NOAA Teacher at Sea – Page 299 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

June 13, 2012August 11, 2021

Valerie Bogan: First Days at Sea, June 9, 2012

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Valerie Bogan
Aboard NOAA ship Oregon II
June 7 – 20, 2012

Mission: Southeast Fisheries Science Center Summer Groundfish (SEAMAP) Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: Saturday, June 9, 2012

Weather Data from the bridge: Sea temperature 27.5 degrees celsius, Air temperature 24.2 degrees celsius, calm seas with thunderstorms in the area.

Science and Technology Log

As I mentioned in the previous entry the Oregon II is conducting a groundfish survey. During this research cruise we are studying many aspects of the Gulf’s ecosystem. We start by collecting general information about the water chemistry. To do this we use a piece of equipment called a CTD which stands for Conductivity/temperature/depth. This piece of equipment collects information on the temperature, salinity, fluorescence and turbidity.

This is the instrument used to measure salinity, called a CTD.

I am going to briefly explain what each of these readings are and why they are important to the scientific community. Everyone knows what temperature is but you may not be aware of its importance to the health of our planet. The phrases global warming and climate change have become very popular in the last few years. By collecting temperature data in the same spot year after year scientists can determine if the oceans really are getting warmer.

sea surface temperature map — Map of the surface temperatures around the world. The highest temperatures are found in the red areas the lowest temperatures are found in the blue areas. (photo courtesy of bprc.osu.edu)

The oceans contain salt water which is the most important difference between oceans and lakes. The measurement of the amount of salt in an ocean is called salinity. And the amount of salt in an ocean can reflect the workings of the water cycle. If there is an excessive amount of evaporation due to high temperatures, the ocean will become more salty due to the fact that there is more salt in less water. On the other hand if there is a lot of rain or melt waters from glaciers and mountains then the water will become less salty because now the same amount of salt is dissolved in more water.

Fluorescence is the measurement of light which is connected to the photosynthesis rate of algae. The health of the algae has a direct connection to the amount of carbon dioxide that can be absorbed by the ocean. Algae produces its own food just like a tree so if the algae is healthy, more carbon dioxide will be necessary to carry out photosynthesis and then ocean can absorb more natural and man-made carbon dioxide. These readings can also tell us how well the oceans are responding to climate change.

Turbidity is the measure of water clarity. If the turbidity is high it means that light isn’t getting through to the organisms below which in turn means that the algae and seaweed can’t get the light they need to make their own food. High turbidity can also cause the water temperature to go up due to the excessive amount of silt and particles floating and absorbing energy from the sun. High turbidity can also cause small animals on the bottom of the ocean to be buried alive as the particles settle out the water column.

muddy Mississippi river — This is an example of the silt and particulate matter which is flowing into the ocean everyday.(photo courtesy of http://www.motherjones.com)

Personal log

Greetings from the Gulf of Mexico. I have now been onboard the Oregon II for one complete day and am slowly but surely becoming accustomed to the layout of the ship. It has all the comforts of home even if they have different names and look different from the parts of your home. The place I sleep and keep my belongings in is called a stateroom. It is a small space but honestly the only thing I use it for is sleeping . One other difference from your room at home is that the cabinets have latches which keep them closed even when the ship is rolling with the waves. Given the fact that large waves may come up at any time it is important that all personal belonging are securely stored so that they don’t become flying projectiles which can hurt someone.

stateroom — This is where I am bunking for the voyage.

The ship also contains restrooms but they are called the heads. Fresh water is an important resource on the ship as we only brought so much with us so the toilets are flushed using seawater which is very easy to come by out here on the gulf. There are also a couple of showers something which is very important given the fact that our work has the ability to make us very dirty and nobody wants to be stuck on a boat with a bunch of dirty stinky people.

shower — This is where we clean off all the dirt that accumulates during sampling runs.

Safety is very important on ship so we have drills to practice what to do in case of emergency, just like the drills we do at Maple Crest middle school. Today we had a fire drill during which the scientists were to muster (that means to report) in the lounge and stay out-of-the-way of the crew members who are actually trained to put out a fire if one should occur on the ship. Following that we had an abandoned ship drill during which we had to put on long pants and shirts and a survival suit. The purpose of all this clothing is to keep you protected from the elements if you have to float in the water for an extended time while waiting on a rescue ship to come

Survival suit — This is the suit you must wear during abandon ship drills.

June 13, 2012August 11, 2021

Sue Oltman: In Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, June 6, 2012

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Sue Oltman
Aboard R/V Melville
May 22 – June 6, 2012

Location: Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands
Date: June 6, 2012

Weather Data from the Enchanted Isles (Santa Cruz Island, Ecuador)
Air temperature: 82 F (feels hotter!)
Relative humidity: 73%
Precipitation: 0.0 mm

Personal log

The NOAA research cruise is over and we are now on land, but the elements of science are simply different.

Farewell, Melville! — The view from the back deck of the Red Mangrove, where the Melville remained for a day before sailing out on its next scientific journey. I’ll miss you, Melville and crew!

The Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador, on the equator and at about 90 degrees longitude west. The time is the same as Mountain Time zone in the United States. There are 12 hours between sunrise and sunset here – while my hometown is approaching the longest period of daylight of the year.

At the water taxi — We are at the water taxi area waiting for a bus to take us to our hotel.

As we sailed into the islands, we could not be all the way into the harbor as the coastline is not only too shallow for the Melville, but rocky and ecologically fragile. Ecuador carefully inspects all boats – inside and out – that enter its waters. There are so many endemic species (found only here) and some are endangered, that they are vigilant to protect against the introduction of any foreign organisms, no matter how small. The Galapagos Islands are in a fracture zone and were formed by a hot spot – an opening in the slowly moving crust which allows molten rock to rise from the mantle. The hot spot – which changed directions at some point – has formed over 100 islands (some of them very tiny!) which comprise what is called the Galapagos Islands.

While the abundant animal life is really diverse and captivating (I’ll get to that next), the geology is beautiful as well. There is dark volcanic rock everywhere you look! It is even used in the walls of the buildings and sidewalks. It is mostly extrusive and mafic igneous rock, and one little island is a national preserve called Las Tintoreras, made completely out of Aa!

Aa and mangroves at lagoon — With volcanoes in the background, the green mangroves, blue waters, black aa and white lichen makes for a very picturesque lagoon at Las Tintoreras..

Even though there is black rock everywhere, there are still beaches with the finest white sand. Some places in the islands have red or green sand, depending on the minerals. Visiting a green sand beach is something I’d like to do, as I love rocks that have olivine. By the way, no rocks or any other natural material can be taken out of the islands. What I was able to take away were wonderful pictures and happily, some beach glass (litter, really) to add to my collection.

pronounced pa-hoy-hoy — Among all of the aa, you can see some pahoehoe, where the mafic lava flowed and cooled differently.

The Aa is covered in a lot of white material, and since there are various birds all around, I thought it was bird droppings at first!

However, it is actually a lichen, which was able to establish itself on the nutrient-poor rock. With the process of succession, some small, low plants began to grow as have mangrove trees. Some areas look like there are lots of white pebbles, but it is actually small bits of coral or sea urchin spines – calcium carbonate. The two animals common in this particular area off of Isabella Island are white-tipped sharks (tiburones or tintoreras) and marine iguanas. There are some lava tunnels and channels which are great places for these sharks to hang out.

A white tipped shark (tiburone) is at the bottom of this clear channel (grieta.)

a grieta where the sharks can be found — The narrow channel where sharks can be seen off of Isla Isabella.

Marine iguanas are very different from terrestrial iguanas. As their name implies, they swim and they are also herbivores, eating only plants, algae in particular. They were everywhere in all sizes, but sometimes quite hard to see until you were right on top of them, as they blended in with the black rock.

Iguana pile — There are so many of the black marine iguanas, and they blend right into the rock!

It was mating and nesting season and the males sometimes change colors, to a reddish hue, at this time.

Red male iguana — During mating season, sometimes males change to a reddish or brown color.

If a marine iguana looks like it is wearing a white hat, this is due to their bodies excreting salt – they do live in salt water, after all! Other animals seen in this area are two species of sea lions, one a small variety that makes you think they are all babies! Also, there is an endemic species of Galapagos penguins, much smaller than the Antarctic penguins we commonly think of.

The only species of equatorial penguins, these little Galapagos penguins are warming up on the rocks, with their soon-to-be lunch swimming nearby.

Blue feet and a blue beak are the colorful characteristics of a blue footed booby, another of the endemic species on the Galapagos Islands.

Other birds included pelicans, frigate birds, and the Blue Footed Booby. From the boat, you could see the animals, birds and crabs on the rocks and the larger animals (sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, manta rays) swim near the boat. Since I was snorkeling, I was able to see all these cool creatures underwater swimming with me! Not only that, but there were a wide variety of colorful tropical fish and some eels. Animals that didn’t move were sea cucumbers, sea urchins and some that I will have to research to identify. Not too long ago, the sea cucumber was almost over-harvested to extinction here! It had become an edible delicacy for a while. However, one look at the reefs here will prove to you that this primitive and sometimes disgusting organism is back in force.

Scuba divers have a great opportunity to see hammerhead sharks which are in abundance in certain areas. Although I was not able to dive this time, therefore did not see them this time, but one of the scientists in the group, Sean, captured some amazing footage from his dives at Gordon Rocks and North Seymour.

On land, there are also a number of endemic species, the most famous being the species of giant tortoises that can live much longer than humans. The Charles Darwin Research Center is here on Santa Cruz and many tortoises are in natural habitats (albeit in fenced in areas). Surprisingly, they can be VERY active, sometimes a bit ornery towards each other, and even make noises!

The tortoises are herbivores and are fed a few times a week. The oldest and most well-known is a Pinta tortoise named Lonesome George. He is about 200 years old and is the very last of his species, so when he dies, the Pinta tortoise will be extinct. The research center tried several times to mate him to save the species, but it was never successful.

If you take a tour to the Highlands of Santa Cruz, up in the forests you can see many even larger giant tortoises than the ones at the Darwin Center, roaming freely about. Sometime in the future, I hope to do this. A neighboring and very “young” island, Isla Isabella, a 2 ½ hour boat ride away, has a terrific turtle research center, too. In my opinion, this was an even better place to learn about the developmental stages of the turtle from egg to the twilight years.

Birds are numerous and I mentioned several earlier, but Darwin was known for researching finches of which we saw many. My favorite was a little yellow finch and boy oh boy, are they hard to photograph! It was possible to get very close to the birds, perhaps even a couple of feet away.

Another recurrent daily scene was the fish market at a bay in Santa Cruz. Fresh catches were brought in, sold, and the fish often cleaned right there at special tables for this purpose. The pelicans were certainly omnipresent pests, but there also was always a sea lion there, begging for fish, and sticking his nose towards the table, just like a family dog would do!

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There are many volcanoes here, some of which are still considered active, as is the case on Isabella. Scientists study the volcanoes here as well as the animal life. All around you, there is talk about respect for and conservation of the animal life, as well as preservation of the geological formations.

Although we did not have a lot of time here, it seemed like an appropriate place to terminate a scientific research cruise, with all of the geologic and biologic connections here. Many times throughout my stay, I couldn’t help thinking that this place would be the ultimate school field trip! Perhaps that will be a scientific adventure in the future.

June 11, 2012August 11, 2021

Andrea Schmuttermair: Eager Anticipation from Land-locked Colorado, June 7, 2012

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Andrea Schmuttermair
Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
June 22 – July 3, 2012

Mission: Groundfish Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico (between Galveston TX and Pascagoula, MS)
Date: June 7, 2012

Personal Log (pre-cruise)

What does

+ + = ?

That’s right! Ms. Schmuttermair is heading to sea this summer as a participant in NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program!

Hi! My name is Andrea Schmuttermair, and I am a 3-6 grade science teacher at The Academy in Westminster, CO. I just finished up my first year in this position, and absolutely love engaging my students in important science concepts. Outside of the classroom, I can be found hiking, biking, and exploring the mountains of beautiful Colorado with my dog, Wesson.

Growing up in San Diego, CA, I would definitely consider myself an “ocean lover”. I grew up spending countless hours at the beach, checking out the sea life that washed up in the tide pools and snorkeling in La Jolla Cove. When I heard about the Teacher at Sea program, I knew it was right up my alley. Living in land-locked Colorado, I strive to bring both my love and knowledge of the ocean to my students. One of the most memorable teaching moments for me this year was seeing my 3^rd graders have that “Aha!” moment when they realized what we do here in Colorado greatly affects our oceans, even though they are hundreds of miles away.

Now, in just a couple short weeks, I will don my sea legs, leave dry land behind, and set sail on the Oregon II. The Oregon II, one of NOAA’s 11 fishery vessels, conducts fishery and marine research to help ensure that our fish population in the ocean is sustainable. Fishery vessels work with the National Marine Fisheries Service to provide important information about fish populations and what regulations about fishing practices need to be in place.

This summer, we will be conducting the summer groundfish survey, a survey that has been conducted for the past 30 years. This particular survey is conducted during the summer months between Alabama and Mexico. On this second leg of the survey, we will be sailing from Galveston, TX to the Oregon II’s home port of Pascagoula, MS.

What exactly is a groundfish survey, you ask? When I first received my acceptance letter, they informed me that this was the “critter cruise”, and I, being the critter lover, was thrilled! The main goal of this survey is to determine the abundance and distribution of shrimp by depth. In addition to collecting shrimp samples, we may also collect samples of bottomfish and crustaceans. It will also be important to collect meteorological data while out at sea. I am excited to see what kind of critters we pull up!

NSTA 11 (36) — Ms. Schmuttermair LOVES critters, as seen here with Rosy the scorpion.

How will we be catching all of these critters and collecting data while out at sea? The Oregon II has a variety of devices to help collect information about the ocean, including bottom trawls and a CTD. The bottom trawl is a large net that is towed to collect shrimp and other bottom dwellers that will be sorted once the catch is brought aboard. A CTD (stands for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) is an instrument that can collect a wide variety of data, including temperature, salinity and oxygen content. I can’t wait to learn how some of these tools are operated!

What are my goals while out at sea?

To learn as much about the environment I am in as possible.
To ask the scientists plenty of questions about their research, and why collecting data is so important.
To take many pictures to bring back to my students
To get to know the crew on board, and how they came to work on the Oregon II
Not getting seasick!

Now it’s your turn: What would YOU like to know more about? Is it more about the animals we bring up in our trawls? Maybe it’s to learn more about life on the Oregon II, and specifications about this ship. Perhaps you’d like to know how to become a scientist with NOAA and work on board one of their many ships. Leave your questions in the “Comments” section below (you are welcome to do this in any of my entries), and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the challenge questions, which from this point forward I will refer to as the “Critter Query”.

June 11, 2012March 12, 2021

Anne Byford, June 11, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Anne Byford
Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp
June 8 – 15, 2010

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographic Location: off the coast of New England
June 11, 2010

Weather Data at 1:35pm
EDT: Clear, 14.4˚C
Location at 1:35pm
EDT: Lat: 40 30.07 N
Long: 69 08.66 W
Water Depth: 77.5 m
4^th Day at Sea

Why Count Sea Scallops?

That had to be the most common question I got asked before coming on this trip. Much of the information below is from the NOAA FishWatch website (www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/atl_sea_scallop.htm).

Economically, sea scallops are an important species; in 2008 the scallop harvest was about 53.5 million pounds and was worth about $370 million. The population is not currently considered to be overfished and has been above minimum sustainable levels since 2001. Formal management began in 1982 with the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fisheries Management Plan. The management plan includes limiting new permits, restrictions on gear and on the number of crew on a boat. Since about 2000, the biomass of scallops has been increasing. Biomass is estimated by using the weight of scallops per tow on cruises like this one. Combinations of biomass estimates and estimates of the commercial catch are used to update and adjust the management plan.

Sea Scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) are filter feeders. They can live up to 20 years and begin reproducing at about 2 years, with maximum fertility reached at 4 years. A single female scallop can produce up to 270 million eggs in her life. This high reproductive capacity has helped the scallop population recover relatively quickly. Gender can be determined by the color of the gonad; females are orange while the male gonad is white. Adult scallops average between 6 and 7 inches from hinge to tip (called height) but can be as big as 9 inches. Age can be estimated by counting the rings on the shell. Scallops can “swim” by opening and closing the two shells. This is a useful adaptation for escaping from predators, including flounder, cod, lobsters, crabs, and sea stars. Scallops are harvested for the adductor muscle (the one that opens and closes the shell). There is no commercial aquaculture of scallops in the US as of August 2009.

Personal Log

A storm moved through beginning on Wed. evening (day 2) and stayed with us most of Thursday. By the end of shift on Wednesday, we were working on deck in full foul weather gear and life jackets. Thursday we had an 8 hour steam between dredge sites and by the end of shift on Thursday, the seas had begun to smooth out. Friday was quite nice, weather-wise.

I am learning to shuck scallops, though I am about half the speed of many on the boat. I am also learning to tell the various types of flounder and other fish apart as well. It’s not always obvious which type of founder or hake is which.

New Species

Goose fish (aka monk fish), several more varieties of flounder, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, eel pout, some very large skates, 3 types of sea stars and 1 type of brittle star.

June 8, 2012March 12, 2021

Kristy Weaver: Career Day at Sea, June 7, 2012 (After the Journey)

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kristy Weaver
Aboard The R/V Savannah
May 23 – June 1, 2012

Mission: Reef Fish Survey
Location: Back in Jersey
Date: June 7, 2012

You can be anything you want to be when you grow up! While I was on the R/V Savannah there were two main types of jobs that people were doing. There were the scientists and the crew of the ship. If you think you might like to be a biologist or work on a ship someday these videos may help you to learn more about these jobs.

I would like to introduce you to some of the new friends I made on the ship:

COLLEGE STUDENTS:

Meet Dan- Marine Biology College Student