2011 – Page 5 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

October 29, 2011April 28, 2021

Mark Silverman: Introduction: Prior to Fall Groundfish Survey Cruise, October 28, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mark Silverman
Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
November 11 – 21, 2011

Hi. My name is Mark Silverman and I will be sailing aboard the Oregon II beginning November 11, 2011. I am a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Zoology. I am an avid fisherman, snorkeler and SCUBA diver and a general outdoor enthusiast with a great love for the ocean and a fascination with all types of science.

Diving in the Kerama Islands off Okinawa Japan last summer.

I am currently teaching Chemistry at Homestead Senior High School, Homestead, FL. Homestead Sr. serves about 2500 9-12 graders, a mix of urban and rural populations, at the the extreme southern tip of the Florida mainland. I have been teaching since 1985, the last 16 years at Homestead Senior.

South Florida is a unique environment in the U.S. The climate is subtropical and many unique animals and plants are found here that are found nowhere else on the U.S. mainland. We are surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Florida Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Two national parks, Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park, bound the east and west sides of Homestead. Additionally, the northern terminus of the only living coral barrier reef adjacent to the U.S. mainland is found off our coast. So, you can easily see why the ocean is so important to our way of life. Ocean and climate literacy is extremely important in South Florida and as such I’m very excited to be participating soon in my second Teacher at Sea adventure! Since I will be sailing during the school year this time, my students will be more even intimately involved than in the past.

Whale shark surf — That’s me “surfing” a whale shark this summer off of Tori in Okinawa, Japan!! ( I was not actually riding or injuring the animal in anyway…just a cool photo angle). Photo by: Chad Galvez

For those of you new to Teacher at Sea and Teacher at NOAA, I would like to share a little. NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is responsible for a wide variety of important functions, throughout the United States and the world, related to oceans, weather, and climate, including, but not limited to creating weather reports, tracking hurricanes, studying long-term climate, mapping the sea floor, creating nautical charts, studying fisheries with sustainable use as the goal, and managing MPA‘s (Marine Protected Areas). NOAA Teacher at Sea is a program that promotes Ocean and Climate Literacy and NOAA career opportunities by allowing educators to participate in actual scientific research aboard research vessels and then bring back what they have experienced and learned to their classrooms. I was a Teacher at Sea for the first time in the summer of 2006 aboard the NASA Ship MV FREEDOM STAR, where I assisted with a grouper and lionfish survey off the southeast coast of the United States (Yes, lionfish, a non-native species, but more about that later).

On the bridge of the NASA ship MV FREEDOM STAR in 2006.

After being involved with the development of NOAA Teacher in the Lab in 2007, I spent two summers, 2009 and 2010 at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) on Virginia Key, Florida, as a pilot Teacher in the Lab. There, I worked under the direction of Dr. Trika Gerard in the Early Life History Lab. My work included identifying, counting, and sorting juvenile fish samples from Brewer’s Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The second summer I also extracted otoliths (ear bones…I will tell you more about otolith chemisty in the near future too) and prepared them for radioisotope analysis. Subsequently the lab group hosted my students on several occasions during a fantastic field trip! Working with Dr. Gerard, her lab manager Estrella Malca, and the many other professional scientists at SEFSC was a unique and wonderful experience which gave me a true insight into the work they do on a daily basis. While I was there in 2010, the BP Gulf Oil spill crisis was going on. Although this was a truly tragic event, watching these professionals mobilize in a crisis was an incredibly exciting and fascinating experience!

Snapper otolith after extraction and cleaning.

Extracting otoliths at NOAA SEFSC Juvenile and Larval Fishes lab in 2010.

Sorting and identifying fish samples at SEFSC in 2009.

I truly look forward to another great experience with NOAA TAS!! I will be sailing out of Pascagoula, Mississippi aboard the NOAA ship Oregon II, a 170 foot trawler, set up as a fisheries research vessel. I will be participating in a leg of the Fall Groundfish Survey. This yearly survey monitors bottom fish in the Gulf of Mexico and is

groundfish_map — The Fall Groundfish Survey area.

an important fisheries management tool. You can follow my journey and adventures in this blog and via the NOAA Ship Tracker. Just click on the hyperlink, enter the ship tracker and select the Oregon II (R2) from the drop down menu on the right side of the screen.

I look forward to your virtual participation and comments!

October 27, 2011April 28, 2021

Stephen Bunker: Science Experiments on the R/V Walton Smith, 20 October 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Stephen Bunker
Aboard R/V Walton Smith
October 20 — 24, 2011

Mission: South Florida Bimonthly Regional Survey
Geographical Area: South Florida Coast and Gulf of Mexico
Date: 20 October 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge

Time: 11:39 AM
Wind direction: North-northwest
Wind velocity: 4.5 m/s
Air Temperature: 23 °C (75° F)
Clouds: Alto cumulus

Science and Technology Log

We left port today at about 6:30 AM, before the sun had even come up. We are headed out to the Florida Keys. The rain has stopped as well as the wind. We left Miami Harbor as the sun was coming up.

Our scientific research will take place along the Florida Keys, a chain of low-lying Islands that arc around the southern tip of Florida. The R/V Walton Smith will stop at predetermined stops and take measurements.

There are many science experiments happening on board. In each post, I will try to highlight a different experiment. I’ll start off with the CTD because it is the experiment that drives our schedule throughout our cruise.

The Conductivity, Temperature, & Depth Instrument. Everyone on board calls it the CTD for short. The CTD schedule is our game plan. At about every 3 -5 hours — night and day — we’ll cycle through a series 3-4 CTD drops.

Lower CDT — These are the instruments on the lower part of the CTD.

On the bottom of the CTD are a number of instruments that give real-time data to a scientist on board the boat. The conductivity part of the instrument measures how much electricity passes through the sea water. Using a mathematical algorithm that takes in account temperature and how much current passes through the water, we can determine the density (salinity) of the water.

Full CDT — The CTD on deck. The grey tubes fill with water.

The top part of the CTD has 12 cylinders that can trap water. Those are the grey tubes you see in the picture to the left. There are lids on the top and bottom of each tube that can be closed with a remote control from inside the boat. In this way the scientists can take water samples from any depth of water.

So, when we arrive at one of these predetermined location we’ll lower the CTD.

Once the CTD is just below the surface of the water and everything checks out, the scientist will radio to the crane operator to lower the CTD to within a meter of the bottom of the ocean. That can be anywhere from 5 meters to over 100 down. As the CTD lowers, the scientist monitors the CTD instrument real-time readouts. Using a graph of the data, he or she will decide at which locations to close the cylinders on its return trip to the surface.

CDT Control Center — Nelson monitors the CTD data as it is collected.

Water sample processing — Cheryl is processing water samples from the CTD.

Once it surfaces, we’ll assist in placing the CTD back on the deck and securing it. We’ll then take water samples from the grey tubes. Those water samples will be analyzed in one of the laboratories on the boat. The water samples will show us chemical properties of the water.

Personal Log

Teamwork works! It takes a lot of teamwork to make things happen on board. Guiding the boat to the precise locations is the easy part for the crew. They have a GPS to help them do it. After they get there they have to maintain the location. That’s hard when currents, wind and waves, move the boat which is the size of a house. Then they delicately raise and lower the CTD.

Dave Diving — Crew member Dave preparing to dive in order to remove ropes caught in the ship propeller.

If something happens, they also need to fix it. They can’t drive it to a repair shop. They have to fix things on the spot. During the night, some ropes from lobster traps got tangled into one of the propellers. One of the crew put on scuba gear, got in the water, and removed the ropes.

The group of scientists have been organized into a day shift from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and the other half is on the night shift for 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM. This can be uncomfortable to have to stay awake all night, but it also means they have to sleep during the day. The day shift will also have a heavier work load because there are additional experiments that have to be done during the sunshine.

The bridge of the SV Walton Smith — Crew member Bill at the helm of the R/V Walton Smith

October 27, 2011March 12, 2021

Cathrine Fox: Issue Sixteen: Lumpsucker (there is no more perfect title)

NOAA TEACHER AT SEA
CATHRINE PRENOT FOX
ONBOARD NOAA SHIP OSCAR DYSON
JULY 24 – AUGUST 14, 2011

Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey

Location: Kodiak, Alaska

Date: October 25, 2011

Personal Log:

"It's not a party without a lumpsucker?" — “It’s not a party without a lumpsucker?”

What is the best birthday party you ever had? Let me set the stage for you to picture mine. It was a theme celebration: the guests came as a superhero or supermodel. Everyone was in costume. Balloons covered the floor. People brought so many flowers that I started putting them in washed out mayonnaise and pickle jars. The cake was homemade: I can’t now remember if it was chocolate oblivion or an upside-down fruit. I just remember that it was made from scratch. There were prizes for the best costumes. People danced for hours. I didn’t think that it could have ever gotten better. Until recently. Recently, I discovered lumpsuckers. For all of these years, I had no idea that my 29th could have gotten any better. Until now. Now I know that It’s not a party without a lumpsucker (Cartoon citations 1, 2 and 3).

I should explain why I chose a squishy dumpling with fins for the final cartoon of Adventures in a Blue World. It isn’t because my 29th birthday balloons should have been adorned by adorable fish (although admittedly they would have been grand). It is because, once again, I have found yet another inhabitant of our planet that I was ignorant of. As a biology teacher, I like to think that I have a fairly good handle on life, especially of our Animalia Kingdom. Who could have guessed, in their wildest dreams, that there were creatures like the lumpsucker that inhabit our oceans–our planet? With only 3% of the oceans explored, I can’t even fathom what else is out there. If we don’t explore, catalog and protect our oceans, we may never know.

I want to thank the Teacher at Sea Program of NOAA for an excellent and amazing adventure. In particular, the crew of the Oscar Dyson, the scientists of MACE, my fellow Teacher at Sea (rockstar) Staci DeSchryver and Elizabeth McMahon deserve special recognition. Thank you all so much.

Until our next adventure!
I wish you fair winds and following seas, a sailor’s farewell…

Cathrine Prenot Fox

Before I left I may have tagged some of the hard hats with cartoons... — Before I left I may have tagged some of the hard hats with cartoons…

October 23, 2011March 12, 2021

Cathrine Fox: Issue Fifteen: So you want to be a scientist…

NOAA TEACHER AT SEA

CATHRINE PRENOT FOX

NOAA SHIP OSCAR DYSON

JULY 24 – AUGUST 14, 2011

Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey

Location: Kodiak, Alaska

Date: October 20, 2011

Personal Log:
Perhaps you are sitting at your desk right now, contemplating finishing work that you probably should be doing, or putting the last touches on a college application, or wondering if anyone brought any treats to share that are sitting in the lounge waiting your attention. Maybe it is late at night, and you are wishing that your work tomorrow was just a little more exciting.

Winslow Homer, Breezing Up. National Gallery of Art.

What if your work tomorrow looked like this? Why not choose a life at sea instead? Think of this: thousands before you have gone off to sea… …and while it isn’t as romantic as it once was with pirate attacks and years away from home, it is now a lot more comfortable. Perhaps you have always dreamed of becoming a commanding officer of a ship, or a boatswain, or an engineer… How does one do it? How do you get to live, work, and learn through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration? Look no further friends, I have just the right reading material to get you started: So you want to be a scientist? (Cartoon citations 1, 2 and 3).

Of particular interest to me (not surprisingly) are the opportunities for science research and exploration. I was captivated by Dr. Edith Widder’s research about bioluminscence, interested in the 2004 Titanic Expedition, and humbled by the wealth of knowledge presented in interviews with people from a variety of ocean careers.

Until our next adventure,
Cat

October 19, 2011April 28, 2021

Stephen Bunker: Weather Delay, 17 October 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Stephen Bunker
Aboard R/V Walton Smith
October 20 — 24, 2011

Mission: South Florida Bimonthly Regional Survey
Geographical Area: South Florida Coast and Gulf of Mexico
Date: 17 October 2011

Weather Data

For this blog entry I’ll give a brief report for weather. I’m still learning my way around the ship and and how to find where weather data is recorded.

It’s overcast with light rain.

Science and Technology Log

When I arrived at the RV Walton Smith I learned that our cruise would be delayed a couple of days because of weather. So I’m not out on the Ocean yet. In the Gulf of Mexico between Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula a combination of cold fronts and moist air are creating rain, rough seas, and wind that would make data gathering dangerous in the Florida Keys. Safety first is the motto.

AOML Photo — NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML)

Coincidentally, just across the street from where the RV Walton Smith is docked is the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML). At the AOML this day meteorologists, scientists that study how the atmosphere and how it affects the earth and life on the earth, were interested in getting as much information as they can about this storm system. When the rest of us are taking cover from a storm, these scientists are out gathering data so they can better predict when and how storms act.

Both the meteorologists from AOML and our team of scientist were interested in this storm system for different reasons. They wanted to study the storm and we wanted to know if we could safely leave to do our scientific research. Our lead scientist for the cruise, Nelson Melo, invited me to attend a map discussion where the weather conditions were discussed. A map discussion is a meeting where scientists view, discuss, and decide what they can learn from a storm.

It was great to see that their satellite images of the storms were on the web were everyone can see them. Here is a sample of what they showed in the meeting.

Storm system over Gulf of Mexico — Animation of storm system over the Gulf of Mexico

This storm is headed toward Florida and has the possibility of growing into a tropical storm. In any case, we can plan for more rain, wind, and rough seas until it passes. The AOML scientists decided to request one of NOAA’s aircraft to observe the storm and we are going to stay put until the storm passes.

Personal Log

The soonest we could leave would be Thursday. The crew of the RV Walton keeps busy maintaining and keeping the vessel in top shape for when we do leave. I don’t feel much rocking while the boat is in dock.