcast skies! Here are our observations at 0800 this morning:
Latitude: 13°28’N
Longitude: 143°28’W
Visibility: 12 nautical miles (nm)
Wind direction: 100° (direction from which the wind is blowing)
Wind speed: 15 kts
Sea wave height: 4-5′
Swell wave height: 5-7′
Sea water temperature: 27.4°C
Sea level pressure: 1012.2 mb
Dry bulb temperature: 25.0°C
Wet bulb temperature: 24.0°C
Cloud cover: 8/8, rain from altostratus clouds

If you’ve been mapping out our course on a “chart” of the Pacific Ocean (as I’m sure you all are!), you may have noticed that we’ve made a sudden shift to the south! Why? To divert away from a tropical depression forming to our east! The Commanding Officer, CDR Mark Ablondi, made the decision late last night, after French class, to reverse the order of our trip. Instead of visiting the buoys from north to south along 125°W and then cruising west toward the 140°W line, we’ll first head south along the 140°W meridian and then toward 125°W. Flexibility is key to the success of the trip, especially when considering the safety of the crew. A tropical wave is heading our way with a tropical depression behind it. To our north there are a series of subtropical high pressure cells which will cause the tropical depression to slide due west, very close to our original path, thus the reason for the change. We’re hoping to avoid all signs of the storm. However, we currently have overcast skies and rain falling from beautiful altostratus clouds. The only thing constant about the weather is change – gotta love it!

Science log:
Our most exciting part of the morning so far has been a live test broadcast with Jennifer Hammond at NOAA’s Silver Spring office and others who will enable a future broadcast to come live to you. We had to attempt it three times because we kept getting disconnected. Larry, our very important computer technician on board, is looking into the cause of the problem. We’ll try another live broadcast test tomorrow morning before our first general broadcast, hopefully later this week (stay tuned on the web site for further information).

The constructed buoy that was going to replace the one to be removed at 8°N, 125°W, will now be used for the 2°N, 140°W replacement. Because ocean currents are much stronger near the equator, the buoys require more flotation. This means that two extra fiberglass inserts are placed inside the buoy (sort of like adding the donut hole to the donut). This will enable the buoy to float more effectively.

We tested the CTD profiler early this afternoon. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth. This instrument continuously records data as it is lowered through the water column to nearly the bottom of the ocean. It also collects water samples at preselected depths. Water is then brought to the surface from these depths and analyzed for salt and nutrient content. I have been asked to take some of the CTD measurements since we’ll be doing them a few times every day and I’m told it takes 1-2 hours. I’m very interested to see what it entails. I think that Jason will train four of us tomorrow.

Well, I reread my logs and decided that I need to provide some context as to why we’re all on the Ka’imimoana in the first place. El Niño! You’ve all heard the term, I’m sure, but what does it mean, and should it concern us?

Here is the story…
El Niño, Spanish for “the boy” or “the Christ Child”, is a phenomenon that refers to a warm ocean current that typically occurs around December (Christmas-time) off the west coast of Peru and lasts for many months. This appears to be related to a warming of the entire tropical Pacific Ocean.

Let’s go back even further… Under normal ocean and atmosphere conditions (during non-El Niño years), the trade winds in the Pacific blow from east to west across the tropical Pacific Ocean, dragging the ocean water beneath with them (due to friction). Because the water is being moved toward the western Pacific, it piles up such that the actual surface of the water near Indonesia can be up to approximately ½ meter (~1.5′) higher than off the west coast of South America – amazing! The sea surface temperature near Indonesia is also about 8°C (how many °F?) warmer than near South America because it has been warmed by the sun as it crossed the Pacific near the equator. Near South America, cold subsurface water then emerges at the ocean surface to take the place of the water that moved westward. This process is known as “upwelling” and brings cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface, which is attractive to many fish species, including the anchovy.

Warm ocean water is important for many reasons, primarily because it has a direct relationship with the atmosphere above it. Above warm water, evaporation increases, winds at the surface flow together, and clouds form. Thunderstorms form much more easily under these conditions causing rain. Heat is transferred from the ocean to the atmosphere in this process, known as “convection”. This shows why there is such a direct and important link between the ocean’s temperature and the winds in the atmosphere. Convection usually occurs over the warmest water and winds blow toward the warm rising air from all directions. Energy is transferred and this is one of the important flows across earth. I always tell my students that the earth constantly tries to maintain a balance and this is why there is movement. Earth is dissatisfied with excess heat near the equator and cold air hovering around the poles. In a move toward equilibrium, the wind flows and the ocean currents move…energy is being transferred! Okay, I could go on for days about this because I love it so much. Let’s move on to El Niño. During El Niño events, which typically occurred every 3-7 years in the past, but may be happening more often now, large-scale winds that normally blow from east to west across the Pacific Ocean diminish, and occasionally even reverse direction. Now, the warm water that is typically found in the western Pacific moves toward the eastern Pacific and, voila!, little upwelling occurs along the coast of South America resulting in fewer nutrients for the phytoplankton and other marine life that survive on the nutrients brought from below. With warmer water in the eastern Pacific, the process of convection shifts eastward with the warm water so the rising air and ensuing storms are found closer to the central Pacific.

Why is this important? El Niño results in changes to temperature and rainfall on a GLOBAL basis. For instance, because convection shifts eastward, parts of northeastern Australia often experience a major drought while the coast of Chile can receive severe floods. The 1997 El Niño event, one of the strongest ever experienced and recorded, resulted in heavy rains over the southern U.S., record rains in California, and a mild winter in the mid-western states of the U.S. At times, the monsoon that affects Southeast Asia arrives much later than normal. We are on the Ka’imimoana to help predict upcoming El Niño events . This is done with the help of 70 buoys that are located on the tropical ocean surface between 8°N and 8°S latitude. Sensors on these buoys measure atmospheric conditions like wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, relative humidity, radiation, and ocean temperature data from the surface to 500 meters below, to help determine if an El Niño event is occurring, or not. We do know that an El Niño is currently forming in the Pacific. Now, we need to ensure that all possible data are available by checking to make sure the sensors are functioning properly and that data are being sent via satellite to researchers who are using models to predict the severity of this event.

With early prediction of an El Niño, countries can adjust the types of crops that they grow, and plan in areas such as water resources, fisheries, and reserves of grain and fuel. Countries that have experienced the effects of El Niño in the past can also effectively plan in advance for drought, floods, and extreme weather, a consequence of the phenomenon, El Niño.

If you are a teacher, I’m writing a lesson plan related to the current El Niño conditions in the Pacific that you can use in your classroom. I will provide optional assignments so that you can use it from the middle school to college level. Please check my lesson plans in the next week to find this activity. Paul Freitag, Chief Scientist on board, is assisting with the exercise by providing current ocean temperature data and informed ideas.

Personal log:
I have remarked a few times today how helpful everyone is on the ship regarding questions that the new people have (that includes me!) or things that we need. This is a tremendous group of people. The Doc helped lower my bunk bed on the first day, after I spent 15 minutes trying every possible hole, button, lever, etc., until she discovered it was actually screwed into the wall. Doug McKay is helping me practice my knot tying which I started learning with my husband in Honolulu; I hope to be of some use on the RHIB or on the decks in the future when things need to be tied down.

John Kermond has answered every imaginable question, many times more than once. He has been very patient. The Chief Scientist endures my many inquiries about the TAO buoys and manages to come up with appropriate manuscripts and manuals whenever I need extra information. The Captain took the time to provide an overview of Pacific Ocean weather this morning before our test broadcast. It’s amazing how many questions I have each day. I even had to learn how to open the doors to go out on the deck. There is a lever that you lift to a certain point which allows you to exit; you then need to lower the lever again once you leave. This keeps the doors from flying open on their own and also keeps them water tight. I ended up sleeping with my stateroom door open the entire first night on the ship because I didn’t realize that it clicks shut only after much force. I woke up and the door was wide open. Taking a shower is always interesting. I’ve learned to stand with my feet wide apart to brace myself and I often use the walls for stability. Fortunately, I don’t even need to think about many of these details anymore. It’s remarkable how we all adjust to our surroundings.

Spiderman is the movie of choice tonight. I’m writing to you from my corner computer and peering out at a group of about 8 people sitting in the main lounge watching the movie. I haven’t watched any movies so far, but I am signed up for the game tournaments to start sometime later this week. In the first round I’m competing against the Commanding Officer (CO) in Scrabble (Yikes!), against the Chief Scientist in Yahtzee (Yikes again!), and am partners with our Cadet on board when we play Sequence. This is an evening program initiated by the Doc to keep morale high on the ship. Sounds good to me!

Well, I’m off to fold laundry before going to bed. Another outstanding day on the ship…I could really get used to this!

Hope all is well with you. Keep in touch!
Diane

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Diane Stanitski: Day 10, August 20, 2002

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Diane Stanitski

Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana

August 16-30, 2002

Day 10: August 20, 2002

Our location and the weather observations at 1500 today were:
Latitude: 15°37.4’N
Longitude: 145°25.0’W
Visibility: 12 nautical miles (nm)
Wind direction: 030 (direction from which the wind is blowing)
Wind speed: 18 kts
Sea wave height: 4-5′
Swell wave height: 5-7′
Sea water temperature: 26.0°C
Sea level pressure: 1011.9 mb
Dry bulb temperature: 25.8°C
Wet bulb temperature: 24.2°C
Cloud cover: 7/8, Cumulus

Today’s quote: 

“A man is ethical only when life is sacred to him…and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.”
– Albert Schweitzer


WELCOME to a new time zone! We are now 9 hours off Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the current time in Greenwich, England along the 0° meridian. We just crossed into this new time zone overnight as we cruised southeast toward 8°N latitude, 125°W longitude. At 8°N, 125°W we’ll find the first buoy that needs to be replaced, which is typical after floating in the water for one year (see the web site http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao for a map and description of the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) buoy array). During our travels southward along the 125°W longitude line, a few of the moorings (buoys) will simply need to be repaired instead of replaced. The sensors that will be replaced may have been vandalized by fishermen, damaged due to severe weather, or the sensors may need to be recalibrated. In any case, we’ll either replace sensors or fix them at each buoy.

I just walked (well, swayed) out on the buoy deck and discovered that the ship’s first replacement buoy is being constructed. This buoy will replace the one currently floating at our first stop. It’s amazing how the whole project comes together with many scientists working in harmony. See today’s photo log for pictures of the newest buoy at various stages of completion.

Dr. Paul Freitag, our Chief Scientist, provided some more information about the instruments on the buoys. First, the buoys are anchored to the ocean floor, which is still hard for me to believe. All of the buoys have sensors to measure temperature/relative humidity and an anemometer to measure wind speed along with wind direction. Some of the buoys have sensors measuring precipitation and solar radiation, but not all are equipped to with this expensive instrumentation. The buoy itself (the orange and white donut part) is composed of a foam core surrounded by fiberglass. Below this there is a rigid stainless steel bridle connected to a wire rope which is used for the first 500 meters of the mooring. On these 500 meters of wire rope there are nine subsurface temperature sensors (thermistors) followed by two pressure sensors accompanying two more thermistors. The pressure readings correspond well with measurements of ocean depth. Water temperatures are measured below the surface at 1 meter (m), 20 m, 40 m, 60 m, 80 m, 100 m, 120 m, 140 m, 180 m, 300 m, and 500 m. Below 500 m, eight-strand plaited nylon line is used down to the anchor, with some sites requiring nearly 3 miles of line (see the diagram at http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/images/atlas.gif). The amazing thing is that the subsurface temperature sensors transmit and receive data from the buoy with an inductive coupling technique, which means that they’re not wired directly to the main line, yet data are transmitted along the cable. The sensors simply clamp onto the wire rope that serves as one of the inductive elements. This makes it much easier to assemble and deploy the extremely long cable. One aspect of meteorology that I find fascinating is the instrumentation, so I spend much of my time looking at the wiring and instrument manufacturers and asking the scientists many questions about what and why and how…they haven’t seemed to mind so far.

Here is some more information about the people and activities on the ship. There are 31 people on board (seven of us are women) with bunk space available for only two more. There are 5 officers, 1 cadet, 10 scientists, and the remaining crew members who focus on making the ship and science work efficiently. We all greatly appreciate their help. Everyone eats breakfast from 7:00-8:00 AM (0700-0800), lunch from 11:00-12:00 (1100-1200), and dinner from 4:30-5:30 PM (1630-1730). There is a small store selling candy and snacks, soda, shirts and hats on the ship that is open each night from 1930-2000 hours. We can email from any computer on board (I’ve counted at least 14 computers) and all of our email messages are sent and received in a bundle two times a day around 0900 and 1600. There is a laundry room with three washers/dryers on the second deck forward on the starboard side of the ship. There are two lounges with library materials including books, magazines and board games. Movies are shown every night on two channels in the lounges at both 1730 and repeated at 2000. So, you can see that it’s easy to keep busy on the ship. Two extra treats on this cruise include guitar/music playing sessions for all those who brought their musical instruments on board, and French lessons every other night. Je m’appelle Diane. J

After seeing more flying fish today, I decided to do some research to find out exactly what these fish are all about. I learned that they’re often referred to as “bluebirds of the sea” and that they spread their pectoral fins, glide for a few seconds, and then splash back into the sea. When they swim, their long fins are folded against their body. Flight speeds of up to 35 miles per hour have been monitored and flights as long as 13 seconds covering up to 450 feet have been timed. Photography has proven that they are gliders and not true flyers (all information obtained in “Fishes of the Pacific Coast” by Gar Goodson, Stanford University Press, 1988). I’ll keep my eye on these beauties and attempt to take a photo so you can share this delight!

The first person to answer my question of the day posed in my August 17th log was Tom Taddeo (my incredibly smart uncle from Mechanicsburg, PA – thanks for responding!) who gave the correct answer regarding the definition of pitch, roll, and yaw of a ship. Yes, pitch is when the ship tips in a fore-and-aft direction (from front to back), roll means the ship tips from side to side due to the sea or swell, and yaw means that the ship swings involuntarily from side to side when advancing forward. I’d love to hear from more of you so I can acknowledge more people in my logs.

The afternoon was spent testing the computer and camera equipment that will enable us to connect with all of you via upcoming live webcasts. Fortunately, everything seems to be working very well! We even managed to get a wireless microphone to work. We’ll be testing again tomorrow and hope to have a general broadcast ready to go by the end of the week. Please contact Jennifer Hammond at jennifer.hammond@noaa.gov if you’d like to receive the live broadcast. We’ll be interviewing scientists and talking about life at sea!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner again tonight and I’m nearly ready for bed. It was great to hear from Dana Tomlinson (our last Teacher at Sea!), Nancy from ASU, and as always, my husband, family members, and friends. I invite more of you to email with questions that you might have about the Ka’imimoana or what it’s like to live on a ship.

Until tomorrow when I discuss CTD’s (what are they, you ask?!? – more tomorrow!)…bon soir.

Question of the day: What is the difference between sea wave height and swell wave height?

More tomorrow…
Diane

P.S. I just walked outside and rain was falling on the buoy deck under bright pink clouds – beautiful!

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Diane Stanitski: Day 9, August 19, 2002

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Diane Stanitski

Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana

August 16-30, 2002

Day 9: August 19, 2002

We enjoyed mostly cloudy skies today as we headed southeast toward the 125°W longitudinal line.

Our location and the weather observations at 1300 today were:
Latitude: 16°22.1’N
Longitude: 149°09.5’W
Visibility: 12 nautical miles (nm)
Wind direction: 050 (on a 0-360° scale) which means NE
Wind speed: 22 kts
Sea wave height: 6-8′
Swell wave height: 6-8′
Sea Water Temperature: 26.8°C
Sea level pressure: 1011.5 mb
Dry bulb temperature: 25°C
Wet bulb temperature: 23°C

Today’s quote: 
“How far high failure overleaps the bounds of low success.” – Lewis Morris

John Kermond and I sat down this morning after breakfast to sketch out the webcast that we hope to produce during the next two weeks. We discovered that we can probably create 10 live videos that will be sent to the general public, Shippensburg University, and possibly the BBC and a local television station near Shippensburg, PA. Be sure to look for these videos on the web site as I will interview our chief scientists and crewmembers, and will also teach my undergraduate and graduate classes from the ship.

Don Shea and Kirby Worthington, our NASA scientists on board, offered to provide an overview of their iron limitation study. It is felt that an iron deficiency in the mid-Pacific Ocean might be the limiting factor with regard to phytoplankton (e.g., algae) development. Iron in the water tends to absorb carbon, which in turn provides what is necessary for plant growth. The Atlantic Ocean doesn’t seem to experience this same situation as iron found in conjunction with sand blowing west off the African continent, seems to provide the ocean with an ample amount of iron. This study tests the effect of iron, nitrates, phosphates, and ammonium against a controlled sample collected from the Pacific Ocean water. They use a Fast Repetition Rate flourometer to measure the flourescence of each water sample. Surface seawater is drawn from the ship’s continuous flow through system of clean seawater. As I learn more about the study I’ll provide an update.

I discovered that the KA’s call signal is WTEU (Whiskey, Tango, Echo, Uniform) and it is displayed when going into each port. Every ship has its own signal that it reveals via flags exposed on the ship. There are other single letter signals exhibited when there is an emergency or used as a warning sign. Some of these include the (A)lpha flag meaning diver down, the (B)ravo flag representing dangerous cargo, and the (H)otel signal showing that there is a pilot on board.

I also learned to use The Nautical Almanac for 2002 to calculate sunrise tomorrow morning based on how far we will travel overnight and the latitude and longitude of our final destination. Since the boat is moving, it becomes more challenging to calculate solar angle and sunrise. I am planning to meet Rachel Martin on the bridge at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning to learn more about celestial navigation, provided the clouds have cleared and stars are visible. We need to remember to move our clocks forward by one hour since we’re moving into a new time zone as we travel toward 125°W longitude.

Steve Kroening, the FOO (Field Operations Officer), showed us a PowerPoint slide show presentation featuring the Ka’imimoana and crew along with many of the scientific experiments conducted on board. It was very uplifting because everyone obviously works efficiently together. I was amazed at the sheer number of people who have been involved in the research.

I discussed lesson plans related to El Niño with Paul Freitag, Chief Scientist. He will access some current data that my students at Shippensburg University can use for a lab. Another great day on board! More travel news tomorrow!

All the best to you all!
Diane

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Diane Stanitski: Day 8, August 18, 2002

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Diane Stanitski

Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana

August 16-30, 2002

Day 8: Sunday, August 18, 2002

The weather observations at 1700 today were:
Temperature: 26.0°C
Sea Water Temperature: 26.7°C
Visibility: 12 nautical miles
Wind direction: 055 (on a 0-360° scale) – NE
Wind speed: 20 kts
Sea wave height: 5-7′
Swell wave height: 6-8′
Sea level pressure: 1013.2 mb
Cloud cover: 3/8, cumulus

Today’s quote: “Best be yourself, imperial, plain and true!” – Robert Browning

The crew was abuzz today due to the fact that we were about to deploy a test buoy after surveying a 3×3 mile stretch of the ocean to find an area with a flat surface for the buoy’s anchor to rest upon. The entire exercise took all morning and a part of the afternoon. I interviewed John Bumgardner, our mechanical engineer on the boat, about the buoy array and videotaped a short segment to be used in one of our upcoming webcasts.

A buoy deployment is serious business on the ship. One of two cranes is used to lift the extremely heavy buoy off the starboard side of the ship onto the water. Thousands of meters of durable nilspin and nylon are then spooled out into the ocean behind the buoy with a large anchor (a railroad wheel) weighing approximately 2 tons dropped as a final way to secure the buoy in its location and anchor it to the ocean floor (see photos in the photo log). The buoy drifts off into the sea for a few km as the ship slowly drifts in the opposite direction so that the rope doesn’t become tangled. An acoustic release device is then discharged into the water, which will allow the buoy to become detached from the anchor after it’s at the bottom of the ocean. This will be handy when the buoy is retrieved from the water at the end of September during the return of the KA to Honolulu.

The deployment was successful except for one rope that was caught over the sonic wind sensor. A group of us decided to ride the RHIB to the buoy in order to pull the rope off of the sensor. It was a rough ride through the 6-8′ swells, but boy was it fun! We all hung on and received a nice salty shower during our return to the ship.

While all of this was going on, Larry, our Electronics Technician, hooked me up to my email account so that I could keep in touch with all of you. He also downloaded software so that I could provide photos of my experience for you to view. Larry keeps the ship rolling with his expertise in so many areas. We’re definitely lucky to have him on board.

After turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes for dinner, John videotaped me on the back deck in front of a beautiful sunset. I then came inside for a short French lesson. Takeshi, our foreign observer, is from France and is teaching us some basic French before our arrival in Nuku Hiva, the French Marquesas. It’s all coming back to me after 3 years of French in High School – definitely worthwhile classes to take in school.

I’m off to bed after a long day in the fresh air. Looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures.

Today’s question: What percent of the ocean’s water is saline?

All the best,
Diane

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Diane Stanitski: Day 7, August 17, 2002

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Diane Stanitski

Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana

August 16-30, 2002

Day 7: Saturday, August 17, 2002
Time: 0700 military time (based on a 24-hour time schedule)

Latitude: 21°14.715’North (N) Cruising just south of the Big Island of Hawaii visible this morning from the port (left) side of the ship when facing forward
Longitude: 157°57.378’West (W)

Weather Observations taken from the bow of the ship with Shippensburg University’s hand-held Kestrel 3000 instrument:

Air Temperature: 27°C (80.6°F)
Average Wind Speed: 6.3 knots (7.3 mph)
Cloud Cover: 8/10 with mostly altocumulus (middle level, puffy) and cirrocumulus (high level, puffy) clouds
Precipitation in previous 24 hours: 0 cm (0 inches)
Relative Humidity: 89%
Dew Point Temperature: 24.8°C (76.6°F) Relatively calm seas; beautiful sunrise; Porpoises spotted on the port (left) side of the ship

Quote written on the Plan of the Day (POD) posted outside the Main Mess (meal) area: “All excellent things are as difficult as they are rare.”
– Benedict Spinoza

After a restful night’s sleep on my upper bunk, I awoke ready for a new day! It struck me as I was lulling into a peaceful sleep that my mattress felt just like a waterbed. I thought that I was rolling around on a bowl of jello, a neat feeling which made me relax. I am fortunate that I haven’t experienced any seasickness yet. A few others haven’t been so lucky. Michelle, our fearless Medical Officer on board, has distributed medication for seasickness to those needing it. It is recommended that you breathe in fresh air and watch the horizon for a while if ever you feel queasy.

After touring the outer decks of the ship watching the sun rise above the morning clouds on the horizon, I stopped to speak with crew member Roger Stone who said that every day is slightly different because the sky is always changing. He recalled seeing a white rainbow at night under a full moon. I had never heard of this so I’m intrigued about what would cause such a remarkable feature.

Breakfast was interesting because I spoke with Rachel, a Cadet, and Steve, our Field Operations Officer (FOO) who received a degree in Meteorology at the University of Nebraska. We discussed Steve’s research and he said that I could come up to the bridge to take weather observations anytime. Yahoo! For some reason beyond me, weather obs are not everyone’s favorite activity of the day. Rachel taught me the difference between a pitching and rolling boat. She said that a pitching boat rocks front to back (up and down), while a rolling boat rocks side to side. She is currently taking a course requiring that she write a complete report of all of her activities while on board. I hope to learn many things from her, including celestial navigation — how to find your way using the stars. Can’t wait!

I learned from Steve that the reason it was a bit rocky in the ship last night was due to our travels through currents emerging from between the Hawaiian Islands. The currents disturbed the forward motion of the boat. Unknown to me, currents are named for the direction toward which they flow, unlike winds, which are named for the direction from which they blow. So, if ocean currents and winds are moving in the same direction, they have opposite directional names – very interesting!

I spent part of the day organizing my thoughts regarding my upcoming lesson plans. There are so many exciting ideas generated each day by the scientists as we talk. I will definitely interview the scientists on the ship about their current research as well as use the opportunity to describe the many mechanical and electronic sensors on board to everyone watching the webcasts. Please let me know what you would like to know more about and I’ll try to include it in a future webcast.

John pointed out flying fish on the port side of the boat today. They are quite small and it is believed that they fly to flee from whatever is gaining on them. They don’t have great ability to determine direction and they stay in the air for just a few seconds before splashing into the water again.

Our location and the weather observations at 1300 today were:
Latitude: 18°37.8’N
Longitude: 155°23.7’W
Visibility: 12 nautical miles (nm) which is about the greatest distance you can see due to the curvature of the earth
Wind direction: 060 (on a 0-360° scale) which means ENE
Wind speed: 19 kts
Sea wave height: 5-7′
Swell wave height: 6-8′
Sea Water Temperature: 26.6°C
Sea level pressure: 1015.0 mb
Dry bulb temperature: 26.2°C
Wet bulb temperature: 23.5°C

Sarah and Rachel gave me a tour of the ship’s bridge this afternoon. They discussed every aspect of their job and it was fascinating! They have radar on the ship to detect nearby ships and severe weather. On the front panel of the bridge there is an automatic pilot system for the ship. There are also throttles for the main engines, which allow us to travel at approximately 10-12 kts under ideal conditions. The bow thruster controls movement of the front of the ship from left to right. They described radio communication procedures with other ships, explained who has right of way when two ships are merging, and provided details about the nautical charts used during each journey. I made the mistake of calling nautical charts “maps” and was politely corrected. I will place this new term in my memory bank for future reference. I also was privy to a chart showing our upcoming transit line with waypoints approximately every 200 miles. The ship remains in a straight path until a certain point where a slight change of direction is made, otherwise, the bearing would constantly change as the ship’s path slowly curved.

After a workout and excellent meal of chicken stirfry, cauliflower, rice and pecan pie prepared by Helen and Doretha, I met with John who informed me that there would be a deployment of a test buoy tomorrow around 0900 and that he would like to videotape me on the buoy before it’s sent out to sea to explain the instrumentation on the mast. Earlier today I met with Dave and Paul, our Chief Scientists on board, and they explained the entire array of sensors and the purpose behind the buoy. It will be deployed and removed during this trip with data collected every few seconds and stored in a datalogger on the mast. During the return voyage of the KA to Honolulu in late September the buoy will be removed from the water and the data analyzed immediately following the trip. A compass comparison test and a buoy motion monitor test will be conducted. A specially engineered tube containing 3 different compasses and an accelerometer will enable the pitch, roll, and yaw of the buoy to be determined. As of yet, I believe that these movements on the buoy are unknown.

Today’s question: What is the pitch, roll, and yaw of a ship? Be the first to answer and I’ll acknowledge your response in my next log. I’ll write again tomorrow after a peaceful night under the millions of visible stars above.

Peace to all and to all a good night,
Diane