Atlantic Ocean – Page 4 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

September 27, 2014August 21, 2021

Janelle Harrier-Wilson: Learning about Life at Sea, September 26, 2014

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Janelle Harrier-Wilson
Onboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow
September 23 – October 3

Mission: Autumn Bottom Trawl Survey Leg II
Geographical area of cruise: Atlantic Ocean from the Mid-Atlantic Coast to S New England
Date: September 26, 2014

Weather Data from the Bridge
Lat: 40° 11.3’N Lon: 073° 52.7’W
Present Weather: CLR
Visibility: 10 nm
Wind: 326 at 5 knts
Sea Level Pressure: 1020.4 mb
Sea Wave Height: 2-4 ft
Temperature Sea Water: 20.4° C
Temperature Air: 23° C

Science and Technology Log

On the ship, there are two science watches: noon to midnight (day shift) and midnight to noon (night shift). I am assigned to the day shift. We left port late Tuesday afternoon, but we made it to our first trawl site a few hours later. When the nets brought back our first haul, I had a crash course in sorting through the fish. The fish come down and conveyor belt from the back deck to the wet lab. In the wet lab, the first thing we do is sort through the fish. The more experienced scientists are at the front sorting through the larger species and sometimes the more abundant ones. The largest species of fish go in large baskets, the medium sized ones go into large buckets, and the smaller ones go into smaller buckets. Each basket or bucket only has one species in it. During our first trawl, there was a smaller amount of fish to sort through, but we had a lot more fish the second trawl. It took us longer to sort through the larger fish.

Once the fish are sorted, we go to our cutter/recorder stations. At our stations, we sort through the buckets of fish one by one. Right now, I am a recorder. This means that I record the information about each fish into the computer. It’s a really cool computer system. First, the bucket it scanned. On the computer screen, a message pops up to tell us what type of fish should be in the bucket. If that is what we have, we say “Yes” to the prompt and continue. Then, we dump the contents of the bucket into a well waiting for inspection. The cutter pulls the fish out, one by one, and begins to take measurements. The first measurement is usually length. The tool for taking the measurements is integrated into the computer system. The fish are laid out on the ruler, and a sensor is tapped at the end of the fish. This sends the fish’s measurement to the computer. The Fish Measuring Board is a magnetic system. The tool that we use to measure the fish is a magnet. The board is calibrated so that when the magnet touches a specific area of the board, it will read the appropriate length. The computer then tells us what measurement to take next. Usually it is weight. On the other side of the Fish Measuring Board is the scale for the larger fish. There is also a small scale for smaller specimens. When the weight is recorded, the computer then prompts for additional measurements which are taken from the fish. During our second trawl, we worked up a bucket of summer flounder. One of the summer flounder was huge! I had not seen a flounder that big before!

One of the things that has really impressed me so far is the integration of the science and the technology. The computer system that records measurements is integrated into the ruler and scale right at the work bench (the fish measuring board). When we take samples from the specimen, a label is printed right at the station, and the sample is placed into either an envelope, zip bag, or jar for further handling. It reminds me of how technology makes the job of science more streamlined. I can’t imagine how long it would take for the processing and sampling of the fish if we had to take all of the measurements by hand! Technology is a valuable tool for scientists at sea.

Careers at Sea

We left port on Tuesday, September 23. Before we left, I had a chance to explore the ship and ran into chief engineer Craig Moran. He sent me to the engine room for a tour, and I met John Hohmann. John is the first engineer on the Henry Bigelow. He showed me around the engine room including the generators, the water system, and the shaft to the propeller. It was pretty quiet in the engine room since we hadn’t left yet, but it is a loud, warm place when the ship is at sea.

I had a chance to chat with John about his background in engineering. He has a specialization in marine engineering. Marine engineers really need to be a jack-of-all-trades when we are out at sea. If anything is not working right on the ship, they are called out to fix it. This can include any of the machinery in the engine room, the electrical systems, the water purification system, and even fixing the cooking equipment in the galley! Life at sea can be demanding as they can be called at any time day or night to fix an integral piece of machinery. However, engineers generally work 30 days at sea and then are home for 30 days. One thing John wanted you all to know is that there will always be jobs for engineers. If you are interested in marine engineering, it can help you travel the world. John has been all over the world to many interesting countries. The other thing that I found interesting is that he says you need to be able read and follow instruction manuals in order to fix an issue. He also said an essential skill for an engineer is problem solving. Marine engineering entails a lot more than I had initially thought, and it is really cool to be able to talk to John and learn about marine engineering from him first hand.

Personal Log

I arrived to the ship Monday evening (September 22). Since the ship wasn’t scheduled to leave port until the next day, most of the team was not on board yet. I was able to find my stateroom and get settled in. Tuesday, things started to pick up on ship. There was a dive at 9:00 to check the hull of the ship, so I had a chance to watch the divers slide into the water and later climb back out. The rest of the science team arrived just in time for lunch. I then had time to explore the ship (I found the important places: the laundry room and the gym!), and get to know the science team a little bit better. The ship started undocking around 16:00 (4:00 pm), and we were on our way to sea. We went up to the flying bridge, the highest deck on the ship, as we left Rhode Island. It was beautiful up there as we passed by Newport and the surrounding areas. There is an old lighthouse that is now used for event spaces, and a house built up on a small rocky island. At 17:00, it was dinner time. We eat our meals in the mess, and the meals are prepared in the galley. I knew I needed to eat a good meal because my watch for the night officially started at 18:00 and would last until 24:00.

Lighthouse leaving Newport heading out to sea

The sea was pretty calm yesterday, so it was a good introduction to the ways of life on a ship. So far, I have not had any trouble adjusting to life onboard ship. I was worried about sea-sickness, but I came prepared and have felt great so far. A lot of the crew have mentioned that I should be fine, and that I’ve already found my sea legs. I think perhaps I have found my sea stomach but not my sea legs! I do periodically lose my balance when walking through the corridors. Thankfully, there are handrails everywhere to catch my balance just in case. Maybe I’ll find my sea legs in a few more days, but I am pretty clumsy even on land!

Janelle Wilson wears immersion suit for abandon ship drill. — Trying on my Immersion Suit

Safety drills are also an important part of sea life. Each person has their own immersion suit and personal flotation device (PFD). These are in case we have to abandon ship. We need to be able to put our immersion suit on in 60 seconds. The immersion suit is kind of like a wet suit, but it has lights on it and other tools. There are also lifeboats on board. There are three types of emergencies we need to be prepared for: abandon ship, man overboard, and fire/other emergency. Just like we have fire drills at school to help us know where to go in the case of a fire, these drills help us prepare for emergencies.

Did You Know?

You can tell a summer flounder from a winter flounder by the side the eyes are on the fish. You look at the fish as if it were swimming up right. Summer flounder eyes are on the left, and winter flounder eyes are on the right. Summer flounder are called left eyed, and winter flounder are called right eyed.

Challenge Yourself

What additional information can you find out about marine engineering careers at sea? What type of training do marine engineers need, and what schools offer marine engineering?

Poll

August 6, 2014August 21, 2021

Joan Le, Getting Set to TowCam, August 5, 2014

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Joanie Le
Aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow
August 5 – 16, 2014

Mission: Deep-Sea Coral Research
Geographic area of the cruise: 40 miles SE of Cape May, New Jersey
Date: August 5, 2014

In full survival gear during our first “abandon ship” drill.

Weather information from the Bridge:
Air Temperature: 25.5° Celsius
Wind Speed: 10 knots
Wind Direction: 330°
Weather Conditions: clear
Latitude: 37° 37.7′ N
Longitude: 74° 06.8′ W

Science and Technology Log

After almost a full day at sea, we are only hours away from the first watch and the first glimpse of data. Preparations commence, and anticipation is high.

For the next two weeks, we’ll study the deep-sea corals that occur in submarine canyons off the east coast. They have been found in every region of the United States, but for this mission we’ll target canyons in the Northeast region, investigating canyons east of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

Deep-Sea Corals are similar to the familiar shallow-water corals, but cannot harness sunlight for energy through photosynthesis. Instead, they rely on nutrients from the water including detritus (non-living organic matter) and plankton. It is believed that Deep-Sea Corals find both shelter and bountiful grub on the steep-sided canyon walls where the faster-moving currents bring in the day’s meal. Surprisingly, many are just as beautiful and colorful as their shallow-water counterparts, like this bamboo coral photographed at Mytilus Seamount during the NOAA OER US Northern Canyons mission last year.

This image was taken at Mytilus Seamount during the NOAA OER US Northern Canyons mission last year. Photo credit NOAA. — Bamboo Coral (Jasonisis sp.) Photo credit NOAA.

Though not the hot snorkeling destination, the Deep-Sea Corals in this region are important habitat providers as well as sensitive indicators of ecosystem health. They are long-living but slow-growing and do not recover quickly. Both bottom trawling and possible energy harnessing (off-shore wind farms and oil and gas acquisition) are possible threats to their survival.

Because bottom trawling is so detrimental to the coral communities, we’ll use TowCam to survey the area. Deploying the TowCam is a delicate process, with sensitive and pricey equipment on the line. After a few test deployments yesterday, the team began picking our dive locations. There is plenty to consider when finding a dive spot, including the topography of the sea floor and slope of the canyon walls. We also use the results generated by a habitat suitability model that predicts where deep-sea corals are likely to occur. Scientists must strike a balance between the steeper, high-probability cliffs and the gentler slopes.

The crew prepares TowCam for the first test run. — The crew prepares TowCam for the first test deployment.

Brian Kinlan using Fledermaus to plan our first dive.

Personal Log

Life aboard a ship is surely not easy. The constant rocking and clanging of cold metal will take a while to get used to, and I will sadly miss many daytime hours with our 12 hours on-12 hours off watch schedule. And while waking at 3 AM to greet a deathly dark ocean view may not seem like summertime fun to most, this first morning underway has convinced me that a couple weeks at sea is a treat I won’t soon forget.

August 1, 2014August 21, 2021

Lynn Kurth: It’s Shark Week! July 31, 2014

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Lynn M. Kurth
Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
July 25 – August 9, 2014

Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Longline Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic
Date: July 31, 2014

Lat: 30 11.454 N
Long: 80 49.66 W

Weather Data from the Bridge:
Wind: 17 knots
Barometric Pressure: 1014.93 mb
Temperature: 29.9 Degrees Celsius

Science and Technology Log:
It would be easy for me to focus only on the sharks that I’ve encountered but there is so much more science and natural phenomena to share with you! I have spent as much time on the bow of the boat as I can in between working on my blogs and my work shift. There’s no denying it, I LOVE THE BOW OF THE BOAT!!! When standing in the bow it feels as if you’re flying over the water and the view is splendid.

From my prized bird’s eye view from the bow I’ve noticed countless areas of water with yellowish clumps of seaweed. This particular seaweed is called sargassum which is a type of macroalgae found in tropical waters. Sargassum has tiny chambers which hold air and allow it to float on or near the water’s surface in order to gather light for photosynthesis. Sargassum can be considered to be a nuisance because it frequently washes up on beaches and smells as it decomposes. And, in some areas it can become so thick that it reduces the amount of light that other plant species need to grow and thrive. However, the floating clumps of sargassum provide a great habitat for young fish because it offers them food and shelter.

IMG_2906[1] — Sargassum (notice the small air bladders that it uses to stay afloat)

We have hauled in a variety of sharks and fish over the past few days. One of the more interesting species was the remora/sharksucker. The sharksucker attaches itself to rays, sharks, ships, dolphins and sea turtles by latching on with its suction cup like dorsal fin. When we brought a sharksucker on board the ship it continued to attach itself to the deck of the boat and would even latch on to our arm when we gave it the chance.

IMG_2944[1] — The shark sucker attaches to my arm immediately!

The largest species of sharks that we have hauled in are Sandbar sharks which are one of the largest coastal sharks in the world. Sandbar sharks have much larger fins compared to their body size which made them attractive to fisherman for sale in the shark fin trade. Therefore, this species has more protection than some of the other coastal shark species because they have been over harvested in the past due to their large fins.

Thankfully finning is now banned in US waters, however despite the ban sandbar sharks have continued protection due to the fact that like many other species of sharks they are not able to quickly replace numbers lost to high fishing pressure. Conservationists remain concerned about the future of the Sandbar shark because of this ongoing threat and the fact that they reproduce very few young.

IMG_2928[1] — The first Sandbar shark that I was able to tag

Did you Know?

Sargassum is used in/as:

fertilizer for crops
food for people
medicines
insect repellant

Personal Log:
I continue to learn a lot each day and can’t wait to see what the next day of this great adventure brings! The folks who I’m working with have such interesting tales to share and have been very helpful as I learn the ropes here on the Oregon II. One of the friendly folks who I’ve been working with is a second year student at the University of Tampa named Kevin Travis. Kevin volunteered for the survey after a family friend working for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) recommended him as a volunteer. Kevin enjoys his time on the boat because he values meeting new people and knows how beneficial it is to have a broad range of experiences.

July 24, 2014August 21, 2021

Emina Mesanovic, Wet Lab: Something Fishy Is Going on Here, July 23, 2014

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Emina Mesanovic

Aboard the NOAA ship Pisces

July 20 – August 2, 2014

Mission: Southeast Fishery- Independent Survey

Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina

Date: July 23, 2014

Weather Information from the Bridge

Air Temperature: 27.4 C

Relative Humidity: 85%

Wind Speed: 13 knots

Science and Technology Log

The goal of the Southeast Fishery Independent Survey (SEFIS) is to assess the location and abundance of different species focusing on snappers and groupers as well as collecting bathymetric data about the ocean floor that can be used in the future. The scientists are divided into day and night shifts, the night shift maps the ocean floor, while the day shift uses these maps to set traps and catch fish.

Each morning the scientists set up six chevron traps on the back deck of the Pisces, each trap is stocked with 24 menhaden, which serves as the baitfish. The traps contain the same amount of bait, two cameras one on the front and one on the back, and each trap stays underwater for 90 minutes. Chief Scientist Zeb Schobernd works in the dry lab to let the crew know when and where to drop the traps (more on this later).

Trap going down the rap into the water. — Trap going down the ramp into the water

When its time to retrieve the traps the crew of the Pisces works with chief scientist and the Bridge to retrieve the traps. When you are on the deck waiting for the traps to be lifted on board you have to wear a safety helmet and life preserver. Once the traps on are on the deck the scientists really start to hustle. They remove the cameras from the traps and empty the trap into black bins.

Once we are in the wet lab the first step is to sort the fish by species. In the picture on below you will see 3 bins with red porgy, vermilion snapper, and trigger fish these are 3 of the 4 most common commercially important fish we catch the 4^th is black sea bass.

Red Porgy, Vermillion, & Trigger Fish — Red Porgy, Vermilion Snapper, & Trigger Fish

Next we need to weight the sample in kilograms and record the total size of the fish in millimeters. The fish that are not being kept for further study are returned to the ocean. It can get very busy and messy in the wet lab when the traps produce a large catch. The goal is to process one trap before the next trap is brought on deck. The traps are dropped three times daily for a total of 18 traps caught per day; it is the scientist’s goal to completely process the traps before the completion of their 12 hours shift. Certain fish are of special interest to the scientists because they are commercially and recreationally important to the fishing community so these fish are set aside for further study. On Monday July 21^st we caught a 10.47 kg Red Grouper, which is one of the fish that is studied in more detail.

Red Grouper caught on Monday July 21, 2014

For this fish in addition to recording the weight and total length, scientists also record the fork length and standard length. The scientists also collect the otoliths (ear bones) from the fish which are used to determine the age of the fish just likes rings on a tree are used to determine age. Finally scientists collect DNA and part of the gonads for additional study back at the laboratory.

Personal Log

My first few days on the Pisces have been busy and very exciting there is so much to see and learn. Everyone on board has been very friendly and welcoming. As I look out my window every morning all is see is blue for miles. Even though we are only 10-50 miles off the coast of North Carolina on any given day there is nothing out here but ocean. It’s impressive how vast the ocean is and how little we know about the geography of the ocean or the animals that inhabit the sea floor.

Looking down from the top deck of the Pisces.

We set sail from Morehead City, North Carolina at 10am on Sunday July 20^th and I had a great view from the top deck of the Pisces as we left the harbor. After lunch we practiced the abandon ship and fire drills, however I was not able to participate because I was seasick. Did you know that seasickness occurs when our brain receives conflicting information from our body. Onboard the Pisces it doesn’t look like anything is moving so my eyes sent my brain a message that there was no movement, but my inner ear, which is responsible for balance, sensed the motion of the boat and this conflicting information caused my seasickness. By Monday I was feeling much better and I was ready to get to work.

Life on the Pisces is very comfortable. I am sharing a stateroom with Mary who is a great roommate. We each have our own bunk with a curtain for privacy as well as lockers for storage. Additionally our bathroom is located in our room, which was a wonderful surprise because I thought that we would all be sharing a single bathroom. There is a lounge across from our room with large comfy chairs and an impressive DVD collection, however I have been too tired from working in the wet lab to enjoy it yet. There is also a gym somewhere on the ship but I don’t think that I will ever have enough balance onboard the ship to use the gym safely. Stay tuned, tonight I’m going to spend the night mapping the ocean floor and I’ll let you know how it goes.

SCIENTIST SPOT LIGHT

Zeb Schobernd : Chief Scientist

Education: Masters from Earlham College and a Masters from College of Charleston in Marine Biology

How long have you worked with NOAA? Since 2007, started this project in 2010

Chief Scientist Zeb Schonberned in the dry lab

How important is collaboration in your research? Being able to share and work together is a large part of the marine biology community. On this cruise for example we are collaborating with scientists from Beaufort as well as with local universities we have 2 volunteers from the College of Charleston sailing with us.

How long have you participated in this survey? Since the start of the SEFIS survey in 2010, currently in its 5^th season.

Does your team change every year? The core group of research scientists stays the same, but the volunteers and lab assistants’ changes year to year.

How does the Pisces compare to other ships? The Pisces is larger than other ships I have worked on. It’s more comfortable, there is more space for scientists to spread out and work. Additionally the Pisces has the equipment need to map the floor, which makes determining where to drop traps more efficient.

How many days a year do you go out to sea? I spend about 45 days out at sea.

What do you do when you are not out at sea? I work on processing the videos that were collected on the cruise; we need to identify the fish species that are on caught on camera. The cameras are often more valuable then the fish that we trap because some fish may never go in the trap so these videos allow us a better picture of the underwater ecosystem.

What is the biggest challenge about doing research at sea? The biggest challenge would be bad weather that impacts sea conditions. Also time away from home can be challenge on long cruises.

What would be your dream research cruise? I would like to be able to use a submersible to record videos of tropical fish for further study.

Any advice you have for students interested in marine biology as a career? Gain hands on experiences in the field by doing internships while in college to determine if this is what you really want to do. What I do on a day to day basis is very similar to what I experienced on a research cruise while I was in grad school.

Coolest catch: 6 Gilled Shark

Favorite fish: Groupers

COOL CATCH OF THE DAY

Shark sucker attached to Kate's arm. — Shark sucker attached to Kate’s arm.

July 15, 2014March 18, 2021

Kevin McMahon: Midnight Mapping! July 13, 2014

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Kevin McMahon

Aboard the NOAA ship Pisces

July 5 – July 18, 2014

Mission: Southeast Fisheries Independent Survey

Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina

Date: July 13, 2014

Weather Information from the Bridge

Air Temperature: 27.6 °C

Relative Humidity: 73%

Wind Speed: 5.04 knots

Science and Technology Log

Someone is always working on the Pisces. When Nate Bacheler and the other fishery scientists have finished their work for the day collecting fish, it is show time for the hydrographers, the scientists who map and study the ocean floor. Their job is to map the ocean floor to help Nate find the best places to find fish for the next day. Warren, Laura, David and Matt were kind enough to let me join them and explained how they map the ocean floor while on board the Pisces.

People have learned over the years that some fish like to hang out where there is a hard bottom, not a sandy bottom. These hard bottom areas are where coral and sponges can grow and it also happens to be where we usually find the most fish.

Instead of using a camera to find these hard bottom habitats, the mapping scientists use multibeam sonar. Here is a simple explanation on how sonar works. The ship sends a sound wave to the bottom of the ocean. When the sound wave hits the bottom, the sound bounces back up to the ship.

Since scientists know how fast sound travels in water, they can figure out how far it is to the ocean floor. If the sound wave bounces back quickly, we are close to the ocean floor. If the sound wave takes longer, the ocean floor is farther away. They can use this data to make a map of what the ocean floor looks like beneath the ship.

The neat thing about the Pisces is that it does not send down one sound wave only. It sends 70 waves at once. This is called multibeam sonar.

Single Beam versus Multibeam sonar. Can you see why scientists like to use multibeam sonar? — Single Beam versus Multibeam sonar. Can you see why hydrographers like to use multibeam sonar? Credit: NOAA

So, now you know how sonar works in simple terms.

But it gets a little more complicated. Did you know that sound speed can be affected by the water temperature, by how salty the water is (the “salinity”), by tides, and by the motion of the ship? Computers make corrections for all of these factors to help get a better picture of the ocean floor. But, computers don’t know the physical properties of our part of the ocean (because these properties change all the time) so we need to find this information and give it to the computer.

To find the temperature of the ocean water, the mapping scientists launch an “XBT” into the water. XBT stands for “expendable bathythermograph.” The XBT records the changes in water temperature as it travels to the ocean floor. It looks like a missile. It gets put into a launcher and it has a firing pin. It sounds pretty dangerous, doesn’t it! I was excited to be able to fire it into the water. But, when I pulled out the firing pin, the XBT just gently slid out of the launcher, softly plopped into the ocean, and quietly collected data all the way to the ocean floor.

Kevin McMahon nervously holding the XBT Launcher and waiting for the order to fire.

Kevin McMahon watches as the XBT gently plops out of the launcher.

With the new data on water temperature, the hydrographers were able to create this map of the ocean floor.

In the map above, blue indicates that part of the ocean floor that is the deepest. The green color indicates the part of the map that is the next deepest. The red indicates the area that is most shallow.

Nate talks to the hydrographers early in the morning and then predicts where the hard bottom habitats might be. In particular, Nate looks for areas that have a sudden change in elevation, indicating a ledge feature. If you had Nate’s job, where would you drop the 6 traps to find the most fish? Look at the map below to see where Nate decided to deploy the traps.

The green dots are the spots where Nate dropped the traps in hopes of finding fish.

To find out more about using sound to see the ocean floor and to see an animation of how this works, click on this link:

NOAA: Seeing the Ocean Floor

Personal Log

We have now gotten into a regular routine on the ship. The best part of the day for me is when we are retrieving the traps. We never know what we will see. Sometimes we catch nothing. Sometimes we find some really amazing things.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Sea stars with beautiful navy blue colors

Did you know?

The ocean is largely unexplored. Maybe someday you will discover something new about the ocean!