Kim Wolke – Page 2 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 3, 2006March 26, 2021

Kim Wolke, August 3, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kim Wolke
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 23 – August 11, 2006

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Shumagin Islands
Geographical Area: Alaska
Date: August 3, 2006

Weather from the Bridge
Skies: Cloudy (CL)
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind Direction: West (W)
Wind Speed: 10 knots
Waves: 0-1 foot
Sea Water Temp. (°C): 11.1
Sea Level Pressure: 1010.0 millibars (mb)
Temp. (°C): 12.2 (air temperature)

Safety

We had a Damage Control (DC) training program this morning, run by Chief Boatswain Jim Kruger. Damage control is another means of keeping the ship and the crew safe. If there was ever a fire, leaking pipe, flooding or any other emergency that puts the integrity of the ship in question, it’s important for the crew to know where the proper equipment is located and how to respond to such emergencies. More detailed training is done on responding to various emergencies and using the equipment at other times.

I’ve mentioned in other logs how important safety is on the ship and how much it’s emphasized. Some of the things I’ve identified since I’ve been onboard as part of the ship’s safety are: the wearing of hardhats and float jackets on the deck when deck work is being done, wearing safety glasses when working with paint and chemicals, wearing long pants and long sleeves on the deck, tying long hair back, fire hoses and fire extinguishers located all over the ship, eyewash stations, damage control lockers on various outside decks with equipment for emergencies, closing all hatch doors after you pass through them, storing all gear and equipment properly, as well as frequent safety drills (fire drills, abandon ship, and man overboard).

A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which supplies air if needed

All of the things done here on the ship are very similar to the types of safety precautions taken at school in the science classroom. Although a different environment, many of the same safety hazards exist. The Boatswain Group Leader Steve Foye was telling me about some of the chemicals used on the ship. Some of them were chemicals used in some of the chemistry labs we do! He said there was no way he’d allow his workers to work without the proper safety attire and these are adults!

Personal Log

Last night while I was standing on the bridge, I was given the opportunity to steer the ship for a little while which made me the helmsperson. Another one of those experiences where it looks a heck of a lot easier than it really is. It takes awhile to get the feel of the ship. I also had a chance to control the engines as we were anchoring. I was better at this task since the ship’s momentum didn’t effect what I was doing.

I’m learning that there’s a special language used aboard a ship. Aside from there being different names for parts of the ship, there’s also a special way to communicate. For example, while I was on the bridge as helmsperson and controlling the engines, I needed to repeat the directions given to me (ex. “all ahead 2, aye”) so the Officer on the Deck (OOD) knew I heard him. Once I completed a command, I needed to repeat the command again. The OOD then lets you know he/she heard you by saying “very well”. Sometimes commands came faster than I was completing them but as long as I was listening and we were communicating all was “very well”.

TAS Kim Wolke at the engine controls on NOAA ship RAINIER — TAS Kim Wolke at the engine controls

NOAA ship RAINIER'S engine control console on the bridge — NOAA ship RAINIER’S engine control console on the bridge

August 1, 2006March 26, 2021

Kim Wolke, August 1, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kim Wolke
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 23 – August 11, 2006

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Shumagin Islands
Geographical Area: Alaska
Date: August 1, 2006

Weather from the bridge
Skies: Cloudy (CL)
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind Direction: West (W)
Wind Speed: 10 knots
Waves: 0-1 foot
Sea Water Temp. (°C): 11.1
Sea Level Pressure: 1010.0 millibars (mb)
Temp. (°C): 12.2 (air temperature)

A pod of Orcas (Orcinus orca) seen off the NOAA ship RAINIER — A pod of Orcas (Orcinus orca) seen off the ship

Science and Technology

I was out on another survey boat today from 0800 to 1630. It was a long day since we were running rather long lines using the hull-mounted (on the bottom of the boat) Elac multi-beam echo sounder system, which is used to obtain full-bottom coverage in depths ranging from 40-400 meters. The other day when I was out the sonar used was called a Reson, which used to obtain full-bottom coverage in depths ranging from 4-150 meters. The lines took about 40 minutes each to do due to their lengths as well as the fact that we couldn’t go above 8 knots. The coxswain today, Ken Keys, allowed me to drive the boat for a while which I thoroughly enjoyed. Ken did a great job teaching me how to stay on the lines and turn from one line to another. I was very happy when I completed one line and made the turn to another one successfully with no help.

A minimum of 12 Orcas if you count the fins

At about 2200 I was on the bridge chatting when Lieutenant (LT) Ben Evans opened the door and informed me that there were Orcas off the stern of the ship. Once I retrieved my camera, I joined some other crewmembers for about 20 minutes watching the pod (group) of Orcas swim through the cove which we are anchored in. There were at minimum 15 Orcas, maybe more. It appeared that the pod was perhaps hunting salmon or some other fish. Orcas are also known as killer whales, however, they are not really whales. They are in fact the largest members of the dolphin family (Delphinidae). They are called killer whales because they attack and consume whales or other large prey, such as sea lions and seals. They’ve also been known to feed on river otters, squid, and several species of sea birds. The Orcas we were watching displayed characteristic hunting behavior since they stayed in their pod and a smaller group hung back in shallower waters to possibly chase the fish into the deeper waters where the rest of the pod was. They often feed in this cooperative manner.

Personal Log

Every job on the ship has so many details to it. Initially one might think they could do the same job easily. It has been quite an awakening for me to learn just how much goes in to all of the various jobs on the RAINIER. Everyone has been so patient and excellent at demonstrating and explaining things to me. Many of them would be excellent classroom teachers. Ken did a great job today getting me relaxed and comfortable with the task of driving the survey boat on the line. Thank you Ken! •

Seeing the Orcas this evening was one of those moments where I stood back and just lived in the moment. It was truly amazing. Everyone on the ship that was watching was silent as we listened and watched the Orcas swim through the water, blow water out of their blowholes, flap their tails (tail lob), and occasionally jump straight up out of the water (called a spy hop). Spectacular!

Who’s Who on the NOAA ship RAINIER?

Since March 2004, Tonya Watson has been working for NOAA aboard the ship RAINIER. She originally began working in Engineering and in September 2005 she joined the Survey Department. Currently she is a Hydrographic Junior Survey Technician (HJST). Recently she and her husband relocated their home to Phoenix, AZ, however, Tonya has been on the ship working since her move.

In her previous life, Tonya spent 4.5 years in the Navy working with passive sonar. She has an A.A. degree from Shasta College in California and has studied biological oceanography at Chico State in California and Auburn University in Alabama. Her Navy experience definitely helps her with the hydrographic survey work she is now doing with NOAA.

Tonya enjoys her work very much. She really likes to go on the survey launches, seeing wildlife, being out on the ocean, and traveling to new places. In her down time she likes to read, watch movies, listen to music, water ski, and bike ride. Occasionally, Tonya says, the logistics of ship life and following strict schedules can be challenging.

There are some very important skills needed for the type of work Tonya does. In her opinion, reading and writing skills are imperative. Individuals need to be able to communicate effectively and fill out various forms. In addition, keyboarding/computer skills are also needed. Individuals should be able to display self-discipline, be dependable, and have good people skills. On the ship, many people rely on each other to carry out a task successfully.

July 30, 2006March 26, 2021

Kim Wolke, July 30, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kim Wolke
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 23 – August 11, 2006

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Shumagin Islands
Geographical Area: Alaska
Date: July 30, 2006

Weather from the Bridge
Skies: Partly Cloudy (PC)
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind Direction: West (W)
Wind Speed: 27 knots
Waves: 1-2 feet
Sea Water Temp.: 9.4 ^°C
Sea Level Pressure: 1015.3 millibars (mb)
Temp. (°C): 12.8 (air temperature)

TAS Kim Wolke driving a survey boat with Able-Bodied Seaman Jodie Edmond looking on.

Science and Technology Log

Today I went out on my first survey boat. After finishing up some survey work in the Porpoise Harbor area, we were supposed to join another boat on the other side of the island at a place called East Cape Wedge to run some lines. Before we could get there, the other boat was calling back to the ship regarding the weather conditions. They had winds of about 20-25 knots with swells of 4-5 feet in the water…not very favorable for driving a survey boat in. They decided to err on the side of caution and headed back to the ship before the conditions worsened. It’s amazing how we can be in such close proximity to one another but separated by some land and have different weather conditions. The boat I was on was completing some of the survey lines called holidays. A holiday can occur for many reasons when lines are run. Basically there was a gap in the data that was acquired by another boat, therefore, those sections of lines needed to be revisited to acquire the data in order to get a complete model of the sea floor.

A CTD, which gets lowered into the water prior to beginning surveys to get a reading on the speed of sound through the water.

Before we could begin collecting data today, we needed to do a CTD cast. This was done on the ship earlier in the cruise when we were doing surveying from the ship as well. The cast data supplies the given speed of sound through water in a particular location. This information gets input into the program used to process the sonar data so that it can be adjusted for the speed of sound of the water being surveyed. The multi-beam sonar, which is mounted on the underside of the boat, has what is called a transducer on it. The transducer converts electrical energy into sound and emits the sound waves through the water. These sound waves will eventually hit an object (ie: a rock or the sea floor) and reflect back up to be recovered by the transducer. The transducer will measure the angle at which the sound returned, the time it took for the sound to be received, and the intensity of the return. Each transmission received back appears as a dot on the computer monitor. Where a solid object likely exists the dots are clustered together and can give a visual model of what the sounds waves hit. Like in all science, there are possibilities for biases in the data collected. In this case, there are several reasons for such biases. First, not all of the sound waves are reflected perfectly. Some of the sound waves are absorbed by the surfaces of objects. Second, sound waves may reflect at an angle that the transducer cannot pick up. Third, some sound waves may ricochet off of a few surfaces before making it back to the transducer, therefore, it gives an inaccurate reading how far the wave traveled, its intensity, etc. Another reason for biases is that the boat may be pitching, heaving, or rolling too much to get good data, which is one of the reasons one of the survey boats returned early today.

The POS MV aboard one of the NOAA ship RAINIER survey boats. — The POS MV aboard one of the survey boats.

It’s impossible to eliminate all of the biases, however, there are measures incorporated into the data collection to minimize them. One of the ways some of the biases are accounted for is the use of a system called POS MV. There are sensors in the unit which record the movement of the boat and correct for these movements and their effect on the data. The POS MV also measures the vessel’s position with Differential Geographic Positioning System (DGPS) receivers, accurate to approximately 3 meters! NOAA requires accuracy to within +/- 5m. A regular GPS is only accurate to within 10m. When you’re talking about making a chart of the ocean, it’s rather important to be more accurate with your location. Once all of the data is collected other technicians back on the ship process it. Processing the data helps in “cleaning it” to eliminate “noise”, therefore making the image a truer and cleaner representation of the sea floor.

Personal Log

I had a chance to drive the survey boat today. I really enjoyed that. The driver is called the coxswain. There’s a small monitor mounted by the steering wheel, which shows you a chart of the area you’re in with an overlay of the survey lines. It’s the coxswain’s job to navigate the boat as straight as possible along each of the lines at a certain speed. It looks a lot easier than it really is. ENS Olivia Hauser displayed a few lines for me to practice on. I suppose if the water had been calmer and flat and there had been no wind it would’ve been easier. With winds of 15-20 knots and two-foot waves, it made it challenging to get the boat exactly on the line. I did improve the more I practiced.

July 28, 2006March 26, 2021

Kim Wolke, July 29, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kim Wolke
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 23 – August 11, 2006

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Shumagin Islands
Geographical Area: Alaska
Date: July 29, 2006

Weather from the Bridge
Skies: Partly Cloudy (PC)
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind Direction: Wes/southwest (WSW)
Wind Speed: 20 knots
Waves: 1 foot
Sea Water Temp.: 9.4 ^°C
Sea Level Pressure: 1023.9 millibars (mb)
Temp. (°C): 13.3 (air temperature)

A partial line plan for an area surveyed by the NOAA ship — A partial line plan for an area surveyed by the ship

Science and Technology

Another survey launch went out again today to do survey lines in Porpoise Harbor, which is where the RAINIER is still anchored. A survey area is divided into sections by parallel lines. Depending on the already known depths of an area (based on existing navigational charts), the distance between each line varies. Shallower areas will have lines closer together, whereas deeper areas will have lines further apart. It’s along these lines that the ship or the launch boat travels to acquire readings of depth as well as images of what lies beneath the water. The transducer, which is mounted on the bottom of the vessel, sends out a beam from the bottom of the vessel that forms a triangular shape. The distance along the sea floor covered by this beam is called a swath. Underwater, these swaths overlap so that the area between all of the lines is actually covered, although the vessel only moves along the planned survey lines. All of the data received is ultimately compiled and creates a visual image of the sea floor (bathymetry). Tomorrow I’ll be joining a survey that will be out from 0800 until 1630. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more about data acquisition and how it’s processed once I’m actually doing it.

Aboard the ship, a schedule is posted each day called the POD or Plan of the Day. The POD can be found all over the ship so that everyone knows what his or her job will be for the next day. In addition to identifying who will be doing what, the POD also shows the ship’s position, who the Officer on Deck (OOD) is, when sunrise and sunset will be for the following day, what time the high and low tides will be, the forecasted weather for that day, as well as any additional notes. It is absolutely imperative ad expected that everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing AND that they’re on time for it.

The POD for today had me scheduled for Deck Training. I, along with the new people aboard the ship, spent the better part of the day learning how to handle the lines (ropes) that secure things, tying knots, and becoming familiar with the interior of the launch boats and their safety features. The part of the training that I enjoyed the most was learning how to raise and lower the launch boats from the ship. I had to stand on the back (aft) of the launch and make sure that the large metal hook that lifted and lowered the launch was removed and put back on properly. This was not as easy as it originally appeared since there are specific things that need to be said and done at specific times, not to mention that the metal hook was extremely heavy and I was partially responsible for keeping it from swaying when it was dangling above my head. Because of the hazards involved in moving things overhead on the ship, it is absolutely mandatory that everyone wear a hardhat as well as their float jacket. Safety is definitely emphasized.

Like almost everything on the ship, there is tremendous teamwork and communication involved in making sure the launches are moved safely and properly. For moving a survey launch I’d have to estimate that there are at least 9 people involved. Everyone works together like a very well oiled machine. It seems that there are always people like Steve Foye (Boatswain Group Leader) or Jim Kruger (Chief Boatswain) watching to make sure all of the deckhands and others involved are doing their jobs correctly. Since so many jobs aboard the ship do depend on a team of people, it is critical that everyone is on time. People get awfully upset if you’re late or not where you’re supposed to be.

Personal Log

The weather has been very favorable the past few days. It was partly cloudy and sunny most of the day. Since Mother Nature has been cooperative, we were able to have a cookout on the fantail of the ship for dinner tonight. The cooks definitely put out a spread for us. It was great sitting outside on the fantail, in the sun, enjoying the good food and company. It’s been challenging going to bed at night since it’s so light out so late, especially the past few days with the clear skies. Last night at 10pm it felt more like late afternoon.

July 28, 2006March 26, 2021

Kim Wolke, July 28, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kim Wolke
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 23 – August 11, 2006

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Shumagin Islands
Geographical Area: Alaska
Date: July 28, 2006

Weather from the Bridge
Skies: Partly cloudy (PC)
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind Direction: Southwest
Wind Speed: 18 knots
Waves: 1-2 feet
Sea Water Temp. (°C): 10
Sea Level Pressure: 1024.0 millibars (mb)
Temp. (°C): 15 (air temperature)

Lowering a survey launch off of NOAA ship RAINIER — Lowering a survey launch off the ship

Science and Technology Log

We finally anchored later yesterday afternoon in Porpoise Harbor. It’s nice to have the ship in one place after 4 days of being underway. I seem to be adjusting much better to the motion of the ocean. Today began with the first two launches going out at 0800 to begin the small boat surveying of this leg of RAINIER’S journey. As long as the weather is good and there are no major issues with the survey launches, the boats stay out working from 0800 until 1630.

The smaller launches are able to cover areas that are shallower than the water’s the ship was surveying the other day since they have slightly different technology on them and because of their smaller size. Each of the two launches had four people on them, a coxswain who drove the boat, and three other people who assisted with the hydrography surveying. One of the people is the head hydrographer, one works the computers that are collecting the data, and the other assists. Each day that launches go out, the people aboard them will rotate. I’ll have my first chance at going on a survey launch in a few days. I’ll likely have a better understanding of the technical aspect of the hydrography once I’m actually on a launch.

I volunteered myself to join a launch boat that was heading to a small fishing village called Sand Point on the western side of Popof Island about 20 nautical miles away. We left the ship at 1100 after getting water out of the launch. Our ride to the village was a bit choppy since the wind was coming towards us and the waves were a bit higher. It was very cloudy until we turned a bend. All of a sudden, the sky was clearing and the water was calming. As we reached the village, it was totally sunny and calm. YAY!! We only had about an hour in the village since our main reason for being there was to pick up a crewmember that had been on loan to another NOAA ship, the OSCAR DYSON. It was great to just walk for a bit and eat some wild ripened salmonberries.

NOAA ship RAINIER anchored in Porpoise Harbor

As we made our way back to the ship still anchored in Porpoise Harbor, the sunny, clear skies followed us. What gorgeous scenery! There were also lots of puffins that flew over the water surface as we startled them going by in the boat. They’re such cute and funny looking birds with their chubby bodies and colorful beaks. Some of them had little tufts of yellow feathers on the tops of their heads. We also had a couple of whale sightings in the distance. One was close enough that I could’ve taken a decent picture if I had had my camera ready. Oh well. We had a special treat when we arrived back on the ship. It was close to dinnertime and we were pleasantly surprised with a feast of the fresh halibut that Lt. Ben Evans (acting Executive Officer–XO) caught yesterday morning. The cooks did a great job preparing the fish. Thanks to the XO and the kitchen!

Assistant Hydrography Survey Technician Marta Krynytzky

Who’s Who on the NOAA ship RAINIER?

Marta Krynytzky, an Assistant Hydrography Survey Technician, is the newest crewmember aboard the NOAA ship RAINIER. This is her first cruise on the RAINIER as well as working for NOAA. Marta finished her Bachelor of Science degree in June 2005 in oceanography, specializing in marine geology and geophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. After finishing college, she worked two cruises for Raytheon Polar Services Company. Her first cruise was to Antarctica as an intern aboard a ship called the Nathaniel B. Palmer. Her second cruise, also to Antarctica, was aboard the Lawrence M. Gould where she worked as a marine technician. Marta says that, despite how physically challenging the work can be aboard a ship, the two previous cruises she’s worked on were half female.

Marta enjoys doing fieldwork, which is one of the reasons she wanted to work for NOAA. She looks forward to seeing different places and trying different positions within NOAA. When she’s not working, Marta enjoys hiking, backpacking, snowboarding, skateboarding, canoeing, and surfing. From her experience, Marta believes there are a few important requirements for the kind of work she does. As far as coursework, she believes a strong math background is important. In addition, computer skills are needed as well as having working knowledge of programs such as Excel for organizing data, preparing spreadsheets, and creating graphs and charts. Another important quality for working on a ship is being able to work as a team with other people. Much of the work involved living and working on the ship is not done independently. Everyone relies on everyone else to keep the ship running smoothly so the objectives of the ship can be met.

I wish Marta the best of luck on her new career with NOAA!!