Tag: krill

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Amber LaMonte: A Front Row Seat At Sea = Memorable Professional Learning, July 13, 2026

Amber, wearing her blue Teacher at Sea t-shirt, poses on the dock in front of NOAA Ship Oregon II. She stands with her hand shielding her eyes as she looks off to right of the photo. We can see the NOAA logo, the letters N O A A, and the ship number R 226 painted on the ship's white hull. The sky is a bold NOAA shad of blue but mostly obscured by dramatic clouds rising up from behind the ship.

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Amber LaMonte

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

Sail Dates: May 31 – June 10, 2026

Mission: Northeast Ecosystem Monitoring Survey (EcoMon)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Mid-Atlantic, Southern New England & Gulf of Maine
Date: July 13, 2026

Reflection

The NOAA Teacher at Sea professional learning experience reinvigorated my passion for exposing students to the relevance of current scientific research.  It allowed me to see and share what goes on behind the scenes, thereby reducing some of the intimidation students may feel when pursuing research opportunities with a prestigious organization.

I am inspired by the teams of scientists, resource managers, navigators, engineers and communicators who work together to protect our oceans. NOAA’s work in forecast predictions, fisheries management and safe navigation demonstrates how many different skills and areas of expertise contribute to a shared goal of ocean conservation.

Science Team aboard back deck of NOAA Ship Pisces in orange foul weather gear.

Many Minds, One Goal

The Science Team is pictured here: Artem Dzhulai, Nick Metheny, Rowan Cirivello, Ava Cieplinski, Katey Marancik, Audy Peoples, Amanda Jacobson, Olivia Robson, Zhitao Yu and Amber LaMonte

Four young women wearing life jackets are on a boat, actively pulling on a rope while surrounded by water and a cloudy sky.
Student team hauling a sample (photo courtesy of York High School)

This collaborative approach highlights my message: regardless of individual interests in science, technology, communication or leadership, students can have a meaningful role in protecting marine environments. My goal is to facilitate learning experiences that help students recognize unique strengths, develop critical thinking skills and understand how teamwork with diverse talents can contribute to the stewardship of our ocean resources.

magnified view of two juvenile squid on a class dish
Juvenile squid sample
a man stands at a lab bench. in his left hand is a wooden block with a grid of hole drilled into it, containing about 20 glass vials. with his right hand, he holds up one vial to examine it further. on the bench in front of him and the shelves on the wall are more cases of vials.
Lead Scientist Audy Peoples
NOAA logo printed on a welcome mat on a floor
NOAA Narragansett Office
a warehouse room filed with cardboard boxes stacked on the floor and on metal shelves.
Warehouse of zooplankton samples
close-up view of a glass vial containing preserved krill
Krill Sample

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my sail experience was completing technical and laboratory tasks alongside scientists and technicians, which allowed me to develop meaningful questions. My sail experience was followed by a visit to NOAA’s Narragansett Lab, where I viewed the extensive collections of preserved plankton. It is one of the largest archives of plankton and oceanographic data on the East Coast. Remember all the zooplankton samples from the bongos?

Book cover titled 'Longstanding Polish-American Research: Oceans and Atmosphere' featuring a blue background with a world map and illustrations of various fish.
https://bibliotekanauki.pl/chapters/2129737

And do you recall that those samples are sent to Poland for classification? Well, once sorted, they are returned to and cataloged by the lab in Rhode Island. I was gifted a book that highlights 50 years of Polish-American research collaboration. The studies are multidisciplinary and further highlight the teamwork behind understanding and protecting our ocean. The ability to discuss with scientists the details of their research and how the survey data will be applied to their team’s planned publications has informed my design of future lesson plans.

Another aspect that completely filled my cup of teacher inspiration was being able to share my days in real time with my students. Participating in the program during the last two weeks of the school year gave me a captive student audience, who were genuinely enjoying learning through my experience. Several blog posts were published for them to read in class and learn about the science of the sail. Additionally, I asked the students to create challenge cards on blank playing cards. They ranged from taking random pictures & predicting which species I might see, to blogging about my meals, OOTD (outfit of the day), social media dances and tours of the ship. These were shared daily on our school’s science Instagram stories.

Global Drifter Tracking

What excites me most about the Global Drifter Program is the opportunity to bring authentic science into my classroom. At York High School, we will continue to follow the three drifters I had the opportunity to deploy from NOAA Ship Pisces with our own dedicated webpage. The data these instruments provide are essential for validating satellite observations and improving forecasting models. And now, rather than simply learning about ocean currents with a lecture, students can follow active drifters, analyze authentic data in near real time and make observations based on the same information used by scientists. There is something incredibly powerful about giving students access to live data and inviting them to ask questions, identify patterns, and draw conclusions.

An image displaying a Drifter ID Card for Drifter #1, showing deployment information and data collection details, superimposed on a map indicating the location in the United States with trajectory and sampling area graphs. The card notes the current lifetime of 34 days.
Drifter #1
Drifter ID card showing deployment information for Drifter #2. It includes details such as IMEI, ID, WMO number, and the ship 'RV PISCES.' The card features coordinates, deployment date, and graphs depicting raw data, sampling area, and recent trajectory. It is superimposed on a map of U.S. Atlantic ocean. The drifter card indicates a lifetime of 33 days.
Drifter #2
Map showing the full trajectory of Drifter #3 with blue square indicating deployment location and red circle representing current position as of July 13, 2026. The trajectory zigzags from southeast of Massachusetts (~66 degrees W, 39 degrees N) to southeast of Greenland (~47 degrees W, 41 degrees N)
Drifter #3

Above, you can see the trajectory of each drifter after approximately 1 month. Drifter #1 is off the coast of Pennsylvania; Drifter #2 appears to have followed me home towards the Chesapeake Bay and Drifter #3 has gotten into the flow of the Gulf Stream and is traveling to the Northeast Atlantic.

Future

A young man in a hoodie interacts with a colorful display at an exhibit, while a large sign on the wall reads 'WE ARE IMPACTFUL.'
Maritime Field Trip (photo courtesy of York High School)
A student measuring substances in plastic cups labeled with different names, with a balance scale and clipboard in a science classroom.
Ocean Acidification Lab (photo courtesy of York High School)
A group of teenagers and young adults gathered on a ship deck, smiling for the camera, with a cloudy sky and buildings in the background.
Maritime Club (photo courtesy of York High School)
Magnified view of transparent shells and bubbles, showcasing intricate textures and colors.
Pteropod sample collections under the microscope aboard Pisces
A hand holding a dark bottle labeled 'SURFACE' over a clear cup, with additional cups and a machine in the background.
Filtering phytoplankton from water samples collected by Rosette Niskin bottles.

Looking ahead, I am energized by the many ways I can extend this experience into my classroom, school community and professional practice. I am especially excited to engage students in investigations of “osteoporosis of the sea,”  aka ocean acidification, using pteropods, helping them understand how environmental changes impact marine ecosystems. I also plan to involve students in validating NASA satellite imagery through phytoplankton collection data, giving them the opportunity to contribute to authentic scientific research while strengthening their data literacy skills.

Beyond the classroom, I hope to inspire students through our Maritime Club, creating opportunities for hands-on exploration, environmental stewardship and connections to maritime career paths. And I will be sharing what I have learned with colleagues through a back-to-school professional development presentation for science teachers, highlighting the value of authentic, place-based learning experiences. As I continue to grow professionally, I also hope to share these experiences at future marine education conferences, connecting with other educators.

Personal

Two women holding a book titled 'A Good Catch' in front of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service sign.
Amber LaMonte and Ava Cieplinski at the Narragansett Lab with the children’s book “A Good Catch” by Taylor Morrison

One of the most unexpected treasures of my NOAA Teacher at Sea experience wasn’t just what I learned; it was connections with fellow blue minds. The picture above is a prime example of how those connections span over decades. Recent college graduate Ava Cieplinski, who served as a science volunteer on the sail, and I were gifted a children’s book, “A Good Catch,” that was illustrated and written in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries in 2011. From scientists and crew members to fellow educators who share a passion for discovery, the voyage created lasting connections that stretch far beyond the horizon.

There’s something about being surrounded by the ocean that puts everyone on the same wavelength. The salty air, the teamwork required and the calm, connected state inspired by water, described by Wallace J. Nichols as the Blue Mind. As a teacher, I’m returning home with more than data, photos and lessons for my students. I’m bringing back a community of ocean advocates, scientists and lifelong learners who remind me that the most meaningful discoveries often happen through human connection.

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Dorothy Holley: Fair Winds and Safe Sailing, August 15, 2025

Dorothy stands on the dock in front of the bow of NOAA Ship Pisces. we can see the NOAA logo, the letters N O A A, and the number (R) 226 on the hull. Dorothy wears a dark blue shirt with the NOAA logo on it. The sky is a solid bright blue.

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Dorothy Holley

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

July 31 – August 15, 2025

Blog Post #8

Mission: Northeast Ecosystem Monitoring Survey (EcoMon)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 15, 2025

Weather Data from Bridge:

First, Someone named Suzy asked if I am hopeful for the future of our oceans after seeing all the work that is done on my NOAA cruise. I am hopeful every day I get to go to school and see the brilliant young minds that are learning and developing so that they may work to solve our world’s problems. (Read more here). The dedicated people I’ve met through NOAA and on NOAA Ship Pisces remind me that we are using science in productive ways, like taking care of our oceans! Are you learning and doing your part? Thank you for reading and asking questions!

Dorothy, in her Teacher at Sea t shirt, life vest, and orange overalls, stands on deck, holding a sieve filled with sampled plankton. we see two small plankton nets stretched out on a small table behind her.
Dorothy and a plankton sieve

Second, the answers to the math problem from the previous BLOG: If we sorted through 1/8 of our Bongo net sample, and identified 20 krill, then we would estimate there to be 160 krill in the total sample. For part 2, the abundance is estimated as the number of krill expected per cubic meter. If the nets filtered through 5 cubic meters of water, we would expect to find 32 krill per cubic meter in this part of the ocean.  (Alert, we’ll soon be calculating energy density in Chemistry!)

two women sit in adjacent chairs on the flying deck, each looking through binoculars out toward the ocean. in front of them is table with a laptop and a large telephoto lens camera.
Observers Observing!

Science at Sea:  Purpose! On purpose! With purpose!

It is hard to believe that my two weeks onboard NOAA Ship Pisces have come to an end. In many ways, it seems like I have just started. But when I reflect on all that I have learned about the science being done at sea, I realize I have been here long enough for some important things to sink in! I’d like to share some of these things with you.

  1. Many of the Scientists I spoke with said that math wasn’t their thing. You don’t have to like math to do science, you do have to do some math, understand some math, check behind the computers on some math. There is a difference. We don’t live in a binomial world. You can’t say not liking math is a reason to not do math.
  2. Science is a process. It is not a list of boxes to check or things to do. Science is a way of looking at the world. Observe, analyze, reflect, repeat.
  3. Science can be used for good. NOAA Scientists are making our lives better.
  4. We need more scientists. Are you ready? I’m ready to start a new school year sharing the insights I’ve learned as a NOAA Teacher at Sea!
orange overalls scrunched down over two work boots await their next use. behind, there are more orange jackets and overalls hanging or resting on a surface.
Gear is ready for next time!

You do the Math: I’ve worked 12-hour shifts, 3pm-3am each day of the Summer2025 EcoMon meeting Scientists, doing science, seeing Science in action, and developing ways to connect my students with relative, real-world experiences. How many hours of professional development credit should I receive? OR Since a work day is considered to be 8-hours, how many days of “comp time” should I earn?  (Teachers in some schools can earn “compensatory time” for work done outside of the school day, to be used on teacher workdays, not on regular days with students.) Feel free to post a kind reply in the comments.

a small black sea horse sticks out amidst a mostly beige plankton sample on a sieve
a small seahorse floating in a shallow glass dish of water
a small seahorse floating in a shallow glass dish of water

Yes, that’s a sea horse!

Interesting Things: As a NOAA Teacher at Sea participant, I have had the privilege to work with an awesome Summer EcoMon 2025 crew. I have basked in the joy of focusing on science and ways to bring back some insights to my classroom in North Carolina. Some observations have come more organically than others. For example, on the Pisces, the mission is clear. Every department is working towards the goal of collecting our scientific data, but not in the same way. At school, our departments are also working, but sometimes our goals are in conflict… Increase test scores? Winning football season? Resume booster? Full stomachs? Social conduit? College acceptance? Understand the world? Develop skills? Create citizens? Workforce development? Avoid gun violence? Learn content?

group photo of seven NOAA Corps officers in blue uniforms lined up on the bridge of NOAA Ship Pisces
The Wardroom

NOAA Corps is responsible for operations, safety, and project completion (possibly like school administration) but they must rotate off the ship after 2 years and they don’t make decisions unilaterally. Their well-honed leadership comes in understanding the institutional knowledge of each department.

I wonder what would happen if our school systems invested in clear missions and departmental leadership. I would settle for “just” focusing on science! 😊

view through a round porthole window of ocean water that is mostly calm and pale blue, except for the wake of the ship. the sky reveals a pale sunset.
View from the Wet Lab

Teacher at Sea/ Career Spotlight:

As part of my Teacher at Sea work, I’ve created a game to help my students see many of the people and careers on the NOAA EcoMon cruises. In addition to the Science, NOAA Corps, Deck, and Engineering departments I’ve been able to highlight in my blog posts, the Stewards, Survey, and Electronic Technician departments are also mission critical.  Come to West Johnston to play my Career Exploration game.

I’ve also found ways to integrate real world skills and relevant examples into the content I teach. Next year specifically, we will be honing my “Death at Sea” Forensics Lesson and “Ocean Calorimetry” Chemistry lesson. Finally, I will be leading a session called “Come Sail with NOAA” at the NC Science Teacher’s Association PD conference in November. If you would like to learn more about applying to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea, or a Science Teacher in North Carolina, please come check us out. (read more here: NCSTA)

Dorothy takes a selfie on the deck of NOAA Ship Pisces. In the background, we see the ocean and the sky - though the sunset colors are pretty muted - and the bongo nets resting on a suface.
After our last data collection stop, we checked out the last sunset!

Personal Log: I am thankful for my community – those who have and continue to nurture, teach, and inspire me to observe, learn, enjoy, and be curious! This is going to be the best school year ever!!

moon and its reflection on calm blue waters. a large ship is visible on the horizon at a distance.
Fair winds and safe sailing!

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Joshua Gonzalez: A Tale of Two Hauls: August 13, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Joshua Gonzalez

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

August 11 – August 23, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 4)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Today’s Date: August 13, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 42° 06.3’N

Longitude: 124° 35.0′ W

Wind speed: 2.4 kts.

Wave height: 1-2 ft.

Air temp.: 12.3° C (54° F)

Sky: Fog

Science and Technology Log

While I was sleeping, the net that we helped set out was brought back in with a haul of hake.  Exactly what the morning crew was looking for!  It was almost entirely hake, which made the processing extremely straight forward.  Some might be inclined to think that this is exactly what science is supposed to look like. 

Fast forward to my shift again and shortly after we woke up, there was a haul that was ready to be brought in.  We were all very excited for our first chance to process a catch.  Well, this time when the net was brought up, it was awfully full.  We were excited about the possibility of going through the catch and finding our target CPS, Coastal Pelagic Species.  However, it was almost entirely full of krill, and did not have a single specimen of what we were looking for.  Now, some might think that this means our haul was a failure and/or it was bad science.

Those people would be wrong. While the first two hauls of this leg of the survey are diametrically different, they are both good.  Science requires good data.  Data is good when it is reliably accurate.  It doesn’t matter if it is larger numbers or zeros.  So, in our case, while we didn’t get the information we were looking for, we now know that what we did had a result of zero for our targeted CPS .  We also know that where we fished resulted in a catch of krill.  This is knowledge that we can use next time to help us get what we are after.  

a crewmember lowers a full trawl net, lined with orange buoys, onto the aft deck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. it is night time. we can see a few crewmembers wearing life vests and hard hats, but our view is obscured by the large net.
About to empty the first catch.
photo of a white plastic bin filled with thousands, probably tens of thousands, of krill.
A lot of krill.

In the second catch we did get a few different species.  We caught: North Pacific krill, moon jellyfish, and a handful of eulachon. The eulachon were all weighed and measured for length.  

Personal Log

Today is my brother’s birthday.  Happy birthday!  I am feeling much better.  I continue to take the sea sickness prevention medicine, but I think I have found my sea legs.  I am starting to feel like I know my way around NOAA Ship Shimada more and more, or at least the places I am supposed to go. 🙂 I was happy to make it from my bunk, down past the wet lab and acoustics lab, through the hall, past the mess, down some steps, through a room I never need to stop at, and to the laundry on my very first try!  Our ship even has two places to work out.  I am not brave enough to try a treadmill when the boat is rocking, but I did take an opportunity to do some jump rope. 

I am amazed by the engineers who think through everything that needs to be done to make a ship like ours work.  It is a maze of rooms, cords, and more, but all of it is well thought out and has a purpose. 

I was a little disappointed today.  We had a little extra time in between work during my shift so I went out to check on the stars, but it was foggy out so I could only see a few feet away.  But I am learning a lot and having a ton of fun.  It will be interesting to see what it will be like when we are getting more and larger hauls in a single shift. 

Also, it’s a big deal back in Milwaukee, but the Brewers have won 11 games in a row.  One more tonight means free burgers in the city!  When I spoke with my wife and kids, they were definitely hoping for a win tonight.  Let’s go Brew Crew!

Josh, wearing an orange rain coat, orange gloves, and gray beanie, stands at a metal table in the wet lab over an electronic fish measuring board. he looks down as he lines a slim fish up against the board to take its measurement.
Measuring a fish
Josh, wearing an orange rain coat, orange gloves, and gray beanie, stands at a metal table in the wet lab at an electronic fish measuring board. he looks up for a photo as he lines a slim fish up against the board to take its measurement. in the foreground is a blue tray with a pile of similar fish.
Enjoying my work in the wet lab

Did You Know?

The eulachon is also known as the candle fish.  It got the name from the fact that it is so oily that if you dry the fish out, you can light the tail on fire and it will burn like a candle.  In the past, the eulachon was prized for its oil.  The oil will even be solid at room temperature, similar to butter.

Can you identify this species?

close-up view of a single eulachon in a green plastic basket

You guessed it: Eulachon!

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Kiersten Newtoff: It Takes Two to Bongo, January 10, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 10, 2025
Current Location: 37° 35.83 N, 73° 39.83 W (you can follow us at Windy in real time!)
Weather from the Bridge: Waves are 3-5ft, 42°F, wind speed of 15.8kn, and we are traveling 9.9knph.

What is Zooplankton?

If you ask someone what their favorite marine animal is, I guarantee it’s either dolphins, whales, turtles, or sharks. And honestly, you can’t really blame them. The term charismatic megafauna exists for a reason. Fortunately, these animals have used their charisma to inspire us to protect them and their habitat. While they have been great stewards for conservation, they don’t tell the whole story of what’s happening in the ecosystem.

a close-up view of the bottom of a sample jar filled with krill in water; the tiny crustaceans, resemble small white shrimps, have piled up at the bottom
One example of zooplankton is small krill, as seen in this sample container.

While some of the research groups on the Pisces are focused on marine mammals and seabirds, The Bongonauts focus on zooplankton. Plankton just refers to any organism in the water that can’t swim against a current and ‘floats’ in the water column. You can then further split plankton into animal-like (zooplankton) or plant-like (phytoplankton). The marine food chain starts with phytoplankton, which get consumed by zooplankton, which might get directly eaten by a baleen whale, like humpbacks. Zooplankton may also get eaten by small fishes then larger fish that eventually are consumed by toothed whales. Identifying and quantifying the abundance of zooplankton helps us to understand the health of the food chain. There really aren’t any “Save the Zooplankton” movements happening because let’s be honest, it’s hard to get people to like microscopic organisms. But their downfall due to changes in ocean temperature, salinity, and currents will permeate to the top of the food chain of whales, dolphins, and other megafauna. If we wish to protect the ‘cute’ species, we need to protect their food too!

Let’s Get Ready to Bongo!

Here enters the bongo. If you’ve played Donkey Kong, then you already know what a bongo is.  A bongo is a set of two drums that are connected in the middle. In the marine world, what we do is beat on this drum set on the side of the boat and collect all the zooplankton that jump out of the water into collection buckets.

………………………..

Just kidding! But that would be cool.

Although we don’t have the musical bongo, we do have a plankton bongo! It was so named because there are two frames connected in the middle supporting the two plankton nets, kind of like a bongo drum. The nets are made of a mesh with openings that are 1/3 mm. As the nets travel in the water, the water can move through the mesh but larger organisms like zooplankton can’t. Part of the bongo apparatus is the CTD, which uses a series of sensors to measure conductivity, temperature, and depth. These oceanographic variables can help to explain the zooplankton communities we see.

a crewmember wearing an orange float coat and white hard hat looks over the rail of the ship as the paired bongo nets rise out of the water. It is nighttime, and we can only see a patch of the dark water illuminated by the ship's lights. A scientific probe is attached to the cable hoisting the paired nets.
Four women in float coats or life vests, reflective gear, tall boots, and hard hats pose for a photo on the aft deck of the ship. The paired bongo nets lay spread out on the deck. It is nighttime.
(Left) A bongo net is coming out of the water. The device you see on the rope is the CTD, (Right) The zooplankton team gets lots of support in deploying the bongo nets from the deck crew. Pictured (left to right): Amanda, Tanya, Tasha, and Kiersten.

Bongo time is during the evening and is deployed in the same general areas as the cetacean observations earlier in the day. This allows the scientists to make correlations between plankton communities and the cetaceans spotted earlier. We release the bongos in the evening as the speed needed for a successful deployment is around 3 knots, whereas the observation teams need to be at a minimum of 8 knots. Also, many zooplankton undergo a diel vertical migration (move upwards) in the evening, making it more likely to get a representative sample of zooplankton from the entire water column.

Bongos, a Haiku
gliding through water
collect plankton by bongo
hopefully, cool things

Meet the Bongonauts

a woman wearing an orange float coat and a white hard hat sits at a computer desk and looks at an array of monitors.
Amanda monitors the depth of the bongo so she can communicate with the boatswain when to start hauling it back to the boat.

On this cruise, Amanda and Lily make up the zooplankton team. Amanda is a Biological Science Technician and has been working with NOAA since 2018. During her undergraduate studies, she spent a semester abroad focused on marine science. As soon as she finished, she immediately began looking for marine jobs. Her first position was with NOAA focusing on commercial fisheries. A few years later in 2021, her contracting company had another position within NOAA that she switched to and started focusing on zooplankton.  One of the coolest things she’s seen in a bongo net was a strawberry squid, but don’t worry, it was promptly returned to the seas. She enjoys working with other groups on the science team to see what they are finding, and every time the nets come up there is excitement over what they may contain.

a woman lifts one sample jar out of a divided cardboard box and gazes down at the contents. Other jars in the boxes are topped with black lids and printed, detailed labels.
Lily examines the plankton spoils. Some are preserved in ethanol and others in formalin.

Lily is currently a sophomore at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The professor in one of her classes shared with her the opportunity to sail with the Pisces to volunteer on the zooplankton team and she took it up! Her future career goal is to understand the environmental impacts of cruise ships in port. Further along the line, she would like to get a Master’s in Library Science and be a children’s librarian. She chose Mass Maritime for their marine science program; other schools with similar programs were out of state or prohibitively expensive, but she feels like she’s made the right choice. Of all the things she’s told me, Mass Maritime seems really cool and gives lots of hands-on experience to their students.

Advice for Students

Amanda and Lily shared some of their insights for students who may want to work for NOAA some day.

  1. Look for jobs on Indeed and LinkedIn. If you are already working with a company, see if they have other positions that you might like.
  2. If you’re interested in marine science, go to a school that specializes in it. Avoid institutions that have it as a small program or just a minor, as you likely won’t be getting nearly as much hands-on experience as a school dedicated to it.
  3. Keep your opportunities open – you might think you like Marine Science now but that may change as you do field work.
  4. Even if an opportunity comes up that is not related to marine science, do things to give you any sort of field experience.
  5. You can volunteer with NOAA! There are lots of programs to explore.
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Michael Gutiérrez Santiago: Newport Hydrographic Line, August 18, 2022

Lea esta publicación en español: Michael Gutiérrez Santiago: Línea Hidrográfica de Newport, 18 de agosto de 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Michael Gutiérrez Santiago

 NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

August 12 – August 25, 2022


Mission: Pacific Hake Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Coasts of Washington and Oregon

Date: August 18, 2022


Weather conditions from the bridge:

Latitude: 4539.9725N
Longitude: 12422.9606W
Temperature: 63°F 
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Barometer:  1017.2mb

Michael poses for a photo to show off his gear: orange Grundens (rubber overalls) over a black sweatshirt, an orange life vest, a yellow hard hat, and sunglasses.
Ready for plankton sampling!

Science and Technology Log

Newport Hydrographic Line

One way scientists assess the health of our ocean’s ecosystems is to take samples of zooplankton and ichthyoplankton (fish eggs and larvae), both on the surface of the water and at depth. Observations of these plankton can inform us greatly about productivity at the bottom of the food chain, spawning location and stock size of adults, dispersal of larval fish and crabs to and away from nursery areas, and transport of ocean currents.

The Newport Hydrographic (Newport Line) is an oceanographic research survey conducted by NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Oregon State University scientists in the coastal waters off Newport, Oregon.

Researchers have collected physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic metrics along the Newport Line every two weeks for over 20 years. This twenty-plus year dataset helps us to understand the connections between changes in ocean-climate and ecosystem structure and function in the California Current.

Data from the Newport Line are distilled into ocean ecosystem indicators, used to characterize the habitat and survival of juvenile salmonids, and which have also shown promise for other stocks such as sablefish, rockfish, and sardine. These data also provide critical ecosystem information on emerging issues such as marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, hypoxia, and harmful algal blooms.

a map of the coast of Washington and Oregon. the land is shaded gray, while the water includes a few blue lines indicating underwater topography. Though there are not grid lines, labels mark the latitude lines from 43 degrees North to 47 degrees North and the longitude lines from 125 degrees West to 123 degrees West. Midway, between 44 and 45 degrees North, a short red line extends horizontally out from Newport to the 125th meridian. It's labeled "NH Line"
Newport line

Barometer of ocean acidification and hypoxia in a changing climate

Global climate models suggest future changes in coastal upwelling will lead to increased incidence of hypoxia and further exacerbate the effects of ocean acidification. The Newport Line time-series provides a baseline of biogeochemical parameters, such as Aragonite saturation state—an indicator of acidic conditions. Researchers can compare this baseline against possible future changes in the abundance of organisms (e.g., pteropods, copepods and krill) sensitive to ocean acidification and hypoxia.

Equipment used

  • a net, which includes long mesh tubing extending from a ring, hangs in the air from a point above the photo's frame. a crewmember, wearing hard hat and life jacket, grips the ring with his left hand and reaches toward a rope attached to the net with his right hand. three other crewmembers are visible around the net.
    Vertical/half meter net
  • a net, which includes long mesh tubing extending from a ring, hangs in the air from a point above the photo's frame. a crewmember, wearing hard hat and life jacket, facing away from the camera, reaches over the rail of the ship to lower the end of the suspended net into the water.
    Getting the vertical net in the water
  • an illustration of a research vessel with a vertical net deployed off its side. the net looks like a white cone, pointing downward, ending in a red cannister.
    Vertical net deployed vertically in the water from a research vessel

A vertical net is a ring net with a small mesh width and a long funnel shape. At the end, the net is closed off with a cylinder (cod-end) that collects the plankton. It is deployed vertically in the water from a research vessel. It is mostly used to investigate the vertical/diagonal stratification of plankton. This allows the abundance and distribution of mesozooplankton to be determined.

  • a cable lowers a bongo net onto the ship's deck. the bongo net, name for bongo drums, is actually a pair of nets: two rings side by side hold up the nets made of long mesh tubing that narrow until they end in attached cannisters. a crewmember, wearing a hard hat and a life vest, leans to look at something around the back of the net.
    Bongo net
  • a crewmember, wearing a hard hat and life vest, hoses down the mesh tubing of one side of the bongo net. the top of the net hangs from a cable about 12 feet above the deck so the crewmember can rinse the tubing while standing.
    Washing the sample down the bongo net
  • an illustration of a research vessel with a bongo net deployed off its stern. the net looks like a pair of white cones, pointing horizontally away from the ship, ending in red cannisters.
    A bongo net is drawn horizontally through the water column by a research vessel

A bongo net consists of two plankton nets mounted next to each other. These plankton nets are ring nets with a small mesh width and a long funnel shape. Both nets are enclosed by a cod-end that is used for collecting plankton. The bongo net is pulled horizontally through the water column by a research vessel. Using a bongo net, a scientist can work with two different mesh widths simultaneously.

  • Michael, at left, holds up the net while Toby, right, uses a hose to spray down the mesh tubing at the end. Both Michael and Toby wear rubber pants, rubber boots, life jackets, and hard hats.
    Assisting Toby with Isaacs-Kidd net
  • three crewmembers, wearing hard hats and life vests, hold different portions of a large fishing net that is attached to cables extending out of frame. One steadies the net spreader, a horizontal metal bar. Another grasps the webbing. We can see a wide piece of metal toward the front that is bent like a wide "V". The belts of the crewmembers' vests are each clipped to brightly covered, stretchy tethers to prevent them from falling overboard.
    Isaacs-Kidd midwater trawl
  • a diagram of the shape and dimensions of the Isaacs-Kidd midwater trawl. labels identify the net spreader (horizontal metal bar), depresser (v-shaped metal plate), and bridle (short cables extending from the edges of the net opening, coming to a point). the net opening is 4 feet 8 inches wide by 5 feet 9 inches tall. the main portion of the trawl net extends 20 feet 6 inches long; it attached to a finer mesh net that is 5 feet 8 inches long.
    Isaacs-Kidd midwater trawl dimension

Isaacs-Kidd midwater trawl collects bathypelagic biological specimens larger than those taken by standard plankton nets. The trawl consists of the specifically designed net attached to a wide, V-shaped, rigid diving vane. The vane keeps the mouth of the net open and exerts a depressing force, maintaining the trawl at depth for extended periods at towing speeds up to 5 knots. The inlet opening is unobstructed by the towing cable.

What we got?

a close-up view of a hand holding a clear jar with a white lid. This jar contains the sample collected by the vertical net. Since this net targets plankton, the sample mostly looks like cloudy, yellowish water.
Samples from vertical net
a close-up view of the contents of a white container, perhaps a bucket. This contains the sample collected from the bongo net. It's a soupy mixture of plankton, zooplankton, krill, and at least one small fish.
Samples from bongo net
  • a close-up (possible magnified) view of a petri dish containing organisms sampled by the Isaacs-Kidd net. mostly crustaceans and larval fish. The petri dish rests on a bright blue background that creates a sharp contrast with the somewhat translucent creatures.
    Isaacs-Kidd sample
  • close-up view of a pile of many, many krill. they look like clear pink tubes with black dots for eyes.
    Krill from the Isaacs-Kidd

Personal Log

SHARK ATTACK!

That’s right, our underway CTD was attacked by a shark.

a view through a metal rigging of a pully with a cable extending down to the ocean's surface. there is no longer anything attached to the cable.
R.I.P.

On a bright and sunny day, the science team decided to launch the underway CTD, but things didn’t go as planned! Retrieving the uCTD back to the ship we saw a big dorsal fin zigzagging close to the uCTD, until we noticed that the uCTD was no longer attached to the line, therefore we had no choice that to cancel the uCTD. You should have seen all of our faces; we couldn’t believe what we saw. We think it could have been a:

a stock image of a white shark swimming underwater.
White shark
a stock image of a salmon shark swimming underwater.
Salmon shark
view of a hand holding an underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth (uCTD) profiler. in the background is a painting on a cabinet door of a white ship sailing through waves and somewhat fantastical deep sea creatures swimming below.
underway CTD
(what the shark ate)

CTD stands for conductivity (salinity), temperature, and depth and it enables researchers to collect temperature and salinity profiles of the upper ocean at underway speeds, to depths of up to 500 m. Ocean explorers often use CTD measurements to detect evidence of volcanoes, hydrothermal vents, and other deep-sea features that cause changes to the physical and chemical properties of seawater.

Sunset on the Pacific Ocean, as seen from an upper deck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. The trawl net frame, davits, and other equipment on the fantail are visible in silhouette.
Sunset on board