NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mavis Peterson
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather June 21 – July 9, 2005
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area: North Pacific, Alaska Date: June 23, 2005
Scientific Log
This is my first day out on the launch. The computer on the launch stays there all the time and is loaded with the programs that are needed. The sonar scanning devices, GPS and radar are also on the launch. The launch makes sweeping rows across the chosen area to be scanned overlapping each row slightly to prevent “holes” in the information gathered. The operators keep a close watch on the depth and if it gets too shallow, they leave that area for the smaller shore boats to gather information on. I am learning so much, and trying to decide how I can share this information with my fourth graders. Surely reading maps and following directions accurately will be lessons.
Personal Log
The sea air has gotten to me in more ways than one. Not only did I feel the wave action this afternoon, but upon returning, I am very cold so I am retiring early tonight after writing some notes, and checking out tomorrow’s schedule.
I arose before seven and after breakfast spent most of the morning in the chart room learning about the sonar testing. The sensors are attached to the bottom of the ship and fan out to each side. As the information is picked up by the sweeping action of the sonar, it is then transmitted to the computers, which have several programs to break down the information. The other piece of equipment that was used today was the “fish” or sound velocity profiler. It is an expensive piece of equipment that has many sensors in it that collect information that is relayed back to the computers. The fish is pulled behind the ship on a cable and taken down, for a dive reading, about every fifteen minutes to within about twenty-five meters from the ocean floor. This is a relatively new way of doing this test. It used to be that the ship would have to stop and they would physically have to drop and retrieve the fish do the test, read the results and then go at it again. This was a much slower process and often took a couple hours. The newer equipment usually works; however today they had to pull the fish in by hand, cranking it.
I spent the afternoon on the bridge. We saw a whale and some porpoises, but not close by. I just observe proceedings.
Personal Log
All day today, we were clipping right along rocking and rolling with the sea. I can’t imagine how sick I would have been if I had not gotten a patch. At least half of the crew are lying down and are as sick as I am. I was sitting in a chair at a computer on the bridge and on one heave, it rolled the chair right towards the door–just a little thrill. I went to my bunk early, got up for a few minutes at dinnertime and then was back down until ten. It seemed a little quieter, but I could not keep the chair at the table where I was writing, and the words on the page were jumping around like crazy so I called it a night.
I am paranoid about these tests they keep saying we will be doing. I keep my jacket at the ready and have a cheat sheet of where I am to go in my pocket.
Question of the day: What force causes the “fish” to go down when they want it to?
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mavis Peterson
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather June 21 – July 9, 2005
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area: North Pacific, Alaska Date: June 20, 2005
Science and Technology Log
Departure time was 1:00 and we actually left dock at 1:20. A beautiful day with puffy cumulus clouds in a bright blue sky. Getting ready to go was quite a process. Everything was tested. I watched as they checked the readouts on all the monitors throughout the ship. Equipment, like the rudder, the water and fire doors, were carefully checked. A different flag was put out. Garbage was taken off the ship and the department heads were called to the bridge to check in with the captain. The gangplank onto the deck and the anchor were lifted and we were off.
I was given a tour of the ship and places for me to be during different drills were pointed out. I received a “bunk card” on my door that explained the three alarms, what the alarm sounds would be, and what to have with me for each.
Once we reached deeper water, the rock and roll of the ship increased. We were scanning our path, not because it was a work order, but because we were there. The path we were taking was on the way to our work area and had not been scanned so they were making good use of their position. They had scanned a path on their way to this area last week, so now they were lined up right beside their old path.
Personal Log
I spent most of the afternoon and evening familiarizing myself with the ship. There are actually seven levels. My room is on level C. It is small and very noisy but efficient. I retired early, as laying down seemed to make me feel better.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Christy Garvin
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier June 1 – 8, 2005
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area: Aleutian Islands, AK Date: June 8, 2005
Weather from the Bridge
Latitude:56 deg 44 min N
Longitude: 135 deg 43 min W
Visibility:10 nautical miles
Wind Direction: 160 deg
Wind Speed:14 kts
Sea Wave Height1-2 ft
Swell Wave Height:4-5ft
Sea Water Temperature: 53deg F
Sea Level Pressure:1011.5 mb
Humpback whales
Science and Technology Log
Since we were doing ship’s hydro again today, I decided to take the opportunity to interview some of the NOAA junior officers to learn more about what their job entails and what long-term life at sea is like. The two officers on watch were Briana Welton and Jay Lomnicky.
Briana attended Smith College in western Massachusetts; she majored in math, but learned about NOAA through the science department at Smith. While in college, she interned for NOAA and enjoyed the experience. She graduated from college and found that her job working in a cubicle was boring and tedious; looking for adventure and a different style of life, she applied with NOAA and became a junior officer. She has been onboard the RAINIER for almost two years, and while onboard she has worked in the survey department, been in charge of tide information for the ship, and stood anchor watch on the bridge. Briana will be leaving the ship in December for her three-year shore duty. Her shore assignment will be with a Navigation Response team that will do surveys in the mid-Atlantic region.
Breaching
Jay learned of NOAA from a friend who was working for a fish and wildlife agency in Florida. He has a degree in biology and has been on the ship for two and a half years. His collateral duty is dive master, and he is in charge of all dive operations on the ship. There are eight certified divers onboard who set up tide gauges, complete hull inspections, and use lift bags to recover items from the ocean floor. It is Jay’s job to plan all dives, ensure that the nearest decompression chamber is operational, check to make sure the equipment is working properly, and assess diver’s skills. When Jay leaves the RAINIER in about a month for his shore duty, he will be working with side scan sonar looking for fish habitats. Jay really enjoys ship life; he likes steering the ship, the adrenaline rush of rough weather, and managing and coordinating the activities of those on board.
Both Jay and Briana had advice for those seeking a career with NOAA. First, they encouraged a math or science degree and suggested that basic seamanship (tying knots, navigation, life at sea) and knowledge of the ocean would be helpful. They also suggested that individuals should understand that working on a ship is not a job, it is a lifestyle. Sometimes it is difficult to have relationships or hobbies, and many conveniences like radio, television, and private quarters are often not available.
Personal Log
While the ship was doing hydro today, I saw two humpback whales breaching. They would bring their large pectoral fins high in the air and slap them down on the water, then they would do a tail lob, which is when they bring the fluke up in the air and flip it around. It was definitely an amazing sight.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Christy Garvin
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier June 1 – 8, 2005
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area: Aleutian Islands, AK Date: June 7, 2005
Weather from the Bridge
Latitude:56 deg 59 min N
Longitude: 135 deg 17 min W
Visibility: 11 nautical miles
Wind Direction: 290 deg
Wind Speed: 10 kts
Sea Wave Height: 0-1 ft
Sea Water Temperature: 50deg F
Sea Level Pressure: 1011.7 mb
Science and Technology Log
Although we have been parked in protected Aleutkina Bay for most of the leg, yesterday afternoon we pulled anchor and the ship was underway. Because of weather conditions, it was determined that the ship would run hydro in deep water, while the launches continued protected shoreline work.
The ship is equipped with a Seabeam 1050 MKII; it is a dual frequency echosounder with 50KHz and 180KHz operating frequency. When operating at the 180 KHz frequency a maximum depth of 620 meters can be surveyed. This depth can be increased by switching to the 50 KHz frequency, which can reach depths of 3,100 meters. The Seabeam 1050 has a wide horizontal scan area that is covered by 126 adjacent beams and a 150-degree swath width; it has high resolution due to the narrow beams it uses.
While the ship is doing hydro, the crew transitions into 24-7 watches. The ship runs survey lines all night, so people are needed to steer the ship, serve as lookouts, and run the survey equipment. The watches are four hours each, and crewmembers work two watches a day. The three shifts are 12:00-4:00, 4:00-8:00, and 8:00-12:00; people are sleeping at different times, so everyone makes an effort to be quiet during the day.
One of the highlights of today was an in-depth tour of the ship by the CO, John Humphrey. I was able to see the engine room with the two main engines, the after steerage (where the rudder and emergency steering are located), and the evaporator unit that processes salt water into potable fresh water. We also went into the large refrigerators and freezers that hold the ship’s stores and climbed down into the bowels of the ship to see the fire prevention carbon dioxide system.
Personal Log
It is interesting trying to sleep while the ship is underway. Although the seas aren’t very rough, the ship still moves quite a bit. I haven’t been seasick (I’m very thankful for that), but I rolled all over my bunk last night. It felt like I was trying to hold myself in the bed as I slept.
