Category: Kiersten Newtoff

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Kiersten Newtoff: So Long, and Thanks for All the (Whales). February 3, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 27, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: February 3, 2025

Nearly every blog post was an interview with a group of folks working towards a common goal. Well, for this final post, I’ll interview myself (I’m sure there’s a literary term for this, but alas, English was never my best subject) about how it all went! Also, I hate actually talking about myself, so when someone in real life asks me about the trip, I can just tell them to come here. Plus they get pretty pictures. We all win.

What was your favorite interview? (asked by Rob!)

Honestly, I can’t even remember my answer when Rob asked, but it probably wasn’t that insightful. But now that I am home and reflecting, I think all my interviews with the quietest people on the ship were the best. Once we started talking one on one, so many people opened up about their journey and had great advice for people interested in the field. One memorable moment was with Tom, one of the engineers, who I literally had not even heard him say a word to anyone (partly because he wasn’t around at dinner due to his shift, partly because I don’t pay attention). I just went up to him during lunch and asked “Hi, I’m interviewing everyone on the ship and was wondering if we could chat later” to which he just started talking to me about his time in maritime school and how his class would go tutor at the local high school and tell them about the maritime trade! Like bro, I am not prepared for this yet. We did catch up later and I learned even more cool stuff about him. A lot of the crew kind of just minded to themselves or with their smaller crew, but I am glad I kind of forced myself into each ‘group’ and learned from everyone. It definitely strengthened our relationships throughout the trip. Many people had sailed together for years and learned about each other from my blog! It was cool to hear that I got to share their stories.

How big was the boat?

I’m getting this question a lot, but this was my first legit boat ride, so I have very little frame of reference. Smaller than a Carnival cruise ship. Bigger than a yacht on Below Deck. From the engine area, it takes 7 flights of stairs to get to the flying bridge. Here, take a look at the picture, me for scale.

Kiersten standing in front of the NOAA Ship Pisces, which is docked.
Kiersten standing in front of the NOAA Ship Pisces. Boat is big, Kiersten is small.

Did you know anyone?

Nope! I had lots of mutual connections with folks though! Yin and I shared a connection with someone I went to graduate school with, I had a student in 2013 who ended up working with Rob in California, and someone I met recently who works 5 minutes from my house was a close colleague and (current! friend!) of Allison’s. The ecology world is small!

What was the coolest thing you saw?

I’m not a very decisive person and am really bad at superlatives. So here’s the top 4:

  • Seeing North Atlantic Right Whales, some of the rarest and most endangered whale species in the world, off the coast of Virginia Beach
  • It snowing, and sticking, on the deck
  • Tons of water spouts forming and breaking up
  • Being outside in a T-shirt while in the Gulf Stream
A tail fin of a North Atlantic Right Whale dips into the water, with a wind turbine in the background.
North Atlantic Right Whale. NEFSC permit #27066.
A water spout forms in the distance on a dark gray, cloudy day.
Water Spout
A small snowman on deck covered in a light dusting of snow.
Sea Snowman (Cred Annamaria)

How was the motion sickness?

If you haven’t read the Ode to Scopolamine, you’re missing out on my finest work. But after three weeks, it was mostly “fine.” I only puked once, but had a few instances where I decided being horizontal was in my best interest. At night though, rocking softly in bed – I understand why waterbeds were a thing. The nights where things are crashing around and you are getting airborne while sleeping, not as pleasant. But the meds really helped, thank you modern medicine.

What was living on the boat like?

I was in a bunk room, with the best roommate Tasha. She was mama bear and was always looking out for me when I needed to be horizontal. She was also so fun to work with on deck and she is just a cool person. (But also a literally cool person, we had low key thermostat wars fueled by love). We had three cooked meals a day and limitless snacks (when all the chips weren’t being stolen!) and dessert. I learned you are not allowed to work out in the galley, but that it is also the roomiest place on the ship, so I exercised only 1.5 times. I’d rank boat living 5/7.

What did you learn?

Literally everything. Everything about this experience was brand new to me, except that I knew maybe 20% of the seabirds. Although my master’s was in marine biology, my research was on ecotoxicology of Brown Pelicans, which aren’t around this area this time of year. They have the right idea and hang out in the Caribbean. All the science was new, the boat living was new, the struggling to stand was new. Every day I learned new science or new boat things.

Kiersten looks through Big Eye binoculars. The picture was used as a background photo for a desktop, duplicated across two screens.
One of the ways I really felt like part of the team was going into the acoustics lab and seeing this new snazzy screensaver. I pointed it out to everyone that day. (original pic taken by Kelsey).

What do you do now?

My commitment to NOAA Teacher at Sea isn’t over! While the blog portion is done, the main goal of the program is to disseminate to students the important research by NOAA. I am working on a lesson plan for students that I will be test running in Fall 2025 when I return from sabbatical. I used to do a population sampling lab on grid paper and students learned about and tested the accuracy of different population estimation techniques: point, transect, quadrat, and mark and recapture sampling. I am adapting this activity a bit to actually apply the AMAPPS protocol where students will have to consider a sampling technique, and then how to actually implement it given X amount of time at sea, the need for Y conditions, and following an observational protocol Z. The chief scientist Debi developed a map for me to use with students that shows the North Atlantic with contour lines that students can use to develop their sampling regions based on 6 species of concern I provide them. I’m excited to test this out with students! I’ll also be presenting at the Maryland Collegiate STEM Conference to community college faculty about the NOAA Teacher at Sea experience and with students about all of the careers they can pursue with NOAA. And the program also has an alumni organization to keep previous teachers connected with each other and with the organization!

A meme titled "What gives people feelings of power" with a horizontal bar graph underneath. The smallest bar says 'money'. The second largest bar says 'status'. And the largest, by far, bar says 'being in Kiersten's blog'.
The other thing that really made me feel like part of the team was making it into Ian’s meme of the day. Peak.

Who do you want to thank?

Well of course, my mom, who has always believed in me for all the random things I pursue! Of course, the NOAA Teacher at Sea program for hosting this incredible experience for 35 years! And thank you to everyone who had to approve me to join this cruise – which I’m sure Commander Kliewer and Debi had a bit of say in that! Everyone on the ship who let me bother them with my questions and to everyone who made me feel like one of the team, even when I was clearly an outsider. The people made this trip. The experience was fun, but the people were it. (But I swear, I’m not an extrovert).

So long, and thanks for all the (whales).

PS. Do you feel like you missed a blog post or 10? Here’s a quick index to all of them.

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Kiersten Newtoff: Boats, Bolts, and Brain Power. January 30, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
(Was) Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 27, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 30, 2025
Location: Back on land now in Maryland! We ended a few days early, but there’s still much to share!

The Engineers

If the kitchen is the soul of the ship , and deck is the heart, then that makes the engine the muscle.

Meet the engineering department, who’s number one job is to make the boat move. That is of course way oversimplifying it, especially when we are talking about a 209 foot vessel. While every crew member is important to NOAA’s mission, if we didn’t have the engineers, we would be hanging out at a dock for a long time.

Hezekiah stands to the side of an instrument panel, pointing to some data as he poses for the camera.
Hezekiah showing off some data.

I learned from the Chief Engineer, Hezekiah that the Pisces is a diesel electric boat, kind of like a hybrid car. The combination of diesel engines and electrical motors lowers harmful gas emissions and works towards NOAA’s Net Zero emissions goal by 2050. There are 2 large and 2 small generators on board and depending on what the boat needs to do will dictate how many are running at a time. There is redundancy in the system so that if anything happens to one generator, there are backups. There’s also a bow thruster that gets used when standing still; it is managed by the dynamic positioning system to keep the Pisces at a single spot, instead of moving with the current.

You may be thinking that the engineers are just managing the engines (I mean, it is in the name), and you would be partially correct. But they do so much more! They are responsible for everything that is in the underbelly of the ship. This includes fuel systems, potable water, wastewater, incineration, ballast water, and I’m sure a bunch more. Hezekiah and Drew showed me around and I have pictures but I can’t quite tell you what they are because there were so many things to keep track of. As chief engineer, Hezekiah has the ultimate responsibility of the equipment and safety of his team. He has been with NOAA for about a year, permanently stationed to the Pisces.

Under boat machinery
Under boat machinery
Under boat machinery
“Stuff” under the boat that makes the boat go zoom zoom.

Evaluate.
Nothing
Gonna
Implode.
Nice,
Engineers
Evade
Repairs.

The titles in the engineering department are so much more straight forward to a civilian like me than the deck crew. Are you ready? The role below Chief Engineer is 1st Assistant Engineer. Then 2nd Assistant Engineer. Then…you guessed it… 3rd Assistant Engineer. Then Junior Engineer, Oiler, and General Vessel Assistant (similar to that on deck, but going the engineering path).

David poses for the camera in the "engineering photo spot" which is in front of computer screens and a table of buttons.
David looking technical in the spot that I have deemed as the “engineering photo spot”.

The 1st Assistant Engineer, David, has been with NOAA for 4 years and serves as the assistant to the chief. In fact, he has all the certifications, trainings, and classes to serve as a chief engineer. He is currently in the augmented pool (I describe this more in the deck crew post), but plans to get assigned to a vessel when there is an opening. His main responsibility is the Shipboard Automated Maintenance Management (SAMM) system. Think of it like an oil change light, but it lets you know everything you should be doing as preventative maintenance on the ship. It’s a great system to address issues with equipment before they even become issues.

How Did You Make Your Way To NOAA?
1. Hezekiah was in the U.S. Navy for 10 years in engineering and then laterally switched to NOAA.
2. Both David and Tom went to SUNY Maritime College and Solomon went to the Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy
3. Drew started in the galley 1.5 years after high school and worked his way up through the engineer ranks.

The main job of the 2nd assistant engineer is all things fuel. Drew transfers fuel throughout the day between tanks and machinery that removes water, sediment, and other impurities from the fuel. He generates a daily report recording the amount of fuel, ballast, sewage, and potable water for the chief engineer. Like other engineers, he also does 8 hour watches through the belly of the ship to make sure everything is running smoothly. Tom is also a 2nd assistant engineer and added that they will do preemptive maintenance too. As part of the aug pool, Tom jumps around between vessels, though he will be on the Pisces for another month as there is a second leg of the AMAPPS mission. He enjoys being part of the aug pool because of the flexibility he has and he has a clear separation between work and personal life. He enjoys working for NOAA, but plans on working for the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association union more in the future. Drew shared with me that the 60 day on, 30 day off schedule that we’ve talked about previously is actually a new system that started about a year ago. Drew shared it means less overtime pay, but he prefers the new system because it’s a better quality of life. Drew started with NOAA in 2005 and is on a permanent placement with the Pisces, only second to the bosun!

Drew stands in front of the Fuel Oil Manifold, smiling for the camera
Drew
Tom poses for the camera in the "engineering photo spot"
Tom

The Junior Engineer onboard the Pisces for this leg is Danny. His job is to monitor and record data from various equipment throughout the day. He also has miscellaneous duties throughout the day such as standing watch and repairing mechanical equipment. Danny is shy and didn’t want to talk more about his journey, but I still wanted to make sure he was included!

Solomon is the just starting out in the merchant marine world, serving as a General Vessel Assistant but recently got his credentials to be an oiler. His main responsibility is to help the other engineers, particularly with cleaning (salt water does horrors on metal equipment!). He is part of the aug pool, and other ships may have him doing different responsibilities depending on the mission. He is interested in going back to school to become a reefer electrician (I had to use ChatGPT to figure this out, I thought I heard it wrong on my recording. But I didn’t – “reefer” is short for refrigeration) and he’s interested in still doing NOAA part time as well as working for a union.

What Should I Know About Pursuing This Path?

As you saw, there are quite a few pathways to becoming an engineer in the NOAA fleet. Here are some other tips shared by the guys on getting into this field:

  1. Take as many trades-like classes as you can while you’re in school (particularly high school), such as welding, mechanics, electrical, and construction.
  2. A four-year degree is not required, but that could get you into the door at other companies that have a degree requirement.
  3. The trainings, classes, and certification exams add up, about $35,000 for all the way to chief engineer. Find employers (like NOAA) that covers these costs as you grow and learn.
  4. Because NOAA supports people who want to come in brand new to the field, start at the bottom and try it out for a couple years to see if you like it. You will learn lots of soft skills since you are living and working with people 24/7 that will translate to other jobs.
  5. If you are interested in traveling the world, NOAA may not be a good fit since few ships travel outside of U.S. waters.

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Kiersten Newtoff: Bird is the Word. January 27, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 27, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 27, 2025. Due to weather, we had to dock a couple days early, but I already had some posts planned out!

The last science crew spotlight is of the best1 crew: team birds! And to wrap it up, a spotlight on the Chief Scientist that put the science crew together: Debi.

Bird is the Word (Have You Heard?)

A photograph of the horizon with 50+ Northern Gannets diving into the water.
A huge flock of Northern Gannets dive bomb into the water for a snickety-snack. Credit: Allison

Okay, so why birds? I think this class of organisms is one of the best for future wildlife biologists to get started in because they are everywhere, both visually and auditorily findable, and their biodiversity is well documented. Birds also serve as an excellent bioindicator of ecosystem health because of their ubiquitous distribution. Many species are at the top of the food chain, so we can see how pollutants biomagnify to the highest trophic levels. Some species are habitat specialists, and their relative numbers can provide insight into our changing world. In the ocean, seabirds and whales share a common meal – so where there are birds, there’s a chance for marine mammals. Likewise, smaller breeding colonies can provide insight to fisheries health that affects both marine life and human sustenance. If there’s a consistent decline, redistribution, or mass mortality in birds, then scientists will investigate the environment to find clues for these changes. It’s likely affecting other organisms too, but we just don’t notice them as quickly. Another reason to study seabirds is:

Because they’re cool.
                          Nick

Meet the Bird Nerds

Allison and Nick pose for the camera and are wearing heavy duty cold weather gear on the flying bridge.
Allison and Nick bundled up on the flying bridge. Credit: Ryan

One of the seabird observers on this cruise is Allison. In undergrad she majored in Zoo and Wildlife Biology and worked as a zookeeper after graduation. A shoulder injury and subsequent surgery took her out of the field for a few months and it was during this time she decided to pursue birds as a full time career, as she had really enjoyed an ornithology course in college. After her recovery, Allison worked as a Coastal Steward for Tuckernuck Island, MA for a few years, working with gulls and shorebirds. She teamed up with a local professor and also did MAPS banding of songbirds on the island. She presented some of their gull research at the Waterbird Society meeting in New Bern, NC in 2016 and participated in a pelagic cruise field trip. That’s when she got hooked onto seabirds. Allison has been a contractor for NOAA since 2019 and usually spends over 120 days a year at sea doing seabird surveys out of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center with EcoMon and AMAPPS. Outside of these tours, she does lots of guest speaking for universities, libraries, birding clubs, and other conservation organizations about birding life on the high seas. Allison maintains many Excel sheets with all sorts of fun data, but the most impressive is her list of the 162 bird species seen on/from the ship!

Birds of the Sea, a haiku
Choppy seas today,
But the birds still fly and zoom.
Was that a puffin?

Indeed, it was a puffin.
Credit: Nick

The other seabird observer onboard is Nick whose journey to birds started after his freshman year in college; he spent the summer in the Bering Sea collecting phytoplankton. There just happened to be a seabird observer on board who taught him a lot between his phytoplankton duties. After graduating, he found a researcher who was working with Adelie penguins near Palmer Station, Antarctica (there’s a live webcam of the penguins!). He “cold-emailed” (comes from the idea of ‘cold calling’ where you reach out to someone who you don’t know) this researcher soon after graduating asking about opportunities to work with him. It took 2 years of Nick getting more experience and sending a few more emails to finally convince the researcher to let him join a research trip in 2008. Nick spends 6-8 months a year doing various field work: marine mammal aerial surveys, studying puffins in Maine, turtle work in North Padre Island, field projects for National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service, and many more. In 2013, he was hired by a contracting agency to work on NOAA cruises which he has been doing since. He likes the seasonal work because he gets a lot of time to spend with family, traveling, and just doing what he wants to do.

Meet the Chief Scientist

Debi poses for the camera on the fly bridge.
Debi is bundled up on the fly bridge, likely fixing the tech!

The big science boss lady is Debi, a research fisheries biology at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA. She is the branch chief of the newly minted Conservation Ecology Branch within the Protected Species Division. Specifically, she focuses on the spatial and temporal abundance of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds. These data are critical in understanding how many of these organisms there are and how many are accidentally taken by humans. She’s also involved with the International Whaling Commission and the head of the US delegation to the Scientific Committee. As branch chief, her duties are split between science and admin tasks. She may start her day working on a publication about harbor porpoise bycatch, and in the afternoon she’s organizing group travel to meet with International Whaling Commission scientists to discuss the status of whales and other related science. Debi started with NOAA as a Ph.D. student out of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 1987 and began her professional role in 1991. She’s been working with protected species the entire time, but the species and goals change over the years as we learn more. On this cruise, she leads the teams with scheduling, monitoring weather conditions, double-checking and processing the data, and liaising with the ship. She also designed the tracklines we collect data on; then after the cruise she will analyze the data and hopefully publish the results.

How to Join the Flock

  • Be open to all sorts of jobs. There are so many jobs out there that you don’t even know are jobs.
  • Every job, internship, volunteer opportunity you can learn something. You’ll get as much out of it as you put into it.
  • Be flexible – this field is dependent on grant funding. One year a position may exist, but maybe not next year.
  • Check out the job boards for ornithology opportunities and wildlife biology opportunities
  • Work on building quantitative skills such as statistics, coding, and GIS. Those skills are more likely to get you hired than just having a biological background.
  • Speaking of skills, don’t pigeonhole (heh) yourself to just birds, the more you can do, the more likely you will land a position. Being able to ID mammals or turtles, maneuvering/repairing small boats, manning drones, collecting biopsies, and vessel and aerial surveys are all helpful.
  • Network, network, network. Any internship, job, seminar, or experience you do, get to know the people. They will be critical in finding positions.
  • Reflect on your career and life goals. This kind of work is almost exclusively short-term temporary positions without benefits. Consider how long you want to work in the field before moving to something else, such as graduate school (which having the field experience is really beneficial!).

1There is absolutely no bias in this statement.

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Kiersten Newtoff: GO NOAA, BEAT ARMY, January 24, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 24, 2025
Data from the Bridge: N38°17’0″, W70°54’0″. 19kn winds. It says it’s 38°F, but I’m pretty sure it has said that for every single post so I suspect the temperature probe isn’t working.

Did you know that the NOAA Corp is a uniformed service? There are 8 total uniformed services, and NOAA is the smallest (about 337 personnel) – even smaller than the Space Force! I also legit had no idea the Space Force was a real thing. Huh. The more you know.

The NOAA Corps supports missions in understanding our oceans and atmosphere and its impact on humans such as fisheries, hurricanes, flood prediction, and resource management.  The Corps is essentially the officers that drive the boat, manage the people, and support the science missions. To join you need to have a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field. If you’re interested in more research-based roles, the NOAA Corps may not be a good fit, but other NOAA offices are. If accepted, then you go through military medical screening, then officer training at the NOAA Corps Training Center at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and then lots of courses and trainings. From there you can pick one of two paths: maritime or aviation. Most Corps members go the maritime route; if you choose to go with aviation you’ll go through additional training. We’ll go through the different positions on the maritime side of things since that’s who I’ve been working with!

Excerpt: Into the Oceans and the Air (NOAA Corps Official Service Song)
Into storms we love to fly. Buckle in, we’ll reach the eye.
We survey the mountain tops, predicting floods and saving crops.
From the peaks to the coasts, we do soar.
We are the NOAA Corps!

Balancing Sea and Shore Assignments

In earlier posts, you learned how many of the crew positions have 60 days on ship and 30 days on shore schedules. The NOAA Corps officers do something similar, but just longer: they spend two years at sea and three years on land. Sometimes the shore assignment still includes some sea time, but for much shorter stints. This five-year cycle coincides nicely with the positions on board. After completing training, your first boat assignment will be as a Junior Officer where you learn the ropes of your boat and learn from the other officers on board. The next sea duty will be as an Operations Officer, then Executive Officer (XO), and finally as a Commanding Officer (CO). Going through all these positions would get you to 20 years, when you are eligible for a pension.

Commanding Officer (CO)

The head honcho on the Pisces is Commanding Officer Colin Kliewer (pronounced like ‘cleaver’). He makes the ultimate decision as to what the ship’s activities or plans are for any given day as well as overall operations. All operations on Pisces are ultimately his responsibility. His day-to-day is a combination of administrative and operational tasks. He works alongside the Executive Officer (XO) on administrative work and with the Chief Engineer on boat systems. He will also work with the Operations Officers and Chief Scientist to come up with the daily operational plan with regards to weather and other conditions.

Commander Kliewer smiling for the camera in the wet lab
Commander Kliewer in the wet lab.

Like many of the scientists on board, Commander Kliewer got his undergraduate degree in Marine Biology. He always saw himself in public service; he applied to NOAA because he was able to serve and explore the country and the world. He started his journey in the NOAA Corps over 18 years ago, and he’s about to finish his CO position with the Pisces before heading to his next shore duty. Although he will be eligible for his pension in 2 years, he plans on staying in the Corps because there is a lot more he wants to experience and do. Commander Kliewer shares that the most crucial soft skill needed for the Corps is communication. He is a self-identified introvert (this surprises no one on board), but he recognizes how crucial good communication is to help improve operations and being aware of what’s is going on.

As I was working on this blog post, a small group of North Atlantic Right Whales hung out by the ship. These animals are critically endangered, with only about 360 or so left in the world. This is roughly around how many NOAA Corps members there are. Therefore, if we expand the NOAA Corps, then we will also have more right whales, because corps-elation = causation!
I’ll see myself out.

Executive Officer

If Commander Kliewer is the president of the Pisces, then Executive Officer Steve Moulton is the vice president. If the CO goes down, Steve’s #1 job is to take over his role. He will make sure he gets us home safe and sound. But a typical day is usually not the worst case scenario, so otherwise he is helping the CO administratively. He is the go-to guy for all personnel administration and logistics. As you’ve learned, people are switching between shore and ship duty often and he works with shore support to make sure that the Pisces has the appropriate personnel every cruise. Shoreside recruitment will also identify potential hires for open positions on the ship and the XO will conduct virtual interviews to make sure they are the right fit for the Pisces. Steve shares that being trustworthy and good-natured are crucial characteristics for this career. If you can work well with others, everything else can be taught (and NOAA provides lots of training!). His goal is to bring on someone who is willing to learn and works well with others.

Getting the right people is paramount. When you have the wrong type of person on a ship with 30-35 people per leg, things can get really difficult, really fast.
Steve

Steve is sitting at his desk, looking at the computer. His desk is a hodge podge of pieces to make it larger.
Steve getting his administrative duties on. I specifically wanted a picture of his desk, because he has engineered it to give him almost double the space.

Steve used to serve in the Coast Guard, primarily in the reserves and worked in industrial hygiene and OSHA compliance on job sites. When the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened, he worked a temporary, full-time position with the Coast Guard. There, he met quite a few people from NOAA and a Chief coast guard encouraged him to join the NOAA Corps. It was a great fit for him because he enjoyed science and education more than law enforcement and war. Steve will pass his XO reigns at the end of July and will start his 3ish years on shore duty in the DC area at headquarters. Since I’m local to the area I asked him about his commute. He will be taking the train, twice a day, for nearly 4 hours. Maybe he is trying to simulate being underway??

Operations Officers (Ops)

Nick and Ryan are the two operations officers on board. Their main job is to be the liaison between the ship and the science party. Ops know the capabilities of the ship and communicate with the science party to work within those parameters. This can include logistics in mobilization and demobilization, daily planning, and working with all departments to make sure equipment is ready for the project. They are also responsible for berthing, watch bills, fueling, course planning, and general reporting.

Ryan smiles for the camera out on deck.
The best picture of Ryan that’s ever been taken (his words, kinda).

Before NOAA, Ryan served in the Air Force as a medic for 6 years. After his tour, he used his GI bill to get a degree in meteorology with the plan to go to Officer Training School. He was accepted, but it would be another 3-4 years before he could start due to a bottleneck of people joining. He really liked the job security, pay, camaraderie, training style, and rigid framework, but he didn’t want to wait years before starting OTS. He decided to join NOAA to maintain the structure he wanted but on a timeline that was more reasonable. Ryan shares that having high emotional intelligence to assess situations and interactions with others is important for the service. While there are ranks and hierarchy, it’s more important to understand and appreciate the experience people have and to build good relationships with everyone, no matter their position. Nick adds that having initiative is also important. You can’t just wait to be given a task; you need to recognize what needs to be done and be proactive in your response.

Nick started in the NOAA Corps in 2017, but he had a lot of interesting adventures before then. In college he focused on biomechanics and locomotion research, played professional soccer in Germany (check out his college stats), and taught 7, 8, and 11th grades. Then one day he was hiking in the woods and met a guy who was trying to make friends because he moved a lot because he was a NOAA Corps Officer. They got to talking and the rest is history. I asked what inspired a change in career, and his response:

I like being on boats.
Nick

Emerson and Nick behind the control panels on the bridge. Both are looking away from the camera but still smiling.
Emerson (left) and Nick (right) on the bridge. Credit: Commander Kliewer

Junior Officer

Fresh(ish) from training are Junior Officers Emerson and Christy. As Junior Officers, their primary responsibility is to navigate the ship and conduct underway watches on the bridge. Their collateral duties (as an aside – I’d never heard of the term ‘collateral duties’ and had no idea what it meant. Like, you have to offer up something you own for work?? But during the interview I never asked even though Emerson said it like 5 times because I didn’t want to interrupt, so I just sat there nodding. I’ve since googled it; it’s essentially duties that aren’t your primary duties. Why they aren’t called secondary duties…) include serving as damage control officers. They ensure that the ship complies with emergency policies that are in place and are responsible for planning drills, debriefing afterwards, and addressing any concerns to make improvements.

The things we get to do are pretty cool.
Emerson

Emerson also serves as the Medical Person in Charge to handle and treat common injuries on board and follow protocols for more serious injuries and communicating with shore. As he got closer to finishing his undergraduate degree in environmental service, he was considering joining a uniformed service. Emerson learned about the NOAA Corps through his good friend Google. It really appealed to him because he could serve and also apply his science background on missions. He thinks that being curious, and having the mentality for continuous learning, will make you successful in the NOAA Corps. Having a want to learn new things and develop new skillsets will get you far.  

Christy smiling for the camera on the deck.
Christy on deck.

Some of the collateral duties that Christy does are serving as a navigation officer, environmental compliance officer (ECO), dive officer, and the manager of FUN. Because why do one thing when you can do many things? Her most important role (in my opinion) is leading the Morale, Wellness, and Recreation committee – we all live and work together for long periods of time, so keeping morale up is mission critical. Christy has both a bachelor’s and master’s in marine biology, but research wasn’t really scratching that itch. She studied abroad and did outdoor recreation programs but same thing – none of these really felt like the right fit. But there was a common thread – being on boats. And she liked boats. And boats liked her. A couple twists and turns later, and Christy joined the NOAA Corps. Christy is the epitome of adaptability – assignments and duties are constantly in flux, and you really need to be able to adjust so that you can function. You also have to be able to adapt to life at sea and maneuver how you approach friendships and relationships.

Does the NOAA Corps sound like something you want to pursue? Get started here!

Bonus!

So the picture below was the original picture of Steve. Notice how the light is glaring from the window? I don’t really do photo editing, so I don’t really know how to fix it. I know that Photoshop has some AI tools, so I tried that. I highlighted over the window and the glare and prompted “Remove Glare”.

Original picture of Steve in his office, with a noticeable glare from his window.

And the results were definitely not what I was expecting…

Results of Steve's picture using AI to remove the glare. AI added interesting backgrounds and changed Steve to have different hair styles and glasses.
Results of Steve's picture using AI to remove the glare. AI added interesting backgrounds and changed Steve to have different hair styles and glasses.
Results of Steve's picture using AI to remove the glare. AI added interesting backgrounds and changed Steve to have different hair styles and glasses.
Results of Steve's picture using AI to remove the glare. AI added interesting backgrounds and changed Steve to have different hair styles and glasses.
Results of Steve's picture using AI to remove the glare. AI added interesting backgrounds and changed Steve to have different hair styles and glasses.

At least he has some ideas of what looks good as far as hairstyles and glasses go!

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Kiersten Newtoff: Thar She Blows! January 22, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 22, 2025
Data from the Bridge: N38°12’0″, W74°47’0″. It’s currently 38°F outside — it snowed on deck last night! We have about 24kn of wind but it’s dying down quickly.

Team Spotlight: Marine Mammal Observers
(I was doing cute names previously, but realized it’s probably more important to use the actual job names…)

From Fins to Feet and Back Again

A bird’s eye view of a group of common
dolphins swimming along the bow of
the Pisces. It’s hard to see, but there is a
striped dolphin mixed in. Credit: Kelsey.
NEFSC permit #27066.

Cetaceans are a group of marine mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. There are other groups of marine mammals too such as seals, otters, and manatees, but this cruise is mostly focusing on cetaceans. Upon first look, it’s not a far reach to think that cetaceans are fish, but they are indeed mammals – they are born with fine sensory hairs and they have mammary glands to support their young.   I teach evolution in one of my classes and the story of cetaceans is quite fascinating. Life began in the seas as the land was toxic. As algae oxygenated the world, evolution on land became a race. Land was a frontier where no other organism lived, which meant nothing was around to eat you. The land plants dominated and vertebrates like Tiktaalik soon followed. What was once a barren wasteland now supported dinosaurs. Evidence points that the common ancestor of cetaceans were land-based, even-toed ungulates (hooved animals), with hippos being their closest present-day ancestor. As with most questions in science, answering “why” is nearly impossible, but understanding natural selection can get us a good hypothesis about this transition. Some ancestral ungulates probably lived closer to shores and may have even waded into the water to eat fish. Those that just happened to have limbs that made them swim or dive a little bit more than others had access to more food, so they are the ones who survived and reproduced. Add in another 5-10 million years and you have the whales – organisms that can move gracefully through water and have an abundant food source.

Whale art thou?

What the Marine Mammal Observers do is pretty much in their name: they observe marine mammals. On this trip, they are most interested in cetaceans but also record other species of note (sharks, sunfish, seals, etc.). These simple observations have a big impact. We can create models using the data to estimate the distribution and abundance of species. This AMAPPS winter cruise is to better understand distribution at a time of the year that we have limited data. Unfortunately, winter means less than ideal conditions, but some data are better than no data!

On the flying bridge. Michelle is in the foreground looking through a large standing binoculars called the big eyes. Behind her is Cheryl who is standing, and Kelsey who is seated. Other observers can be seen in the background.
Michelle operates the “big eyes” on the port side while another observer is on the starboard side. Cheryl is behind her, about to switch with Kelsey to do naked eye detections and data recording.

While marine mammal surveys can be conducted by small boats and aerial surveys, they are usually limited to close to shore. These trips offshore fill in missing gaps about cetacean abundance and distribution. Of particular note are beaked whales, which can be found in deep water. The number of vessels or land points that are able to confidently spot them is limited. Most of the data that comes from beaked whales are from washed up carcasses. By following transect lines, the Pisces science team can do a wide swath of surveying in the ocean and record a large variety of species with trained observers using big eyes (see picture; really large mounted binoculars) with support from bioacoustics. If the conditions are just right, the science team can also collect a DNA sample from an organism, which can help us determine their sex, subpopulation, trophic level of diet, pregnancy, and more. This is especially important for the Gervais beaked whale because we know very little about them. If on this trip we were to get a visual sighting, an acoustic signature, AND a biopsy of one – we all may just wipe our hands and say we can go home now. No cap. (I think I used that right…)

These species maps are critical in conservation – you can’t really protect the species if you don’t know much about them. By doing these observational studies over long periods of time, we can assess how climate change and habitat availability are impacting the species. In conjunction with the zooplankton team, they help us to understand what’s happening lower in the food chain and changes in these organisms can percolate to the top. These data can help to establish timelines on when it is safe to be drilling or doing construction or shift shipping lanes so that humans have less interactions with marine mammals. Fishing bycatch is a major cause of death in whales, so understanding whale migration patterns, breeding, and wintering grounds can help establish safe fishing zones.

Our data gets used by the Navy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and NOAA. It’s really important to get it right.
Yin

Let’s Be Real about the Wildlife Biology World

As a warning, this section is not full of rainbows and sunshine. There is a real problem in wildlife biology (whether it’s marine mammals or birds or megafauna) that is really important for folks to know that are trying to get into this field.

When you think about a job, you likely are imagining a job that is generating revenue for a company. Your role is helping the company make money, and they pay you to help them make money. But the conservation world lacks this mechanism. Funds for conservation are limited to grants from other organizations, or funds from the state or federal level so they can meet environmental regulations. While those funds exist, very few are regular – there may be enough money this year to sponsor 5 researchers, but next year maybe for only 2. It’s feast or famine.

A common dolphin that has jumped out of the water. The side of the dolphin is much darker than other common dolphins due to melanism, which is an overproduction of melanin.
A melanistic (produces the dark pigment melanin more than typical) common dolphin spotted on the trip. Credit: Michelle. NEFSC permit #27066.

Because of this lack of funding, many organizations simply cannot afford to pay for people to complete the work, or they can only supply income for short contracts. If you want to get experience in a wildlife field, you likely will have to volunteer or take unpaid internships. Perhaps you find a paid position, but the working conditions are not compensated appropriately, or you take a ‘volunteer position’ but you have to pay a fee to get involved. And these companies aren’t trying to exploit people, it’s just the unfortunate reality of funding in the conservation world. And let’s be real, the wildlife biology field is fun and there are lots of people who want to volunteer. While that may be a great thing for these organizations, it means the diversity in the workforce is limited to those who have the financial ability to be there. Wildlife biology jobs are also in short supply, so you need a lot of experience or education to be competitive.

There’s not much that we can do about it, but the conversations are starting. It’s important to know what you are getting yourself into, especially when considering where you may go to college and the tuition, as it may be quite a while before you are able to pay off student loans. Keep your prospects open and don’t pigeonhole yourself into one path. Perhaps consider specializing in statistics, as all fields of biology (and just careers in general) have a strong need for statisticians.

Statistics will get you anywhere in the world, in any field.
Sam

Meet the Marine Mammal Observer Team

Kelsey is on the left ans Sam is on the right on the flying bridge. Kelsey is seated and Sam is standing next to her. Both are wearing mustang suits, which are bulky clothing to keep warm.
Kelsey (left) and Sam (right) on the flying bridge, where observations take place when the weather is good enough.

As a quick note, many folks in environmental fields in the government (like NOAA) are contractors. Contracts can be short term (such as a single cruise) or longer term depending on project goals and needs.  You’ll learn about the jobs that the marine mammal team hold when not working with NOAA.

Meet Michelle, who works as a protected species observer for TetraTech (which is also the company my mom worked at for many years!). In this position, she mitigates for potential impacts on protected species and does environmental compliance for the offshore energy industry (wind mostly, but also oil and gas). Her master’s degree focused on Indo-Pacific dolphins in Hong Kong and Taiwan, particularly looking at the impact of boat traffic and construction on their populations.  She volunteered for Allied Whale and was a commercial fisheries observer for NOAA.

As an undergrad, Kelsey specialized in marine mammal biology through field courses, internships, and research in Alaska, New Zealand, and Texas. These experiences led to roles as a protected species observer, supporting marine mammal research, industry mitigation, and conservation efforts from land, sea, and air. Her master’s research focused on community-based conservation to reduce human impacts on cetaceans; her ongoing PhD in Australia furthers this by developing acoustic techniques to reduce humpback whale entanglements. She also enjoys sharing her passion for the ocean through environmental education when the opportunity arises!

Coming from the Greater Atlantic Fisheries office is Cheryl, a marine resources management specialist. Having gone to school in central NY, marine mammals weren’t really on her radar. Afterwards she worked for a company in Hawaii narrating whale watches and dolphin tours which jump started her love for marine mammals. From there she did a master’s and Ph.D. with marine mammals. While her position is usually at the office, she is able to take advantage of research cruises to see where the data is coming from to better inform her management work.

Close-up view of Yin in an insulated mustang suit on the flying bridge. The large binoculars, called the big eyes, are directly behind her.
Yin poses with the big eyes because we are excited about science! Credit: Yin.

Sam has been working with the AMAPPS mission for about 10 years with both observations and data analyses to support reports and scientific papers. He has a Ph.D. in Marine Science and has worked with fish and marine mammals. He also taught at Northern Virginia Community College for five years, which isn’t too far from where I teach!

And last, but certainly not least, is Yin who got started in the NOAA research cruise world after graduate school. Her research focused on how tourism impacts dusky dolphins in New Zealand, as well as describing their acoustic behavior. She had a friend who did Eastern Tropical Pacific cruises with NOAA and recommended that Yin apply for the next one. Yin worked for NOAA for 10 years but is now in a contracting role, which grants her the flexibility for more adventures.

A Day in the Life of a Marine Mammal Observer
Watching for dolphins.
Bad weather, go to the bridge.
We see nothing, sigh.

As I’m putting in the finishing touches on this post, the sea has changed substantially and warrants a new haiku.

Are Those Calm Seas?
Finally, calm sea.
No white caps, slow wind, warm air.
Of course, it’s foggy.

Breaking into the Marine Mammal World
The team shared a lot of different tips for people who are interested in marine mammals.

  1. When in college, do as much hands-on work, volunteering, and internships as you can.
  2. Meet and network at the Marine Mammalogy Conference. Their website also has a lot of great resources for students who want to get started in the marine mammal world. The Cascadia Research Collective has good advice too.
  3. Develop as many additional skills as you can: statistics, GIS, math, invertebrates, oceanography, small engines, soldering, coding, and photography all are helpful.
  4. Positions exist at the bachelor’s level, but you likely will need at least a master’s, if not a Ph.D. because of how competitive the field is getting. More education may also lead to more networking opportunities.
  5. It’s a small world, meaning everyone talks to everyone. Your work ethic will get out there.
  6. Try many things in the marine world, not just marine mammals. You will gain a lot of experience that is transferrable to the marine mammal world.
  7. Similarly, if this path is daunting, you can work other positions on the ship (see my other blogs for highlights!) that gets you involved with the science.
  8. And finally….

It’s really important to be kind.
Yin

A view of two computer screens side by side. The background is a closeup of Kiersten looking through the big eyes. The image is oriented like a mirror across the screens, so that Kiersten is "looking" at herself.
Here’s a bonus image! I came into the dry lab this morning to find this on the computer monitors. Just so artsy. Photo cred: Kelsey. Layout cred: Annamaria