deck – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 3, 2018July 3, 2018

Brandy Hill: How to Mow the Lawn and Needle Gunnin’, July 3, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Brandy Hill

Aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson

June 25, 2018 – July 6, 2018

Mission: Hydrographic Survey- Approaches to Houston

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: July 3, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 29° 17.5’ N

Longitude: 094° 27.7’ W

Visibility: 10+ NM

Sky Condition: 3/8

Wind: 10 kts

Temperature:

Sea Water: 29.5° C

Air: 31.1° C

Science and Technology Log

In the beginning, it took me a little while to realize that we were passing by some of the same oil platforms and seeing the same ships on the radar screen (above). For example, today the Thomas Jefferson covered many nautical miles within the same 2.5 NM area. This is characteristic of a hydrographic survey. A sheet (area to be surveyed) is split into sections and a plan is devised for the ship to cover (using sonar) the area in a “mow the lawn” approach. In the photo below, you can see the blue lines clustered together. These are the main scheme lines and provide the majority of data. The lines going perpendicular in a loose “zig-zag” to the main scheme lines are called crosslines. While main scheme provides the majority of sonar data, crosslines provide validation. For every 100 nautical miles of main scheme, 4 NM of cross lines (4%) must be completed.

CoastalExplorer — You can see the main scheme and cross lines in this image using the Coastal Explorer program.

You can also see the main scheme and crossline(s) in the Hypack viewer below. Hypack is a software program controlled from the Plot (Survey) Room and is duplicated on a screen on the Bridge (steering deck). This allows Bridge watch standers to see track lines and the desired line azimuth (direction). In this case the line azimuth is around 314°. Additionally, the bottom portion showing -0.0 means that the ship is precisely on track (no cross-track errors). Typically, during a survey from the main ship, there is room for up to 10 meters of error in either direction and the sonar data coverage will still be complete. Once the course is set, the ship can be driven in autopilot and manually steered when making a turn. The high-tech equipment allows the rudder to correct and maintain the desired course and minimize cross-track error. Still, at least two people are always on the bridge: an officer who makes the steering orders and maintains watch and a helmsman who steers the ship. I was fortunate to be able to make two cross line turns after a ship steering lesson from AB (able seaman) Tom Bascom who has been on ships his whole life.

Communication between Survey and the Bridge Watch is critical. Every time the ship makes a turn, the side scan towfish and MVP must be taken in. The Bridge also notifies Survey if there are any hazards or reasons to pull in survey equipment.

At night, the ship is put into “night mode” and all lights are switched to red. The windows are covered with a protective tinted sheet and all computer screens switch over. The CO leaves a journal with posted Night Orders. These include important summary points from the day and things to look out for at night It also includes a reminder to complete hourly security rounds since most shipmates are asleep. A “Rules of the Road” section is included which serves as a daily quiz for officers. My favorite part of CO’s Night Orders are the riddles, but they are quite difficult and easy to over think. So far, I have guessed one out of five correctly.

Bridge Watch Night Vision — ENS Sydney Catoire explains how important it is to preserve your night vision while maintaining watch, thus the dimming and/or use of red lighting. Her favorite watch time is from 0800-1200.

With a lot of my time spent looking at computer screens in survey, I was happy to spend an afternoon outside with the Deck Crew. Their job is highly diverse. Rob Bayliss, boatswain group leader, explained that the crew is responsible for maintaining the deck and ship. This includes an ongoing battle with rust, priming, painting, and refinishing surfaces. Rob wiped his hand along the rail and showed the massive amount of salt crystals collected throughout the day. The crew has a PR event and will give public tours the day we arrive in port, so the ship is in full preparation!

Needle Gun — I was introduced to the needle gun- a high powered tool used for pounding paint and rust off surfaces to prepare them for the wire wheel and paint primer. CO thanked me for my contribution at maintaining the preservation of the TJ.

Revarnishing Deck Work — One of the Thomas Jefferson wooden plaques sanded and receiving a fresh coat of varnish.

I also spoke with Chief Boatswain, Bernard Pooser. He (along with many crew members) have extensive experience in the navy. Pooser enjoys life on the ship but says, “It’s not for everyone; you have to make it work for you.” He claims that the trick is to find a work and recreation balance while on the ship. He gave me some examples like being sure to take breaks and have fun. Pooser even pulled out a corn hole set that we may use one of these evenings.

Peaks

+ It’s been fun being on the bridge at night because all of the ships and platforms light up.

+ I was given my own stateroom which was nicely furnished by its usual occupant. She has even installed a hammock chair!

+I hadn’t realized how responsive the ship would be when steering. At 208 feet, I thought it would be a bit more delayed. The maximum turn angle is 35 degrees and we have usually been making turns around between 5-15 degrees.

+We saw two sea turtles and dolphins while taking bottom samples! (See future post.)

July 2, 2012August 11, 2021

Andrea Schmuttermair: Collecting Data, June 30, 2012

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Andrea Schmuttermair
Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
June 22 – July 3

Mission: Groundfish Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: June 30, 2012

Ship Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 2830.05N
Longitude: 8955.4W
Speed: 10 knots
Wind Speed: 7.11
Wind Direction: S/SW
Surface Water Salinity: 29.3
Air Temperature: 28.4C
Relative Humidity: 63%
Barometric Pressure: 1012 mb
Water Depth: 257.19m

Don’t forget to follow the Oregon II at: www.shiptracker.noaa.gov

Science and Technology Log

Now that we’ve talked about how we collect, sort, and measure our catch, let’s take a closer look at the way we measure, weigh and sex our critters.

When measuring the critters, we use a fish board that is activated by a magnetic wand to measure the animal to the nearest millimeter.

When the fish is placed on the measuring line, we touch the magnetic wand to the board and the length is recorded into our computer program, FSCS (Fisheries Scientific Computer System).

Depending on the type of fish we catch, there are different ways to measure it.

scorpion fish total legnth — Here is Alex measuring the total length of our scorpion fish.

total length measurement — This is how we would measure a fish for its standard length, which is just before the tail fin starts.

fork length measure — This is how we would measure a fish for its fork length.

Cutlass measuring — For fish such as this cutlassfish, we measure the length from the head down to the anus, as seen here on the board.

When we are done measuring, the fish is placed on a scale to determine its weight to the nearest gram. When we confirm the weight of the fish, that weight is automatically put in the computer for us- no need to enter it manually.

Our last task is to determine the sex of the fish. For many fish, this is done by making an incision in the belly of the fish from their anus to their pelvic fins. It’s easiest to determine the sex when it is a female with eggs. In the males, you can see milt, or sperm, which is a milky white color.

This is a male fish. Notice the arrow pointing to the testes.

For the flatfish, you can see the female’s ovaries when you hold the fish up to the light. Males lack this feature.

Here we have a female flat fish- notice her gonads.

Because we were catching quite a few shrimp earlier in the leg, I got pretty good at sexing the shrimp. Remember, we take samples of 200 for each type of shrimp, and we often had more than one type of shrimp in each trawl. Male shrimp have a pestama on their first pleura to attach onto the females. The females are lacking this part. Although it’s not necessarily an indication of sex, on average the female shrimp tend to be larger than the males.

Here we have a female shrimp, which is lacking a pestama.

You know from my previous post what we do with the data we gather from the shrimp, but what about the other fish? With the other fish and critters we catch, we use the data to compare the distribution across the Gulf and to compare it to the historical data we’ve collected in the past to look for trends and changes.

Sometimes scientists also have special requests for samples of a certain species. Some scientists are doing diet studies to learn more about what certain types of fish eat. Other studies include: species verification, geographic range extensions, age and growth, and distribution. Through our program, we have the ability to create tags for the scientists requesting the samples, allowing us to bag and freeze them to send to labs when we return to land.

There are 2 communal showers for our use on the bottom deck.

Personal Log

I’ve had a few people ask me what the living quarters and the food is like on the ship, so I wandered around the ship with my camera the other day to snap some shots of the inside of the Oregon II. There are 17 staterooms on board. Most of the staterooms are doubles, such as mine, and are equipped with bunk beds to sleep on. It makes me reminisce of my days at camp, as it’s been a while since I’ve slept on a bunk bed! We have a sink and some cabinets to store our belongings. Once a week they do room inspections to ensure our rooms are neat and orderly. Most importantly, they want to make sure that our belongings are put away. If we hit rough waters, something such as a water bottle could become a dangerous projectile.

TAS 2012 (162) — Walter, doing what he loves

My stateroom is on the bottom deck, where there are also communal showers and toilets for us to use. We can do our laundry down here, providing the seas aren’t too rough. Most of the staterooms are on this bottom deck, as the upper 2 levels are the “living areas” of the ship. On the main deck is the galley, where we eat all our meals, or where we head to when we are trying to make it through the shift to grab a snack or a cup of coffee. This tends to be right around 4:30/5:00am for me, especially when we aren’t too busy. I’ve gotten used to the night shift now, but it still can be tiring, especially when we have a long wait in between stations. Our stewards take very good care of us, and there is always something to snack on. Meals have been pretty tasty too, with plenty of fresh seafood. My favorite!

Junie, one of the NOAA Corps officers, working in the chart room on the navigational charts

On the top deck we have the lounge, a place where we hang out in between shifts. We have quite a good movie selection on board, but to be honest we haven’t had the time to take advantage of it. They’ve kept us very busy on our shifts so far, and today is one of the first days we’ve had a lot of downtime. Outside we also have some workout equipment- a bike and a rowing machine- to use on our off time. When you set the rowing machine out on deck, it’s almost like you are rowing right on the ocean!

LT Harris, LT Miller, and Chris getting ready for the dive. Jeff and Reggie help them prepare.

The other day, 2 of the NOAA Corps officers, LT Harris and LT Miller (who is also the XO for the Oregon II) and 2 of the deck crew, Chris and Tim, got ready to go out on a dive. NOAA Corps officers need to do a dive once a month to keep up their certification. Sometimes they may need to fix something that is wrong with the boat, and other dives are to practice certain dive skills. They dove in the Flower Gardens, which is a national marine sanctuary with a wide diversity of sea life. I was hoping they’d see a whale shark, but no such luck. We stopped all operations for the duration of their dive.

Favorite Catch of the Day: Here are a few cool critters we pulled up today. In addition to these critters, we also started seeing some sea stars, lots of scallops, and a variety of shells.

How about some jelly soup?
(there are about 500 jellies in there!)

Critter Query: This isn’t a critter question today, but rather a little bit of NOAA trivia.

What is the oldest ship in the NOAA fleet and where is its home port?

Don’t forget to leave your answers in the comments below!

July 31, 2010April 22, 2021

Beth Spear, July 31, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea: Beth A Spear
NOAA Ship: Delaware II

Mission: Shark – Red Snapper Bottom Long Line Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico to North Atlantic
Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010

Gumby suits for safety

Weather Data from the Bridge
Time: 1000 (10:00 am)
Position: Latitude 27 degrees 51’N, Longitude 086 degrees 01’W
Present Weather: Partly Cloudy
Visibility: 11 nautical miles
Wind Speed: 5 knots
Wave Height: 1-2 feet
Sea Water Temp: 31.1 degrees C
Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 30.4 degrees C; Wet bulb = 27.8 degrees C
Barometric Pressure: 1012.8 mb

Science and Technology Log
The first day aboard ship started with a ship orientation meeting presented by the acting executive officer (XO) LT Fionna Matheson. During the meeting the XO covered many shipboard concerns especially safety. LT Matheson suggested you always use one hand for the ship and one hand for you to avoid accidents. We also had some drills in the afternoon. LT Matheson had some really useful ways to remember the signals for drills. Fire is one long whistle, just like someone yelling fire in one long shout. The abandon ship signal is at least six short blasts then one prolonged blast, like yelling get-the-heck-off-the-ship-nooooow. During the abandon ship drill we had to put on survival suits, called “Gumby” suits by the crew. They were hot and very awkward.

Personal Log
We have about four days to steam to the location we will begin fishing. I am using these days to get myself adjusted to the night watch hours, midnight to noon. I am trying to tell myself it’s a good thing because I’ll be working during the cooler evening and morning hours, still hot is hot! The staterooms are quite cramped, it is a good thing I am not claustrophobic. I am still learning names of crew and the other scientists. There is a mix of NOAA volunteers, students, and professors. The food has been excellent, but I’m trying not to overindulge since there is not much activity during these first four days. The ship has a large selection of current movies loaned by the US Navy which I am taking advantage of during our downtime.

New Terms – Shipboard Terminology
Bulkheads = walls.
Ladderwells = stairs or stairwells.
Passageways = hallways.
Deck = floor.
Bow= front of ship.
Stern = back of the ship.
Port = left side of ship while facing bow, remember this because port is a shorter word than starboard or right, ship lights are red on this side.
Starboard = right side of ship while facing bow, remember this because starboard is a longer word than port or left, ship lights are green on this side.
Aft = direction meaning toward the stern (rear) of the ship
Fore = direction meaning toward the bow (front) of the ship

(figure ref. http://www.sailingcourse.com/primer/port-starboard-bow-stern-html.jpg )

July 14, 2010April 22, 2021

Wesley Struble, 14 July, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Wes Struble
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana
July 8 – August 10, 2010

Mission: Tropical Ocean Atmosphere (TOA) cruise
Geographical area of cruise: Equatorial Pacific from 120ΕLongitude to 95Ε Longitude
Date: 14 July 2010

Weather Data from the Bridge

Cloud cover: 6/8 (75%) with stratocumulus clouds
Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles)
Wind: bearing 330Ε at 14 knots
Atmospheric Pressure: 1012.0 millibars
Temperature: 24.6ΕC (76.3ΕF)
Wave height: 1 – 2 feet

Science and Technology Log
The last few days I have spent some time up on the bridge of the Ka’imimoana. Ensign Linh Nguyen, one of the NOAA Corps officers, showed me around and explained some of the equipment. They have three general types of equipment available on the bridge which I will categorize as: communication, propulsion, and navigation.

struble_log2_img_1 — The bridge of the KA

The communications system first includes intra-ship lines. These are mostly carried out by an intercom type system. Each major area of the ship (including each stateroom) is connected to this intercom system by a phone that permits communication with any other part of the ship. The ship also has numerous hand-held radios available for use when one is not near a phone. In addition, the bridge has both inter-ship and ship-land communication capabilities. The KA (short for Ka’imimoana – Hawaiian for Ocean Seeker) also has access to the Iridium satellite platform for communication with land in addition to access to a satellite internet and internet VOIP system.

struble_log2_img_0 — Autopilot and propulsion controls

There are two types of propulsion on the ship. First, there are four large diesel engines that power a generator. This generator produces the electrical power that runs each of the two electric motors that drives the screws (propellers) located at the stern (rear) of the vessel. While moving through the harbor all four diesel engines are running sending power to the generators. When the ship is out at sea only three of the diesel engines are used. The ship can operate with only two engines in service for power generation but under this configuration the ship will cruise at slower speeds. The KA has two screws: port (the left side of the ship if one is facing the bow or front of the ship) and starboard (the right side of the ship if one facing the bow). Each screw runs independent from the other with separate controls on the bridge. The conning officer (the officer who is in charge of the bridge at any given time) can change course by turning the rudder (the most common way) or by altering the speed (rpm) of one of the screws (without using the rudder). The KA also has a bow thruster (also powered by an electric motor) that is mounted in a tunnel through the forward part of the hull. This thruster permits the conning officer to move the forward part of the ship port or starboard without the main screws driving the ship forward. The bow thruster allows more subtle and precise motion that could be used for docking or perhaps helping keep the ship over a precise location while collecting data at those particular coordinates.

struble_log2_img_2 — The bow thruster control

The captain of the KA, LCDR (Lieutenant Commander) Matthew Wingate, described the navigation system of the KA as modern but not state-of-the-art. The ship has many redundancies built into its guidance system. Two radar consoles, three compasses (two digital/electronic and one analog), an AIS (Automatic Identification System), paper charts, a fathometer (sonar) and of course, binoculars and the naked eyes of those on constant watch. The radar system is quite fascinating. It has an adjustable range with the ability to scan out to almost 100 nautical miles. The system plots the projected course of the ship and the predicted course of other ships within its range using vector analysis. This information is necessary to be able to prevent (well ahead of time) any possible collisions that might take place if the ships hold to their current courses. In addition, it is possible to set a radar alarm range of a particular radius around the ship. If any object comes within that range an alarm sounds to alert the pilot of the danger.

While I was on the bridge there were three other ships registering on the radar monitor each traveling in different directions. The two digital compasses are mounted side-by-side and their readings (and the difference between the readings) are projected at the navigation console. Above one’s head and not far from the digital compass readout is also a standard magnetic compass. The AIS (Automatic Identification System) is probably the most fascinating device I have seen on this ship. It is similar to radar readouts but provides much more information. First, one needs to understand that when ships are at sea they continuously send out a signal that provides identification information. The AIS receives this information and plots the locations and courses for these ships in addition to the location and course of the KA. All of this information is superimposed on a digital nautical chart that shows islands, shoals, exposed rocks, depth contours, and continental shorelines that can be adjusted for different scales. At the right margin of the AIS screen is listed navigation information such as the latitude and longitude of the ship, course bearing, ship speed in knots, and other pertinent data. Besides the course plotted on the AIS the conning officer also plots out the ship’s course on a paper chart and cross-checks it with the AIS. The fathometer shows the depth of the water under the ship and therefore the contours of the ocean bottom. This information can also be cross-checked with the charts and the AIS to make sure that they all agree. Last of all there is always someone on the bridge keeping watch on the instruments and the horizon verifying what is on the charts and monitors with what they see with their eyes through the binoculars.

Personal Log

I have enjoyed walking about the ship during the day taking pictures and looking at the various types of equipment on the decks. I hope to describe these in later logs. I was on one of the lower weather decks this morning simply taking in the views of endless water in all directions. When the sun is out the water has a deep blue color with a very slight greenish tint. As the bow cuts through the water, waves and foam are pushed out creating a variety of tints of blues, greens, and white. It is beautiful indeed.
While I was watching, out popped a flying fish! It jumped out near the bow wave and glided about a foot off of the water for about 50 yards or more. When it would hit a wave crest it would boost itself with its tail and go a little farther. I stayed at that location for another half hour and watched many others, some small groups, and several large schools of 50 or more “fly” at one time. The longest “flight” was about 100 yards with the fish in the air maybe 5– 10 seconds. I would not have even thought to look for one of these fish. Like most children I had read about them and seen pictures of them when I was younger but never really thought that I would ever see one. What a great surprise.

Being from Idaho’s northern latitudes, the sun only gets approximately 67Ε above the horizon on the Vernal equinox. It has been interesting to have the sun literally directly overhead during a portion of the day. This, of course, produces few areas of shadow to get out of the sun’s harsh equatorial rays. When we left San Diego it was in the mid to lower 60’s but as we have worked or way south (about 200-250 miles per day) the temperature has been slowly rising. I am told that it will soon be very hot and humid so I should enjoy this mild weather while I can.

New Terms

I have learned a few new terms for parts of the ship that might be helpful for future logs. Deck – refers to any floor on the ship. I would refer to the floor of my stateroom as the deck. Bulkhead – this refers to any walls on the ship. I am required to keep the deck and bulkheads of my stateroom clean. Head – this refers to a bathroom on the ship. I have a head that I share with a crew member in the stateroom next to me and there is also a “public” head available on this same level. Aft – can mean in back of, behind, or toward the stern of the ship. Forward (sometimes simply fore) – can mean in front of, in front, or toward the bow of the ship.