Martha Loizeaux – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

September 28, 2018

Martha Loizeaux: Sea You Soon, August 30, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martha Loizeaux

Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter

August 22 – 31, 2018

Mission: Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 30, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 39.115 N
Longitude: 74.442 W
Water Temperature: 26.4◦C
Wind Speed: 11.7 knots
Wind Direction: SW
Air Temperature: 28.2◦C
Atmospheric Pressure: 1017.03 millibars
Depth: 22 meters

Science and Technology Log

One of my favorite things on this trip was the sunrises and sunsets.

As we wind down this cruise and start packing up all the gear, I find myself reflecting on all I’ve learned while acting as a Teacher at Sea. Tomorrow I’ll watch my last sunrise on the deck of NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter and it has truly been a once in a lifetime experience. Here are some of the lessons I’ll take away:

The ocean is huge and filled with so much life, it is hard to comprehend.
The actions of humans all over the world are so impactful, they are changing the basic ecosystem functions in the sea.
Scientists are doing SO MUCH more than I ever knew or ever will fully know.They have discovered more than most of us understand.The ones I have been spending time with are inquisitive, intelligent, and open to sharing what they know.Find a scientist and ASK lots of questions!
There are a lot of salps out there.
Satellites are cool and tell us A LOT of information.
LIGHT is an incredible thing.It allows life to exist.It moves and changes and bounces and bends and scatters in thousands of different colors, many of which our eyes can’t see.By studying what light is doing we can learn all kinds of things about what’s happening on Earth.
Plankton is cool.So is science.
Everything on our Earth is the way it is because of water and light.Surround yourself with both and you will feel connected to everything.
There are a lot of salps out there.

I know that after this journey I will continue to ask a lot of questions, research and explore what is happening in the scientific world, and connect my students to it as well. I hope I have inspired you to explore and wonder.

A little interview with the Deck Department

Steve on crane — Steve controlling the crane to deploy scientific equipment.

There are still lots of people on this ship who I have not interviewed, and I wish I had time to interview them all! But I did want to shed light on the Deck Department of the ship. These are the people who are the backbone of all of the ship’s daily tasks. They assist with every aspects of the ship’s operation, including navigation, sanitation, maintaining equipment, deploying scientific gear, and more. While waiting for the plankton nets to tow at our stations, I had the opportunity to ask some members of the Deck Department a few questions. Thanks Steve, Jeff, John, and Jerome (our Chief Bosun)!

Me – What would you be doing if you were not working for NOAA?

Steve – I have no idea.

Jeff – web development or traveling

John – I used to be a bricklayer

Jerome – I almost became a highway patrolman

Me – Do you have an outside hobby?

Jeff nets — Jeff deploying the bongo nets.

Steve – I dabble in the stock market and current affairs. I also love stargazing.

Jeff – piano, photography, and backpacking

John – I used to be on two softball leagues.

Jerome – time with family

Myself, the other volunteers, and the Deck Department had many a brief chat while waiting for the plankton nets or the CTD. We talked about financial decisions, travel locations, and life at sea. Thanks for keeping the ship operations running smoothly Deck Department!

Personal Log

I am looking forward to seeing a new city tomorrow from the perspective of the ship as we head in to port in Norfolk, VA, where I will catch a plane to fly home. It will be a bittersweet ending to an amazing experience. I am definitely looking forward to seeing my family and sharing stories at home. I am inspired to get out on the water more and become more involved in the local science happening around my home in the Florida Keys. I will miss the expansive view of water and sky and the constant learning that I have experienced on NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. But I am inspired and excited and ready to head home!

Did You Know?

We saw two leatherback sea turtles today! The leatherback is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth heaviest reptile (some crocodilians are heavier). They get so huge on a diet of only jellyfish!

leatherback noaa — The leatherback sea turtle. Photo courtesy of NOAA.

DO Try This At Home

Do you live near the water? You can make your own plankton net and tow for plankton. You’ll need a nylon stocking and a clean peanut butter jar. Cut the foot off of the stocking and cut a circle out of the top of the jar. Fit the ankle of the stocking over the top of the peanut butter jar and screw on the lid so that the hole in the lid faces into the stocking. Now you have a basic plankton net. Drag your net through the water, allowing the water to flow into the net and into the jar. After a couple of minutes, look in your jar. Do you see any tiny critters moving around? That’s plankton! Make sure you release your plankton after you get a good look at it.

diy plankton net — You can make a homemade plankton net! Photo courtesy of NOAA

September 16, 2018September 17, 2018

Martha Loizeaux: Sensational Satellites, August 29, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martha Loizeaux

Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter

August 22-31, 2018

Mission: Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 29, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 39.115 N
Longitude: 74.442 W
Water Temperature: 26.4◦C
Wind Speed: 11.7 knots
Wind Direction: SW
Air Temperature: 28.2◦C
Atmospheric Pressure: 1017.03 millibars
Depth: 22 meters

Science and Technology Log

Today I was excited to learn more about the work of Charles Kovach, Support Scientist with Global Science and Technology, a contractor to NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR).

Charles’s work may sound familiar. It is a bit similar to the work I wrote about yesterday that Audrey and Kyle are doing with the University of Rhode Island. He wants to match what satellite pictures are seeing to what is really here in the ocean.

Charles has another cool tool called a “hyperspectral profiler” or hyperpro for short. He can put this tool into the water to measure light at the surface, light coming down through the water, and light bouncing back up from the deep. He wants to know how the sunlight changes as it goes down into the deep and back up through the water. The hyperpro measures thousands of different colors as they travel through the water. Seeing what colors bounce back from the water can help you understand what is IN the water. For example, you can see some of this with your own eyes. Blue water is usually clean and clear, green water has a lot of algae, and brown water has a lot of particles like sand or dirt. But the hyperpro gets A LOT more detail than just our eyes.

Martha hyperpro computer — *Me assisting with the hyperpro deployment. I had to read the computer program and alert Charles regarding the depth of the instrument.*

Charles hyperpro — *Charles deploying the hyperpro*

The main purpose of this is to understand what satellites are seeing. We can get images from satellites out in space, like a picture of the ocean. But the satellite is outside of our atmosphere so it is seeing light that has gone through a lot of air and gases as well as the ocean. So when scientists can measure the light in the ocean at the same time that the satellite is taking a picture, they can use MATH to find a relationship between what the satellite sees and what is really happening on Earth. In this way, Charles can calibrate (make more accurate) and validate (make sure it is right) the satellite images.

This is helpful information for A LOT of people all over the world. Scientists are pretty good at collaborating because they know how important it is to share information with everyone so we can all be more aware of what is happening in our natural world. Charles collaborates with other countries and their satellites, as well as NOAA’s satellites.

Charles also collaborates with other scientists on the ship and in NOAA’s laboratories. This way he can compare his light data to other measurements such as chlorophyll (remember? It’s from phytoplankton!), turbidity, and even specific species of plankton. Then he can find relationships between things like the light and the plankton or turbidity. He can use MATH to write an equation for this relationship (we call that an algorithm). And you know what that means? We can use a satellite picture to tell what kind of plankton is in the water! We can see tiny plankton from space! WOW.

Collecting and Analyzing Data

When Charles uses his hyperpro, the machine automatically records the light data and we can see it on a computer screen. Then he uses special computer software to analyze the data to better understand what it means and how it relates to the satellite. He creates line graphs to understand the colors of light that are coming down into and up out of the water.

data processed — *Charles’s data after it’s been processed or analyzed. He ends up with line graphs, satellite images, and photos as scientific evidence.*

One thing I have noticed with all of the scientist on the ship is the importance of data collection! I have entered some of the data and have noticed data sheets around the wet lab. If we do not write or type every bit of data, then it can’t teach us anything. Scientists write data into a data table of columns and rows. This keeps it organized and easy to understand. When they analyze the data, they will often create a graph from the data table. This helps them to see a picture of relationships between the measurements.

A Few Questions for Charles

Me – How did you become interested in your field of study?

Charles – I worked in Florida as a water quality manager. It became obvious that we needed to see the bigger picture to truly understand what was happening in the water. Satellites are the best way to try to get a picture of what is happening over a large space at the same time.

Me – What would you recommend to a young person exploring ocean and science career options?

Charles – Work hard in MATH! I use math every day and would not be able to do this work without it. It is very important! Computer coding is also important in the work I do.

Charles computer — *Charles surrounded by his work.*

Personal Log

Wow, I cannot believe how much I am learning during this experience. It is truly fascinating.

In my past blogs, I mentioned spending some down time on the fly bridge. I wanted to share more about that part of the ship because it is a truly peaceful place and really allows you to feel that you are in the middle of the ocean!

The fly bridge is the highest of the decks on the ship. It is above the “bridge deck” (where NOAA Corps operates the ship) and just under the radar sensors. At any given time during the day, you can find some of the science team and sometimes the NOAA Corps team up on the fly bridge. We might be checking with the seabird observers to see what animals have been spotted, taking a nap in the sun at the picnic table, staring out at the water with binoculars, or getting cozy with a good book. It’s a great place to soak it all in and my favorite place on the ship.

fly bridge view — *The view from the fly bridge*

One level below the fly bridge is the bridge deck where the ship is operated. NOAA Corps Officers are happy to answer questions and it’s also a fun and interesting place to visit. It’s a great place to see the charts that officers use to navigate, radar screens, and other cool ship operating tools. They even let me take control of the ship! JUST KIDDING! That would never happen, unless I trained to become an officer myself and was authorized to control the ship. Maybe one day!

pretending to drive — *Me driving the ship. Just kidding. But I could pose for a photo just for fun.*

Did You Know?

The largest species of plankton is called a Mola mola. It is a large fish that looks like it had its tail cut off! It’s flat, rounded shape allows it to flow with the currents along with its food source, other plankton! Because the Mola mola is a living thing that drifts with currents, it is plankton! The seabird observers have seen several Mola mola on this trip. Maybe I’ll see one tomorrow…

Mystery Photo

Can you guess what this photo is? Add your guess to the comments below!

September 7, 2018September 9, 2018

Martha Loizeaux: Spectrophotometers and Eggplant Curry, August 28, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martha Loizeaux

Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter

August 22-31, 2018

Mission: Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Survey
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean
Date: August 28, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 39.487 N
Longitude: 73.885 W
Water Temperature: 25.2◦C
Wind Speed: 13.1 knots
Wind Direction: WSW
Air Temperature: 26.1◦C
Atmospheric Pressure: 1017.28 millibars
Depth: 30 meters

Science and Technology Log

“Underwater spectrophotometer”… say that 10 times fast! I was lucky enough to steal a few minutes of Audrey Ciochetto’s time while we admired the views from the fly bridge today. Audrey works with the Colleen Mouw Lab at the University of Rhode Island. Her lab studies phytoplankton (you may remember that phytoplankton is plankton that is like a plant) and how light from the sun interacts with plankton. I bet you never thought about that! It’s amazing stuff!

Audrey and a graduate student from the lab, Kyle Turner, have brought another cool science tool on board, an underwater spectrophotometer. The ship has pipes hooked up that take water in from 4 meters under the surface of the ocean at a constant flow. This water goes into the spectrophotometer and the machine gets to work. It shines light through the water and measures how the light is absorbed (taken in). Did you know that light travels in waves? Different colors of light that you see are different wavelengths. The spectrophotometer can measure 83 different color wavelengths and what happens to them when they shine on the water.

What does happen to light when it shines into the water? First of all, the water itself absorbs some of the light. There are also a lot of tiny things in the water that absorb light. Can you think of some tiny things that might be in the water? You guessed it again! Phytoplankton is absorbing some of the light, but also other things like tiny particles and dissolved matter will absorb light. These items will also scatter the light, making it bounce in different directions. The underwater spectrophotometer measures that too!

filtering Audrey — *Audrey filtering water samples to separate particles and plankton*

Audrey and Kyle spend some of their day taking samples of the water and filtering out the plankton and particles, leaving only the dissolved matter. They will also bring some sea water samples back to their lab to separate the phytoplankton from the rest of the particles. By separating all of these factors, scientists can get an idea of how each of these components in the water are responding to light.

The goal of this work is to understand what satellites are seeing. Scientists rely on satellites out in space to take pictures of what’s happening on Earth. These satellites can detect the light from the sun shining on Earth. They can see some color wavelengths as they are absorbed or scattered by different things on our planet. With the work that Audrey and Kyle are doing, we can better understand the satellite pictures of the ocean and what they mean. We can understand what’s in the ocean by looking at what the sunlight is doing when it touches the water. Pretty incredible, right?

The Design of Experiments

Hearing all of these brilliant ideas from Audrey got me thinking about how creative scientists must be to design experiments and investigations to answer questions.
Remember the hypothesis example that Chief Scientist Harvey mentioned in his interview? It was an idea that scientists came up with after they used monitoring data to discover a pattern of lower populations of herring (fish).

Hypothesis: “Increasing haddock populations lead to a lower stable state of herring because haddock feed on herring eggs.”

fish stomach contents — *Scientists can study the stomach contents of fish to learn what they are eating. Photo courtesy of The Fisherman Magazine.*

How would you design an experiment to test this?
Well, the real scientists who did this work examined the stomach contents of haddock to see how much of their diet consisted of herring eggs! Would you have thought of that?
It was interesting to read about this study in a scientific journal called PNAS (it stands for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), “Role of egg predation by haddock in the decline of an Atlantic herring population.” By Richardson et. al.

Get creative and start thinking of your own ideas to answer questions you have about the world!

Scientist Spotlight – Tamara Holzwarth-Davis, Physical Science Technician

Tamara is the physical science technician for NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) at Woods Hole. A technician is someone who is an expert on the equipment and technology used by the scientists. Today I had a chance to ask Tamara some more questions about her work.

Me – Tell me more about your job.
Tamara – I provide quality control for all of the data brought back by all of the ships involved in our study. A lot of it is statistical analysis of data [this means looking at data and making sure that it makes sense and is accurate]. I calibrate sensors [make sure they are accurate], process data, and write reports based on the data we find. We create a yearly atlas of information based on our data that anyone can use to look for trends (such as changes in plankton populations). I also maintain and coordinate equipment that is needed for the studies.

Me – What part of your job with NOAA did you least expect to be doing?Tamara – I least expected to be so involved with plankton! I used to do only the hydrography (water chemistry and physical properties) but now I am also involved with plankton data collection.

Tamara on watch — *Tamara keeps track of a lot of different things during her watch.*

Me – How do you help other people understand and appreciate NOAA’s work?
Tamara – I write the reports and make data available to the public. People can be reassured that quality control is in place in our monitoring and the data is as accurate as possible. It is my job to make sure of it!

Me – What do you love about going out to sea?
Tamara – I love the experience of being out at sea and meeting new people!

Personal Log

Our days on the ship are spent collecting data at stations, storytelling and watching the water on the fly bridge, catching up on work, watching sunrises and sunsets. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the comfort and commodities (like comfy mattresses and hot showers) and especially, THE FOOD!

*The food options are outstanding. One night we had king crab legs and tuna steaks.*

Margaret chef — *Margaret is the best chef EVER.*

Here on NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, we have a wonderful steward staff (cooks and kitchen managers), Margaret and Paul. They always have smiles on their faces when you walk in for meal time and are happy to spread their cheerfulness. There is always an amazing menu with many items to choose from. As a vegetarian, I have been blown away by all of the delicious veggie options. But there is plenty of meat for the carnivores too! There are always a variety of snacks available as well as healthy options.

Margaret makes homemade cookies and pies, guacamole, crab salad, and eggplant curry, just to name a few. We all sit down for meals together and share stories. And there is always dessert!

Did You Know?

Water absorbs red light first. So, if a fish has red scales when it’s out of the water, under water he will look brown and blend in to his surroundings. All of the red light will have already been absorbed by the water and there won’t be enough left to reflect off the fish’s scales!

A squirrelfish can blend in to its surroundings under water. Since it is a red fish, it is hard to see its color since the water has already absorbed the red light from the sun. Photo courtesy of NOAA.

Animals Seen Today

Common dolphins, green sea turtle, brown booby bird, larval hake, larval flounder, larval sea bass, jellyfish

jellyfish jar — *A jellyfish we caught in the plankton net!*

August 28, 2018September 2, 2018

Martha Loizeaux: Cool Science Tools and Drifter Buoy! August 26, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martha Loizeaux

Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter

August 22-31, 2018

Mission: Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 26, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 39.487 N
Longitude: 73.885 W
Water Temperature: 25.2◦C
Wind Speed: 13.1 knots
Wind Direction: WSW
Air Temperature: 26.1◦C
Atmospheric Pressure: 1017.28 millibars
Water depth: 30 meters

Science and Technology Log

As if catching plankton and sneaking a peak with the microscope wasn’t exciting enough (see the picture of the larval eel!), there’s a lot more data being collected on this ship. All of it helps scientists understand what’s going on in this part of the Ocean. And some of it I am able to help with, which is my favorite thing about this cruise (well, maybe that and the incredible views).

microscope and eel — *I was able to examine some of the plankton samples with a microscope. Do you see the larval eel in the tray next to the scope?*

niskin rosette — *The CTD rosette and niskin bottles*

At some of our stations, we lower a big and important science tool (called a rosette) into the ocean that contains niskin bottles (bottles used for water sampling) and a Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth meter (CTD). As the rosette is lowered into the depths and raised back up, the scientists can remotely operate the open niskin bottles to snap shut at specific depths. This allows each bottle to come up to the surface with a sample of water from many different depths! Meanwhile, the CTD can take measurements of conductivity (which indicates the salinity of the water), temperature, and pressure, among other things. Scientists have thought of many ways to collect A LOT of data at one time.

CTD coming up — *Bringing the CTD up from the depths.*

When the CTD comes back onto the ship, it’s time for us to use the samples for different purposes. We collect water from 3 different bottles (so 3 different depths) to test the amount of chlorophyll in the water. Do you know what the chlorophyll comes from? If you said plants, you’re right! What are some plant-like things that are drifting all over the ocean? You guessed it! Phytoplankton! So the amount of chlorophyll gives scientists evidence as to how much phytoplankton is in the water. But first, we need to extract (take out) the chlorophyll from the water. We run the water through special filters and soak the filters in a chemical that extracts the chlorophyll. Then we can put the sample through a special machine that uses light to sense the amount of chlorophyll. Wow. One thing I am learning on this trip is how important light is in understanding a water ecosystem.

Do you remember what a hypothesis is? It’s an educated guess that answers a scientific question. When scientists come up with a hypothesis, it gives them something to test in an investigation. If you were presented with the question, “At what depth is phytoplankton most abundant?”, what would be your hypothesis?

Another thing we do with the water samples is collect a bit from most of the bottles to preserve and send to the lab to test for the amount of nutrients. When you think of nutrients, you probably think of healthy vitamins for people. But nutrients for plants are actually made from broken down waste of animals. It’s important for ocean water to have a balanced amount of nutrients so that phytoplankton can be healthy. But too much nutrients can also cause algae and phytoplankton to overpopulate!

But that’s not all! The scientists also take samples from the niskin bottles to test for Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC). That sounds fancy, I know. Doing this basically helps scientists understand the pH of the water and look for evidence of ocean acidification (a result of climate change).

*Jessica and I taking nutrient samples from the niskin bottles*

Can you believe how much scientists can learn from dropping a big science tool into the water?

Scientist Spotlight – Harvey Walsh

Harvey is our Chief Scientist on the mission, meaning he oversees all of the scientific work happening on the ship. He has been so kind as to answer all of my many questions, including these:

Me – If you could invent any tool to make your work more efficient, what would it be and why?

Harvey – I would like a tool that allows you to easily and quickly identify fish eggs and larvae. Currently, it is a time consuming process that involves sorting through samples and identifying them in the lab. There have been and continue to be efforts to use image analysis and genetics to speed up the process. An image analysis has progressed quicker for phyto- and zooplankton, but fish and fish eggs still lag behind.

Me – When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in ocean science?

Harvey – I always thought I would end up studying freshwater fisheries in Minnesota, where I grew up, but after the first two ocean cruises I participated in, I knew the ocean was more for me and the lakes had less of an appeal.

Me – How long has EcoMon (the ecosystem monitoring program we are using) been conducted and how was the protocol (the methods we use) created?

Harvey – EcoMon started in 1992 but it was modeled after a program that started in 1977. The bongo plankton sampling has not changed much since it started, but with new technology we have added the water chemistry

Harvey chief scientist — *Harvey relaxing in the bridge deck*

testing, optics, and other instruments.

To create the protocol, scientists from around the North Atlantic region got together to form the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries. This council had the job of looking at plankton sampling techniques and deciding the best way to monitor plankton communities.

Me – Can you share an example of a way that people have used EcoMon data to form and test a hypothesis?

Harvey – Our data helps scientists make connections between different species in a food web, for example. After people noticed that Atlantic herring (fish) populations were getting low, they used EcoMon data to come up with a hypothesis like this:

“Increasing haddock populations lead to a lower stable state of herring because haddock feed on herring eggs.”

If people want to know more about a certain species of fish and how it survives and thrives, they need to understand the whole ecosystem, including the food web!

Personal Log

This cruise continues to amaze me. Sometimes we’ll have several hours between stations when I love to learn from others, bring a pair of binoculars up to the fly bridge and join the seabird observers, or catch up on a good book. Being around the water all day is calming and serene. I feel that this is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Martha and drifter — *Me and the NOAA Drifter Buoy decorated for Ocean Studies Charter School!*

Another rare opportunity came yesterday when I was able to launch my drifter buoy as part of the NOAA drifter buoy program! First, I decorated the buoy with our school’s name and a symbol for each of the classes at our school – the Sharks class, the Rays class, the Dolphin class, and the Sea Star class. Then, after gaining permission from the ship command, we dropped the buoy overboard!

The buoy has a long canvas tube that extends out like a spring after you release it. This allows the buoy to have a long tail that reaches into the water so that it can catch the ocean currents and drift. If it was just the floating buoy, it would get moved by the wind instead of the currents.

people on bow — *Everyone runs to the bow when dolphins are riding the wake!*

The buoy has a satellite tag that sends a signal to a satellite wherever it goes. This way, back home my students and I can track the buoy online and see where it ends up! Where do you think the buoy will go?

Everyone on board gets excited when we spot a pod of dolphins or a whale spout! I can’t wait to see what’s out there tomorrow!

Did You Know?

Great Shearwaters are sea birds that spend most of their lives out at sea and only come to land to nest. They can dive deep to catch fish but do not have to dry out their wings like some other birds. They are almost always found soaring by air currents and they prefer stormy and rough weather for stronger air patterns to lift them up.

*A great shearwater in flight. Photo courtesy of NOAA.*

Challenge Yourself

If a plankton sample with 5,000 individual plankton contains 60% salps, 10% hake larvae, 20% arrow worms, and 10% crab megalops, how many arrow worms are in the sample?

August 27, 2018September 2, 2018

Martha Loizeaux: Salp Confidence, August 24, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martha Loizeaux

Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter

August 22-31, 2018

Mission: Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 24, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 40.15 N

Longitude: 68.71 W

Wind direction: NE

Wind speed: 14 knots

Water temperature: 23.8 degrees C

Air pressure: 1023 millibars

Air temperature: 24.2 degrees C

Water depth: 165 meters

Science and Technology Log

What an exciting first full day out at sea! I have been so grateful that our science team has allowed me to be completely hands-on and take responsibility for some of the science happening on the ship. In addition to checking the Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB) periodically, I am very much involved in the data collection at each of our stations.

There are specific stations along our course where scientists need to collect data. The crew announces when we are close to the station. At that time, along with another volunteer on watch, I don my foul weather gear to head out to the deck. We get pretty splashed as we are working with the equipment so the gear is a good idea. We help the crew as they lower “bongo nets” into the water using a cable and pulley system. Can you guess why they are called bongo nets? These nets have a very fine mesh that helps collect, you guessed it, PLANKTON!

bongos on deck — *bongo nets waiting on the deck to be deployed*

bongos in water — *The bongo net and the “baby” bongo net being deployed.*

We also help raise the bongo nets after several minutes dragging them through the water. We rinse all of the plankton down to the bottom of the net and then open up the end of the net to allow all of the plankton into a sieve where we will collect it. I have been surprised by the amount of jelly-like animals that have shown up in the nets!

Then it’s time to use special liquids (ethanol or formalin) and water to wash the plankton into collection jars. These chemicals will preserve the plankton so scientists can study it back in the lab!

It has been so much fun working with this equipment, asking the scientists questions about the plankton, and being a part of it all.

Harvey, our chief scientist, explained to me that many scientists can use the plankton samples for all different studies. Some of the samples can be used to study larval fish (baby fish) otoliths, the tiny ear bones that can verify the identification of larval hake using genetics. Knowing this, scientists can do research to determine where the larval fish were born! What a great example of the beginning of a scientific

Hake larvae — *Some examples of larval hake. Photo courtesy of Harvey Walsh*

experiment!:

Question – Where are most larval red hake fish born in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean?

Research – Scientists might research currents in the area, wind patterns, and other things that would push plankton from place to place. They also would research what other scientists have already learned about larval red hake.

Hypothesis – Most larval red hake fish are born in the Southern New England and Georges Bank regions in the northeast US shelf.

Didn’t I tell you plankton were amazing?

At some of the stations, we also lower Niskin bottles and CTD instruments into the water to collect a lot more data! More on that to come!

Martha and bongos — *Here I am getting ready to deploy the bongo nets.*

rinsing nets — *Jessica and I rinsing the bongo nets.*

plankton on sieve — *Plankton looks tiny when we filter it into a sieve.*

*Our plankton samples after being rinsed into the jars.*

NOAA Corps Corner

Today I spoke with Lola Ajilore, Officer with NOAA Corps, and asked her a few questions about her important work. A pod of humpback whales off the bow stole the show! Here’s what we got in before the exciting interruption…

Me – Tell me more about your roles on the ship.

Lola – I am the Navigation Officer, Medical Officer, Environmental Officer, Ship Store Officer, and Morale Officer. As you can see, we all have multiple roles on the ship. As Navigation Officer, for example, I plot charts, track directions, and coordinate with the Operations Officer and Commanding Officer on track lines and routes that are requested by the scientists.

Me – Where do you do most of your work?

Lola – I am always with NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. The ship’s home port is in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Our missions often take place in the Gulf of Mexico but we also run these Northeast Shelf cruises for Ecosystem Monitoring every year.

Me – What kind of training is needed for your line of work?

Lola – We undergo an application process that includes several interview steps. We then train at the Coast Guard Academy. Much of our training parallels that of the Coast Guard, but we also do our own NOAA Corps training as well.

Me – What tool do you use in your work that you could not live without?

Lola – Radar! [Radar aids navigation by detecting things that are far away such as an island or another ship]

Nav officer — *Lola as Navigation Officer.*

humpback from afar — *Can you see the little black dot in the middle of the picture? It’s a humpback whale! It looked a lot closer in real life.*

Personal Log

sunset view — *Sunset on NOAA ship Gordon Gunter*

I cannot believe the amazing views that we have on this ship 24 hrs. a day! The water has been super calm and the sunrise, sunset, breaching whales, and pods of dolphins have taken my breath away.

Yesterday was emergency drill day! Libby, our Operations Officer, had given us directions on how to respond to emergencies prior to leaving the

*Mustering on the deck during the emergency fire drill.*

dock. There are emergency drills for a fire (just like at school!), abandon ship (in the case that we had to immediately leave the ship in an emergency), and man overboard.

We practiced a fire drill and an abandon ship drill. The Officers on the ship sounded the alarm, using a different number and duration of blast based on the type of emergency. For a fire, we all “mustered” (got together in one place) in assigned areas. All of the science team members mustered together. For abandon ship, we all mustered near the life boats along with our life jackets and immersion suits (suits that can help you survive if you end up in the water).

Martha in immersion suit — *Here I am in my immersion suit!*

The fun part of the abandon ship drill was donning our immersion suits in one minute or less! This was a great thing to practice so if there ever was a real emergency, we would know how to put on the suit. I thought I looked pretty cool in my immersion suit.

Did You Know?

Salps are barrel-shaped planktonic tunicates. Our plankton bongo nets always contain some jelly-like salps. Where I live in the Florida Keys, we see mangrove tunicates growing on mangrove roots. Here in the open ocean, salps stick together in long colonies and drift! Sometimes there are so many salps in our nets, we have to filter them out with sieves and put them back in the water.

salps from web — *An example of a colony of salps. Photo courtesy of NOAA*

Something to Think About

We have been finding up to 4,000 phytoplankton in 5 mL of water. A gallon of water is equal to about 3785 mL. There is about 352,670,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water in the Atlantic Ocean. How much plankton is in the Atlantic? You do the math.

plankton from web — *This is what some plankton look like under the microscope. Photo courtesy of NOAA*