Heidi Wigman – Page 2 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

May 29, 2015August 21, 2021

Heidi Wigman: The Trigonometry of Navigation, May 29, 2015

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Heidi Wigman
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
May 27 – June 10, 2015

Mission: Reef Fish Surveys on the U.S. Continental Shelf
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico (29°30.456’N 87°47.246’W)
Date: May 29, 2015

Weather: 80°, wind SE @ 8-13 knots , 95% precipitation, waves 2-3 @ 3 sec.

Science and Technology Log

During my time aboard the Pisces, I wanted to focus on the use of mathematics in the day-to-day shipboard operations, and during science ops. I have been lucky to find math everywhere – even down to the amount of pressure it takes to open a water-safe door (which is a lot). As the officers navigate the Pisces through the Gulf of Mexico, special attention needs to be on the vast number on oil rigs in the area, as well as getting the scientists to the designated drop points. As a course is charted through the water, environmental effects (current and wind) can alter its final outcome. Basically, this is where trigonometry comes in to play – a real-life application, and answer, to the notorious “when am I ever going to use this?”

Suppose that the Pisces is traveling at a cruising speed of 15 m/sec, due East, to get to the spot of deployment for a camera rig. The ocean current is traveling in a Southern direction at 10 m/sec. These values are the “component vectors” that, when added, are going to give a resultant vector, and will have both magnitude and direction. If you think of the two forces acting upon each other as the legs of a right triangle, and the resultant vector as the hypotenuse, then using the Pythagorean Theorem will allow you to compute the resultant velocity. Use a trig function (invTAN) to find the angle at which the Pisces needs to travel to get to its drop point.

Personal Log

Time goes by slowly at sea – and that’s a good thing for me! I miss my family and friends, but this is an experience that I am enjoying each minute of. Thanks Pisces crew for being awesome!

Coming next . . . Bandit Reels, CTDs and AUVs – oh my!

am shift (0400-0800) plotting our course — AM watch (0400-0800) plotting our course

navigation tools of the trade — Navigation tools of the trade

May 27, 2015August 21, 2021

Heidi Wigman: Drill, Baby, Drill! May 26, 2015

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Heidi Wigman
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
May 27 – June 10, 2015

Mission: Reef Fish Surveys on the U.S. Continental Shelf
Geographical area of cruise: currently @ 30°22.081’N 088°33.789’W (Pascagoula, MS)
Date: May 26, 2015

Weather Data from Bridge: 82°, wind SW @ 10 knots , 90% precipitation, waves 3-5 @ 3 sec.

Science and Technology Log

We are 3 hours from raising anchor, untying from the dock, and heading out to sea. Being aboard the Pisces for 2 days before departure turned out to be a blessing: getting to map out the lay of the 206′ labyrinth, hanging out with the crew, and even getting in a couple of runs around Pascagoula (even in the extreme humidity).

Yesterday was a day of dewatering drills, in case of lower-level compartment flooding. We used the diesel and the electric pumps to run through set-up in the event of a flood in the engine compartment. As the resident TAS, I don’t think that I would necessarily be relied upon to place gear in an emergency, but nevertheless, I wasn’t going to sit out and miss all of the fun.

Today we are running through a series of drills: fire, man overboard, and abandon ship. Each of these events has a series of alerts that indicate what the emergency is, and all hands are to report to their designated muster areas – in the case of an abandon ship, that would be the life rafts. Each of these drills also requires everyone to bring their immersion suits and PFD (Personal Flotation Device), and in my case, to don the suit.

Another training that we did today was to learn how to use the Ocenco EEBD (Emergency Escape Breathing Device) – basically a cool re-breather that fits in a pouch and provides about 10 minutes of fresh oxygen. This would generally be used in case of a fire, not if you are submerged.

So, with all of the drills and trainings, I feel ready for any major disaster that we may encounter while at sea. Thanks NOAA Corps for making sure that I am safe and in good hands!

FRB - Fast-Rescue Boat — FRB – Fast-Rescue Boat

Oscar – waiting to be the star in the man-overboard drill

Bright safety orange so you won’t miss it

May 12, 2015August 21, 2021

Heidi Wigman: Introduction, May 15, 2015

NOAA Teacher At Sea
Heidi Wigman
Soon-to-be-Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
May 27 – June 10, 2015

Personal Log

The countdown has begun. Looking at the calendar, I have less than 2 weeks until I kiss the family goodbye, and board a plane bound for Biloxi, Mississippi. From there, I will be joining the crew of the Pisces, and we will depart on a research journey in the Gulf of Mexico. During our time at sea, we will be we will be engaged in reef fish surveys of offshore banks and in the marine reserves along the West Florida Shelf. To say that I am excited about the upcoming adventure is an understatement.

I have always had a passion for the ocean. Growing up in Santa Monica, California, I spent as many hours of the day as I could at the beach. Whether I had my toes in the sand, on the deck of a sailboat, or on a surfboard – I loved the feeling of being in the water. Today, as a transplant from Hawaii living in Portland, Oregon, I still seem to log many hours of exploration both above and below water.

When I’m not playing, I am a teacher at St. Matthew School in Hillsboro, Oregon (go Vikings!). I teach 6-8th grade math and technology – under this umbrella comes algebra, data and statistics, probability, geometry, robotics, computer programming, and more. One of the challenges of a middle school math teacher is to try to engage a group of pre-teens for about one hour each day. As a teacher, I have had to answer the notorious: “When will we ever use this?” more than once. Real-life applications of mathematics get farther from the common experiences of a middle schooler as the math becomes more complex. Through this amazing experience, I would like focus on using data collected about the coral reef and fisheries, various research operations, and navigation to explore algebraic concepts.

Why do we explore? Jean-Michel Cousteau has said, “We know more about the dead seas of Mars than our own ocean.” There is something about the excitement of discovery, especially into the unknown – so it is surprising to learn that 95% of the Earth’s ocean is unexplored. Climate change, energy, human health, ocean health, research, innovation, and ocean literacy are all modern reasons for ocean exploration. NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program provides the means with which teachers can bring the ocean back to their students to promote and inspire the love of exploration. The students of today will be the explorers of tomorrow.

I hope that you will continue to join my journey for the next month by coming back to read the latest happenings aboard the Pisces.