Hydrographic survey – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

July 31, 2023August 2, 2023

Elli Simonen: The Survey Team, July 27, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Elli Simonen (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

July 10-28, 2023

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Pribilof Islands

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Date: July 27, 2023

Weather Data

Location: 55°54.11’N, 168°33.69W

Outside temperature: 11°C

Water temperature: 10.5°C

True Winds: 8nm, 211.9°

Skies: Overcast and Foggy

Visibility: 5nm

Sea Wave: 1 ft

Swell Wave: 2 ft

Science and Technology Log

The entire survey department has diverse backgrounds rooted in Science and each took different paths before coming to NOAA Ship Fairweather. Their studies in college include Geography, Quantitative Geoscience, Environmental Science, Economic Environmental Policy, Space Studies, Physical Oceanology, Applied Math, Computer Science and Marine Biology.

I wanted to highlight two people in the survey department who I worked with over the last 3 weeks.

Alex Dawson, Physical Scientist, Project Manager for the Pribilof Islands

Alex studied in one of the only hydrographic programs in the U.S. for undergraduates, at the College of Charleston. This is a unique program where students gain technical, practical and research knowledge and experience. Alex obtained bathymetric data and translated this into a research project. She presented this information at a professional conference, which put her ahead of many of her peers.

In her current job at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, Alex is a Physical Scientist and a Project Manager. She plans projects for the entire U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and planned this Hydrographic Survey of the Pribilof Islands; she is aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather for their Pribilof Island Surveys . Each project takes about 2 to 6 months to plan depending on the complexity of the specific area being surveyed. Alex and her team do this by looking at the environment of the area, known features and existing charts. She develops environmental compliance best management practices so the survey does not impact the local ecosystem or marine life. Any features that are on existing charts such as obstructions, shipwrecks, rocks, or pipelines will be included in the project’s GIS files, and she determines if those features need to be investigated more thoroughly. This is all put together in a project package that is sent to the hydrographic ship– the footprint of the survey, any special features that need to be investigated, environmental compliance information, and any previous surveys in the last 20 years that may abut or overlap the planned survey area. Alex also does hurricane response work; if a hurricane hits a port, then the port will be closed until a federal hydrographic survey comes in to make sure it is safe for commerce. This is done as fast as possible, sometimes within 24 hours.

Which projects get fulfilled depends on the navigational risks of each area. Alex explains: “Coast Survey determines which areas to survey within U.S. ports, harbors, and approaches, as well as U.S. waters more broadly, by using the risk-based Hydrographic Health Model. The model assesses risks to surface navigation from charted bathymetry and features, including both the likelihood of a risk (e.g. traffic density, known hazards to navigation, reported ship groundings, etc.) and the consequence of a risk (e.g. proximity to search and rescue stations, proximity to public beaches, reefs, or marine sanctuaries, etc.). A resulting accuracy factor indicates the urgency (or lack thereof) for new hydrographic surveys.”

In Alex’s own words:
“I love mapping in general, but I think it’s really cool to map in an area such as the Pribilofs… to uncover what hasn’t been uncovered before – mapping where no one has mapped before.”

Alex Dawson aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather en route to the Pribilof Islands

Sara Ober, Hydrographic Survey Technician

Sara got her B.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A & M University. After college, she worked for 5 years in Alaska as a fisheries observer contracted through NOAA through the North Pacific Observer Program. She worked on smaller fishing boats to observe what they were catching and when. The calendar of the fishing seasons and quotas in Alaskan waters are mostly federally managed and she would observe the catch at the beginning, close and during the season and pass on that data to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.

Sara then became a survey technician with NOAA. At the time, hydrography was new to Sara, but she is currently in her second year and likes training newer survey technicians on how to precisely look at the data and check for accuracy. Every morning she makes sure everything is ready for the plan of the day in terms of surveying, ensures the processing from the night before is ready and addresses anything if needed. She likes helping others learn and members of the survey team often go to her for advice.

In the future, Sara is hoping to combine her marine biology and hydrography experiences together and do benthic habitat map work. The benthic zone is the ecological region found at the bottom of a body of water. Sara would like to use sonar data to see what the seafloor looks like and why fish live there, as well as predict where they migrate to.

In Sara’s own words:

“I really like hydrography, the technical part is fun and new to me. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I do. Being able to visually see something is very cool to me and having such an impact on things. We can see our direct impact when we submit our data and later on when nautical charts get updated. It’s like, this is what I did and here’s the final product.

I love being in Alaska. I like working on a ship, I think it’s fun.”

a young woman in a gray sweatshirt sits at a computer and smiles for the camera — Sara Ober working in the Survey Department aboard NOAA Ship *Fairweather*

Personal Log

We will be arriving at port tomorrow in Dutch Harbor and my time on NOAA Ship Fairweather is coming to a close. I want to thank the entire crew for showing and explaining to me the amazing work they do and making me feel at home. The crew is highly skilled, patient, respectful and willing to pretty much do anything to help the mission. Their commitment to Science, to NOAA and to each other is commendable.

I especially want to thank LT Taylor Krabiel and Commanding Officer CMD Meghan McGovern for their hospitality, guidance, continuous check-ins, and making the most of my time.

July 27, 2023July 27, 2023

Elli Simonen: Survey Launches, July 24, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Elli Simonen (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

July 10, 2023 – July 28, 2023

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Pribilof Islands

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Date: July 24, 2023

Weather Data

Location: 56°36.8259’N,169°32.2224’W

Outside temperature: 11°C

Water temperature: 10°C

True Winds: 16kn, 185.4°

Skies: Foggy with Drizzy Rain

Visibility: 5nmSea

Wave: 1-2 ft

Swell Wave: 1 ft

Science and Technology Log

We are currently at anchor off the north shore of Saint George Island and the survey launches are going out daily to survey a portion of the surrounding waters. I have been on the survey launches twice, each time surveying a different area.

Survey Launch July 22, 2023

The Pribilof Islands are the breeding grounds for more than two thirds of the world’s fur seal population and their numbers peak in July. Our surveying operations do their best not to disturb the Fur Seals. I was on a launch that was assigned the harbor. However, upon entering, we saw a colony of Fur Seals and had to turn back around. We then went onto survey another area in open water. Later that morning, the winds increased and all survey launches returned to the ship out of caution for the weather.

view over the edge of a survey launch vessel of the harbor on a small island. it's a cloudy day, and the sky, trees, and water are all shades of blue-gray. the only color comes from the bright orange life ring mounted on the vessel.

Entering the harbor at Saint George

view at a distance of fur seals swimming near the shore of St George island. the fur seals appear as small dark shapes poking out from the water. the land is covered in large gray boulders.

Fur Seals in the Saint George harbor

Survey Launch July 23, 2023

We went out to survey an area closer to shore and were out all day – a good weather day. We surveyed using set lines; this is where survey lines are parallel and evenly spaced apart. During post survey data processing, these lines of coverage will be used to update soundings on the chart. Set lines are used in areas of shallow water where there is not much bathymetric data, such as the Pribilof Islands. This process allows the survey team to complete a larger survey area in less time.

Our surveying boundary close to shore is defined by the navigational area limit line (NALL), which is the distance from shore that vessels can reasonably navigate. The other boundaries are mapped out by the survey team ensuring coverage of the entire area. During surveying in addition to depth data, any information about features that can impact navigation need to be noted. This can include an outcrop of rocks, shipwrecks or a kelp forest. We did see a kelp forest close to the shoreline during this survey, and indicated that in our data. Kelp forests can increase or decrease in size depending on the year and water temperature, but generally stay in the same place.

The swath is the width of the survey lines. During surveying the swath gets larger as the depth increases. In this survey, as you move away from shore the depth becomes deeper, so the width of the swath increases as well. This is due to the fact that the MBES angle is fixed and the depth is related to the swath by the tangent function.

photo of a computer screen showing, in a large window, a map of the survey area. black lines surrounded by swaths of bright red, green, or yellow bands of color snake up and down the map, representing the transects surveyed.

Screen showing the set line spacing and data taken near the shore.

cliffs along the shore of St George, as seen from a survey launch. the water is turquoise-colored in the foreground and brownish closer to shore. tall cliffs of black, brown, and gray colors, with some green growth at higher points, rise out of the photo. there are white specks - the seabirds - all over the cliffs.

Close to the shoreline of Saint George. The color change of the water indicates a kelp forest. Thousands of sea birds are on the cliffs.

calculations on a whiteboard. at top is a simple depiction of a boat, labeled 'launch.' a triangle extends down from the bottom of the launch toward the seafloor. the top angle (between the lines extending from the launch) is labeled 130 degrees. arrows show the direction of the echosounder pings (labeled MBES) toward the seafloor. The height of the triangle is labeled "depth" and the base "width of the swath."
Below this image is a drawing of a right-angle triangle, one half of the above. The top angle is labeled 65 degrees (half of 130 degrees), the height is labeled "Depth" and the base is labeled "1/2 swath."
written calculations read: tan (theta) = opposite side length / adjacent side length. tan 65 degrees = (1/2 swath)/depth. (depth)(tan 65 degrees) = 1/2 swath. 2 (depth)(tan 65 degrees) = swath. 2(depth)(~2.1) = swath, ~4.2 (depth) = swath.

How the width of the swath can be calculated.

TAS Elli Simonen on a survey launch close to shore of Saint George, one of the Pribilof Islands

At the Helm of the Survey Launches

Coxswains are responsible for steering and navigating the survey launches. They use a variety of instruments and sensors to maintain safety and guide the survey launches over the planned survey lines. The heading is the direction the bow of the ship is pointing, expressed as a degree measurement from 0° to 360°. We were mainly surveying lines that were running north-south and the heading measurement was 0° when we went north and 180° south.

a small black instrument panel showing the heading, currently 002.0 (close to 0).

Heading indicator showing the direction of the survey launch and allows for autopilot.

a compass mounted to a surface on the survey launch. it reads close to 0 N.

Magnetic Compass showing heading on the survey launches.

photo of a computer screen showing a map of the survey area

Screen for coxswains on survey launches showing depth, the water column and survey lines.

two people at the helm of the survey launch vessel. Elli grips the helm while Ashley looks on. we can see gray ocean surface out the windows. the compass is mounted to the dashboard above the helm.

TAS Elli Simonen attempting to steer the Survey Launch with NOAA Corps member ENS Ashley Howell. It is much harder than it looks!

Personal Log

Day to Day

Most of my days have been spent on the ship or lately, on survey launches. If I’m on the ship, I usually spend most of the day in the survey room with the survey technicians. Breakfast is served from 7-8 am, lunch is from 11-12 pm and dinner is 5-6 pm. Sometimes a movie is shown in the lounge in the evenings, but the other day we streamed the Women’s World Cup to see the USA win their opening game!

Some of the common areas of the ship

view of the survey room. a large island in the center contains cabinets and a map table. computer desks line the walls. four people sit working at computers, while a fifth stands reading something.

The survey room where all the survey technicians have their work stations.

view of the galley, or kitchen, from the service bar on the outside.

The galley with lunch available

tables and chairs in the dining area. the legs of the chairs have been capped with cut open tennis balls to slow sliding during rough conditions.

The mess, where we all eat meals.

three washing machines and two dryers in the laundry room of NOAA Ship Fairweather.

Washers, dryers and soap are provided for everyone’s use.

Did You Know?

Fur Seals leave the Pribilof Islands in November and females and immature males swim to the south, some as far as the California-Mexico border. They return to the Pribilof Islands in June. (https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=northernfurseal.printerfriendly)
The Pribilof Islands are also home to millions of sea birds. Birdwatchers can see red-faced cormorants, red-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, thick-billed murres, and puffins. These species nest in the island’s cliffs and tundra. (https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewinglocations.pribilofislands)

July 24, 2023July 24, 2023

Elli Simonen: Geology, Engineering and Mapping, July 19, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Elli Simonen (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

July 10, 2023 – July 28, 2023

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Pribilof Islands

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Date: July 19, 2023
Weather DataLocation: 57°11.82’N, 170°27.52’W

Outside temperature: 13°C

Water temperature: 11°C

True Winds: Direction 242.4°, 13.7 kn

Skies: Overcast and Foggy

Visibility: 2 nm

Sea Wave: 2 ft

Swell Wave: Direction 240°, 4 feet height

Science and Technology Log

We have arrived at the Pribilof Islands after being en route from Kodiak for 3 days. We are currently surveying.

Geology of the Aleutian Islands

The Aleutian islands stretch from North America into the Pacific and contain 40 active volcanoes. This string of islands is where the Pacific Plate sinks under the North American Plate causing some of the largest earthquakes of the last 100 years. NOAA Ship Fairweather often receives alerts about Volcanic Eruptions including information about ash in the water when sailing around the Aleutian Islands.

On July 15th at 10:48 pm, at a depth of 13 miles, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck just south of the Aleutian Peninsula, triggering a tsunami watch and then warning. NOAA Ship Fairweather was in the direct vicinity, but did not feel a noticeable shake. Luckily the tsunami watch and warning were canceled shortly after, and the earthquake did not cause significant wave heights. Investigation of observed water levels at the Sand Point, AK tide station showed some variability when compared to the tide predictions.

a photo of a graph displayed on a computer screen. The graph is titled NOAA/NOS/CO-OPS Observed Water Levels at 9459450, Sand Point AK from 2023/07/15 12:00 LST_LDT to 2023/07/16 23:59 LST_LDT. We can see that the x-axis displays time - starting at 18:00 hours on July 15, with grid marks every 3 hours until 09:00 hours on July 16. the y-axis is out of view. A dotted blue line labeled "predictions" rises smoothly to a high point around 01:30 on July 16, and then dips again. A solid red line, labeled "water levels," mostly tracks the "predictions" line but is visibly wobbly around midnight on on July 16.

Observed water levels the night of the earthquake and tsunami warning.

Video showing the Bow of NOAA Ship Fairweather sailing just south of the Aleutian Peninsula

Engineering On Board

The engineering team on NOAA Ship Fairweather consists of 8 engineers. They are in charge of maintaining the engine, all power and water on board. They typically work in 4-8 hour shifts, 24-hours per day, to ensure everything is running smoothly. The ship’s two main engines power shafts that are connected to controllable pitch propellers. To move a boat forward, both the pitch of the propellers and Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) are adjusted. Pitch is the angle of the propeller blades and RPM is how many times the propellers rotate per minute.

The engine room also supplies clean potable water for the entire ship. Through the process of reverse osmosis, sea water is compressed in cylinders and salt is filtered out. The water then goes through multi-stage and UV filters to ensure safe sanitation.

Power is supplied by three generators and one emergency generator. These generators power all electric, navigational and satellite receiver systems.

One of the Engines

a tank, pipes of different sizes, a control panel

Reverse Osmosis Unit, used to make potable water from seawater

Elli, wearing her Teacher at Sea hat, stands in front of a large floor-to-ceiling control panel. Behind her there is a closed door with a yellow sign cautioning people to wear ear protection beyond that point.

TAS Elli Simonen in the Engine Room

Surveying with NOAA Ship Fairweather

We have been surveying at the Pribilof Islands for the last 1-2 days. We are surveying using the ship and the team is on a 24 hour rotation. The survey area is divided up into polygons, or smaller areas, of which we completely cover one at a time. The ship drives back and forth in overlapping lines over the designated polygon. In addition to the MBES data, we gather both backscatter and water column data as well.

Backscatter is a visual representation of the surface of the seafloor. Backscatter provides information about the intensity of the returned echos, from which the “hardness” of the bottom as well as other characteristics can be used to differentiate between different types of seafloor composition. Darker colors represent harder surfaces such as rocks and hard coral and lighter colors represent softer surfaces such as sand and mud. This information is important for ships to know for anchoring purposes, as well as benthic habitat characteristics.

The water column data shows us what is under the ship throughout the water column– from the surface of the water to the seafloor. It detects bubbles, objects protruding from the seafloor, fish, or even a whale or a seal.

a triangular swath of echosounder data in different colors (red, green, blue) indicating the intensity of the returned echoes

Water column Data

photo of a computer screen displaying seafloor bathymetry (in black and white) from backscatter

Backscatter showing a representation of the seafloor

TAS Elli Simonen with Survey Technician Finnegan Sougioultzoglou

Personal Log

Safety and Routine Checks

Before coming on board, I did not realize all the preemptive safety measures that need to be taken to ensure the health and safety of everyone on board. The staff and crew need to be self-sustaining on all accounts; another person, equipment or supplies cannot be added mid-sail. There are cooks onboard as well as medical staff. There are 3 drills and situations that the entire crew participates in, including myself – Fire, Mariner Overboard and Abandon Ship. You need to know the pattern of alarms for each, as well as where to go and what to do. For example, for Mariner Overboard I go to the fantail of the ship, with others, and point at the person in the water until a small boat can go out and rescue them. Each one of these drills is practiced periodically. Additionally there are two sets of rounds every hour, 24 hours a day – a deck round and engine rounds. Deck rounds check all public spaces for anything abnormal. Engine rounds check the engine room to see if everything is working properly. Every week, refrigerators are checked for correct temperatures and water is checked for potential bacteria.

New Terms/Phrases

I’ve learned several acronyms and initials since I have been on board NOAA Ship Fairweather. Sometimes I feel two consecutive sentences cannot be said without some type of abbreviation. These are some that have become part of my vocabulary:

HIC: Hydrographer in Charge
POD: Plan of the Day
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
NM: Nautical Miles
CO: Commanding Officer

October 7, 2019October 7, 2019

Linda Kurtz: Reflections from Fairweather, September 7, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Linda Kurtz

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

August 12-23, 2019

Mission: Cascadia Mapping Project

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Northwest (Off the coast of California)

Date: 9/7/2019

Weather Data from Marietta, GA:

Latitude: 33.963900
Longitude: -84.492260
Sky Conditions: Clear
Present Weather: Hot
Visibility: 9 miles
Windspeed: Less than 1 knot
Temperature: Record high 97 degrees Fahrenheit

It’s been weeks since I disembarked in Newport, Oregon and left Fairweather behind. I still feel like I’m a part of the crew since I was welcomed so seamlessly into any job I tried to learn while Teacher at Sea. However, the crew is still working away as I continue to share my experiences with my students in Marietta, Georgia.

As I have been working on lessons for my classroom, I keep finding fun facts and information about ship life that I didn’t share in my previous posts. So, here is my final post and some of my most frequent questions by students answered:

Question 1: Where did you sleep?

I slept in a berth, I had a comfortable bed, drawers, a locker, and a sink. There was a TV too, which I never watched since a) I like to read more than watch TV and b) the ship would rock me to sleep so fast I could never stay up too long at bedtime!

Question 2: What was the weather like when you were at sea?

Some days (and nights) so foggy that they had to use the fog horn for safety!

Question 3: What animals did you see?

I highlighted animals in all of my posts and linked sites to learn more, go check it out! There is one animal I didn’t include in my posts that I would like to share with you! The first is the California Sea Lion found in the Newport harbor. You could hear them from across the harbor so I had to go check them out!

See the video below:

California Sea Lions

Question 4: What happens next with the hydrographic survey work?

This is one of my favorite questions from students! It shows how much you have learned about this very important scientific work and are thinking about what is next. The hydrographic survey maps are now in post processing, where the survey technicians, Sam, Bekah, Joe, and Michelle are working hard to make sure the data is correct. I shared in a previous hydrographic survey blog an example of Fairweather’s hydrographic survey maps, I also checked in with the USGS scientists James Conrad and Peter Dartnell to see what they were doing with their research and they shared some information that will help answer this question.

From Peter Dartnell, USGS research scientist: “Here are a few maps of the bathymetry data we just collected including the area off Coos Bay, off Eureka, and a close-up view of the mud volcano. The map off Eureka includes data we collected last year. I thought it would be best to show the entire Trinidad Canyon.”

From James Conrad USGS research geologist: “Here is an image of a ridge that we mapped on the cruise. The yellow dots are locations of methane bubble plumes that mark seafloor seeps. In the next few weeks, another NOAA ship, the Lasker, is planning to lower a Remotely Operated Vehicle to the seafloor here to see what kinds of critters live around these seeps. Methane seeps are known to have unique and unusual biologic communities associated with them. For scale, the ridge is about 8 miles long.”

underwater ridge — *Bathymetry map showing ridge*

So, even though the research cruise is over, the research and follow up missions resulting from the research are ongoing and evolving every day.

Question 5: Would you go back if you could be a Teacher at Sea again?

YES! There is still so much to learn. I want to continue my own learning, but most importantly, lead my students to get excited about the important scientific research while keeping the mission of the NOAA close to their hearts: “To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. Dedicated to the understanding and stewardship of the environment.“

Fair winds and following seas Fairweather, I will treasure this experience always.

August 19, 2019August 19, 2019

Linda Kurtz: Hydrographic Surveys – Not your Mama’s Maps! August 17, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Linda Kurtz

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

August 12-23, 2019

Mission: Cascadia Mapping Project

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest Pacific

Date: 8/17/2019

Weather Data from the Bridge

August 17^th 2019

Latitude & Longitude: 43◦ 53.055’ N 124◦ 47.003’W
Windspeed: 13 knots
Geographic Area: @10-15 miles off of the Oregon/California coast
Cruise Speed: 12 knots
Sea Temperature 20◦Celsius
Air Temperature 68◦Fahrenheit

Future hydrographer button — Is this you?

Navigation is how Fairweather knows its position and how the crew plans and follows a safe route. (Remember navigation from the last post?) But what “drives” where the ship goes is Hydrographic survey mission. There is a stunning amount of sea floor that remains unmapped, as well as seafloor that has not been mapped following a major geological event like an earthquake of underwater volcano.

Why is Hydrography important? As we talked about in the previous post, the data is used for nautical safety, creating detailed maps of the ocean floor, setting aside areas are likely abundant undersea wildlife as conservation areas, looking at the sea floor to determine if areas are good for wind turbine placement, and most importantly to the residents off the Pacific coast, locating fault lines — especially subduction zones which can generate the largest earthquakes and cause dangerous tsunamis.

In addition to generating the data needed to update nautical charts, hydrographic surveys support a variety of activities such as port and harbor maintenance (dredging), coastal engineering (beach erosion and replenishment studies), coastal zone management, and offshore resource development. Detailed depth information and seafloor characterization is also useful in determining fisheries habitat and understanding marine geologic processes.

The history of hydrographic surveys dates back to the days of Thomas Jefferson, who ordered a survey of our young nation’s coast. This began the practice and accompanying sciences of the coastal surveys. The practice of surveys birthed the science of Hydrography (which we are actively conducting now) and the accompanying science of Bathymetry (which we will go into on the next post.) This practice continues of providing nautical charts to the maritime community to ensure safe passage into American ports and safe marine travels along the 95,000 miles of U.S. Coastline.

Want to learn more about Hydrographic Survey history? Click on THIS LINK for the full history by the NOAA.

Scientists have tools or equipment that they use to successfully carry out their research. Let’s take a look at a few of the tools hydrographic survey techs use:

Want to learn more about the science of SONAR? Watch the video below.

ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijaPa-9MDs

On board Fairweather (actually underneath it) is the survey tool call a TRANSDUCER which sends out the sonar pulses.

The transducer on Fairweather is an EM 710- multibeam echo sounder which you can learn more about HERE.

The Transducer is located on the bottom of the ship and sends out 256 sonar beams at a time to the bottom of the ocean. The frequency of the 256 beams is determined by the depth from roughly 50 pings per second to 1 ping every 10 seconds. The active elements of the EM 710 transducers are based upon composite ceramics, a design which has several advantages, which include increased bandwidth and more precise measurements. The transducers are fully watertight units which should give many years of trouble-free operation. This comes in handy since the device in on the bottom of Fairweather’s hull!

Here is the transducer on one of the launches:

The 256 sonar beams are sent out by the transducer simultaneously to the ocean floor, and the rate of return is how the depth of the ocean floor is determined. The rate of pulses and width of the “swath” or sonar beam array is affected by the depth of the water. The deeper the water, the larger the “swath” or array of sonar beams because they travel a greater distance. The shallower the water, the “swath” or array of sonar beams becomes narrower due to lesser distance traveled by the sonar beams.

The minimum depth that this transducer can map the sea floor is less than 3 meters and the maximum depth is approximately 2000 meters (which is somewhat dependent upon array size). Across track coverage (swath width) is up to 5.5 times water depth, to a maximum of more than 2000 meters. This echo sounder is capable of reaching deeper depths because of the lower frequency array of beams.

The transmission beams from the EM 710 multibeam echo sonar are electronically stabilized for roll, pitch and yaw, while they receive beams are stabilized for movements. (The movement of the ship) What is roll, pitch, and yaw? See below – these are ways the Fairweather is constantly moving!

Since the sonar is sent through water, the variable of the water that the sonar beams are sent through must be taken into account in the data.

Some of the variables of salt water include: conductivity (or salinity) temperature, depth, and density.

Hydrographic scientists must use tools to measure these factors in sea water, other tools are built into the hydrographic survey computer programs.

One of the tools used by the hydrographic techs is the XBT or Expendable Bathy Thermograph that takes a measurement of temperature and depth. The salinity of the area being tested is retrieved from the World Ocean Atlas which is data base of world oceanographic data. All of this data is transmitted back to a laptop for the hydrographers. The XBT is an external device that is launched off of the ship to take immediate readings of the water.

Launching the XBT: There is a launcher which has electrodes on it, then you plug the XBT probe to the launcher and then XBT is launched into the ocean off of the back of the ship. The electrodes transmit data through the probe via the 750-meter copper wire. The information then passes through the copper wire, through the electrodes, along the black wire, straight to the computer where the data is collected. This data is then loaded onto a USB then taken and loaded into the Hydrographic data processing software. Then the data collected by the XBT is used to generate the sound speed profile, which is sent to the sonar to correct for the sound speed changes through the water column that the sonar pulses are sent through. The water column is all of the water between the surface and seafloor. Hydrographers must understand how the sound moves through the water columns which may have different densities that will bend the sound waves. By taking the casts, you are getting a cross section “view” of the water column on how sound waves will behave at different densities, the REFRACTION (or bending of the sound waves) effects the data.

See how the XBT is launched and data is collected below!

Hydrotech Bekah Gossett preparing to cast
The XBT probe
The XBT launcher

I got to do a cast-
thanks Bekah!
Instant readings from the XBT
Bekah downloading data from the XBT

Videos coming soon!

The other tool is the MVP or moving vessel profiler which takes measurements of conductivity, temperature, and depth. These are all calculated to determine the density of the water. This is a constant fixture on the aft deck (the back of the ship) and is towed behind the Fairweather and constantly transmits data to determine the speed of sound through water. (Since sonar waves are sound waves.)

MVP and launching wench — MVP (left) and the launching wench (right)

The sonar software uses this data to adjust the calculation of the depth, correcting for the speed of sound through water due to the changes in the density of the ocean. The final product? A detailed 3d model of the seafloor!

Our current survey area! (Thanks Charles for the image!)

All of this data is run through the survey software. See screen shots below of all the screens the hydrographers utilize in the course of their work with explanations. (Thanks Sam!) It’s a lot of information to take in, but hydrographic survey techs get it done 24 hours a day while we are at sea. Amazing! See below:

ACQ software screenshot — Hydrographic Survey “Mission Control”

Did You Know? An interesting fact about sonar: When the depth is deeper, a lower frequency of sonar is utilized. In shallower depths, a higher sonar frequency. (Up to 900 meters, then this rule changes.)

Question of the Day: Interested in becoming a hydrographic survey tech? See the job description HERE.

Challenge yourself — see if you can learn and apply the new terms and phrases below and add new terms from this blog or from your research to the list!

New Terms/Phrases:

Multibeam sonar

Sound speed

Conductivity

Salinity

Sonar

Sound waves

Refraction

Water column

Roll, Pitch, and Yaw

Animals seen today:

Humpback Whale

Bathymetry and USGS friends coming soon!

Plot room — Hydro-technician Sam Candio (right) collaborating with USGS Research Geologist James Conrad and Physical Scientist Peter Dartnell.

August 15, 2019August 19, 2019

Linda Kurtz: Navigating Fair Winds and Following Seas – Fairweather Edition, August 13, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Linda Kurtz

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

August 12-23, 2019

Mission: Cascadia Mapping Project

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest Pacific

Date: 8/13/2019

Weather Data from the Bridge

August 12th
Latitude & Longitude: 43^◦ 50.134N, 124◦49.472 W
Windspeed: 19mph
Geographic Area: Northwest Pacific Ocean
Cruise Speed: 12 knots
Sea Temperature 20◦Celcius
Air Temperature 70◦Fahrenheit

Science and Technology Log

Yesterday, we embarked on this Hydrographic Survey Project, leaving Newport and heading out to the Pacific Ocean. The 231-foot Fairweather is manned by 35 people and they are all essential to making this research run smoothly, keeping the ship on course, maintaining the ship, and feeding all of us! Why is this Hydrographic survey mission important? We’ll take a “deep dive” into hydrographic surveys in an upcoming blog, but there are several overlapping reasons why this research is important. On previous hydrographic maps of the sea floor, there are “gaps” in data, not giving scientists and mariners a complete picture of this area. The data is used for nautical safety, setting aside areas where there are likely abundant undersea wildlife as conservation areas, looking at the sea floor to determine if areas are good for wind turbine placement, and most importantly to the residents off the Pacific coast, locating fault lines –especially subduction zones, which can generate the largest earthquakes and cause dangerous tsunamis. More about this and the science of Hydrography in a later post. For now, we’ll focus on Navigation.

Science Word of the day: NAVIGATION

The word NAVIGATION is a noun, defined: the process or activity of accurately ascertaining one’s position and planning and following a route.

synonyms:

helmsmanship, steersmanship, seamanship, map-reading, chart-reading, wayfinding. “Cooper learned the skills of navigation.”

Time to leave port: 12:30 pm August 12^th:

As we were pulling away from the dock and headed out of Newport, someone was navigating this very large ship through narrow spaces, avoiding other boats, crab traps, and other hazards, and I began wondering… who is driving this ship and what tools do they have to help them navigate and keep us safe? Navigation is the science of “finding your way to a specific destination.” So, I made way to the bridge to find out. There was so much to learn, and the bridge crew was very patient taking me through who worked on the bridge as well as the various tools and technological resources they used to guide the Fairweather exactly where it needed to be. First the humans who run the ship, then the tools!

On the bridge you have 3 key members in charge of navigation and steering the boat. These are not to be confused with the CO or Commanding Officer who always oversees the ship but may always not always be present on the bridge (or deck). The CO is kind of like a principal in a school (if the school were floating and had to avoid other buildings and large mammals of course.)

1^st in charge of the bridge watch is the OOD or Officer of the Deck. The OOD is responsible for making all the safety decisions on the deck, giving commands on how to avoid other vessels and wildlife such as whales! The OOD oversees the deck and reports regularly to the CO as needed.

2^nd in charge of the bridge watch is the JOOD or Junior Officer of the Deck. The Junior Officer is responsible to the CO and OOD and uses both technology driven location data and plot mapping with paper to locate the position of the ship and use that location to plan the course for the ship.

The 3^rd member of the bridge team is the helmsman. The helmsman is the person who is actually driving the ship while following the commands of the OOD and JOOD. Tools the helmsman uses include magnetic compasses on deck and electronic heading readouts to adjust course to stay on a particular heading (or direction of travel.) The helmsman has another duty as lookout. The lookout watches the ocean in front of the ship for land objects (we saw a lighthouse today), ocean mammals such as whales (we’ve seen 3 so far) or debris in the ocean so Fairweather can navigate around them.

Officer of the Deck (OOD): Kevin Tennyson

Calderon and Ostermyer — Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD) Jeff Calderon and Helmsman Terry Ostermyer

There are so many devices on the bridge, I’ll share a few of them and their functions. This blog post would take DAYS to read if we went over them all!

Let’s explore: what tools does the crew aboard Fairweather use for NAVIGATION?

Radar is a system that uses waves of energy to sense objects. These waves are in the form of high frequency radio waves which can find a faraway object and tell how fast it is moving.

Radar is very useful because it can sense objects even at night and through thick clouds. Radar helps the Fairweather navigate by detecting objects and vessels in the immediate area. On Fairweather, you can see the objects that are near or could be in the determined path of travel.

Close up of RADAR screen showing blue lines (indicative of speed) trailing other detected objects

While the picture above shows where the objects and vessels are, the “blue trail” shows how far they have traveled in 6 minutes. A longer blue trail means a faster moving vessel and a shorter or no tail means little or no movement. This tool also helps the Fairweather crew determine the path of travel of the other vessels so they can either navigate around or warn the other vessel of the Fairweather’s heading.

Fairweather bridge crew also must follow what STEM students call the 4C’s: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, & Creativity.

To communicate while at sea, the crew must communicate via radio.

Notice the abbreviations for the MF/HF or Medium Frequency/High Frequency, which has the longest range and you can communicate via voice or text. VHF or Very High Frequency are voice radios only. Marine VHF radios work on a line-of-sight basis. That is, they can transmit and receive to and from another antenna as long as that antenna is above the horizon. How far is that? Standing on the bridge of a ship, the distance to the horizon is usually about 10-12 miles. So, if there is a vessel within that 10-12 mile or so range, the Fairweather crew can communicate with them via the VHF radio.

Weather Tools:

It is crucial to gather weather data and analyze the information from various weather instruments onboard to keep the Fairweather safe. Sopecreek Elementary has a Weather Station too! As you look through the photos below, see if you can find what weather instruments (and readings) Fairweather uses and compare and contrast with Sopecreek’s WEATHER STEM station! What type of instruments do you think are the same, and which are different?

weather data updates — Weather data updates – the ship can NAVIGATE to avoid dangerous weather

With all of tools discussed above, the Fairweather is approaching the Cascadia Margin that needs to be surveyed using science of Hydrography and Bathymetry (more about those concepts coming soon!)

The area to be survey has already been identified, now the ship must approach the area (the red polygon in the middle of the screenshot below). Now the crew must plot a course to cover the area in horizontal “swaths” to aid in accurate mapping. The bridge and the hydrographic survey team collaborate and communicate about speed, distance between horizontal lines, and timing of turns.

See the initial area to mapped and the progress made in the first two days in the pictures below!

Cascadia Margin chart — Cascadia Margin: 1st Region the Fairweather is mapping

mapping progress — Progress mapping – navigation the survey area – colored lines indicate where the ship has been

Personal Log

It’s been a great start to this Teacher at Sea adventure! There is so much to take in and share with my students (I miss you so much!) and my fellow teachers from across the country! Today, we went from sunny skies and calm 2-4 foot seas, to foggy conditions and 6-8 foot seas! The ship is definitely moving today! I keep thinking about STEM activities to secure items and then testing against the varying degree of pitch on the ship! For safety, the entire crew is tying up any loose items and securing all things on board, we’ll have to think of STEM challenges to simulate this for sure!

Did You Know?

When steering a ship, an unwritten rule is you don’t want the speed of the ship (in KNOTS) and the degree of the turn of the rudder (in DEGREES) to exceed the number 30!

Question of the Day:

How many possible combinations of KNOTS and DEGREES are there? Can you draw or plot out what that would look like?

New Terms/Phrases:

Thermosalinigraph: Measures the temperature and salinity of the water.

Challenge yourself: see if you can learn and apply the terms below and add new terms from this blog or from your research to the list!

ECDIS: Electronic chart display information system

Longitude and Latitude

True North

Magnetic North

Animals Seen Today:

Dall’s Porpoise

Humpback Whale

Curious about STEM Careers with NOAA? All the officers on deck had a background in some type of science but none were the same. Everyone on board comes from different backgrounds but are united by the OJT (On the Job Training) and the common purpose of the hydrographic survey mission. Learn more here: https://www.noaa.gov/education

August 6, 2019

Linda Kurtz: STEM Teacher AWAY! August 6, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Linda Kurtz

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

August 12-23, 2019

Mission: Cascadia Margin Ocean Mapping Project

Geographic Area: Coastal Oregon and northern California

Date: August 6, 2019

Introduction

I am thrilled to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea aboard the NOAA Ship Fairweather.

I will be embarking August 12 and sailing through August 23 on a Hydrographic Survey mission from Newport, Oregon. Hydrographic Survey missions focus on mapping the seafloor in detail. I will be sharing more about that soon! To all my students (past and present), colleagues, fellow STEM enthusiasts, and friends, I hope you will follow along via these blog posts as I share this teacher adventure at sea and learn with me about the important work of NOAA. NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The mission of NOAA is “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”

Most of my time teaching is spent within the walls of the classroom, trying to prepare students for STEM careers that they (or I) have never seen. Now, as a Teacher at Sea, the dynamic will be flipped! I will learn with actual scientists about STEM careers that support NOAA’s mission and bring those experiences back to the classroom myself! I am so grateful for this opportunity to expand my own knowledge and for my students who will get a front row seat to STEM careers in action.

My “classroom” for the next two weeks:

Classroom for Fairweather — My “classroom” for the next two weeks

About Me:

I was born in New Hampshire and moved around quite a bit growing up. My “hometown” was Chattanooga, Tennessee, but I grew up in many places including South Africa. I currently live on a “pocket farm” in Powder Springs, Georgia with my husband, 3 children, 3 dogs, and 2 cats. My family and I love to travel as well as camp in state and national parks.

I have always enjoyed a bit of adventure, learning rock climbing, downhill mountain biking, bungee jumping, and skydiving. My favorite adventure came at the age of 13 when I learned how to scuba dive. A new underwater world was revealed to me and I developed a deep love and respect for the ocean. I have tried to teach my children and my students the joys of outdoor adventure and the importance of stewardship. Powder Springs is about 20 miles away from the Georgia’s capitol of Atlanta. We love going to NFL Falcons’ games and MLB Braves’ games when we are not out camping!

My greatest adventure now is being a STEM teacher. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. I have been a STEM teacher for my entire teaching career and love it! I see STEM everywhere and believe our students are going to do great things for the world with a strong background in STEM education. I particularly enjoy teaching Coding and 3D printing to students as well as how to use technology to create solutions to problems instead of being passive users of technology

My undergraduate work was focused in Early Childhood education, and my graduate degree in Integration of Technology into Instruction. I now teach at Sope Creek Elementary and love my 1,000+ students in our evolving STEM school. We follow the steps of the EDP or Engineering Design Process every day to solve real world problems. We especially like to integrate problem solving with technology. This practice is what drew me to the hydrographic survey projects conducted by NOAA. I am excited to learn how technology is utilized to create detailed maps of the ocean floor, and learn about the science of Bathymetry, which is the study of the “beds” of “floors” of water bodies including oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams.

Finally, it was the mission of the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program is what drew me to apply for this program: The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Teacher at Sea Program is to provide teachers hands-on, real-world research experience working at sea with world-renowned NOAA scientists, thereby giving them unique insight into oceanic and atmospheric research crucial to the nation. The program provides a unique opportunity for kindergarten through college-level teachers to sail aboard NOAA research ships to work under the tutelage of scientists and crew. As a life-long learner it is difficult to access professional development. In this program, I will gain real world experience as a scientist as sea while also having an adventure at sea! I can’t wait to share this experience with all of you! Now I’m off to get my dose of vitamin sea! More soon.

Questions and Resources:

Teachers: Please reach out with questions from teachers or students and keep an eye out for resources I will be sharing in the comments section of this blog. Check out these K-12 resources available through NOAA!

Students: Have a teacher or please post your questions. Here are the answers from questions so far:

Question 1: Do you think you will end up like the Titanic?

Answer: No way! The NOAA Ship Fairweather has been conducting missions since 1967 (the ship is older than ME!). This is a 231 foot working vessel with a strengthened ice welded hull. I don’t plan on seeing any icebergs off the coast of Oregon in Pacific Ocean, so don’t worry! NOAA Ship Fairweather’s crew have some of the best professionals in the world to run their fleet, so I will be safe!

Question 2: Are you coming back? And will you have to sleep outside like a pirate?

Answer: Yes, I will be coming back! I will be away for 2 weeks and will be back in the STEM-Kurtz lab on August 26^th-so you can come see me when I get back. As for your 2^nd question, I will get to sleep inside in a “berth” and will have a bed and everything else I need. I do not have to sleep outside, but you know when I’m home I like to sleep outside in my hammock!

Student focus of the week: Hey 5^th Grade students! You are going to be learning about constructive and destructive processes of the earth over time. Check out this document about the Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards Project Plans. My mission will link directly to what you are learning in class!

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019

Meg Stewart: What the Bathymetry Looks Like at Cape Newenham, Alaska: Flat and a Little Wavy, July 23, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Meg Stewart

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

July 8 – 19, 2019

Mission: Cape Newenham Hydrographic Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Bering Sea and Bristol Bay, Alaska

Date: July 23, 2019

Weather Data from Home
Latitude: 41°42’25.35″N
Longitude: 73°56’17.30″W
Wind: 2 knots NE
Barometer: 1011.5 mb
Visibility: 10 miles
Temperature: 77° F or 25° C
Weather: Cloudy

Science and Technology Log

As you can tell from 1) the date of my research cruise and 2) my latitude and longitude, I am no longer in Alaska and I am now home. For my final NOAA Teacher at Sea post, I am pleased to show you the results of the hydrographic survey during the Cape Newenham project. The bathymetric coverage (remember that bathymetry means the topography underwater or depth to the bottom of oceans, seas and lakes) is not final as there is one more leg, but it is pretty close. Then the hard part of “cleaning up” the data begins and having many layers of NOAA hydrographers review the results before ever being placed on a nautical chart for Cape Newenham and Bristol Bay. But that day will come!

project location — **Fig 1.** First, here is a reminder of the location area for the project in Alaska, in the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay (circled in red).

coverage graphic — **Fig 2.** Here is the entire coverage of the project area to date. Notice that some of the coverage is complete and some is in spaced line segments. The red areas on the map are shallow and vessels should avoid those. The dark blue to purple zone is the deepest shown on the map and that is where ships should navigate and mariners will know that by looking on the future navigational chart. During the project, the Chief Hydrographer began to notice that the sea bed was nearly flat and gently sloping. The decision was made to use set line spacing for the rest of the project. (Hint: Click on the image to see more detail)

**Fig 3.** Going in a little more closely, I’ll show you the Cape Newenham area, shown in the dashed line region. You may recall that this is the nautical chart from three blog posts ago.

Cape Newenham surveyed — **Fig 4.** Now, we’ve zoomed in one of the cool parts of the bathymetric map. As I said above in Fig 2, most of the Cape Newenham sea floor surface is gently sloping. There are no obvious obstructions such as large boulders or shipwrecks; if there were, those would show up in the hydrographic survey. I’ll talk more about the red (or shallower) part of the map in the next figure.

Fig 6. This is 2D profile view along the surface of the light blue line shown in Fig 5. This is the top of the sand waves. I’ve pointed to a couple of sand wave crests; there are five crests shown in this profile length. Notice that there is a gently sloping face of the wave and a steeper face. The ocean current direction is moving from the gentle face towards the steep face in this location on Cape Newenham which is from north to south. The hydrographers told me that, though the ocean flow may be north to south here now, it is possible that in the winter, the current reverses. There is also a tidal influence on the current here, too.

Part II – Careers at Sea Log, or
Check Out the Engine Room and Meet an Engineer

engineer Klay Strand — **Photo 1.** Klay Strand, 2AE, showing us around the Fairweather engine room.

This is Klay Strand who is 2nd Engineer on the Ship Fairweather. He’s been on the ship for about a year and a half and he graciously and enthusiastically showed three of us visiting folk around the engine room towards the end of our leg. It was truly eye-opening. And ear-popping.

Before I get to the tour, a little bit about what Engineering Department does and how one becomes an engineer. There are currently nine engineers on the Ship Fairweather and they basically keep the engines running right. They need to check fluid levels for the engine (like oil, water and fuel) but also keep tabs on the other tanks on the ship, like wastewater and freshwater. The engine is on the lower level of the ship.

Klay Strand’s path to engineering was to go to a two-year trade school in Oregon through the JobCorps program. Strand then worked for the Alaskan highway department on the ferry system and then he started accruing sea days. To become a licensed engineer, one needs 1,080 days on a boat. Strand also needed advanced firefighting training and medical care provider training for his license. There are other pathways to an engineering license like a four-year degree in which you earn a license and a bachelor’s degree. For more information on becoming a ship’s engineer, you can go to the MEBA union, of which Strand is a member. On Strand’s days off the ship, he likes to spend time with his niece and nephews, go skydiving, hike, and go to the gun range.

The following photos are some of the cool things that Klay showed us in the engine room.

ship's engines — **Photo 2.** There are two engines that power the ship. Ear protection is a must. Standing between the two engines felt like standing inside a running car engine if you were a tiny mouse. I didn’t get a shot of us standing there, so I drew an approximate line for reference.

waste water levels — **Photo 4.** This shows how much black water and gray water the ship currently has in the tanks. Those tanks are located in the engine area and the engineers keep a close eye on that information. Gray water is wastewater from washing dishes, clothes washers, and the showers. Black water is from the toilets, I mean ship’s heads. Black water is treated through a chlorination process. Both wastewaters are released at sea, where permissible.

desalination — **Photo 5.** Recall in my last “Did You Know?” that I said the ship makes its own freshwater from sea water. This is the reverse osmosis monitor showing how much freshwater is being produced. Yes, the engineers keep an eye on that, too.

Personal Log

Dutch Harbor panorama — Before I boarded the small plane that took off from Dutch Harbor to take me to Anchorage, AK, I looked out over the harbor. It was so lovely in Alaska. There’s so much space and untouched landscape. The green, pointed hill on the right side of the image is called Mount Ballyhoo, which I hear was named by Jack London on a swing through Dutch Harbor in the late 1800s.

Now that I’ve been home for a few days, I’ve had a chance to reflect on my time on NOAA Ship Fairweather. When I tell people about the experience, what comes out the most is how warm and open the crew were to me. Every question I had was answered. No one was impatient with my presence. All freely shared their stories, if asked. I learned so much from all of them, the crew of the Fairweather. They respected me as a teacher and wondered about my path to that position. I wondered, too, about their path to a life at sea.

My first week on the ship, I spent a lot of time looking out at the ocean, scanning for whales and marveling at the seemingly endlessness of the water. Living on the water seemed fun and bold. As time went by, I could tell that I may not be cut out for a life at sea at this stage of my life, but I sure would have considered it in my younger days. Now that I know a little bit more about these careers on ships, I have the opportunity to tell my students about living and working on the ocean. I can also tell my educator colleagues about the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program.

Though I loved my time on the Ship Fairweather, I do look forward to seeing my West Bronx Academy students again in September. I am so grateful for all I learned during my time at sea.

Did You Know?

Using the interactive Marine Protected Area map, I zoomed in on the Cape Newenham area. Though there is a Walrus Protection Area there, we did not see any on our leg.

If you are interested in finding out about areas of the ocean that are protected from certain types of human activity because of concerns based on habitat protection, species conservation and ecosystem-based marine management, here are some links to information about Marine Protected Areas. Marine Protected Areas are defined as “…any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.” Did you know that there are over 11,000 designated MPAs around the world?

NOAA Marine Protected Areas – this is information about MPAs in the U.S.

Atlas of Marine Protection is an interactive map that shows all the MPAs around the globe.

National Geographic – Marine Protected Areas – a good teaching resource. Here is a NG lesson looking at MPAs.

Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) – the science of marine reserves.

Quote of the Day

“All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came.” – John F. Kennedy

June 14, 2019

Lona Hall: Land and Sea, June 12, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Lona Hall

Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier

June 3 – 14, 2019

Mission: Kodiak Island Hydrographic Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska

Date: June 12, 2019

Time: 1541 hours

Location: Saltery Cove, Kodiak Island

Weather from the Bridge:

Latitude: 57°29.1009’ N

Longitude: 152°44.0031’ W

Wind Speed: 9.0 knots

Wind Direction: N (10 degrees)

Air Temperature: 12.78° Celsius

Water Temperature: 8.89° Celsius

Lona in immersion suit — All dressed up (in an immersion suit) and no place to go

Science and Technology Log

You may be wondering what role technology plays in a hydrographic survey. I have already written about how modern survey operations rely on the use of multibeam sonar. What I have not described, and am still coming to understand myself, is how complex the processing of sonar data is, involving different types of hardware and software.

For example, when the sonar transducer sends out a pulse, most of the sound leaves and eventually comes back to the boat at an angle. When sound or light waves move at an angle from one substance into another, or through a substance with varying density, they bend. You have probably observed this before and not realized it. A plastic drinking straw in a glass of water will appear broken through the glass. That is because the light waves traveling from the straw to your eye bend as they travel.

The bending of a wave is called refraction. Sound waves refract, too, and this refraction can cause some issues with our survey data. Thanks to technology, there are ways to solve this problem. The sonar itself uses the sound velocity profile from our CTD casts in real time to adjust the data as we collect it. Later on during post processing, some of the data may need to be corrected again, using the CTD cast profiles most appropriate for that area at that general time. Corrections that would be difficult and time-consuming if done by hand are simplified with the use of technology.

Another interesting project in which I’ve been privileged to participate this week was setting up a base station at Shark Point in Ugak Bay. You have most likely heard of the Global Positioning System, and you may know that GPS works by identifying your location on Earth’s surface relative to the known locations of satellites in orbit. (For a great, kid-friendly explanation of GPS, I encourage students to check out this website.) But what happens if the satellites aren’t quite where we think they are? That’s where a base station, or ground station, becomes useful. Base stations, like the temporary one that we installed at Shark Point, are designed to improve the precision of positioning data, including the data used in the ship’s daily survey operations.

Setting up the power source for the base station

Setting up the Base Station involved several steps. First, a crew of six people were carried on RA-7, the ship’s small skiff, to the safest sandy area near Shark Point. It was a wet and windy trip over on the boat, but that was only the beginning! Then, we carried the gear we needed, including two tripods, two antennae (one FreeWave antenna to connect with the ship and a Trimble GPS antenna), a few flexible solar panels, two car batteries, a computer, and tools, through the brush and brambles and up as close to the benchmark as we could reasonably get. A benchmark is a physical marker (in this case, a small bronze disk) installed in a location with a known elevation above mean sea level. For more information about the different kinds of survey markers, click here.

Base station installers: damp, but not discouraged

Next we laid out a tarp, set up the antennae on their tripods, and hooked them up to their temporary power source. After ensuring that both antennae could communicate, one with the ship and the other with the satellites, we met back up with the boat to return to the ship. The base station that we set up will be retrieved in about a week, once it has served its purpose.

Career Focus – Commanding Officer (CO), NOAA Corps

CO Ben Evans at dinner — CO Ben Evans enjoying dinner with the other NOAA Corps officers

Meet Ben Evans. As the Commanding Officer of NOAA Ship Rainier, he is the leader, responsible for everything that takes place on board the ship as well as on the survey launches. Evans’ first responsibility is to the safety of the ship and its crew, ensuring that people are taking the appropriate steps to reduce the risks associated with working at sea. He also spends a good deal of his time teaching younger members of the crew, strategizing with the other officers the technical details of the mission, and interpreting survey data for presentation to the regional office.

Evans grew up in upstate New York on Lake Ontario. He knew that he wanted to work with water, but was unsure of what direction that might take him. At Williams College he majored in Physics and then continued his education at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, completing their 3-year Engineering Degree Program. While at WHOI, he learned about the NOAA Commissioned Officers Corps, and decided to apply. After four months of training, he received his first assignment as a Junior Officer aboard NOAA Ship Rude surveying the waters of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Nearly two decades later, he is the Commanding Officer of his own ship in the fleet.

When asked what his favorite part of the job is, Evans smiled to himself and took a moment to reply. He then described the fulfillment that comes with knowing that he is a small piece of an extensive, ongoing project–a hydrographic tradition that began back in 1807 with the United States Survey of the Coast. He enjoys working with the young crew members of the ship, sharing in their successes and watching them grow so that together they may carry that tradition on into the future.

Danielle Koushel, NOAA Corps Junior Officer, tracks our location on the chart

Personal Log

For my last post, I would like to talk about some of the amazing marine life that I have seen on this trip. Seals, sea lions, and sea otters have shown themselves, sometimes in surprising places like the shipyard back in Seward. Humpback whales escorted us almost daily on the way to and from our small boat survey near Ugak Bay. One day, bald eagles held a meeting on the beach of Ugak Island, four of them standing in a circle on the sand, as two others flew overhead, perhaps flying out for coffee. Even the kelp, as dull as it might seem to some of my readers, undulated mysteriously at the surface of the water, reminding me of alien trees in a science fiction story.

Stepping up onto dry land beneath Shark Point, we were dreading (yet also hoping for) an encounter with the great Kodiak brown bear. Instead of bears, we saw a surprising number of spring flowers, dotting the slopes in clumps of blue, purple, and pink. I am sensitive to the smells of a new place, and the heady aroma of green things mixed with the salty ocean spray made our cold, wet trek a pleasure for me.

Word of the Day

Davit – a crane-like device used to move boats and other equipment on a ship

Speaking of Refraction…

Rainbows are caused by the refraction of light through the lower atmosphere

Thank you to NOAA Ship Rainier, the Teacher at Sea Program, and all of the other people who made this adventure possible. This was an experience that I will never forget, and I cannot wait to share it with my students back in Georgia!

June 12, 2019

Lona Hall: Rockin’ at the NALL on Ugak, June 10, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Lona Hall

Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier

June 3 – 14, 2019

Mission: Kodiak Island Hydrographic Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska

Date: June 10, 2019

Time: 1932 hours

Location: Saltery Cove, Kodiak Island

Weather from the Bridge:

Latitude: 57°29.1359’ N

Longitude: 152°44.0488’ W

Wind Speed: 17.2 knots

Wind Direction: N (353 degrees)

Air Temperature: 12.13° Celsius

Water Temperature: 9.44° Celsius

Lona on a launch vessel — Sitting in the sun on a launch, Rainier in the background

Science and Technology Log

For my second time out on a launch, I was assigned to a shoreline survey at Narrow Cape and around Ugak Island (see chart here). Survey Tech Audrey Jerauld explained the logistics of the shoreline survey. First, they try to confirm the presence of charted features (rocks) along the shore. (As you may remember from my last post, a rock is symbolized by an asterisk on the charts.) Then, they use the small boat’s lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) to find the height of the rocks. Instead of using sound pulses, as with sonar, lidar uses pulses of laser light.

Point Cloud: Each dot represents a lidar “ping”, indicating the presence of features above the waterline

Once a rock was identified, Audrey photographed it and used the laser to find the height of the rock to add to the digital chart. The launch we used for the shoreline survey was RA-2, a jet boat with a shallow draft that allows better access to the shoreline. We still had to be careful not to get too close to the rocks (or to the breakers crashing into the rocks) at certain points around Ugak Island. The line parallel to the shore beyond which it is considered unsafe to survey is called the NALL (Navigable Area Limit Line). The NALL is determined by the crew, with many factors taken into account, such as shoreline features, marine organisms, and weather conditions. An area with many rocks or a dangerously rocky ledge might be designated as “foul” on the charts.

Amanda and Audrey discussing the locations of rocks along the shoreline

I must pause here to emphasize how seriously everyone’s safety is taken, both on the small boats and the ship itself. In addition to strict adherence to rules about the use of hard hats and Personal Flotation Devices in and around the launches, I have participated in several drills during my stay on the ship (Man Overboard, Fire and Emergency, and Abandon Ship), during which I was given specific roles and locations. At the bottom of each printed Plan of the Day there is always a line that states, “NEVER shall the safety of life or property be compromised for data acquisition.” Once more, I appreciate how NOAA prioritizes the wellbeing of the people working here. It reminds me of my school district’s position about ensuring the safety of our students. No institution can function properly where safety is not a fundamental concern.

Career Focus – Marine Engineer

Johnny Brewer joined the Navy in 1997. A native of Houston, Texas, many of his family members had served in the military, so it seemed natural for him to choose a similar path after high school. The Navy trained him as a marine engineer for a boiler ship. Nearly 15 years later he went into the Navy Reserve and transitioned to working for NOAA.

Working as an engineer requires mental and physical strength. The Engineering Department is responsible for maintaining and updating all of the many working parts of the ship–not just the engine, as you might think! The engineers are in charge of the complex electrical systems, plumbing, heating and cooling, potable water, sewage, and the launches used for daily survey operations. They fix everything that needs to be fixed, no matter how large or small the problem may be.

Johnny emphasized how important math is in his job. Engineers must have a deep understanding of geometry (calculating area, volume, density, etc.) and be able to convert measurements between the metric and American systems, since the ship’s elements are from different parts of the world. He also described how his job has given him opportunities to visit and even live in new places, such as Hawaii and Japan. Johnny said that when you stay in one place for too long you can become “stuck in a box,” unaware of the world of options waiting for you outside of the box. As a teacher, I hope that my students take this message to heart.

Personal Log

In my last post I introduced Kimrie Zentmeyer, our Acting Chief Steward. In our conversation, she compared the ship to a house, the walls of which you cannot leave or communicate beyond, except by the ship’s restricted wi-fi, while you are underway. I would like for my readers (especially my students) to imagine living like this, confined day in and day out to a single space, together with your work colleagues, without family or friends from home. How would you adjust to this lifestyle? Do you have what it takes to live and work on a ship? Before you answer, consider the views from your back porch!

Word of the Day

bulkhead – a wall dividing the compartments within the hull of a ship

Q & A

Are there other NOAA ships working in Alaska?

Yes! NOAA Ship Fairweather is Rainier’s sister-ship and is homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska. Also, the fisheries survey vessel, NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson is homeported in Kodiak, not far from where we are currently located.

What did you eat for dinner?

This evening I had sauteed scallops, steamed broccoli, and vegetable beef stew. And lemon meringue pie. And a cherry turnover. And ice cream.