On July 25, 2019 NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker and its crew navigated slowly under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay. As the fog smothered entrance to the bay loomed ahead of us, I stood on the bow with the Chief Bosun and a few others listening to, of all things, sea shanties. We passed a couple of whales and a sea lion playing in the water, and we cruised right passed Alcatraz before arriving at our pier to tie up.
San Francisco did not disappoint! I walked a total of 20 miles that day stopping at Pier 39 to watch the sea lions, Ghirardelli Square to get chocolate ice cream, and Boudin Bakery to try their famous sourdough bread. I walked along the San Francisco Bay Trail, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then back to the ship.
Sea Lions at Pier 39
Ghirardelli Square
San Francisco Bay Trail
Later that evening I went out for dinner with three of the science crew and the restaurant had a couple of local items that I hold near and dear to my heart now – sardines and market squid. It felt like everything came full circle when I ordered the fried sardine appetizer and grilled squid salad for dinner after having caught, measured, and weighed so many of them on the ship. I never would have stopped before to think about the important role those little critters play in our food chain.
Fried Sardine Appetizer
Grilled Squid Salad
The first entry for this blog posted almost two months ago framed an introduction to a journey. Even though I’ve been back on land for three weeks now, I couldn’t quite bring myself to title this entry “The Journey Ends.” Instead it feels like the journey has shifted in a new direction.
I spent a lot of time on NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker thinking about how to integrate lessons from this project into my classroom and how to share ideas with other teachers in my district and beyond. Most of all this trip inspired me to reach out even more to my colleagues to collaborate and design instructional activities that push the boundaries of the traditional high school paradigm.
August 12th Latitude & Longitude: 43◦ 50.134N, 124◦49.472 W Windspeed: 19mph Geographic Area: Northwest Pacific Ocean Cruise Speed: 12 knots Sea Temperature 20◦Celcius Air Temperature 70◦Fahrenheit
Science and Technology Log
Yesterday, we embarked on this Hydrographic Survey Project, leaving Newport and heading out to the Pacific Ocean. The 231-foot Fairweather is manned by 35 people and they are all essential to making this research run smoothly, keeping the ship on course, maintaining the ship, and feeding all of us! Why is this Hydrographic survey mission important? We’ll take a “deep dive” into hydrographic surveys in an upcoming blog, but there are several overlapping reasons why this research is important. On previous hydrographic maps of the sea floor, there are “gaps” in data, not giving scientists and mariners a complete picture of this area. The data is used for nautical safety, setting aside areas where there are likely abundant undersea wildlife as conservation areas, looking at the sea floor to determine if areas are good for wind turbine placement, and most importantly to the residents off the Pacific coast, locating fault lines –especially subduction zones, which can generate the largest earthquakes and cause dangerous tsunamis. More about this and the science of Hydrography in a later post. For now, we’ll focus on Navigation.
Science Word of the day: NAVIGATION
The word NAVIGATION is a noun, defined:
the
process or activity of accurately ascertaining one’s position and planning and
following a route.
synonyms:
helmsmanship, steersmanship, seamanship, map-reading, chart-reading, wayfinding. “Cooper learned the skills of navigation.”
Time to leave port: 12:30 pm August 12th:
As we were pulling away from the dock and headed out of Newport, someone was navigating this very large ship through narrow spaces, avoiding other boats, crab traps, and other hazards, and I began wondering… who is driving this ship and what tools do they have to help them navigate and keep us safe? Navigation is the science of “finding your way to a specific destination.” So, I made way to the bridge to find out. There was so much to learn, and the bridge crew was very patient taking me through who worked on the bridge as well as the various tools and technological resources they used to guide the Fairweather exactly where it needed to be. First the humans who run the ship, then the tools!
On
the bridge you have 3 key members in charge of navigation and steering the boat. These are not to be confused with the CO or
Commanding Officer who always oversees the ship but may always not always be
present on the bridge (or deck). The CO is kind of like a principal in a school
(if the school were floating and had to avoid other buildings and large mammals
of course.)
1st in charge of the bridge watch is the OOD or Officer of the Deck. The OOD is responsible for making all the safety decisions on the deck, giving commands on how to avoid other vessels and wildlife such as whales! The OOD oversees the deck and reports regularly to the CO as needed.
2nd
in charge of the bridge watch is the JOOD or Junior Officer of the Deck. The Junior Officer is responsible to the CO
and OOD and uses both technology driven location data and plot mapping with
paper to locate the position of the ship and use that location to plan the
course for the ship.
The 3rd member of the bridge team is the helmsman. The helmsman is the person who is actually driving the ship while following the commands of the OOD and JOOD. Tools the helmsman uses include magnetic compasses on deck and electronic heading readouts to adjust course to stay on a particular heading (or direction of travel.) The helmsman has another duty as lookout. The lookout watches the ocean in front of the ship for land objects (we saw a lighthouse today), ocean mammals such as whales (we’ve seen 3 so far) or debris in the ocean so Fairweather can navigate around them.
Officer of the Deck (OOD): Kevin Tennyson
Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD) Jeff Calderon and Helmsman Terry Ostermyer
There are so many devices on the bridge, I’ll share a few of them and their functions. This blog post would take DAYS to read if we went over them all!
Let’s explore: what tools does the crew aboard Fairweather use for NAVIGATION?
Radar is a system
that uses waves of energy to sense objects. These waves are in the form of high
frequency radio waves which can find a faraway object and tell how fast it is
moving.
Radar is very useful because it can sense objects even at night and through thick clouds. Radar helps the Fairweather navigate by detecting objects and vessels in the immediate area. On Fairweather, you can see the objects that are near or could be in the determined path of travel.
RADAR showing other watercraft and objects that could come into contact with Fairweather, for safe NAVIGATION.
Close up of RADAR screen showing blue lines (indicative of speed) trailing other detected objects
While the picture above shows where the objects and vessels are, the “blue trail” shows how far they have traveled in 6 minutes. A longer blue trail means a faster moving vessel and a shorter or no tail means little or no movement. This tool also helps the Fairweather crew determine the path of travel of the other vessels so they can either navigate around or warn the other vessel of the Fairweather’s heading.
Fairweather bridge crew also must follow what STEM students call the 4C’s: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, & Creativity.
To communicate while at sea, the crew must communicate via radio.
Communication is essential for safe navigation.
Notice the abbreviations for the MF/HF or Medium Frequency/High Frequency, which has the longest range and you can communicate via voice or text. VHF or Very High Frequency are voice radios only. Marine VHF radios work on a line-of-sight basis. That is, they can transmit and receive to and from another antenna as long as that antenna is above the horizon. How far is that? Standing on the bridge of a ship, the distance to the horizon is usually about 10-12 miles. So, if there is a vessel within that 10-12 mile or so range, the Fairweather crew can communicate with them via the VHF radio.
Weather Tools:
It is crucial to gather weather data and analyze the information from various weather instruments onboard to keep the Fairweather safe. Sopecreek Elementary has a Weather Station too! As you look through the photos below, see if you can find what weather instruments (and readings) Fairweather uses and compare and contrast with Sopecreek’s WEATHER STEM station! What type of instruments do you think are the same, and which are different?
Data from the bridge on Day 2
Weather Data Time Series
Weather data updates – the ship can NAVIGATE to avoid dangerous weather
With all of tools discussed above, the Fairweather is approaching the Cascadia Margin that needs to be surveyed using science of Hydrography and Bathymetry (more about those concepts coming soon!)
The area to be survey has already been identified, now the ship
must approach the area (the red polygon in the middle of the screenshot below). Now the crew must plot a course to cover the
area in horizontal “swaths” to aid in accurate mapping. The bridge and the hydrographic survey team
collaborate and communicate about speed, distance between horizontal lines, and
timing of turns.
See the initial area to mapped and the progress made in the first two days in the pictures below!
Cascadia Margin: 1st Region the Fairweather is mapping
Progress mapping – navigation the survey area – colored lines indicate where the ship has been
Personal Log
It’s
been a great start to this Teacher at Sea adventure! There is so much to take in and share with my
students (I miss you so much!) and my fellow teachers from across the
country! Today, we went from sunny skies
and calm 2-4 foot seas, to foggy conditions and 6-8 foot seas! The ship is definitely moving today! I keep thinking about STEM activities to
secure items and then testing against the varying degree of pitch on the ship! For safety, the entire crew is tying up any
loose items and securing all things on board, we’ll have to think of STEM
challenges to simulate this for sure!
Did You Know?
When steering a ship, an
unwritten rule is you don’t want the speed of the ship (in KNOTS) and the
degree of the turn of the rudder (in DEGREES) to exceed the number 30!
Question of the Day:
How many possible combinations of KNOTS and DEGREES are there? Can you draw or plot out what that would look like?
New Terms/Phrases:
Thermosalinigraph: Measures the temperature and salinity of the water.
Challenge yourself: see if you can learn and apply the terms below and add new terms from this blog or from your research to the list!
ECDIS: Electronic chart display information system
Curious about STEM Careers with NOAA? All the officers on deck had a background in some type of science but none were the same. Everyone on board comes from different backgrounds but are united by the OJT (On the Job Training) and the common purpose of the hydrographic survey mission. Learn more here: https://www.noaa.gov/education
Hi everyone! I am currently on flight number two of four over the next two days to get me all the way from Key West, Florida to Kodiak, Alaska! Sure beats the 5,516 mile drive it would take me by car! My new home for the next two plus weeks will be aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. It is an ultra-quiet fisheries survey vessel built to collect data on fish populations, conduct marine mammal and seabird surveys, and study marine ecosystems. The ship operates primarily in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.
NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. Photo credit: NOAA.
So what exactly will I be doing these next few weeks at sea? I
will be working side by side with world-renowned NOAA scientists during twelve
hour shifts (noon to midnight). Our research will focus on collecting data on the
Walleye Pollock (also known as Alaskan Pollock) population and other forage
fishes in the western Gulf of Alaska. Most of our samples will be collected by
midwater trawling (or net fishing). I will be spending many hours in the
onboard fish lab working hands-on with scientists to help sort, weigh, measure,
sex, and dissect these samples. We will also collect zooplankton and measure
environmental variables that potentially affect the ecology of these fishes. We
will conduct CTD casts (an instrument used to measure the conductivity,
temperature, and pressure of seawater) and take water samples along transects
to examine the physical, chemical, and biological oceanography associated with
cross-shelf flow.
A Little About Me
How did a little girl who grew up playing in the Georgia woods wind up being a marine science teacher in Key West and now on a plane to Kodiak, Alaska to work as a scientist at sea? I applied for every internship, program, and job I ever dreamed of often times with little to no experience or chance of getting it. I was a wildlife/zoology major at the University of Georgia. However during high school, my parents bought a second home in Key West where I would live during my summers off. I applied and got a job on a snorkel boat at 18 with zero boating experience. After college, I once again applied for a job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission that I was not qualified for in the least. I did not get the job, but at least I went for it regardless of the outcome. So I continued to do odds and ends (often non-paying) internships at MOTE, the Turtle Hospital, and Reef Relief while working to get my 100 ton captain’s license at age 21.
Callie interning at the Turtle Hospital on Marathon Key
About 6 months after the first FWC interview, the local FWC director called me one day out of the blue and said I now have a job that you are qualified for.
Over the next year at the FWC as a marine biologist, I found that my favorite part of my week was the student outreach program at local schools. I came across a job vacancy for a local elementary science position and thought why not. I had zero teaching experience, a love for science, and the mindset that I can learn to teach as I teach them learn. Eleven years later, I am very proud to be the head of our marine science program at Sugarloaf School. I get the pleasure of teaching my two passions: science and the ocean. I hope to instill a sense of wonder, discovery, and adventure to all my students from kindergarten all the way up through eighth grade.
Marine science fish dissection
Last December, I felt the same
sense of adventure well up inside of me when I came across the NOAA Teacher at
Sea Program. I’m a teacher, a mother of young twins, a part time server, a wife
of a firefighter with crazy work hours, and someone who enjoys the comfort of
their own bed. All rational thoughts lead to the assumption that this program
was out of my league, but it didn’t nor will it ever stop me from continuing to
dare, dream and discover. I hope my trip will inspire my students to do the
same- to never stop exploring, learning, or continuing to grow in life.
Did You Know?
Walleye pollock is one of the type five fish species consumed in the United States. If you have ever eaten frozen fish sticks or had a fish sandwich at fast food restaurant then you have probably eaten pollock.
Geographic Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, SE US continental shelf ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC (35°30’ N, 75°19’W) to St. Lucie Inlet, FL (27°00’N, 75°59’W)
Date: August 8, 2019
All Hands on Deck (video has no dialogue, only music)
I made this video while aboard NOAA Ship Pisces as part of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program. I thought it might be cool to capture the different kinds of work the crew, NOAA Officers, and scientists were doing. Pretty much everyone thought I was a little weird when asking to video just their hands. Oh well. I think it turned out kinda cool.
Special thanks to the folks aboard Pisces. Keep in mind – if anyone in this video gets a hand modeling contract, I get 40%. Thank you. The NOAA science team was particularly helpful: Zeb Schobernd – chief scientist, Todd Kennison, Brad Teer, Mike Bollinger, Zach Gillum, Mike Burton, Laura Bacharach, Dave Hoke, and Kevan Gregalis.
Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak to Yakutat Bay)
Date: 8/6/2019
Weather Data from the Gulf of Alaska: Lat: 58º 44.3 N Long: 145º 23.51 W
Air Temp: 15.9º C
Personal Log
Currently we are sailing back across the Gulf of Alaska to the boat’s home port, Kodiak. I think the last few days have gone by quickly with the change of daily routine as we start to get all the last minute things finished and gear packed away.
Since my last post, the definite highlight was sailing up to see the Hubbard Glacier in Disenchantment Bay (near Yakutat). WOW. The glacier is so wide (~6miles) that we couldn’t see the entire face. In addition to watching the glacier calve, we also saw multiple seals sunbathing on icebergs as we sailed up to about a mile from the glacier.
We spent a few hours with everyone enjoying the sunshine and perfect view of the mountains behind the glacier, which form the border between the U.S. and Canada. We also had a BBQ lunch! Here are a few photos from our afternoon.
Sailing through little icebergs. The glacier went further than we could see from the boat.
Group photo of the science crew! Photo by Danielle Power
Another surprise was showing up for dinner the other night to find King Crab on the menu. What a treat! Most people are now trying to get back on a normal sleeping schedule and so mealtimes are busier than usual.
Our Chief Steward, Judie, sure does spoil us!
Lastly, the engineering department was working on a welding project and invited me down to see how it works. On the first day of the trip I had asked if I could learn how to weld and this was my chance! They let me try it out on a scrap piece of metal after walking me through the safety precautions and letting me watch them demonstrate. It works by connecting a circuit of energy created by the generator/welding machine. When the end you hold (the melting rod) touches the surface that the other end of the conductor is connected to (the table) it completes the circuit.
Wearing a protective jacket, gloves and helmet while welding are a must. The helmet automatically goes dark when sparks are made so your eyes aren’t damaged from the bright light. Photo by Evan Brooks.
Scientific Log
Before making it to Yakutat we fished a few more times and took our last otolith samples and fish measurements. Otoliths are the inner ear bones of fish and have rings on them just like a tree. The number and width of the rings help scientists calculate how old the fish is, as well as how well it grew each year based on the thickness of the rings. In the wet lab, we take samples and put them in little individual vials to be taken back to the Seattle lab for processing. Abigail did a great job teaching where to cut in order to find the otoliths, which can be tough since they are so small.
Our last time taking otolith samples from pollock. Photo by Troy Buckley
Another important piece of the survey is calibrating all of the equipment they use. Calibration occurs at the start and end of each survey to make sure the acoustic equipment is working consistently throughout the survey. The main piece of equipment being calibrated is the echosounder, which sends out sound waves which reflect off of different densities of objects in the water. In order to test the different frequencies, a tungsten carbide and a copper metal ball are individually hung below the boat and centered underneath the transducer (the part that pings out the sound and then listens for the return sound). Scientists know what the readings should be when the sound/energy bounces off of the metal balls. Therefore, the known results are compared with the actual results collected and any deviation is accounted for in the data accumulated on the survey.
Downriggers are set up in three positions on board to center the ball underneath the boat. They can be adjusted remotely from inside the lab.
After calibration, we cleaned the entire wet lab where all of the fish have been processed on the trip. It is important to do a thorough cleaning because a new survey team comes on board once we leave, and any fish bits left behind will quickly begin to rot and smell terrible. Most of the scales, plastic bins, dissection tools, nets, and computers are packed up and sent back to Seattle.
All packed up and ready to go! The rain gear also gets scrubbed inside and out to combat any lingering fish smell.
Did You Know?
Remember when you were a kid counting the time between a lightning strike and thunder? Well, the ship does something similar to estimate the distance of objects from the ship. If it is foggy, the ship can blow its fog horn and count how many seconds it takes for the sound to be heard again (or come back to the boat). Let’s say they counted 10 seconds. Since sound travels at approximately 5 seconds per mile, they could estimate that the ship was 1 mile away from shore. We were using this method to estimate how close Oscar Dyson was from the glacier yesterday. While watching the glacier calve we counted how many seconds between seeing the ice fall and actually hearing it. We ended up being about 1 mile away.
