Kathleen Harrison – Page 2 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 13, 2011April 28, 2021

Kathleen Harrison: Shumagin Islands, July 9, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathleen Harrison
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
July 4 — 22, 2011

Location: Gulf of Alaska
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey
Date: July 9, 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge
True wind direction: 59.9°, True wind speed: 11.44 knots
Sea Temperature: 9°C
Air Temperature: 8.9°C
Air pressure: 1009.74 mb
Foggy with 1 mile visibility
Ship heading: 88°, ship speed: 11 knots

Science and Technology Log

The Shumagin Islands are a group of about 20 islands in the Gulf of Alaska, southwest of Kodiak Island. They were named for Nikita Shumagin, a sailor on Vitus Bering’s Arctic voyage in 1741. They are volcanic in origin, composed mostly of basalt.

Several islands even exhibit hexagonal basaltic columns. There are about 1000 people who reside in the islands, mostly in the town of Sand Point, on Popof Island. According to the United States Coast Pilot (a book published by NOAA with extensive descriptions about coastlines for ship navigation), the islands extend out 60 miles from the Alaskan Peninsula. They are bold and mountainous.

The shores are broken in many places by inlets that afford good anchorages. The shores are rockbound close to. Fishing stations and camps are scattered throughout the group, and good fishing banks are off the islands. Fox and cattle raising are carried on to some extent.

long range view of SI, Alaskan Peninsula — Shumigan Islands to the left, snow covered peaks of Alaskan Peninsula in background. An amazing sight on a rare sunny day in the Gulf of Alaska.

Sea water quality is very important to the scientists on the Oscar Dyson. So important, that it is monitored 24 hours a day. This is called the Underway System. The sea water comes through an intake valve on the keel of the bow, and is pumped up and aft to the chem lab. There, it goes through 4 instruments: the fluorometer, the dissolved Oxygen unit, the Thermosalinograph (TSG), and the ISUS (nitrate concentration).

The fluorometer measures the amount of chlorophyll and turbidity in the sea water once every second. A light is passed through the water, and a sensor measures how much fluorescence (reflected light) the water has. The amount of chlorophyll is then calculated. The measurement was 6.97 µg/L when I observed the instrument. The amount of phytoplankton in the water can be interpreted from the amount of chlorophyll. Another sensor measures how much light passes through the water, which gives an indication of turbidity. Twice a day, a sample of water is filtered, and the chlorophyll is removed. The filter with the chlorophyll is preserved and sent to one of the NOAA labs on land for examination.

Here are all of the water quality instruments, they are mounted to the wall in the chem lab. Each one has a separate line of sea water.

The next instrument that the water passes through will measure the amount of dissolved oxygen every 20 seconds. Oxygen is important, because aquatic organisms take in oxygen for cellular respiration. From plankton to white sharks, the method of underwater “breathing” varies, but the result is the same – oxygen into the body. The oxygen in the water is produced by aquatic plants and phytoplankton as they do photosynthesis, and the amount directly affects how much aquatic life can be supported.

The TSG will measure temperature, and conductivity (how much electricity passes through) every second, and from these 2 measurements, salinity (how much salt is in the water) can be calculated. The day that I observed the TSG temperature was 8.0° C, and the salinity was 31.85 psu (practical salinity units). Average sea water salinity is 35. The intense study of melting sea ice and glaciers involves sea water temperature measurements all over the world. A global data set can be accumulated and examined in order to understand changing temperature patterns.

instrument to measure — This instrument measures the amount of nitrate in the sea water. It is called the ISUS.

The last instrument measures nitrate concentration in the sea water every couple of minutes. It is called ISUS, which stands for In Situ Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer. Nitrate comes from organic waste material, and tends to be low at the surface, since the wastes normally sink to the bottom. The normal value is .05 mg/L, at the surface, at 8°C. Values within the range of 0.00 to 25 mg/L are acceptable, although anything above 5 is reason for concern.

All of the data from these instruments is fed into a ship’s computer, and displayed as a graph on a monitor. The Survey Technician monitors the data, and the instruments, to make sure everything is working properly.

New Species Seen today:

Whale (unknown, but probably grey or humpback)

Horned Puffin

Dall’s Porpoise

Krill

Chum Salmon

Eulachon

monitor shows current data — The current water quality data is shown on this computer screen beside the instruments.

Personal Log

Living on a ship is quite different from living at home. For one thing, every item on the ship is bolted, strapped, taped, or hooked to the bulkhead (wall), or deck (floor). Most hatches (doors) have a hook behind them to keep them open(this reminds me of when I put hooks behind my doors at home to keep little children from slamming them and crushing fingers). Some hatches (around ladderways (stairwells)) are magnetically controlled, and stay open most of the time. They close automatically when there is a fire or abandon ship situation or drill. Every drawer and cabinet door clicks shut and requires moving a latch or lever to open it. For some cabinet doors that you want to stay open while you are working in the cabinet, there is a hook from the bulkhead to keep it open.

bracket holds copier — The copier machine is held in place by a 4 post bracket that is bolted to the floor.

On every desk is a cup holder, wider on the bottom than the top, designed to hold a regular glass or a cup of coffee. If one of those is not handy, a roll of duct tape works well for a regular glass. All shelves and counters have a lip on the front, and book shelves have an extra bar to hold the books in. Trash cans and boxes are lashed to the bulkhead with an adjustable strap, and even the new copier machine has a special brace that is bolted to the deck to hold it in one place (I heard that the old copier fell over one time when there was a particularly huge wave). There are lots of great pictures on the bulkheads of the Oscar Dyson, and each one is fastened to the bulkhead with at least 4 screws, or velcro. There are hand rails everywhere – on the bulkhead in the passageway (hallway) (reminds me of Mom’s nursing home), and on the consoles of the bridge.

hallway hand rails — This view down the hall shows the hand rail. It comes in handy during rough weather.

Desk chairs can be secured by a bungee cord, and the chairs in the mess (dining room) can be hooked to the deck.

Another thing that is different from home is the fact that the Oscar Dyson operates 24-7 (well, in my home, there could easily be someone awake any hour of the night, but the only thing they might operate is the TV). The lights in the passageways and mess are always on. The acoustics and water quality equipment are always collecting data. Different people work different shifts, so during any one hour, there is usually someone asleep. Most staterooms have 2 people, and they will probably be on opposite shifts. One might work 4 am to 4 pm, and the other would work 4 pm to 4 am. That way, only one person is in the room at a time (there is not really room for more than one). There is always someone on the bridge – at least the Officer of the Deck (OOD) – to monitor and steer the ship. During the day, there is usually a look out as well.

binoculars on the bridge — These binoculars are used by the look out to scan the surrounding area for anything in the water - whales, boats, islands, kelp, or anything else in proximity to the ship.

His job is to, well, look out – look for floating items in the water, whales, rocks, and other ships (called contacts or targets). This helps the OOD, because he or she can’t always keep their eyes on the horizon.

I have thoroughly enjoyed living on the Oscar Dyson (we have had calm seas so far), and talking with the NOAA staff and crew. They are ordinary people, who have chosen an extraordinary life – aboard a ship. It has challenges, but also great rewards – seeing the land from a different perspective, being up close to sea life, and forging close relationships with shipmates, as well as participating in the science that helps us understand the world’s oceans.

July 11, 2011April 28, 2021

Kathleen Harrison: First Trawl, July 7, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathleen Harrison
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
July 6– 17, 2011

Location: Gulf of Alaska
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey
Date: July 7, 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge
True Wind Speed: 18.7 knots
True Wind direction: 145.55°
Sea Temperature: 8.12° C
Air Temperature: 9.65° C
Air Pressure: 1013.2 mb
Ship’s Heading: 299°, Ship’s Speed: 11.8 knots
Latitude: 54.59°N, Longitude: 145.55°W

Science and Technology Log
The primary mission of the Oscar Dyson Walleye Pollock Survey is to estimate the biomass (mass of the living fish) of the Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska. Read about why Pollock are important here: Pollock Now, you can’t exactly go swimming through the Gulf of Alaska (brrrr) and weigh all of the fish, so the NOAA scientists on board use indirect methods of measuring the fish to come up with an estimate (a very accurate estimate). Two of these methods include using nautical charts, and trawling.

Nautical charts are used for navigation, and location. The Oscar Dyson has several systems of charts, including electronic and paper. Each chart contains latitude, longitude, and ocean depth, as well as lands masses and islands. A chart that shows ocean depth is called a bathymetric chart.

Here is a bathymetric map for part of the Gulf of Alaska. The change in color from green to blue shows the edge of the continental shelf.

These need updating continually, because the sea floor may change due to volcanic eruption or earthquakes. The Officer of the Deck (OOD, responsible for conning and navigating the ship) needs to know how deep the ship sits in the water, and study the bathymetric charts, so that the ship does not go into shallow water and run aground. The lines on the bathymetric chart are called contour lines, depth is shown by the numbers on the lines. Sometimes every line will have a number, sometimes every 5^th line will have a number. A steep slope is indicated by lines that are close together, a flat area would have lines that are very far apart. The OOD also need to know where seamounts (underwater volcanoes) and trenches (very deep cracks in the ocean floor) are because these may affect local currents. GPS receivers are great technology for location, but just in case the units fail, and the ship’s technology specialist is sick, the OOD needs to know how to use a paper chart. He or she would calculate the ship’s position based on ship’s speed, wind speed, known surface currents, visible land masses, and maybe even use star positions. Here in Alaska, star position is helpful in the winter, but not in summer. (Do any of my readers know why?)

The Oscar Dyson’s charted course follows a series of parallel straight lines around the coast of Kodiak Island, and other Aleutian Islands. These are called transects, and allows the scientists to collect data over a representative piece of the area, because no one has the money to pay for mapping and fishing every square inch.

The Chief Scientist on the Oscar Dyson is always checking our location on the electronic chart at his desk. It looks something like this:

map of transects, Gulf of Alaska — This chart shows some of the transects for the Oscar Dyson in the Gulf of Alaska.

Several things are indicated on this chart with different symbols: the transect lines that the ship is traveling (the straight, parallel lines), where the ship has fished (green fish), where an instrument was dropped into the water to measure temperature and salinity (yellow stars), and various other ship activities. It also shows the ocean depth. This electronic version is great because the scientists can use the computer to examine a small area in more detail, or look at the whole journey on one screen.

They can also put predicted activities on the map, and then record actual activities. The scientists also use several systems for the same thing; recording the ship’s path and activities in the computer, as well as making notes by hand in a notebook.

When the scientists want to catch fish, they ask the crew to put a trawling net into the water. The basic design of the trawl is a huge net attached to 2 massive doors.

otter trawl — This is the basic design for a trawl net, showing the doors that hold the net open, and the pointed end, where the fish are guided, called the cod end.

The doors hold the net open, as it is dragged behind the boat. There are 2 different trawling nets aboard the Oscar Dyson: one that trawls on the bottom called the PNE (Poly Nor’Easter), and one that trawls midway in the water column called the AWT (Aleutian Wing Trawl). Another net called the METHOT can be used to collect plankton and small fish that are less than 1 year old. The scientists determine the preferred depth of the net based on the location of fish in the water column; the OOD gets the net to this requested depth and keeps it there by adjusting the ship’s speed and the amount of trawl warp (wire attached to the net).
A trawl typically lasts 15 – 20 minutes, depending on how many fish the scientists estimate are in the water at that point (more about this later). Today, a bottom trawl was performed, and 2 tons of fish were caught! The net itself weighs 600 pounds, and is handled by a large crane on the deck at the stern (back) of the ship. Operating the trawl requires about 6 people, 3 on the deck, and 3 on the bridge at the controls. When the scientists judge that there are the right amount of fish in the net, it is hauled back onto the deck, weighed, and is emptied into a large table.

poly nor'easter — Here is the PNE being weighed with the cod end full of fish.

Then the scientists (and me) go to work: sorting the fish by species into baskets, counting the fish, and measuring the length of some of them. NOAA technology specialists have designed a unique data collection system, complete with touch screens. A fish is placed on a measuring board, and the length is marked by a magnetic stylus that is worn on the finger. The length is automatically recorded by the computer, and displayed on a screen beside the board. I measured the length of about 50 Atka Mackerel after the first trawl.

using the measuring board — In the fish lab, this mackerel is having his length measured. The data goes directly into the computer, and shows up on the screen in front of me.

By sampling the fish that come up in the trawl net, the scientists can estimate the size of the population. Using the length, and gender distribution, they can calculate the biomass.

Personal Log
Some great things about living on the Oscar Dyson: the friendly and helpful people, the awesome food, the view from the bridge.

Some challenging things about living on the Oscar Dyson: taking a shower, putting on mascara, staying in bed while the ship rolls.

I started my 12-hour shifts, working from 4 am to 4 pm. Well, maybe working is not the right word, I actually worked about 3 hours, and asked a lot of questions during my first shift. The scientists are very patient, and explain everything very well. We did one trawl today, and it was a good one. I enjoyed sorting and counting the fish, and then measuring the length of them. I will probably take a shower, eat dinner, and read for a short time before climbing into bed. I have the top bunk, and it is plenty of room, except I can’t sit up straight. Here is a picture of the stateroom. After my shift, I will probably take a shower, eat dinner, watch a movie and fall asleep around 8:30.

view of my room — Standing at the door, this is the view into my stateroom. The bunks are on the right, the desk and closets are on the left. There is a tiny bathroom, as well as a small refrigerator.

The weather today has been windy, so there are 6 – 8 foot swells, and the ship is rolling a bit. I have not been seasick yet – yippee! The wind is supposed to calm down tomorrow, so hopefully we will have a smoother ride tomorrow night.

I learned the difference between pitch, roll, and heave: pitch is the rocking motion of the ship from bow to stern (front to back), roll is the motion from side to side, and heave is the motion up and down. The Oscar Dyson is never still, demonstrating all 3 motions, in no particular pattern. Imagine standing in a giant rocking chair, and someone else (that you can’t see) is pushing it.

Here is a view from the bridge:

from the aft deck — View from the deck in front of the bridge, showing a gyrorepeater (the white column on the right), and a windbird (anemometer and wind vane) on top of the forward mast. You can also see a horizontal black bar in the center of the picture - that is the provisions crane.

Species seen today:
Northern Rockfish
Dusky Rockfish
Walleye Pollock
Pacific Ocean Perch
Kelp Greenling
Atka Mackerel
Pacific Cod
Fanellia compresson (octocoral)
Sea Urchin
Kelp

July 7, 2011April 28, 2021

Kathleen Harrison: Getting Underway, July 4, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathleen Harrison
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
July 4 — 22, 2011

Location: Gulf of Alaska
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey
Date: July 4, 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge
Barometric Pressure: 1018.32 mb
Air Temperature: 8.77 ° C
Sea Temperature: 9.31 ° C
True Wind Direction: 218.63 °
True Wind Speed: 16.94 knots
Latitude: 55.12° N, Longitude: 157.31° W
Ship’s speed: 12.5 knots

Personal Log

Fishing Fleet of Kodiak — Kodiak has the second largest fishing fleet in the U.S. This photo shows some of the various kinds of fishing boats that are docked in Kodiak.

abandon ship drill — This is the survival suit, equipped with strobe light, inflatable, and leash. It is affectionately called "Gumby Suit". Isn't it adorable?

July 5, 2011: I might not have seen fireworks yesterday, but it was still a pretty exciting day, with the departure of the Oscar Dyson from the pier. I stood outside on the forward deck, and enjoyed the view as we pulled away from Kodiak. We have been cruising at a steady 12.5 knots (13.5 mph), heading toward the start point of Leg II of the Walleye Pollock Survey. Our charted course will take us from an area that is southwest of Kodiak Island, up past the east side of the island, and around to the west side of the island, ending back in the port of Kodiak. I will start working tomorrow morning – 4 am! Scientific information will probably be included in the next log entry. Kodiak is a scenic fishing town, on the edge of the island. In the picture above is one of the marinas.

Right before we left Kodiak, the ship ran 2 drills. We had to carry our survival suit to our muster station, and learn about abandoning ship, and fire drill procedures. I hope I never have to wear this suit for real, as I was quite claustrophobic putting it on. I know I would be thankful for it, if the need for wearing it ever came about.

I spent some time on the bridge, learning about radar, navigation, and sea birds. I even saw a whale spout!

Species seen today:

Northern Fulmar
Tufted Puffins
Black-footed albatross
Black-legged kittiwakes

July 5, 2011April 28, 2021

Kathleen Harrison: Introduction: Starting in Hampton, Virginia…

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathleen Harrison
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
July 4 — 22, 2011

Location: Gulf of Alaska
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey

June 2011 Field Trip — Here I am with my IB Biology students, exploring a mud flat that is part of a barrier island of the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Personal Log
In February, I found out that I was selected to be a Teacher at Sea. This was very exciting at the time, but it seemed a bit unreal. By the end of March, I completed the online training, had several more e-mails from the Teacher at Sea program, and was coming to the realization that I actually would be going to sea with NOAA.

Around the first of May, I learned that I would be participating in the Walleye Pollock Survey, in the Gulf of Alaska, for 3 weeks in July. Teaching in Hampton, and living in Virginia Beach, I am used to very hot summers, with plenty of sunshine. It took me a few days to get used to the idea of being cold in July. Now, one day before I fly to Kodiak, I am so excited, I doubt that I will sleep much tonight. I don’t care what the weather is. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, and will gladly count every pollock that comes up in the net.

On July 3, I will board the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson in the port of Kodiak, Alaska. You can learn more about the Oscar Dyson here: http://www.moc.noaa.gov/od/ I am thrilled to have the chance to participate in real-world research with NOAA, and learn more about marine science careers. Already, I have been asked to share what I learn with a group of students at my school this fall. My International Baccalaureate (IB) Biology students will be reading these posts for their summer homework, and choosing an animal to research. I hope that you will continue to follow my exciting adventures over the next few weeks, as I figure out what a pollock looks like, and identify other Gulf of Alaska marine animals.