John Schneider – Page 4 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 6, 2009April 5, 2021

John Schneider, July 6, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
John Schneider
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather
July 7 – August 8, 2009

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Kodiak, AK to Dutch Harbor, AK
Date: July 6, 2009

Position
57° 43.766’ N, 152° 30.946’ W (Pier at USCG base – Kodiak)

Weather Data from the Bridge
Barometer: 1022mB (30.15”) This is a nominally high pressure air mass characterized by cool temperatures and clear skies.
Wind: 4-6 kts (gusts to 12) 30º off the port bow (ship is facing ~60º at the pier)
Temperature: low 60’s Sea state: calm

The FAIRWEATHER alongside the USCG Pier, Kodiak

Science and Technology Log

Our mission on this cruise is to conduct small-boat hydrographic research and documentation of the sea floor in the Shumagin Islands region. This is an area about 250 miles Southwest of Kodiak. It’ll take about a full day of steaming just to get there. I took a rough estimate of an area of approximately 900 square miles in the Shumagins and found a total of about 100 depths recorded! I realize that the numbers may be hard to read, but the picture to the left is just South of Nagai Island in the Shumagins and includes about 900 square miles. As you can see, there are very few markings in the area. Compare this with the picture to the right of an area of the same size more thoroughly surveyed.

A nautical chart of the area the Fairweather will be surveying, called the Shumagin Islands.

The 1953 Coast Pilot says of the Shumagins “…comprising 15 sizable islands and many islets and rocks, extend for a distance of 60 miles from the coast of the Alaska Peninsula from which the group is separated by Unga Strait.” The newest edition (2008) is worded identically! It’s obvious that there is a need for research in the area and newer charts available to mariners will benefit from the data we collect in the next leg of the Fairweather’s tasking. Regarding data collection and storage, yesterday I was shown the compartment (room) where the on board computer servers are kept. It is one of the significant responsibilities of the duty officers to regularly check the temperature of that compartment as the entirety of the data collected is stored on those servers. If the entire mission runs flawlessly and the data are allowed to be compromised, the mission is ultimately a failure.

Historically, soundings were taken by lowering a weighted line—called a “lead line” because the weight was often made of lead—to the bottom and seeing how deep the water is at that location. Positions were estimated by manually triangulating “fixes” using visual bearings to known landmarks. Later (from the 1950’s through the 1970’s) positions were established using LORAN (Long Range Radio Navigation) and Radar and depths were determined using depth sounders which bounce an electronic “ping” off the bottom. All of these earlier methods were very prone to human error and imprecision.

Current technologies integrate multi-beam sonar interfaced with computers and satellites to determine position (within just a couple of feet) and not only the depth of the water straight down, but off to the sides. When the data are uploaded to the Fairweather, the computers on board coordinate the exact time, GPS position, tide level, temperature, salinity and clarity of the water at the position of the data acquisition allowing the computers to correct for the different rates of transmission of the sonar signal through differing densities of water to determine the most accurate sea floor information ever possible. So now, as a navigation term, “by the Mark, Twain” (meaning 2 fathoms of depth) is obsolete…but the literary contributions of Samuel Langhorne Clemens remain a tribute to America’s heritage!

Personal Log

Today at the 1400 pre-cruise briefing I was fortunate to be present when two of the officers on the Fairweather were acknowledged as having been promoted. The response of the crew demonstrated the respect these officers had earned. If lunch today was any indication of how the meals will be on board, I can’t wait for dinner and don’t want to go home! Fajitas with about 15 different toppings available, corn on the cob, salad and soup!

Animals (or other cool stuff!) Observed Today

While gazing down into the water alongside the ship, I noticed what appear to be 2 different species of jellies – one looking similar to the East Coast’s Aurelia aurelia about 10” in diameter and the other being unknown to me. The unknown was radially symmetrical (as are all jellies) but all of them had 8 distinct lobes on the bell and measured about half the size of the other species.

I also noticed barnacles, mussels and sea anemones living on the pilings that hold up the pier. The anemones at left must have been three inches in diameter at the body tube and the tentacles extended in a halo about 10-12 inches in diameter. On a 2.5 hour drive this afternoon I also saw 2 bald eagles, a herd of bison, a red fox and a kingfisher. (The fox picture is a bit blurred, it was a bit skittish and I took it through the windshield.)

Questions for You to Investigate

What animal did Benjamin Franklin want to use as a National Symbol? When were the Shumagin Islands named? For whom are they named? What is scurvy and how is it prevented?

July 5, 2009April 5, 2021

John Schneider, July 5, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
John Schneider
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather
July 7 – August 8, 2009

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Kodiak, AK to Dutch Harbor, AK
Date: July 5, 2009

Position
USCG Pier – Kodiak, AK

Personal Log

Slept in some for a little fly-time recovery. Once I got up (about 0900) I went up to the mess and had a cup of coffee and worked on yesterday’s log. While doing so I met several members of the crew, most of who were up to doing something on an off day. Hikes, chiropractor visits, shopping, etc. were all on the agenda. The engineers, however, were working down below in the engine room in preparation for our departure scheduled for the morning of the 7^th.

When in port in Kodiak, the Fairweather has access to a van and a couple of vehicles for ship’s work and transportation to and from the town of Kodiak. The “liberty van” runs every hour on the hour into Kodiak and back on the half hour. Being new to the ship (and Alaska) I thought it would be a cool, scenic idea to walk into town. A couple miles later, I changed my mind and resorted to something I hadn’t done in 30 years – hitchhiking (turns out it’s about 6••• miles!). I got picked up by a local guy who moved to Kodiak 20+ years ago. He took me all the way in to the commercial fishing docks and I walked the remaining quarter mile. On Shelikof Road I went to Kodiak Marine Supply and bought a couple of charts for the areas we will be surveying. I will use these to plot our positions whenever I get them from the bridge.

Once in town I had a great lunch with two of the crew – Ron and Mark – at a place called Henry’s. The crew members seem to migrate there for the food, although they all prefer eating on board the Fairweather. My ship is blessed to have 3 chefs in the steward’s department. Two are graduates of the Culinary Institute and the third is out of Johnson and Wales! I can’t wait to get under way! On my second trip into town (this time by the liberty van,) Tami, a member of the survey team, told me she had rented a car on the island and was real glad to have done so. I figured that was good advice and rented a small car for a day. By the time I had gotten back to the Fairweather I had put on over 100 miles just driving around one side of the island. Tomorrow I’ll put on some more miles and return the car in the late afternoon. I went by Kodiak High School and Middle School and hope to stop into their board/district offices just to see what’s overtly similar and dissimilar to home. I’m all unpacked and settled in. It’s 2330 hrs so I’ll have a glass of water and turn in.

I’m on C-Deck (the 3^rddeck up from the bottom of the ship.) To the right in the picture is my hanging locker, then the top shelf folds into a desktop (on which I am writing now) and below it are 3 drawers for clothes. The door to the left is the head and shower which I share with 1 other crew member. In the photo, you can see the TV and dish network box to the left. Below the bed are 2 more drawers. Even though the space may appear small, I could easily move in here and have all the comforts of home. Below that are a couple more shelves and an open space where my PFD (personal flotation device/life jacket) and immersion suit are stored. At the upper left is a 10-minute air supply kit to be used in event of fire. These kits are located all over the ship.

July 4, 2009April 5, 2021

John Schneider, July 4, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
John Schneider
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather
July 7 – August 8, 2009

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Kodiak, AK to Dutch Harbor, AK
Date: July 4, 2009

Midnight – no flash! The moon is rising off to the left.

Personal Log

Left home at ~0900 EDT and was driven to Philadelphia Int’l by my old son. First leg was PHL to Atlanta in order to connect to a 767 for the nonstop leg to Anchorage. On the first leg, I was in a middle seat, but that was OK as it was only a 1.5 hour flight. After a :45 layover I connected to Delta flight 1475 to Anchorage for a 7 hour nonstop flight. On that flight I chose a window seat which meant I would be boxed in. I usually like an aisle seat so I can get up and walk around, but figured that having never been to Alaska I’d like to be able to look out the window. After about 5 hours being stuck in that little seat, I was tired, cramped and uncomfortable.

But then I started to see mountains covered with snow on their North slopes – the southern slopes being sunlit and having melted. A bit further on, the mountains were high enough and far enough North to be snow covered on all exposures. Then, for the last hour or so of the flight, the view was non-stop input of glaciers, fords, icebergs, islands, tidal flats and a sun still high in the sky, even though it was almost 7 pm local time. It amazes me that folks take so for granted the wonders of where they live – there was a couple in front of me who just chatted through the last couple hours as if it was “business as usual.” Still, living in the Northeast, I know people who take the NYC skyline for granted, too, and having lived in the US Virgin Islands we used to say “Just another day in Paradise” as if it was nothing special. When I get home I will look at my home state with a different and less cynical perspective.

The descent into Anchorage brought us closer to the ground and I could discern the tree growth and recognized that we were flying over the coniferous forests that characterize the landscape in Northern ecosystems like the Taiga biome. Once on the ground, the cool crisp air and generally quiet tranquil atmosphere immediately let me know I wasn’t in the lower 48!

After a brief layover in Anchorage I went to the gate for the flight to Kodiak. Era Airlines is one of the local carriers that services Alaska’s interior and the aircraft are relatively small. I was on a twin engine turboprop that carries about 25 people. Seating is not assigned and I was fortunate enough to have a window again. The flight to Kodiak is only about an hour so the plane never reaches the altitudes of longer flights and I was treated to multiple glaciers, islands and near the end of the flight even caught a glimpse of the Fairweather at the pier in the harbor!

Once on the ground, I called the ship and Ensign Matt Forney said he’d be over in a few minutes to pick me up. While I waited, I got to sit and appreciate the day. It was 2030 hours (8:30 pm) and not even close to dark. Ensign Forney arrived and we were off. It’s just a five minute drive to the Coast Guard pier but I was given a ten-minute diversionary drive to the public harbor area (very few private “yachts,”) many commercial fishing vessels; also stores, clubs, restaurants, etc. but not too many.

I’m tempted to say “quaint,” but I think that would diminish the true nature of the area . . . this is a remote area and the people live lives adapted to the area just as everywhere else. Being from New Jersey and its crowds, it seems a life less encumbered. Because the ship is in port, I’ll have time tomorrow to meet some crew members and get acquainted with the layout. I hope to also get a chance to get to town.