Photo of the Week

We are excited to bring back our Photo of the Week section so stay tuned for new content coming soon! In the meantime, take a look at these fantastic pictures from our teachers.

“Everything is poured onto the conveyor belt to be sorted.”

June 16, 2014

Scientists have sampled groundfish populations in the Gulf of Mexico twice a year, every year since the 1970’s. The information they collect helps them understand what’s going on under the surface of the water.

Photo: Carol Schnaiter

Next everything goes into the “wet” lab. It is called a wet lab because this area has water available and it is where the organisms are poured out on to a long conveyor belt, sorted, and washed. First, everything is sorted by species. Then everything is counted, measured, weighed, and sometimes the gender and maturity are calculated. All of this is recorded into computers. Some of the species are very tiny and others are large, but everything is counted. Many of them look alike so the scientists need to be careful when sorting everything. The scientists on the Oregon II know many of the names of what they catch, but they also use books, charts, and the computer to look up information to make sure." - Carol Schnaiter

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