Kimberly Pratt – Page 2 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 18, 2005March 18, 2021

Kimberly Pratt, July 18, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kimberly Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship McArthur II
July 2 – 24, 2005

MAC433-AR1, OO — Photo credit: Cornelia Oedekoven

Mission: Ecosystem Wildlife Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Northwest
Date: July 18, 2005

Weather Data from Bridge

Latitude: 3614.084N
Longitude: 12213.868W
Visibility: <1 mile
Wind Direction: 340 Wind Speed: 22 knots
Sea Wave Height: 5-6 feet
Sea Level Pressure: 1014.6
Cloud Cover: Foggy, Drizzle
Temperature: 14.8

Scientific Log

Our days have been mostly foggy with the sun peaking through rarely. After not seeing the sun for days, we were all delighted when the bridge announced that there was sun and many of us ran outside right away! Right now we’re outside of Pt. Reyes, continuing on transect lines. The animals we’ve observed lately are: a pod of Killer Whales feeding, several Humpback Whales, schools of Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and Northern Right Whale dolphins.

The Zodiac was launched and tissue samples and photo ID was taken of the Killer Whales. (photos attached) This evening two Humpbacks gave us quite a show. They rolled next to the ship, breached, and slapped their flippers. Many times we could see their bellies as they lazily made their way by the ship rolling and diving, quite peacefully. Video and photo was taken of these amazing animals.

The bird observers have been especially busy. In the past few days they’ve identified Black-footed Albatross, Common Murre, lots of Sooty Shearwaters, Pink footed Shearwaters, Ashy Storm Petrels that breed on the Farallons, and Cassini’s Auklets. Also seen are South Polar Skua’s, and Red Neck Phalaropes who are Artic breeders. We’ve also seen Mola Mola fish, and a Mako shark with a pointy snout. We’re continuing Bongo Net Tows and continue to collect plankton, larvae and small jellyfish.

Personal Log

Thanks to Rich Pagen being back on board, I am now focusing more on taking video, completing interviews, doing logs and e-mail correspondence. My interviews have gone well; the crew has been responsive and also forgiving when I’ve made mistakes. For the remainder of the trip, I’ll be focusing on interviewing more of the scientists, developing curriculum and completing logs. It’s been great meeting all the crew and finding out more about them. With less than a week to go, I’m treasuring every moment. This has been a great trip!

Until later…
Kim

Thanks to Cornelia Oedekoven for the Orca photos.

July 17, 2005March 18, 2021

Kimberly Pratt, July 17, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kimberly Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship McArthur II
July 2 – 24, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Wildlife Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Northwest
Date: July 17, 2005

Crew Interviews: “Dynamite Deck Crew”

If you walk around the McARTHUR II you will encounter hardworking and dedicated Mariners. These individuals are the deck crew. Outside my door every morning is Korie Mielke, diligently sweeping and swabbing the hall. On the deck below you will find Charles Sanford painting along with Dave Hermanson, and Teresa Moss. In the evenings, Jake Longbine operates the cranes and wenches for the CTD tests. Throughout the day you’ll find Steve Pierce and Kevin Lackey busily fixing items or on the bridge.The deck crew is responsible for the operation of all the ship’s machinery. They also paint and clean the ship. They are instrumental in helping the scientists complete their mission assisting with collections and run the small boat operations. A deck hand will do watches as a quartermaster who is a lookout for things that may damage the ship and also report on weather observations. In addition, they drive the ship at the Officer’s command.

The deck crew comes from a variety of backgrounds, some have college degrees, and others have prior military experience. Teresa has a fashion and marketing background. She joined NOAA through her mother who is a security officer for NOAA in Seattle. Charles’ who has a military background often thinks about becoming a teacher. Kevin’s background is in wildlife conservation and his position with NOAA is the first sea duty he’s had. Kevin really likes the variety and has enjoyed going to see Alaska and sail in Russian waters. He, like some of the other deck crew found that being on duty with no weekends is taxing. Also, living and working with other people in a space the size of 224 x 42 ft, (about the size of Cabello’s cluster of classrooms #22 – 26), can be difficult at times. The deck crew like being a part of the McARTHUR II and it is evident by their good nature and hardworking spirits. After porting in San Francisco, they will be headed off to Hawaii – to warmer waters and climates.

School Questions:

Aira grade 5: What is the size of one room on a ship?

Answer: Average size is 10×12

Tania, grade 5 – Where do you guys sleep?

Answer: Some people have a single room with a double sized bed. Others sleep in bunk beds.

Malka, grade 5 – What type of food do you eat?

Answer: The food is very good, usually at every meal there is a meat choice and a vegetarian choice. At lunch and dinner, you can have salad bar and there is always dessert.

July 16, 2005March 18, 2021

Kimberly Pratt, July 16, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kimberly Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship McArthur II
July 2 – 24, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Wildlife Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Northwest
Date: July 16, 2005

Weather Data from Bridge

Latitude: 3650.918 N
Longitude: 12159.753 W
Visibility: < 1
Wind Direction: 280
Wind Speed: 3 knots
Sea Wave Height :< 1
Swell Wave Height: 3-4 feet
Sea Level Pressure: 1011.6
Cloud Cover: Foggy/light drizzle
Temperature: 16.7 c

Scientific Log

Our days lately have been mostly foggy and drizzly, making marine mammal observations very difficult. During the times that observations were made, we’ve seen Humpback Whales, Fin Whales, Harbor Porpoise, a Blue Whale, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Grampus Dolphins, and Sea Lions. I’ve attached pictures that show Humpback Whale flukes. The scientists are using the pictures to ID them. Yesterday, Fin Whales surfaced approx. 200 meters off our bow and swam with the ship for a little while.

We observed Harbor Porpoise as we entered Monterey Bay. They are a small porpoise and are identified by their small pointy dorsal fin. Observation of Harbor Porpoise is difficult and you can only get a fleeting glance at their dorsal fins before they are gone.

At first you might mistake Grampus dolphins for Killer Whales by looking at their dorsal, but upon closer inspection you’ll find they have a light body marked by scratches or lines. Two nights ago, we did a Bongo Net drop and were able to collect 7 jars full of krill, plankton and myctophids (small Lantern fish). This showed that the area was very healthy and full of abundance. As far as birds go, we observed part of the Monterey Bay flock of Sooty Shearwaters numbered at approximately 250,000. Today we picked up Scientist Rich Pagen in Santa Cruz, joining us after being ill and we hope to continue observations as we head back out to sea from Monterey Bay.

Personal log

We’ve had quite a bit of down time enabling me to answer e-mail, do logs, and interviews. When we are “on effort” I am on the Flying Bridge helping with data entry, observations and trying to video our sightings. At night I help the Oceanographers, Mindy Kelley and Liz Zele doing the Bongo Net Tows and we are often out until 10:30 or 11:00 pm. Today, we were close to shore, so we had cell service to call friends and loved ones. I’m still having a really good time, the whales and dolphins are breathtaking. I envy your hot weather!

July 15, 2005March 18, 2021

Kimberly Pratt, July 15, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kimberly Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship McArthur II
July 2 – 24, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Wildlife Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Northwest
Date: July 15, 2005

Crew Interviews: “Electronic Gurus”

The McARTHUR II is fortunate to have two very talented men handling its electronics and surveys. They are Electronic Chief Clay Norfleet and Sr. Survey Tech Lacey O’Neal. Electronic Chief Clay Norfleet is responsible for all the radar, radio, Simrad, computers, networks e-mail communication and ship cell phones. Clay comes to NOAA after an extensive career in the US Navy. In the Navy, he conducted torpedo research and traveled extensively. His favorite port was Seychelles, 200 miles east of Madagascar. He enjoys his position with NOAA and likes the camaraderie with his shipmates. He will be sailing with the McARTHUR II to Hawaii and then will be boarding the OSCAR ELTON SETTE, sailing to Guam and Saipan to lend support to NOAA personnel. Clay is used to extended time at sea. In the Navy, he was out for 9-10 months at a time and one time he didn’t see land for 124 days. While in port in San Francisco, he plans to shop for things for the ship. His advice for someone wanting to be an Electronics Tech would be to get certifications before applying.

Another talented man works in the dry lab, surrounded by beautiful photos of Humpback, Killer Whales and dolphins. This man is the very helpful Sr. Survey Technician, Lacey O’Neil. Lacey helps the oceanographers do their work. He runs the computers for the CTD, SCS system an also runs the ship store. He’s been on both the McARTHUR and McARTHUR II for a combined 7 years. He was previously in the military serving as a paratrooper. His hobby is photography, so being on the McARTHUR II gives him an opportunity to take great pictures of marine mammals. He also enjoys going to Hawaii with the ship and gets to meet a lot of interesting people.

July 14, 2005March 18, 2021

Kimberly Pratt, July 14, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kimberly Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship McArthur II
July 2 – 24, 2005

Humpback fluke. Photo by Cornelia Oedekoven.

Mission: Ecosystem Wildlife Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Northwest
Date: July 14, 2005

Weather Data from Bridge

Latitude: 3544.108 N
Longitude: 12151.852 W
Visibility: <1 mile
Wind Direction: 330
Wind Speed: 5 knots
Sea Wave Height: 1-2 feet
Sea Level Pressure: 1013.2
Cloud Cover: Foggy, Drizzle
Temperature: 15.0

Scientific Log

Again, it’s been very foggy or windy, limiting our time out observing mammals and birds. We are however, seeing many Humpback Whales. During two of the sightings Humpbacks came up to the boat – 300 meters away. Humpbacks are named because their dorsal fin is on a hump. Also Humpbacks surface and blow for a couple of minutes, allowing the scientists to get a good look at them. After surfacing and blowing, they then dive, showing off their impressive flukes. Scientist ID Humpbacks by their flukes, dorsal and bumps or knobs on their rostrum (or beak). An interesting fact is that the underside of a humpback’s fluke is different for each animal, (like their fingerprint) so getting good photo ID is imperative. Along with the Humpbacks, we’ve seen Pacific Whiteside Dolphins who ride the bow of the Humpbacks. As far as birds go, we’ve seen a migration, 15-20 Red necked Phalaropes, South Polar Skuas who breed in the Antarctica, Pink-footed Shearwaters, Albatrosses, Gulls, and many Sooty Shearwaters.

Personal Log

It’s quite impressive to actually hear the whale’s breath. In fact being on the “fantail” rear of the boat, we located them by their breathing. Being so close to the Humpbacks was really a great experience. I was able to get video, so I look forward to sharing it with you all. The cruise is still going well, when we’re slow, I’ve been e-mailing, reading and doing interviews.

Yesterday the swells were as high as 10-12 ft. with 5-6 foot wind waves, so unfortunately, my sea sickness flared up again. After speaking with the Medical Officer and resting, I feel much better. I didn’t know that your body has to acclimate to different sea states so my sea legs are still growing. Maybe after the cruise I’ll be taller! Hope all is well. Thanks for all of the e-mails.

Thanks to Cornelia Oedekoven for the photos.