Tag: Hydrographic survey

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Stacey Klimkosky, July 10, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Stacey Klimkosky
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 7 – 24, 2009 

Mission: Hydrographic survey
Geographical area of cruise: Wosnesenski & Ukolnoi Islands, Alaska
Date: July 10, 2009

Weather from the Bridge 
Position: 55°11.715’N, 161°40.554’W
Weather: Foggy
Visibility: < 0.5 nautical miles
Wind speed: 7knts
Swells: 0-1 ft.
Waves: 0-1 ft.
Barometric pressure: 1022.8 mb
Air temperature: Wet bulb = 9.4°C; Dry bulb = 10.0°C

An example of polygons. The land is the southwest corner of Ukolnoi Island. Note how the polygons nearest to land somewhat follow its contours. Remember, these are uncharted waters.
An example of polygons. The land is the southwest corner of Ukolnoi Island. Note how the polygons nearest to land somewhat follow its contours. Remember, these are uncharted waters.

Science and Technology Log 

If you have spent any time reading the Ship Logs from other Teachers at Sea, you are probably familiar with the fact that each involves a different type of work. On Rainier, we are focused on conducting hydrographic surveys. This means that we collect data on the characteristics of the ocean bottom as well as the nearby coastline.  We work seven days a week; from early morning and well into the evening.  There are six launches (30 foot aluminum boats) on Rainier, each with a multi-beam sonar attached to the bottom of the hull.  One of the launches has the capability to conduct surveys with side scan sonar. Each day, crew members work from what is called the POD (Plan of the Day). The POD is issued the evening before by the FOO (Field Operations Officer). Usually, four launches are sent out daily to collect multi-beam sonar data.  On board are the Coxswain (drives the launch); the Survey Technician (in charge of data collection), the Assistant Survey Technician (AST) and the Teacher at Sea (me).

To give you an idea of what a survey day is like, here is a brief summary.  Each day, the launch party is given a set of “polygons” to survey.  A polygon is an imaginary closed area.  You may remember this from geometry class.  The polygons drawn on the working charts generally follow the contours of the islands. It is impossible for the Survey Technicians who created the polygons on a survey area or “sheet” to know how the contours look underwater.  Why? Much of our survey work is in uncharted waters, which mean that no one has ever mapped the ocean floor in this area of Alaska. Thus, the work can be dangerous and every effort must be made to ensure the safety of all.

As the launch moves forward, the multi-beam projects a rendition of the ocean bottom in the form of a line (screen on right). I am taking a turn at making sure the beam remains within certain parameters (screen to right).
As the launch moves forward, the multi-beam projects a rendition of the ocean bottom in the form of a line (screen on right). I am taking a turn at making sure the beam remains within certain parameters (screen to right).

The coxswain begins by driving the launch near the area where we will start surveying for the day. Before we begin, we must take a CTD cast.  CTD stands for Conductivity Temperature and Depth. The water’s salinity, temperature and depth can all affect the multi-beam data.  The composition of the water column varies from location to location.  Some areas may be affected by glacial runoff and therefore be fresher and colder at the surface than others, for example.  Sound travels faster in warmer, saltier water, therefore; we must know the levels of each of these variables, as well as depth (pressure) in order to obtain an accurate set of multi-beam data.  The CTD data is applied to the multi-beam data to correct for sound speed changes through the water column.  This occurs later in Rainier’s Plot Room where all of the launch data is processed.  Casts are made every four hours or before beginning an acquisition for the day.

After the CTD data has been downloaded the coxswain begins to “mow the lawn”.  The launch is driven in lines that are as straight as possible, overlapping the previous pass a little so there are no gaps, or “holidays” between passes. As the launch moves forward, the multi-beam produces a series of pings which create a swath (a triangular shaped path of sonar beams).  The widest base of the triangular swath is on the ocean bottom with the launch at the top.  As the pings bounce back, they create various images that determine depth. The work requires constant adjustments and vigilance, since underwater features may present themselves at any time.  We do not want to hit them.  The area we were surveying when this shot was take was between 20 and 50 meters (greens and darker blues). 

By watching the swath, the technician and coxswain can determine the approximate depth below, including any features like rocks, shoals, or underwater peaks and valleys. If you use a ROYGBIV (rainbow) color scheme, the points closest to the surface(less than 8 meters) show up in red.  The more submerged the features or ocean bottom are, the more the colors move toward the deepest blue.  For example, the lightest greens begin the depth range at 20-35 meters.  This is especially helpful where there is no previous data. Can you think about why a coxswain might be very interested in knowing the places where the colors on the screen are turning from green to yellow to orange?

When a polygon is finished, it should look like it has been “painted in” with colors representing various depths and features of the ocean bottom.  After completing a polygon, the data is saved and we move on to another polygon; take a CTD cast and start the whole process all over again.  We return to Rainier by 16:30 (4:30 pm) unless weather and sea conditions are favorable, in which case the FOO can decide to run late boats until 17:30 (5:30 pm).  The data is then handed over to the Night Processing crew who apply filters and correctors to the raw data. The tide and sound velocity are the main culprits in skewing data. In addition to tide and sound, things like bubbles in the water, schools of fish and kelp beds (of which we’ve seen many) can also affect how “clean” the data is.  This is just a preliminary check. If the data is bad, we have to go out and survey the polygon again. After many days (sometimes weeks and months) of processing and checking, the data is used to create high-resolution, three-dimensional models of the ocean floor (on paper or computer).  These models will eventually leave Rainier and will be used by NOAA’s Pacific Hydrographic Branch to create nautical charts for mariner’s use.

The CTD is lowered on a winch at 1 meter/second. After retrieving the CTD, I prepare it for downloading.
The CTD is lowered on a winch at 1 meter/second. After retrieving the CTD, I prepare it for downloading.

Personal Log 

I feel like I’ve been on Rainier for a long time, even though it’s only been six days since we left the dock in Seward. There is a definite routine established from when I wake up at 06:15 until I go to sleep around 11:00. My head is bursting at the seams with new knowledge and things to remember and keep straight.  It’s great to be a student again—everything is new.  The technology component of Rainier’s mission is nothing short of mind-bending.  How the survey technicians can keep all of the programs and how to use them straight, I don’t know.  I have pages of “cheat sheets” to use to help me remember what to click on and in what order.  Anyone who loves technology would love the job of survey technician.  This is especially true here in the Pavlofs where you might be the first person to discover an interesting underwater feature or maybe a shipwreck.  That would be “wicked cool”, as my students would say.

I have been on three different launches with three different teams. I bring this fact up because, although each team has the exact same goal in mind (collecting accurate hydrographic survey data), each individual tackles the tasks somewhat differently.  For example, one coxswain might like to maneuver the launch so that the edge of the multi-beam sonar’s swath touches the inside edge of the polygon. Another might make their first line by maneuvering the launch straight up the middle of the polygon’s edge. Another example involves how survey technicians control the parameters of the multi-beam.  Some like to adjust the settings manually and some like to use the auto pilot.

Did You NOAA (Know)? 
RAINIER is operated by officers of the NOAA Corps.  NOAA Corps is the smallest of the seven uniformed branches of the U.S. Government.  It can trace its roots back to the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, who, in 1807, signed a bill for a “Survey of the Coast”.  This eventually became the Coast and Geodetic Survey.  Men were needed to commit to long periods of time away from their families to survey the growing nation’s waterways and coastlines. Instead of using multi-beam sonar, they lowered lead weights on ropes marked off in increments to measure ocean depth called leadlines.  To watch an excellent movie on the history of NOAA and surveying, go to the website.

Alaska Fun Facts 
On the Wosnesenski Island, we have seen many feral cows.  According to some of the crew, there once was a homestead on this remote, treeless island.  When the family left the island, the cows remained.  No one takes care of them.  There are other documented feral cow herds on other islands in the Aleutian Chain, including Chirikof Island, near Kodiak Island.  Do you think you would like to live on an island that has no trees?  Why or why not?

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John Schneider, July 10, 2009

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

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Kodiak, AK to Dutch Harbor, AK
Date: July 10, 2009

Position 
Shumagin Islands

This sheet on my door lists my duty station in case of an emergency.
This sheet on my door lists my duty station in case of an emergency.

Weather Data from the Bridge 
Weather System: Partly Cloudy/Fog/overcast
Barometer: 1022.0
Wind: variable <8 kts
Temperature: 13.0º C
Sea State: 1 foot

Science and Technology Log 

Today I was not assigned to the launch details.  (The launch crews change frequently and the officers try to have the duty load between the ship and the launches balanced.  Launch duty is a minimum of an 8••• hour day on the water and it taxes the crew to have the same personnel repetitively deployed. I’m also not yet up to speed enough to have any use to data processing or ship-board data acquisition.  Sooooo, I took a self-directed tour of the interior of the ship!

Personal Log 

The computer area outside my stateroom
The computer area outside my stateroom

The ship is divided into Decks and Sections. The sections run from 1– 10 with the bow being 1 and the stern being 10. Decks run from A to G with G being the Flying Bridge and A being the bilge. My cabin is number C-5-106.  I’m on C-deck, just about amidships.  The sheet of paper above my cabin number is my duty station list for emergencies.  Each crewmember has one of these on their door and it tells where you belong in emergencies: Fire/AbandonShip/MOB (ManOverBoard). Just outside my door there is a small computer area about 10’ x 10’.  In that area are two terminals for the ship’s LAN.  Additionally there is room in this area for each member berthed there (there are four of us) to stow some gear (like the work vest/life jacket on the hook next to my door.) To the left is a yellow ladder and the sign behind it reads “Escape Hatch Do Not Block.” There are escape hatches like this all over the ship and above them the decks are kept unobstructed. 

The “chiller” where the food is refrigerated
The “chiller” where the food is refrigerated

Unlike a cruise ship, most of the ship is accessible to people on board.  Of course the cabins of other folks are off limits.  Violate this and the punishment is severe . . . you’d never get a position on another ship in the fleet again.  Also, officers’ offices are restricted.  Other than that, I spent a good couple of hours nosing around and learning my way around the ship. I found that EVERY spare nook and cranny is used for storage. If she had to, I bet the Fairweather could sail for months at a time with the only limiting factor being fuel.  Fairweather even makes her own fresh water by evaporating and re-condensing seawater in order to extract the salt. They should sell it as bottled water!

Hazardous materials remediation equipment in the quartermaster’s storage.
Hazardous materials remediation equipment in the quartermaster’s storage.

I found a “chiller” where food is refrigerated.  It’s HUGE – must have been 300-400 square feet!  The freezer was locked, but it must be comparably sized. When I saw the lock on the freezer door I thought of the movie The Caine Mutiny with Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg (“they had the keys to the food locker. They ate the strawberries.”  (If you’re not familiar with the movie it is certainly worth renting!). I also found several smaller compartments where dry goods for the chefs were stored. There were cake mixes, spices, cases of condiments (including 3 flavors of Tabasco Sauce) . . . name it, and the chefs can find it!

If you look up through the circular hatch you can see the caged hazmat locker.
If you look up through the circular hatch you can see the caged hazmat locker.

Further forward I found the quartermaster’s stores. Line, chain, tools and an entire 250 square foot caged off area for Hazardous materials and asbestos remediation equipment.  I opened a hatch in the floor and there was a ladder that went straight down.  So, I went in to find another compartment of stores.  The shot below is from the bottom of that ladder, and you can see the caged hazmat locker up through the hatch.  In this lower compartment were survival coats and immersion suits, printer cartridges, more work vests and more. As I worked my way aft, I went into C-9 and C-10.  C-10 is the steering compartment and the rudder posts (those are the “axles” of the rudder that come up into the ship) are about a foot in diameter! There’s a motor just to turn them and for them to operate in tandem there is an 8” steel bar connecting them.  You can see it with the yellow stripes.  C-10 is also the home to the stern mooring lines, lubricants, hoses and power cables and spare propellers for the launches as well as the hydraulic motors for the winches and equipment on the fantail.

Just forward of C-10 is C-9. C-9 has dozens of parts drawers with thousands of parts and fittings for all over the ship.  It is also the home to the exercise equipment.  The crew has figured out how to cram just about everything they need into the compartment.  Free weight, Pilates balls, punching bag, speed bag, treadmill, and weight bench! There are even a few bicycles hanging from the overhead that are used in port.

This is the part of the ship called the steering compartment which houses the machinery that controls the direction of the ship.
This is the part of the ship called the steering compartment which houses the machinery that controls the direction of the ship.

To close the story (I’ll have to do your tour of decks D and up on a later day) I made it all the way down to A-Deck. A-Deck is the bottom of the ship.  It is accessed by going through a shower compartment forward on C-deck into a small, half-height, sloped-ceiling opening in which there is a 24-inch diameter hatch.  The 24-inch hatch connects with rungs welded into the wall and it goes straight down. Descend this ladder and your feet are on B-deck.  Open an even SMALLER hatch and you can see the inner bottom of the ship.  This compartment is only about 3••• feet tall, but I squeezed through the hatch and put my feet on the bottom.  In retrospect, I should have taken off my Crocs to see how cold the steel was.  I’ve been told that people actually go into this space to do work.  I think if I could wiggle my way in somehow, the only way to ever get me out would be to drydock the ship and cut me out through the bottom!

This room has many drawers that contain thousands of different parts and fittings for all over the ship. It also has the exercise equipment.
This room has many drawers that contain thousands of different parts and fittings for all over the ship. It also has the exercise equipment.
Here I am squeezing through the hatch that leads to the very bottom of the ship
Here I am squeezing through the hatch that leads to the very bottom of the ship
Here are my feet touching the bottom of the ship.
Here are my feet touching the bottom of the ship.

Questions for You to Investigate 

  1. Where does the term “scuttlebutt” (meaning rumors and gossip) come from?
  2. The survey technicians use the term NADIR a lot in regards to the multi-beam echo sounder.  What is a nadir?
  3. When was the Marine Mammal Protection Act passed?
  4. What was “Seward’s Folly” and how do you think it turned out for America?
  5. Which is closer to the Shumagin Islands, New York City or Moscow?  San Diego or Guam?
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John Schneider, July 9, 2009

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

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Kodiak, AK to Dutch Harbor, AK
Date: July 9, 2009

Position 
Shumagin Islands

Weather Data from the Bridge 
Barometer: 1022.3
Wind: light & variable
Temperature: 12.1ºC
Sea State: <1 foot

This top of this picture shows the area that has been surveyed, and the bottom half has not been surveyed yet.
This top of this picture shows the area that has been surveyed, and the bottom half has not been surveyed yet.

Science and Technology Log 

While part of the survey crew was doing more bottom sampling, launches 1010 and 1018 were deployed to acquire other data from areas ranging between 5 and 15 miles away.  The launch deployments today were for 8 hours and the chefs prepare to-go lunches for the crews. The Fairweather is well-suited to its task here in the Shumagins.  The crew is experienced at this and it shows. While the launches are away gathering data close to shorelines, the ship sails backand-forth across wide swaths of open ocean using the multi-beam sonar to document depth.  Some members of the crew call this “mowing the lawn” which is a perfect analogy (I like to think of it more like a Zamboni cutting the ice in a hockey rink!)

The swath covered by the multi-beam sonar can extend to 75º up from vertical on each side of the ship. As you can see in the picture, the top half of the screen is green. This is an area that has been surveyed with Multi-Beam Echo Sounders (MBES).  The white at the bottom is bottom that has not been surveyed. Fairweather is sailing a course from East to West on the screen and the MBES is sweeping a path indicated on the screen in orange. The colors are significant – they represent different depths. (If you look closely you can see a color bar on the left of the screen. Red=shallow, blue=deep.) the number on the right is the depth in meters.  Fairweather does all its bathymetry (<Greek bottom/depth + measure) in meters as they are the units of scientific analysis. Hopefully in the next few days I’ll get to have a better understanding.  Right now it kind of glazes over  . . . too much input! 

Deck Maintenance

Look Carefully - Blue writing!
Look Carefully – Blue writing!

A ship the size of the Fairweather (230 feet, 7 decks) has an enormous amount of maintenance required just to keep it ship-shape. The permanent crew of AB’s (Able Bodied Seaman,) engineers, stewards and officers keep the Fairweather spotless and running flawlessly. This morning there was need for a modification to a pulley used to deploy the bottom sampler.  It was constructed in a short amount of time. The marine environment is merciless on steel and the ship is constantly being stripped of old paint, primed and repainted.  Doing this requires that the old finish be removed with a “needle gun” which is a compressed air powered tool consisting of a 1.5cm diameter head of about 25 “needles.” The “needles” are more like 1 mm flathead finishing nails that bounce on the surface like mini-jackhammers.

By impacting the surface thousands of times a minute, old paint is loosened from the underlying steel and chips off. The really cool aspect of this is that the underlying steel isn’t even dented!  When I started on this piece of steel it was painted with one layer of primer and two layers of white paint.  Now it’s down to bare metal and the markings from the original construction of the davit are clearly legible! After being stripped, a coat of anti-oxidation paint is applied, then primer, then one or more coats of paint. The crew never stops and the condition of the Fairweather is a testament to their diligence.

Personal Log 

The weather is absolutely perfect. It is sunny, warm, calm seas.  I’m sure it can be (and probably will be) worse at some time during the trip, but for now everyone is soaking it all in!  The Fairweather has a ship’s store with some snacks, necessities, T-shirts and other items.  It’s open periodically (announced on the PA) and I’ll be sure to hit it up before leaving Dutch Harbor (but I’ve got to get to an ATM – they don’t take American Express.)  😉

Animals (or other cool stuff!) Observed Today 

Whales about a mile off the bow – not close enough to see well – brittle stars, tube worms, more coral(!) and the daily dose of sea birds. This morning there was a bit of time when some fog was rolling over a mountain island about 10 miles away and it looked like the fog was just cascading over the top from the other side.  Gorgeous!

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John Schneider, July 8, 2009

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

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Kodiak, AK to Dutch Harbor, AK
Date: July 8, 2009

Position 
Small boat/launch operations vicinity; Herendeen Island (Shumagin Islands Group)

Weather Data from the Bridge 
Wind: light & variable
Temperature: 12.7ºC
Sea State: 1 foot

National Ocean Service Benchmark
National Ocean Service Benchmark

Science and Technology Log 

Today I’ll be heading out on the Ambar (an aluminum hulled inflatable) to check on a tide gauge off Herendeen Island.  It might get chilly being off the Fairweather, but the weather has been fantastic since we left. Waves <1 foot, winds below 5 or 6 knots.  Weather actually got better as we went to the tide station.  (I’ll try to get a good shot of each of the launches.) The tide station is a remarkably simple in concept, yet a terribly complex operation to execute. A month ago, Fairweather personnel installed a tide station on Herendeen Island. This involved sending a launch to the island where personnel did the following setup work:

The tide gauge interface being downloaded to a weather/shockproof laptop computer
The tide gauge interface being downloaded to a weather/shockproof laptop computer
  1.  Drill a 1/2 inch hole 3” deep into a solid piece of granite and set a bronze bench mark into it.
  2. Drill 3 more holes into a huge granite boulder at the water’s edge. Construct, on that boulder, a vertical tide gauge with markings every centimeter, ensuring that the bottom of the gauge is both lower and higher than the tide should go.
  3. Precisely and accurately determine the height of the benchmark in relationship to the heights on the tide gauge.
  4. Send a diver down below the lowest tide levels and install a nitrogen-fed orifice connected to a hose and secure it to the sea floor.
  5. Connect the hose to a pressurized tank of nitrogen on shore.
  6. Install a solar power panel near the station with a southern exposure.
  7. Install the data acquisition interface. This piece of equipment forces a single nitrogen bubble out of the orifice every six minutes (one-tenth of an hour) and measures the pressure it takes to release the bubble which is then used to calculate the depth of the water (as a function of pressure.)

Collected data are automatically sent by satellite to NOAA. A month later, the survey team re-visits the site and performs a series of 10 visual observations coordinated with the automated sequences of the nitrogen bubble data recorder.  These visual observations are then compared to the automated data acquired.  If their statistical differences are within accepted parameters, the data are considered valid and will be used further.  If not, the data are discarded and collection is re-started. 

It's a little weird to see the Ambar leave after dropping us off on an island that has seen very few footprints!
It’s a little weird to see the Ambar leave after dropping us off on an island that has seen very few footprints!

Not only is the process painstaking, but the technology and Research & Development needed to design the equipment must have been extremely difficult. However, given the amount of our nation’s dependence on marine commerce and movement of goods, it is time and effort more than well spent. Once we returned to the ship, I was able to lend a hand on the fantail (that’s the aft area of the deck where a LOT of work gets done) where the survey team was collecting samples of the ocean bottom.  Bottom sapling is done at specific locations proscribed by NOAA guidelines for coastal waters.  It is important for mariners to know the type of bottom in an area in case they need to anchor or engage in commercial fishing. 

Bottom samples are collected using a Shipek Grab.  This 130-pound tool captures a 3-liter sample of the bottom. The scoop is spring loaded on the surface and when it strikes the bottom a very heavy weight triggers the scoop to close, picking up about 1/25 of a square meter of bottom. Bottom characteristics are then recorded with the position and will eventually be placed on nautical charts.  Sometimes even small animals get caught in the grab. Today we saw brittle stars, tube worms and a couple of little crabs.  However, the biggest surprise to me was finding numerous small pieces of CORAL in the samples!  I certainly did not expect to see coral in ALASKAN waters!

Personal Log 

A piece of coral on a pebble. (It's on a 3x5 file card for scale.)
A piece of coral on a pebble. (It’s on a 3×5 file card for scale.)

Lest you think that it’s all work and no play, we anchored tonight after a 12 hour+ work day.  With sunset at around 2330 hrs (11:30) there was still time for some fishing (nothing was kept but we caught a couple small halibut) and movies in the conference room.  There are movies aboard almost every night as well as closed circuit images from 4 areas of the ship.  I’ve also started taking pictures of the menu board every night but won’t post all of them because of space limits on my file size – besides, you all simply wouldn’t believe how well we are fed on the Fairweather. Just as an example: how does blackened salmon wraps sound for lunch??? Oh yeah!!! (You have permission to be jealous!)

Coming back, the Fairweather, after being out of sight from the Ambar, is a welcome sight!
Coming back, the Fairweather, after being out of sight from the Ambar, is a welcome sight!

Animals (or other cool stuff!) Observed Today 

Saw a whale in the distance, quite far off, just before lunch. Two seals a couple hundred meters aft of the port quarter. While at the tide station we saw two whales’ spouts near the shoreline, one seal poked his big ol’ head up from the kelp bed and checked us out a couple of times, saw a bunch of loons, cormorants and puffins, and while at the tide station, Dave Francksen (a very helpful member of the survey team) caught sight of an octopus. 

This octopus was about 2 feet across from tentacle-tip to tentacle-tip and changed color when it got over the spotted light-colored rocks.
This octopus was about 2 feet across from tentacle-tip to tentacle-tip and changed color when it got over the spotted light-colored rocks.

Questions for Your Investigation 

What phylum and class are octopi?  Are Brittle Stars?

What “day shape” does the Fairweather display when anchored?  When conducting survey operations?

What do you call the kitchen on board a vessel?

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Stacey Klimkosky, July 7, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Stacey Klimkosky
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 7 – 24, 2009 

Mission: Hydrographic survey
Geographical area of cruise: Pavlov Islands, Alaska
Date: July 7, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge 
Position: 57°36969N, 154°41.154W
Weather: Overcast, Foggy
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind: North 17 knots Swells: 2-3’
Waves: 1-2’
Barometric pressure: 1021.4 mb
Air temperature: Wet bulb=10.6°C; Dry bulb=10.6°C

Science and Technology Log 

The Rainier’s a heavy ship!
The Rainier’s a heavy ship!

Finally we are underway, having pushed off of the dock in Seward around 1500 on Monday, July 6. The cruise time to the area where RAINIER and her crew will be conducting hydrographic surveys is approximately 40 hours.  The distance is 519 nautical miles.  (One mile on land = 0.869 nautical miles, so 1nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles).  Thus far, we have traveled approximately 240 nautical miles in a time of 19 hours—just about ready to finish passing Kodiak Island to the port (left) side.

In the meantime, there is plenty to do aboard— learning about the many aspects of safety aboard a working vessel being the most important.  NOAA personnel new to the ship and guests watched a variety of safety videos as well as received our safety gear. My closet, which was fairly empty yesterday morning, is now stuffed with a survival suit (a.k.a. The Gumby Suit); a Float Coat (a warm orange coat that provides both buoyancy and warmth if you “go into the drink”, or fall overboard) and an inflatable safety vest that I will wear whenever I am working inside the cabin on one of the launches once the surveys begin.  We also had our abandon ship and fire drills. It’s very similar to the fire and safety drills we do in school.  Everyone has a specific place to meet (muster) and some have specific jobs to do or items to bring.  Like the sign on the fantail of the ship says: TEAMWORK SAFETY FIRST!

Alaska has many jagged volcanic mountains.
Alaska has many jagged volcanic mountains.

I’ve also had time to begin speaking to different members of the crew—their responsibilities, how they arrived on RAINIER, and what the hydrographic surveys will be like.  One of the most interesting conversations was with Steve Foye, a Seaman Surveyor.  Steve told me that RAINIER is scheduled for a complete mid-life repair after this year’s survey season is completed in September.  RAINIER will then go into dry dock and the repairs and changes will begin.  The entire inside of the ship will be gutted and remodeled.  While all of that is going on, a decision has to be made—where will RAINIER’s homeport be?  Steve brought up quite an interesting point: a port that has brackish (part salt/part fresh) water is better for the ship.  Why? When a ship is at sea for long periods of time, creatures such as barnacles cement themselves to the hull.  It’s essential to remove them; however, the process is costly—both in time and money. Having moving fresh water along the ship’s hull while docked for the “off season” will eliminate the barnacles. But there’s another problem—after a winter docked in fresher water, algae and plant material starts to grow where the barnacles once were.  Solution? Begin a new survey season and sail the ship in salt water.  The plant material is then eliminated, but guess what starts to come back?  An interesting example of a cycle.

Personal Log 

It’s great to finally be a Teacher at Sea!  Not a Teacher on a Plane, or Teacher on a Train, or Teacher at Port.  I’ve been waiting a long time for this to get underway.  Thus far, the entire experience has been new.  I’ve had the opportunity to see some amazing scenery—the landscape is so different from that of Cape Cod, Massachusetts! Jagged volcanic mountains literally rise up from the water.  I’ve also seen some wildlife including bald eagles, otter, Dahl sheep, Arctic terns and a moose on the Alaska Railroad train that I took from Anchorage to Seward. We also passed three glaciers. The glacial melt off causes nearby lakes and streams to take on a milky light green color.

As far as being on the ship, this is my first at sea experience. I’m finding that it really reminds of my first days of college—living in close quarters; trying to get into a routine with a roommate; learning where things are and how schedules operate; figuring out the hierarchy of individuals. The constant movement is also something new.  I actually had a couple of fun rides in my bunk during the night!  I wonder if that’s what a Nantucket sleigh ride felt like. (A Nantucket sleigh ride, for those who don’t know, is a term from whaling days.  After a whale was harpooned, it would often take off, pulling the small boat of men behind it until the whale tired.)

Did You Know? 

  1. The NOAA ship RAINIER is 231 feet overall. Her cruising speed is 12.5 knots and she can travel a range of 7000 nautical miles!  Medium sized survey ships are customarily named for a prominent geographic feature in the ship’s area. RAINIER’s namesake is Mount Rainier, a volcanic cone that rises 14, 410 feet above sea level in Washington State’s Cascade Range.
  2. Today, sunrise was approximately 0520 and sunset will be at 2314 (that’s 5:20am and 11:14 pm—plus the light lingers for awhile)  Imagine falling asleep at 10:00pm when the sun is still shining!
  3. You can follow the ship’s course by taking a look at the NOAA Ship Tracker . Click on RAINIER (RA).

Alaska Fun Facts 

  1. Seward, AK is located on Resurrection Bay, the northern-most ice-free bay in the US.  It was founded in 1902 by the surveyors of the Alaska Railroad as the ocean terminus of the railroad. Originally a gold rush encampment, the famous Iditarod Trail that miners took into the mountains began here.  To the east, Mount Marathon rises up 3,022 feet.  Every 4th of July, hundreds of runners scurry up and down Marathon to see who can claim bragging rights for a year.
  2. This year, Alaska celebrates its 50th birthday. One of its original names was Alyeska (AlYES-ka), an Aleut word that means “great land”.