Category: NOAA Fisheries Service

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Dr. Laura Brezinsky, April 14, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Brezinsky
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 8 – April 22, 2004

Day 6: Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Latitude: 57.40.47N
Longitude: 155 12.38

Weather: continuous clouds
Visibility: 29.5-49.5 ft (Very High)
Wind direction: 220 degrees
Wind speed: 11 (m/s)
Sea level pressure: 26

Science and Technology Log

Last night we sailed south/west and this morning we are off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula in the vicinity of Katmai National Park. According to Carol Dewitt, one of the supervisors on this leg of the project, there have been an inordinate number of lost moorings on the GLOBEC line as compared to other moorings in this area. It has been suggested that this could possibly be due to long-line fishing interference but no definitive cause has been determined as of yet. Today we will recover and deploy another buoy and continue in a south westerly direction.

Personal log

Last night during my nightly visit to the bridge I discovered that the crew was closely observing 2 lights that were directly in our path. The concern was that they could possible be marker buoys for a long line and if we were to cross the line it could become entangled in our propeller. Fortunately the lights turned out to be a small boat and a marker for some rocks called “latex rocks”. There is only one captain (John Herring) on this boat and he cannot be on watch 24 hours a day. Often the driving of the boat is turned over to the other crew members including the XO (Executive office) as well as other less senior personnel such as the ensigns. After watching them all work I have complete confidence in their abilities, dedication and attention to detail.

Question of the day: What is long-line fishing and how is it impacting our fisheries? What regulations have been put in place to try and reduce negative impacts of long-liners?

Laura

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Dr. Laura Brezinsky, April 13, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Brezinsky
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 8 – April 22, 2004

Day 5: Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Latitude: 59.05.72N
Longitude: 151 00.14

Weather: continuous clouds
Wind direction: 60 degrees
Wind speed: 19m/s)
Sea wave height: less than 2 feet
Sea level pressure: 13mb
Cloud cover: Cumulus

Science and Technology Log

Yesterday we failed to retrieve the buoy that had lost its floaters but we did successfully deploy a new buoy. During the night the boat sailed south west to our present position off the coast of the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula. This morning we deployed another buoy and took CTD readings. We have one or2 more buoys to recover and deploy and they we will be picking up several buoys that will not be replaced because their projects have completed.

Personal Log

Last night at around midnight, the ship finally got an hour of down time and I got to fish. No one else was much interested so I was out there on the stern of the boat in the middle of the night watching the sea birds and hoping for a bite. I got to thinking about all the different types of birds out here and all their different strategies. Some stay here year round while others migrate to warmer waters and return.

Question of the day: What species of Plover migrates between Hawai`i and Alaska. Illustrate the migration patterns and summarize how those patterns have been elucidated.

Laura

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Dr. Laura Brezinsky, April 12, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Brezinsky
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 8 – April 22, 2004

Day 4: Monday, April 12, 2004

Latitude: 59.31.830N
Longitude: 149 10.28’W

Weather: clear Visibility: 29.5-49.5 ft (very high)
Wind direction: 355 degrees
Wind speed: 6 (m/s)
Sea wave height: virtually flat
Sea level pressure: 143mb
Cloud cover: Nimbostratus

Science and Technology Log

This morning we are off the coast of Seward. We have been having difficulty retrieving a mooring because it is not vertical in the water. At the base of the mooring there is a switch that releases the mooring from the anchor by remote control. The switch also has a sensor that tells the ship what the position of the mooring is. Apparently the mooring is horizontal in the water rather than vertical and that is likely the reason why we cannot
find it. The boat will return with a remote rover that will find and retrieve the mooring.

For now, we will continue on and get the next mooring which is closer in to the coast.

Laura waiting for a mooring.
Laura waiting for a mooring.

Personal Log

The seas are flat, the sun is shining and the coast is stunningly beautiful. We are close enough to land that I can see individual features. There is a very large coastal glacier directly inshore from us. I will try and look up the name of that glacier and report tomorrow on that.

Question of the day: What is the definition of a glacier? How are glaciers being used to track global change over geologic time?

Laura

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Dr. Laura Brezinsky, April 10, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Brezinsky
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 8 – April 22, 2004

Day 1: Saturday, April 10, 2004
Foci Cruise, Leaving Kodiak Alaska on 4/08 and arriving in Dutch Harbor on 4/22

Latitude: 58.41.1690N
Longitude: 148 50.929’W
Cloud cover: partially sunny

Science and Technology log

This morning we are off the coast of the Kenai Peninsula near Seward Alaska. We retrieved and deployed a buoy at approximately 8 AM and will retrieve the next buoy in approximately 3 hours from that time. I interviewed my bunk mate Jennifer Key who is here conducting research on global circulation patterns. Her primary interest is the distribution of the dust from the Gobi desert and its effects on marine organisms. This is especially interesting to me because it is well known that dust from the Gobi Desert also provides significant levels of nutrients to the forests of Hawai’i.

Sunset at Kenai
Sunset at Kenai

Personal Log

Last night I learned how to not fall out of my bunk in 30 foot seas. Lets just say that it’s not very restful. This morning I learned what the crew does, they wedge a survival suit under the outside edge of the mattress. The waves have come down quite a bit making it a lot easier to get around. Question of the day: What air currents distribute dust from the Gobi Desert around the world and where is that dust likely to end up? Until tomorrow… Laura

Picture of the crew retrieving a mooring buoy
Picture of the crew retrieving a mooring buoy