Tag: Kodiak

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Elli Simonen: Welcome to Alaska, July 12, 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

Location (In Port): 57⁰43.8384’N, 152⁰30.8319’W

Date: July 12, 2023

Hi Everyone, my name is Elli and this week, I arrived in Kodiak, Alaska and right now I am aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather.  This is my first time in Alaska as well as my first time being on a scientific research ship.  I teach high school Mathematics, specifically Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and AP Calculus at Special Music School, a public school located in New York City.  I also instruct two classes at the College and Graduate level as an adjunct lecturer at City College and Hunter College. My high school students are musically gifted and many go onto Music Conservatory Education.  I am constantly in awe of their talent, grit and perseverance in pursuit of becoming better musicians.  My students at the college and graduate levels are all learning how to be educators in the New York City school system.  Their sense of purpose, commitment and openness to new ideas is inspiring.

a view of Elli, from the shoulders up, on the deck of NOAA Ship Fairweather. In the background, we see another ship, water, and steep green hills rising beyond the far side of the port. Elli is wearing her NOAA Teacher at Sea hat, which gives away that this image has been reversed - the logo and the writing are backward.

Elli aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

I am a Math for America (MfA) Master Teacher and first heard of the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program (TAS) in 2019 through MfA – I researched the TAS program, and thought this is something I definitely want to do, and applied.  I was accepted in the 2020 cohort, but because of COVID was rolled over to 2023 so here I am, three and a half years later embarking on a hydrographic survey of the Pribilof Islands.  


I have been teaching math for 20 years and at various points have had experiences learning about the oceans and marine life.  I started my career as a Peace Corps Volunteer and lived in Zanzibar, Tanzania for 2 years.  In addition to teaching math, I was able to take students to study the coral reefs that surround the island through the Chumbe Environmental Education Program.  They snorkeled, learned about coral and how to preserve and protect this environment.  I also like to scuba dive and have completed over 90 dives at various places around the world– learning not only about shoreline habitat at each diving spot I visited, but how different facets of the ocean interact.  In 2019, I was awarded a Fund for Teachers Grant where I traveled to Australia, scuba dived and learned first hand about the Great Barrier Reef.  And now, I’m still on a journey to learn more about the world’s oceans and marine environments, this time with NOAA in the waters around Alaska.

view of a diver (Elli) underwater in front of a coral head. sand and coral all appear with a blue-green tint. In the foreground, swimming closer to the photographer than Elli is, is a fish, perhaps a kind of grouper. It is the focus of the photo.

​Elli scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia​

So, what is a hydrographic survey you might ask?  And where are the Pribilof Islands?  The Pribilof Islands are four volcanic islands about 300 miles west of mainland Alaska in the south Bering Sea and about 250 miles north of the Aleutian Islands; the two largest islands are Saint Paul and Saint George.  A Hydrographic survey uses sonar data to interpret the ocean floor and coastlines which then is used to produce Nautical charts. The Pribilof Islands Hydrographic Survey will map the ocean floor and surrounding coastline to provide updated accurate charts of this area. The Pribilof Islands have not been mapped since the 1950’s.  


I will be onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather.  The ship embarks in Kodiak, Alaska and disembarks in Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska.  I am very much looking forward to spending time with the Science team on NOAA Ship Fairweather and learning about what everyone does on a NOAA ship.  I plan on taking this information back with me to New York City and bringing this real-world research experience into my classroom.

NOAA Ship Fairweather at a dock; the dock, a building, and a line of trees are visible beyond. This photo was taken at some distance across the water, capturing the full length of the ship. We can see one survey launch vessel in the water adjacent to the ship. Another remains mounted on board.

NOAA Ship Fairweather

Did you know?

  • NOAA has three different types of Scientific research ships: Hydrographic surveys, Fisheries survey and Oceanographic research
  • Since 1990, the TAS program has sailed more than 850 teachers aboard their ships.  Teachers have come from every state and 4 territories.  (For any fellow teachers reading this, TAS has cohorts every year and applications are due in the Fall.)
  • Each summer more than a million northern fur seals arrive at the Pribilof Islands to breed and raise their young, representing the largest gathering of sea mammals in the world. (https://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Cities-Towns/Pribilof-Islands)
  • About 230 fishing vessels take shelter on the southwest shore of St. George during Crabbing Season.
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Laura Guertin: A shout-out to Oscar Dyson, the person and the ship, June 13, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Laura Guertin

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

June 10 – June 22, 2023


Mission: 2023 Summer Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Walleye Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska
Geographic Area of Cruise: Islands of Four Mountains area, Western Gulf of Alaska
Location (in transit, location recorded on June 12 at 2PM (Alaska Time)): 56o 45.1227′ N, 155o 38.3353′ W

Data from 2PM (Alaska Time), June 12, 2023
Air Temperature: 7.72 oC
Water Temperature (mid-hull): 6.8oC
Wind Speed: 18.71 knots
Wind Direction: 201.27 degrees
Course Over Ground (COG): 207.53 degrees
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 11.46 knots

Date: June 13, 2023

Photo facing the front of the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson while it was in dock in Kodiak, Alaska
NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson as it docked in Kodiak, Alaska, on February 6, 2022

The journey of NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson begins as we are underway from Kodiak Island and head out along the Aleutian Islands.

Every NOAA ship has a name – but who is behind the name? I dedicate this blog post to Oscar Dyson (both Oscar Dysons, actually!)

Here’s a short summary from the NOAA Office of Marine & Aviation Operations on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson:

Launched in 2003 and commissioned in 2005, the ship is named after Alaskan fisherman Oscar Dyson, a pioneer in Alaska’s fishing industry for half a century before his death in 1995. A well-known fishing activist and an industry advisor to government, Dyson was dedicated to improving the industry for the many Alaskans who make their living at sea. The ship is homeported in Kodiak, Alaska.

Peggy Dyson, wife of Oscar, christened the ship at its launch on October 17, 2003, in the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Moss Point, Mississippi. The first commanding officer was Commander Frank Wood.

Oscar Dyson (and Peggy!)

Oscar Dyson made an impact in Kodiak and across Alaska. I found a transcript of a Congressional Record read in 1995 less than two weeks after his passing with a detailed biography. There is a scholarship named for Oscar and his wife Peggy managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a description I found online in 2022 that reads:

Oscar Dyson was a dedicated fisherman who turned his hobby into a business and his life’s work for 50 years. A Kodiak resident, Oscar had ample opportunity to partake in Alaska’s expansive fishing opportunities, but he also pioneered the crab fishing industry in Alaska. Oscar co-founded All Alaskan Seafoods (one of the largest seafood processing companies in the state) and built military bases during World War II …. The Oscar Dyson Memorial Scholarship was created in his honor and funded by numerous fishing and seafood companies within Alaska — a fitting homage to a man who did so much to develop Alaska’s marine economy. Oscar thought of himself — first, last and always — as a fisherman.

There is a dock in Kodiak named after Oscar Dyson with a marker to note his contributions and achievements (*photos taken by me as I spent some time exploring Kodiak in 2022)

  • A photo of a blue sign with orange lettering that reads: Oscar's Dock. All vessels much schedule dock use with Harbormaster. 486-8080 or 12 VHF Dock fees apply to all vessels. The sign is mounted in front of a chain link fence. We can see a snowy hill in the background,.
    Entrance sign for Oscar’s Dock
  • a large parking lot at Oscar's Dock; a pile of old snow in the middle of the parking lot; snowy hills and mountains in the background; a bright blue sky with many clouds
    View of the dock
  • Oscar's Dock, Dedicated to the memory of a pioneer Kodiak fisherman. Oscar Dyson 1913-1995. Oscar Dyson's vision resulted in the construction of this dock. His civic leadership and insight also contributed to many other public harbor facilities including Fishermen's Terminal, the Container Cargo Facility, and Saint Herman Harbor with its breakwater. Each facility helped Kodiak become the State of Alaska's largest commercial fishing port.National Fisheries Institute Person of the Year - 1995.
    Memorial plaque for Oscar Dyson
  • another view of the parking lot with
    View beyond Oscar’s Dock

And I’d like to give a shout-out to his wife Peggy, who made significant contributions of her own to the fishing community. Between 1965 and 2000, Peggy Dyson broadcast the marine weather from her house in Kodiak, twice a day over single sideband radio. She also reported sports scores and election results! The Kodiak Maritime Museum has a wonderful description of Peggy, including an audio clip of her voice, on their webpage, Peggy Dyson, Voice of the North Pacific. And NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson has a launch named Peggy D!

Photo of small boat Peggy D secured in its cradle on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
The launch Peggy D on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson plays a major role in collecting data used in the management of Alaska pollock, one of the world’s largest commercial fisheries. At 208-feet in length with a cruising speed of 12 knots and an endurance of 40 days at sea, Oscar Dyson can support 24 crew and 15 scientists (*see additional Specifications). The six onboard laboratory spaces include: a wet lab, dry lab, electronics/computer lab, bio lab, acoustics lab and hydrographics lab. Oscar Dyson sails primarily in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.

In 2016, NOAA put together a Photo story: Virtually cruise aboard a NOAA ship for a fish trawl survey to show how scientists collect fish science data at sea, with all photos from Oscar Dyson.

I look forward to sharing more information about the ship and stories from my time at sea. But I don’t want to repeat the incredible work done by educators that sailed before me. Here are some excellent recent blog posts by other educators that have sailed on Oscar Dyson that describes everything from the facilities to the work involved on a fisheries survey:

Looking at the back of the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
View of NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson just as she docked in Kodiak, Alaska, on February 6, 2022

Old Ships, New Ships

The first NOAA ship I sailed on, Thomas Jefferson, started its life as US Naval Ship Littlehales. From January 1992 to January 2003, Littlehales recorded 85,018 hydrographic survey miles along the coast of Africa and in the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Littlehales ended its time with the Navy and then renamed Thomas Jefferson and officially entered the NOAA fleet on July 8, 2003 (*see About Thomas Jefferson which also explains why the ship was named after the former U.S. president).  

Oscar Dyson was new construction, the first of four planned 208-foot NOAA fisheries survey vessels.

In my first post, I mentioned how I’m reflecting upon this year being the 150+-year celebration of H.M.S. Challenger expedition. Launched in 1858, Challenger was a small warship with cannons assigned to coastal patrols and to support larger ships in the British naval fleet, not built for a science expedition. Modifications to Challenger were funded by the British government through the navy to include laboratories and accommodations for six civilian scientists to join the 250 British Royal Navy sailors and officers for the 3+ year journey at sea. I could not find information on why the navy chose “Challenger” as the name of the ship – but this ship’s name was the inspiration for the NASA space shuttle, the lunar module on the Apollo 17 mission, the scientific ocean drilling vessel Glomar Challenger, and even Sir Author Conan Doyle is said to have named his recurring character Professor Challenger after this ship. (*information from Macdougall, 2019)

Sketch of ship H.M.S. Challenger from Challenger Expedition Report, published in 1800's
Sketch of H.M.S. Challenger. Image in public domain, from Freshwater and Marine Image Bank
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Erica Marlaine: One Fish, Two Fish, June 26, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Erica Marlaine

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

June 22 – July 15, 2019


Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska

Date: June 26, 2019


Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 58º 33.15 N
Longitude: 152º 58.87 W
Wind Speed: 17.5 knots
Wind Direction: 229º
Air Temperature:  13º Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1020.2 mb


Science Log

Today we did our first two trawls of the trip. According to Webster’s dictionary, trawl is defined as the act of fishing with a trawl net, which is a large conical net dragged along the sea bottom in order to gather fish or other marine life. It can also mean the act of sifting through something as part of a search.  Both definitions are accurate for what is done on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson.

The Oscar Dyson uses a variety of nets to catch the fish being studied. One net that has been used for many years is called an Aleutian Wing Trawl (or an AWT). The mesh size of the AWT is ½ inch.  Attached to the AWT net are smaller nets (called pocket nets) which also have a ½ inch mesh size.  The new net being used this year is an LFS 1421, which has a 1/8 inch mesh size. It has 9 pocket nets, also with 1/8 inch mesh size. It is thought that fewer fish will escape the LFS net because the mesh size is smaller, in turn allowing the scientists to get a more accurate picture of the fish and other creatures living in the areas they are trawling.  Trawls are being conducted using both nets (back-to-back) to determine the extent to which the new net is more efficient and provides a more accurate measure.

AWT and LFS nets
The older AWT net is on the left. The newer LFS 1421 net is on the right.

Once the nets are pulled in, the processing begins. The main net (i.e., codend) is emptied onto the large processing table in the fish lab.

catch on the processing table
One catch on the processing table.

Each pocket net is emptied into a separate plastic bin.  The fish are then identified, weighed, measured, and sometimes dissected in order for us to accurately determine the age and sex of each fish.

Evan with plastic bin
Volunteer Biologist Evan Reeve with a pocket net bin.

Otoliths (ear bones) and ovaries are collected from a sample of the walleye pollock caught in the codend of the net. Otoliths allow scientists to determine the age of the fish.  Over time, ridges form on the otoliths, and are indicative of age in much the same way a tree’s age can be determined by counting the rings of its trunk. 

Ovaries are collected to be sent back to the lab as part of a long-term histology study which hopes to determine whether walleye pollock experience multi-batch spawning events (i.e., do pollock spawn more than one time) within or between seasons. Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, uses a microscope to study the anatomy of biological tissues. In contrast, gross anatomy looks at structures without a microscope.

After a trawl, scientists onboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson examine the ovaries with the naked eye to determine the reproductive stage of the walleye pollock that has been caught. There are 5 stages: Immature (not yet capable of spawning, typically age 0-2); Developing (beginning to develop the ability to spawn) Pre-spawning, Spawning, and Spent (completed spawning).  Once a pollock spawns, it begins the cycle again beginning at step 3 (pre-spawning). Additionally, the histology study also hopes to determine whether the spawning stages being designated by scientists during the cruise are in fact accurate.

Elementary Math Fun

Let’s say 200 total fish were caught in the new LFS 1421 net, including the nine pocket nets attached.

Pocket nets 1, 2 and 3 each had 20 age-0 pollock in them.

Pocket nets 4, 5 and 6 each had 13 lantern fish in them.

Pocket net 7 had 3 small herrings  in it.

Pocket nets 8 and 9 each had 2 age-1 pollock in them.

How many fish were in the codend or main part of the net?


Personal Log

As a Southern Californian, I imagined Alaska to be cold even in the summer, and packed sweaters and a big puffy winter coat.  Apparently shorts and t-shirts would have been more appropriate! The weather in Kodiak has been warm and beautiful, with the sun shining until midnight.

Barometer Mountain
Barometer Mountain, Kodiak, Alaska

My first day in Kodiak was a free day, so I joined the science team on a hike up Barometer Mountain, which many say is the most difficult hike in Kodiak.  It is 2100 feet straight up a very steep, rocky, brush-filled path, and then 2100 feet down that same, steep path.  It was quite the challenge, but the view from the top was magnificent.

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
My home for the next three weeks!

At present, there are 31 people onboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, including NOAA corps officers, engineers, deck personnel, cooks, scientists, interns, and me, the NOAA Teacher at Sea. The ship, which was originally launched in 2003, and commissioned into service as a NOAA ship in 2005, is named for Alaskan fisherman and fishing industry leader Oscar E. Dyson. It is one of the most advanced fisheries research vessels in the world, due in part to its acoustic quieting technology.  This allows scientists to monitor fish populations without concern that the ship’s noise will affect the behavior of the fish.

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Mark Van Arsdale: Kodiak, September 17, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Mark Van Arsdale

Aboard R/V Tiglax

September 11 – 26, 2018

 

Mission: Long Term Ecological Monitoring

Geographic Area of Cruise: North Gulf of Alaska

Date: September 17, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

This morning 25 knot winds from the NE, waves to 8ft, tonight calm seas variable winds, light rain

58.14 N, 151.35 W (Kodiak Line)

Science Log

Kodiak  

CTD (water chemistry) data visualized along the Kodiak line.
CTD (water chemistry) data visualized along the Kodiak line.

My wife and I have traveled to Raspberry and Kodiak Islands twice.  The island’s raw beauty, verdant colors, and legendary fishing make it one of my favorite places on Earth.  Its forests are dense, with huge hemlocks and thick growths of salmon berries.  The slopes are steep and covered with lush grasses.  Fish and wildlife abound.  As we moved our way down the Kodiak line, getting closer and closer to land, that richness of life was reflected in waters surrounding the Island.  In just fifty nautical miles we moved from a depth of a few thousand meters to less than one hundred.  Seabirds became more abundant, and we saw large groups of sooty and Buller’s shearwaters, some of them numbering in the thousands.  Sooty shearwaters nest in the southern hemisphere and travel half way across the planet to feed in the rich waters surrounding Kodiak.  Fin whales were also abundant today, and could be seen feeding in small groups at the surface. Our plankton tows also changed.  Deep sea species like lantern fish and Euphausiids disappeared and pteropods became abundant. We caught two species of pteropods that go by the common names – sea butterflies and sea angels.  Sea butterflies look like snails with clear shells and gelatinous wings.  Sea angels look more like slugs, but also swim with a fluttering of their wings.  Pteropods are an important part of the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem, in particular to the diets of salmon.

Sooty shearwaters as far as you can see.
Sooty shearwaters as far as you can see.

In the last decade, scientists have become aware that the ocean’s pH is changing, becoming more acidic. Sea water, like blood, is slightly basic, typically 8.2 on the pH scale.  As we have added more and more CO2 into the atmosphere, about half of that gas has dissolved into the oceans. When CO2 is dissolved in sea water if forms carbonic acid, and eventually releases hydrogen ions, lowering the waters pH.  In the last decade, sea water pH has dropped to 8.1 and is predicted to be well below 8 by 2050.  A one tenth change in pH may not seem like much, but the pH scale is logarithmic, meaning that that one tenth point change actually represents a thirty percent increase in the ocean’s acidity.   Pteropods are particularly vulnerable to these changes, as their aragonite shells are more difficult to make in increasingly acidic conditions.


A nice introduction to Pteropods

Personal Log

I chose teaching

We have been at sea now for one week. I feel adrift without the comforts and routines of family, exercise, and school. There are no distractions here, no news to follow, and no over-scheduled days.  There is just working, eating, and sleeping. Most of the crew and scientists on board seem to really enjoy that routine.  I am finding it difficult.

There was a point in my twenties where I wanted nothing more than to become a field biologist. I wanted to leave society, go to where the biological world was less disturbed and learn its lessons. I see the same determination in the graduate students aboard the Tiglax. When working, they are always hyper focused on their data and the defined protocols they use to collect it.  If anything goes wrong with tow or sampling station, we repeat it. You clearly need that kind of focus to do good research. Over time, cut corners or the accumulation of small errors can become inaccurate and misleading trends.

When I was in graduate school hoping to become a marine biologist, I was asked to be teaching assistant to an oceanography class for non-science majors. Never having considered teaching, the experience opened my eyes to the joys of sharing the natural world with others, and changed my path in ways that I don’t regret. I am a teacher; over the last twenty years it has come to define me. On this trip, they call me a Teacher at Sea, yet the title is really a misnomer.  I have nothing to teach these people, they are the experts.  Really, I am a student at sea, trying to learn all that I can about each thing I observe and each conversation I have.

Bowler's shearwater, photo credit Callie Gesmundo.
Buller’s shearwater, photo credit Callie Gesmundo.

 

Animals seen today

  • Fin whales
  • Lost of shearwaters (mostly sooty but also Buller’s), along with puffins, auklets, skua
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Tom Savage: Farewell Fairweather and the Drifter Buoy, August 23, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Tom Savage

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

August 6 – 23, 2018

 

 

Mission: Arctic Access Hydrographic Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Point Hope, northwest Alaska

Date: August 23, 2018

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude  87  43.9 N
Longitude – 152  28.3  W
Air temperature: 12 C
Dry bulb   12 C
Wet bulb  11 C
Visibility: 10 Nautical Miles
Wind speed: 2 knots
Wind direction: east
Barometer: 1011.4  millibars
Cloud Height: 2000 K feet
Waves: 0 feet

Sunrise: 6:33 am
Sunset: 11:45 pm

 

Science and Technology Log

Today we deployed the drifter buoy off the stern of the Fairweather off the southeast coast of Kodiak Island Alaska, at 3:30 pm Alaskan time zone. The buoy will be transmitting its location for approximately one year. During this time, students will be have the opportunity to logon and track its progress.

This project is very exciting for many of my students at the Henderson County Early College and elementary students at Atkinson Elementary (Mills River, NC) and Hillandale Elementary (Henderson County, NC) that have participated in my “Young Scientists” program.  Prior to my journey to Alaska, I visited those elementary schools introducing them to the mapping that we were going to collect and the important mission of NOAA.  As part of this outreach, students designed stickers that I placed on the buoy prior to deployment yesterday.  In addition, Ms. Sarah Hills, a middle school science teacher from the country of Turkey, is also going to track its progress.

An interesting note: my “Young Scientists” program was inspired in 2015 after participating in my first Teacher at Sea trip on board NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow. I would like to thank the NOAA Teacher at Sea Alumni coordinator Jenn Annetta and Emily Susko for supporting this effort!

 

Drifter buoy
Deploying the drifter buoy off the stern of the Fairweather – Photo by NOAA

All schools are welcome to track its current location. Visit the following site  http://osmc.noaa.gov/Monitor/OSMC/OSMC.html. In the upper left hand corner enter the WMO ID# 2101601 and then click the refresh map in the right hand corner.

The last day at sea, crew members had the opportunity to fish from the ship in a region called the “Eight Ball,” which is a shoal just of to the southwest of Kodiak Island.  Within ten minutes, the reels were active hauling in Halibut.  I have never seen fish this big before and Eric reeled in the biggest catch weighing around 50 lbs! Alaska is a big state with big fish!

Halibut
Eric hauling in his catch! Photo by Tom

Personal Log

This is my last day on board the Fairweather. For three weeks I witnessed a young NOAA Corps crew orchestrate an amazing level of professionalism and responsibilities to ensure a productive mission. While on board and I met new friends and I have learned so much and will be bringing home new lessons and activities for years to come.  The crew on board the ship has been very warm, patient and very happy to help answer questions. I am very honored to be selected for a second cruise and have enjoyed every minute; thank you so much!  As we sailed into Kodiak Island, witnessed an eye catching sunrise, wow!

Kodiak Sunrise
Sunrise, Kodiak Island – photo by Tom

 

I wish the crew of the Fairweather,  Fair winds and happy seas.

Tom