beaufort sea – Page 3 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 23, 2009April 6, 2021

Christine Hedge, August 23, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Christine Hedge
Onboard USCGC Healy
August 7 – September 16, 2009

Mission: U.S.-Canada 2009 Arctic Seafloor Continental Shelf Survey
Location: Beaufort Sea, north of the arctic circle
Date: August 23, 2009

Weather Data
Lat: 81⁰48’N
Long: 142⁰ 16’W
Temp: 33.89⁰ F

Science and Technology Log

The nerve center of engineering shows off our advanced technology

The official name of our ship is the United States Coast Guard Cutter Healy (USCGC Healy for short). There are 3 icebreakers in the Coast Guard fleet, Polar Star, Polar Sea, and the Healy. The homeport of all 3 icebreakers is Seattle, Washington. Healy is the newest icebreaker and because of her advanced technology, she can operate with half the crew of the Polar-class ships. The Healy was specifically built to do science research in the Arctic.

Here are some facts about this floating science laboratory:

Length: 420 feet
Top speed is 17 Knots
4 decks are dedicated to working and living quarters (berthing)
Each berthing deck has a lounge with computers, library, TV and sitting area
There are 2 workout centers, barber shop, helicopter pad, machine shop, and a laundry
The ship has 4 diesel electric generators putting out an astounding 6,600 volts
The fuel capacity is 1,220,915 gallons of diesel
There are 4,200 square feet lab space, deck spaces and electronic winches dedicated to science

FOR MY STUDENTS: Can you convert knots to miles/hour? How fast can the Healy go?

Ensign Nick Custer shows us where the ship is refueled. Can you imagine pumping a million gallons of fuel!!!

On my tour of the ship I was struck by how much attention has been put onto safety and backup systems. For example, we are currently running on 2 engines. When ice is heavy we might need 3. But the Healy has 4 engines so that if one breaks down – the ship can still navigate safely through ice-covered waters. Another safety feature is that all the engineering functions are compartmentalized and separated with watertight and fireproof doors. If something goes wrong in one area (flood, fire) – that area can be closed off and the rest of the ship can carry on. Over the decades, ship builders have learned to design ships with such features to make life at sea safer for sailors.

Personal Log

Last night, the science party prepared and served dinner for everyone on the Healy. We decided that Jennifer Henderson, from Louisiana, would have the best flair for developing a unique menu. Our most excellent southern meal consisted of lentil soup, chicken and sausage jambalaya, shrimp and grits, okra and tomatoes, Caesar salad,

Engineer Officer Doug Petrusa takes us down a watertight hatch

buttermilk cornbread and apple crisp. Christina Franco de Lacerda from Brazil came up with the Lentil soup and the apple crisp was my idea. There is nothing like working in the kitchen together to build camaraderie! The meal was delicious, the music was great, and a good time was had by all!

Today we sailed further north than I have ever been. As I watch our track on the map and watch the latitude climb, I get more and more excited. In the next few days we hope to travel even further north and hopefully see some multiyear ice and clearer skies. With less melted ice, there is less moisture in the atmosphere and therefore less chance of fog.

My students sent lots of questions last week and I really enjoyed answering them. Keep the questions coming!!!

Master chef, Jennifer Henderson, keeps her eye on the Barbara Moore and Will Fessenden design the grits perfect Caesar salad dressing.

Barbara Moore and Will Fessenden design the perfect Caesar salad dressing. — Barbara Moore and Will Fessenden design the
perfect Caesar salad dressing.

August 20, 2009April 6, 2021

Christine Hedge, August 20, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Christine Hedge
Onboard USCGC Healy
August 7 – September 16, 2009

Mission: U.S.-Canada 2009 Arctic Seafloor Continental Shelf Survey
Location: Beaufort Sea, north of the arctic circle
Date: August 20, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Lat: 80.57⁰ N
Long: 151.32⁰W
Air Temp: 29.21⁰F

Science and Technology Log

The science computer lab is where the data is observed. Processors clean the data of all the extraneous noise and spikes. Not every beam is returned and some take a bad bounce off a fish, chunk of ice or a bubble.

The Healy is collecting bathymetric data on this trip. Bathymetric data will tell us how deep the ocean is and what the terrain of the ocean floor is like. Less than 6% of the floor of the Arctic Ocean has been mapped. So, this data will help us to learn about some places for the very first time. The word bathymetry comes from the Greek – bathy= deep and metry = to measure.

NOTE TO STUDENTS: If you learn Latin/Greek word parts you can understand almost any word!

How Do We Collect This Data?

There are two main devices the Healy is using to measure the depth to the seafloor. One is called the multibeam echosounder. It sends a beam of sound, which reflects off the bottom and sends back up to 121 beams to a receiver. By measuring the time it takes for the sound to return the multibeam can accurately map the surface of the sea floor. This allows the multibeam to “see” a wide swath of seafloor – kilometers wide. The other device is bouncing a single beam off the bottom and “seeing” a profile of that spot. This one is called a single beam echosounder or sub-bottom profiler. The single beam actually penetrates the sea floor to show a cross-section of the layers of sediment. Both are mounted on the hull of the ship and send their data and images to computers in the science lab.

What Does Mrs. Hedge Do?

This screen shows the multibeam bathymetry data. Depth is measured over a swath about 8 kilometers wide on this particular screen. Purple is the deepest (3850 m) and orange is the most shallow (3000 m). You can see that for most of this trip we were on flat abyssal plain and then we hit a little bump on the sea floor about 450 meters tall.

The science crew takes turns “standing watch”. We have 3 teams; each watches the computers that display the bathymetry data for an 8-hour shift. My watch is from 8 am until 4 pm. We need to look at how many beams are being received and sometimes make adjustments. Traveling through heavy ice makes data collection challenging. We also need to “log” or record anything that might impact the data collection such the ship turning, stopping, heavy ice, or a change in speed. When we are going over an interesting feature on the seafloor, our job is engaging. When the seafloor is flat, the 8-hour shift can seem pretty long!

How Did People Do This Before Computers?

Until the 1930’s, the depth of the ocean was taken by lowering a lead weight on a heavy rope over the side of a boat and measuring how much rope it took until the weight hit the bottom. This was called a lead line. Then the boat would move and do this again, over and over.

Another bear was spotted from the Healy. Photo Pat Kelley.

This method was very time consuming because it only measured depth at one point in time. Between soundings, people would just infer what the depth was. Using sound to measure depth is a huge improvement compared to soundings with a weighted rope. For example, in 100 meters of water, with a lead line 10 soundings per hour could be obtained. With multibeam at the same depth, 1,500,000 soundings can be obtained per hour. Mapping the ocean floor has become much more accurate and precise.

FOR MY STUDENTS: Can you think of other areas of science where improvements in technology lead to huge improvements and new discoveries?

Personal Log

When a polar bear is spotted, the deck fills with hopeful observers.

Last night, there was an announcement right after I went to bed that polar bears had been spotted. I threw on some clothes and ran outside. There was a female and cub 2 kilometers away. With binoculars, I could see them pretty well. The adult kept turning around and looking at the cub over her shoulder. I suspect, the cub was being told to hurry up! When a bear is spotted, the deck of the ship fills up with hopeful observers no matter what time of day it is.

FOR MY STUDENTS: I heard that the old polar bear at the Indianapolis Zoo died recently. Will there still be a polar bear exhibit at the zoo? What are the plans for the future?

August 16, 2009April 6, 2021

Christine Hedge, August 16, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Christine Hedge
Onboard USCGC Healy
August 7 – September 16, 2009

Mission: U.S.-Canada 2009 Arctic Seafloor Continental Shelf Survey
Location: Beaufort Sea, north of the arctic circle
Date: August 16, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
80⁰ 6.28’N 140⁰ 33.69’W
Temp: 32.4⁰F
Conditions: low visibility

Science and Technology Log

Blue sea ice with red reflected from the Healy

FRAZIL, NILAS, GREASE ICE, PANCAKE ICE, BRASH, AND SHUGA – These are just a few of the sea ice vocabulary words I have been learning. Ice observers and ice analysts are important people to have around while operating a ship in the Arctic. Depending on the situation and the ship, observations can be made by looking at the ice from the ship, from satellite imagery, from the air in a helicopter, or from actually walking out onto the ice and measuring the thickness. On the Healy, we are using ship-based and satellite imagery observations.

HOW THICK IS IT?

The ice we are plowing through today is about 0.7 – 1.2 meters thick. In general, flat first-year ice is between 0.3 – 2.0 m thick, although it can get much thicker with ridging. Flat second-year ice can be up to 2.5 m thick. Multi-year ice is at least 3 m thick but can be more than 15 m thick.

WHY IS SOME OF THE ICE BLUE?

Seawater is about 3.5% salt, but first-year ice has an average salinity of only about 0.5%. As the sea ice grows it rejects most of the salt in the seawater from which it forms. The ice with less salt reflects more light and air bubbles form as the ice ages. This causes more light to scatter, producing a deeper blue color over time.

HOW IS ICE CLASSIFIED?

Experienced ice observers look at 3 basic parameters:

1) Concentration – how tightly the ice is packed

This is reported in tenths. Less than 1/10^th ice is basically open water. The higher the number, the more tightly packed the sea ice. At 10/10^ths the ice is considered “compact”.

2) Form – the horizontal shape and dimension of the pieces of ice

These have specialized names and ranges of size. For example, a brash is about the size of a bicycle. Pancake ice is circular pieces of ice, with raised edges that look like giant lily pads or pancakes.

3) Stage of Development – direct observation of the age and structural characteristics

The three major classifications are first-year ice, second-year ice, and multi-year ice. Structural characteristics can include things like thickness, color, ponds or melt water on top, ridges or hummocks.

WHY DOES ICE CHANGE AND GROW?

sea ice with ponding — Sea ice with ponding

Classifying ice by stage of development is really interesting. What sets the different classifications apart (first-year, second-year, multi-year) is the growth and aging of the sea ice. Ice grows in the fall and winter during the freezing cycle. Ice decays during the spring and summer during the thawing cycle. The amount of thawing that happens in the summer determines how much first-year ice survives to become second-year ice and how much second-year ice survives to become multi-year ice.

HOW IS CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTING SEA ICE?

Drastic changes in the condition and amount of Arctic sea ice have been observed over the past few decades. The least ice extent ever was observed in 2007. This can mean more dangerous conditions for ships to sail in a region where variable and hazardous ice conditions still exist year round.

Personal Log

Bundling up for the Saturday night movie

Different movies play every day in the lounge spaces of the ship. When the crew and scientists have time off they can kick back and relax with their friends. On Saturday night, there are two special social events for morale boosters. There is bingo, and a movie on the big screen projected in the helicopter hanger. Everyone dresses in their warmest gear, camp chairs are set up, and popcorn, candy, and soda are provided. It is a kind of Arctic Drive-in experience. Last night, we watched Star Trek. Of course, when the movie was over we walked out into bright daylight even though it was 10pm.

August 14, 2009April 6, 2021

Christine Hedge, August 14, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Christine Hedge
Onboard USCGC Healy
August 7 – September 16, 2009

Mission: U.S.-Canada 2009 Arctic Seafloor Continental Shelf Survey
Location: Beaufort Sea, north of the arctic circle
Date: August 14, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
80⁰ 3’N 145⁰ 42’W
Temp: 31⁰ F Light, fine snow

Science and Technology Log

Some of you have asked what the ice looks like up here. Pull out your maps and I’ll tell you about the changing ice conditions. When I got to Barrow on 8/4/09 there was no ice visible from shore. But this changes with the winds and currents. Just one day earlier, the coastline was lined with chunks of sea ice but it had blown out to sea by the time I flew in.

As we started sailing north from Barrow into the Chukchi Sea we saw some chunks of ice but mostly dark water. Our track line (the path we follow) took us back and forth, north and south as we tested our equipment and waited to meet up with our partner ship from Canada. As we went south, there were more patches of open water. Traveling north brought us into more ice.

What looks like dirt is really a layer of algae

Sometimes there were large patches of open water and sometimes it looked like ice all the way to the horizon. The ice that appears blue has frozen and thawed over a period of time. When it freezes, the salt is squeezed out leaving behind fresher, bluer water. The dark lines on the ice are patches of algae that grow at the interface between the ocean water and the sea ice. The sea ice of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas has retreated as far north as it will go generally by September. We are traveling during the best open water time for this part of the world.

Now that we are traveling north, breaking a path for the CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent we are seeing less and less open water. Yesterday, (8/13/09) the view from the deck looked like a white jigsaw puzzle spread out on a black table. Each day there is more and more ice.

Today, (8/14/09) when I look out over the ice it looks like a white landscape with black lakes or rivers meandering through. We passed 80⁰N today and there are more ridges and large expanses of ice. On board ship there are people who are experts in sea ice. Using direct observation and satellite imagery they help the crew know what the ice conditions are going to be. In fact, there is a whole field of study concerning ice. Who knew! If you would like to learn more, visit the website of the National Ice Center (http://natice.noaa.gov). I’ll go into this topic in more detail after I learn more.

Personal Log

My goal for next this week is to learn more about how ice is classified. I found a little book “The Observers Guide to Sea Ice” which will be a good place to start. The many ice experts on board will also be a great resource. We are hearing the sound of ice against the hull of the ship more often now and that is a pretty powerful sound. I can’t imagine what it will be like when we hit thicker ice.

The list of Inupiaq words for snow and ice is long – which makes sense. To someone from Indiana, (like me) there might appear to be 5 or 6 different consistencies and colors of ice. There are 76 Inupiaq words to describe ice! Some refer to its age, composition, position to land and a host of other factors. For example, the word for thin ice that is too dangerous to walk on is sikuaq. Slushy ice piled up on the beach is called qaapaaq.

For my students: Do you have any questions about Ice?

August 3, 2009April 5, 2021

John Schneider, August 2-3, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
John Schneider
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather
July 7 – August 8, 2009

Mission: FISHPAC
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: August 2-3, 2009

Position
Bristol Bay, AK

Weather Data from the Bridge
Weather System: Low pressure
Barometer: falling rapidly afternoon of the 3^rd (as low as 994 mB)
Wind: building through the 3^rd to 45 kts
Low Temperature: 8.6º C
Sea State: 10-15 feet afternoon of the 3^rd

Science and Technology Log

One of the aspects of hydrographic surveying and research out of sight of land for extended periods of time is that the days and nights blur into an uninterrupted continuum. At breakfast today, LT Andrews said, “It’s Tuesday.” I said, “Is it?” and he responded that “It’s always Tuesday at sea.” I asked “Why not Wednesday, at least then it’s ‘hump day’ to the weekend?” He answered that sometimes it seems you’re never closer to anything. It was a fun exchange, but as the FISHPAC leg continues, I am realizing that the idea is spot-on accurate. Coupling the “sameness” of the days, with the fact that the ship is on 24-hour operations, it’s easy to get confused!

SeaBoss on the deck. In the background, the wave tops are being blown off the waves!

We’re using SeaBoss to grab samples every three to five hours and I’m learning about some of the relationships between bottoms and infauna. Significant, however, is the fact that almost regardless of sea state, SeaBoss gets deployed. I say “almost” for a reason. Legs 9 and 10 of the FISHPAC survey (as shown on a previous log) are in a North Easterly direction. Two days ago we received a weather update anticipating a strong low pressure system approaching. As we went through the day of the 3^rd, the barometer was falling rapidly, the wind ramped up continuously and seas grew to 10-15 feet. By early afternoon it became impossible to deploy SeaBoss safely and the CO ordered us to suspend operations and head for Hagemeister Island in order to anchor behind it.

Notice to the right of the SeaBoss – that’s a wave breaking onto the fantail!

We arrived there at 2000 hours (8 pm) and anchored. I took about a 10 minute video of the waves and the ship getting tossed around. I’ll try to post it when I get home next week. In the early 1800’s, Sir Francis Beaufort devised a scale to estimate wind speed based on the appearance of the ocean’s surface. It is a scale from 1-12 that correlates the appearance of the ocean surface with wind speed. It is called, appropriately enough, the Beaufort Scale and we experienced a solid 7 on the scale.

Personal Log

Exhausting but exhilarating! Anyone who takes the majesty and power of the sea for granted should undergo a thorough psychological exam! The officers on the Fairweather are commissioned mariners. In order to join the NOAA Corps of officers, one needs to be less than 42 years old and a college graduate. It is preferred that the undergraduate major be in the physical sciences, math, engineering or computer science. These are exceptionally qualified uniformed servicemen and women of the United States. A career with NOAA as an officer is rewarding and in service to the nation. It is a career I will certainly discuss with my future students.

Something to Think About

Just about everybody has heard of Latitude and Longitude, but what do they mean and how are they measured?