NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jane Temoshok
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown October 2 – 24, 2001
Mission: Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes Geographical Area: Eastern Pacific Date: October 1, 2001
I wanted to take a moment to say hi and tell you that all is fine here (At least I think it is and I haven’t heard otherwise from anybody else). It’s quite an interesting group of people on this mission. Very focused, all with their own agendas. Everyone has bent over backwards to be nice to me. Some very intriguing science happening!
Of course my mind is reeling with learning it for myself and thinking about translating it into English for my students. Speaking of students, today we had
the most wonderful school visit! It was all arranged by Jose (Deputy Director of Ops) in a VERY short amount of time. It was a small private school run by
2 sisters (siblings, not nuns). It is an immersion type school where subjects are taught in both Spanish and English so as to learn the English language.
Preschoolers read us a story, 3rd graders sang us a song, and high schoolers are very excited about coming up to the ops center next week for a field trip. They have internet access and Dr. Kermond invited them to log on the live streams. He was so excited by the video he shot, he can’t wait to edit it as he sees it in his head. It will be great.
Tommorrow we are going up in the C130. It will be a 9 hour flight along 95W and we will go directly over the RON BROWN and communicate by radio with them! I’m a tad nervous about it but am excited none the less. Wish me luck.
I have several digital shots that are wonderful! The ops center is an amazing assortment of equipment, but it smells funny and has lots of mosquitos! However, Hualtuco is fabulous! Very romantic.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jennifer Richards
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown September 5 – October 6, 2001
Mission: Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes Geographical Area: Eastern Pacific Date: September 12, 2001
Latitude: 9º 56.5 N Longitude: 95º 2.5 W Temperature: 31.2º C Seas: Sea wave height: 2-3 feet Swell wave height: 4-5 feet Visibility: 10 miles Cloud cover: 5/8 Water Temp: 29.3ºC
Research Objective for the day: Begin taking measurements with the Lidar (ETL), the MMP (UW), weather balloons (CSU), and the SPMR (UCSB). Every group on the ship is in full swing, and will continue their operations for the next 18 days.
Science Log
Today I met with part of the group from NOAA’s Environmental Technology Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. There are three sets of instruments being used by this team, and today I will introduce you to the researchers associated with two of those groups- the lidar group and the kaband group.
Ms. Janet Intrieri, an Atmospheric Scientist, and Dr. Raul Alvarez, a Physicist, have been working long hours each day on the Mini MOPA Lidar. This is the most labor-intensive piece of equipment on the ship, requiring constant watch and intervention to keep it running properly. It is also probably the fanciest piece of equipment on the ship, using CO2 lasers and an intricate network of lenses and mirrors to measure wind velocity and water vapor in the atmosphere. The really cool thing about the lidar is that it can measure these things at various altitudes simultaneously, up to 6-8 kilometers in range. Without the lidar, scientists could measure a specific point in the atmosphere using planes, satellites, or weather balloons, but the lidar allows Ms. Intrieri and Dr. Alvarez to see everything in a horizontal column of the sky at the same time.
How does lidar work? Lidar (which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, similar to the term Radar as used for radio waves) is a remote sensing technique that allows measurements of atmospheric conditions using laser light. The typical lidar system emits a short pulse of laser light that travels through the atmosphere. As this pulse of light goes through the atmosphere, it can interact or scatter off of various components in that atmosphere. These components can include dust, clouds, water vapor, pollutants, and even the air molecules themselves. When the light scatters off of these things, a small part of that scattered light is going back toward the receiver part of the lidar which is usually composed of a telescope (to collect as much of this light as possible) and a detector that converts the light signals into electronic signals that can be input to a computer.
How the signals that are collected are processed depends on what atmospheric properties are being measured. For information on the total amount of light scattering due to dust and clouds, we can simply look at the strength of the return signal as a function of time (which is proportional to the distance that the pulse has traveled). To gather information about the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, one technique is to transmit two laser pulses that are at different wavelengths. One of the wavelengths is selected so that it is not affected by the water vapor, while the other is selected so that it is partially absorbed by water vapor. (Each different chemical that we might try to measure has a different absorption of light that will determine which wavelengths and types of laser must be used.) Now, as the laser pulses go through the atmosphere and as the scattered light returns to the receiver, one of the signals is attenuated (reduced) more than the other because it is being absorbed by the water vapor. The amount of water vapor that must have been in the atmosphere to cause a particular amount of signal reduction can then be calculated.
Another thing that can be measured with lidar is the wind velocity. To do this, we rely on the Doppler Effect. This effect states that as the light scatters off of the particles in the atmosphere, the frequency of the light may be shifted if the particles are moving. If they are moving towards the lidar, the frequency will be shifted up while the frequency will be shifted down for particles moving away. Since the frequency of light is extremely high and the Doppler frequency shift is very small, we need to bring the signal (light) frequency down to a manageable level. We can do this by a process called mixing. In essence, the light signal is shone onto a detector along with a small sample of laser light that is at the same frequency as the original pulse that was sent into the atmosphere. When these two beams interfere with each other, the result is a signal on the detector that is the difference in the two light frequencies. At this point, this difference signal tells us the speed of the wind, but not the direction of the wind. A shift of a few megahertz (MHz)(depending on the laser wavelength) could be due to a wind either towards or away from the lidar at a meter per second (m/s). To resolve this uncertainty, the transmitted laser pulse is shifted by a fixed amount of 10 megahertz. Now, when the atmospheric light signal and the laser sample are mixed, the shift in frequency will be offset by the 10 MHz signal. (As an example, let’s suppose that the Doppler shift due to the wind is 2 MHz. Then, the first example without a 10 MHz offset will give you simply a resultant 2 MHz signal for either a +1 m/s or -1 m/s wind, while the 10 MHz offset makes the resultant 12 MHz for a wind toward the lidar and 8 MHz for a wind away from the lidar.)
An additional piece of equipment being used by ETL is the Ka-band radar, operated by Ms. Michelle Ryan. Ms. Ryan uses Ka-band radar to study the clouds- water droplet size, condensation, and the changes between liquid, gas, and solid water. She also uses radiometers to study liquid water and vapor in a column from the ship to the sky. Her equipment complements the lidar by providing information about what’s going on above the cloud base (the lidar focuses on everything between the ocean surface and the clouds).
Thank you very much to Dr. Alvarez for translating enormously complex physics into what you just read about how the lidar works. If you read it through a couple times, it really makes sense! And they say laser physics is complex.
Travel Log
People always wonder what the food is like on the ship. Well, there is lots of it, and it’s better than what you would expect. In fact, I’ve heard some of the scientists challenging each other to see who can gain the most weight on the trip- just an excuse to try a little of everything on the buffet line, and dessert twice. There’s always a salad bar, a couple meat entrees, a couple meatless entrees, and several vegetables. One night we even had crab legs and steak! We eat during designated meal times in the mess hall, and since there are more people on the ship than there are seats in the mess, they try to get you to “eat it and beat it.” The most dangerous part of the mess is the freezer stocked with Haagen Daas ice cream, but I am challenging myself to avoid it until the last night on the ship. There are three stewards on the ship that do all the cooking and kitchen stuff. They’re really nice and friendly.
Question of the day: How much money did the U.S. spend last year on scientific research? What percent of the total budget does it represent? (Please cite your source when you send your answer)
Photo Descriptions:Today’s photos – Since today’s science log focused on the Lidar operated by NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory (ETL), that’s what is highlighted in today’s pictures. You’ll see the ETL lab on the ship- a large container that travelled via tractor-trailor, plane, and barge to get onto the ship. There are two “vans” like this on the ship, which is where this group of ETL scientists spends most of their time. Inside the van, you’ll see Ms. Intieri at the computer controls, Dr. Alvarez tweaking the lenses in the Lidar, and in another picture, Dr. Alvarez pouring liquid nitrogen into the Lidar to keep the optics cool. Finally, you’ll see Ms. Ryan standing next to the kaband radar (looks like a large drum in the photo).
The ETL lab on the ship- a large container that travelled via tractor-trailor, plane, and barge to get onto the ship.
Ms. Intieri at the computer controls inside the “van.”
Dr. Alvarez tweaking the lenses in the Lidar.
Dr. Alvarez pouring liquid nitrogen into the Lidar to keep the optics cool.
Ms. Ryan standing next to the kaband radar (looks like a large drum in the photo).
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jennifer Richards
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown September 5 – October 6, 2001
Mission: Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes Geographical Area: Eastern Pacific Date: September 11, 2001
Latitude: 12º 06.3 N Longitude: 95º 49.7 W Temperature: 26.5 º C Seas: Sea wave height: 2-3 feet Swell wave height: 4-5 feet Visibility: 10 miles Cloud cover: 6/8 Water Temp: 29.7 ºC
Special note: The storm we hit yesterday is now classified and named “Hurricane Ivo”
Research Objective for the day: Install sensors on the buoy at 10N, 95W. Download data from the buoy into the ship’s system for analysis.
Science Log
Today is the first day that official operations take place. We reached the first buoy at 10N, 95W around 4pm, and the zodiac sent several people out to it for maintenance. Divers installed sensors on the under-water portion. They also downloaded the data from the buoy for analysis.
There are lots of buoys in the ocean. Mr. John Stanley (who I will introduce you to later in the week) is in charge of the buoy work on this cruise. He’s installing some, repairing some, and doing general maintenance.
One neat thing about the buoys is that the anchors that keep them in place develop their own ecosystem. All sorts of stuff grows on the anchor line, and stuff that eats the stuff on the line hangs out in the area. And the stuff that eats the stuff that grows on the line is also there. You get the picture. This means that whenever we reach buoys, people on the ship start reaching for their fishing gear. Although we didn’t see any today, I’ve been told that there are often white-tip sharks in the area, and things can get pretty exciting (especially with a diver in the area). Today Pat, one of the crew, caught a pretty good-sized yellow-tail tuna. It was cool, until it started bleeding all over the deck. That’s when I decided I should go look at something else.
Travel Log
This has been a quiet day. Most people on the ship are in some kind of shock after hearing of the terrorist activities on the east coast. I know I speak for everyone on board when I say that all of our thoughts are with the thousands and millions of people who have been affected by the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I tried for hours to reach my family in the Washington, D.C. area, but I was never able to get a connection. Inmarsat-M phone calls must first connect with a satellite operator (challenge #1), and then connect with land (challenge #2). To those of you reading this who have family or friends on the ship, please remember that in an event like this, e-mail is a reliable way to communicate. Our computer guy, Larry, connects with the satellite twice a day – 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. We are now in Mountain Standard Time, one hour later than when we started, 6 hours off of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Today marks the one-week anniversary of when I arrived on the ship. In some ways, it feels like it went quickly, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve been here forever. One of my students, Melissa, asked if it was hard to be away from home. To be honest, I try not to think about it. I miss my husband, Rob, and we email regularly, but I try not to remind myself that I won’t be home for another month. Certainly on a tragic day like this, all I can think about is how far away from home I am.
Question of the day: Why is cloud cover measured in 8ths (example 1/8, 7/8, etc)?
Photo Descriptions: Today’s pictures include the following: the zodiac at the buoy, fishing off the stern of the boat, Pat’s fish, a close-up of a buoy on the ship (will be installed later on the trip), and Captain Dreves keeping a close eye on the buoy operations.
The zodiac (small boat) at the buoy for repairs.
The zodiac (small boat) at the buoy for repairs.
Scientists fishing off the stern of the ship.
One of the scientists, Bruce, with a fish caught off the stern.
A lot of the scientists got very little work done today because the cloud cover was interfering with their instruments. The radar group from Colorado State University was in good spirits because they had a real opportunity to test their equipment during stormy conditions. They are still working out some of the bugs so that when we reach international water, they will be able to work efficiently.
Travel Log
This was the first day in a week that I felt somewhat seasick. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the makers of Meclizine for making a darn good product. We are in the middle of a storm, as you can see from the higher waves and lower visibility reported above. It certainly could be worse- I mean, the waves are only 8 feet, but it’s still an adjustment for my body since the trip has been so nice up until now. I saw a satellite image of this part of the world and you can see a huge storm brewing. I encourage you to search the Internet for current weather images (try a Yahoo search of “NCAR RAP”) and find our latitude and longitude on the map. It looks pretty impressive. It could easily develop into a tropical storm, but hopefully not until it has passed us a little. So what does it feel like to be in a storm? Well, the boat is rocking a LOT, and I’ve been losing my balance all day. I went outside to take some pictures, and was drenched in the few minutes I was there. The deck has about an inch of water sloshing around. And there’s no view of the sunset on the deck after dinner tonight.
Question of the day: What are the two factors that are used when classifying a storm as a tropical depression, tropical storm, or hurricane?
Photo Descriptions: Today’s photos include 5 shots relating to the storm we are in. You’ll see several pictures of the bow of the ship and the low visibility. At all times, there is someone on the bridge on lookout for “objects” in the water (boats, buoys, etc.) During low visibility conditions this job is even more important, since the Captain would have very little time to react if something was spotted. Of course, there is always the radar system, but it doesn’t catch everything. Finally, a picture of the Doppler radar dome, taken prior to the storm. This Doppler radar provides crucial data about the weather conditions around the ship.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jennifer Richards
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown September 5 – October 6, 2001
Mission: Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes Geographical Area: Eastern Pacific Date: September 9, 2001
Latitude: 16º 39.3 N Longitude: 103º 17.0 W Temperature: 31.3ºC Seas: Sea wave height: 1-2 feet Swell wave height: 2-3 feet Visibility: 10 miles Cloud cover: 5/8 Water Temp: 29.7ºC
Science Log
Today I met with Dr. Mike Gregg, a Physical Oceanographer from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at the University of Washington (UW). He is accompanied by 7 additional scientists, comprising the largest group on the ship. The team is composed of the following members:
Dr. David Winkel – Physical Oceanographer
Mr. Jack Miller – Electrical Engineer
Mr. Earl Krause – Oceanography Technician
Mr. John Mickett and Mr. Glenn Carter – Ph.D. graduate students
Mr. Arthur Bartlett and Mr. Paul Aguilar – Engineers
All 8 members of the UW team are working together to gather data about the microstructure of the ocean. They want to understand turbulence in the ocean- in other words, they are interested in finding out how the ocean mixes.
“Coupled global models”- this is a term that is very important to understand the research being conducted on this cruise. It refers to the relationship between the oceans and the atmosphere over the entire planet. Computer models make assumptions about these relationships, which are used to predict short-term and long-term climate. These models exist today, but Dr. Gregg hopes to improve the accuracy of the numbers being input into these models, in order to improve climate-forecasting abilities. Better data input into the models will produce more accurate the climate forecasts.
There are very complex relationships between the oceans and the atmosphere. For example, as the wind blows over the ocean, it transfers energy to the water. You can see this energy in the form of waves. In addition, the moon has a tremendous impact on tides, and as tides rise and fall, energy transfers occur between the atmosphere and the ocean. You can see that energy is constantly being circulated between the oceans and the atmosphere. If you recall from your Physical Science classes in middle school, heat is a form of energy. What happens to the energy, or heat, from waves once the wave has broken and no longer exists? How does that heat energy travel through the ocean? How is the heat energy transfer different in the Eastern Pacific, where there is a warm pool of surface water, compared to the heat energy transfer in inland lakes, or in other parts of the world’s oceans? This is what Dr. Gregg and his team of scientists are trying to find out.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) set up the framework for a program called CLIVAR (Climate Variability). Through CLIVAR, scientists from around the world are working together to improve climate forecasting models. This program reaches across international boundaries and includes dozens of countries that wish to improve the climate forecasting abilities using coupled global models. In the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has agreed to participate in CLIVAR, and are funding Dr. Gregg’s research as part of that program.
The key piece of equipment being used in this research is called a Modular Microstructure Profiler (MMP). The MMP will be dropped in a free-fall while loosely tethered to the ship behind the ship using Kevlar lines while it is slowed to approximately 2 knots. It will measure small-scale turbulence, on the scale of centimeters, in the upper 300 meters of the ocean. The Kevlar line will allow the device to remain far enough away from the ship to prevent the ship movements from interfering with the MMP’s measurements. Dr. Gregg has 3 MMP’s so that one is available to be deployed 24 hours a day while the other two are undergoing repairs and data processing. The eight members of this team will be working 12 hour shifts, around the clock deploying the MMPs and using the winch to bring them back on the ship.
Travel Log
You know, after 5 days on the ship, I am still amazed that I am here. When I was in junior high school, I actually thought of aiming for a career with NOAA. I’ve always loved the oceans, always loved boats, and always loved science. What better way to put it all together than to join the NOAA Corps. I’m not sure what happened, but NOAA faded from my list of career choices in high school. It’s so incredible to finally have a NOAA experience, to participate in a research cruise, and to meet such unique people.
I have found that maintaining sanity on the ship requires keeping a schedule. Here’s my schedule (since I’m sure the world is just dying to know!!): I spend the mornings with one of the research groups or one of the crew groups to find out what they are doing and how it will make the world a better place. I take pictures of them at work, and make lots and lots of notes. Walking around with my paper, pen and camera I feel like a reporter all the time, like some kind of Lois Lane on the high seas. Lunch is from 1130-1230, and is a nice chance to chat with people. After lunch, I visit the bridge and collect the data that you see at the top of my daily log- location, atmospheric and water data. Usually at that time the bridge is occupied by the two female officers on the ship. I’ll introduce you to them some other day. Finally, I go to the computer to review the day’s pictures, translate my scribbled notes and type up my daily log. I also read the email that arrived that morning (we send and receive email twice a day- 10am and 6pm) and respond to each one of them. Once I’ve sent off my logs and pictures to be posted on the web site, it’s time for dinner. After dinner, I have 2 1/2 hours to write lesson plans, read, catch up on logs, or hang out on deck to watch the sunset. Every night at 8pm there is a movie in the lounge. No matter how bad it is, I can’t help watching. For some reason, watching the movie always removes any hint of seasickness I might be feeling. After the movie, it’s finally time for bed.
My favorite time of day is definitely when I get a chance to sit out on deck and watch the sunset while reading Charles Darwin’s “Voyage of the Beagle.” It is so amazingly beautiful and peaceful here, and while I don’t think I’m ready to make a permanent move onto the ship, I sure wish I had a button at home that I could push to be instantly transported to this exact spot (with my husband, Rob, of course).
Question of the day: When Charles Darwin was asked to join the HMS Beagle on its voyage to South America, he was in school at Cambridge studying to enter what profession?
Photo Descriptions: Today’s photos include a couple members of the team from the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. Dr. Mike Gregg is shown in one picture standing next the Modular Microstructure Profiler (MMP), and in another picture, Mr. Paul Aguilar catches up on some highly-intellectual reading. Since I’ve written in my log about the ocean sunsets, I included a picture of one, but I’m sure you can imagine that the picture just doesn’t do it justice. Of course, none of these logs and photos would be possible without a good onboard computer network, so you’ll see a picture of Mr. Larry Loewen, our computer guy. And finally, a shot to remind you of what ship I am on- an ax painted with the ship’s name “RONALD H. BROWN.”
Dr. Mike Gregg is shown in one picture standing next the Modular Microstructure Profiler (MMP).
Mr. Paul Aguilar catches up on some highly-intellectual reading.
Since I’ve written in my log about the ocean sunsets, I included a picture of one, but I’m sure you can imagine that the picture just doesn’t do it justice.
Of course, none of these logs and photos would be possible without a good onboard computer network, so pictured here is Mr. Larry Loewen, our computer guy.
A shot to remind you of what ship I am on- an ax painted with the ship’s name “RONALD H. BROWN.”
