Tag: Atlantic Ocean

Posted on

Maureen Anderson: Introduction, July 15, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Maureen Anderson
Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
July 25 — August 9, 2011

Mission: Shark Longline Survey
Geographical Area: Southern Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico
Date: July 15, 2011

Personal Log

Maureen Anderson, Science Instructor, MS442, Brooklyn NY
Maureen Anderson, Science Instructor, MS442, Brooklyn NY

Hello!  I’d like to introduce myself.  My name is Maureen Anderson and I teach middle school science at MS442 in Brooklyn, NY.  In one week, I will be leaving for my NOAA Teacher at Sea trip aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II.  I’m very excited to be a part of this survey!  I don’t have a very strong background in science (I have 4 years of teaching experience – 3 in math and 1 in science), so I’m eager to learn as much as I can and share it with my students and community when I return.

Here’s a little bit of information about the trip.  I will be helping scientists survey various fish species in the Gulf of Mexico, with a focus on sharks and snapper.  Our boat leaves from Pascagoula, Mississippi on 7/25 and returns to Mayport, Florida on 8/9.  We will cruise from one station to another to do hauls and sort through our catch.  In this way, scientists get an idea about how many species are  in this area and the overall health of these species.

A lot of people have already told me many shark jokes, or given me tips for how to handle a shark.  But guess what?  I won’t be dealing with sharks in the water directly (no diving on this trip).  My students ask me tons of questions about sharks.  While I sometimes encounter them during scuba diving, I really don’t know too much about them.  So I’m looking forward to learning more about how to identify different shark species and finding out about the their overall health in this area of the world.  Overall, I’m also eager to learn about how everything works on a ship, and about the different kinds of science jobs and careers of the crew.

Red Snapper
Red snapper (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org)
Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark (photo courtesy of Discovery.com)

I have never slept on a boat before, so I’m hoping that I have no problem adjusting to life at sea for 16 days.  I have a ready-to-go seasickness patch just in case…  Other than that, I am excited and eager to learn!

I will aim to make a blog post about 3 times a week, so please check back.  Feel free to post your comments, feedback, and questions along the way!

Posted on

Tara Treichel, April 26, 2008

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Tara Treichel
Onboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster
April 15-27, 2008

Mission: Lionfish Survey
Geographical Area: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina
Date: April 26, 2008

One of the Survey Technicians operates the Multi-Beaming mapping system.
One of the Survey Technicians operates the Multi-Beaming mapping system.

Weather Data from the Bridge 
Visibility: 10 n.m.
Wind: 11 knots
Waves: 1-2 feet
Ocean swells: 2-4 feet
Sea temperature: 23.5
Air temperature: 22.0

Science and Technology Log 

In addition to the Lionfish survey, the other research that is being conducted while aboard the NANCY FOSTER is benthic habitat mapping of the ocean floor. This is accomplished using highly sophisticated, computerized multi-beam SONAR technology. Two survey technicians aboard the ship are responsible for running and monitoring the system, which is run all through the night. The operators make sure that the system is recording data properly and that the ship stays on course (within about 5 meters), and process the data as it is recorded. The course is set and followed, lawnmower style, back and forth along long narrow parallel lines, producing a beautiful rainbow colored map coded for “depth by color,” where red is high and blue is low. After five nights of mapping, the white digital nautical chart contains five tiny rainbow swatches, each one representing about 10 square miles of mapped space. Each year the research team adds to the swatches, until one day perhaps the entire bay floor will be mapped. Scientists later use the maps to support their research; in this case, Paula used them to determine where to dive. With countless miles of ocean floor (much of which is sand, or poor fish habitat) and limited time and research budgets, the maps are a critical part of the research effort. 

Tara holds up a specimen that some of the scientists said was the biggest Spiny Lobster they had ever seen!
Tara holds up a specimen that some of the scientists said was the biggest Spiny Lobster they had ever seen!

There are a lot of variables such as temperature and salinity that can  influence the transmission of the sound waves produced by the multi-beam sonar to measure seafloor depth.  In order for the data to be as accurate as possible the survey technicians need to measure these variables throughout the water column using a CTD (conductivity (salinity), temperature and depth). They conduct three CTD ‘casts’ a night by first lowing and raising the CTD on a long cable that is controlled by a winch.

Personal log 

Today, the Chief Engineer caught a Wahoo off the stern of the boat. Wahoo! Can you think of a fish with a cooler name? It’s a cool fish, too, sleek and streamlined, with large jaws and a loud stripy pattern on blue gray skin. It was perfect timing, since a barbeque was planned for our last afternoon at sea. The fish is nearly all muscle, and yielded 25 steaks, almost enough for each one of our full ship of 35 people aboard. How was it, you ask? Delicious! The scientists also caught several large Spiny Lobsters, a Scamp (a Grouper), Hogfish, Sea Bass, and of course, many Lionfish. In addition, they saw a Mola Mola (Sunfish) and several Loggerhead Turtles.