cruise plan – Page 2 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 23, 2009April 5, 2021

Robert Oddo, July 23, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Robert Oddo
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
July 11 – August 10, 2009

Mission: PIRATA (Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Atlantic)
Geographical area of cruise: Tropical Atlantic
Date: July 23, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Outside Temperature 26.77^oC
Relative Humidity 74.89%
Sea Temperature 27.64 ^oC
Barometric Pressure 1013.98 inches
Latitude 07^o 59.993 N Longitude 22^o 59.767W

Science and Technology Log

We arrived at the first buoy two days ago and exchanged the “package” which is kind of like the brains of the buoy. Four people went out with a small boat and exchanged the package. This is not an easy task since you have to climb off the small boat onto the buoy in what can be pretty rough seas and change instruments. We also deployed the “CTD” for the first time. After the deployment, we collected seawater from various depths for salinity and dissolved oxygen analysis. We also are deploying XBTs every 10 nautical miles on a 24 hours schedule as the ship steams along its course. There are two shifts. I am on the 12 noon to 12 midnight shift. The XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph) is dropped from a ship and measures the temperature as it falls through the water. Two very small wires transmit the temperature data to the ship. When it gets to about 1500 meters, the small wire is cut and the operation is over. By plotting temperature as a function of depth, the scientists can get a picture of the temperature profile of the ocean at a particular place.

Preparing to service a buoy (left) and recovered buoy on deck (right)

Yesterday, we got to the second buoy and had to pretty much exchange it with a new package, sensors and an anchor. This took over 8 hours to do and takes a lot of manpower. The buoy is actually pulled up on the deck as well as the instrumentation below the buoy and then new instruments, buoy and an anchor are deployed. If this is not done exactly right, everything can be destroyed.

Personal Log

Wow, there is a lot of action right now on the ship. The atmospheric scientists are releasing sondes, collecting dust and smoke samples, and measuring incoming solar radiation at different wavelengths. There are people getting instrumentation ready for the next buoys we are steaming towards. People are deploying CTDs, XBTs, and drifters. Behinds the scenes the crew lends all kinds of support, from preparing food, working the winches and cranes, navigating through the ocean and working in the engine room It is really teamwork that makes this all work and not any one person could do all of this work. There are a lot of very dedicated people onboard this ship and all their hard work make this work!!

Here I am deploying an XBT (left) and collecting seawater samples from the CTD (right)

July 16, 2009April 5, 2021

Scott Sperber, July 16, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Scott Sperber
Onboard Research Vessel Kilo Moana
July 9-17, 2009

Mission:Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Hawaii Ocean Time series Station; Albert J. Plueddemann, Chief Scientist
Geographical area of cruise: Central Pacific, north of O’ahu
Date: July 16, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Temperature: 22.64 C
Humidity: 80.6%

Science and Technology Log

I am up very early today, 0530, the last full day at sea. I did not make a log entry yesterday it was a very busy day. The day totaled a full 12 hour hard work day for me. The day started out a about 0545 with the initial recovery of the old buoy. The acoustic (sound) release mechanism was triggered and the glass balls cam up to the surface with the rope attached. The glass balls were in a large cluster once onboard and had to be untangled.

Glass balls coming onboard (left) and popped glass ball (right).

Five of the glass balls have imploded at some time and the glass that had remained had turned into a fine white powder. After the glass balls were brought onboard and untangled and put into their boxes the chore of bringing the 5 miles of line and cable began. I started out in the box to flake (lay the rope down) the line as it came in. After quite a while and a lot of rope the capstan (the vertical winch) broke. It was the only break I had since we began. A break when the brake broke. LOL. The line was cut and placed on the main winch to complete the process. This slowed the whole procedure down because once the rope was on the winch; we had to unwind it all into its storage boxes. This had to be down 2 times and it set the whole recovery procedure behind about 2 hours. If you remember the procedure of deploying the new buoy, one chain link section at a time with the sensors attached, this procedure was now reversed for the recovery.

Scott in the box (left) and Scott on deck (right).

When the sensors came up each one was taken into the lab, photographed, videoed and a narrative was taken on to the condition of the sensor including what type of marine (ocean) growth had taken place over the year. I was given the task of taking the sensors into the lab, hanging them for photographic purposes and then bring them back outside. A dirty job but some one had to do it. This process from start to finish, recovery of the buoy to the end of documenting the condition of the sensors took 10 hours. After this the real fun started, cleaning the sensors. Now we are talking dirty. We had to clean off all marine growth from the sensors so Jeff could then start recovering data.

Personal Log

Well today I was able to put on my new steel toed boots. I should have broken them in a couple of times before this; my feet ached at the end of the day, wore a hard hat all day, a safety vest, got to climb into a box with miles of rope, got to smell like an old aquarium. All and all a great day. Sure didn’t need to ride the bike, Carly passed on it too.

Jeff and the sensors in the lab (left) and dirty sensor with goose barnacles (right).

All this said and done I would really like to take the time to thank all the people who made this possible. I have done many things in my professional career to broaden my professional knowledge and this has got to be one of the best experiences of all. First and utmost I would like to thank the NOAA Organization. Without their desire to stress the importance of Science education through increasing the knowledge base of the educators of the world this would not have been possible. Thank you to Dr. Al Plueddemann, Chief Scientist, Dr. Roger Lukas and Dr. Fernando Santiago, both of the University of Hawaii. Not only did they share their wealth of knowledge with me but guided me through the practices of this WHOTS project and confirmed in me my beliefs of the importance of long term research in science. Thank you to the rest of the Science Party. You all put up with me and showed me how to do what you needed. Thank you to the Captain and the crew of the R/V Kilo Moana.

The R/V Kilo Moana (left) and Dr. Plueddeman, Paul Lethaby, Sean Whelan and Dr. Roger Lukas (right).

What a great experience. Thank you to my principal, Robert Weinberg, at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies and to my students. Keep it up kids, it is you that make SOCES number one. I would also like to thank my wife. Without her encouragement and enthusiasm towards our profession, she is also a teacher, I don’t know if I would have applied. She is my inspiration. Thank you one and all for allowing me to participate in this career and life enriching experience.

I see skies of blue….. clouds of white Bright blessed days….dark sacred nights And I think to myself …..what a wonderful world

~ Louis Armstrong

Folks on the ship take in the beautiful Hawaiian sunset…

July 14, 2009April 5, 2021

Scott Sperber, July 14, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Scott Sperber
Onboard Research Vessel Kilo Moana
July 9-17, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Temperature: 23.66 C
Humidity: 76.34%

Science and Technology Log

Today is another slow scientific day today. So today I am doing some other type of scientific learning, some local marine biology. Today I am learning about how to fish in the local Hawaiian Islands style. Breeze Simmons, research associate student level 1, is showing me all of his riggings for various types of fish and fishing conditions. He is even rigging up something for me so I might have an opportunity to try to catch something later today or tomorrow. I have learned that Mahi has eyes like humans and they can see up to the surface. They are a very strong food source in the ocean the world record is close 86 pounds and that only took about 18 months of growth. Mahi mahi is also known as the dolphin fish, not to be confused with “Flipper” of dolphin fame, also known as Dorado. Ahi is tuna, Ono is Wahoo. There are also Marlin and Aku, a member of the mackerel family.

I am also sharing the Pacific Ocean with Hurricane Carlos. It’s a big ocean out here and I have not felt any effect from it and we don’t plan to. Carlos is still off the coast of Mexico now. This is so cool to be on board this ship with all these experts and to be adding to my knowledge. The meteorologists on board say that if Carlos comes close to Hawaii its strength will die out (lose its energy). The weather balloon launches are continuing on schedule every 4 hours with Tom and me taking the 0700 and 1100 launches. Tomorrow promises to be a very hectic day aboard ship. We will be recovering the old buoy. Everything will begin at a 0600 and continue all day.

Personal Log

Since today is such a mellow day I have taken this opportunity to catch up on some reading, sun, listening to music and continue by bike riding. It has now become a bit of competition between, Carly, one of the very young interns, 25 years young from the University of Hawaii, and me as to who is riding the most miles each day. Today she rode more.

The ship has an onboard DVD system where movies and such are piped into each berth (room) along with scientific information. I was in my berth and I put on one of the channels and what did I see that someone had put on in the main lounge? It was an episode of National Geographic and who was on the episode but my good friends from UCLAs’ Marine Biology Department, Dr. Bill Hamner and his wife Peggy. Small world, Peggy wrote one of my letters of recommendation for this expedition. They are part of the reason I am so involved in Ocean Sciences.

Today’s Task

Look up and find a picture of all the fish that were mentioned above.

July 14, 2009April 5, 2021

Robert Oddo, July 14, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Robert Oddo
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
July 11 – August 10, 2009

Mission: PIRATA (Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Atlantic)
Geographical area of cruise: Tropical Atlantic
Date: July 14, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Outside Temperature 26.01^oC
Relative Humidity 89.26
Sea Surface Temperature 28.3^oC
Barometric Pressure 1015.9 inches
Latitude 8^o 53.96 N Longitude 48^o 05.43 W

Science and Technology Log

We released our first radiosonde this morning. These balloons have instruments attached to them that will measure atmospheric pressure, temperature and relative humidity as they go up into the atmosphere. As the balloon rises, it expands as the atmospheric pressure outside the balloon decreases. After about 2 hours the balloon bursts and falls back into the ocean. Four of this particular type of radiosonde will be released every day. This data is used as input for weather prediction models, weather and climate change research, input for air pollution models and ground truth for satellite data.

We also deployed our first global drifter this afternoon. A surface drifter consists of a buoy and a sea anchor. The drifters have sensors that can measure sea surface temperature and the ocean current. Information is collected by the sensors and uploaded to a passing satellite and then transmitted back to Earth where all the information from all the drifters give us a better picture of what is happening out in the ocean. Drifters are deployed from hurricane hunter aircraft so we can better predict and understand hurricanes. Data from drifters was used to determine where floating debris would be found shortly after the disappearance of Air France flight 447 on May 31, 2009. For more information on the NOAA Global Drifter Program, visit their website.

Personal Log

I have received a couple of emails asking about the food on the ship. We have three meals a day and there is quite a selection. For breakfast, you can have pancakes, eggs, sausage, oatmeal, fresh fruit or a selection of dry cereal. For lunch, it really varies; today there was a salad, hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries. Dinner also varies, but so far we have had fish, ribs, chicken and a salad. There is also a veggie option for each meal. Coffee, tea and other beverages as well as some snack items are pretty much available 24 hours.

July 13, 2009April 5, 2021

Scott Sperber, July 13, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Scott Sperber
Onboard Research Vessel Kilo Moana
July 9-17, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Temperature: 24.13 C
Humidity: 72%

Science and Technology Log

The ship moved to the location of the old buoy last night. Visually, what a difference between the two. This one is certainly not the bright yellow color of the new one launched just 3 days ago. Yesterday I mentioned that the two thermometers on the new buoy were not reading identical temperatures and that they were about 0.4 degrees difference. After asking a few questions I came to be informed that the importance of this particular series of expeditions, WHOTS, is that it is the accuracy of this longevity study that gives it its validity. NOAA’s value of this study is that the study is an ongoing study not one that collects data brings it back to a lab and analyzes it and that is the end of it.

Science is not a one shot deal. This is something I have tried to stress with my students over the years. Good science, good data, is done with multiple sampling, either longevity study or many samples over a shorter period of time. Any data can happen once but for it to be valid it needs to be substantiated. For a number of years now the WHOTS study has not only brought back this type of data but has been able to note the small changes in this particular environment. It has shown how these micro changes, shown over time, have an overall affect on a macro scale. This is the credence of this study is. The fact that small changes do over a long period of time do show an effect. The simple fact that the ship stayed on station for 3 days to calibrate the measurements with the new buoy, and then moved to the location of the old buoy shows the effort to make sure that even the most infinitesimal piece of data is made constant and notable.

Today, at this second location, there is being made shallow casts (samplings) with the SEABIRD at depths up to 200m every 4 hours. These depths are the same depths as those of the instruments on the buoys. Sometimes during the course of a years study the sensors will have a tendency to drift (change) or jump in their data. These casts, engineering calibration casts, close to the buoys standardize the CTDs again reading temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and then calculating density. These calibrations of any drifts serve as a comparison over the course of the year and are used to recalibrate the data. With the recovery of the old buoy, one year worth of data will be downloaded and the similarities of all data with past weather conditions will be analyzed. Again the sensors that are on the buoy are; MICROCATS, acoustic Doppler current meters and vector measuring current meters.

Personal Log

Kuhio gave a shot at fishing this morning. Because the old buoy has been in the water for a year it has become a floating reef. So far Kuhio has hooked into and rough aboard 4 Mahi mahi. YUM, fresh fish tonight. I have been told that all over the old buoy and its sensors will be organisms of all types. Jeff has asked be if I would help scrap off the old sensors. OH BOY. Dirty smelly job I am sure.