Latitude: 34º 16.54 N Longitude: 118º 60.90 W Wind Speed: 5 km/hr Air Temperature: 33º Celsius Pool Temperature 29º Celsius
Conclusion
It is hard to believe that my 26 days as a Teacher at Sea on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson are already over, and that I am back in California. I am still rocking slightly, and still VERY AWAKE at 4 a.m. as a result of having the night shift. I met so many wonderful people, from the NOAA officers to the crew to the science team, and learned so much about marine species, the ocean, science, technology, Alaska, and myself.
When I tell people how much I loved being up to my elbows in pollock, jellyfish, and sparkly herring scales; processing a catch several times a day; filleting rockfish; and the utter satisfaction that comes from opening a pollock’s head in just the right spot in order to extract its otoliths, they think I am insane. I guess it’s just something they’ll have to experience for themselves.
I have cooked both Alaskan cod and salmon since returning home, but nothing tastes like Chief Steward Judy’s cooking. I miss being rocked to sleep by the movement of the water; the anemones, sea stars, and fish we saw each night using the drop camera; the sunsets; the endless waves; and all the laughs. This has been the experience of a lifetime, and I look forward to sharing all that I learned with my students and my school. I will always treasure my time in Alaska and on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson and hope to return to both soon.
When Sarah Stienessen was a little girl, she got a book about dolphins, and fell in love. She read the book over and over, dreaming about meeting a real-live dolphin one day. The problem was she grew up in Wisconsin, not a place with a lot of dolphins. However, as Sarah says “If you have an interest, don’t let location deter you from your dreams.”
When she grew up, Sarah studied zoology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, but her burning fascination with the ocean led her to graduate school at Texas A&M where she finally got to study DOLPHINS (more specifically, the vocal behavior of dolphins). Her research there included using a hydrophone to listen to dolphins. She later moved to Seattle and began working for NOAA conducting acoustic surveys on walleye pollock in Alaska. On this leg of the Oscar Dyson, Sarah acted as the Field Party Chief (or Chief Scientist). Sarah pointed out that while her use of acoustics with dolphins was passive (placing a hydrophone in the water and listening to the dolphins) she is now using acoustics actively by sending an audible PING into the water and reading the echos that the fish send back.
Sarah was part of the amazing NOAA
science team onboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, which included, Denise
McKelvey, Kresimir Williams, and Taina Honkalehto.
Back row: Sarah and Kresimir
Front row: Denise and Taina
Denise was on the day shift, so I mostly saw her during shift changes and on those rare mornings when I was still awake at 7 a.m. and came down for breakfast (okay, bacon). However, early in the trip, she took the time to explain the fish lab procedure to me, even drawing pictures and a flow chart. (Thanks!)
While the duties of the science team often overlap, Kresimir is definitely the “techie” who enjoys inventing and creating new underwater cameras and other devices. Do you remember the TV show MacGyver? MacGyver was a secret agent who was beyond resourceful and had an encyclopedic knowledge of science. Every episode, he would solve the problem at hand in a matter of minutes using a combination of ordinary objects such as duct tape, household cleanser, a Q-tip, and some matches. Kresimir reminded me of MacGyver. If something broke, he would enter the room, grab tools and items that just might work in place of the broken piece, and sure enough, within minutes, the device would be up and running again!
Taina was always in the chem lab during drop camera time, her eyes riveted on the screen. I was excited whenever the camera spotted something, but I loved that Taina seemed equally excited to see what marine species the camera would uncover each night. One of the most exciting, and clearly the biggest, was the Giant Pacific Octopus!
A Giant Pacific Octopus captured with the drop camera
Science and Technology Log
The Giant Pacific Octopus (or Octopus dofleini) is often rumored to weigh more than 600 pounds, but most adult octopuses are much smaller. An adult female might weigh up to 55 pounds while an adult male can weight up to 88 pounds. According to NOAA, the plural of octopus is octopuses, NOT octopi as some people say. Because it doesn’t have bones, a giant octopus can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! The body of an octopus is shaped like a bag and it has 8 long arms (or tentacles) covered in suction cups.
Suction cups on the arms of an octopus
A mature
octopus can have as many as 280 suction cups on each arm. That’s 2,240
suction cups! The Giant Pacific Octopus loves to eat crabs, but it will also
eat snails, oysters, abalone, clams, mussels, and small fish. The octopus’
mouth or jaw is shaped like a parrot’s beak. It is the only hard part of an octopus,
and it’s more-or-less
indigestible. That means that if a sperm whale eats an octopus, and the
contents of the whale’s stomach are later studied, you will see the octopus
beak even if you find no other sign that he ate an octopus.
In order
to avoid whales and other predators, an octopus will camouflage, or change its
color and skin texture to match its surroundings! When he feels threatened, he releases
a cloud of purple-black ink to confuse his enemy.
Octopus Elementary Math Time
(Remember, an octopus has 8 arms.)
If an octopus has 2 suction cups on each
arm, how many does he have all together? _______
If an octopus has 5 suction cups on each
arm, how many does he have all together? _______
If an octopus has 10 suction cups on each
arm, how many does he have all together? ______
If an octopus has 2 suction cups on 4 of
his arms, and 3 suction cups on his other 4 arms, how many does he have all
together? _____________
If an octopus has 4 suction cups on 7 of
his arms, but half as many on his 8th arm, how much does he all
together? _____________
If an octopus has 259 suction cups and
his octopus friend has 751 suction cups, how many do they have all together?
Latitude: 56º 58.03 N Longitude: 151º 26.26W Wind Speed: 17 knots Wind Direction: 120º Air Temperature: 13º Celsius Barometric Pressure: 1010.5 mb Depth of water column 565 m Surface Sea Temperature: 12.9º Celsius
Science & Technology Log
Safety is of the utmost importance on a ship. There are safety trainings, fire drills, lifeboat drills, and rules about where you can go and whether you need to be wearing a life jacket and/or a hard hat. Hardhats come in many colors, but most look something like this:
Standard hard hat
That is why I had to interview Ryan Harris, the Chief Boatswain on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson about his cowboy hardhat.
Yes, that’s a hardhat.
Ryan hails
from Sacramento, California and loves to wear cowboy hats. One day he saw a cowboy hardhat online, and
knew he had to order one! He first started wearing it on the NOAA Ship Hiialakai
in Hawaii and liked how it not only protected his head but kept the sun off his
face. In Alaska, he likes how it keeps
the rain off.
Ryan began
working for NOAA 14 years ago. I
wondered how a kid from landlocked Sacramento, who had never spent time on a
boat, ended up with a career at sea. It turns out his aunt saw an advertisement
about a free maritime internship program offered through the Sacramento School District
(at the time). Ryan was interested in seeing the world, so he looked into it. Through
the internship, he learned how to work on boats, and was introduced to
NOAA. Ryan has worked on NOAA ships with
home ports in California, Mississippi, Hawaii, and Alaska, and has already traveled
with NOAA to at least 13 countries.
So what does the Chief Boatswain do?
Ryan is in charge of all operations concerning the deck and also “watch standards” or lookout (such as making sure that there are not whales in the area if we are going to deploy the fishing net). He is also in charge of the maintenance and upkeep of the ship, including some mundane but all-important things such as making sure there is enough toilet paper or laundry detergent onboard before the ship sails. (There is no “running to the market” while you are out at sea for weeks or months.)
Like
everyone I have met on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, Ryan enjoys his NOAA
life, and feels that NOAA offers a wealth of opportunities. I asked Ryan how he manages the long stretches
of time with no phone service or internet. Ryan says the temporary “disconnect” allows him
to focus on work and simply enjoy his life and his time with his co-workers. I think a lot of us can learn from that.
Latitude: 56º 58.03 N Longitude: 151º 26.26W Wind Speed: 17 knots Wind Direction: 120º Air Temperature: 13º Celsius Barometric Pressure: 1010.5 mb Depth of water column 565 m Surface Sea Temperature: 12.9º Celsius
Science & TechnologyLog
Ever heard of oilers? I hadn’t until I got to know Daniel Ruble, a member of the engineering crew on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson.
Oiler Daniel Ruble
Daniel is originally from Chicago but now calls Virginia home. After serving our country for 20 years in the Marine Corps, a friend mentioned that it was always good to have a Mariner’s Document (a license from the Coast Guard) “just in case.” Years later, he finally decided to put it to use, and got a job with NOAA in 2014. He started doing deck work, but his interest and experience in mechanical engineering eventually led him to the NOAA engineering crew. He is what they call an “oiler.” Oilers maintain, clean, and oil the ship’s engine, including the motors, gears, and compressors. Daniel has worked on every class of NOAA vessel (Oceanographic and Atmospheric Research, Charting and Hydrographic, and Fisheries Research) and all but one of the NOAA ships.
Daniel and the other engineers onboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson are easy to spot as they often have bulky, protective ear coverings either on or nearby. That is because the engine room is VERY LOUD. When I was given a tour, I was first given ear coverings, and much of the explanation about what I was seeing had to come later as it was too difficult to hear each other. I was told that seeing the engine room is like looking under the hood of your car. Just imagine your car’s engine magnified 1000 times.
Control panel in the Engine Room
Engine Room
The engineering crew is responsible for all of the internal systems of the ship. Without them, the ship wouldn’t run, and there would be no power or water. The engineering room actually makes all of the water we use onboard by distilling saltwater into potable (drinkable) water. Here’s how it works.
Saltwater is boiled using energy from the ship itself. Hot engine steam is passed through an evaporation unit, causing the saltwater to boil. The saltwater steam rises and then travel through a water separator which prevents any droplets of saltwater from passing through. After the steam becomes pure water, it is then carried away by a distillate pump. It is then safe for drinking and showering.
Each of the two evaporators on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson can distill between 600-900 gallons of water per day, depending upon how fast the ship is moving. On an average day, the ship uses 800-1000 gallons!
Latitude: 57º 09.61 N Longitude: 152º 20.99W Wind Speed: 15 knots Wind Direction: 210 º Air Temperature: 12º Celsius Barometric Pressure: 1013 mb Depth of water column 84 m Surface Sea Temperature: 12º Celsius
Science and Technology Log
Are you wondering what it’s really like to live and work full-time on a NOAA research vessel? I asked Andrea Stoneman, the Senior Survey Technician on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson.
Senior Survey Technician Andrea Stoneman
Like everyone onboard the Oscar Dyson, Andrea is always working hard, but always has a smile on her face. Originally from Duluth, Minnesota, she has been employed by NOAA as a “wage mariner” for a year. A wage mariner means she is an at-sea civilian employee of NOAA. She began college at the University of Minnesota as a business major, but an internship as a freshwater mussel researcher changed her life and made her realize her true love: BIOLOGY! She earned a degree in Environmental Science, and then attended graduate school at Delaware State University, where NOAA funded her research on ocean acidification and its impact on fish.
Are you wondering what ocean acidification means?
The amount of carbon in the ocean is rising due to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air. Carbon dioxide acidifies the water, reducing its pH level. The letters pH stands for the ‘potential of Hydrogen.’ The pH scale was invented in 1909 by a biochemist names S.P. Sorenson. The scale uses numbers from 1 to 14, with 1 being the most acidic, 14 being the least acidic (or more alkaline) and 7 as the middle (neutral) point.
For the past 300 million years, the average pH of the ocean was approximately 8.2. It is now closer to 8.1, a drop of 0.1 pH units. Remember, the numbers go “in reverse” so a drop in pH means it is MORE acidic. You may be thinking, but it’s only a drop of 0.1. That doesn’t sound like a lot. However, a drop of 0.1 represents a 25-percent increase in acidity. That’s because the pH scale is a logarithmic scale, not a linear scale. To understand a linear scale, think of a ruler. The difference between inches on a ruler stays constant. A 5-inch fish is one inch bigger than a 4-inch fish, and 2 inches bigger than a 3-inch fish. In contrast, the pH scale is a logarithmic scale in which two adjacent values increase or decrease by a factor of 10. Therefore, a pH of 3 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 4, and 100 times more acidic than a pH of 5.
Studies indicate
that many marine species may experience adverse effects on their health,
growth, reproduction, and life span due to ocean acidification. That means fish
could develop diseases, have fewer babies, or die younger.
You and I need calcium
to build strong bones. We get calcium through milk, cheese, green leafy
vegetables, and many other sources. Marine
species also need calcium carbonate to build their bones or shells. Ocean acidification causes carbonate ions to be less
abundant in the ocean, which makes it harder for
marine species to build strong bones and shells. This is especially bad for oysters,
clams, sea urchins, corals, and mussels, the very species that made Andrea
fall in love with science!
After graduate school, Andrea worked as a fisheries observer on commercial fishing vessels. (I met quite a few people on-board the ship who are or were observers.) To a non-fisheries person, an “observer” SOUNDS like someone who stands around watching others, but it is actually very hard work! Observers document compliance (making sure that things are being done the correct way). They take samples of the catch and collect data regarding the size of the catch and the species caught. The data goes into the same service model that NOAA data does, which is vital for ensuring sustainable fishing for the future.
Through
her work as an observer in Alaska, Andrea met people at NOAA, took a tour of a
NOAA ship, and decided to apply for a job with NOAA. (Hmmm… When I interviewed Ensign Andonian for
an earlier blog, she also mentioned visiting a NOAA ship as the thing that made
her decide to choose a career with NOAA. That gives you an idea of just how
amazing NOAA ships are!)
So what does a Senior Survey Technician do?
She runs and maintains all of the scientific sensors on the ship (including the meteorological and oceanographic sensors). She also runs the CTD, a device which measures the conductivity, temperature, depth, salinity, and other oceanographic parameters of the water.
The CTD device
In addition, she is involved in setting and retrieving the fishing nets and is an expert at processing the catch in the fish lab. Andrea ensures that the data collected onboard is sound and accurate, and “packages” the data so that it is presentable and accessible to NOAA thus becoming accessible to the public whom NOAA serves.
Asked if
she recommends a NOAA life, Andrea says it’s great for college graduates who
have an interest in science and a love of the ocean. Some perks (especially for
new college graduates) include living rent-free onboard, having delicious meals
cooked for you three times a day, and getting to see the world while being
involved in interesting, and sometimes ground-breaking, scientific research. An
added perk is that working for the federal government can “erase” some of your
student loans!
Andrea
enjoys being the Senior Survey Technician onboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson,
and has fallen in love with Alaska, which she now considers her home.
Click below to watch a 2-minute video by NOAA about ocean acidification:
Personal Log
While I cannot describe what it is like to live full-time on a NOAA ship, I can tell you what it’s like as a Teacher at Sea for 26 days. Like everyone onboard, I “work” a 12-hour shift. The science team works shifts starting at either 4 a.m. or 4 p.m. I was assigned the 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift. That means I wake up most days between 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon. On days that I am “good” I head down to the gym. On other days, I grab a light “breakfast” before heading to the chem lab to start my shift.
Often we
start our shift processing fish by 4:30. First I suit up in steel-toed boots, a
waterproof jacket and overalls, and elbow-high rubber gloves.
I am ready to work in the fish lab!
Then we process the haul, which means sorting approximately 1000 pounds of fish and jellyfish by species.
An average-sized haul
We weigh them, measure them, and dissect some to collect otoliths (ear bones) or ovaries. All of this can take 2-3 hours. Then we clean. The fish lab gets COVERED in fish slime, scales, and jellyfish goo.
Jellyfish “goo”
There are high-powered waters sprayers hanging from the ceiling, and we blast every surface in the room with saltwater for at least 10 minutes after every haul. Imagine cleaning your kitchen with a fire engine hose! It’s definitely the most fun I have ever had cleaning!
One of the many high power saltwater sprayers
At the end of the cruise, I will join Andrea the Survey Technician and the science team for 2-3 hours of meticulously scrubbing and spraying the fish lab so that it is clean and ready for the next group that comes aboard a few days after we leave.
Since
the scientists onboard often want to do “pair trawls” (fishing in the same area
using the “old” AWT net and the “newer” LFS net in order to align the catch
data with the acoustics data), I am
often back in the fish lab an hour later to process another haul, and again
clean the fish lab.
After that, depending upon the time, I might have a snack, or do research and write blogs, or spend time in the chem lab with my co-workers, Matthew Phillips (the Fish Lab Lead) and volunteer biologist Nathan Battey, discussing the haul or what is coming up for the rest of the shift. At about 11 p.m., the sun sets, and sometimes it is spectacular, so I try to pop out onto the deck for a quick photo.
The sun setting near Mitrofania
At midnight, we start getting ready to do the drop camera to determine which areas are trawlable. We usually do at least 4 camera drops, from approximately 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This time of night often involves the science team consuming caffeine, ice cream, red vines, sour patch kids, or all of the above. At 4 a.m., the next shift starts, and my roommate, Jamie Giganti, comes into the chem lab. Jamie is a field coordinator for AIS. She works as an observer part of the time, but also provides support and training for new observers, and acts as a liaison between boat captains and observers.
My roommate Jamie Giganti
Jamie’s arrival in the chem lab means it is my turn to go to “our” room. Although we are roommates, we are never actually in the room at the same time. The goal is that you stay out of the room for the 12 hours your roommate is off-shift, allowing them to sleep or relax. That means that every time I am on shift I need to make sure that I take everything I might need for the day.
The first
few days onboard, I was in bed and asleep 15 minutes after my shift ended. Now
that I am accustomed to the schedule, or perhaps due to the caffeine or sugar,
I am often up until 5 or 5:30 a.m. That means I go to sleep just as the sun
rises.
My
stateroom has a bathroom and shower, a desk, a few shelves, lockers that act as
a closet, and bunkbeds. (I was so happy
when Jamie asked if she could have the top bunk!)
My state room
The large window has both magnificent views of Alaska and also blackout curtains that block the sun so that people on my shift can sleep.
The shower area in the bathroom has a slightly raised border, but since the boat moves while you are showering, so does the shower curtain.
Shower
Perhaps
other people have figured out how to get the water to stay IN the shower. I am still working on that. On the upside,
the bathroom floor gets cleaned every day! (I am told that one trick is to use
zip ties to “lengthen” the shower curtain.
(Next time?)
Processing
a haul seems easy now, but it was overwhelming the first few days! As a
non-scientist, I was unfamiliar with fish and jellyfish species, perplexed by
the computer program used to enter data, and kept confusing which fish to
measure, which fish to weigh, and which fish to measure and weigh. I am so grateful for the patience of everyone
around me!
Amazingly,
I never got seasick. I wore a scopolamine patch for the first part of the trip,
and then one day decided to take it off and learned that I had in fact “gotten
my sea legs.” Now I barely feel the boat moving during the day and enjoy the
light rocking at night.
I am
writing this during my last few days onboard.
While we have occasionally been near land, during much of our time
onboard, the view was the incredibly beautiful Gulf of Alaska. Yesterday, when I saw land in the distance, I
was sad to learn that it was Kodiak. That
means my time on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson is almost over.
