NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

September 19, 2018October 4, 2018

Mark Van Arsdale: Estuaries, September 19, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Mark Van Arsdale

Aboard R/V Tiglax

September 11 – 26, 2018

Mission: Long Term Ecological Monitoring

Geographic Area of Cruise: North Gulf of Alaska

Date: September 19, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Clear skies, calm seas

60.25N, 145.5 W (Middleton Island Line)

Science Log

Estuaries

Water chemistry for the Middleton Transect Line

Estuaries are semi-enclosed bodies of water where fresh and saltwater mix. By this morning, we had moved into the Copper River Estuary and the salinity reading at the surface showed nearly fresh water. Estuaries can be sites of incredible biological productivity, but in Alaskan high rates of water flushing due to rain and glacial melt along with low rates of plant decay (and almost zero use of agricultural fertilizers) mean that may not be the case. Close to the Copper River, light may also become a limiting factor as the glacial sediments increase turbidity and decrease water clarity. Along this line, we did see a narrow band of higher productivity (seen as Fluorescence on the graph above) about fifty kilometers out where water clarity had improved.

Estuaries tend to be shallow with lots of tidal movement. This creates ideal conditions for plankton growth, and our nightly plankton tows did see more algae than we had in previous tows. We also started to see juvenile pink shrimp and salmon smolt. Much to our surprise, we were still catching jellies well into the freshwater area. For most oceanic species, fresh water is a stressor. Dealing with the constantly changing salinity is a challenge for any estuarine species. An inflowing tide brings in denser saltwater, which moves along the bottom. Freshwater flows in from rivers at the surface. Depending on the conditions of the estuary, that can create either well mixed brackish water or distinct salt and freshwater wedges.

Bird biologist Dan Cushing entering data along the Middleton Line.

Estuaries across the world have historically been centers of intensive human development. In the U.S., New York, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Seattle are just a few examples of large urban areas sitting along large and important estuaries. For historically developing cities, estuaries meant easy to access food and oceanic transportation, as well as the benefits of fresh water for drinking and the outflow of sewage waste. Sixty percent of North America’s estuaries are considered to have significantly degraded habitat. However, the Copper River Estuary remains a largely undisturbed gem. There are no dams on the Copper River and very little development along its watershed.

Personal Log

Human Connections

When the sun came up in the morning we could see the heavy glacial silt of the Copper River. There were sightings of ducks and other water fowl. The water was grey and murky, but the peaks surrounding the Copper River water shed were sensational, and I found myself wishing I could stay awake. As we get further east and into areas that I am completely unfamiliar with, there is so much to see, and I find myself wishing I did not have to sleep through the mornings.

At this point we were just a few miles away from the town of Cordova. Although I did not, many people on board had cell service this morning. When I woke up after five hours of sleep it was impossible to walk around the boat without seeing someone looking down at their phone. Scientists at sea are very work focused, but even hard core scientists miss their human connections. People wanted to talk to spouses or kids, and get updates on their friend’s social media. There were also murmured discussions about what news we had missed over the last eight days, much of it ominous. Our human connections are life sustaining points of encouragement, our twenty-four-hour news cycle maybe not so much. By afternoon we were headed far back out to sea working on the Middleton line. Because of the zig-zag nature of our day-night work, we have had a clear view of Middleton Island several times now. Those who were here last year recall such torrential rains that they never saw the island once. Our weather continues to be remarkably good. We hope to complete the Middleton Line tomorrow and head further east to Cape Suckling after that. Ironically, the good weather seems to be leaving the captain and crew slightly ill at ease. It can’t last forever, and they seem to be wondering when the other shoe will drop. I just hope that if and when the weather goes bad, it’s during the last leg of our trip when we have moved into the protected waters of Prince William Sound.

September 19, 2018

Kristin Hennessy-McDonald: Engineer for a Day, September 18, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Kristin Hennessy-McDonald

Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II

September 15 – 30, 2018

Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Longline Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: September 18, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 2901.62N

Longitude: 0932.87W

Sea Wave Height: 0m

Wind Speed: 6.63 knots

Wind Direction: 203֯

Visibility: 10 nautical miles

Air Temperature: 32.4

Sky: 0% cloud cover

Science and Technology Log

My first day onboard was spent following around 2^nd Engineer Will Osborn. Will is an officer in the Merchant Marines, and a NOAA Augmentation Pool Engineer assigned to the Oregon II. He invited me to follow him around and learn how the engineers prepare the ship for sea. One of the duties of the engineers is to check the liquid levels of each of the tanks prior to sailing. They do this by performing soundings, where they use a weighted measuring tape and a conversion chart to determine the number of gallons in each of the tanks.

2nd Engineer Will Osborne performing a sounding on deck

Performing a sounding on the dirty oil tank

The engineering team then prepared the ship to sail by disconnecting shore power and turning on the engines aboard ship. I got to flip the switch that disconnects the ship from shore power. I followed the engineering team as they disconnected the very large cable that the ship uses to draw power from shore. I then got to follow 2^nd Engineer Will as he turned on the engines aboard ship.

Kristin Hennessy-McDonald turning off the shore power in the engine room

Once we set sail, the science team met and discussed how longline surveys would work. I am on the day shift, which is from noon to midnight. We got the rest of the day, after onboard training and group meetings, to get used to our new sleep schedule. Because I was on the day shift, I stayed up and got to watch an amazing sunset over the Gulf.

Gulf Sunset

Gulf Sunset

Our second day out, we set our first two longlines. The first one was set before shift change, so the night shift crew bated the hooks and set the line. My shift brought the line in, and mostly got back unbaited hooks. We got a few small Atlantic Sharpnose (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) sharks on the line, and used those to go over internal and external features that differentiated the various species we might find.

After the lines were in, it was time for safety drills. These included the abandon ship drill, which required us to put on a submersion suit, which is affectionately referred to as a Gumby suit. You can see why below. It was as hard to get into as it looks, but it will keep you warm and afloat if you end up in the water after you abandon ship.

Kristin Hennessy-McDonald in the Gumby Suit

Personal Log

I have learned a few rules of the boat on my first days at sea. First, always watch your head. The stairwells sometimes have short spaces, and you have to make sure not to hit them on your way up. Second, always keep a hand free for the boat. It is imperative at sea that you always have a hand free, in case the boat rocks and you need to catch yourself. Third, mealtimes are sacred. There are 31 people aboard the boat, with seating for 12 in the galley. In order for everyone to get a chance to sit down and eat, you can’t socialize in the galley.

Did You Know?

In order for the crew to have freshwater to drink, the Oregon II uses a reverse osmosis machine. They create 1000-1200 gallons of drinkable water per day, running the ocean water through the reverse osmosis generator at a pressure of 950 psi.

Quote of the Day

And when there are enough outsiders together in one place, a mystic osmosis takes place and you’re inside.

~Stephen King

Question of the Day

How do sharks hear in the water?

September 18, 2018October 4, 2018

Mark Van Arsdale: Sightings from the Flying Bridge, September 18, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Mark Van Arsdale

Aboard R/V Tiglax

September 11 – 26, 2018

Mission: Long Term Ecological Monitoring

Geographic Area of Cruise: North Gulf of Alaska

Date: September 18, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Clear skies, calm seas

59.30 N, 146.15 W (Middleton Island Line)

Science Log

Sightings from the Flying Bridge

We finished up night work on the morning of the 17^th in a bit of swell. Our last casts of the Methot and the Bongo nets were bumpy. It was hard to stand up, and hard to keep objects from shifting dangerously. But the swell didn’t last, and by time I woke up mid-morning it was a picture-perfect day, clear and calm. The day shift finished up sampling the Kodiak line by dinner, and we began a twenty-four-hour transit from the Kodiak line to Middleton Island east of Prince William Sound. I got the night off, and with it my first solid night of sleep since the trip started. I felt like a whole new human.

Sunfish (Mola mola) with diver
© Tomas Kotouc
Tomas Kotouc
Sladkova 331/II, Jindrichuv Hradec, 377 01, Czech Republic

The transit allowed me to spend most of the day in the flying bridge and it was a good day for it. We sighted fin whales in the morning, numerous sea birds, another Mola mola (ocean sun fish), and two pods of Risso’s dolphins in the afternoon. The last two sightings are really interesting. That was the third Mola mola spotted on the trip. The Mola mola is the largest bony fish in the ocean. They can grow up to four meters long and three thousand pounds, eating almost exclusively jellies. They are a bizarre looking fish. They have no true caudal (tail) fin, thin elongated pectoral fins, and a body shaped like more like a giant head than a fish. They also swim (if you can call it that) on their side. The interesting thing is that the Mola mola is a sub-tropical fish and should not be seen in the North Gulf of Alaska – but here they are.

The Risso’s dolphins were another unusual sighting. We saw them in groups of twenty or so. Fast swimmers and acrobatic in their movements, you could see their characteristically white faces and scratched backs as they jumped out of the water. None of the crew or scientists on board had ever seen them and we went through three books trying to get a solid ID. Very little is known about this species, and confirmed sightings at sea are limited. It’s likely that this will be the farthest north sighting of Risso’s dolphins recorded.

In the last few years, unusual sightings of species have become more common and not just on the surface. Plankton tows are revealing copepod species more commonly associated with the California Current than the Gulf of Alaska. It’s possible that these sightings represent observational bias – we are just paying more attention. But it seems likely that species in the Gulf of Alaska are on the move.

The North Gulf of Alaska changes seasonally, it changes based on your depth and location, and it changes with weather and currents, but it seems obvious that it is also experiencing long term climactic change. How will that change affect the stability of this rich ecosystem? How will it affect the large slice of the Alaskan economy that depends on the wealth of fish brought out of the Gulf? Already this summer, the Gulf of Alaska cod fishery closed due to lack of fish. A disaster to some of fishermen in Kodiak, and a heavy hit to the Kodiak Island economy. By tomorrow morning we will be at the outflow of the Copper River. Copper River salmon are famous for their rich flavor, high prices, and dependable arrival, but this summer, fishing for Copper River king and sockeye salmon was also closed for much of the summer. Fish were coming back small or not at all.

Personal Log

Middleton Island

Good weather has left us a bit ahead of schedule, and the captain and chief scientists decided we could make an excursion to Middleton Island. When I get home I plan to do some more research on the Island, but it seems to have an interesting, albeit short history. The island is just a few thousand years old, brought up out of the ocean by the tectonic movements of the Pacific and North American plates. Much of the island is a flat plateau, surrounded by a series of shelves descending down to the water. Some of the shelves are quite new, the latest edition came during the 1964 Alaska Good Friday Earthquake, as the island was force 12 feet up from the ocean.

Abandoned air force buildings and the newly remodeled kittiwake tower.

The island was once home to a World War II Air Force base. It was believed that its moderate climate would make an ideal early warning site, but the base was abandoned some time ago. Middleton is currently home to an FAA weather station and an immense number of nesting seabirds. At some point the disintegrating air force buildings were taken over by those nesting sea birds. Scott Hatch, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist, saw an opportunity and over the years has turned the old Air Force tower into an observation and study center for nesting black legged kittiwakes. Over a thousand birds have nests on the outside of the tower, and each one now has a one-way glass window at its back. The nesting birds can be observed and studied by budding biology students from inside the tower. Studies have been done on their diets, metabolism, behaviors and numerous other details of their private lives. We got to meet Scott and his wife, who were just finishing up some end of the season work on the sight. They gave us a bit of a tour and showed us where they had built facilities for students and observation sites for nesting common murres, as well as burrow digging sea birds like rhinoceros auklets and puffins. The sea birds were all gone, having fledged their young and returned to the ocean a few weeks before, but it was fun to imagine what the island looked and sounded like with thousands of sea birds on it.

The day off and a shore excursion seemed to leave everyone more relaxed that they have been for the last week. People smiled and joked and enjoyed the unusually warm September day. Feeling recharged, I was even looking forward to my night shift.

Cool Moment of the Day

We start working most nights just after the sun goes down. Last night I noticed there was a bird following us just overhead. It was an osprey, and it followed us for more than two hours as we worked through the night. The bird undoubtedly thought we were a fishing vessel and was looking for handouts, but in the middle of the night it was an amusing distraction to look up at the rapture silhouette against the clouds.

Animals seen today

Fin whales
Harbor porpoises
Risso’s dolphins
Another Mola mola
Lots of sea birds including puffins, auklets, shearwaters, cormorants, fulmars, petrels, a merlin, an osprey

September 18, 2018October 4, 2018

Mark Van Arsdale: Kodiak, September 17, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Mark Van Arsdale

Aboard R/V Tiglax

September 11 – 26, 2018

Mission: Long Term Ecological Monitoring

Geographic Area of Cruise: North Gulf of Alaska

Date: September 17, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

This morning 25 knot winds from the NE, waves to 8ft, tonight calm seas variable winds, light rain

58.14 N, 151.35 W (Kodiak Line)

Science Log

Kodiak

My wife and I have traveled to Raspberry and Kodiak Islands twice. The island’s raw beauty, verdant colors, and legendary fishing make it one of my favorite places on Earth. Its forests are dense, with huge hemlocks and thick growths of salmon berries. The slopes are steep and covered with lush grasses. Fish and wildlife abound. As we moved our way down the Kodiak line, getting closer and closer to land, that richness of life was reflected in waters surrounding the Island. In just fifty nautical miles we moved from a depth of a few thousand meters to less than one hundred. Seabirds became more abundant, and we saw large groups of sooty and Buller’s shearwaters, some of them numbering in the thousands. Sooty shearwaters nest in the southern hemisphere and travel half way across the planet to feed in the rich waters surrounding Kodiak. Fin whales were also abundant today, and could be seen feeding in small groups at the surface. Our plankton tows also changed. Deep sea species like lantern fish and Euphausiids disappeared and pteropods became abundant. We caught two species of pteropods that go by the common names – sea butterflies and sea angels. Sea butterflies look like snails with clear shells and gelatinous wings. Sea angels look more like slugs, but also swim with a fluttering of their wings. Pteropods are an important part of the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem, in particular to the diets of salmon.

Sooty shearwaters as far as you can see.

In the last decade, scientists have become aware that the ocean’s pH is changing, becoming more acidic. Sea water, like blood, is slightly basic, typically 8.2 on the pH scale. As we have added more and more CO2 into the atmosphere, about half of that gas has dissolved into the oceans. When CO2 is dissolved in sea water if forms carbonic acid, and eventually releases hydrogen ions, lowering the waters pH. In the last decade, sea water pH has dropped to 8.1 and is predicted to be well below 8 by 2050. A one tenth change in pH may not seem like much, but the pH scale is logarithmic, meaning that that one tenth point change actually represents a thirty percent increase in the ocean’s acidity. Pteropods are particularly vulnerable to these changes, as their aragonite shells are more difficult to make in increasingly acidic conditions.

A nice introduction to Pteropods

Personal Log

I chose teaching

We have been at sea now for one week. I feel adrift without the comforts and routines of family, exercise, and school. There are no distractions here, no news to follow, and no over-scheduled days. There is just working, eating, and sleeping. Most of the crew and scientists on board seem to really enjoy that routine. I am finding it difficult.

There was a point in my twenties where I wanted nothing more than to become a field biologist. I wanted to leave society, go to where the biological world was less disturbed and learn its lessons. I see the same determination in the graduate students aboard the Tiglax. When working, they are always hyper focused on their data and the defined protocols they use to collect it. If anything goes wrong with tow or sampling station, we repeat it. You clearly need that kind of focus to do good research. Over time, cut corners or the accumulation of small errors can become inaccurate and misleading trends.

When I was in graduate school hoping to become a marine biologist, I was asked to be teaching assistant to an oceanography class for non-science majors. Never having considered teaching, the experience opened my eyes to the joys of sharing the natural world with others, and changed my path in ways that I don’t regret. I am a teacher; over the last twenty years it has come to define me. On this trip, they call me a Teacher at Sea, yet the title is really a misnomer. I have nothing to teach these people, they are the experts. Really, I am a student at sea, trying to learn all that I can about each thing I observe and each conversation I have.

Bowler's shearwater, photo credit Callie Gesmundo. — Buller’s shearwater, photo credit Callie Gesmundo.

Animals seen today

Fin whales
Lost of shearwaters (mostly sooty but also Buller’s), along with puffins, auklets, skua

September 17, 2018

Kristin Hennessy-McDonald: Something Incredible, September 16, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Kristin Hennessy-McDonald

Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II

September 15 – 30, 2018

Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Longline Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: September 16, 2018

Personal Introduction

Greetings to those following my adventure from afar. My name is Kristin Hennessy-McDonald, but my students and fellow faculty call me Dr. Hen-Mc. I am so excited to have been selected to be a member of the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program aboard the Oregon II. I am the science lead at T-STEM Academy at East High School, where I teach Honors Biology. My path to the classroom was far from straight. I attended the University of Notre Dame, where I earned a B.S. in Biology. I then continued my academic path at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, where I earned my PhD in Cell Physiology. After spending a little less than 3 years at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, I had an epiphany. I found that I enjoyed sharing my passion about science more than doing research at the bench. I made the decision to transition to the classroom and have not looked back. 8 years later, I have found my home at T-STEM, and my family in Team East.

The journey to boarding the Oregon II has been a long one, but well worth it. When my boss brought the opportunity to me, I applied with hope. When I got the acceptance letter, I gasped and started jumping up and down in my classroom. My students were confused, but then excited when they found out that I had gotten this opportunity. I teach many of the same students who were in that class, and they have all been sharing in my excitement over the past months as I have prepared for this adventure.

My first view of the Oregon II

Boarding the NOAA Ship Oregon II

I have always been fascinated by water. From the time I was a small child, my parents would have to watch carefully when we went to the pool or the beach, because I was liable to jump right in. As I grew up, that love of water has remained, and I spend time each summer on the Gulf. I am thrilled to have a chance to study ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico, and see things that I only read about in National Geographic magazine.

Mark and Kristin Gulf — Me and my husband in Gulfport, MS

I have passed my love of water on to my daughter. Beth is the same way I was when I was young. She wants to run into the water, to play in the waves. She sees the beauty of the sea, watching dolphins alongside the boat when we take trips to Ship Island out of Gulfport, MS. I look forward to sharing my adventures at sea with her. I am sad to leave her and my husband for two weeks, but grateful that they waved me off on my adventures with a smile.

Beth Gulf — Beth at Ship Island building a sandcastle

I began my career as a teacher because I wanted to share my love of science with young people. I dreamed of someday being a child’s gateway to the wonders and knowledge of science. While none of my students have stood on a desk reciting Whitman, some of my students have allowed my love of science to guide them along science career paths. When I joined Team East at T-STEM Academy at East High School, I knew that I was in a place that would foster the idea of learning by doing. I wanted to exemplify that going on this trip. I cannot wait to bring all of the knowledge and experiences of this trip back to my classroom. Instead of just sharing case studies of Gulf Coast ecosystems, I will be able to share what I learned as a NOAA Teacher at Sea.

Personal Quote of the day

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
~Carl Sagan

Did You Know?

Red Snappers are considered to be one of the top predators in the Gulf of Mexico?

Question of the day

Given that red snapper hatch at 0.0625 inches long, and can reach sizes of 16 inches within two years, do you think their cells have a long or short G1 phase?