My name is Stephen Kade, and I’m a middle school art teacher at OL Smith Middle School in Dearborn, Michigan. I’ll be joining the crew of the NOAA Ship Oregon II for a few weeks this summer as part of the 2018 NOAA Teacher at Sea program. We’ll be starting in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and working along the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys, and then moving north in the Atlantic to Cape Canaveral, Florida. We’ll be long line fishing for red snapper and sharks to research. I can’t wait to get aboard and find new ways I learn learn about these fish, and how I can use art to help bring awareness to, and advocate for, all threatened and endangered sea creatures and their ocean environments.
This opportunity is a great chance for me to fulfill a lifelong dream of working with sharks as a marine biologist (at least for a few weeks). As I study in preparation for the coming trip, I’ve realized the many hours of my life spent watching nature documentaries have paid off, as I’ve retained more knowledge of sharks than I thought! I’m also trying to study more about the crew and their roles on the ship, and all the working schedules and procedures to keep myself and other crew safe while we work. I’m finding this process is much like prepping for a lesson as a teacher and bringing many social and logistical resources together to create a strong foundation for learning while working.
I’ll be posting several times during the trip to keep everyone up to date with my findings during the adventure of a lifetime. This photo is of my art students and me in class, after creating their Endangered Animal Awareness Posters for our first annual Night of the Arts 2018.
TAS Stephen Kade and his art students, sharing their Endangered Animal Awareness Posters
Mission: WHOI Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Station (WHOTS)
Geographical Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, north of Hawaii
Date: June 29th, 2016
Weather Data from the Bridge
(June 29th, 2016 at 12:00 pm)
Wind Speed: 12 knots
Temperature: 26.3 C
Humidity: 87.5%
Barometric Pressure: 1017.5 mb
Science and Technology Log
Approaching Weather
When an anchor is dropped, forces in the ocean will cause this massive object to drift as it falls. Last year, after the anchor of mooring 12 was dropped, an acoustic message was sent to the release mechanism on the anchor to locate it. This was repeated in three locations so that the location of the anchor could be triangulated much like how an earthquake epicenter is found. This was repeated this year for mooring 13 so next year, they will know where it is. From where we dropped the anchor to where it fell, was a horizontal distance of 3oo meters. The ocean moved the 9300 pound anchor 300 meters. What a force!
The next morning as the ship was in position, another acoustic message was sent that triggered the release of the glass floats from the anchor. Not surprisingly, the floats took nearly an hour to travel up the nearly 3 miles to the surface.
A small boat went to retrieve the mooring attached to the floats
Once the floats were located at the surface, a small boat was deployed to secure the end of the mooring to the Hi’ialakai. The glass floats were loaded onto the ship. 17 floats that had imploded when they were deployed last year. Listen to imploding floats recorded by the hydrophone. Implosion.
Selfie with an imploded float.
Next, came the lengthy retrieval of the line (3000+ meters). A capstan to apply force to the line was used as the research associates and team arranged the line in the shipping boxes. The colmega and nylon retrieval lasted about 3 hours.
Bringing up the colmega line and packing it for shipping.
Once the wire portion of the mooring was reached, sensors were removed as they rose and stored. Finally the mooring was released, leaving the buoy with about 40 meters of line with sensors attached and hanging below.
Navigating to buoy.
The NOAA officer on the bridge maneuvered the ship close enough to the buoy so that it could be secured to the ship and eventually lifted by the crane and placed on deck. This was followed by the retrieval of the last sensors.
Bringing the buoy on board.
The following day required cleaning sensors to remove biofoul. And the buoy was dismantled for shipment back to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Kate scrubbing sensors to remove biofoul.
Dismantling the buoy.
Mooring removal was accomplished in seas with 5-6 feet swells at times. From my vantage point, everything seemed to go well in the recovery process. This is not always the case. Imagine what would happen, if the buoy separated from the rest of the mooring before releasing the floats and the mooring is laying on the sea floor? What would happen if the float release was not triggered and you have a mooring attached to the 8000+ pound anchor? There are plans for when these events occur. In both cases, a cable with a hook (or many hooks) is snaked down to try and grab the mooring line and bring it to the surface.
Now that the mooring has been recovered, the science team continues to collect data from the CTD (conductivity/temperature/depth) casts. By the end of tomorrow, the CTDs would have collected data for approximately 25 hours. The data from the CTDs will enable the alignment of the two moorings.
CTD
The WHOTS (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Hawaii Ocean Time Series Site) mooring project is led by is led by two scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Al Plueddeman and Robert Weller. Both scientists have been involved with the project since 2004. Plueddeman led this year’s operations and next year it will be Weller. Plueddeman recorded detailed notes of the operation that helped me fill in some blanks in my notes. He answered my questions. I am thankful to have been included in this project and am grateful for this experience and excited to share with my students back in Eugene, Oregon.
Al Plueddeman, Senior Scientist
The long term observations (air-sea fluxes) collected by the moorings at Station Aloha will be used to better understand climate variability. WHOTS is funded by NOAA and NSF and is a joint venture with University of Hawaii. I will definitely be including real time and archived data from WHOTS in Environmental Science.
Personal Log
I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to talk with the crew of the Hi’ialakai. There were many pathways taken to get to this point of being aboard this ship. I learned about schools and programs that I had never even heard about. My students will learn from this adventure of mine, that there are programs that can lead them to successful oceanic careers.
Brian Kibler
I sailed with Brian Kibler in 2013 aboard the Oscar Dysonup in the Gulf of Alaska. He completed a two year program at Seattle Maritime Academy where he became credentialed to be an Able Bodied Seaman. After a year as an intern aboard the Oscar Dyson, he was hired. A few years ago he transferred to the Hi’ialakai and has now been with NOAA for 5 years. On board, he is responsible for rigging, watch and other tasks that arise. Brian was one of the stars of the video I made called Sharks on Deck. Watch it here.
Tyler Matta, 3rd Engineer
Tyler Matta has been sailing with NOAA for nearly a year. He sought a hands-on engineering program and enrolled at Cal Maritime (Forbes ranked the school high due to the 95% job placement) and earned a degree in maritime engineering and was licensed as an engineer. After sailing to the South Pacific on a 500 ft ship, he was hooked. He was hired by NOAA at a job fair as a 3rd engineer and soon will have enough sea days to move to 2nd engineer.
There are 6 NOAA Corps members on the Hi’ialakai. They all went through an approximately 5 month training program at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. To apply, a candidate should have a 4 year degree in a NOAA related field such as science, math or engineering. Our commanding officer, Liz Kretovic, attended Massachusetts Maritime Academy and majored in marine safety and environmental protection. Other officers graduated with degrees in marine science, marine biology, and environmental studies.
Nikki Chappelle, Bryan Stephan and Brian Kibler on the bridge.NOAA Ensign Nicki Chappelle
Ensign (ENS) Nikki Chappelle is new to the NOAA Corps. In fact, this is her first cruise aboard the Hi’ialakai and second with NOAA. She is shadowing ENS Bryan Stephan for on the job training. She spent most of her schooling just south of where I teach. I am hoping that when she visits her family in Cottage Grove, Oregon that she might make a stop at my school to talk to my students. She graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in zoology and communication. In the past she was a wildfire fighter, a circus worker (caring for the elephants) and a diver at Sea World.
All of the officers have 2 four hour shifts a day on the bridge. For example ENS Chappelle’s shifts are 8am to 12pm and 8pm to 12am. The responsibilities of the officers include navigating the ship, recording meteorological information, overseeing safety. Officers have other tasks to complete when not on the bridge such as correcting navigational maps or safety and damage control. ENS Stephan manages the store on board as a collateral assignment. After officers finish training they are sent to sea for 2-3 years (usually 2) and then rotate to land for 3 years and then back to sea. NOAA Officers see the world while at sea as they support ocean and atmospheric science research.
ET Frank Russo
Electronics technician (ET) seem to be in short supply with NOAA. There are lots of job opportunities. According to Larry Wooten (from Newport’s Marine Operation Center of the Pacific), NOAA has hired 7 ETs since November. Frank Russo III is sailing with NOAA for the first time as an ET. But this is definitely not his first time at sea. He spent 24 years in the navy, 10 at Military Sealift Command supporting naval assets and marines around the world. His responsibilities on the Hi’ialakai include maintaining navigational equipment on the bridge, making sure the radio, radar and NAVTEX (for weather alerts) are functioning properly and maintaining the server so that the scientists have computer access.
I have met so many interesting people on the Hi’ialakai. I appreciate everyone who took the time to chat with me about their careers or anything else. I wish I had more time so that I could get to know more of the Hi’ialakai crew. Thanks. Special thanks to our XO Amanda Goeller and Senior Scientist Al Plueddeman for reviewing my blog posts. And for letting me tag along.
Did You Know?
The buoy at the top of the mooring becomes a popular hang out for organisms in the area. As we approached mooring 12, there were several red-footed boobies standing their ground. There were also plenty of barnacles and other organisms that are planktonic in some stage of their lives. Fishing line is strung across the center of the buoy to discourage visitors but some still use the buoy as a rest stop. The accumulation of organism that can lead to corrosion and malfunction of the equipment is biofoul.
Red-Footed BoobiesWires and line to prevent biofoul.
One More Thing
South Eugene biology teacher Christina Drumm (who’s husband was Ensign Chappelle’s high school math teacher) wanted to see pictures of the food. So here it is. Love and Happiness.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Jeanne Muzi Aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson August 2 – 8, 2015
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: North Atlantic Date: August 10, 2015
As I head home to New Jersey a few days ahead of schedule, I am reflecting on what I have learned aboard the Thomas Jefferson. From day one, I was asking questions and trying to understand the process of hydrographic surveying, the equipment used and the different roles of everyone involved in the process. I learned why hydrographic surveying is so important and why the mission of NOAA (Science, Service and Stewardship) is demonstrated in all the research and activities aboard the Thomas Jefferson.
The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and contains 97 percent of the planet’s water, yet more than 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored. NOAA protects, preserves, manages and enhances the resources found in 3.5 million square miles of coastal and deep ocean waters.
The oceans are our home. As active citizens, we must all become knowledgeable, involved stewards of our oceans.
As my Teacher at Sea experience ends, I wanted to make sure I shared some of the conversations I had with the officers charged with leading the missions of the Thomas Jefferson and the hydrographic work it is involved in.
The Thomas Jefferson: Home to an amazing crew!
It is my honor to introduce to you:
Captain Shepard Smith (CO)
CO Smith
Captain Smith grew up on the water in Maine. He always enjoyed reading maps and charts. He received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and earned a Master’s of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire Ocean Engineering (Mapping) Program. He has worked at NOAA in many different capacities.
He served aboard NOAA Ship Rainier, NOAA R/V Bay Hydrographer and the Thomas Jefferson. He was also the chief of Coast Survey’s Atlantic Hydrographic Branch in Norfolk, Virginia. Captain Smith also served as Senior Advisor to Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA Deputy Administrator and as Chief of Coast Survey’s Marine Chart Division. Captain Smith explained how he has been involved in integrating many new technological innovations designed to improve the efficiency of NOAA’s seafloor mapping efforts. It was through Captain Smith’s endeavors that Americans enjoy open access to all NOAA charts and maps.
CO Smith on the Bridge
He enjoys being the CO very much and feels the best part of his job is developing the next generation of leadership in NOAA. He feels it is very important to have that influence on junior officers. The worst part of his job is the separation from his family.
Captain Smith’s advice to young students is to pay attention to the world around you and how things work. Try to ask lots of questions. He said, “There are loads of opportunities to be the best at something and so many things to learn about. There are new fields, new ideas and new ways to see and understand things. Never limit yourself.”
Lieutenant Commander Olivia Hauser (XO)
XO LCDR Hauser
LCDR Hauser grew up in New Jersey and always loved learning about the ocean. As a little girl, she thought she would like to study Marine Science but wasn’t sure how. She grew up and earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College and her Master’s of Science in Biological Oceanography from the University of Delaware’s College of Marine Studies. Before coming to NOAA, LCDR Hauser spent time working for a mortgage company, which provided her with different kinds of skills. She soon started officer training for NOAA and got to apply the sonar knowledge she developed in graduate school to her NOAA work. She has served on the NOAA ships Rainier and Thomas Jefferson. She has built her strong background in hydrography with both land and sea assignments. She has been Field Operations Officer, Field Support Liaison and Executive Officer. She explained that in the field of hydrographic surveying, experience is key to improving skills and she is always trying to learn more and share her knowledge. As XO, she is the second highest-ranking officer on the ship.
LCDR Hauser feels the best part of her job is that it never gets boring. Everyday is different and there are always new things to see and learn.
XO supervises the arrival of the launch
LCDR Hauser also explained that the hardest part of the job is the transitions, that come pretty frequently. She said, “You may find yourself leaving a ship or coming to a new job. There are always new routines to learn and new people to get to know. With so many transitions, it is often hard to find and keep community, but on the positive side, the transitions keep you adaptable and resilient, which are important skills too.”
Her advice to young students is “Take opportunities! Explore things you never heard of. Don’t give up easily! Even the rough parts of the road can work for you. Every experience helps you grow! Keep asking questions…especially about how and why!”
Lieutenant Joseph Carrier (FOO)
LT Carrier
As a young boy, LT Carrier was the kind of kid who liked to take things apart and put them back together. He joined the Navy right out of high school. When he got out, he attended University of North Carolina at Wilmington and studied biology as an undergraduate and marine science in graduate school. He taught biology, oceanography, and earth science at a community college and worked at NOAA’s Atlantic Hydrographic Branch in Norfolk, VA before attending officer training. He served on other NOAA ships before coming to the Thomas Jefferson and has learned a lot about the technical aspects of hydrographic surveying, data collection and processing while onboard. He is currently the Field Operations Officer.
FOO on deck
LT Carrier feels the best part of his job is the great people he works with. He explained that on a ship you are part of a close family that works together, lives together and helps each other.
He said the hardest parts of the job are the long hours and missing his family very much.
His advice to younger students is don’t get discouraged easily. He explained, “If you are not good at something at first, try again. Know that each time you try something…you have an opportunity to get better at it. Everyone can overcome challenges by working hard and sticking with it!
Personal Log:
Quick painting fromTJ Bow
The experience of living and learning on the Thomas Jefferson will stay with me and impact my teaching as I continue to encourage kids to stay curious, ask questions and work hard!
I would like to thank everyone at NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program for enabling me to come on this adventure! My time as a TAS has provided me with authentic learning experiences and a new understanding of science and math in action. I would like to thank every person serving on the Thomas Jefferson who took the time to talk with me and shared his or her area of expertise. I appreciated everyone’s patience, kindness and friendly help as they welcomed me into their home. Every crewmember has given me stories, knowledge and information that I can now share with others.
In my last blog entry the Question of the Day and Picture of the Day was:
What is this and what do the letters mean?
What is this? What do the letters mean?
These containers are life rafts. The letters “SOLAS” stand for “Safety of Life at Sea.”
The First SOLAS Treaty was issued in 1914, just two years after the Titanic disaster. The Treaty was put in place so countries all around the world would make ship safety a priority. The SOLAS Treaty ensures that ships have safety standards in construction, in equipment onboard and in their operation. Many countries have turned these international requirements into national laws. The first version of the treaty developed in response to the sinking of the Titanic. It stated the number of lifeboats and other emergency equipment that should be available on every ship, along with safety procedures, such as having drills and continuous radio watch. Newer versions of the SOLAS Treaty have been adopted and the guidelines are always being updated so people at sea remain safe. If there was an emergency on the Thomas Jefferson, the crew is prepared because they have practiced many different drills. If these lifeboats were needed they would be opened, inflated and used to bring everyone to safety.
Many thanks for reading about my Teacher at Sea Adventure!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Jeanne Muzi Aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson August 2 – 8, 2015
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: North Atlantic Date: August 8, 2015
Weather Data From the Bridge: Temperature: 73°F (23°C) Fair
Humidity: 59%
Wind Speed: N 10 mph
Barometer: 29.94 in (1013.6 mb)
Dewpoint: 58°F (14°C)
Visibility: 10.00 mi
Science and Technology Log:
It is amazing that with hydrography, scientists can “look” into the ocean to “see” the sea floor by using sound.
All the data collected by the TJ, and other NOAA Hydro ships, is used to update nautical charts and develop hydrographic models.
This is important work because the charts are used to warn mariners of dangers to navigation, which can mean everything from rocks to ship wrecks. They also record tide or water level measurements to provide information about water depths. Surveys also help determine if the sea floor is made up of sand, mud or rock, which is important for the anchoring of boats, dredging, construction, and laying pipeline or cables. Hydrography also provides important information for fishery habitats.
The work being done on the Thomas Jefferson is a great example of STEM in action since hydrographic surveying combines science, lots of technology, the engineering of new devices and procedures, and the application of mathematical computations.
Here are two amazing survey images:
A crane discovered underwater
Image of the sunken ship, USS Monitor
A few of my students emailed me yesterday to ask how does the information gathered out on the launch become a chart. That’s a great question!
My XO (Executive Officer) LCDR Olivia Hauser provided me with a great explanation of how the data becomes a chart. She explained it this way:
It starts with deciding where to survey, and ends with an updated chart that is published and available for mariners to use. The decision where to survey is steered by a document called the National Hydrographic Survey Priorities document. It outlines where the top priorities to survey are based on the type of ship traffic that travels the area, the age of the survey in the area, how often the seafloor changes in the area, and specific requests from port authorities, the US Coast Guard, and other official maritime entities. Please see the following link for more information. http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsd/NHSP.htm
The operations branch of the Hydrographic Surveys Division of the Office of Coast Survey in NOAA (where Patrick works-see below) uses this document to decide where the ship will survey next. This branch then provides the ship with project instructions that identifies where the work will be done and divides the survey area into manageable chunks.
The data is raw when we first acquire it, and once it comes back to the ship, we need to apply some correctors to it, to improve the data quality.
Working in the survey room
One corrector we apply to the data is tide information. The water gets shallower and deeper depending on the stage of tide, and we need to make sure the depths on the chart are all relative to the same stage of tide.
Another corrector we apply to the data is vessel motion. When we acquire depth data with the sonar, the boat is moving with the waves, and the raw data looks like it has waves in the seafloor, too. We know that is not the case, so we take the motion data of the boat out of our depth data.
A third corrector we apply to the data is sound speed. The sonar finds the depth of the seafloor by sending a pulse of sound out and listening for its return, measuring the time it takes to complete that trip. We also measure the speed of sound through the water so we can calculate the depth (see the picture of ENS Gleichauf deploying the CTD to measure sound speed). Speed =Distance/Time. Speed of sound through typical seawater is 1500 meters per second. The speed of sound changes with water temperature and salinity (the saltiness of the water) .If we measure the time it takes for the sound to get to the seafloor and back, 1 second for example, and the sound speed is 1500 meters per second we know the seafloor is 750 meters away from the sonar. (the sound is traveling two ways).
Once all of the correctors are applied to the data, a digital terrain model (DTM) is created from the data to make a grid showing the depths and hazards in the area. A report is written about the survey, and it is submitted to the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch (Where Jeffrey works- See below). This branch reviews the data and makes sure it meets NOAA’s specifications for data quality. They also make a preliminary chart, picking the important depths and hazards that should be shown on the chart.
Once the data has been reviewed, it goes to the Marine Charting Division. This group takes the preliminary chart of the area surveyed, and adds it to the official chart that is being updated. These charts are then distributed to the public.
I had a chance to talk with some of the Survey Techs and project scientists who work on the TJ to find out more about their jobs.
Allison Stone
Allison Stone is the Hydro Senior Survey Technician (HSST). When Allison was 12 years old she clearly remembers her school’s Career Day, when lots of parents came in to talk about their jobs. She recalls there was one mom who had a sparkle in her eye when she talked about her job. She was an Oceanographer. That mom became her advisor when she attended the College of Charleston. Allison had an internship at the Atlantic Hydrography Branch in Norfolk and she first came to the TJ as a Student Scientist. She later became a full time technician. She enjoys her job because she gets the opportunity to observe the seafloor like no one has ever seen it before. She gets to solve problems and think outside the box. When she is going through raw data, she is able to make connections and interpret information. The work is interesting and challenging. Allison’s advice for young students is to keep being passionate about things you are interested in. Try to find out more and stay flexible. Try to volunteer as much as possible as you grow up so you can find out what you like to do and love to work on.
Jeffery Marshall
Jeffery Marshall was visiting the TJ for a project during my time aboard. Jeffery is a Physical Scientist with the Office of Coast Survey as a member of the Hydrographic Surveys Division, Atlantic Hydrographic Branch in Norfolk, Virginia. Jeffery grew up on the Jersey Shore and loved being out on the water, down at the beach and learning about the ocean. He loved surfing and was always wondering what the weather would be like so he could plan for the waves and the tides. So when he went to college, he studied meteorology. Following graduation, he taught middle school science and loved being a teacher. When he was ready for a change, he decided to attend graduate school and got his masters degree in Coastal Geology. He really enjoys having the opportunity to get out on the ships. His job is usually applying the processed data to charts, what he calls “Armchair Hydrography.” When he gets a chance to work on a NOAA ship mission, he has more opportunities to collect and analyze data. Jeff’s advice to young students is to read a lot and think about lots of different things, like how we use maps. He thinks everyone should take a look at old maps and charts, and think about how they were made. He encourages students to look for patterns in nature and to think about how rocks and sand change over time.
Patrick Keown
Patrick Keown is also a Physical Scientist. He was also working on a project on the TJ. Patrick works at the Operations Branch of the Hydrographics Survey Division in Silver Spring, Maryland. Patrick is usually working on plans for where surveying needs to take place. He started college as an Anthropology major but ended up in a Geographic Information Systems class and found that it came easily to him. Geographic Information Systems are designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data. He had an internship with the Army Corp of Engineers which provided some “on the job learning” of hydrography. When Patrick was young, he didn’t have the chance to travel much, so he spent a lot of time looking at maps and wondering, “What else is out there?” Now he loves to travel and likes to look at what he calls “Social Geography.” Patrick thinks the best part of his job is the chance to experience new things. He has had opportunities to try the latest technology and is inspired by all the new types of equipment, like drones and the Z boats. Patrick’s advice to young learners is “Never be afraid to explore! Never be afraid to ask questions! Most importantly, stay curious!!”
Cassie Bongiovanni
Cassie Bongiovanni is a GIS Specialist who works at The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center. The center is a partnership between the University of New Hampshire and NOAA, and it has two main objectives: to develop tools to advance ocean mapping and hydrography, and to train the next generation of hydrographers and ocean mappers. Cassie grew up in Texas and did not like science at all when she was young. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle and fell in love with the ocean. She received her Bachelors of Science in Geology with a focus in Oceanography. She is now working with NOAA’s Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping group on processing lidar and acoustic data for post Hurricane Sandy research efforts. Cassie explained that she loves her work because she loves to learn! She has lots of opportunities to ask questions and discover new things. The kid in her loves making maps and then coloring them with bright colors to create 3-D images of things like shipwrecks.
Personal Log:
The launch headed out again today to try to find a ship that sank earlier in the summer. Information was gathered and lines were surveyed, but so far no shipwreck was found. The day ended with a beautiful sunset.
Setting lines to surveyLooking out from the cabin of the launc
In my last blog entry the Question of the Day was:
How was the ocean floor mapped before sonar was invented?
Mariners have used many different methods to map the ocean floor to try to “see” what was under the water. For thousands of years a stick was used to see how deep the water was. Eventually, the stick was marked with measurements. Once ships started exploring the oceans, sticks were no longer good options for finding out the depth of water or if anything was under the water that could harm the ship. Sailors started tying a rope around a heavy rock and throwing it over board. In the 1400’s, mariners began using lead lines, which were marked lengths of rope attached to a lead weight. The lead line was good for measuring depth and providing information about the sea floor. The standard lead line was 20 fathoms long–120 feet–and the lead weighed 7 pounds. In the early 20th century, the wire drag was invented. This meant two ships had a set system of wires hung between them and it enabled mariners to find hidden rocks, shipwrecks or other hazards hidden in the water.
In my last entry, The Picture of the Day showed Ensign Gleichauf lowering an instrument into the water. That is a CTD, which stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth. A CTD is made up of electronic instruments that measure these properties. The CTD detects how the conductivity and temperature of the water column changes as it goes deeper into the water. Conductivity is a measure of how well a solution conducts electricity. Conductivity is directly related to salinity, which is how salty the seawater is.
This is a CTD
Today’s Question of the Day and Picture of the Day: What is this and what do the letters mean?
NOAA Teacher at Sea Kathleen Gibson Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II July 25 – August 8, 2015
Mission: Shark Longline Survey Geographic Area of the Cruise: Atlantic Ocean off the Florida and Carolina Coast Date: Aug 4, 2015
Coordinates: LAT 3323.870N
LONG 07736.658 W
Great Hammerhead (Photo Credit: Ian Davenport)
Weather Data from the Bridge: Wind speed (knots): 28
Sea Temp (deg C): 29.2
Air Temp (deg C): 24.2
Early this morning the night shift caught and cradled a great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran). This is a first for this cruise leg. I’m sure that just saying “Hammerhead” conjures an image of a shark with an unusual head projection (cephalofoil), but did you know that there are at least 8 distinct Hammerhead species? Thus far in the cruise we have caught 4 scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini), one of which I was fortunate to tag.
Science and Technology Log
All eight species of hammerhead sharks have cephalofoils with differences noted in shape, size, and eye placement, to name a few. Research indicates that this structure acts as a hydrofoil or rudder, increasing the shark’s agility. In addition, the structure contains a high concentration of specialized electro sensory organs (Ampullae of Lorenzini) that help the shark detect electric signals of other organisms nearby. The eye placement at each end of the cephalofoil allows hammerhead sharks to have essentially a panoramic view with only a slight movement of their head – quite handy when hunting or avoiding other predators.
Great hammerheadsharks are highly migratory. They are found worldwide in tropical latitudes, and at various depths. There are no geographically Distinct Population Segments (DPS) identified. The great hammerhead, as its name implies, is the largest of the group and average size estimates of mature individuals varies between 10-14 ft in length with a weight approximately 500 lb.; the largest recorded was 20 ft in length. The one we caught was ll ft. in length.
Great Hammerhead Photo Credit: Ian Davenport
Great Hammerhead
As with most shark species, the numbers declined rapidly between 1975 and 1995 due to the fin fishing industry and focused sport fishing often fueled by fear and misinformation. One has to wonder what the average length was before that time.
Scalloped Hammerhead sharks are the most common hammerhead species. Their habitat overlaps that of the great hammerhead, though they are more often found in slightly shallower waters. In contrast to the great hammerhead, scalloped hammerheads are only semi-migratory, and scientists have identified Distinct Population Segments around the world. This is important information when evaluating population size and determining which groups, if any, need regulatory protection.
Weighing a small scalloped hammerhead Photo Credit: Ken Wilkinson
Scalloped hammerhead on deck Photo: Ian Davenport
The average life expectancy for both species is approximately 30 years. Males tend to become sexually mature before females, at smaller weights; females mature between 7-10 years (sources vary). In my last log I discussed shark reproduction – Oviparous vs. Viviparous. (egg laying vs. live birth). All hammerheads are viviparous placental sharks but reproductive patterns do differ. Great hammerheads bear young every two years, typically having 20-40 pups. A great hammerhead recently caught by a fisherman in Florida was found to be pregnant with 33 pups. Scalloped have slightly fewer pups in each brood, but can reproduce more frequently.
Setting and retrieving the Longline requires coordination between Deck Operations and the Bridge. Up until now I’ve highlighted those on deck. Let’s learn a bit about two NOAA officers on the Bridge.
The NOAA Corps is one of the 7 Uniformed Services of the United States and all members are officers. The Corps’ charge is to support the scientific mission of NOAA, operating and navigating NOAA ships and airplanes. Applicants for the Corps must have earned Bachelor’s degree and many have graduate degrees. A science degree is not required but a significant number of science units must have been completed. It’s not unusual for Corps recruits to have done post-baccalaureate studies to complete the required science coursework. New recruits go through Basic Officer’s Training at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
Lt. Lecia Salerno – Executive Officer (XO) – NOAA
Lt. Lecia Salerno at the helm or the Oregon II during Longline retrieval.
Lt. Salerno is a 10-year veteran of the NOAA Corps and has significant experience with ship operations. She was recently assigned to the Oregon II as the XO. This is Lecia’s first assignment as an XO and she reports directly to Captain Dave Nelson. In addition to her Bridge responsibilities, she manages personnel issues, ship accounts and expenditures. During these first few weeks on her new ship, Lt. Salerno is on watch for split shifts – day and night – and is quickly becoming familiar with the nuances of the Oregon II. This ship is the oldest (and much loved) ship in NOAA’s fleet, having been built in 1964, which can make it a challenge to pilot. It’s no small task to maneuver a 170-foot vessel up to a small highflyer and a float, and continue moving the ship along the Longline throughout retrieval.
Lecia has a strong academic background in science and in the liberal arts and initially considered joining another branch of the military after college. Her assignments with NOAA incorporate her varied interests and expertise, which she feels makes her job that much more rewarding.
Laura has always had a love for the ocean, but did not initially look in that direction for a career. She first earned a degree in International Business from James Madison University. Her interest in marine life took her back to the sea and she spent a number of years as a scuba diving instructor in the U.S. and Australia. Laura returned to the U.S. to take additional biology coursework. During that time she more fully investigated the NOAA Corps, applied and was accepted.
Laura has been on the Oregon II for 1.5 years and loves her work. When she is on shift she independently handles the ship during all operations and also acts as Navigator. What she loves about the Corps is that the work merges science and technology, and there are many opportunities for her to grow professionally. In December Laura will be assigned to a shore duty unit that is developing Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV).
Personal Log
Notice the white spots on the dorsal side of this atlantic sharpnose, characteristic of this species. Photo: Kristin Hannan
It’s amazing to think that just over a week ago I held my first live shark. We caught over 30 sharks at our first station and our inexperience showed. At first even the small ones looked like all teeth and tail, and those teeth are not only sharp but carry some pretty nasty bacteria. It took all of us (new volunteers) forever to get the hooks out quickly without causing significant trauma to the shark–or ourselves. A tail smack from this small-but-mighty tiger shark pictured below left me with a wedge-shaped bruise for a week!
Immature Male Tiger Shark. He’s cute but he taught me a lesson with his tail.
Since then we have caught hundreds of sharks. We’ve caught so many Atlantic Sharpnose that on occasion it seems mundane. Then I catch myself and realize how amazing it is to be doing what I’m doing– holding a wild animal in my hands, freeing it from the circle hook (finally!), looking at the detailed pattern of its skin, and feeling it’s rough texture, measuring it and releasing it back into the sea.
A beautiful sandbar shark on the line.
I’m pleased to be able to say that my day shift team has become much more confident and efficient. Our mid-day haul yesterday numbered over 40 sharks, including a few large sharks that were cradled, and it went really smoothly.
An Atlantic Sharpnose weighing in at 2.1 kg. Photo: Kristin Hannan
Taking a closer look at an Atlantic Sharpnose shark. Photo: Ian Davenport
At this point I’ve had a chance to work at most of the volunteer stations including baiting hooks, throwing off the high-flyer marker, numbering, gangions, throwing bait, data entry, tagging shark, removing hooks, and measuring/ weighing. A highlight of last night was getting to throw out the hook to pull in the high-flyer marker at the start of retrieval. I’m not known for having the best throwing arm but it all worked out!
Ready to Throw Photo: Kristin HannanRight on Target! Photo: Kristin Hannan
NOAA Teacher at Sea Kathleen Gibson Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II July 25 – August 8, 2015
Mission: Fisheries – Conduct longline surveys to monitor interannual variability of shark populations of the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. Date: July 10, 2015
Introduction
Town of Trumbull, CT
My name is Kathleen Gibson and I bring you greetings from Trumbull, CT where live and teach. In two weeks I will travel to Pascagoula, MS, located on the Gulf of Mexico, to join NOAA Corps members, research scientists, and the crew aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II, as a 2015 NOAA Teacher at Sea.
I work at Trumbull High School and currently teach Biology to sophomores and two elective courses for seniors–Marine Science and AP Environmental Science. I’m passionate about environmental education and am always looking for opportunities to engage students in the world outside of the classroom. Trumbull has a large amount of protected green space, wetlands, streams and a river, and while we aren’t on the coast, we are only a few miles from Long Island Sound. The woods and the shoreline have become our laboratory.
Pequonnock River, Trumbull, CT
I’m open to adventures and new experiences that help me grow both personally and professionally. I’m fortunate to have an awesome family, terrific colleagues and open-minded students who are willing to go along with my ideas; whether it be be hiking around volcanoes and rift zones, looking for puffins, or wading in nearby streams looking for life below.
About NOAA and Teacher at Sea
NOAA Ship Oregon II Photo Credit: NOAA.gov
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency within the United States Department of Commerce that seeks to enrich life through science. While NOAA is somewhat familiar to many of us– thanks to the abundance of weather data that is collected and disseminated to the public–that’s not all that is happening there. NOAA is working to increase our understanding of climate, weather and marine ecosystems, and to use this knowledge to better manage and protect these crucial ecosystems. In addition to the abundant educational resources available to all teachers, NOAA provides unique opportunities for teachers and students. The Teacher at Sea Program brings classroom teachers into the field to work with world-renowned NOAA scientists.
The Mission
The Mission of the cruise I will be a part of is to monitor Shark and Red Snapper populations in the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. Data collected will be compared to findings from previous years, as a part of the ongoing research studying inter-annual variability of these populations. We are scheduled to embark on July 25, 2015 and plan to sail from Pascagoula, MS, down the west coast of Florida and up the Atlantic Coast as far as Mayport, FL.
I am honored to have been selected to be a Teacher at Sea for the 2015 Season and look forward to a number of “firsts”. I’ve never been to Mississippi nor have I been at sea for more than 24 hours. Also, I’ve only experienced sharks as preserved specimens or through aquarium glass. I’m also looking forward to meeting my shipmates and learning about career opportunities and the paths that led them to be a part of this Oregon II cruise. I’ll share as much as I can through future posts. I’m excited to bring my students and others along with me on this journey.
Trumbull to Pascagoula. Longline survey area is marked in blue.
Next Up?
My next post to you should be coming later this month from off the Mississippi coast. However, the first rule of being on board is FLEXIBILITY, so things may change. Either way, I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, please check out some of the TAS 2015 blogs written by my fellow NOAA Teachers at Sea, and spread the word. There is so much to learn.
Did You Know?
While some sharks release eggs into the water where they will later hatch, as many as 75% of shark species give birth to live young.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Alexandra (Alex) Miller, Chicago, IL Onboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada May 27 – June 10, 2015
View of the Hatfield Marine Science Center and NOAA dock as the Shimada pulled away.
Mission: Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Geographical area of cruise: Pacific Coast Date: Sunday, May 31, 2015
Weather Data:
Air Temperature: 11.1°C
Water Temperature: 11.8°C
Overcast skies
Wind Speed (kts) and Direction: 15, SSE
Science and Technology Log
Last of the bridge we’ll see for some time.
We finally weighed anchor and set sail at 1032 Friday morning. Fog blanketed the shores of Newport as we passed below the Yaquina Bay Bridge and out into the channel created by the North and South Jetties. One of our last sights from shore was Chief Scientist Ric Brodeur’s wife, who had come to see us off. The fog was so thick that before we had even reached the end of the jetty her lime green jacket was hidden from view.
Emily and I and several of the other scientists watched our departure from the flying bridge, the highest observational deck on board the ship. It provides an almost unobstructed 360-degree view of the surroundings—making it perfect for Amanda’s surveys—but it’s also right next to the foghorn, which had to be blown every two minutes until we reached greater visibility. Needless to say, we all found somewhere else to watch the waves.
Visibility was low as we left Newport.
Once the ship had moved farther offshore, some of the fog cleared but the moisture in the air was still enough to cause concern for the computers so Amanda went to the bridge, an enclosed deck that houses the navigational instruments that the captain and other officers use to drive the ship. Here she began setting up her survey equipment.
Up to this point, I’d been getting a lot of great advice about handling the first few hours on board the moving ship. Some people suggested I lay down, but the go-getter in me wanted to work. Using a program that is linked to the ship’s GPS, Amanda taught me how to code the observations she was making of the seabirds and marine mammals. As she kept her eyes glued on the 90-degree quadrant made by making a quarter port (while facing the front of the ship, counter clockwise or left, for you digital folks) turn from the bow (front of the ship) (in the image at the top of this post, you can see a panoramic view of quadrant I, the port bow of the ship), she would call out codes for the species, distance from the ship and behavior of the bird she observed. If she were to spot any marine mammals–pinnipeds (pin-eh-peds) (seal and sea lions) or cetaceans (ceh-tay-shins) (dolphins and whales)–that gets entered in a separate database.
Amanda surveying from the flying bridge.
Amanda has to be prepared to work alone as she is the only ornithologist on the ship, but with a Teacher at Sea and other volunteers on board willing to learn and help out, she’s able to rely on us to share some of the work. She and I were working as quite the well-oiled machine for a solid 20 minutes before I made peace with the fact that I did not have my sea legs. To my great relief, it’s something you can sleep off.
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While at sea, the most important thing to remember is to be safe, so once we had been underway for a few hours, the ship’s crew and team of scientists went through drills to practice safety protocols for two of the three significant events that could happen at sea. A 10-second blast on the horn sounded the alarm for the fire drill, and all crew and scientists mustered (gathered) in their assigned locations. Next, 7-short, and 1-long blast signaled the start of the abandon ship drill. The need to abandon ship is highly unlikely, but out at sea you need to be prepared for anything. Most importantly, you need to know how to get into your survival suit, and fast.
Emily and I decided to practice since we were both first-timers to these impressive red neoprene onesies. Since they’re designed to be large enough to fit over your shoes and warm clothes, they can be awkward to put on, especially when you get to the zipping part. And who cares how they look when the water is 8-10° Celsius, a temperature that could cause hypothermia or fatal loss of body temperature.
Emily and I managed to get the survival suits on!
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Saturday was spent sampling a little bit of everything. Of course I paid a visit to Amanda up on the flying bridge to hear about how the birding (and marine mammal-ing) was going. Often, I find Emily there assisting with data entry. Since Amanda can only survey when the ship is traveling faster than 7 knots, traveling from station to station gives her time to look, but sometimes these distances are short and our time at the stations, releasing the various equipment needed for different scientists’ data collection, can be long. This is when Amanda goes off effort (not collecting data) for longer periods of time and during these times, Emily and I have taken to teaming up to check out what’s going on in the wet lab.
Jaclyn releases the neuston tow into the water.
Home to most of the science crew, the wet lab is wet. Initially, I thought foul weather gear was meant for, well, foul weather, but between the hauling in, spraying down and rinsing of the samples caught in the nets, everyone in the wet lab is wearing theirs full-time. Also, everyone must wear hard hats and PFDs (personal flotation devices, also known as life jackets) when out on deck as the equipment is being released or hauled in. Safety first, as always!
My cabin mate, Jaclyn Mazzella, and Phil White, are the two survey technicians on the Shimada. They help release and monitor the nets and equipment that are being used on this research cruise. More on these two interesting cats later.
Emily and I working hard to haul in the CTD.
While in the wet lab, Emily and I witnessed the CTD being hauled in. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature and depth. Conductivity is a measurement of salinity, or how salty the ocean water is. The way it works is by passing an electric current through the water and measuring how fast it travels. This is connected to how salty the water is because when salt is dissolved in water, it separates into ions, these particles carry a charge and allow electric current to pass through. More conductive water will be salty, less conductive water will be less salty or fresh.
We know that temperature provides a measurement of how hot or cold something is. In this case, we’re measuring the temperature of the water. It is mostly cold off the Oregon coast, though the scientists on board have been discussing a recent unexplained area of warmer water, dubbed the “warm blob.” Biologists aim to discover if the warm blob is going to have an impact on the fisheries.
As the CTD is lowered and raised, it can take measurements of these and other factors which allow biologists to compare the diversity and number of species they collect in their nets to the data collected. One of those nets is the neuston tow, a net that skims the surface of the water. It is one of several nets that are being used to collect samples from different layers of the ocean. The scientists on board expect to find jellies and larvae of different species in this net.
Curtis filters the cod-end of the neuston and finds a whole bunch of Vellela vellela.
I got a chance to see the neuston being released. After it was hauled in, Dr. Curtis Roegner, a fisheries biologist with NOAA, detached the cod-end–a small container at the bottom of the net that collects everything the net caught–and filtered out the contents. Inside were a bunch of beautiful blue jellies! These guys are commonly known as by-the-wind sailors thanks to their interesting sail adaptation that allows them to harness the power of the wind to aid in their dispersal (scattering) throughout the ocean. I helped Sam Zeman, a biologist with the University of Oregon, Tyler and Curtis measure the diameter–the length at the widest point–of the bodies of the jellies.
Vellela vellela, by the wind sailors.Curtis, Tyler and I working to measure and record the lengths of the sails on the Vellela vellela. (Thanks to Sam for taking this picture!)
Personal Log
The more time I spend on the Shimada, the more determined I am to figure out how time travel works so I can go back and thank my September 2014 self for putting in the Teacher At Sea application. I’ve been on the ship for three days now and I love being able to go anywhere, day or night, and be able to observe and assist in research and data collection, but also just sit and talk with people who have all followed many different paths that led them to this ship, for these two weeks.
You might think my biggest struggles right now would be seasickness (which I’m not!) or missing my friends and family, but honestly, the hardest part is keeping the blog down to a readable length. There’s an enormous amount more happening here than I have the room to tell you but I will try and cover everything before our time is up.
Lastly, it’s true, I miss my friends and family, a lot, but there are certain creature comforts here that help ease the transition from land to sea. NOAA certainly knows how to keep morale and productivity up, with a well-stocked kitchen open 24 hours, meals prepared on site by talented cooks, and a TV lounge for socializing with a selection of over 500 movies, it’s easy to feel at home. And when finding a work-life balance is not possible, it’s necessary, all of this helps.
Well, that’s all for now, catch the next installment coming soon to a computer screen or mobile device near you!
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Prof. Mary-Beth Decker consulting on the spelling of Vellela vellela and Brittney Honisch for teaching me a good way to remember port vs. starboard. When facing the front of the ship, port is left and both words have four letters.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Alexandra (Alex) Miller, Chicago, IL Aboard and Inport NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada May 27 – June 10, 2015
Mission: Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Geographical area of cruise: Pacific Coast Date: Thursday, May 28th, 2015
Personal Log
A panoramic view from Yaquina Point, gray whales can often be seen from the Point on their migration route, one of the longest in the animal kingdom.
Greetings from NOAA Ship Bell M.Shimada!
From my time onboard I have learned it takes a lot of people to run a ship this size, which helps explain why, due to a staffing issue, we have been delayed until tomorrow, Friday, at 1000. All scientists and crew are being asked to assemble on deck at 0800 for a briefing where I imagine we will go over responsibilities and safety precautions before heading out to sea.
Our run has changed its course slightly since cutting down to 13 DAS (days at sea); we will now cruise between Southern Oregon and Gray’s Harbor, WA, with all the same mission objectives. While we haven’t gone anywhere yet, this time in port is affording me the opportunity to explore Newport and assist in and observe research that is being done by the scientists on land.
Newport has a considerable number of marine science facilities and most of the scientists I will be working with have or will have labs here in which they process the data they collect while in the field—the field can either be the sea or the land, depending on the study—and while the various organizations at the Hatfield cooperate and share research findings (as all good scientists do), there are distinctions in terms of what each scientist studies and, essentially, who pays them to do it.
The lighthouse at Yaquina Head.
Let’s start at the beginning. Most of the scientists going on this cruise of the Shimada are biologists. Biologists are scientists who study living things (bio-life, ology-study of) and so far I have met two kinds. Amanda’s specific field of biology is ornithology (making her an ornithologist), which specializes in the study of birds. Will Fennie, among others who you will hear more about, is an ichthyologist, a scientist who studies fish. For both, they will work at sea and on land to first collect and then process the information or samples (known as data in the scientific community). As I mentioned before, Amanda works with the Seabird Oceanography Lab at Oregon State University and starting in the fall semester, Will will begin his Ph.D. studies there as well. Other scientists on board are affiliated with other schools, like University of Oregon and Yale University, and some NOAA employs directly. You’ll meet some of them later on.
So, while I may not be at sea, I’m taking every opportunity I can to learn about how these scientists work, what their lives are like on and off the ship and what the significance of their research is. Yesterday, I rode with Amanda up to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (it’s a beautiful name, really, but hereafter I will refer to it as Yaquina Head). Yaquina Head is home to Oregon’s tallest and second oldest lighthouse, one of a series that were built along the coast to guide fisherman home. It also happens to be home to a unique nesting site, also known as a colony, for many species of seabird, including the western gull and common murre.
Common murres return to their nesting sites once the eagles are out of sight.
We were there to try and adjust an antenna that was meant to pick up VHF signal (very high frequency, just one of several different radio signals that can be used) for a common murre she and her lab mates had previously tagged. Scientists use trackers (or “tags”) for a variety of reasons because they allow them to collect information on the birds’ location. This information will be put into a computer program that can then organize it so scientists can look for trends. Trends are patterns in data, which scientists analyze to gain new understanding or develop theories (ways to explain why these trends exist). For example, maybe the data will show a trend of no pings at the colony for several hours and scientists might theorize that eagles came to hunt during that time, scaring the murres away.
All of that was just hypothetical, but in fact, eagles had been hunting at Yaquina Head earlier that morning so thousands of murres were off the colony and sitting in the water. If you click on the first image in this post and zoom in you can see what look like black dots in the water. Each one is a seabird. As Amanda and her lab technician, Ian, worked to try and get the signal to come in clear without static, I wandered and watched for birds. I was also hoping to spot a spout, the tell tale sign of a whale or dolphin, but, alas, no luck.
In the end, the antenna issue was not resolved. Amanda said another member of her lab would be able to come out and take a look at it, another upside of being able to work in collaboration with others. At sea, she will mostly work solo, keeping a careful watch for various seabird and marine mammal species, but she’s already recruited me for data entry so that while she watches, I can help keep track of which species are spotted, what they were doing when they were spotted, and which direction they were traveling. All of this will be GPS stamped and stored to create a database of information, which will be shared among labs and researchers at different universities and institutions. When it’s operating at its best, science is a collaborative endeavor with the end goal being better understanding of our world.
Amanda and Ian adjust the VHF antenna to try and catch 24-hour GPS data for a tagged common murre.
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Today, I wanted to hike on the South Jetty to get a bit of exercise so I caught a ride with Will who was heading out to surf. If you choose to be an oceanographer or marine biologist, odds are you’ll end up living most of your life by the ocean, so if, like Will, you enjoy being in the water, it’s certainly something to consider.
A panoramic view of the South Jetty and the beaches of Newport.
Hiking out on the South Jetty, the path is easy-going for the first 150 feet or so, after that the distances between the rocks require a more careful eye and take up a bit more of your attention. Every now and then I would stop and try to catch a decent close-up picture of some of the seabirds that were constantly flying overhead.
A cormorant flies by me.
The sheer number of animals that live off the Oregon coast can keep your head turning for hours, which is good because I was trying to split my time between watching the horizon for spouts and snapping photos of the gulls, cormorants and murres. My eyes may have been playing on tricks on me—I really, really want to see a whale—but I swore I saw a spout. A big part of me wanted to take off running down the jetty to get a closer look, but that was a near impossibility unless I wanted to run the risk of jumping from rock to slippery, yellow-lichen covered rock. I did however manage to get a few of the types of photos I was hoping to get.
A flock of what appear to be cormorants.
After a quick coffee run, Will and I decided to check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium. While it can boast being a member of the top-10 best aquariums in the country, I think its real claim to fame is its former celebrity resident, Keiko the orca (killer whale), star of Free Willy, the 90s film that launched a generation of children who wanted to grow up and become marine biologists.
The aquarium focuses on education about the different marine life native to the Oregon coast, with exhibits on sea otters, harbor seals and California sea lions as well as the mysterious giant Pacific octopus. We were lucky to catch the rotating exhibition on shipwrecks, which focused both on the process by which archaeologists discover, unearth and study artifacts from shipwrecks in order to learn the story of their demise and how they become teeming centers of life, functioning as artificial habitat, once they make their way to the ocean floor.
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For our last night in port, Ric wanted to bring together as many of the scientists and crew as he could to give everyone an opportunity to get to know each other a bit before we made way. I met Tyler Jackson, a marine biologist from Oregon State University who is studying crab populations and Emily Boring, an undergraduate from Yale University. She’s just finished her freshman year, and she’s taking advantage of her summer to learn a bit more about a career she’s been interested in since she was in fourth grade. I would say that Emily is making a great choice to learn more and she’s definitely getting a head start if a life of research is what she ends up wanting.
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In darkness, we drove across the Yaquina Bay Bridge for the last time, the lights from restaurants and homes outlined the coast and traced down the docks, drawing our eyes to the Shimada, illuminated and waiting for us to take to the sea.
Good night Shimada.
Did You Know?
Giant Pacific octopus are highly intelligent and have such sophisticated camouflage that they can mimic color and texture of their surroundings, allowing them to hide and then pounce on their prey.
Correction:
You were told there would be seabirds in that panoramic picture and unfortunately, there are not. There are seabirds in this picture below.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Trevor Hance Soon to be Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp June 12 – 24, 2015
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Geographical area: New England/Georges Bank Date: May 28, 2015
Personal Log: Permission to Come Aboard?
Greetings from Austin, Texas. In less than two weeks, my grand summer adventure begins. I will be flying out of Austin, and heading to Boston where Peter Pan will magically transport me down the Woods (Rabbit?) Hole and out to sea aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, where I will support scientists conducting a Sea Scallop Survey.
Photo from the NOAA Fisheries website that I’ve been using to determine how to dress!
My Real Job
I teach at a fantastic public school in Austin that incorporates student interest surveys in lesson design and enrichment opportunities across subjects. Although we are within the city of Austin, our campus backs up to a wildlife preserve (30,000 acres, total) that was set aside as land use patterns changed, and threatened habitat and ecosystems of 2 endangered birds, 8 invertebrates and 27 other species deemed “at risk.” We have about 5 “wildspace” acres on our actual campus property that is unfenced to the larger Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. We use that space as our own laboratory, and over the last decade, fifth grade students at our school have designed, constructed and continue to support the ecosystem through ponds supported by rainwater collection (yes, they are quite full at the moment!), a butterfly habitat, water-harvesting shelter/outdoor classroom, grassland/wildflower prairie and a series of trails. In the spring, I post job descriptions for projects that need work in our Preserve and students formally apply for a job (i.e. – resume/cover letter). They spend the balance of the spring working outdoors, conducting research relating to their job, and doing their part to develop a culture and heritage of sustainability on our campus that transcends time as students move beyond our campus during their educational journey. My path through the curriculum is rooted in constructivist learning theory (project-based, place-based and service learning) and students are always outdoors. Parents, of course, always get a huge “thank you” at the end of the year from me for not complaining that I’ve ruined too many pairs of shoes.
Below are a few pictures from our game cameras and shots I’ve taken of my classes in action this spring.
Texas bluebonnets are beautiful, and even more spectacular when you get close and see “the neighborhood.”Rain or shineEarly morning observation in the PreserveGambusia — my favorite!Western ribbon snake snacking at the tadpole buffet.One of our frog surveys in actionSo, did anyone figure out what does the fox say?Wild pigs rootingBandits abound when the sun goes down.
The endangered golden cheeked warbler, taken by me early May
As I write, there are about 5 days left of this school year, which means that most of our big projects are complete and the rain has paused, so we’re spending a few days having a big “mechanical energy ball” competition (aka – “kickball”), and I get the distinct feeling that the students are quite prepared for their summer break!
My Background
I was an “oilfield kid” and grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, the heart of Cajun Country, and about an hour’s drive to the Gulf of Mexico. In college, I worked in the oilfield a bit, and after finishing law school, I was a maritime attorney, so I was able to spend some time aboard vessels for various purposes. My time aboard the Hugh R. Sharp will be my longest stint aboard a vessel, and I’m quite excited for the work!
My Mission
R/V Hugh R. Sharp (btw students, it is a vessel or ship, not a “boat”) is a 146-foot general purpose research vessel owned by the University of Delaware (go Fighting Blue Hens!). Each summer I get a travel coffee mug from the college where I attend a professional development course, and I’m hopeful I can find one with a picture of YoUDee on it this year!
Photo from the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health
Photo from the University of Delaware bookstore website of the mug I might pick up while traveling this summer
R/V Hugh R. Sharp
While aboard the vessel, we will be conducting surveys to determine the distribution and abundance of scallops. My cruise is the third (and northernmost) leg of the surveys, and we’ll spend our time dredge surveying, doing an image based survey using a tethered tow-behind observation vehicle, and some deeper water imaging of lobster habitat. Those of you who know me, know that I am genuinely and completely excited and grateful for the opportunity to “nerd out” on this once-in-a-lifetime get-away-from-it-all adventure! Check back over the summer and see what I’ve been up to!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Alexandra (Alex) Miller, Chicago, IL Soon to Be Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada May 27 – June 10, 2015
Representing the Teacher At Sea program
Mission: Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Geographical area of cruise: Pacific Coast Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Personal Log
Ahoy! Alex Miller, Teacher At Sea, here reporting to you from Newport, OR where in just under 24 hours NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada will be underway for 15 DAS (days at sea) which will be filled with fisheries research, seabird surveys and other oceanographic endeavors that I will do my best to report faithfully and in vivid detail. For all images and video, click for a larger view.
Preparing for Sea
My adventure started with my arrival into PDX, the airport in Portland, OR, yesterday afternoon around 2:00PM. I was lucky enough to have the generous Amanda Gladics, a biologist from Oregon State University, pick me up and give me a place to stay before our trip down to the coast this morning. Apparently no one told either of us that we were going to have plenty of time onboard the ship to get to know each other because, after grabbing some snacks to make it through those upcoming night shifts, we sat up in her living room and talked until both of us looked around wondering why it was suddenly dark outside and we were both starving.
We set out at 0700 this morning in order to be in Newport by 1000. (NOAA and other maritime organizations use the 24-hour clock, which begins at midnight and counts up, so from here on out I will be using that format for time keeping). Amanda and I drove (well, she drove, I talked) down this morning so that she could attend a lab meeting with other scientists to prepare for her time onboard the Shimada.
A view from the front seat along Route 20.
As we drove in along Route 20 and through the Yaquina Valley, all I could see for miles were forests of Douglas Firs. Timber is a major industry in the Pacific Northwest and the timberlands out here cycle through periods of harvest, planting and new growth. Amanda remembers a section that was planted when she moved away from Newport just 6 years ago and those trees look to be almost 40 feet tall already! So for most of the 2.5 hours from Portland to Newport, our landscape was uninterrupted green, and then we came around a bend in the road and the tree line abruptly stopped, giving way to the steely gray ocean and my future home for the next two weeks.
Crossing the Yaquina Bay Bridge to reach the Hatfield Marine Science Center, I learned just how unskilled I am at taking pictures in a moving car, so after I met NOAA researcher, Ric Brodeur, Chief Scientist of our cruise, I took a hike up a nearby dune (which I later learned is affectionately called “Mount NOAA” because it is the sand that was dug out to make room for the large NOAA ships to dock without getting stuck on the bottom of the bay) to try and capture some images that actually do justice to this beautiful place. Later today Ric will take me to make sure I have all the waterproof gear I’ll need and then we’ll load up all the equipment and either have dinner onboard the ship or maybe get a chance to explore a seaside restaurant. No matter what we do for our last meal before launch, last night was my last night on land. I’ll sleep onboard the Shimada tonight to be ready for launch at 0800 tomorrow.
Once the cruise is underway, the researchers onboard have several goals they hope to accomplish during their time at sea. When NOAA ships go to sea, they have a mission statement that describes their main purpose for heading out; often however, other researchers can benefit from being at sea as well and will join the cruise but have other research goals in mind. Ric Brodeur and other researchers from Oregon State University plan to use these 15 DAS (Days at Sea) to characterize the plankton groups found just off the coast. Essentially, I’ll be helping them find and net samples to figure out what these groups are like. They’re paying special attention to young–referred to as larval or juvenile depending on age and development level–pelagic—meaning they are found near the surface of or in the first 10-30 m of ocean–rockfish and plankton. I’ll keep you informed of the goals of the other scientists I meet onboard the ship.
From atop Mount NOAA, the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. It’s 208 ft. long!
A Bit About Me
Back in Chicago, I am a member of the Village Leadership Academy family of schools. As the science teacher at the Upper School, I aim to bring my students relevant content that will prepare them to be informed leaders that are capable of confronting future challenges. Our school teaches a social justice focused curriculum so my goal as an educator is to instill a love of learning about the natural world, but also a sense of stewardship and responsibility to the other creatures that share our home. Social justice and environmental justice are inextricably linked and too often, the most vulnerable populations, human and animal alike, bear the brunt of the abuses of the environment.
Me and several of my younger students canoeing at the forest preserve. Photo credit: Silvia Gonzalez
I believe education and awareness are part of the biggest reasons ocean conservation is not a hot-topic issue for all Americans. Just look at how much of the country is inland! While my students and I may take a field trip to the wonderful Shedd Aquarium every now and then, the ocean, and the life within it, cannot help but remain an abstract concept for someone who has never seen it. I wish I could take them all on the ship, but for now, I hope that my experiences as a Teacher at Sea will help to open eyes to the reality of the oceans and shed more light on the importance of maintaining their health and creating a more environmentally-just future, not just for marine life, but for all life on this planet.
Signing Off
That’s all for now! Stay tuned over the next two weeks as the Shimada travels up and down the coast between Flint Rock Head, CA and Gray’s Head, OR, trawling for young rockfish and keeping its eyes peeled for seabirds and marine mammals.
Commercial fishing boats are docked for the night, with the Yaquina Bay Bridge in the distance.
Did You Know?
The NOAA Corps is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States of America. This means there is a chain of command, with the Executive Officer or XO in charge of overseeing all operations and issuing orders to maintain those operations onboard each NOAA ship. I’ll be sure to follow orders and do my part to make the cruise run smoothly!
Prints found atop Mount NOAA. Comment if you think you know what animal left these behind.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lauren Wilmoth Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier October 4 – 17, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska Date: Friday, October 16, 2014
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 7.32 °C
Wind Speed: 9.2 knots
Latitude: 57°44.179′ N
Longitude: 152°27.987′ W
Science and Technology Log
ENS Steve Wall collecting a bottom sample.
Wednesday, I went on a launch to do bottom sampling and cross lines. Wednesday was our last day of data acquisition, so the motto on the POD (Plan of the Day) was “LEAVE NO HOLIDAYS! If in doubt, ping it again!” Bottom sampling is pretty straight forward. We drive to designated locations and drop a device that looks a little like a dog poop scooper down into the water after attaching it to a wench. The device has a mechanism that holds the mouth of it open until it is jarred from hitting the bottom. When it hits the bottom, it snaps closed and hopefully snatches up some of the sediment from the bottom. Then, we reel it up with the wench and see what’s inside.
We took 10 bottom samples and most were the same. We had a fine brown sand in most samples. Some samples contained bits of shell, so we documented when that was the case. At one location, we tried for samples three times and every time, we got just water. This happens sometimes if the sea floor is rocky and the device can’t pick up the rocks. If you try three times and get no definitive answer, you label the sample as unknown. Two times we got critters in our samples. One critter we found was an amphipod most likely. The second critter was shrimp/krill-like, but I don’t know for sure. Cross lines are just collecting sonar data in lines that run parallel to the previous data lines. This gives us a better image and checks the data.
Survey Tech Christie and Me on our bottom sampling launch.Amphipod found in bottom sample.Unknown shrimp/krill critter from bottom sample.
Staff observations at Terror Bay.
Thursday, we closed out the tidal station at Terror Bay. This entailed doing staff observations, a tidal gauge leveling check, and then break down everything including completing a dive to remove the orifice. Since I have already taken part in a tidal gauge leveling check, I was assigned to the staff observations and dive party. As I mentioned in an earlier post, for staff observations you just record the level of the water by reading a staff every six minutes for three hours. We did this while on a boat, because the tide was pretty high when we got started, so we wouldn’t be able to read the staff if we were on shore. Again, the reason we do staff observations is so we can compare our results to what the tidal gauge is recording to make sure the tidal gauge is and has been working properly.
While doing staff observations, I saw a small jellyfish looking creature, but it was different. It had bilateral symmetry instead of radial symmetry. Bilateral symmetry is what we have, where one side is more or less the same as the other side. Jellyfish have radial symmetry which means instead of just one possible place you could cut to make two side that are the same, there are multiple places you can cut to make it the same on each side. Also, the critter was moving by flopping its body from side to side which is nothing like a jellyfish. I had to figure out what this was! In between our observations, Jeff, the coxswain, maneuvered the boat so I could scoop this guy into a cup. Once we finished our staff observations, we headed to the ship. I asked around and Adam (the FOO) identified my creature. It’s a hooded nudibranch (Melibe leonina). Nudibranches are sea slugs that come in a beautiful variety of colors and shapes.
Bilateral versus radial symmetry.The hooded nudibranch.ENS Wood and ENS DeCastro diving for the orifice.
After a quick return to the ship, we headed back out with a dive team to remove the orifice from underwater. Quick reminder: the orifice was basically a metal tube that air bubbles are pushed out of. The amount of pressure needed to push out the air bubbles is what tells us the depth of the water. Anyways, the water was crystal clear, so it was really neat, because we could see the divers removing the orifice and orifice tubing. Also, you could see all sorts of jellyfish and sea stars. At this point, I released the hooded nudibranch back where I got him from.
Jellyfish!
Just as we were wrapping up with everything. The master diver Katrina asked another diver Chris if he was alright, because he was just floating on his back in the water. He didn’t respond. It’s another drill! One person called it in on the radio, one of the divers hopped back in the water and checked his vitals, and another person grabbed the backboard. I helped clear the way to pull Chris on board using the backboard, strap him down with the straps, and pull out the oxygen mask. We got him back to the ship where the drill continued and the medical officer took over. It was exciting and fun to take part in this drill. This was a very unexpected drill for many people, and they acted so professional that I am sure if a real emergency occurred, they would be prepared.
Drill: Saving ENS Wood.
Personal Log
Sadly, this was most likely my last adventure for this trip, because I fly out tomorrow afternoon. This trip has really been a one-of-a-kind experience. I have learned and have a great appreciation for what it takes to make a quality nautical chart. I am excited about bringing all that the Rainier and her crew have taught me back to the classroom to illustrate to students the importance of and the excitement involved in doing science and scientific research. Thank you so much to everyone on board Rainier for keeping me safe, helping me learn, keeping me well fed, and making my adventure awesome! Also, thank you to all those people in charge of the NOAA Teacher at Sea program who arranged my travel, published my blogs, provided me training, and allowed me to take part in this phenomenal program. Lastly, thank you to my students, family, and friends for reading my blog, participating in my polls, and asking great questions.
Did You Know?
1 knot is one nautical mile per hour which is equal to approximately 1.151 miles per hour.
Challenge:
Can you figure out what my unknown shrimp/krill critter is?
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lauren Wilmoth Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier October 4 – 17, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska Date: Wednesday, October 15th, 2014
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 4.4 °C
Wind Speed: 5 knots
Latitude: 57°56.9′ N
Longitude: 153°05.8′ W
Science and Technology Log
Thank you all for the comments you all have made. It helps me decide what direction to go in for my next post. One question asked, “How long does it take to map a certain area of sea floor?” That answer, as I responded, is that it depends on a number of factors including, but not limited to, how deep the water is and how flat the floor is in that area.
To make things easier, the crew uses an Excel spreadsheet with mathematical equations already built-in to determine the approximate amount of time it will take to complete an area. That answer is a bit abstract though. I wanted an answer that I could wrap my head around. The area that we are currently surveying is approximately 25 sq nautical miles, and it will take an estimated 10 days to complete the surveying of this area not including a couple of days for setting up tidal stations. To put this in perspective, Jefferson City, TN is approximately 4.077 sq nautical miles. So the area we are currently surveying is more than 6 times bigger than Jefferson City! We can do a little math to determine it would take about 2 days to survey an area the size of Jefferson City, TN assuming the features are similar to those of the area we are currently surveying.
Try to do the math yourself! Were you able to figure out how I got 2 or 3 days?
Since we’re talking numbers, Rainier surveyed an area one half the size of Puerto Rico in 2012 and 2013! We can also look at linear miles. Linear miles is the distance they traveled while surveying. It takes into account all of the lines the ship has completed. In 2012 and 2013, Rainier surveyed the same amount of linear nautical miles that it would take to go from Newport, Oregon to the South Pole Station and back!
Area we are currently surveying (outlined in red) with some depth data we have collected.Casting a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) gauge.
Monday, I went on a launch to collect sonar data. This is my first time to collect sonar data since I started this journey. Before we could get started, we had to cast a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) instrument. Sound travels a different velocities in water depending on the salinity, temperature, and pressure (depth), so this instrument is slowly cast down from the boat and measures all of these aspects on its way to the ocean floor. Sound travels faster when there is higher salinity, temperature, and pressure. These factors can vary greatly from place to place and season to season.
Imagine how it might be different in the summertime versus the winter. In the summertime, the snow will be melting from the mountains and glaciers causing a increase in the amount of freshwater. Freshwater is less dense than saltwater, so it mainly stays on top. Also, that glacial runoff is often much colder than the water lower in the water column. Knowing all of this, where do you think sound will travel faster in the summertime? In the top layer of water or a lower layer of water? Now you understand why it is so important to cast a CTD to make sure that our sonar data is accurate. To learn more about how sound travels in water, click here.
I’m driving the boat.
After casting our CTD, we spent the day running the sonar up and down and up and down the areas that needed to be surveyed. Again, this is a little like mowing the lawn. At one point, I was on bow watch. On bow watch, you sit at the front of the boat and look out for hazards. Since this area hasn’t been surveyed since before 1939, it is possible that there could be hazards that are not charted. Also, I worked down in the cabin of the boat with the data acquisition/sonar tuning. Some important things to do below deck including communicating the plan of attack with the coxswain (boat driver), activating the sonar, and adjusting the sonar for the correct depth. I helped adjust the range of the sonar which basically tells the sonar how long to listen. If you are in deeper water, you want the sonar to listen longer, because it takes more time for the ping to come back. I also adjusted the power which controls how loud the sound ping is. Again, if you are surveying a deeper area, you might want your ping to be a little louder.
Eli working the sonar equipment.
Tuesday, I helped Survey Tech Christie Rieser and Physical Scientist Fernando Ortiz with night processing. When the launches come back after acquiring sonar data, someone has to make all that data make sense and apply it to the charts, so we can determine what needs to be completed the following day. Making sense of the data is what night processing is all about. First, we converted the raw data into a form that the program for charting (CARIS) can understand. The computer does the converting, but we have to tell it to do so. Then, we apply all of the correctors that I spoke about in a previous blog in the following order: POS/MV (Position and Orientation Systems for Marine Vessels) corrector, Tides corrector, and CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) corrector. POS/MV corrects for the rocking of the boat. For the tides corrector, we use predicted tides for now, and once all the data is collected from our tidal stations, we will add that in as well. Finally, the CTD corrects for the change in sound velocity due to differences in the water as I discussed above.
After applying all of the correctors, we have the computer use an algorithm (basically a complicated formula) to determine, based on the data, where the sea floor is. Basically, when you are collecting sonar data there is always going to be some noise (random data that is meaningless) due to reflection, refraction, kelp, fish, and even the sound from the boat. The algorithm is usually able to recognize this noise and doesn’t include it when calculating the location of the seafloor. The last step is manually cleaning the data. This is where you hide the noise, so you can get a better view of the ocean floor. Also, when you are cleaning, you are double checking the algorithm in a way, because some things that are easy for a human to distinguish as noise may have thrown off the algorithm a bit, so you can manually correct for that. Cleaning the data took the longest amount of time. It took a couple of hours. While processing the data, we did notice a possible ship wreck, but the data we have isn’t detailed enough to say whether it’s a shipwreck or a rock. Senior Tech Jackson noted in the acquisition log that it was “A wreckish looking rock or a rockish looking wreck.” We are going to have the launches go over that area several more times today to get a more clear picture of is going on at that spot.
This is an example of noisy data. In this case, the noise was so great that the algorithm thought the seafloor went down 100 extra meters. Manually cleaning the data can adjust for this so our end product is accurate. The actual seafloor in this case is the relatively straight line at about 100 meters depth.
Personal Log
Monday was the most spectacular day for wildlife viewing! First, I saw a bald eagle. Then, I saw more sea otters. The most amazing experience of my trip so far happened next. Orcas were swimming all around us. They breached (came up for air) less than 6 feet from the boat. They were so beautiful! I got some good pictures, too! As if that wasn’t good enough, we also saw another type of whale from far away. I could see the blow (spray) from the whale and a dorsal fin, but I am not sure if it is was a Humpback Whale or a Fin Whale. Too cool!
Bald Eagle Sighting!Sea otterOrca!Very close orca!
Did You Know?
Killer whales are technically dolphins, because they are more closely related to other dolphins than they are to whales.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lauren Wilmoth Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier October 4 – 17, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska Date: Sunday, October 12, 2014
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 1.92 °C
Wind Speed: 13 knots
Latitude: 58°00.411′ N
Longitude: 153°10.035′ W
Science and Technology Log
The top part of a tidal station. In the plastic box is a computer and the pressure gauge.
In a previous post, I discussed how the multibeam sonar data has to be corrected for tides, but where does the tide data come from? Yesterday, I learned first hand where this data comes from. Rainier‘s crew sets up temporary tidal stations that monitor the tides continuously for at least 30 days. If we were working somewhere where there were permanent tidal station, we could just use the data from the permanent stations. For example, the Atlantic coast has many more permanent tidal stations than the places in Alaska where Rainier works. Since we are in a more remote area, these gauges must be installed before sonar data is collected in an area.
We are returning to an area where the majority of the hydrographic data was collected several weeks ago, so I didn’t get to see a full tidal station install, but I did go with the shore party to determine whether or not the tidal station was still in working condition.
A tidal station consists of several parts: 1) an underwater orifice 2) tube running nitrogen gas to the orifice 3) a nitrogen tank 4) a tidal gauge (pressure sensor and computer to record data) 5) solar panel 6) a satellite antennae.
Let me explain how these things work. Nitrogen is bubbled into the orifice through the tubing. The pressure gauge that is located on land in a weatherproof box with a laptop computer is recording how much pressure is required to push those bubbles out of the orifice. Basically, if the water is deep (high tide) there will be greater water pressure, so it will require more pressure to push bubbles out of the orifice. Using this pressure measurement, we can determine the level of the tide. Additionally, the solar panel powers the whole setup, and the satellite antennae transmits the data to the ship. For more information on the particulars of tidal stations click here
Tidal station set-up. Drawing courtesy of Katrina Poremba.Rainier is in good hands.
The tidal station in Terror Bay did need some repairs. The orifice was still in place which is very good news, because reinstalling the orifice would have required divers. However, the tidal gauge needed to be replaced. Some of the equipment was submerged at one point and a bear pooped on the solar panel. No joke!
After the tidal gauge was installed, we had to confirm that the orifice hadn’t shifted. To do this, we take manual readings of the tide using a staff that the crew set-up during installation of the tidal station. To take manual (staff) observations, you just measure and record the water level every 6 minutes. If the manual (staff) observations match the readings we are getting from the tidal gauge, then the orifice is likely in the correct spot.
Just to be sure that the staff didn’t shift, we also use a level to compare the location of the staff to the location of 5 known tidal benchmarks that were set when the station was being set up as well. As you can see, accounting for the tides is a complex process with multiple checks and double checks in place. These checks may seem a bit much, but a lot of shifting and movement can occur in these areas. Plus, these checks are the best way to ensure our data is accurate.
ENS Micki and LTJG Adam setting up the staff, so the surveyor can make sure it hasn’t moved.Mussels and barnacles on a rock in Terror Bay.Leveling to ensure staff and tidal benchmarks haven’t moved.
Today, I went to shore again to a different area called Driver Bay. This time we were taking down the equipment from a tidal gauge, because Rainier is quickly approaching the end of her 2014 season. Driver Bay is a beautiful location, but the weather wasn’t quite as pretty as the location. It snowed on our way in! Junior Officer Micki Ream who has been doing this for a few years said this was the first time she’d experienced snow while going on a tidal launch. Because of the wave action, this is a very dynamic area which means it changes a lot.
In fact, the staff that had been originally used to manually measure tides was completely gone, so we just needed to take down the tidal gauges, satellite antenna, solar panels, and orifice tubing. The orifice itself was to be removed later by a dive team, because it is under water. After completing the tidal gauge breakdown, we hopped back on the boat for a very bumpy ride back to Rainier. I got a little water in my boots when I was hopping back aboard the smaller boat, but it wasn’t as cold as I had expected. Fortunately, the boat has washers and driers. It looks like tonight will be laundry night.
Driver Bay
Personal Log
The food here is great! Last night we had spaghetti and meatballs, and they were phenomenal. Every morning I get eggs cooked to order. On top of that, there is dessert for every lunch and dinner! Don’t judge me if I come back 10 lbs. heavier. Another cool perk is that we get to see movies that are still in the theaters! They order two movies a night that we can choose from. Lastly, I haven’t gotten seasick. Our transit from Seward to Kodiak was wavy, but I don’t think it was as bad as we were expecting. The motion sickness medicines did the trick, because I didn’t feel sick at all.
Did You Know?
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) contains several different branches including the National Weather Service which is responsible for forecasting weather and issuing weather alerts.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lauren Wilmoth Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier October 4 – 17, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 3.82 °C
Wind Speed: 6.1 knots
Latitude: 60°07.098′ N
Longitude: 149°25.711′ W
Science and Technology Log
Junior Officer Micki Ream diving in Thumb’s Cove. Photo courtesy of Junior Officer Katrina Poremba.
The launch that I participated in on Tuesday was awesome! We went to an area called Thumb’s Cove. I thought the divers must be crazy, because of how cold it was. When they returned to the boat from their dive, they said the water was much warmer than the air. The water temperature was around 10.5°C or 51°F while the air temperature was hovering right above freezing. One diver, Katrina, took an underwater camera with her. They saw jellyfish, sea urchins, and sea stars.
The ride to and from the cove was quite bouncy, but I enjoyed being part of this mini-adventure! Later that day, we did what is called DC (Damage Control) familiarization. Basically, we practiced what do in case of an emergency. We were given a pipe with holes in it and told to patch it with various objects like wooden wedges. We also practiced using a pump to pump water off of the ship if she were taking on water. Safety drills are also routine around here. It’s nice to know that everyone expects the best, but prepares for the worse. I feel very safe aboard Rainier.
Sea star and anemones taken by diver Katrina Poremba at Thumb’s Cove.This source diagram from Kodiak Island shows when the latest data was collected in for an area. We will be working near the red x.
Today, I got a chance to meet with the CO (Commanding Officer), and he explained the navigational charts to me. Before the ship leaves the port, there must be a navigation plan which shows not only the path the ship will take, but also the estimated time of arrival to various points along the way. This plan is located on the computer, but also, it must be drawn on a paper chart for backup.
This illustrates again how redundancy, as I discussed in my last blog post, is a very important part of safety on a ship. Every ship must have up-to-date paper charts on board. These charts get updated with the information collected from the hydrographic surveys. The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet which is why Rainier‘s mission of mapping the ocean is so important. There are many areas in Alaska where the only data on the depth of the water was collected before sonar technology was used. In fact, some places the data on the charts comes from Captain Cook in the 1700s! If you look at the chart below the water depth is measured in fathoms. A fathom is 6 feet deep. Places that are less than 1 fathom deep have a 05 where the subscript indicates how deep the water is in feet.
One of the nautical charts that will help Rainier navigate back to its home port in Newport, Oregon. Notice the ocean depth marked in fathoms.CO (Commanding Officer) and me after discussing nautical charts.
Today, I also spoke with the AFOO (Acting Field Operations Officer), Adam, about some work that he had been doing on Rainier‘s sister ship NOAA Fairweather. One project they are working on is connecting hydrographic data to fish distribution and abundance mapping. Basically, they want to find out if it is possible to use sonar data to predict what types of fish and how many you will find in a particular location
They believe this will work, because the sonar produces a back scatter signature that can give you an idea of the sea floor composition (i.e. what it is made of). For instance, they could tell you if the sea floor is rocky, silty, or sandy using just sonar, as opposed to, manually taking a bottom sample. If this hydrographic data is integrated with the data collected by other NOAA ships that use trawl nets to survey the fish in an area, this would allow NOAA to manage fisheries more efficiently. For example, if you have map that tells you that an area is likely to have fish fry (young fish) of a vulnerable species, then NOAA might consider making this a protected area.
Personal Log
Artwork from the SeaLife Center created by high school students to illustrate how much trash ends up on our beaches.
On Tuesday, I had a little extra time in the afternoon, so I decided to ride my bike down to the Alaska SeaLife Center which is a must-see if you ever find yourself in Seward. There were Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina), Stellar Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus), Puffins (Genus Fratercula), Pacific Salmon (Genus Oncorhynchus) and much more. I really appreciated that the SeaLife Center focused on both conservation and on organisms that live in this area. A local high school even had their art students make an exhibit out of trash found on the beach to highlight the major environmental issue of trash that finds its way to the ocean.
Can you think a project we could do that would highlight a main environmental concern in Eastern Tennessee? I also thought is was really interesting to see the Puffins dive into the water. The SeaLife Center exhibit explained about how Puffin bones are more dense than non-sea birds. These higher density bones are an adaptation that helps them dive deeper.
Puffin at the Alaska SeaLife Center
I officially moved into the ship today. Prior to that, I was staying at a hotel while they were finishing up repairs. We are expected to get underway on Friday afternoon. I am staying in the princess suite! It is nice and cozy. I have all of the essentials. I have a desk, bunk beds, 2 closets, and one bathroom (head).
Rainier, my home for the next week and a half, in Seward, AlaskaMy berthing area (where I sleep) nicknamed “The Princess Suite.”
Did You Know?
Junior Officers get homework assignments just like you. At the navigation briefing today, the CO (Commanding Officer) told the Junior Officers what that they needed to review several documents before going through the inside passage (a particularly tricky area to navigate). He is expecting them to lead different parts of the next navigation briefing, but he isn’t going to tell them which part they are leading until right before. Therefore, it is important that they know it all! It’s a little like a pop quiz and presentation in one.
Word of the Day
Bathymetry – the study of the “beds” or “floors” of bodies of water.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lauren Wilmoth Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier October 4 – 17, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Kodiak Island, Alaska Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 0.77 °C
Wind Speed: 12 knots
Latitude: 60°07.098′ N
Longitude: 149°25.711′ W
Science and Technology Log
Our departure from Seward was originally scheduled for today, but the ship is having some repairs done, so our expected departure is now Wednesday or Thursday. In case you were wondering, this doesn’t delay my return date. Regardless of the fact that we are not underway, there is still so much to learn and do.
Yesterday, I met with Christie, one of the survey techs, and learned all about the Rainier’s mission. The main mission of the ship is to update nautical charts. Up-to-date charts are crucial for safe navigation. The amount of data collected by Rainier if vast, so although the main mission of the Rainier is updating nautical charts, the data are also sent to other organizations who use the data for a wide variety of purposes. The data have been used for marine life habitat mapping, sediment distribution, and sea level rise/climate change modeling among other things. In addition to all of that, Rainier and her crew sometimes find shipwrecks. In fact, Rainier and her crew have found 5 shipwrecks this season!
This is what a shipwreck looks like to the sonar. This is a picture of a shipwreck found by another NOAA hydrographic ship. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
Simplified, hydrographic research involves sending multiple sonar (sound) beams to the ocean floor and recording how long it takes for the sound to come back. You can use a simple formula of distance=velocity/time and divide that by two because the sound has to go to the floor and back to get an idea how deep the ocean is at a particular spot. This technique would be fine by itself if the water level weren’t constantly fluctuating due to tides, high or low pressure weather systems, as well as, the tilt of the ship on the waves. Also, the sound travels at different speeds according to the water’s temperature, conductivity and depth. Because of this, the data must be corrected for all of these factors. Only with data from all of these aspects can we start to map the ocean floor. I have attached some pictures of what data would look like before and after correction for tides.
This shows the advantages of using multibeam sonar to complete surveys. Photo courtesy of NOAA.Hydrographic data with correction for tides. Photo courtesy of Christie.Hydrographic data without correction for tides. Photo courtesy of Christie
I was also given a tour of the engine room yesterday. Thanks, William. He explained to me how the ship was like its own city. In this city, there is a gym, the mess (where you eat), waste water treatment, a potable (drinkable) water production machine, and two engines that are the same type of engines as train engines. Many of my students were interested in what happens to our waste when we are aboard the ship. Does it just get dumped into the ocean? The answer is no. Thank goodness! The waste water is exposed to bacteria that break down the waste Then, salt water is used to produce chlorine that further sterilizes the waste. After those two steps, the waste water can be dumped. The drinking water is created by evaporating the water (but not the salt) from salt water. The heat for this process is heat produced by the engine. William also explained that there are two of everything, so if something fails, we’ll still be alright.
Rainier’s gymRainier’s back-up generator
Personal Log
Sunday, I drove from Anchorage to Seward. The drive was so beautiful! At first, I was surrounded by huge mountains that were vibrant yellow from the trees whose leaves were turning. Then, there was snow! It was actually perfect, because the temperature was at just the right point where the snow was melted on the road, but it had blanketed the trees. Alaska is as beautiful as all of the pictures you see. The drive should have been about 2.5 hours, but it took me 3.5 hours, because behind each turn the view was better than the previous turn, so I had to stop and take pictures. I took over 100 pictures on that drive. Once I arrived in Seward, I was given my first tour of the ship and then I had some time to explore Seward.
One of the views on my drive from Anchorage to Seward
Trying on my survival (gumby) suit
Yesterday (the first official day on the job), I learned so much. Getting used to the terminology is the hardest part. There are acronyms from everything! Immersion is the best way to learn a foreign language, and I have been immersed in the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) language. There is the CO (Commanding Officer), XO (Executive Officer), FOO (Field Operations Officer), TAS (Teacher at Sea or Me!), POD (Plan of the Day) and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I also had to learn all of the safety procedures. This involved me getting into my bright red survival suit and learning how to release a lifeboat.
Today, I am going on a dive launch. The purpose of this launch is to help some of the divers get more experience in the cold Alaskan waters. I will get to ride on one of the smaller boats and watch as the Junior Officers scuba dive.
Did You Know?
NOAA Corps is one of the 7 branches of the U.S. uniformed services along with the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Air Force, and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC).
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lauren Wilmoth Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier October 4 – 17, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Kodiak Island Date: October 2, 2014
Introduction
My name is Lauren Wilmoth, and I have been teaching biology at Jefferson County High School in Dandridge, TN for 3 years. Prior to teaching in Jefferson County, I conducted research on pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) caterpillars in East Tennessee as a part of my master’s thesis at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. My research involved a lot of hiking in the woods and catching butterflies with my net. Who wouldn’t enjoy that? I learned a lot about how science works while obtaining my master’s degree, and now, as a teacher, I get to share my fascination with nature and my expertise with my students!
A Portuguese Man-of-War (Physalia physalis) like the one I saw as a child. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
I grew up in Alabama, and like many families in Alabama, mine spent many spring breaks at the beach. We camped every year at state parks on the Florida panhandle. It was on these trips that I began to appreciate the ocean as a fun and interesting place. We enjoyed the dune trails and the peculiar dune ecosystems. We even went deep sea fishing one time, and I didn’t get seasick! (Hopefully, I will be able to say the same after this trip). I distinctly remember one time when a Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish (Physalia physalis) washed ashore. It was the highlight of my trip to see this strange creature I had never even heard of! Although I grew up enjoying the ocean and it’s bounty (crab and shrimp are my favorites), I didn’t start to understand its importance until I became a biology major in college (oddly enough in the landlocked state of Arkansas). No matter where you live, you are connected to the ocean through its role in our climate, our water cycle, and as the main source of oxygen on our planet among other things. The ocean intrigues me with its mystery, and that is the reason I applied to be a part of this NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Teacher at Sea Program. I am thrilled about this once in a lifetime opportunity to help with hydrographic research off of the coast of Alaska this fall. In fact, I learned the news of which cruise I would be on while at Dublin Airport after an amazing vacation with my husband in Ireland. I checked my e-mail and let out an audible shrill of excitement.
My mother-in-law and me at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland earlier this summer.
I have never been to Alaska, and I know very little about hydrographic research. This cruise excites me, because I will have the opportunity to learn something complete new, and after the cruise, I will be able to share what I learned with my students and colleagues! In case you were wondering, hydrographic research involves mapping the ocean floor which is particularly important for safe navigation in these waters. Also, hydrographic research can involve determining the composition of the seafloor. If you want to learn more about hydrographic surveys, click on the link. Of course, you can also learn more about our hydrographic survey by continuing to read my blog during my trip. To complete this hydrographic research, I will be working with the NOAA team aboard the NOAA Ship Rainier. It contains a lot of fancy equipment used to complete these surveys that I hope to gain a better understanding of on this trip. This is a large ship. It is 231 feet long and is equipped with a dining area and 8 smaller boats! To give you some perspective on its size, it would reach from the end goal line on a football field to the 23rd yard line on the opposite side of the field! To learn more about NOAA ship Rainierclick the link. Stay tuned to my blog to hear firsthand what life aboard NOAA Ship Rainieris like.
Rainier through an iceberg. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
Last night and afternoon was by far the craziest we’ve seen on the Oscar Dyson. The winds were up to 35 knots (about 40 miles an hour). The waves were averaging 12 feet in height, and sometimes reaching 15-18 feet in height. Right now I’m sitting on the bridge and waves are around 8 feet. With every rise the horizon disappears and I’m looking up at stark grey clouds. With every drop the window fills with views of the sea, with the horizon appearing just below the top of the window frames.
In the space of three seconds, the view from atop the bridge of the Oscar Dyson goes from looking up to the sky to down at the sea. The above pic is a MILD example.
Ensign Gilman, a member of NOAA Corps, explains to me how the same thing that makes the Bering Sea good for fish makes things rough for fishermen.
“This part of the Bering Sea is shallow compared to the open ocean. That makes the water easier for the wind to pick up and create waves. When strong winds come off Russia and Alaska, it kicks up a lot of wave action,” Ensign Gilman says.
Lt. Andrew Ostapenko, Survey Tech Bill Potts, and Ens. Nathaniel Gilman on the Bridge
“It’s not so much about the swells (wave height),” he continues. “It’s about the steepness of the wave, and how much time you have to recover from the last wave.” He starts counting between the waves… “one… two… three… three seconds between wave heights… that’s a pretty high frequency. With no time to recover, the ship can get rocked around pretty rough.”
Rough is right! Last night I got shook around like the last jelly bean in the jar. I seriously considered finding some rope to tie myself into my bunk. There were moments when it seemed an angry giraffe was jumping on my bunk. I may or may not have shouted angrily at Sir Isaac Newton that night.
Which brings us to Sea Sickness.
Lt. Paul Hoffman, a Physician’s Assistant with the U.S. Public Health Service, explains how sea sickness works.
“The inner ears are made up of tubes that allow us to sense motion in three ways,” Hoffman explains. “Forward/back, left/right, and up/down. While that’s the main way our brain tells us where we are, we use other senses as well.” He goes on to explain that every point of contact… feet and hands, especially, tell the brain more information about where we are in the world.
“But another, very important piece, are your eyes. Your eyes are a way to confirm where you are in the world. Sea Sickness tends to happen when your ears are experiencing motion that your eyes can’t confirm,” Hoffman says.
For example, when you’re getting bounced around in your cabin (room), but nothing around you APPEARS to be moving (walls, chair, desk, etc) your brain, essentially, freaks out. It’s not connected to anything rational. It’s not enough to say “Duhh, brain, I’m on a boat. Of course this happens.” It happens in a part of the brain that’s not controlled by conscious thought. You can’t, as far as I can tell, think your way out of it.
Hoffman goes on to explain a very simple solution: Go look at the sea.
“When you get out on deck, the motion of the boat doesn’t stop, but your eyes can look at the horizon… they can confirm what your ears have been trying to tell you… that you really are going up and down. And while it won’t stop the boat from bouncing you around, your stomach will probably feel a lot better,” Hoffman says.
Everything is easier on deck! Clockwise from left: Winch Operator Pete Stoeckle and myself near Cape Navarin, Russia. Oceanographer Nate Lauffenburger and myself crossing the International Date Line. Survey Tech Alyssa Pourmonir and Chief Scientist Taina Honkalehto near Cape Navarin, Russia.
And he’s right. Being up on the bridge… watching the Oscar Dyson plow into those stout waves… my brain has settled into things. The world is back to normal. Well, as normal as things can get on a ship more than a third of the way around the world, that is.
Personal Log:
Let’s meet a few of the good folks on the Oscar Dyson.
NOAA Crew Member Alyssa Pourmonir
Job Title: Survey Technician
Survey Tech Alyssa Pourmonir assesses a giant jelly fish!
Responsibilities on the Dyson: “I’m a liaison between crew and scientists, work with scientists in the wet lab, put sensors onto the trawling nets, focus on safety, maintaining all scientific data and equipment on board.” A liaison is someone who connects two people or groups of people.
Education Level Required: “A Bachelors degree in the sciences.” Alyssa has a BS in Marine and Environmental Science from SUNY Maritime with minors in oceanography and meteorology.
Job or career you’ve had before this: “I was a life guard/swim instructor in high school, then I was in the Coast Guard for three years. Life guarding is the BEST job in high school!”
Goal: “I strive to bring about positive change in the world through science.”
Weirdest thing you ever took out of the Sea: “Lump Sucker: They have big flappy eyebrows… they kinda look like a bowling ball.”
Lump Sucker! When provoked, this fish sucks in so much water that it becomes too big for most other fish to swallow. That’s its defense mechanism! It sort of looks like a cross between a bowling ball and grumpy cat!
Dirtiest job you’ve ever had to do on a ship: “Sexing the fish (by cutting them open and looking at the fish’s gonads… sometimes they explode!) is pretty gross, but cleaning the PCO2 filter is nasty. There are these marine organisms that get in there and cling to the filter and you have to push them off with your hands… they get all slimy!”
Engineer Rico Speights shows off how nasty a filter can be! He and his wife (Chief Steward Ava) sail the Bering Sea together with NOAA!
NOAA Rotating Technician Ricardo Guevara
Job Title: Electronics Technician
Responsibilities on the Dyson: “I maintain and upkeep most of the low voltage electronics on the ship, like computer networking, radio, television systems, sensors, navigation systems. All the equipment that can “talk,” that can communicate with other devices, I take care of that.”
Education level Required: High school diploma and experience. “I have a high school diploma and some college. The majority of my knowledge comes from experience… 23 years in the military.”
Technician Ricardo Guevara shows me an ultrasonic anemometer… It can tell the wind speed by the time it takes the wind to get from one fork to the other.
Job or career you’ve had before this: “I was a telecommunications specialist with the United States Air Force… I managed encryption systems and associated keymat for secure communications.” This means he worked with secret codes.
Trickiest problem you’ve solved for NOAA: “There was a science station way out on the outer edge of the Hawaiian Islands that was running their internet off of dial-up via satellite phone when the whole thing shut down on them… ‘Blue Screen of Death’ style. We couldn’t just swap out the computer because of all the sensitive information on it. I figured out how to repair the disk without tearing the machine apart. Folks were extremely happy with the result… it was very important to the scientists’ work.”
What are you working on now? “I’m migrating most of the ship’s computers from windows xp to Windows 7. I’m also troubleshooting the DirecTV system. The problem with DirecTV is that the Multi-Switch for the receivers isn’t communicating directly with the satellite. Our antenna sees the satellite, but the satellite cannot ‘shake hands’ with our receiver system.” And that means no Red Sox games on TV! Having entertainment available for the crew is important when you’re out to sea for two to three weeks at a time!
What’s a challenging part of your job on the Dyson? “I don’t like it, but I do it when I have to… sometimes in this job you have to work pretty high up. Sometimes I have to climb the ship’s mast for antenna and wind sensor maintenance. It’s windy up there… and eagles aren’t afraid of you up there. That’s their place!”
Lt. Paul Hoffman
Job Title: Physician Assistant (or P.A.) with the U.S. Public Health Service
Lt. Paul Huffman and the small boat Peggy D behind him. Lt. Huffman is with the U.S. Public Health Service. But secretly I call him the Bat Man of Health Care. Peggy Dyson is a beloved part of the Alaska Fishing Industry’s history. Before the internet and satellite telephones, her radio service served as a vital link home for fishermen out at sea. She was married to Oscar Dyson, the man for whom the ship was named.
Responsibilities on the Dyson: He’s effectively the ship’s doctor. “Whenever a NOAA ship travels outside 200 miles of the U.S. coast, they need to be able to provide an increased level of medical care. That’s what I do,” says Hoffman.
Education required for this career: “Usually a Masters degree from a Physician’s Assistant school with certification.”
Job or career you’ve had before this: “Ten and a half years in the U.S. Army, I started off as an EMT. Then I went on to LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) school, and then blessed with a chance to go on to PA school. I served in Iraq in 2007-2008, then returned for 2010-2011.”
Most satisfying thing you’ve seen or done in your career: “Knowing that you personally had an impact on somebody’s life… keeping somebody alive. We stabilized one of our soldiers and then had a helicopter evac (evacuation) under adverse situations. Situations like that are what make being a PA worthwhile.”
Could you explain what the Public Health Service is for folks that might not be familiar with it?
“The Public Health Service is one of the seven branches of the U.S. Military. It’s a non-weaponized, non-combative, all-officer corps that falls under the Department of Health and Human Services. We’re entirely medical related. Primary deployments (when they get sent into action) are related to national emergency situations… hurricanes, earth quakes… anywhere where state and local resources are overrun… they can request additional resources… that’s where we step in. Hurricane Katrina, the Earthquake in Haiti… a lot of officers saw deployment there. Personally, I’ve been employed in Indian Health Services in California and NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center (AOC)… they’re the hurricane hunters,” Hoffman concludes.
Kids, when you’ve been around Lt. Hoffman for a while, you realize “adverse conditions” to him are a little tougher than a traffic jam or missing a homework assignment. I’ve decided to call him, and the rest of the Public Health Service, “The Batman of Health Care.” When somebody lights up the Bat Signal, they’re there to help people feel better.
“Whatever,” you shrug.
“Just a fish,” you scorn.
“He’s slimy and has fish for brains,” you mock.
Well, what if I told you that guy there was worth almost one billion dollars in exports alone?
What if I told you that thousands of fishermen rely on this guy to provide for their families?
What if I told you that they were the heart of the Sub-Arctic food web, and that dozens of species would be threatened if they were to disappear?
What if I told you they were all secretly trained ninja fish? Ninja fish that carry ninja swords strapped to their dorsal fins?
Then I’d only be wrong about one thing.
Taina Honkalehto is the Chief Scientist onboard the Oscar Dyson. She has been studying Pollock for the last 22 years. I asked her what was so important about the fish.
“They’re the largest single species fishery in North America,” Taina says. That makes them top dog…err… fish… in the U.S. fishing industry.
Chief Scientist Taina Honkalehto decides where to fish based on data.
“In the U.S. they are fish sticks and fish-wiches (like Filet-o-Fish from McDonalds). They’ve become, foodwise, what Cod used to be… inexpensive, whitefish protein,” Taina continues. They’re also the center of the sub-arctic food web. Seals, walruses, orca, sea lions, and lots of larger fish species rely on Pollock as an energy source.”
But they aren’t just important for America. Pollock plays an important role in the lives of people from all over the Pacific Rim. (Remember that the Pacific Rim is made up of all the countries that surround the Pacific Ocean… from the U.S. and Canada to Japan to Australia to Chile!)
Pollock Need Love, too!
“Pollock provide a lot of important fish products to many countries, including the U.S., Japan, China, Korea, and Russia,” Honkalehto says.
Making sure we protect Pollock is REALLY important. To know what can go wrong, we only have to look at the Atlantic Cod, the fish that Cape Cod was named after. In the last twenty years, the number of Atlantic Cod has shrunk dramatically. It’s cost a lot of fishermen their jobs and created stress in a number of families throughout New England as well as tensions between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. and Canada share fish populations.
The primary job of the Oscar Dyson is to sample the Pollock population. Government officials use the results to tell fishermen what their quota should be. A quota is a limit on the number of fish you can catch. The way we gather that data, though, can be a little gross.
The Aleutian Wing Trawl (or AWT)
Fishermen Deploy the AWT.
The fishermen guide the massive Aleutian Wing Trawl (or AWT) onto the deck of the ship. The AWT is a 150 meters long net (over one and a half football fields in length) that is shaped like an ice cream cone. The net gets more and more narrow until you get all the way down to the pointy tip. This is known as the “cod end,” and it’s where most of the fish end up. Here’s a diagram that XO (Executive Officer) Kris Mackie was kind enough to find for me.
The Aleutian Wing Trawl (or AWT). over one and a half football fields worth of Pollock-Snatching Power.
The AWT is then hooked onto a crane which empties it on a giant mechanical table. The table has a hydraulic lift that lets us dump fish into the wet lab.
Survey Technician Allen pulls a cod from the Table
Kids, whenever you hear the term “wet lab,” I don’t want you to think of a water park. Wet lab is going to mean guts. Guts and fish parts.
In the wet lab, the contents of the net spills onto a conveyer belt… sort of like what you see at Shaw’s or Market Basket. First we sift through the Pollock and pull any odd things… jellyfish, skates, etc… and set them aside for measurement. Then it’s time to find out what sex the Pollock are.
Survey Technician Alyssa and Oceanographer Nate pull a giant jellyfish out of a pile of pollock!
Genitals on the Inside!
Pollock go through external fertilization (EF). That means that the female lays eggs, and the males come along and fertilize them with their sperm. Because of that, there’s no need for the outside part of the sex organs to look any different. In science, we often say that form follows function. In EF, there’s very little function needed other than a hole for the sperm or egg cells to leave the body.
Because of that, the only way to tell if a Pollock is male or female is to cut them open and look for ovaries and testes. This is a four step process.
Ladies before Gentlemen: The female Pollock (bottom) has ovaries that look like two orange lobes. The Male (itop) has testes that make him look like he ate Ramen noodles for dinner.
Step 1: Slice open the belly of the fish.
Step 2: Push the pink, flippy floppy liver aside.
Step 3: Look for a pair of lobes (a bag like organ) that is either purple, pink, or orange-ish. These are the ovaries! If you find this, you’ve got a female.
Step 4: If you strike out on step 3, look for a thin black line that runs behind the stomach. These are the testes… As Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan might say, you’ve got male.
Then the gender and length of the fish is then recorded using CLAMS… a software program that NOAA computer scientists developed for just this purpose. With NOAA, like any good science program, it’s all about attention to detail. These folks take their data very seriously, because they know that so many people depend on them to keep the fish population safe.
Personal Blog
Safety!
Your teacher in an Immersion Suit. Sailors can survive for long periods of time in harsh environments in these outfits.
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On the first day aboard the Oscar Dyson, we were trained on all matters of safety. Safety on a ship is often driven by sirens sounded by the bridge. Here’s a list of calls, what they mean, and what you should do when you hear them:
What you hear…
What it means…
What you should do…
Three long blasts of the alarm:
Man Over Board
Report to safety station, be counted, and report in to the bridge (unless you’re the one that saw the person go overboard… then you throw them life rings (floaties) and keep pointing at them).
One long blast of general alarm or ship’s whistle:
Fire or Emergency onboard
Report to safety station, be counted, and report in to the bridge. Bring Immersion Suit just in case.
Six or more short blasts then one long blast of the alarm:
Abandon Ship
Grab your immersion suit, head to the aft (back) deck of the ship, be counted, and prepare to board a life raft.
The immersion suit (the thing that makes me look like lobster gumby, above) is made of thick red neoprene. It has two flashing lights also known as beacons… one of them automatically turns on when it hits water! This helps rescuers find you in case you’re lost in the dark. It also has an inflatable pillow behind your head to help keep your head above water. Mostly just wanted to wear it to Starbucks some day.
Food!
Another thing I can tell you about life aboard the Oscar Dyson is that there is plenty to eat!
kind of awesome. For one thing, there is a never ending supply of food in the galley (the ship’s cafeteria). Eva is the Chief Steward on the Oscar Dyson (though I call her the Head Chef!).
Chief Steward Eva gets dinner done right!
You’ll never go hungry on her ship. Dinner last night? barbeque ribs and mac and cheese. Yesterday’s lunch? Steak and chicken fajitas. And this morning? Breakfast burritos with ham and fruit. I know. You were worried that if I lost any weight at sea that I might just disappear. I can confirm for you that this is absolutely not going to happen.
Tune in next time when I take you on a tech tour of the Oscar Dyson!
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: August 1, 2014
Science and Technology Log
After the fish are weighted and measured some are returned to the sea and others are kept for further study. For the fish that are kept the Pisces scientists usually keep two parts of the fish the otoliths and a part of the gonads (reproductive organ).
As I mentioned in an earlier post the otoliths are the fish ear bones, which can be used to determine the age of the fish. The otoliths are located behind the eyes so scientists use a knife to cut through the head being careful not to break the otoliths. They are removed from the fish rinsed in water and put into a labeled envelops to be taken back to the lab for further study.
White Grunt OtolithLocation of Fish Otolith. Picture from NOAA
Scientists are also interested in studying fish gonads to understand more about fish growth and reproduction, which is important for helping maintain a healthy fish population. You don’t want to catch fish before they are old enough to reproduce. The NOAA scientists use tissue teks to collect a small section of the gonads. Each fish is given a number based on the trap that it was caught in, this number is printed on the tissue tek and the envelop with the fish otoliths.
Diagram of fish gonads. Picture from marshall.eduTissue Tek, on the Pisces different species of fish get different colored tissue teks.
When the gonads are removed sometimes they are very small and thin and fit easily into the tissue tek but often times they have to be trimmed to fit. You don’t want to overfill the tissue tek because you may destroy the sample or cause it to spoil if the chemical preservative can’t get into the middle of the sample.
Examples of tissue teks that were not properly prepared. Picture from NOAA.
Back at the lab scientists slice the tissue into thin strips and examine it under a microscope to determine development: presence of eggs, size of eggs.
Fish Gonads under the microscope. Picture from NOAA.
Did you know that fish can be male, female or transgender. Some fish start out as females when they are young and become male as they mature.
Personal Log
I have to tell you, typing a blog while my body sways from one side to the other is very strange. I still have to take a Dramamine after I wake up and I have to sit down when the water gets rough, however life on the ship has gotten easier. We have been fortunate to have great weather for our two week cruise, it only rained on our last day out at sea. I can’t believe that tomorrow we will be back in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Sunrise on the top deck of the Pisces.
A warm thank you to all the crew and scientists aboard the Pisces. I have learned so much and will take back to my classroom a new excitement and love of the ocean. I will be able to introduce my students to what it means to be a scientist at sea and how what we learn in the classroom translates to what they can do in the future. I have enjoyed getting to know you and hearing about your lives. You are a talented group of people.
We saw some dolphins on Thursday night.
COOL CATCH OF THE DAY
A pair of butterfly fish (every time we have caught them they have come in a pair)
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lynn M. Kurth Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II July 25 – August 9, 2014
Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Longline Survey Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Date:July 31, 2014
Lat: 30 11.454 N Long: 80 49.66 W
Weather Data from the Bridge: Wind: 17 knots
Barometric Pressure: 1014.93 mb
Temperature: 29.9 Degrees Celsius
Science and Technology Log: It would be easy for me to focus only on the sharks that I’ve encountered but there is so much more science and natural phenomena to share with you! I have spent as much time on the bow of the boat as I can in between working on my blogs and my work shift. There’s no denying it, I LOVE THE BOW OF THE BOAT!!! When standing in the bow it feels as if you’re flying over the water and the view is splendid.
My Perch!
From my prized bird’s eye view from the bow I’ve noticed countless areas of water with yellowish clumps of seaweed. This particular seaweed is called sargassum which is a type of macroalgae found in tropical waters. Sargassum has tiny chambers which hold air and allow it to float on or near the water’s surface in order to gather light for photosynthesis. Sargassum can be considered to be a nuisance because it frequently washes up on beaches and smells as it decomposes. And, in some areas it can become so thick that it reduces the amount of light that other plant species need to grow and thrive. However, the floating clumps of sargassum provide a great habitat for young fish because it offers them food and shelter.
Sargassum as seen from “my perch”
Sargassum (notice the small air bladders that it uses to stay afloat)We have hauled in a variety of sharks and fish over the past few days. One of the more interesting species was the remora/sharksucker. The sharksucker attaches itself to rays, sharks, ships, dolphins and sea turtles by latching on with its suction cup like dorsal fin. When we brought a sharksucker on board the ship it continued to attach itself to the deck of the boat and would even latch on to our arm when we gave it the chance.
The shark sucker attaches to my arm immediately!The largest species of sharks that we have hauled in are Sandbar sharks which are one of the largest coastal sharks in the world. Sandbar sharks have much larger fins compared to their body size which made them attractive to fisherman for sale in the shark fin trade. Therefore, this species has more protection than some of the other coastal shark species because they have been over harvested in the past due to their large fins.
Thankfully finning is now banned in US waters, however despite the ban sandbar sharks have continued protection due to the fact that like many other species of sharks they are not able to quickly replace numbers lost to high fishing pressure. Conservationists remain concerned about the future of the Sandbar shark because of this ongoing threat and the fact that they reproduce very few young.
The first Sandbar shark that I was able to tagDid you Know?
Sargassum is used in/as:
fertilizer for crops
food for people
medicines
insect repellant
Personal Log: I continue to learn a lot each day and can’t wait to see what the next day of this great adventure brings! The folks who I’m working with have such interesting tales to share and have been very helpful as I learn the ropes here on the Oregon II. One of the friendly folks who I’ve been working with is a second year student at the University of Tampa named Kevin Travis. Kevin volunteered for the survey after a family friend working for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) recommended him as a volunteer. Kevin enjoys his time on the boat because he values meeting new people and knows how beneficial it is to have a broad range of experiences.
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 31, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 25.3C
Relative Humidity:98%
Wind Speed: 13.5 knots
Science and Technology Log
The dry lab is the technology center of the day shift. This is where chief scientist Zeb Schobernd works throughout the day to decide when and where to drop the traps. Dropping and retrieving traps is a real team effort, the night shift creates the maps, Zeb decides where to set the traps, the Pisces crew deploys and retrieves the traps and finally the fishery scientists collect and analyze the fish samples.
Pisces crew deploying the trapPisces crew retrieving the trap.
After 90 minutes in the water the traps are brought back to the surface and the wet lab gets to work on processing the fish while Chris Gardner a NOAA scientist takes the cameras into the dry lab for analysis. On this cruise we are trying to gather information on the fish populations off the coast of North and South Carolina. Fish can be an indicator of a good hard bottom habitat but what happens if the fish don’t go into the trap?
For various reasons fish may not go into the traps, this is where cameras come into play.Each trap has a large Cannon camera mounted on the back of the trap and a smaller go pro camera on the front.
These cameras allow scientists to visually sea the sea floor as well as allowing them to see the fish that do not go into the traps. In the dry lab Chris plays the footage to confirm the habitat and fish presence. However the real work begins back in the lab when the scientists analyze the videos. Each video is watch and the number and type of fish is recorded. This data in addition to the caught fish gives NOAA scientists a better indicator of the quality of habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sargassum TriggerfishLionfish
The cameras are put into protective casing and the scientists have to make sure the case is fully closed to prevent any water from entering and destroying the cameras. The Go Pro camera has three different cases that can be use. From left to right they are the IQ Sub House Golem Gear which is approved for up to 150m, the middle case is called a Dive House and is approved for up to 60m and the far right case is the standard Go Pro Case and is approved for up to 40m. On this cruise we have been using the IQ Sub Golem Gear. You will notice that the camera has a number 5 written on it. Each camera is labeled (1-6) and corresponds with the traps that it will be attached too.
Go Pro casesGo Pro camera
Personal Log
On Monday I was woken up at noon by the abandon ship drill. The ship does safety drills every week and for this drill we had to grab our life jackets and survival suits and head outside. I didn’t know what to expect from the drills since I was sick last Monday for the practice drills. We had to put on the life jackets but we didn’t have to put on the survival suits this time. The drill was over quickly and I headed down the wet lab to check out the traps. The cool catch of the day was a spiny lobster that wandered into one of the traps. Everyone was surprised to see the lobster!
COOL CATCH
Spiny Lobster
SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE
Name: Adria McClain
Title: Survey Technician
Education/Training: Undergraduate degree in Biology; graduate degree in Meteorology & Physical Oceanography.
Where are you from? Born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
Adria with the Spiny Lobster
Job Description/Duties: I am responsible for collecting, quality-controlling, and managing the ship’s meteorological data (temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed/direction) and oceanographic data (water temperature, salinity, current speed/direction, speed of sound in water). Additionally, I am responsible for the ship’s scientific equipment (e.g. conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensor, scientific seawater system) and the ship’s scientific software. I also assist the visiting Fisheries Biologists with sorting and measuring fish.
How long have you worked for NOAA? About six months.
How did you get into this work? I am also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy – I belong to the METOC (Meteorology & Oceanography) community. While I was on active duty, I did oceanographic surveys aboard the Navy’s research ships. I like doing science at sea so this job is a good fit.
What are your future plans (how long will you stay on the ship)? My crystal ball is a bit fuzzy right now so I don’t know how long I’ll be on this ship. I do plan to go back to grad school for a PhD in Earth Systems Science at some point in the future.
How many days are you out at sea? I believe we have 150 sailing days on the schedule for this fiscal year.
What is the most challenging part of your job? Being away from home for extended periods of time.
What do you do when you aren’t on the ship? U.S. Navy Reserve military duty. In my free time, I like to read and travel.
What is your favorite fish? The Smooth Lumpsucker (Aptocyclus ventricosus)
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lynn M. Kurth Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II July 25 – August 9, 2014
Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Longline Survey Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Date:July 28, 2014
Lat: 24 17.334 N Lon: 082 30.265
Weather Data from the Bridge: Wind: 7.52 knots
Barometric Pressure: 1017.85 mb
Temperature: 31.1 Degrees C
Science and Technology Log:
We have been traveling across the Gulf over the past two days and will continue traveling until Monday night when we will reach our first testing station. Wondering exactly where we are? You can see the ship’s location live at: NOAA Shiptracker
Our official survey has not begun but Dr. Jim Nienow, an instructor from Valdosta University, is aboard for the cruise and has been doing some basic plankton sampling while we are on the move. Dr. Nienow participated in his first shark longline survey back in 2008 and this is his sixth cruise aboard the Oregon II. He enjoys being part of the shark longline survey because it provides him with the opportunity to collect the samples that he analyzes with his students when he returns to the university. In the first few years that Dr. Neinow began collecting plankton samples he was interested in the overall biodiversity he found in the samples.
But over the past few years his work has evolved and he is currently focused on the distribution of diatoms. Diatoms are microscopic single celled photosynthesizing algae and are the most common type of phytoplankton found. Diatoms represent approximately half of the ocean’s production. In other words, these little buggers are important because they serve as the base of the food chain for the ocean. By studying diatoms scientists are able to study the overall health of the particular environment that they were collected from.
Dr. Jim Nienow
We have spent some time preparing the gear for the survey by getting the fishing lines ready. Circle hooks are used for the shark long line survey vs. J hooks so that the sharks are rarely hooked deep which makes the hook easier to remove and reduces the potential of harming the shark.
J hook vs. Circle hookPreparing the gear50 hooks prepared to receive bait
Did you Know?
Diatoms are used for the following:
as mild abrasives found in cleaning products and sometimes toothpaste
as filter material when making alcoholic/non alcoholic drinks, syrup and medicines
as insulation in sound proof or fire proof doors
Diatoms as seen through Dr. Nienow’s scanning electron microscope Photo Credit: Dr. Jim Nienow and The Deep C ConsortiumDiatoms as seen through Dr. Nienow’s scanning electron microscope Photo Credit: Dr. Jim Nienow and the Deep C Consortium
Personal Log:
During our time traveling we had an abandon ship drill. If we were to abandon the ship we would put on a full neoprene survival suit before entering the water. The water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico is around 87 degrees Fahrenheit so the suit protects folks from hypothermia that would occur over time.
“Teach” (my nickname on the ship) in the survival suit
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 23, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 27.4 C
Relative Humidity: 85%
Wind Speed: 13 knots
Science and Technology Log
The goal of the Southeast Fishery Independent Survey (SEFIS) is to assess the location and abundance of different species focusing on snappers and groupers as well as collecting bathymetric data about the ocean floor that can be used in the future. The scientists are divided into day and night shifts, the night shift maps the ocean floor, while the day shift uses these maps to set traps and catch fish.
Traps on the back deck ready to go.
Each morning the scientists set up six chevron traps on the back deck of the Pisces, each trap is stocked with 24 menhaden, which serves as the baitfish. The traps contain the same amount of bait, two cameras one on the front and one on the back, and each trap stays underwater for 90 minutes. Chief Scientist Zeb Schobernd works in the dry lab to let the crew know when and where to drop the traps (more on this later).
Trap going down the ramp into the water
When its time to retrieve the traps the crew of the Pisces works with chief scientist and the Bridge to retrieve the traps. When you are on the deck waiting for the traps to be lifted on board you have to wear a safety helmet and life preserver. Once the traps on are on the deck the scientists really start to hustle. They remove the cameras from the traps and empty the trap into black bins.
Chevron Trap being lifted onto the deck
Once we are in the wet lab the first step is to sort the fish by species. In the picture on below you will see 3 bins with red porgy, vermilion snapper, and trigger fish these are 3 of the 4 most common commercially important fish we catch the 4th is black sea bass.
Sorting the fishRed Porgy, Vermilion Snapper, & Trigger FishMeasuring the total length of the fish
Next we need to weight the sample in kilograms and record the total size of the fish in millimeters. The fish that are not being kept for further study are returned to the ocean. It can get very busy and messy in the wet lab when the traps produce a large catch. The goal is to process one trap before the next trap is brought on deck. The traps are dropped three times daily for a total of 18 traps caught per day; it is the scientist’s goal to completely process the traps before the completion of their 12 hours shift. Certain fish are of special interest to the scientists because they are commercially and recreationally important to the fishing community so these fish are set aside for further study. On Monday July 21st we caught a 10.47 kg Red Grouper, which is one of the fish that is studied in more detail.
Red Grouper caught on Monday July 21, 2014
For this fish in addition to recording the weight and total length, scientists also record the fork length and standard length. The scientists also collect the otoliths (ear bones) from the fish which are used to determine the age of the fish just likes rings on a tree are used to determine age. Finally scientists collect DNA and part of the gonads for additional study back at the laboratory.
Personal Log
My first few days on the Pisces have been busy and very exciting there is so much to see and learn. Everyone on board has been very friendly and welcoming. As I look out my window every morning all is see is blue for miles. Even though we are only 10-50 miles off the coast of North Carolina on any given day there is nothing out here but ocean. It’s impressive how vast the ocean is and how little we know about the geography of the ocean or the animals that inhabit the sea floor.
Leaving Morehead City, North CarolinaLooking down from the top deck of the Pisces.
We set sail from Morehead City, North Carolina at 10am on Sunday July 20th and I had a great view from the top deck of the Pisces as we left the harbor. After lunch we practiced the abandon ship and fire drills, however I was not able to participate because I was seasick. Did you know that seasickness occurs when our brain receives conflicting information from our body. Onboard the Pisces it doesn’t look like anything is moving so my eyes sent my brain a message that there was no movement, but my inner ear, which is responsible for balance, sensed the motion of the boat and this conflicting information caused my seasickness. By Monday I was feeling much better and I was ready to get to work.
The bunks in our stateroom
Life on the Pisces is very comfortable. I am sharing a stateroom with Mary who is a great roommate. We each have our own bunk with a curtain for privacy as well as lockers for storage. Additionally our bathroom is located in our room, which was a wonderful surprise because I thought that we would all be sharing a single bathroom. There is a lounge across from our room with large comfy chairs and an impressive DVD collection, however I have been too tired from working in the wet lab to enjoy it yet. There is also a gym somewhere on the ship but I don’t think that I will ever have enough balance onboard the ship to use the gym safely. Stay tuned, tonight I’m going to spend the night mapping the ocean floor and I’ll let you know how it goes.
SCIENTIST SPOT LIGHT
Zeb Schobernd : Chief Scientist
Education: Masters from Earlham College and a Masters from College of Charleston in Marine Biology
How long have you worked with NOAA? Since 2007, started this project in 2010
Chief Scientist Zeb Schonberned in the dry lab
How important is collaboration in your research? Being able to share and work together is a large part of the marine biology community. On this cruise for example we are collaborating with scientists from Beaufort as well as with local universities we have 2 volunteers from the College of Charleston sailing with us.
How long have you participated in this survey? Since the start of the SEFIS survey in 2010, currently in its 5th season.
Does your team change every year? The core group of research scientists stays the same, but the volunteers and lab assistants’ changes year to year.
How does the Pisces compare to other ships? The Pisces is larger than other ships I have worked on. It’s more comfortable, there is more space for scientists to spread out and work. Additionally the Pisces has the equipment need to map the floor, which makes determining where to drop traps more efficient.
How many days a year do you go out to sea? I spend about 45 days out at sea.
What do you do when you are not out at sea? I work on processing the videos that were collected on the cruise; we need to identify the fish species that are on caught on camera. The cameras are often more valuable then the fish that we trap because some fish may never go in the trap so these videos allow us a better picture of the underwater ecosystem.
What is the biggest challenge about doing research at sea? The biggest challenge would be bad weather that impacts sea conditions. Also time away from home can be challenge on long cruises.
What would be your dream research cruise? I would like to be able to use a submersible to record videos of tropical fish for further study.
Any advice you have for students interested in marine biology as a career? Gain hands on experiences in the field by doing internships while in college to determine if this is what you really want to do. What I do on a day to day basis is very similar to what I experienced on a research cruise while I was in grad school.
Weather Data from the bridge: Wind SW 18-20 knots, Seas 4-7 ft, Visibility – good
Science and Technology Log: Starring the HabCam
The HabCam is a computerized video camera system. It is a non-invasive method of observing and recording underwater stereo images, and collecting oceanographic data,such as temperature,salinity, and conductivity. The vehicle is towed at 1.5 – 2 meters from the floor of the ocean. The main objective of this mission is to survey the population of scallops as well as noting the substrate (ocean floor make-up) changes. Most substrate is made up of sand, gravel, shell hash and epifauna. We also note the presence of roundfish (eel, sea snakes, monkfish, ocean pout, and hake), flatfish (flounders and fluke), whelk, crab, and skates. Although sea stars (starfish) are a major predator of scallops, they are not included in our annotations.
The HabCam awaiting deployment.
The crew and science staff work on alternate shifts (called watches) to ensure the seamless collection of data. The scallop survey is a 24-hour operation. The science component of the ship consists of 11 members. Six people are part of the night watch from 12am-12pm and the remaining members (myself included) are assigned to the day watch which is from 12pm until 12am. During the HabCam part of the survey all science staff members rotate job tasks during their 12-hour shift. These include:
A. Piloting the HabCam – using a joystick to operate the winch that controls the raising and lowering of the HabCam along the ocean floor. This task is challenging for several reasons. There are six computer monitors that are continually reviewed by the pilot so they can assess the winch direction and speed, monitor the video quality of the sea floor, and ensure that the HabCam remains a constant 1.5 – 2 meters from the ocean floor. The ocean floor is not flat – it consists of sand waves, drop-offs, and valleys. Quick action is necessary to avoid crashing the HabCam into the ocean floor.
Carol piloting the HabCam.
B. The co-pilot is in charge of ensuring the quality of digital images that are being recorded by the HabCam. Using a computer, they tag specific marine life and check to see if the computers are recording the data properly. They also assist the pilot as needed.
One of the images from the HabCam
C. Annotating is another important task on this stage of the survey. Using a computer, each image that is recorded by the HabCam is analyzed in order to highlight the specific species that are found in that image. Live scallops are measured using a line tool and fish, crabs, whelk and skates are highlighted using a boxing tool so they can be reviewed by NOAA personnel at the end of the cruise season.
Personal Log:
When not on watch there is time to sleep, enjoy beautiful ocean views, spot whales and dolphins from the bridge (captain’s control center), socialize with fellow science staff and crew members, and of course take lots of pictures. The accommodations are cozy. My cabin is a four-person room consisting of two sets of bunk beds, a sink, and desk area. The room is not meant to be used for more than sleeping or stowing gear. When the ship is moving, it is important to move slowly and purposely throughout the ship. When going up and down the stairs you need to hold onto the railing with one hand and guide the other hand along the wall for stability. This is especially important during choppy seas. The constant motion of the ship is soothing as you sleep but makes for challenging mobility when awake.
My home away from home.Captain Jimmy runs a tight ship.
Before heading out to sea it is important to practice safety drills. Each person is made aware of their muster station (where to go in the event of an emergency), and is familiarized with specific distress signals. We also practiced donning our immersion suits. These enable a person to be in the water for up to 72 hours (depending upon the temperature of the water). There is a specific way to get into the suit in order to do so in under a minute. We were reminded to put our shoes inside our suit in a real life emergency for when we are rescued. Good advice indeed.
Carol dons her immersion suit.Life jacket selfie.
Did you know?
The ship makes it’s own drinking water. While saltwater is used on deck for cleaning purposes, and in the toilets for waste removal, it is not so good for cooking, showers, or drinking. The ship makes between 600 and 1,000 gallons per day. It is triple-filtered through a reverse-osmosis process to make it safe for drinking. The downside is that the filtration system removes some important minerals that are required for the human body. It also tends to dry out the skin; so using moisturizer is a good idea when out at sea.
Photo Gallery:
Waiting to board the RV Hugh R. SharpWest Genesee colors; flying high on the SharpFloating Frogs at the Woods Hole Biological Museum.Seal at the Woods Hole Aquarium – Oldest Aquarium in the US.
The title of this post should actually be, “when science doesn’t go exactly as planned,” but that doesn’t sound quite as dramatic.
If you have ever written a lab report, you know that there is a section for procedures (what you did). The procedures need to be explicit so that they can be replicated by another individual who will obtain the same results. If your experiment cannot be replicated, your experiment is not valid and is useless. While it is okay for your hypothesis to be different than your expected outcomes, you always have to follow your procedure.
But . . . what if you’re in the middle of the ocean potentially hundreds of miles away from shore and on a deadline? You can’t go back to shore. There are at least thirty people on your boat and a lot of money invested in this data collection. Yet you still have to come up with a way to complete your survey. The events that follow are incidents that occurred on the Oregon II from July 26-July 6 and how the scientists coped with these situations.
Sharks
Hammerhead Shark, Courtesy of Robin Gropp
In August, NOAA conducts a Longline Survey surveying sharks. Sharks are captured, identified and many are tagged with tracking devices to monitor the location and population density of sharks. Other sharks are sampled to determine age, analyze growth, sexual maturity and study stomach contents.
When sharks are captured in the trawl net on the Groundfish Survey, Robin (the intern) has been releasing them back into the Gulf after collecting data. However, not all of the sharks survive being pulled up in the net. The picture to the left is of a juvenile Hammerhead that did not survive. While this saddens me, he has been frozen and will be used to educate students in the outreach programs that NOAA participates in.
Nature vs Science
Waves crashing on the bow of the Oregon II. This picture was not taken on my survey, but this is what the weather felt like to me.
Sometimes mother nature interferes with the survey and things don’t go exactly as planned. For the first week of my trip we ran into some bad weather. There was a series of storms that came off the coast bringing rain, thunder, lightning and waves that were five to seven feet high. The weather conditions were so bad that the day shift couldn’t immediately collect data at a number of stations. They spent a lot of time waiting for the squalls to pass until it was safe to collect data. In fact, the weather in the Fall Groundfish Survey is so bad that there are a few extra days built in to run from hurricanes.
This morning we were trawling off the mouth of the Mississippi River and brought up a net full of sargassum (seaweed). The entire net, all 42 feet of it, was completely full of sargassum and very little marine life. No one on the boat had seen this much sargassum in the net before. This catch had to be thrown back overboard because the data is not usable. Basically, with that much sargassum in the net, the scientists are not sure if the trawl was fished properly. There is the possibility that because the net was so heavy, it was bogged down, uneven or not scraping the bottom of the ocean floor evenly.
The beginning of a squall courtesy of Andre DeBose
Squall moving the doors on the trawl net courtesy of Andre DeBose
Trawl Net filled with Sargassum
Warren and Mike checking to see if we are keeping the trawl
Mike and Eloy checking out the Sargassum
Formalin
Plankton preserved in Formalin
On the Oregon II, plankton samples are preserved in Formalin (40% Formaldehyde). Formalin is a clear substance that stops cells from breaking down. A few days ago we noticed that the Formalin was no longer clear, it was in fact opaque. You can see this in the picture on the left. My night shift crew was worried that it was no longer useful and that we could not bring planktons samples back to the lab in Pascagoula. However, our chief scientist assured us that we could still use the Formalin and that it would be effective. The color change indicated that the base in the mixture was breaking down but since we only have a couple more days of plankton sampling, that it will be fine.
Personal Log:
I arrived back home last night and let me tell you it is strange to be back on land. I was never seasick on the Oregon II, but I am 100% landsick now. I find myself swaying from side to side anytime I’m standing still (Dock Rock is the official term). And when I woke up last night to get a glass of water, I fell over because I was swaying so much. It’s actually pretty funny but I will be glad once this goes away.
I’m still taking in my experience from the last two weeks but I am so grateful for the people I met and was able to work with. Everyone on the Oregon II was helpful, accommodating, friendly and made me feel at home. They took time out of their day to answer my questions, give me tours, tell me stories about their history and adventures on board, go over their research and they were genuinely interested in what I do in my classroom. XO (Executive Officer) LCDR Eric Johnson spent a good chunk of his time telling me about the NOAA Corps and made me want to sign up. Although I’m not too old to apply, (I have too many attachments at home to do so) if I could do the last ten years over I would apply to their program. I will definitely make sure my students know that the NOAA Corps is an option for them and am hoping to make a trip down to San Diego to take them on one of the boats next year.
I’m particularly grateful to the Chief Scientist Andre DeBose and Watch Leader Taniya Wallace who made sure I knew I was not going to die at sea. As the boat was leaving Galveston I could not stop crying because I was 100% certain I was never coming back ( I may have watched The Perfect Storm too many times). Andre and Taniya were so reassuring and comforting and I can never thank them enough for that.
I’m looking forward to using the knowledge, pictures and data from this trip in my classroom next year. I’m also excited because I heard that I can apply to be a volunteer on a NOAA cruise and am looking forward to this in the future.
Mission: South Atlantic Marine Protected Area Survey
Geographical area of cruise: South Atlantic
Date: June 27, 2014
Weather: Hazy sun. 27 degree Celsius. 8.0 knot wind from the southwest.
Locations: North Florida MPA. LAT 30°45’N, LON 80.4.9’W
These have been my finals days aboard the Nancy Foster. We have explored so much, seen so much, yet we didn’t even scratch the surface (or should I say the bottom) of the vastness of the MPAs, the Atlantic, or any of the oceans. It has been said that the entire science community has explored less than 5% of the world’s oceans. I can relate much better to this fact after my TAS experience. In all, we completed 29 separate dives with the ROV.
The ROV on the deck of the Nancy Foster shortly before launch.John and the little ROV that could, that would, and did explore 29 dives with us.
After our last dive, we were gathered in lab and someone said “I call it a success if the number of launches matches the number of recoveries.” While that certainly is a good measure, my measure of success is the amount of new knowledge I have acquired, the re-kindling of science knowledge I once used more readily, and the many ideas I have acquired to incorporate and advance the earth and water science classes and workshops I design and teach.
Science and Technology Log
Science Part I. Let there be color
Hint: See the pictures LARGER. If you click on any of the pictures in any of my blogs, they should open up full screen so you can see the detail better
I won’t begin to identify everything in these pictures in part because I can’t without the expertise of the researchers and marine biologists I had the honor to be with. So they are here for their sheer beauty and awesomeness. Here are two good websites to checkout for more information: The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council has a good EcoSpecies database to explore and www.marinespecies.org
Photo from one of the 2014 South Atlantic MPA Survey ROV dives. Photo credit: NOAA/UNCW. Mohawk ROV June 2014.Photo from one of the 2014 South Atlantic MPA Survey ROV dives. Photo credit: NOAA/UNCW. Mohawk ROV June 2014.Photo from one of the 2014 South Atlantic MPA Survey ROV dives. Photo credit: NOAA/UNCW. Mohawk ROV June 2014.Photo from one of the 2014 South Atlantic MPA Survey ROV dives. Photo credit: NOAA/UNCW. Mohawk ROV June 2014.Photo from one of the 2014 South Atlantic MPA Survey ROV dives. Photo credit: NOAA/UNCW. Mohawk ROV June 2014.Photo from one of the 2014 South Atlantic MPA Survey ROV dives. Photo credit: NOAA/UNCW. Mohawk ROV June 2014.
Science Part II. The ocean floor changes and the habitat moves
Our last three dives with the ROV were in the North Florida MPA – about 100 miles east of Jacksonville. Stacey and the team had explored these reefs and habitats a year ago. We returned to the same areas using the MB maps where they expected to find good to excellent grouper habitat with high rugosity they observed the year before. During the first portions of the ROV dive we just could not find that habitat; it was in fact buried in sand in many places. The Gulf Stream and currents are strong here and they move the sand on the ocean floor. In addition, hurricanes and tropical storm activity probably also lead to shifts in sand and sediment on the ocean floor, exposing and covering areas all the time. This seemingly paled in comparison to erosion and sedimentation I am more familiar with in Minnesota and in places in the Midwest. Another example of how the Earth is always changing the way it appears. In 5-8th grade Earth Adventure programs we often discuss processes that form and shape the planet; plate tectonics, erosion, and weathering are the highlights. Now with my new knowledge, we will add the ideas of the oceans and currents that shape the planet.
Science Part III. What will the scientists do with all the research and information we have collected?
Over the next year, Stacey Harter, Andy David, Heather Moe, John Reed, and Stephanie Farrington will examine the hundreds of digital pictures, hours of HD video, and study the fish, invertebrate, and habitat logs we wrote during each ROV dive. A summary report about the fisheries and health of the MPAs will be written that will help the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council with management decisions for both commercial and recreational fishing in the areas.
The Nancy Foster – a NOAA ship on the seas – what makes her go?
Most of my blog has been devoted to the science of the mission, but to make that happen, the Nancy Foster has to make its way through the ocean. Here is a little about the people and the technology that make that happen.
The crew of the NF and a career with NOAA: The NF has a compliment of 22 crew members including the Commanding Officer (CO), the Executive Officer (XO), and three Junior Officers (JO’s). How does one get the privilege and honor to pilot a 187 foot ship? One career entry point is the NOAA Corps. Here is a great video link about the NOAA Corps. I had a chance to visit with all the officers and spent time with them on the bridge and can’t say enough good things about them. Wish I could include a picture of me with all of them.
John and Junior Officer Felicia Drummond on the bridge of the Nancy Foster for a morning of navigation.
Ship Technology and Engineering: There is a team of ~15 engineers, technicians, and crew that make this virtual self-sustaining ship the ability to sail the ocean for up to 14 days at a time without going into port. While at sea, each has their unique and important role. During my last full day onboard, I spent ½ of it up on the bridge and ½ down in the engine room. Here are a few technology tidbits:
Electronics and computers have a significant role to make the Nancy Foster plow through the ocean’s waters, in addition to its skilled captains and large propellers. I cannot begin to list and describe all the computers and the high technology aboard the NF and all it does. I would consider myself to have a high level of computer literacy, but this was daunting.
D.P. – Dynamic Positioning. A computer system calculates and performs many of the navigational moves the NF makes. The DP also uses wind and motion sensors to predict how the propulsion systems should respond in order to hold position or make precise movements. The DP can literally put the ship within meters of where the science team requests her to go (of course under the direction of the crew). Simply amazing!
The D.P. drives the main engine, two Z-drives off the stern that turn 360 degrees and a bow thruster.
Multiple engines and generators churn away in the depths of her not only providing propulsion, but electricity, compressed air, air conditioning, etc.
The NF can make 1700 of fresh water daily either through an evaporative process connected to the main engine or through a reverse osmosis system.
NEW – two short videos of the launch and recovery of the ROV
A view off the Nancy Foster as we sail for port on the last day.
What is next for me –what am I am hoping to do with my experience?
The NOAA TAS experience is a privilege that also comes with some requirements that I am excited to fulfill. Over the course of the next few months I will be developing a classroom lesson plan (K12, grade to be determined) based on my experience. I have at least seven new ideas to work into existing Earth Adventure programs. I will also be preparing a presentation to my peers about the TAS, the MPAs, the research, and my involvement. I will also be highlighting careers in NOAA for young adults. Some of these materials will be posted to this blog – so don’t delete the link just because I am done sailing!
Personal Log:
Yes, we were able to watch the USA vs Germans play in the FIFA World Cup. The Nancy Foster does have Direct TV and it so happens we timed our ROV dives to allow us to watch either of the two large screen TV’s aboard the ship.
I finished the The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman. The last quote I will end my blog with
“Water is unpredictable. Water is fickle. But that is water’s nature. The fickleness, the variability, is itself predictable.” (p775)
I watched a number of sunsets (when not playing Mexican Train – a game with Dominos) and I forced myself up a couple of mornings for sunrise, including this one on our last morning sailing back to Mayport.
One of the many colorful sunsets and sunrises I saw from the Nancy Foster.
Glossary to Enhance Your Mind
Each of my logs is going to have a list of new vocabulary to enhance your knowledge. I am not going to post the definitions; that might be a future student assignment. In the meantime, some might have links to further information.
NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch has a great site of definitions at
Getting ready to lower the CTDCTD with Niskin Bottles and instrument panels
The Oregon II carries an instrument called a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) that is lowered into the ocean by a crane. On the bottom of the CTD are sensors that detect and relay information back to a computer onboard the Oregon II. On top of the sensors are Niskin (gray) bottles that are manually opened before the CTD is lowered into the water, and are tripped by the Watchleader (closing and trapping water inside) when it reaches the desired depth. Data from the CTD is sent to the ship where it is recorded and stored. After the CTD is back on board, the water from the Niskin bottles is used to check the amount of dissolved oxygen. This data is then combined with numerous stations/stops and used to create a real time map of the dissolved oxygen levels in the Gulf of Mexico.
Real Time Dissolved Oxygen Map from the Oregon II
One of the missions of the SEAMAP cruise is to measure the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Gulf of Mexico. Dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen that is present in the water and is available for marine life. When the dissolved oxygen content drops below 2mg/L, the water is considered to be hypoxic and the area may be called a dead zone. Basically, what this means is that marine life cannot survive because they do not have enough oxygen.
If you can imagine living at the top of Mt. Everest without an oxygen tank, that is what living in hypoxia would be like to a fish. While the majority of organisms cannot survive in a dead zone, those organisms that do survive have been found to have permanent changes in their reproductive systems, such as smaller ovaries and fewer eggs in female fish. Dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico are due to runoff from Nitrates and Phosphates that come from fertilizers, detergents and human/animal waste. Because of hypoxia, phosphate detergents have been banned in the Great Lakes and you may even notice that some of your household detergents say “phosphate free”.
Personal Log:
Overall I’m pretty exhausted both mentally and physically. While I have taught my Environmental Students about some of the things I am doing, it’s my first time putting these into practice myself. Although I am grateful for the experience, it is a bit much to take it all in and I feel slightly overwhelmed. Luckily, I will have the chance to perform these tasks over and over before the Oregon II returns to shore. And more importantly, I am working with an amazing team of scientists who are happy to answer all of my questions and walk me through procedures multiple times.
I’m slowly adjusting to being in a different time zone, but am definitely feeling the time change. I am on the night shift which means I start work at midnight and finish at noon. This is unusual for me since I like to be in bed by ten every night. On the bright side, my night shift means I get to beat the heat during the middle of the day when the temperatures are in the eighties.
Finally in my Survival Suit
Yesterday we had an emergency abandon ship drill where we had to don survival suits. You put them on as though you were getting into a sleeping bag. This meant a lot of rolling around on the floor for me, but I like to think I entertained the crew while I was doing it. My dad thinks I look like Sebastian from the Little Mermaid in my suit, but I’m confident that I will be a warm lobster until rescue arrives in the unlikely event I have to abandon ship.
Did You Know?
Male seahorses, not female seahorses, carry fertilized eggs and give birth to their young. They will also eat any of their offspring that don’t swim away quickly enough. It pays to be a female seahorse!
Last summer I served as the Commander for our simulated mission during my week-long adventure at Space Camp.
Hello, my name is Carol Glor and I live in Liverpool, New York (a suburb of Syracuse). I teach Home & Career Skills at Camillus Middle School and West Genesee Middle School in Camillus, New York. Last summer, I was selected to participate in Honeywell’s Educators at Space Academy at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It was a week-long camp full of activities that use space to become more effective educators within science, technology, engineering and math. When one of my space camp teammates told me about her experiences as a Teacher at Sea, I knew that I had to apply.
I am so excited to have been chosen by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to be part of the 2014 Teacher at Sea field season. As a Home & Career Skills teacher, I have the opportunity to educate students about the connections between real-life skills in math, science, technology and engineering while learning about important topics such as conservation, career exploration and current events. The best way that I can learn to teach these skills is by practicing them myself. During my upcoming cruise, I will become a real scientist and learn more about the scientific research that is involved in keeping our oceans alive for generations to come.
View from Onondaga Lake West Shore Trail Expansion.Liverpool High School Crew on Onondaga Lake
Sustainability is an important topic of concern for our oceans as well as our lakes and streams. I currently live less than a mile from Onondaga Lake. For many years it has been considered one of the most polluted bodies of water in the US. Since 2007, the Honeywell Corporation has implemented the Onondaga Lake Remediation Plan (slated for completion in 2015) to result in an eventual recovery of the lake’s habitat for fish and wildlife as well as recreational activities on and around the lake. Most recently, the West Shore Trail Extension was opened for the public to enjoy. Onondaga Lake Park has always been one of my favorite places to go to experience nature while walking, running, biking or watching my daughters’ crew races. Now I can enjoy it even more.
Science and Technology:
I will be sailing from Woods Hole, Massachusetts aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp to participate in an Atlantic sea scallop survey. The R/V Hugh R. Sharp is a coastal research vessel, built in 2006, is 146 feet long, and is part of the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment fleet.
R/V Hugh R Sharp out at sea
The purpose of a sea scallop survey is to determine the scallop population on the east coast. This survey is important to protect the sea scallop from being over-harvested. By collecting digital video data and sea scallop samples, the science crew is able to advise which areas of the east coast are open for scallop fishing.
The Atlantic Sea Scallop
What I hope to learn:
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. While there, I experienced the beauty of the coastal island as well as savoring the bounty from the sea. As a casual observer, I noticed a few lobster boats, trawling vessels and pleasure cruisers. Each has a stake in the future abundance of sea life in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. I would like to learn first-hand the impact of over-harvesting on sea scallops and be able to observe them in their natural habitat. My work as a scientist will give my students a taste for the vast amount of research careers that are available to them.
Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha’s VineyardA Lobsterman hauling in his catch in Nantucket Sound.
Today’s blog is all about post processing, or “cleaning up” the data and being on night shift. It is a balmy, sliver moon night at port here, in Kodiak. We have come a long way in the last two weeks, during which survey crews have been working hard to finalize a Cold Bay report from last season before they devote themselves entirely to North Kodiak Island. I am in the plot room with Lieutenant Junior Grade Dan Smith who is on Bridge Duty from midnight until 4 a.m. with Anthony Wright, Able Seaman.
Able Seaman Anthony Wright consults with Ensign Steven Wall about conditions on the bridge and reports “all conditions normal.”
People work around the clock on Rainier whether it be bridge watch, processing data, or in the engine room. One thing that makes the night shift a little easier is that there is no shortage of daylight hours in Alaska: within two months, there will be less than an hour of complete darkness at night.
After watching Commander Brennan guide us north, with all the work it entails, it is a great sight to see him enjoy a 10 p.m. sunset with his wife (by phone).
In previous blogs, I described how the team plans a survey, collects and processes data. In this blog, I will explain what we do with the data once it has been processed in the field. Tonight, Lieutenant Dan Smith is reviewing data collected in Sheet 5, of the Cold Bay region on the South Alaskan Peninsula. In September, 2013, the team surveyed this large, shallow and therefore difficult to survey area. The weather also made surveying difficult. Despite the challenges, the team finished collecting data for Sheet 5 and are now processing all the data they collected.
Cold Bay Sheet Map. Recall the shallow areas are shaded light blue, and as you can see much of the north end of Sheet 5 is blue.
While I find editing to be one of the most challenging steps in the writing process, it is also the most rewarding. Through the editing process, particularly if you have a team, work becomes polished, reliable and usable. The Rainier crew reviews their work for accuracy as a team and while Sheet 5 belongs to Brandy Geiger, every crew member has played a part in making the Sheet 5 Final Report a reality, almost. On the left screen, Lieutenant Smith is looking at one line of data. Each color represents a boat, and each dot represents the data from one boat, and each dot represents a depth measurement computed by the sonar. The right screen shows which areas of the map he has already reviewed in green and the areas he still needs to review in magenta.
Lieutenant Smith looks for noise after midnight.
While the plot room is calm today in Kodiak, there have been times when work conditions are challenging, at best.
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The crew continues on, despite the weather, so long as work conditions are safe.
Several days ago, Lieutenant Smith taught me the difference between a sonar ping that truly measured depth, and other dots that were not true representations of the ocean floor. Once you get an eye for it, you kill the noise quickly. In addition, when Lieutenant Smith finds a notable rise in the ocean floor he will “designate as a sounding.” Soundings are those black numbers on a nautical chart that tell you how deep the water is.
This line shows three colors, meaning three boats sent pings down to the ocean floor in this area.
If the line has dots that rise up in a natural way, the computer program recognizes that these pings didn’t go as far down as the others and makes a rise in the ocean floor indicated with the blue line. It is the hydrographer’s job to review the computer processed data. One of the differences between a map and a nautical chart is the high level of precision and review to ensure that a nautical chart is accurate.
This nautical chart of Cold Bay went through many layers of analysis, processing and review before becoming published as a nautical chart that can be used as a legal document. It may be updated after Brandy Geiger and NOAA’s hydrography work in the area is completed.This is a topographical map of the same area, Cold Bay, that provides some information about landmarks but not necessarily the same legal standing or authority.
Now let’s kill some noise on this calm May evening.
In this image of a shipwreck on the ocean floor most sonar pings reached the ocean floor or the shipwreck and bounced soundings back to the survey boat. Look carefully, however, and you see white dots, representing pings that did not make it down to the ocean floor. Many things can cause these false soundings. In this case, I predict that the pings bounced back off of a school of fish. Here, the surveyor kills the “noise” or white pings by circling them with the mouse on his computer. It wouldn’t be natural for the ocean floor or other feature to float unconnected to the ocean floor, and thus, we know those dots are “noise” and not measurements of the ocean floor.
Lieutenant Smith estimates that at least half of his survey time is spent in the plot room planning or processing data. The window of time the team has in the field to collect data is limited by weather and other conditions, so they must work fast. Afterward, they spend long, but rewarding hours analyzing the data they have collected to ensure its accuracy and to provide synthesized information to put into a nautical chart that is easy to use and dependable. Lieutenant Smith believes that in many scientific careers, as much time or more time is spent planning, processing and analyzing data than is spent collecting data.
Personal Log
As we post process our data, I too, begin post processing this amazing adventure. I am hesitant to leave: I have learned so much in these two short weeks, I want to stay and keep learning. But at NOAA we all have many duties, and my collateral, wait–my primary duty is to my students and so, I must return to the classroom. I will leave many fond memories and a camera, floating somewhere in Driver Bay, behind me. I will take with me all that I have learned about the complexity of the ocean planet we live on and share my thirst to know more back to the classroom where we can continue our work. I will miss the places I’ve seen and the people I met but look forward to the road or channel of discovery that awaits me and my students.
I am also taking with me a NOAA souvenir flag, full of memories from the North Kodiak Island crew — my new friends.
Did You Know? The Sunflower Sea Star is the largest and fastest moving sea star travelling up to one meter per minute.
Here we taking a quick break during a tide gauge set up to look at sea stars and anemones.
Below are a few photo favorites of my time at sea.
The sun rays coming through looked magical.
The new, unique and pink, replacement helmet.
Carrying a drill across the tide pools. Photo by Brandy Geiger
Jim Kruger, Chief Boatswain, makes maneuvering the fast rescue boat look a lot easier than it is.
Captain Keith Sternberg swings the compass as we pass by the San Juan Islands.
The start of a great adventure: leaving Newport.
Here I am operating the crane which moves boats up over the ship and over two other levels of boats.
Views like this became normal, but still stopped me , no matter what I was doing.
Me and Starla Robinson, checking out waterfalls along the Inside Passage.
The fateful moment when I lost my blue helmet during a man overboard drill.
That’s me, deploying the MVP.
My peeps.
Ship motto “Teamwork, Safety First,” is followed and an operational risk assessment completed by all at the morning safety meeting.
Safety first: here I am with Lindsey Houska in our full immersion suits.
Here I am strenuously lifting a 1,600 pound launch with a davit.
Weather Data from the Bridge Visibility: 8-10 nautical miles
Wind: 12 knots
Swell Waves: 2 feet
Air Temperature: 72.1ºF
Seawater Temperature: 71.0ºF
Science and Technology Log
The water wasn’t as smooth today as it was yesterday, but the divers still were very successful. One fish survey was completed today. A few dives were made to check shackles on the anchors of a receiver and to retrieve a railroad tie at one of the receiver sites. The divers also began the Marine Debris Surveys today. A total of 6 surveys were conducted. Five of the six groups were able to find the marking pin. Those sites had no marine debris. The sixth site could not find the marking pin and therefore were not able to fully complete the survey. The divers did find a lot of fishing line at this site, which they removed.
Divers use the diagrams to locate the Marine Debris Survey location. Photo: Sarah WebbFishing line embedded in invertebrates. Photo: Sarah WebbFishing line embedded in invertebrates. Photo: Richard LaPalme
The weather is forecasted to start turning tomorrow. The divers are scheduled to complete morning dives, but most likely will not be able to complete afternoon dives due to poor weather. In the morning, Lauren and Hampton will complete one fish survey and one marine debris survey. The second boat will have Katie, Richard, Sarah Webb, and Randy. This group will conduct two marine debris surveys. Hopefully they will be able to get the dives in tomorrow, but safety comes first.
Over the past week I have been talking to all the crew members learning about their different jobs. There are basically several groups on the ship. There is the scientific party. This group conducts different research on the ship. These groups are constantly changing and are the guests of the ship. The permanent groups are the Commissioned Officers, Engineering Department, Deck Department, Survey Department, and the Stewards. All the departments are incredibly important and play vital roles in the operation of the ship. The Commissioned officers are in charge of the movements of the ship. The Engineering department controls the mechanical aspects of the ship. The Deck Department operates the cranes and maintains the small boats. The scientific and electronic equipment is controlled by the Survey Department and the Stewards keep all the crew well nourished. (For a more detailed description of these roles, please visit the GRNMS website at: http://graysreef.noaa.gov/science/expeditions/2014_nancy_foster/log_04242014.html )
Commanding Officer LCDR Nick Chrobak and Junior Officer ENS Conor Maginn
Today I want to focus on the Commissioned Officers. The Commissioned Officers are members of the NOAA Corps. NOAA Corps members can be found on the 19 NOAA Ships and 12 NOAA Aircraft. They can be found working on projects on the land, in the air, and at sea. The NOAA Corps was originally established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 with the responsibility of surveying the coasts. Today the NOAA Corps works in a variety of fields including oceanography, fisheries, engineering, earth sciences, and meteorology. NOAA Corps provide the leadership and operational support to meet NOAA’s mission of surveying the Earth’s oceans, coasts, and atmosphere to ensure the economic and physical well-being of the Nation.
All NOAA Corps officers hold at least a baccalaureate degree, preferably in science or engineering. All officers must have completed at least 48 semester hours in science, math, or engineering coursework and must have completed college level calculus and physics. Other requirements include passing a mental and physical as well as a background check. You also must be able to complete 20 years of active commissioned service before your 62nd birthday.
Each new NOAA Corps officer must complete an initial training program that lasts about 5 months. The NOAA Corps now conducts this program with the US Coast Guard. During this training officers learn about maritime activities such as navigation, ship handling, and emergency and rescue procedures. The training also teaches the officers about military procedures such as marching, drills, and the military ranks, structures and protocols. After completing the training, NOAA Corps members continue their training aboard a ship. This training lasts around 12 to 15 months. During this time the new officer is trained by the experienced officers. After the training period, the new officer must pass a test to demonstrate mastery of the necessary skills. Some ships do this as an oral test format where the officers ask the new officer how to they would handle certain situations. On the Nancy Foster, a life ring is thrown overboard and the new officer has to retrieve it. This simulates a Man Overboard. After the new officer passes the test they earn a permanent position on the ship. This position will last between 2 to 3 years. Officers are reassigned positions every 2 to 3 years. They rotate between ship and land based positions. Land based positions can include working at NOAA Labs, Marine Sanctuaries, and NOAA Administrative offices.
Even though the ship documents all the movements electronically, it is very important to still record the ship’s path on paper. ENS Felicia Drummand records the location.
I honestly did not know that the NOAA Corps existed until this trip. I really wished I had known about it earlier, not only for myself, but for my students. I do hope that my former and current (as well as future) students consider looking
into the NOAA Corps. It is a wonderful way to serve your country while still working with the sciences.
Did You Know?
There are seven uniformed services in the United States. These include the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, NOAA Corps, and the Public Health Service.
Personal Log
I had one of the most fun experiences last night. I went up to the bridge to get the weather data as well as watch the sunset. Executive Officer LCDR Mark Blankenship and Junior Officer Ensign Conor Maginn were on duty. The ship was recording acoustics for the Fish Acoustics project. To do this, the ship makes several short passes over a specific area. The ship was set on autopilot to complete this task. ENG Maginn would make small adjustments to keep the ship on the desired path. As soon as the acoustics survey was complete, XO Blankenship asked if I wanted to drive the ship. They took the ship off autopilot and I drove for an hour. I had to steer it into the wind for a while so that the survey technician could fill the dive compressor which is used to fill the SCUBA tanks and then I had to steer around some sailboats. I ended by getting the ship back to the site that they ended the sonar mapping from the previous night.
It was very difficult. When driving the ship, you cannot rely on simply looking out the window (this is especially true in the dark). There are many tools and computers that you need to utilize. There are five different monitors you have to look at plus the rudder position and the compass. The rudder is controlled by a switch. It took me a while to learn how to keep the ship in a specific position. It is not like a car that will keep in a straight line. You constantly need to be move the rudder. Luckily, I had ENS Maginn guiding me. He was an excellent teacher.
The switch used to control the rudder.This is the monitor used to control the ship’s movements.
Driving the ship was the one thing that I told my students I really wanted to do. When I told them that, I thought that there would be a steering wheel. I was very shocked not to find one. Rather, the ship feels like you are controlling a video game. It is controlled using switches, knobs, and joysticks. You move the rudder with a switch that rotates almost 180°.
The ship’s controls. No longer do you move a steering wheel. Instead there are knobs, buttons, and joysticks.
Additional Photos
Sunset on the Nancy Foster Photo: ENS Conor MaginnHorse Conch slowly crawling across the sand. Photo: Richard LaPalmeJackknife Fish trying to hide. Photo: Richard LaPalmeGreater Amberjack swimming in GRNMS Photo: Richard LaPalme
Weather Data from the Bridge Weather: Clear
Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Wind: 10 knots
Swell Waves: 2-3 feet
Air Temperature: 71.2ºF
Seawater Temperature: 69.1ºF
Science and Technology Log
Members on the Nancy Foster await the arrival of the dive team.
Last night the dive team arrived. The team consists of Jared Halonen, Hampton Harbin, Lauren Heesemann, Richard LaPalme, Katie Mahaffey, Randy Rudd, Sarah Webb and of course Chief Scientist Sarah Fangman. The divers quickly settled into the ship. We then had a science meeting where diving safety and the diving tasks were discussed. The divers than had to have their gear checked and it was loaded into the dive boats.
The dive operations began this morning. The beautiful, calm waters from the past 2 days changed into choppy water with up to 3 foot waves. The divers reported strong currents and a relatively large thermocline as they descend. A thermocline is where there is a change in the temperature. The divers reported a noticeable change in the temperature of the water as they descended. These conditions gave the divers a bit of a challenge.
The two dive teams set off to complete their morning dives
The divers were very successful today. They completed 2 fish acoustics surveys. Lauren and Randy dove to two different sites. At each site, Lauren had to identify and count all the different species of fish. Randy had the task of filming the site and capturing images of the different fish, especially any predator-prey relationships. They were able to see many different species of fish. The data gathered by Lauren and Randy will be used to compare to the acoustic data that is being recorded from the ship at this location.
The other dive group was tasked with replacing the Telemetry Receivers. In the morning this group consisted of Sarah Fangman, Randy, and Hampton. In the afternoon, Hampton and Jared completed this task. Together, the different dive teams were able to replace 5 receivers.
The receivers were brought on the ship and the data was downloaded to a computer. Every time a microchipped fish swam past these receivers, the receiver recorded the information. When the data is downloaded, you are able to see the number of the microchip from those fish and the date and time that they swam by the receiver. Using a database of microchip numbers generated by a group of scientists along the East Coast of the United States, we are able to identify the fish that have been in the area. From today’s data, we learned that Gray’s Reef had two visitors, an Atlantic Sturgeon in early March and Sand Tiger Shark in early April. Both were originally tagged in Delaware.
Jamie Morris preparing the receiver and Amy Rath writing the GRNMS blog. Photo: Sarah Webb
While the dive teams were out I kept busy on the Nancy Foster. In the morning I helped prepare logs for the Acoustics dive team. I also spent time at the bridge learning about the ship’s systems. Operations Officer, Lieutenant Colin Kliewer, and Junior Officer, Ensign Conor Maginn showed me the different systems in the bridge and explained how they are able to keep the ship in a precise location using the two thrusters on the ship.
OPS LT Colin Kliewer and ENS Conor Maginn controlling the ship’s movementsThe Ship’s Controls
In the afternoon I assisted Chief Scientist Sarah Fangman with the receivers that were brought on board. Using Bluetooth, she was able to download the data from the receivers to her computer. We then used the Microchip Data table and identified the tagged fish. We finished the project by cleaning the receiver and preparing them to be placed back into the ocean tomorrow. We prepared them by wrapping them in electrical tape and then placing them in nylon stockings. This is to protect the receiver from the organisms that will grow on them. Please see the “Before” and “After” photos below.
The Receiver Before it is placed in the water. It is wrapped with electrical tape and then placed inside nylon stockings.This receiver was in the water for 4 months. It is covered in tunicates, tube worms, and small crabs
We finished our day with a science meeting. We discussed the dives that occurred today. Issues, tips, and advice were shared. We also shared the data that was discovered on the receivers as well as the animals that were seen. Additional tasks for the diving teams were discussed including the sea turtle identification, the removal of the lionfish, and fish surveys. After the meeting concluded the group prepared for tomorrow’s dives by filing the SCUBA tanks, programming the GPS in the boats, and finishing preparing the receivers and logs.
The divers prepare for the dives by programming the GPS, checking the gear, and loading the gear into the boat.
Did You Know?
There is a fish called the guitarfish. This fish is a cartilaginous fish closely related to sharks and rays. One was spotted today at GRNMS.
As of 5 pm tonight, I have been a board the Nancy Foster for one week. I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by. It feels like it was just yesterday that I boarded in the pouring rain, afraid to move around the ship. It took me a while to become comfortable walking on the ship. I am doing pretty well now, but every once in a while we hit a swell and I go flying toward the wall. Luckily the ship has railings all over allowing you to catch yourself. There is the rule on the ship to always have one free hand. I completely understand this rule and use it all the time. The most difficult places to move are going up or down in the ship. The stairs are a combination of stairs and a ladder. They are incredibly steep. The most difficult part is descending. I am getting much better at them. I am having a wonderful experience aboard the Nancy Foster. I have met many great people and am constantly learning. I cannot wait to see what this next week brings.
Additional Photos
Lowering the dive boats in the water is a team effort.The crane lifts the boat, 4 members use guide ropes, and the boatswain directs the movement.The science team meets to review that day’s events and to discuss the next day’s activitites
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Denise Harrington Almost Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier April 6 – April 18, 2014
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: North Kodiak Island Date: March 28, 2014
My name is Denise Harrington, and I am a second grade teacher at South Prairie Elementary School in Tillamook, Oregon. Our school sits at the base of the coastal mountain range in Oregon, with Coon Creek running past our playground toward the Pacific Ocean. South Prairie School boasts 360 entertaining, amazing second and third grade students and a great cadre of teachers who find ways to integrate science across the curriculum. We have a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) grant that allowed me to meet Teacher at Sea alumni, Katie Sard, who spoke about her adventures aboard NOAA Ship Rainier. I dreamed about doing something similar, applied, and got accepted into the program and am even on the same ship she was!
In Tillamook, we can’t help but notice how the tidal influence, flooding and erosion affect our land and waters. Sometimes we can’t get to school because of flood days. The mountainside slips across the road after logging, and the bay fills with silt, making navigation difficult. As a board member for the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP), I am proud to see scientists at work, collecting data on the changing landscape and water quality. They work to improve fish passage and riparian enhancement. Working with local scientists and educators, our students have also been able to study their backyard, estuary, bays and oceans.
Now that we have studied the creek by our school, the estuary and Tillamook Bay, with local scientists, it seems to be a logical progression to learn more about our larger community: the west coast of the North American Continent! I hope the work we have done in our backyard, will prepare students to ask lots of educated questions as I make my journey north on Rainier with scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) north to Alaska.
NOAA has the best and brightest scientists, cutting edge technology and access to the wildest corners of the planet we live on. And I have got the most amazing assignment: mapping coastal waters of Alaska with the best equipment in the world! NOAA Ship Rainier is “one of the most modern productive hydrographic survey platforms of its type in the world.” Rainier can map immense survey areas in one season and produce 3-D charts. These charts not only help boaters navigate safely, but also help us understand how our ocean floor is changing over time, and to better understand our ocean floor geology and resources, such as fisheries habitat. Be sure to check out the Rainier link that tells more about the ship and its mission. http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ra
Rainier is going to be doing surveys in “some of the most rugged, wild and beautiful places Alaska has to offer,” says the ship’s Commanding Officer CDR Rick Brennan. I am so excited for this, as an educator, bird surveyor, and ocean kayaker. After departing from Newport, Oregon on April 7th, we will be travelling through the Inside Passage of British Columbia, the place many cruise ships go to see beautiful mountains and water routes. I have many more questions than I do answers. What kinds of birds will I see? Will I see whales and mountain peaks? Will the weather cooperate with our travels? Will the crew be willing to bear my insatiable questions?
Once we are through the Inside Passage, we will cross the Gulf of Alaska, which will take 2 ½ days. As we pass my brother’s home on the Kenai River, I will wave to him from the bow of Rainier. Will he see me? I think not. Sometimes I forget how big and wild Alaska is. Then we will arrive on the north side of Kodiak Island where we will prepare for a season of survey work by installing tide gauges.
I always love to listen to students’ predictions of a subject we are about to study. What do I know about tide gauges? Not a lot! Even though I can see the ocean from my kitchen window, I cannot claim to be an oceanographer or hydrographer. I had never even heard the word “hydrographer” until I embarked on this adventure! I predict I will be working with incredibly precise, expensive, complicated tools to measure not just the tide, but also the changes in sea level over time. I am excited to learn more about my neighbor, the ocean, how we measure the movement of the water, and how all that water moving around, and shifting of the earth affects the ocean floor. I am proud to be a member of the team responsible for setting up the study area where scientists will be working and collecting data for an entire season. It will surely be one of the greatest adventures of my lifetime!
Here are my two favorite travelling companions and children, Martin and Elizabeth.
In my final days before I embark, I am trying to pick up the many loose ends around the Garibaldi, Oregon home where I live with my dorky, talkative 18 year old son and 16 year old daughter who take after their mother. They share my love of the ocean and adventure. When they aren’t too busy with their friends, they join me surfing, travelling around the world, hiking in the woods, or paddling in our kayaks. Right now, Elizabeth is recovering from getting her tonsils out, but Martin is brainstorming ways to sneak my bright orange 17 foot sea kayak onto Rainier next week. I moonlight as a bird surveyor, have taxes to do and a classroom to clean up before I can depart on April 6. Once Rainier leaves Newport, I will become a NOAA Teacher at Sea, leaving Martin, Elizabeth and my students in the caring hands of my supportive family and co-workers.
Here I am having fun with kayaking friends in California in December.
Having gone through the Teacher at Sea pre-service training, I feel more prepared to help the crew, learn about all the jobs within NOAA and develop great lesson plans to bring back to share with fellow educators. I want to bring back stories of scientists working as a team to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems. And I am looking forward to being part of that team!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Susy Ellison Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier September 9 – 26, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographic Area: Carbondale, CO Date: November 5, 2013
Weather: You can go to NOAA’s Shiptracker (http://shiptracker.noaa.gov/) to see where the Rainier is and what weather conditions they are experiencing while I am back at school in Glenwood Springs, CO.
GPS Reading: 39o 24,13146 N 107o 12.6711 W
Temp: -8C
Wind Speed: 0
Barometer: 1026.00 mb
Visibility: Clear
Science and Technology Log
How do you become a hydrographer? After spending 2 ½ weeks aboard the Rainier as a Teacher at Sea, I found that this question had as many answers as the ship had hydrographers. In fact, if you take time to concatenate the data (obviously, I have become fond of my newest vocabulary word!), you will learn that being a hydrographer is incredibly multi-faceted and is a confluence of ocean-, cartographic-, and computer-based sciences, with some outdoor skills thrown in for good measure.
Cdr Rick Brennan and some of the hydrographers of the future in Cold Bay, Alaska
The Rainier’s CO, Commander Rick Brennan, finished college with a degree in Civil Engineering. In 1991, his senior year, he discovered NOAA when a professor suggested he check out the NOAA Corps during a recruiter’s visit to campus. He started as a NOAA Corps member in 1992 and has been involved in hydrographic survey work ever since. His studies in the NOAA Corps training included coursework on ships, radar, and navigation, and led to his appointment as Commanding Officer (CO) of the NOAA Ship Rude (http://www.moc.noaa.gov/Decomm Ships/ru-index.html). This ship was NOAA’s smallest hydrography vessel at only 90’ long.
Commander Brennan has seen many changes in hydrography during his career. First and foremost, has been its evolution as an academic discipline. The University of New Hampshire, based in Durham, NH, founded the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping in 1999. Their Joint Hydrographic Center was created through a partnership between the University and NOAA. (http://ccom.unh.edu/about-ccomjhc, http://www.eos.sr.unh.edu/) Prior to this, hydrography was part of more general courses in oceanography. Now, you can get a Master’s Degree in Hydrography.
The last 20+ years have also seen significant changes in hydrographic technology, especially in the tools used to map the ocean floor. Prior to 1994, hydrographic vessels were outfitted with single beam sonar, instead of the multi-beam sonar that is today’s standard. The single beam only provided bathymetric data at a single position on the seafloor directly below the vessel, while multi-beam sonar can give us high resolution information about the seafloor across a swath of the seafloor stretching several hundred meters to either side of the vessel. The Rainier, as NOAA’s premier hydrography vessel, was fully outfitted with multi-beam sonar by 1998. Other technological advances have included significant changes in information processing, from the days of paper tape and punch card programming, to the development of hydrography-specific data analysis programs such as CARIS.
While data collection capabilities have changed exponentially over the past 20 years, CDR Brennan noted changes in how that data is used. NOAA has set the industry standard worldwide for collecting hydrographic data. Departments within NOAA are able to use that data to more than make charts. Fisheries biologists can use the detailed seafloor information in their assessments of ecosystem health and the availability of suitable prey species for all parts of the complex ocean-based food web. Shorelines are dynamic; charting plays a role in establishing baseline data in a changing world. Brennan foresees a future where navigators will view charts using a variety of platforms besides merely lines on paper; this will take educating mariners in how to utilize some of the new electronic tools that are available.
Brennan reflected that, while there have been significant advances in the field of hydrography, there is still much work to do. NOAA publishes an annual review of its hydrographic survey goals (http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsd/NHSP.htm) . While this might not sound like the most scintillating of reads, it’s a fascinating look at the enormity of the concept of charting our coastline. Depending on how you view coastline—is it a smoothed-out line of the coast, does it include all the ins and outs and bays, or does it include all the United States’ navigable coastline extending out 200 nautical miles—one thing is certain, there’s a lot of it. In Alaska, alone, NOAA has identified 324,465 square nautical miles as Navigationally Significant. The identified total for all of the United States, including the Caribbean, is 511, 051 square nautical miles. Alaska is big! The crew of the Rainier will have plenty of work!
Chief Survey Technician Jim Jacobson at work in the computer lab
Chief Survey Technician Jim Jacobson’s favorite area to survey is Southeast Alaska with its varied topography, underwater features, and interesting ports. He should know, since he’s been a member of the Rainier’s survey crew since 1990. Jim graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Oceanography—at that time there were no hydrography-specific programs. When he began, a large part of the training consisted of good old, OJT—on the job training, learning new skills as new equipment and techniques became available. Needless to say, there have been more than a few changes over the past 20+ years.
Jim began his career before GPS was a part of hydrographic survey. Setting benchmarks to establish sea levels was done using transits and theodolites, triangulating from known points on land to establish location and elevation on shore. Information was transmitted using microwave towers that were erected on site. Fast forward to 2013, where GPS is part of everyone’s vocabulary and the ability to know ‘exactly’ where you are is often in the palm of your hand. The Rainier’s tide gauge stations are set using GPS units that can identify location and elevation to within centimeters.
He also began his career using single beam sonar, instead of today’s multi-beam. While single beam doesn’t have the pinpoint accuracy that multi-beam sonar might offer, there were a few advantages. It was a faster way to collect data, since you weren’t collecting as much information with each ‘ping’. Thus, you could complete more ‘sheets’ (an identified area for mapping) during your time at sea.
There have been incredible advances in data analysis since Jim started on the Rainier. Data collected each day has become more complex, requiring more hours of ‘cleaning’ to remove extraneous pings and information. Hydrographers use increasingly complex computer software to produce charts, often spending up to 5 hours to process one hour’s data.
What’s next? Jim imagines a future with underwater mapping done by ROVs, remotely operated vehicles, cruising the seafloor to send back terabytes of information. ROVs are already used in a variety of information-gathering capacities, sending back high-quality video of seafloor conditions, information on water chemistry, or video of marine life from far below the surface.
Here’s what hasn’t changed–hydrographers work in all sorts of weather and ocean conditions!
Christi Reiser didn’t start out planning to be a hydrographer. She has, perhaps, the most diverse resume of any of the survey team. Christi is currently a college student, and will be receiving her BA in Geography from the University of Colorado, Denver at the end of this year. Her hydrography career began in May, 2012 when she was hired as an intern on the Rainier, earning college credit while working for NOAA.
Christi Reiser
Since high school, Christi has earned an Associate’s Degree in Business, was employed as a saddle maker in Austria, and worked for an oil company as a mapping technician. While all of those pathways gave her something to ponder, it was the GIS part of her mapping job that really ignited the fire that sent her back to college to pursue a degree in Geography with a focus on GIS and a minor in Environmental Science. To further stoke that fire, Christi worked to design and pursue an internship experience that would allow her to ‘test drive’ a career combining GIS, hydrography, and life on the high seas. Through a combination of motivation, Google-based searching, a diverse and applicable set of educational and experiential skills, and the courage to make some phone calls and take a few risks, Christi ended up on the Rainier, working as a paid intern. How cool is that? She earns college credit, gains expertise working with challenging software and data acquisition programs and equipment, charts the uncharted ocean floor, and sees parts of Alaska that aren’t on the usual tourist’s destination list. One of her projects during her first season on the Rainier was the creation of an online blog describing her work. You can check it out at http://rainierinternship.blogspot.com/
Through her internship Christi has found that NOAA is one of the most education-oriented organizations she has worked for, constantly providing opportunities to learn new skills and information. She is excited to be working in a GIS-based field and considers it to be one that is ‘never-ending’, since only 4% of the sea floor has been mapped! After graduation, her next step may be a Master’s Degree in Geography, to add more science research experience to her knowledge base. After that? Well, all I can say is that Christi plans to create a new job that “doesn’t even exist”. Stay tuned.
So, the next time you’re talking to your guidance counselor about college plans, or wondering what you might want to be when and if you grow up, consider the field of hydrography. Where else do you get to wear a life jacket to work?
Field Operations Officer (FOO)Meghan McGovern goes over the Plan of the Day. Where else do you get to wear a life jacket to work?
Personal Log
Now that I’ve been home a few weeks, it’s time to reflect on my Teacher at Sea experience. I’ve been asked, more than once, “Did it meet my expectations”? That’s an easy question to answer—the answer is “No, it exceeded my expectations!” I came away from my time on the high seas with much more than just knowledge of the complexities of seafloor mapping. As a firm believer in the concept that ‘everything is interesting’, it would be hard to point to any aspect of my trip that wasn’tsomething fun and interesting to learn!
The science of hydrography is amazing. Just thinking about mapping something that you can’t actually see is an incredible concept. I have always been fascinated with maps and the process of creating a map, but I look at those maps a little differently now, going beyond the story the map tells to thinking about how that map was made. The science of mapping has undergone many changes since those first sailors with their lead lines creating maps of harbors and shorelines. In case you’re still wondering why hydrography and the Rainier’s mission is so important, check out this clip from a PBS special that aired in September–http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/climate-change/july-dec13/arctic_09-17.html
The teamwork, efficiency, and camaraderie on the ship were a common thread uniting each day’s activities. Each crew member played a role in the success of the ship’s mapping mission. It took everyone from the engine room to the bridge to keep it all ‘shipshape’. There was really no job too small—everything and everyone had a necessary role. I especially appreciated the fact that every crew member was willing to answer the myriad questions I had; from specific questions about their job to questions about how they ended up on the Rainier.
Perhaps we should have used some of our sonar capabilities to search for the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow!
At the end of my Teacher at Sea experience I have to conclude that NOAA is one of our country’s best kept secrets. What other federal agency can bring you such treats as the daily weather report or tide predictions for an entire year, monitor fisheries along our coastal areas, keep track of our changing climate, or survey marine mammals? Of course, you shouldn’t forget all those nautical charts produced by the hydrographers on the Rainier. NOAA’s webpage says it all (http://www.noaa.gov/); from the ocean floor to the top of our atmosphere—and everything in-between. In a world with a rapidly changing climate I can’t think of an agency that is doing more important work.
Many thanks to NOAA and the Teacher at Sea program for providing me with this incredible learning experience.
NOAA Teacher at Sea John Clark Aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow September 23 – October 4, 2013
Mission: Autumn Bottom Trawl Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Date: September 18, 2013
Introduction
Thank you for reading about my adventures at sea. My name is John Clark and I’m entering my 7th year teaching science at Deltona High School in Deltona, Florida. Our community is just off I-4 between Orlando and Daytona Beach. Teaching is my second career, after working in the telecommunications field, and I love getting students excited about science. I’ve even earned a few awards for being successful at it. I’m married to the love of my life, Jill, who is also a teacher. In our lives are three grown children and seven grandchildren. With great blessings, I share that they are all healthy, happy, and live close enough for us to see them regularly. At home we have replaced the kids with two cats and a dog.
My wife Jill with grandson RionJills husband – me, John ClarkSabi dog in the pool with granddaughter Morgan
In a few days, anticipation will be replaced by action as I board a plane headed for my NOAA Teacher at Sea experience I’ve waited for all summer to begin. I’ll be sailing aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow, a ship specially built for NOAA to carry out the type of fisheries research I’ll be taking part in. I’ll be working side by side with experienced scientists who not only are knowledgeable in how to do the research conducted on board but also have the skill to share their knowledge with volunteers like me who have limited background in the science behind the work. It is the experience of a lifetime that I hope will energize my students about studying science as we carry out lesson plans developed from the experience and I share with them the stories of my time at sea. I’m sure a giant boat-eating squid will be in there somewhere.
NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow
Officially, I’m taking part in 2013 Autumn Bottom Trawl Survey conducted by the Ecosystems Survey Branch of the NOAA Fisheries Service. That’s a long fancy way of saying that the ship is going to drag a net for a short period of time near the bottom of the ocean and then collect data on the types of fish we catch as well as the environment they live in. Affectionately called a “critter cruise”, I now join a long line of Teacher at Sea alumni who have taken part in the biannual surveys of North Atlantic marine life. And there are a lot of critters to learn to identify as I’m finding out from watching the CD I was sent to be better prepared to support the research team. There are two types of Dogfish which look suspiciously like little sharks, flounders that are left eyed or right eyed depending on which side they decided to leave up, and squid distinguished by the length of a pair of fins down the side of the body. All you do is hold them upright, tentacles hanging toward the ground, and take a look. And don’t forget the large lump fish which is described as have the texture of a dog’s chew toy. Whatever the species, the role of the research volunteer is to sort them out and then collect data for the scientists to study.
Scientists sorting a catch aboard the Bigelow
What can be overlooked in the preparation is the part about how to handle fish. I do not like to touch fish so I will be facing my fears even while wearing gloves. And I really don’t like it when they flop around. I envision I’ll be the one with the hand in the wrong place when the shark twists around to see who is holding its tail or, at a minimum, squeeze too hard on the species that will poke you with a poison spine if you upset them. Other good advice I’ve learned from the CD is that there is a 100% recovery from seasickness and if the seas get rough, wedge yourself into your bunk with your life vest so you don’t roll around and fall out. My two year old granddaughter, Ireland, was watching the video with me while I studied and all she could say was “Oh my.”
Weather Data from Newport, OR: GPS location: 44°38’12.63” N, 124°3’12.46”W
Sky condition: OVC
Air temperature: 10.6°C
The sun rising as we finished our transit back to Kodiak.
Science and Technology Log
During my final days aboard the NOAA Ship Rainier, I began to understand the big picture of all that goes in to hydrographic survey. While we were transiting from the Shumagin Islands back to the Coast Guard Base in Kodiak, the scientists invited me to sit in on a survey review meeting. During the meeting I listened as the Commanding Officer (CO), the Chief Survey Technician, the Field Operations Officer (FOO), the sheet manager, and others went over the Descriptive Report for a project that had been completed on a previous leg in Behm Canal. It was interesting to listen to the conversation and actually understand what these researchers were talking about! I felt as though it was appropriate for me to attend this meeting on my final day on the ship, as this truly is the last step for the scientists on board before the chart and attached data are sent off the ship to the Pacific Hydrographic Branch where the data is further processed in order to ensure accuracy of the data. As I have now participated in most parts of the survey process, allow me to show you a step-by-step explanation of hydrographic survey from start to finish.
Step One: Getting to the Survey Location
Several NOAA Corps Officers on the bridge while coming in to port in Kodiak.
It takes a dedicated and skilled team to safely navigate the ship to the correct survey location. It is also important that the FOO conducts a survey meeting to review the plan of the leg with the research crew. When I sat in on this survey meeting at the start of the leg the crew discussed what has been accomplished to date, which sheets we would be focusing on during this leg, and any technical issues that needed to be reviewed with the team.
Step Two: Setting up Vertical and Horizontal Control Stations
Brandy Geiger (left) and Bill Carrier (right) work on equipment that was set-up on Bird Island as a vertical and horizontal control station.
Before data can be collected, it is necessary to have a reference of where the data is being collected. As I discussed in a previous post, tidal gauges are set-up prior to survey in order to guarantee accurate water depths. The NOAA Ship Rainier is currently setting up a tidal gauge near Cold Bay, Alaska so that they may begin working in their upcoming survey location. You can track the Rainier at http://shiptracker.noaa.gov/
Step Three: Running Shoreline Verification
Before the launches (small boats) are able to get data close to the shore, it is important for the skiff to visually check the shoreline to make sure that there are no major hazards to navigation. The shoreline crew is responsible for marking any dangers, and getting close enough to shore to decide where the sheet limits should be set. These sheet limits dictate how close the shoreline and rock formations are that the launches need to survey.
Step Four: Data Collection on Ship and Launches
This is the time when the hydrographers and ship crew can begin “coloring in the lines” by filling in designated polygons with sonar data. The hydrographers are in charge of determining where the ship or launch needs to be driven in order to gather the required data using navigation software on the ship called HYPACK. They are also responsible for taking Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) measurements in order to apply accurate sound speed profiles to the data. The deck department and the NOAA Corps officers are responsible for following the plan laid out by the hydrographers in order to navigate the ship to gather data. This takes attention to detail, because if the ship goes off course, data is missed for a certain area creating a “holiday”, or a gap in the data. If a holiday is created it means that the crew has to go back and get the missing data later. Nobody likes a holiday as it costs time and money to fix. While data is being collected, the hydrographers are in charge of keeping an acquisition log that is a detailed record of everything that is taking place during a specific survey. The team uses a program called Seafloor Information Systems (SIS) in order to collect the sonar data on the ship. On the launches, HYPACK serves a dual function as the navigation software and the sonar software.
Randy (left) and Brandy (right) working on ship survey by monitoring the systems, drawing lines for navigation, and ensuring that good data is being collected.Left – Releasing the CTD from one of the launches. Right – Controlling the CTD as it is dropped from the surface to the bottom.
Step Five: Processing and Cleaning the Data
This was one of the most interesting parts of the process as you begin to see the data come to life. The “lines” of data that are collected using the Konsberg sonar unit are brought over to a program called CARIS. Certain correctors such as sound velocity and the predicted tides are added to the data in CARIS as well. While each processing step is being completed, the hydrographer is responsible for making notes in the acquisition log.
Here is an example of some lines of data that have been added into the processing software.
Next it is important to “clean” the data. This is done by moving carefully over each line of data to filter out any noise that shouldn’t be there. When the data has been cleaned it can then be added to the project file for the sheet manager. This way the hydrographer that is in charge of that specific sheet of data can see what progress has been made and what steps are still required for the work to be completed.
Here is an example of data that needs to be cleaned. Notice how the data jumps around rather than showing one continuous ocean floor.
Step Six: Writing the Descriptive Report (DR) and Conducting a Survey Review
The Descriptive Report (DR) seems to be the most tedious part of the process. This is the report that is included with the sheet when it is sent to the Pacific Hydrographic Branch for review and further processing. It thoroughly explains things like the area surveyed, how data was acquired, and results and recommendations. After a DR is thought to be complete, the ship conducts an internal review. This is what I got to sit in on during my last day on the ship. After it has met the expectations of the Chief Survey Technician, the FOO, and the CO, the project can then be sent off the ship to the Pacific Hydrographic Branch before being sent on to the Marine Chart Division (MCD) where the charts are finalized.
This is an image of all of the work that has been completed in the Shumagin Islands by the Rainier during this field season. The colored sections have been completed, and you can see the polygons that need to be finished.
Like I said in my previous blog post, the scientific process is not easy. These scientists and crew work tirelessly to ensure that they are producing quality work that can be utilized for safe navigation. I appreciate their efforts, and I want to thank them for their long hours and their attention to detail.
Personal Log
I find myself unable to fully express my gratitude to the crew of the Rainier for my time with them. They allowed me to ask endless questions, they welcomed me into their close-knit community, and they provided me with an experience of a lifetime. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity, and I wanted to be sure to offer my appreciation.
It has been over a week since I’ve been back in Newport, Oregon, and I’ve had a great time reliving my Teacher at Sea (TAS) experience with family, friends, coworkers, and students. While we were transiting from the Shumigans, Christie Reiser, a Hydrographic Assistant Survey Technician on board gave me an awesome video that she had made with several crew members. The video gives a tour of the Rainier, and I thought it would be a nice to share it on my blog as a way to show people where I spent my 18 days at sea.
In this section I usually do a detailed interview with one crew member. As this is my last blog post, I wanted to be sure to include all of the other interviews that I had while on the ship. For each of these interviews I have included a snapshot of the conversation that I had with each person. While I wasn’t able to interview everyone on board, I can say for a fact that each person I met had a unique story. I was particularly fascinated by the various pathways that people have taken in order to become part of the Rainier crew. Enjoy!
Did You Know…
The NOAA Teacher at Sea community has created a Did You Know website. Click on the following link to check out an assortment of things you might not have known: http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/dyk/#box23_text
Farewell
Thank you for following my blog and for sharing this experience with me. Thanks again to the crew of the Rainier for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve learned so much from this experience, and I plan to take the knowledge I’ve gained and pass it along to my students, friends, and community members.
The crew signed this flag and gave it to me as a departing gift.
Best wishes to the crew of the Rainier, good luck with the rest of your field season, and happy hydro!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Katie Sard
Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier July 29, 2013-August 15, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area of the Cruise: Shumagin Islands, AK Date: August 9-13, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: GPS location: 54°49.910’N, 159°46.159’W
Sky condition: OVC
Visibility: 5 nm
Wind: 10 kt, 135 true
Water temperature: 7.2°C
Air temperature: 11.0°C
Science and Technology Log
At the beginning of my time aboard the Rainier I couldn’t believe it when one of the hydrographers told me that it takes almost two years for the data that we are collecting right now to go into print. After spending time with the scientists trying to understand the process, I have a better idea of why the data can take up to 24 months to appear on a chart. There are numerous things to take into account: variables that need to be controlled for, inclement weather that may restrict completing data collection, limited personnel to process the data, reports that need to be written to accompany the data, and so on. The point being is that it is not as simple as surveying the ocean floor and making a chart.
The FOO (Field Operations Officer), Meghan McGovern, leads a morning safety meeting prior to sending out the launches.
The tides are one important variable that hydrographers must control for when they are collecting data. Tides constantly cause the depths of the water to change, but it is important for the charts to show the shoalest (most shallow) depth possible for safe navigation.
Notice how one low tide is lower than the other low tide.
It’s not practical to only conduct surveys during low tides, so the data must be corrected to take water depth to a universal constant. For most of the charts, NOAA uses Mean Lower Low Water as the control. To explain Mean Lower Low Water, I have to review a bit about the tides themselves. Most places, including Alaska, experience semidiurnal tides meaning that in one day, there are two high tides and two low tides. If you look at the two low tides in one day, one of the two will be lower than the other one. An average should be taken of the “lower low” water levels for 19 years. This is how long the earth, sun, and moon to go through their various orbital eccentricities. Typically, it is not reasonable to have a gauge installed for 19 years so by acquiring one 30 day cycle of tide data we are able to get approximately 90% of the solution and the remaining 10% is solved for using “primary stations” (ones which have a 19 year record) that are nearby. This calculated average of the lower low tides is called the Mean Lower Low Water and all data is corrected to this value.
Before the water depth can be corrected to Mean Lower Low Water, the tides must first be measured. The National Water Level Observation Network has stations all over the United States which give data on how to figure out local tide conditions. The closest one to use in the Shumagins is at Sand Point on Popof Island. In order to verify that the tides are being accurately predicted, the crew on the Rainier installs their own tidal gauge to verify the tidal data.
The tide station that the Rainier crew installed on Bird Island.
A tide gauge is installed on the sea floor near the coast line by divers. It must be fairly deep so that it is always covered by water. In order to verify that the tide gauge is working, a tide staff is installed nearby for the crew to take visual water level measurements every week for 3 hours in 6 minute increments. They use this manually collected data and compare it to the tide gauge to make sure that the gauge is functioning accurately and also to ensure that the gauge has not moved relative to the land after it has been installed.
One of the five benchmarks that was cemented into the bedrock at the tide station on Bird Island.
It is a complicated process to install one of these tidal gauges, and they have to be calibrated to that Mean Lower Low Water. In order to assure that we have a reference point on land, benchmarks are put in near the tide gauge. These benchmarks should be able to be utilized for centuries by anyone who wished to come back to set-up a tide gauge.
Last Friday I was assigned to the skiff (small boat) as part of the crew of people who would go observe the tide staff and complete other necessary tasks at the tide gauge station on Bird Island. It was a 30 minute ride in the skiff from the ship, and when we got the island, the coxswain pulled the boat next to the rocks so we could quickly transfer ourselves and our gear onto the island. A total of five benchmarks had been put into the bedrock during the last visit to Bird Island, and it was our job to verify the location of each benchmark.
I had the task of pointing at the benchmarks to note their locations for the pictures. The benchmark is embedded in the bedrock near my left hand.
We took GPS locations, measured from benchmark to benchmark, and took pictures with detailed notes telling where each of the five was located. If something happened to the primary benchmark, there would be four back-ups that could be used to reference the location of the tide gauge. It was also the responsibility of our crew to do the 3 hour tide staff observations, but bad weather only allowed us to complete one hour of data collection before we were required to return to the ship.
LT Mike Gonsalves takes a GPS location while sitting on one of the five benchmarks.Measuring from one benchmark to the next.LT Mike Gonsalves begins taking tide staff observations.
It constantly impresses me how many variables these scientists need to control for in order to get accurate depths to place on the charts. I have only received a snapshot of the work that goes into one of these projects during my time aboard the Rainier. I have begun to see a problem when so many people of this generation expect instant results and instant gratification. From now on it will be important for me to show my students that the scientific process is slow and arduous, but the overall results are impressive when you learn to appreciate and understand the steps that it takes to get there.
Personal Log
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit the engine room as the ship was getting underway. Evan McDermott , a 1st Assistant Engineer on board, was kind enough to let me to follow him through the heart of the ship. As we walked and ducked under the various equipment, I began to realize just how naïve I am about how the ship is powered. As I began to observe and ask questions, I realized just how much time and effort it takes to get the ship in motion.
When I first went down to the engine room they had just turned the pumps on. These pumps are used to help turn the rudders. Each time the pumps are powered on, it is required that the engineers do a steering test. I went with Joshua Parker, a GVA (General Vessel Assistant) in the engineering department on board, as he showed me how to complete the steering test with the rudder.
GVA Josh Parker helps to show me around the engine room.
While we were anchored, the engines were powered down and we were running the basic functions of the ship with two generators which stay on 24 hours a day while the ship is underway. When I came back to the engine room it was time to turn the engines on, and Evan walked me through how to do this. Really all I did was push two buttons that he showed me, but it was neat to hear the engines come to life.
The two 12-cylinder engines that we have on board.
While I was in the engine room, I remembered several of the questions my students had when the CO came to speak to my class last year. I seemed to remember a lot of students asking questions about the fuel that the Rainier uses. I decided to do some investigating by asking some of my own questions. It turns out that the ship is able to carry a total of 103,000 gallons of fuel at a time. On a typical 18 day leg, the ship will burn about 30,000 gallons of fuel. Evan pulled up a detailed Microsoft Excel sheet and showed me how they keep track of the fuel being used. He showed me that while underway the ship typically burns about 2,000 gallons each day, but if the ship is anchored it is more like 600 gallons.
Something else I learned while in the engine room was how this ship uses fuel as ballast. Normally on a ship, ballast is water that is taken in to help keep the ship balanced. The Rainier has 17 fuel tanks all around the ship, and one of the reasons for this is to give the ship stability.
A diagram of the 17 fuel tanks on the Rainier. Notice how they are low as they help with the stability of the ship.
For this reason, it is important that the fuel is burned in a certain order based on which tank it is in. Once the engineers decide that they need to use fuel from a certain tank, it is transferred into two settlers. This is where the water is allowed to settle out of the fuel before it is purified and transferred to the day tanks. These two-day tanks are where the two engines suck fuel from directly.
The last thing that grabbed my attention in the engine room was the process on how the sewage is filtered. I know it sounds gross, but it is such a simple chemical reaction that I feel compelled to share it! The machine that is responsible for this treatment uses salt water and DC current. The current is run through the water and breaks the salt (NaCl) into the ions Na+ and Cl–. The Cl– ions go on to reform with the OH– ions from the water forming sodium hypochlorite. This substance acts to kill the bacteria in the sewage. Chemistry at work!
Just another Day at the Office
Evan McDermott, 1st Assistant Engineer
Evan McDermott
After touring the engine room, I sat down with Evan to talk about his job and how he came to work for NOAA as a 1st Assistant Engineer. He told me that he graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a BS in Marine Engineering as well receiving his US Coast Guard license. I didn’t know what a Maritime Academy was until I came aboard the Rainier, so I asked him how he originally heard about this field. Evan told me that in high school he went through a unique program where he spent two days each week doing marine engineering outside of his school. A guidance counselor told him more about the benefits of marine engineering, and that’s when Evan decided to apply to Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
During our conversation, Evan told me that what he enjoys most about his job is the variety of hands-on work that he gets to be involved in, and he also enjoys the scenery here in Alaska. He is required to stand watches in the engine room for two 4-hour shifts while the ship is underway, and he also plays a supervisory role. The engineering department on the ship is mostly responsible for the maintenance and operations. I asked him to share the advice he would give to students hoping to get into this field of work, and he said that it is important to keep up on your math to become a marine engineer! Evan told me that the Maritime Academy was a tough four years of his life, but that his hard work has paid off as he has now secured this job with NOAA.
Evan appreciates the fishing that is available in Alaska, and when not on the ship he enjoys snowboarding.
Your Questions Answered!
A friend from my high school, Derek Cusimano, works with similar technology that is being utilized on the Rainier. I was excited to see the questions he had for me, and also to realize that I actually understood how to answer some of the more technical questions. First he asked about the program that is used to collect and process the data on board. It is my understanding that on the ship, Hypack is the navigation software that is used. The bridge sees this screen, and the hydrographers use it to draw the lines to show where the ship needs to be navigated in order to collect the data. Seafloor Information Systems (SIS) is the sonar software for the EM710. Finally, CARIS is the software that is used to process the data once it is collected.
Derek also asked me about what positioning the crews use for their surveys. The tidal gauges that I discussed in this post are used for vertical control, as the water moves up and down with the tides. The scientists also have to take into account horizontal control. They need to accurately be able to tell where their position is, because without that information the water depths that we are gathering with the sonar are useless.
ENS Bill Carrier and HST Brandy Geiger work to set-up part of the horizontal control station on Bird Island.
Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is used from the Coast Guard station in Kodiak Alaska to gain accurate latitude and longitude. However, the Rainier crew also installs their own GPS base stations to correct the GPS positions acquired on the ship and launches during “post processing”. For this project, a GPS base station was installed on Bird Island near the tide gauge and data is down loaded via a VHF radio. These stations listen to all GPS signals and correct the locations for each satellite down to the decimeter. This allows the Rainier to correct their GPS positions to have an accuracy of just a few centimeters.
The next question comes from my 2-year old nephew Ollie Burgeson. He wanted to know what I was eating on the ship. My answer to him is a little bit of everything! I can’t say that I’ve had the same meal twice while out at sea. Meals are at 0700, 1130, and 1700, and each day a menu is posted that tells what will be available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The stewards also provide a stocked ice cream freezer and other snacks 24 hours a day. Many know that I eat mostly vegetarian food, and each meal there is always a vegetarian option which several crew members and I enjoy. While out on the launches, the coolers are packed full of food for the crew of each boat. Sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips, and dessert are all included on the launches.
Did You Know…
Photo courtesy of NOAA.
On Sunday I saw at least a dozen whales while I was looking out over the waters of the Shumagins. The ship was anchored while the launches were out gathering data. It was such a clear day that I decided to spend time on the bridge whale watching. It didn’t take long before I saw several breach in the distance. I was told by some of the crew that I was observing humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae. I didn’t know much about them, so I decided to do a bit of research. Here are some of the interesting things I learned about humpback whales:
Humpback whales can be found in all major oceans from the equator to sub-polar latitudes
The humpback whale’s lifespan is about 50 years
They eat mostly krill, plankton, and small fish
Humpback whales can consume up to 3,000 pounds of food per day
Females are typically longer than males, and they can reach up to 60 feet in length
Newborns weight about 2,000 pounds and adults can grow to be between 50-80,000 pounds
Weather Data from the Bridge: GPS location: 54°49.402’N, 159°33.182’W
Sky condition: Overcast (OVC)
Visibility: 5 nm
Wind: 210 true, 15 kts
Water temperature: 8.3°C
Air temperature: 11.0°C
The NOAA Ship Rainier. This has been my home for the past 12 days!
Science and Technology Log
While I was speaking with ENS Rosemary Abbitt, a Junior Officer on board, she used an analogy to describe the amount of information that she takes in every day while on the job. She said that it is like trying to get a drink from a fire hose. I thought that this was fitting as each day as a Teacher at Sea I am constantly trying to take in and process the huge amount of new information I am learning. I have jumped in to the heart of hydrographic surveys, but in this post I would like to take a step back and look at a brief history of how the use of sonar has evolved.
Before coming on the Rainier, I knew that the use of sonar on ships had something to do with sound waves traveling in the water in order to map the ocean floor. After gathering information from the crew, and a bit of my own research, I found out that sonar actually stands for Sound Navigation and Ranging. I also found out that sound waves travel better in water as compared to radar or light waves, so that is why they are used for this type of work.
The top-side unit of the sonar system that is used on board. This machine acts as the “brain” of the sonar system.
The NOAA Ship Rainier is equipped with a Kongsberg EM710 Multibeam Sonar System which falls in the category of active sonar. The system emits acoustic signals into the water, and when the sound bounces off of an object it returns an echo to the sonar transducer. By determining the time between emission and reception, the range and the orientation of the object can be determined. The range of an object is equal to the sound speed times the travel time divided by two.
On the left you can see the machine that is used to drag the MVP in the water behind the ship while we are surveying. On the right, the MVP is ready to go in the water.
It is extremely important that the hydrographers using this technology have accurate measurements for sound speed. The Rainier is equipped with a Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) which generates sound speed profiles. These profiles include information such as temperature, salinity, depth, and most importantly, sound speed. These measurements are applied to real-time sonar data in order to make sure that these variables are controlled for.
Sonar was first used during World War I as a way of detecting submarines. The US Coast and Geodetic Survey were the first to use sonar to map deep water areas in the 1920s. As I discussed in a previous post, lead line surveys were the primary way to gather bathymetric data up until that point. It astounds me to see all of the technology on board, but it also leaves me wondering where we’ll be in another 10 to 20 years. I suppose only time will tell what new technologies will allow for the continued exploration of our Ocean!
Personal Log
The beauty of Alaska has truly come to life for me in the last few days. Last night, the CO was kind enough to take a group of people to a nearby beach on Chernabura Island. From time to time he will do this, and the crew calls these events “Beach Parties”. It took me several minutes to gain my land legs as my body has acclimated to life on a ship. I walked the beach, but I soon turned to hike up one of the peaks that I had been seeing from a distance for so many days.
My footsteps on the beach at Chernabura Island. It’s crazy to think how few people have walked on this land.
The hike up to the top was HARD! The ground beneath my feet was not solid earth, but rather soft, boggy terrain that required a great deal of energy to hike through.
The view from a stop along the way. Looking out over Chernabura Island.
When I made it to the top I could not believe my eyes. The beauty of this untouched land was overwhelming, and I realized how very lucky I am to be on this wonderful adventure.
A hidden lake in the background at the top of the ridge on Chernabura Island.The ship in the distance from the top of the ridge on Chernabura Island.
I began getting to know Christie while I was out on my first launch with her last week. Before this time, I had heard her mentioning that she is currently doing an internship with NOAA. This immediately caught my attention as I am always interested in how students are able to involve themselves with real-world organizations such as NOAA. As I began interviewing her I found out that she is working on her bachelor’s degree through the University of Colorado with hopes of someday becoming a physical scientist. She began her internship with NOAA last field season, and she is now a permanent employee while also completing her internship. Before her current school work she obtained an associates degree in business marketing and worked for an oil company as an executive assistant. During that time, her boss asked if she wanted to learn Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for her work, and so she was signed up for a crash course which allowed her to begin using the software to make maps. Unfortunately, she was laid off but during this time she was able to move to Europe because she has dual nationality in Germany. While overseas, she spent a year working as an apprentice in a saddlery in Austria. When she came back to the states, she decided to go back to school at the University of Colorado. She enjoyed her previous GIS experience, so she began her work in the geography department which led her to the internship with NOAA.
Christie told me that has truly enjoyed her time in Alaska. She loves seeing the marine life and getting to know the people she works with so well. Her favorite part of the work is the night processing where she is able to work directly with the data in order to see the sea floor come to life. When asked what advice she would give a young person trying to break into this field, she said that she would recommend waiting to go to college until you are ready. Wait to find something that makes you happy and that you have a passion for.
When not on the ship, Christie enjoys leather working, saddle making, and book binding.
Your Questions Answered!
One question that I’ve had from several people has to do with the morale of the crew. These people are out to sea for 18 days at a time, and so people wanted to know if it gets depressing out here. Also, it was asked if there is good comradery and banter among the crew?
In response, I can say this; life at sea is not for the shy or the meek. While there are many amazing advantages to this type of work it definitely takes a certain type of person. As far as the morale of the crew, from my perspective it seems like field season up here means time to get business done. Everyone has important tasks to be completed, and most of the time people are busy with work. Operations run 24 hours, and the point of being here is to gather the data. However, it’s not all work and no play. Morale on the ship is important, and I’ve heard many people speak of the crew as a second or extended family. I don’t know any other job where you work, live, and share space 24 hours a day with the same people. I’ve noticed that people on the ship really look forward to meals. It is one of the small pleasures of life at sea and it is a time to gather with everyone and take a break. The universal struggle on board is the time away from home. Nobody wants to be away from their loved ones, but the crew on the Rainier work as hard as possible to make life at sea enjoyable.
My Aunt Kathy wanted to know if I have seen any whales. The ship has had to navigate around pods of whales, but it seems to be whenever I am busy with something else. Yesterday the crew called me to the bridge as they had been seeing a lot of whale activity. Of course, as soon as I got my camera out, there wasn’t a whale in sight. However, last night I was walking on Chernabura Island during the beach party, and I saw a pod of whales out in the distance. I saw four of five spouts, but they were too far to get a picture.
The first sunset I’ve seen since being on board.
Did You Know…
Here are a few ship specific terms that I have learned during my time aboard the Rainier:
To come about – to turn the ship around
Aft – the back of the ship
Helm – ship’s steering equipment, found on the bridge
Pitch – the forward and backward rise and fall of the ship as it moves
Leeward – the side of an island or a ship that is sheltered from the wind
Also, when making a call to another vessel, it is important to say the call sign of the vessel you are calling for first followed by your own call sign. When I was out on RA-6 doing survey launches, I had to call the Rainier to give hourly updates. In a previous blog I told you that the call sign for the Rainier is WTEF, but they typically shorten it when out on surveys to just ET. In this case when I was calling for the ship I would say, “Echo Foxtrot this is RA-6.” The OOD would respond with, “RA-6 this is Echo Foxtrot go ahead.” This type of universal communication system is one of the ways that the team aboard the Rainier maintains safety while at sea.
Besides the mid-water trawling, information about the pollock population is gathered in other ways on the Oscar Dyson research vessel. One of these ways is direct, monitoring the pollock by trawling in other parts of the water column; the other way is indirect, evaluating the prey that the pollock feeds on.
Bottom Trawling
Scientists use acoustics to locate the signal for the fish. Sometimes this signal is noticed near the ocean floor. In this case, the PolyNor’eastern (PNE) Bottom Trawl Net is used to trawl for fish. This net is a large net equipped with rubber bobbins that allow it to get close to the benthic region of the ocean without dragging.
Poly Nor’Eastern Bottom Trawling Net
During this research expedition, we used the PNE net six times to survey pollock. Often times these trawls brought up other interesting sea life, that were quickly assessed (identified, measured, and recorded) and returned to the ocean. The majority of invertebrate sea animals such as poriferans (sponges), cnidarians (sea anemones), annelids (segmented worms), mollusks (barnacles), arthropods (hermit crabs hiding in mollusk shells), and echinoderms (sea urchins and starfish) were brought up in these hauls. In addition, some interesting species of fish (see this blog’s Trawling Zoology segment below) were gathered in bottom trawls.
Miscellaneous Invertebrates from Bottom TrawlLarge Lingcod Caught in Bottom Trawl
Using the Methot Trawl
We use the Methot trawling net to sample krill, a type of zooplankton that pollock feeds on. On this voyage, the Methot was used 6 times as well. The Methot is a single net with a large square opening or mouth. The net is deployed from the stern and towed behind the vessel. Inside the Methot is a small removable codend where much of the catch is deposited.
Methot Net Lying on Trawl DeckRaising the Methot NetCodend of Methot Overflowing with Krill
The krill is measured and counted as well. First, the water is drained out, then it is weighed, and a small sample is weighed and counted.
Lining Up and Counting Krill
Bottom trawls and Methot trawls are both important aspects of the pollock survey.
Personal Log
Accomplishment
Continuing with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I will discuss the top part of the pyramid, how self-actualization, or being involved in creative endeavors to expand one’s full potential, are met on the Oscar Dyson.
A Version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Since I am an honorary member of the am science team, I am privy to many discussions between the scientists on the team regarding a variety of topics. For example, one side project on the mission is to gather information regarding the abundance and distribution of euphausiids (krill) in the Gulf of Alaska. This research project involves the use of a smaller “critter camera,” engineered and built by two of the MACE (Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering) group members, to take pictures of krill at various ocean depths and (ideally) reconcile its distribution with acoustic and Methot trawl data. The goal of the project is to provide insight into the feeding conditions of pollock. The discussions between group members involve postulating, speculating, testing, theorizing, analyzing, teaching, and questioning; clearly this meaty dialog indicates that the process of science is an intellectually stimulating and creative endeavor.
Scientist Team Members— Abigail, Patrick, and Kirsten—Engaged in a Stimulating Discussion
Did You Know?
One of the people who views my blogs before they are posted is the Executive Officer (2nd in Charge) of the crew on the Oscar Dyson. His name is Chris and on this mission he is “augmenting” or filling in for another employee. Chris administers the day-to-day operations of the crew including logistics, payroll, and travel. Chris is a member of the NOAA Corps; he has both a BS in Marine Biology and an MS in Management Information Systems from Auburn University located in Auburn, Alabama. He grew up in various places in the Midwest (his dad was in the U.S. Airforce) and has worked in several fields including information technology and zookeeping. He applied to the NOAA Corps because he wanted to live and work near the ocean.
Chris, the Executive Officer of the Oscar Dyson
Something to Think About:
In previous posts, we have explored invertebrates encountered on this mission. Today we will look at a group of vertebrates from the class Osteichthyes, a word that comes from the Greek osteon meaning “bone” and ichthus meaning “fish.” We will focus on some of the other fish besides pollock found in bottom trawls. These bottom-dwellers are quite interesting creatures.
One of the most frequently found fish, other than pollock, is a type of rockfish called the Pacific Ocean Perch (POP); the species name is Sebastes alutus (Greek: Sebastes “August, venerable”, alutus “grow, nourish”). This fish actually was seen in many trawls, both mid-water and bottom. As the picture below indicates, the body and fins of the POP are light red; however, there are dark olivaceous areas on back under soft dorsal fin and on the caudal peducle. The maximum length of the fish is 55 cm and it is commonly found at a depth between 100-350 m.
Pacific Ocean Perch (a type of Rockfish)
A fish that belongs to the same genus as the POP is the Tiger Rockfish, Sebastes nigrocinctus ( Latin: niger, “black” and cinctus, “belt”). We found this fish once in a bottom trawl. The bottom of the tiger rockfish is light red to orange with several broad, vertical black-red bands on body. It grows to a maximum length of 61 cm and is commonly found at a depth between 55 to 274 m. Notice how similar it looks to the POP.
Tiger Rockfish, notice the similarities to the Pacific Ocean Perch
One of the most colorful fish that was found in a bottom trawl was the kelp greenling, Hexagrammos decagrammus (Greek: hexa, “six”; grammus, “letter, signal”, deca, “ten”), a fish that generally hangs out in rocky reefs and kelp beds in relatively shallow waters (up to 46 m). The fish is olive brown to bluish grey, speckled with irregular blue spots if male and reddish brown to gold spots if female (those we caught were most likely female). The fish reach a maximum length of 53 cm.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Rosalind Echols Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier July 8 — 25, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Shumagin Islands, Alaska Date: July 30, 2013
Current Location: 54° 55.6’ N, 160° 10.2’ W
Weather on board: Broken skies with a visibility of 14 nautical miles, variable wind at 22 knots, Air temperature: 14.65°C, Sea temperature: 6.7°C, 2 foot swell, sea level pressure: 1022.72 mb
Science and Technology Log:
Sometimes in school you hear, “You’ll need this someday.” You have been skeptical, and (at times) rightfully so. But here on the Rainier, Avery and I encountered many areas in which what we learned in school has helped us to understand some of the ship operations.
How does a 234 ft. ship, like the Rainier, float?
If you take a large chunk of metal and drop it in the water, it will sink. And yet, here we are sailing on a large chunk of metal. How is that possible? This all has to do with the difference between density (the amount of mass or stuff contained within a chunk of a substance) and buoyancy (the tendency of an object to float). When you put an object in water, it pushes water out of the way. If the object pushes aside an amount of water with equal mass before it becomes fully submerged, it will float. Less dense objects typically float because it doesn’t take that much water to equal their mass, and so they can remain above the water line. The shape of a ship is designed to increase its buoyancy by displacing a greater quantity of water than it would as a solid substance. Because of all the empty space in the ship, by the time the ship has displaced a quantity of water with equal mass to the ship itself, the ship is still above water. As we add people, supplies, gasoline and so on to the ship, we ride lower. As evidenced by the sinking of numerous ships, when a ship springs a hole in the hull and water floods in, the buoyancy of the ship is severely compromised. To take precaution against this, the Rainier has several extra watertight doors that can be closed in case of an emergency. That way, the majority of the ship could be kept secure from the water and stay afloat.
How does a heavy ship like the Rainier stay balanced?
Another critical consideration is the balance of the ship. When the ship encounters the motion of the ocean, it tends to pitch and roll. Like a pendulum, the way in which it does this depends largely on the distance between the center of gravity of the ship (effectively the point at which the mass of the ship is centered) and the point about which it will roll. Ships are very carefully designed and loaded so that they maintain maximum stability.
Boat stability diagram
Ballast is often added to the hulls of ships for the following reasons:
to help keep them balanced when there is not enough cargo weight
to increase stability when sailing in rough seas
to increase the draught of the ship allowing it to pass under bridges
to counteract a heavy upper deck like that of the Rainier, which itself contains 64, 000 pounds of launches.
Ballast comes in many forms and historically rocks, sandbags and pieces of heavy metal were used to lower a ship’s center of gravity, thus stabilizing it. Cargo ships, when filling up at port, would unload this ballast in exchange for the cargo to be transported. For example, in the 1800s, the cobblestone streets of Savannah, Georgia were made with the abandoned ballast of ships. Today water is used as ballast, since it can be loaded and unloaded easier and faster. Most cargo ships contain several ballast tanks in the hull of the ship.
Cargo ship with several ballast tanks
It is thought that the capsizing of the Cougar Ace cargo ship bound for the west coast of the US in 2006, was caused by a ballast problem during an open-sea transfer. The ship was required to unload their ballast in international waters before entering US waters to prevent the transfer of invasive species carried by the stored water. The result of the Cougar Ace snafu: 4, 700 Mazdas scrapped and millions of dollars lost. Oops!
Cougar Ace capsized in open ocean
Because the Rainier is not loading and unloading tons of cargo, they use a permanent ballast of steel rebar, which sits in the center of the lower hull. Another source of ballast is the 102, 441 gallons of diesel which is divided between many gas tanks that span the width and length of the ship on the port and starboard sides. These tanks can be filled and emptied individually. For stability purposes the Rainier must maintain 30% of fuel onboard, and according to the CO, the diesel level is usually way above 30% capacity. The manipulation of the individual diesel tank levels is more for “trimming” of the boat which essentially ensures a smoother ride for passengers.
Where does all the freshwater come from for a crew of 50?
If only humans could drink saltwater, voyages at sea would be much easier and many lives would have been saved. Unfortunately, salt water is three times saltier than human blood and would severely dehydrate the body upon consumption leading to health problems such as kidney failure, brain damage, seizures and even death. So how can we utilize all this salt water that surrounds us for good use? Well, to avoid carrying tons of fresh potable water aboard, most large ships use some type of desalination process to remove the salt from the water. Desalination methods range from reverse osmosis to freeze thawing to distillation. The Rainier uses a distillation method which mimics the water cycle in nature: heated water evaporates into water vapor, leaving salts and impurities behind, condensing into liquid water as the temperature drops. This all is happening inside a closed system so the resulting freshwater can be kept. To speed up this process, the pressure is lowered inside the desalinator so the water boils at a lower temperature. Much of the energy needed to heat the water comes from the thermal energy or waste heat given off by nearby machines such as the boiler.
Desalinator in the Rainier engine room
Distillation purifies 99% percent of the salt water and the remaining 1% of impurities are removed by a bromine filter. The final step of the process is a bromine concentration and PH check to ensure the water is potable. The bromine should be about .5 ppm and the PH between 6.8-7.2.
Daily water quality log
Everyday the Rainer desalinates 2500 gallons of saltwater to be used for drinking, cleaning and showering. The toilets, however, use saltwater and if you are lucky like me, you can see flashes of light from bioluminescent plankton when flushing in darkness. It’s like a plankton discotec in the toilet!
How does the chicken cross the road when the road is moving?
The difference between a road map and a nautical chart is that a road map tells you which way to go and a nautical chart just tells you what’s out there and you design your course. Thus, navigating on the ocean is not as simple as “turn left at the stop sign,” or “continue on for 100 miles”, like directions for cars often state. Imagine that the road beneath you was moving as you drove your car. In order to keep following your desired course, you would need to keep adjusting to the changes in the road. That’s a lot like what happens in a ship. If you want to drive due west, you can’t simply aim the ship in that direction. As you go, the ship gets pushed around by the wind, the currents, and the tides, almost as if you drove your car west and the road slid up to the north. Without compensating for this, you would end up many miles north of your desired location. If you have a north-going current, you have to account for this by making southward adjustments. In a physics class, we might talk about adding vectors, or directional motion; in this case, we are considering velocity vectors. When you add up the speed you are going in each direction, you end up with your actual speed and direction. In the ship we make adjustments so that our actual speed and direction are correct.
Which way to the North Pole?
Did you know that when you look at a compass, it doesn’t always tell you the direction of true north? True north is directly towards the North Pole, the center of the Earth’s axis of rotation which passes directly to the true south pole. However, compasses rely on the location of the magnetic pole which is offset somewhat.
Compass showing true north and magnetic north
The combination of the solid iron core and the liquid iron mantle of the Earth create a magnetic field that surrounds the Earth (and protects us from some really damaging effects of the sun). If you visualize the Earth like a bar magnet, magnetic north is located at an approximate position of 82.7°N 114.4°W, roughly in the middle of northern Canada. If you stood directly south of this point, your compass would point true north because true north and magnetic north would be on the same line of longitude. However, as you get farther away from this west or east, the North indicated by your compass is more and more offset.
The magnetic poles of the earthEarth showing true and magnetic poles
Our navigational charts are made using “true” directions. Because of our location in Alaska, if we were steering by compass, we would have to offset all of our measurements by roughly 14° to account for the difference in true and magnetic north. Fortunately, due to the advent of GPS, it is much simpler to tell our true direction.
Why so much daylight and fog?
Every hour, the crew of the Rainier measures the air temperature, sea water temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity. Aside from keeping a record of weather conditions, this also allows the National Weather Service to provide a more accurate weather forecast for this geographical region by providing local data to plug into the weather prediction models.
Hourly weather log
Weather in the Shumagin Islands could be very different from that of the nearest permanent weather station, so this can be valuable information for mariners. In our time out here, we have experienced a lot of fog and cool temperatures (although the spectacular sunshine and sunsets of the past few days make that seem like a distant memory). One reason for this is our simultaneous proximity to a large land mass (Siberia, in far-east Russia) and the ocean. Cool air from the land collides with warm waters coming up from Japan, which often leads to fog.
Currents around Alaska
However, because we are pretty far north, we also experience a lot of daylight (although not the 24-hour cycles so often associated with Alaska). At this time of the year, even though the Earth is farther away from the sun that it is in our winter season, the axis of the Earth is tilted toward the sun, leading to more direct sunlight and longer hours of illumination.
Earth’s orbit around the sun
One slightly bizarre fact is that all of Alaska is on the same time zone, even though it is really large enough to span several time zones. Out in the west, that means that sunset is in fact much later than it otherwise should be. Our last few spectacular sunsets have all happened around 11pm and true darkness descends just past midnight. I have on several occasions stayed up several hours past my bedtime fishing on the fantail or getting distracted wandering around the ship because it is still light out at 11pm!
Rosalind and Avery (with Van de Graaf generator hair) at sunset
Personal Log:
After roughly a week back on land, I have already been inundated with questions about life on the Rainier, the research we were doing, the other people I met, and so on. It occurs to me that as challenging as it was to embark on this journey and try to learn as much as possible in three weeks, perhaps the greater challenge is to convey the experience to friends, family, and most importantly, my students. How will I convey the sense of nervousness with which I first stepped from the skiff to land, trying not to fall in the frigid north Pacific? What will I do in my classroom to get my students as excited about learning about the ocean and diving into new experiences as I was on this trip? How will I continue to expand on the knowledge and experiences I have had during my time on the Rainier? At the moment, I do not have excellent answers to these questions, but I know that thinking about them will be one of the primary benefits of this extraordinary opportunity.
For the moment, I can say that I have deepened my understanding of both the value and the challenge of working in collaboration with others; the importance of bringing my own voice to my work as well as listening to that of others; and the extent to which new experiences that push me out of my comfort zone are incredibly important for my development as an individual. I genuinely hope that I can develop a classroom environment that enables this same learning process for my students, so that, like the science I discussed above, they aren’t doing things that they will, “need some day,” but doing things that they need now.
Finally, I will say that I am finishing this trip even more intrigued by the ocean, and its physical and biological processes, than I was before. When one of the survey techs declared, “This is so exciting! We are the first people ever to see the bottom of this part of the ocean!” she wasn’t exaggerating. Even after my time on the Rainier, I feel like I am only beginning to scratch the surface of all of the things I might learn about the ocean, and I can’t wait to explore these with my students. I look forward as well to the inevitable research that I will do to try to further solidify my understanding and appreciation of the world’s oceans.
I leave with fond memories of a truly unique 18 day voyage aboard the most productive coastal hydrographic survey platform in the world: her majesty, the NOAA Ship Rainier. Thank you lovely lady and thank you Rainier crew for making this Teacher at Sea adventure so magical!
Processing the Catch
My last blog post focused on mid-water trawling; this blog will focus on processing the catch. When we process the catch, we are processing it in a scientific way, not a food production way. The goal of any fish survey is to try to determine how many fish (in this case pollock) are in the sea in order to establish sustainable fishing limits. Ideally, trawling allows scientists to randomly select a sample of pollock to measure a good representation of the pollock population. The survey is undertaken in an ecologically friendly way with a focus to preserve as many fish as possible by releasing them alive back into the ocean. I will go through the steps of this process.
Step 1: Sorting and Measuring
Usually, fish brought in with the trawl net are placed directly on the table. If the catch is especially large, it may be weighed first by attaching a scale to a crane, and then attaching the load to the scale. The entire catch is weighed so the scientists can use the length and gender data taken from the sample to extrapolate for the entire catch. Then a sample (ideally 300 pollock) are kept to process and the rest are released. This data is combined with the acoustics data to estimate the size of the entire stock.
Delivering Fish From Trawling Net to Table
Fish are emptied out of the net and onto the table outside of the fish lab. The number of fish that land on the conveyor belt can be controlled by raising the table and opening the door. The fish on the conveyor belt are separated by species. Although in the catch there are often many types of species of sea animals present, the focus of this blog will be the pollock that are caught.
An Interested Observer Checks out the Pollock on the Conveyor Belt
In the video clip, the vast majority of the fish are adult pollock, but sometimes there are a variety of age stages; Age 0, Age 1, and Adult are what we have seen. Pollock are sorted by age, gathered into baskets, and weighed. Age 0 and Age 1 pollock are weighed and then measured with the icthystick, a magnetic fish measuring board, from the head to the fork in the tail. The icthystick is connected to a computer that automatically records the data. (The icthystick below shows how the length of capelin, a prey of pollock, are measured and recorded; the method is the same pollock).
Weighing the Small Pollock and CapelinCapelin on IcthystickCapelin Measurements on Computer Screen
Step 2: Sexing
Each age group has a somewhat different protocol for processing. Counts and measurements of weight and length are taken for the smaller pollock (and capelin). The larger pollock are grouped by sex. To do this, the abdomen is sliced open with a scalpel, the innards are pushed aside, and ovaries or testes are identified. After determining the sex of the fish, its length is measured with the icthystick. Finally, a subsample of fish are set aside for otolith removal. As we process a catch, samples of fish and other species are collected for various off-board scientists. For example, Age 0 pollock are kept for one scientist; ovaries from mature pollock for another.
Identifying Pollock Sex and Maturity
Sometimes it is difficult to tell the testes from the ovaries. Generally, both are paired organs that lie along the vertebrae under the guts (stomach, liver, intestines). The ovaries tend to be fuller and more brightly colored; the testes, stringier and paler. However, these organs can vary somewhat depending on the maturity of the fish. Below are examples of the organs from fish that have not yet spawned (photos courtesy of Story Miller, TAS 2010).
Testes of a Pre-Spawning Male Pollock (bottom right)Ovaries of a Pre-Spawning Female Pollock (center)
Step 3: Removing Otoliths
Otoliths are made of calcium carbonate and are located directly behind the brain of bony fishes. They are involved in the detection of sound and the process of hearing. The age of the fish can be established by counting the annuli (small ridges on the otoliths) much like one does when counting tree rings. This age data allows scientists to estimate growth rates, age at maturity, and exposure to various environmental conditions.
Removing Otoliths from Pollock
The otoliths are brought to Seattle for more detailed analysis, so after extracting them from the pollock, they are placed in jars with a preservative called glycerol thymol. The jars have bar codes on the side so that the otoliths are linked to the fish’ weight, length and sex. These results will be used to correspond length to age in the stock assessment report.
Personal LogAccomplishment
Continuing with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I will discuss some of the ways that the need of feelings of accomplishment are met on the Oscar Dyson.
A Version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The goal of the Oscar Dyson crew is to safely and successfully navigate the ship through the Gulf of Alaska transects collecting and processing pollock. As of Saturday, August 3 on this mission, we have traveled almost 3000 nautical miles, traversed through 33 transects and completed 26 Aleutian Wing Trawls, 6 Poly Nor’eastern Bottom Trawls, and 6 Methots. We have measured and recorded data for 4,387 fish; 2,696 of these were pollock. We have also collected 334 otoliths. These numbers give the team a sense of accomplishment, knowing that they have contributed to the data and information processing to promote sustainable fishing practices. Check out this link, the NOAA FishWatch webpage that provides information on sustainable fishing practices.
Did You Know?
Married couples can work together aboard the Oscar Dyson. Kristin and Vince met in graduate school at the University of Florida where they were working on Master’s Degrees in Fisheries and Aquatic Science. They were collaborating on a project that focused on river systems in Florida. After getting married and working in labs at both the University of Maryland and Oregon State, they applied for Survey Technician positions with NOAA. Kristen and Vince work opposite shifts on the Oscar Dyson; Kristen works mornings and Vince works evenings. As survey technicians they are responsible for the calibration and deployment of various data acquisition systems such as the Scientific Computer System (SCS) that is constantly monitoring information such as air temperature, sea temperature, salinity, chlorophyll levels and weather. Kristen and Vince work as liaisons between the science team and the NOAA Corps.
Vince and Kristen, Oscar Dyson Survey Technicians
Something to Think About:
So far we have discussed the following invertebrate animal phyla: Porifera and Cnideria. Today’s episode of Trawling Zoology features other interesting representatives of the invertebrate animal kingdom: Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Echinodermata that have turned up in our catches.
Phylum Annelida-from the Latin word anulus meaning “little ring”
Annelids are segmented worms that have a linear series of external segments divided by septa (walls between segments) that house serially repeated nervous, muscle, and excretory systems. Their anterior segments contain jaws, eyes, and cirri (small feelers that help with feeding). Filter-feeding marine annelids capture bacteria and feed selectively on sediment particles within tubes buried in sand or mud.
Polychaete from the Phylum Annelida (found in a bottom trawl)
Phylum Mollusca-from the Latin word mollis meaning “soft”
Mollusca is one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet, with at least 50,000 living species (and more likely around 200,000). It includes such familiar organisms as sea snails, octopuses, squid, clams, and chitons, all of which we have seen on this mission. They all have soft bodies which typically have a “head” and a “foot” region. Often their bodies are covered by a hard exoskeleton, as in the shells of snails and clams or the plates of chitons. Squid and octopuses have small internal shells.
Members of the Squid Family, Gonotopsis borealis, the Armhook SquidHermit Crabs (Arthropods) Inhabiting the Shells of Mollusks
Phylum Arthropoda-from the combination of Greek words arthron meaning “jointed” and pous meaning “feet”
The Phylum Arthropoda includes organisms such as insects, spiders, and crustaceans (crabs and shrimp). The vast majority of sea dwelling arthropods are crustaceans. For example, the hermit crabs emerging from the mollusk shells in the picture above are members of the most abundant family on Earth, the arthropods. Arthropods have an exoskeleton of a tough compound called chitin that forms a rigid armor with joints in between. This outer shell provides the structure against which arthropod muscles pull, reduces water loss, and protects them from environmental dangers. Below are other examples of arthropods found frequently in trawls.
Isopods (The Cockroaches of the Sea) among Krill, another type of Arthropod
Phylum Echinodermata-from the combination of Greek words echinos meaning “spiny” and derma meaning “skin”
The adults are recognizable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include such well-known animals as starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers. Echinoderms are found at every ocean depth and contains about 7000 living species. Echinoderms are also the largest phylum that has no freshwater or terrestrial (land-based) representatives. Two unique characteristics of this phylum are the ability to regenerate tissues and their ossified limestone exoskeletons.
Weather Data from the Bridge: GPS location: 55°02.642’N, 159°57.359’W
Sky condition: Overcast (OVC)
Visibility: 7 nm
Wind: 180° true, 8 kts
Water temperature: 8.3°C
Air temperature: 12.0 °C
Science and Technology Log
In my last post I talked mostly about the science needed for safely navigating the ship to our survey area in the Shumagin Islands. Now that the surveying has begun, I’d like to use this post to talk about the actual logistics of the surveys that are being completed. These surveys are the reason that we are in Alaska, and it takes quite a bit of planning and coordination to make sure that accurate data is collected. The hydrographers are looking for features to put on the chart (map) such as depth, rocks, shoals, ledges, shipwrecks, islets (small islands), and kelp beds.
One of the massive kelp beds that we recorded while out on a survey launch.
The last time most of this area was surveyed was back in the early 1900s. Lead lines were used in order to gather data about the depth of the sea. While accurate, this method only gave information on discrete points along the ocean floor. This resulted in charts being left with large amounts of white space which represents areas that have never before been surveyed.
You can see the sea depth measurements on this chart are in a neat line where I’ve highlighted in red. These are the lead line measurements that were taken in the early 1900s. You can also see the large amounts of white space that haven’t yet been charted.Here is a comparison of the type of data that would be gathered from a lead line versus multi-beam sonar. (Credit http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/learnnc_surveytechniques.html)
The sonar technology on the ship allows us to gather data which can be classified as full-bottom coverage. That means that we have data on every inch of ocean floor that we cover rather than just one point along the way.
Now let’s get to the heart of survey! The overall survey area here in the Shumagins is broken down into what the team refers to as sheets. The Commanding Officer (CO) informed me that the reason they call them “sheets” is because back before the use of computers in surveying, hydrography would be done on a small boat and all the positions would be hand-plotted on a sheet of fine cotton paper. The size of this “sheet” of paper and the scale of the survey dictated how big the survey would be. Anyways, each sheet has a sheet manager that is responsible for the data collected in that area. Each sheet is then broken down even further into several polygons which represent specific areas to be surveyed on that sheet. Meghan McGovern, the Field Operations Officer (FOO) on this ship, explained to me that while the ship itself is running sonar to collect data 24 hours a day only two launches can be sent out at a time to do additional surveys. This is because the ship does not have the manpower to run the entire ship plus all four small survey launches. However, it is hard on the crew to run continuous 24 hour operations on the ship, so every so often the ship will anchor and four survey launches can be sent out to gather data during the day. I asked which method is preferred and Megan told me that it really depends on the area that needs to be surveyed. Sometimes it can be more beneficial to anchor and send out all four launches if a lot of data needs to be collected on areas close to the shore. In that case, the ship is not able to navigate as closely to the shoreline as the small launches are.
Before the launches can be sent out to gather data close to shorelines, benchmarks must be set and tidal gauges must be taken in order to measure the actual water level based on the varying tides. This has not been done during my time in the Shumagins because they were done on the previous leg. (For more information visit TAS Marvin’s blog to understand how she helped set-up benchmarks in the Shumagins.) Shoreline verification must also be completed by the small skiff (boat) in order to visually mark any dangers that may be hazardous to the launches while they are surveying. I am hoping to do shoreline verification while I am here, but for now this area has already been done.
This shows several rocks that would need to be noted through shoreline verification before sending the launches out.To the left of Chernabura Island you can see the two polygons (V and X) we were responsible for surveying.
After the shoreline verification has taken place the actual data collection can begin. I have been out in a launch two times since we reached our survey area. The first time we were surveying polygons V (Victor) and X (X-ray) on the west coast of Chernabura Island. I learned a great deal from the crew about the survey system on the small launch. While I was on this launch I was allowed to drive. It turns out it is hard to drive a boat in a nice, neat line. Yesterday I was able to go out for a second time on a survey launch, and this time we collected near shore data on the east side of Near Island.
You can see the highlighted area was clearly marked as “TAS Driven” to indicate to the hydrographer why the lines weren’t exactly straight!
The launch runs a system that is very similar to the ship in order to collect bathymetric data. The screen, that is projected to the Hydrographer in Charge (HIC) and the coxswain (driver), shows a swath of the area where data has been collected.
Here is what the HIC and the coxswain see as the data is being gathered. Notice the red arrow I’ve inserted to show the “colored in” areas that represent where the data has been collected.
On the screen it looks as though the ship is driving back and forth coloring in the lines as data is collected. Once all of the data has been collected on the launch, it is saved to an external hard drive and brought back to the ship for night processing. I haven’t observed night processing yet, but I plan to do that in the upcoming days.
I will hold off on more detail now and wait until next time to give you the science behind the detailed sonar that is being used during these surveys.
Personal Log
Yesterday was one of my favorite days on my adventure so far. I went with three other people on one of the small launches called the RA-6. While I was on the launch I had the responsibility of doing the radio communication back to the ship for a check-in each hour to let them know our position and what we had accomplished up to that point. The sun was peeking through the clouds, and I was finally able to see the majestic islands that are surrounding us. These islands have no trees, but their sharp cliffs and the mystical lenticular clouds that hovered above them captured my attention each time we drove close.
The lenticular clouds forming over the land near where we were surveying.
The birds out here are the only animals that can be observed and they include gulls, muirs, and puffins. Each time we drove near a puffin I couldn’t help but laugh as they scuttled quickly away in the water. Some of them seemed to have eaten too many fish to be able to lift themselves into the air.
My free time on the ship has been mostly spent at meals and in the wardroom. Each night the ship shows three different movies that run on the cable channels throughout the ship, and a mix of people tend to gather in the wardroom to sit and watch the shows together. I have also had the unique experience of using the elliptical machine several times while on board.
This is the wardroom where I watch movies with various crew members some evenings.
If you have ever used an elliptical machine, you know that normally when you step off the machine it feels like you are still in motion. Add that feeling to the swaying of the ship and it makes for a strange type of vertigo!
The ship even has a small “gym” where the crew can work out while out at sea.
Laura McCrum, a past student of mine, told me in a recent email to remember that knowledge is not confined to age…and she made sure to clarify that she wasn’t calling me old! I am so grateful for this unique experience where I am able to continue my education each and every day in order to expand my knowledge base. I hope that this experience will not only benefit me but also my students, coworkers, and community members as well.
Just Another Day at the Office
I wanted to start this section of my blog as a way to highlight a different member of the crew during each post. These people go to work each day in such a unique environment that I thought it was important to share a piece of their stories.
Carl VerPlanck, 3rd Mate
The first time I saw Carl was on the bridge while the ship was departing from port. He is the navigation officer responsible for creating routes, updating charts and publications, and maintaining a certain decorum on the bridge. Carl also helps to train junior officers in the art of navigation. He conducts underway watches and drives the launches while helping to train others to do the same.
Carl VerPlanck
When asked about how he got to be in the position that he holds today, Carl told me that he grew up in Indiana and received his GED when he was 18 before moving to Alaska to work on a fishing boat. Having no prior experience on boats, he worked in a fish processing plant in Naknek, Alaska until he was able to start as a General Vessel Assistant (GVA) with NOAA. He eventually worked his way up the rank as an Ordinary Seaman (OS), followed by an Able-bodied Seaman (AB) until he received his 3rd Mate certification. He currently holds his 2nd Mate certification, and he plans to hold this position in the future.
While I was talking with him, Carl told me that the best part about his job was that he loves working in Alaska. He has a sense of exploration while doing these surveys, and he likes the feeling that anything could be down there on the sea floor. I asked him to share the advice that he would give a young person trying to break into the field of an ocean related career and he said that you shouldn’t be afraid to broaden the scope of what you might be good at or what your interests are. Never miss a chance to take hold of an opportunity, and don’t be afraid to consider a non-traditional pathway.
I ended our conversation by asking Carl what he would be doing if he wasn’t currently working for NOAA, and he said he was sure he would still be in the maritime community in some way. Besides working for NOAA I found out that Carl enjoys taking flying lessons and he is currently working toward getting his pilot’s license. He has a home in Seattle where he lives, when not underway, with his wife and his 1 1/2 year old son.
Your Questions Answered!
I love getting questions via comments and emails, and so I wanted to do these questions justice by providing prompt answers. So here we go…
My first question was from Kirsten Buckmaster, a fellow teacher at INMS. She asked me if I have any specific duties from day to day on the ship. As a Teacher at Sea it is really up to me to insert myself into the everyday schedule of the ship. The Field Operations Officer (FOO) and the Commanding Officer (CO) sat down with me at the start of the leg and asked me what I was interested in doing while on board, and I told them that I was eager to do a little bit of everything. Each day the FOO posts the Plan of the Day (POD), and this tells you what specific tasks are going to be done for the day. Each day I look for my name on the POD to understand if I have any specific responsibilities. Some days it is up to me to go observe on the bridge or in the plot room. I am hoping to help with the deck department before my time is over, as well as try to better understand what the engineers do.
Plan of the Day (POD) for Saturday. If you look to the left you can see my name under RA-6.
Next I had a question from one of my students Mr. Zachary Doyle. Zach asked me if I was getting seasick. Luckily, it turns out that I am not prone to sea sickness…yet. The POD gives the weather forecast, and the FOO makes sure to let the crew know if we are going to have any inclement weather. If I know the ship is going to be rockin’ and rollin’ I will take Dramamine which helps to prevent sea sickness. Also, the launches get shaken around a bit more so if I know I’m going out on a launch I will take some medicine the night before just in case.
Finally, my grandmother-in-law Liz Montagna asked me about the waves. I’ve learned out here that we need to be aware of two important things: sea wave height and swells. In simple terms, a swell is a wave that is not generated by the local wind. They are regular, longer period waves generated by distant weather systems. The wave height can be measured from the waves caused by the wind in the area where they are created. Luckily we haven’t had waves breaking on the deck. Liz also asked about who does the housekeeping. In my stateroom the answer is my roommate and I. We are responsible for keeping our living quarters neat and tidy. The deck department is mostly in charge of the rest of the ship. Each day I have met people in the passageways (halls) sweeping, mopping, and doing other necessary tasks to keep the ship looking good.
I love questions so please keep them coming! Remember you can post a comment/question on the blog or email me at katie.sard@lincoln.k12.or.us .
All is well in Alaska!
TAS Sard
Did You Know…
I didn’t know how the Shumagin Islands got their name so I did some investigating. It turns out that Vitus Bering was the man who led an expedition to the islands in 1741. Nikita Shumagin was one of the sailors on this mission, but he unfortunately died of scurvy and was buried on Nagai Island.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Avery Marvin Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier July 8 — 25, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Shumagin Islands, Alaska Date: July 30, 2013
Current Location: 54° 55.6’ N, 160° 10.2’ W
Weather on board: Broken skies with a visibility of 14 nautical miles, variable wind at 22 knots, Air temperature: 14.65°C, Sea temperature: 6.7°C, 2 foot swell, sea level pressure: 1022.72 mb
Science and Technology Log:
Sometimes in school you hear, “You’ll need this someday.” You have been skeptical, and (at times) rightfully so. But here on the Rainier, Rosalind and I encountered many areas in which what we learned in school has helped us to understand some of the ship operations.
How does a 234 ft. ship, like the Rainier, float?
If you take a large chunk of metal and drop it in the water, it will sink. And yet, here we are sailing on a large chunk of metal. How is that possible? This all has to do with the difference between density (the amount of mass or stuff contained within a chunk of a substance) and buoyancy (the tendency of an object to float). When you put an object in water, it pushes water out of the way. If the object pushes aside an amount of water with equal mass before it becomes fully submerged, it will float. Less dense objects typically float because it doesn’t take that much water to equal their mass, and so they can remain above the water line. The shape of a ship is designed to increase its buoyancy by displacing a greater quantity of water than it would as a solid substance. Because of all the empty space in the ship, by the time the ship has displaced a quantity of water with equal mass to the ship itself, the ship is still above water. As we add people, supplies, gasoline and so on to the ship, we ride lower. As evidenced by the sinking of numerous ships, when a ship springs a hole in the hull and water floods in, the buoyancy of the ship is severely compromised. To take precaution against this, the Rainier has several extra watertight doors that can be closed in case of an emergency. That way, the majority of the ship could be kept secure from the water and stay afloat.
How does a heavy ship like the Rainier stay balanced?
Another critical consideration is the balance of the ship. When the ship encounters the motion of the ocean, it tends to pitch and roll. Like a pendulum, the way in which it does this depends largely on the distance between the center of gravity of the ship (effectively the point at which the mass of the ship is centered) and the point about which it will roll. Ships are very carefully designed and loaded so that they maintain maximum stability.
Boat stability diagram
Ballast is often added to the hulls of ships for the following reasons:
to help keep them balanced when there is not enough cargo weight
to increase stability when sailing in rough seas
to increase the draught of the ship allowing it to pass under bridges
to counteract a heavy upper deck like that of the Rainier, which itself contains 64, 000 pounds of launches.
Ballast comes in many forms and historically rocks, sandbags and pieces of heavy metal were used to lower a ship’s center of gravity, thus stabilizing it. Cargo ships, when filling up at port, would unload this ballast in exchange for the cargo to be transported. For example, in the 1800s, the cobblestone streets of Savannah, Georgia were made with the abandoned ballast of ships. Today water is used as ballast, since it can be loaded and unloaded easier and faster. Most cargo ships contain several ballast tanks in the hull of the ship.
Cargo ship with several ballast tanks
It is thought that the capsizing of the Cougar Ace cargo ship bound for the west coast of the US in 2006, was caused by a ballast problem during an open-sea transfer. The ship was required to unload their ballast in international waters before entering US waters to prevent the transfer of invasive species carried by the stored water. The result of the Cougar Ace snafu: 4, 700 Mazdas scrapped and millions of dollars lost. Oops!
Cougar Ace capsized in open ocean
Because the Rainier is not loading and unloading tons of cargo, they use a permanent ballast of steel rebar, which sits in the center of the lower hull. Another source of ballast is the 102, 441 gallons of diesel which is divided between many gas tanks that span the width and length of the ship on the port and starboard sides. These tanks can be filled and emptied individually. For stability purposes the Rainier must maintain 30% of fuel onboard, and according to the CO, the diesel level is usually way above 30% capacity. The manipulation of the individual diesel tank levels is more for “trimming” of the boat which essentially ensures a smoother ride for passengers.
Where does all the freshwater come from for a crew of 50?
If only humans could drink saltwater, voyages at sea would be much easier and many lives would have been saved. Unfortunately, salt water is three times saltier than human blood and would severely dehydrate the body upon consumption leading to health problems such as kidney failure, brain damage, seizures and even death. So how can we utilize all this salt water that surrounds us for good use? Well, to avoid carrying tons of fresh potable water aboard, most large ships use some type of desalination process to remove the salt from the water. Desalination methods range from reverse osmosis to freeze thawing to distillation. The Rainier uses a distillation method which mimics the water cycle in nature: heated water evaporates into water vapor, leaving salts and impurities behind, condensing into liquid water as the temperature drops. This all is happening inside a closed system so the resulting freshwater can be kept. To speed up this process, the pressure is lowered inside the desalinator so the water boils at a lower temperature. Much of the energy needed to heat the water comes from the thermal energy or waste heat given off by nearby machines such as the boiler.
Desalinator in the Rainier engine room
Distillation purifies 99% percent of the salt water and the remaining 1% of impurities are removed by a bromine filter. The final step of the process is a bromine concentration and PH check to ensure the water is potable. The bromine should be about .5 ppm and the PH between 6.8-7.2.
Daily water quality log
Everyday the Rainer desalinates 2500 gallons of saltwater to be used for drinking, cleaning and showering. The toilets, however, use saltwater and if you are lucky like me, you can see flashes of light from bioluminescent plankton when flushing in darkness. It’s like a plankton discotec in the toilet!
How does the chicken cross the road when the road is moving?
The difference between a road map and a nautical chart is that a road map tells you which way to go and a nautical chart just tells you what’s out there and you design your course. Thus, navigating on the ocean is not as simple as “turn left at the stop sign,” or “continue on for 100 miles”, like directions for cars often state. Imagine that the road beneath you was moving as you drove your car. In order to keep following your desired course, you would need to keep adjusting to the changes in the road. That’s a lot like what happens in a ship. If you want to drive due west, you can’t simply aim the ship in that direction. As you go, the ship gets pushed around by the wind, the currents, and the tides, almost as if you drove your car west and the road slid up to the north. Without compensating for this, you would end up many miles north of your desired location. If you have a north-going current, you have to account for this by making southward adjustments. In a physics class, we might talk about adding vectors, or directional motion; in this case, we are considering velocity vectors. When you add up the speed you are going in each direction, you end up with your actual speed and direction. In the ship we make adjustments so that our actual speed and direction are correct.
Which way to the North Pole?
Did you know that when you look at a compass, it doesn’t always tell you the direction of true north? True north is directly towards the North Pole, the center of the Earth’s axis of rotation which passes directly to the true south pole. However, compasses rely on the location of the magnetic pole which is offset somewhat.
Compass showing true north and magnetic north
The combination of the solid iron core and the liquid iron mantle of the Earth create a magnetic field that surrounds the Earth (and protects us from some really damaging effects of the sun). If you visualize the Earth like a bar magnet, magnetic north is located at an approximate position of 82.7°N 114.4°W, roughly in the middle of northern Canada. If you stood directly south of this point, your compass would point true north because true north and magnetic north would be on the same line of longitude. However, as you get farther away from this west or east, the North indicated by your compass is more and more offset.
The magnetic poles of the earthEarth showing true and magnetic poles
Our navigational charts are made using “true” directions. Because of our location in Alaska, if we were steering by compass, we would have to offset all of our measurements by roughly 14° to account for the difference in true and magnetic north. Fortunately, due to the advent of GPS, it is much simpler to tell our true direction.
Why so much daylight and fog?
Every hour, the crew of the Rainier measures the air temperature, sea water temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity. Aside from keeping a record of weather conditions, this also allows the National Weather Service to provide a more accurate weather forecast for this geographical region by providing local data to plug into the weather prediction models.
Hourly weather log
Weather in the Shumagin Islands could be very different from that of the nearest permanent weather station, so this can be valuable information for mariners. In our time out here, we have experienced a lot of fog and cool temperatures (although the spectacular sunshine and sunsets of the past few days make that seem like a distant memory). One reason for this is our simultaneous proximity to a large land mass (Siberia, in far-east Russia) and the ocean. Cool air from the land collides with warm waters coming up from Japan, which often leads to fog.
Currents around Alaska
However, because we are pretty far north, we also experience a lot of daylight (although not the 24-hour cycles so often associated with Alaska). At this time of the year, even though the Earth is farther away from the sun that it is in our winter season, the axis of the Earth is tilted toward the sun, leading to more direct sunlight and longer hours of illumination.
Earth’s orbit around the sun
One slightly bizarre fact is that all of Alaska is on the same time zone, even though it is really large enough to span several time zones. Out in the west, that means that sunset is in fact much later than it otherwise should be. Our last few spectacular sunsets have all happened around 11pm and true darkness descends just past midnight. I have on several occasions stayed up several hours past my bedtime fishing on the fantail or getting distracted wandering around the ship because it is still light out at 11pm!
Rosalind and Avery (with Van de Graaf generator hair) at sunset
Personal Log:
Well friends, I said a bittersweet goodbye to the Rainier and its incredible dynamic crew. I am sad to have left but am also excited to return home to the Oregon Coast to begin planning for this school year. I look forward to incorporating my newfound knowledge and unique experience at sea into the classroom. I am still amazed at the breadth and diversity of information that I learned in just under 3 weeks. From learning how to steer the ship to acquiring and processing survey data to puffin reproduction, the list goes on. I never stopped asking questions or being curious. And the Rainier crew was always there to graciously answer my questions. I am grateful for all that they taught me and for the kindness and patience they consistently showed me.
When I asked Rick Brennan, the Commanding Officer, what he most enjoyed about his job, he responded “The people.” He said he enjoys seeing the personal and professional growth of individual crew members. It is not hard to see that the Rainier crew is pretty amazing. They are an extremely dedicated group of individuals whose passion for their profession supersedes living a “normal life”. Each one of them has an interesting story of how they got to the Rainier and many of them sacrifice family time and personal relationships to be aboard the ship for months at a time.
Beyond the scientific knowledge attained, I leave this ship with a few important life reminders.
1) Be patient with yourself, your own learning style, with others around you and the task at hand. Authentic science is messy and exhausting. Ship life attracts unique personalities.
2) Don’t forget about the big picture and why you are here in the first place. “Mowing the lawn” day in and day out can seem mundane but all of those data points together will compromise the updated nautical chart which will ensure safe mariner travel for a multitude of ships.
3) Teamwork is key to any complex operation. This not only means working together but always being willing to lend a helping hand and sharing your particular knowledge with fellow crew members.
4) Appreciate, observe and protect the natural beauty that surrounds us. Cultivate this awareness in others. Our livelihood as a species depends on our interaction with the environment.
This is my second to last blog post. Stay tuned for an exciting last entry about my extended stay in Kodiak, Alaska (post Rainier) where I explored the unique cultural and historical facets of this vibrant fishing port. Note: This next post will involve bears, a seal skin kayak, a behind the scenes fish factory tour, orcas, reindeer sausage and fossils!
For now, I leave with fond memories of a truly unique 18 day voyage aboard the most productive coastal hydrographic survey platform in the world: her majesty, the Rainier. Thank you lovely lady and thank you Rainier crew for making this Teacher at Sea adventure so magical!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Katie Sard
Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier July 29 – August 15, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area of the Cruise: Shumagin Islands, Alaska Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: GPS location: 54°52.288’N, 159°55.055’W
Sky condition: Overcast (OVC) with Fog (FG)
Visibility: Less than 2 nautical miles (nm)
Wind: 120 degrees true, 13 knots (kt)
Sea level pressure: 1009.7 millibar (mb)
Sea wave height: 1 foot (ft)
Swell waves: 180 degrees true, 3 ft
Water temperature: 9.4°C
Air temperature: 12.2°C
Science and Technology Log
From the moment I stepped on to the NOAA Ship Rainier in port at the Coast Guard Base in Kodiak three days ago, it was apparent to me that this ship functions in order to acquire information. Hours upon hours of teamwork, dedication, money, and precise planning go in to making sure this ship gets to the right spot, functions properly, and has the correct instrumentation to collect the data. My goal for this post is to share with you all of the science that goes into making sure that this ship is able to perform the overall mission of doing hydrographic surveys.
A view of the bow of the ship from the flying bridge as we began to get underway.
First perhaps I should give a brief background of what a hydrographic survey is and why they are done. The NOAA Ship Rainier uses sonar in order to collect information about the ocean floor. Each time the ship, or any of the survey launches (smaller boats), use this sonar, they are surveying the area for hydrographic information.
Two of the launches had to get rearranged into their standard locations on the ship as we left port. They had been switched around while at port for maintenance.
This information is then processed and used to create nautical charts which NOAA produces for navigational purposes. These nautical charts contain information on ocean floor depth, but they also give detailed information on areas that may be hazardous to those navigating the waters in that area. I will stop there for now on the hydrographic surveys because the surveys have only just begun today on the ship. The ship has been in transit the past two days, meaning that we have been moving from port to our survey area. Little did I know how much science it takes to even get the ship to the survey area where the hydrographic surveys can begin.
If you are one of my students reading this blog, you may know how I say that science is everywhere. One of my students even asked me this past year, “Mrs. Sard, are you like ALWAYS thinking about science?” Well it turns out that science IS everywhere on this ship. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with several different crew members in my first few days, and they’ve been eager to explain the many functions of the ship and the crew. What is important to understand is that there are several departments that all must work together in order to allow the ship to function properly. Here is a brief breakdown of each department and what their main tasks are:
Wardroom – These are mostly members of the NOAA Corps which is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. Besides managing and operating the ship, these dedicated workers also function as scientists and engineers.
Survey – These are the scientists that are mostly in charge of the hydrographic data. They collect, process, and manage the information that is collected during the surveys.
Engineers – These people have the important task of keeping the ship in functioning order. They do things like maintain the engine room and respond to any mechanical type issues.
Electronics Technician (ET) – This crew is in charge of the technology on board the ship. They ensure that things like the computers, internet, and phones are all up in working condition.
Steward – This department is tasked with the job of feeding the crew members. (They do a great job, and I think I might actually gain weight while out a sea because I cannot say no to the delicious food they prepare!)
Part of the galley where the food is served and we eat three delicious meals each day!
Deck – The deck crew members are responsible for things like driving the small launches, maintaining the ship’s equipment, and so on.
Visitors – These would be people, like me, who are only on board the ship temporarily. They have a specific purpose that usually falls within one of the other departments.
Navigating the Ship
Now that you are aware of the overall goal of the ship, and you are familiar with the departments, let me discuss the science that is needed to get the ship where we need to go. It was an overwhelming and exciting feeling to be on the bridge of the ship while we were getting underway. The Officer On Deck (OOD) was giving orders to both the helmsman, who marked his orders down on a marker board, and the “lee helm” or engine controls operated by ENS Poremba. The third mate was acting as the navigator and had precisely mapped out the route for safely and efficiently departing the Coast Guard base.
You can see part of the route that the navigator has mapped out for the ship.
The Commanding Officer (CO) was overseeing all that was happening, along with several other officers. I was in awe of how smoothly everything came together, and how efficiently the people worked together as a team. LT Gonsalves eloquently said that the ship is like a “floating city” and that all of the pieces must come together in order for it to function.
As I awoke yesterday, after our first night out at sea, I could hear the fog horn coming from the bridge. I decided to go and observe again to see how things were functioning out at open sea. ENS Wall showed me how to do a GPS fix to make sure that we are following the plans laid out for navigation.
Ens Wall taking a GPS fix that he showed be how to do!
These are taken about every fifteen minutes. He used the current chart that was laid out as well as electronic GPS measurements and plotted them on the chart with a compass. He then marked the latitude and longitude with the time to show that we were on course at that moment.
The OOD, John Kidd, went on to explain a bit more about the navigation of the ship including the gyroscope. Simply put, a gyroscope is an instrument used for measuring and maintaining orientation while out at sea, but it’s not as simple as it looks. I noticed a sign that read “Gyro Error” and so I asked. John went on to tell me that the gyro error is the difference between true north and what the gyro thinks is north. The difference between true north and magnetic north is the combination of “variation” which is a function of local magnetic fields, and “deviation” which is the effect the magnetic fields aboard the boat have on the compass. The steel ship itself and all of the electricity on board have some crazy magnetic fields that interfere.
Finally, I went up to the bridge this morning to quickly get the weather data that I needed for my blog. What I thought would be a quick visit turned into a 30 minute conversation with the crew. It was remarkable to see all of the data that is collected each hour dealing with the weather. The conning officer is required to take the data once each hour and enter it into the computer. They don’t simply look out and take a rough estimate of the weather. It is a detailed process that takes a variety of instrumentation in order to get the quantified weather data that is needed. All of the weather data is then sent off to NOAA’s National Weather Service and is used to refine the local at-sea weather forecasts.
Weather data from the Bridge. Hey INMS students – check out this data table! Data tables can be good!
I couldn’t help but smile at all of the science and math that was taking place in order to have safe navigation through the sea. So much science goes in to making sure that the officers have accurate data in order to navigate the ship. This is one of my goals as a TAS: I want to show my students how many different opportunities they have, and the possible fields of science that NOAA has to offer.
Personal Log
When I arrived in Kodiak on Saturday, Avery Marvin, the previous Teacher at Sea (TAS) was still on board for one night. She took me on a tour of the ship, and gave me the low down on how everything functions. Avery and I decided that before departing on Monday, we would take the day on Sunday to explore the island of Kodiak. I couldn’t believe all of the wildlife I saw including the various creatures of the tide pools, bald eagles, sea otters, salmon, and so much more.
I have been so impressed by the functionality of the ship. Every inch of space is used, and the people on board truly understand what it means to work as a team. Yesterday we had our safety drills including Fire/Emergency and Abandon Ship. When the different alarms sounded, I was required to quickly get to my muster station where I was checked in and accounted for to the CO. I also was asked to try on my immersion suit. In all of the excitement, I wasn’t able to get a picture, but it was an experience to practice these drills.
The rack where I will be staying over the next three weeks.The head or the bathroom in my room that I share with my roommate Martha.
I believe my body is starting to get accustomed to the constant movement of the ship. While sleeping in my rack (bed) at night, I can feel it as the ship sways back and forth. At times the waves are large, but for the most part it feels as though I’m being rocked to sleep.
Please post comments, or email me at katie.sard@lincoln.k12.or.us if you have any questions or information that you would like me to blog about. I’m looking forward to sharing more information on my experience with you next time!
Best wishes,
TAS Sard
Did You Know…
Each ship has it’s own call sign. These signs are displayed on the ship by flags that each represent one letter in the alphabet, and they are international symbols that are used. The call sign for the NOAA Ship Rainier is WTEF.
The flags for the call sign of the Rainier. From top to bottom they read WTEF.
To ensure clearness when reading off these letters, the military alphabet is used. For example, if you were reading the call sign for the Rainier it would read Whiskey Tango Echo Foxtrot instead of just WTEF.
The main goal of Leg 3 of this mission is to survey the mid-water portion of the pollock population using acoustics and trawls. Pollock usually inhabit the middle of the water column down to the seafloor. This mid-water survey is typically carried out once every two years. Another NOAA Fisheries survey observes the pollock that live close to the seafloor using bottom trawls.
Location of Fish in Water Column
Trawling
The Oscar Dyson carries three different types of trawling nets for capturing fish as part of the mid-water survey: the Aleutian Wing Trawl (AWT), a mid-water trawl net called the Poly Nor’Eastern bottom trawl, a net with special rubber bumpers so it can bounce along the ocean floor; and the Methot, a small encased net that gathers very small ocean creatures such as krill. I will be discussing trawling with the AWT in this blog.
Leg 3 of the Mid-Water Survey Began East of Kodiak and Will End Near Yakutat
First, I will describe the AWT net, then I will explain how it works. The AWT net is HUGE: the mouth is about 25 m high and 35 m wide while the net itself is over 150 m long (this is not counting the trawling wires that it is attached to!). To give you an idea of how big this is, let’s think in school buses. If we estimate a school bus to be about 10 m long, then this net would be 15 school buses long, and its mouth would be 3 school buses wide and 2 school buses (end to end) tall. The picture below also gives perspective in dimensions (keep in mind that the Blue Whale is only used to give relative dimensions, they are never caught in NOAA’s nets!)
Relative Dimensions of AWT Net (courtesy of Kresimir Williams)
I am going to describe how the net goes into the water, step by step. Then you can watch a short sped-up video that my fellow Teacher at Sea mate, Julia Harvey, created. She works the night shift (4 pm to 4 am) on the same cruise that I am on.
So here it goes…
Step 1: The Codend
When the net is deployed from the ship, the first part of the net to hit the water is called the codend (see the far right of the diagram above). This is where most of the fish end up after the trawl. The mesh size of the net is smallest at the codend (about 1 cm) and gets larger as it approaches the doors (about 1 m).
Labeled Scale Model of the Aleutian Wing Trawl (AWT) Net (courtesy of NOAA Scientist Kresimir Williams)
Step 2: The Trawl Camera
A trawl camera is the next major part that hits the water. This is a pair of cameras that help scientists identify and measure the fish that are caught in the net. This technology can also be used to help scientists validate their biomass estimate from trawling sampling counts. This piece of equipment has to be clipped into the side of the net each time the crew is instructed to deploy the AWT.
The Trawl Camera
Step 3: The Kite
The next piece of the net to hit the water is the kite which is secured to the head rope. Attached to the kite is a series of sensors that help the scientists gather data about the condition of the net including depth, size, and shape underwater. The major acoustic sensor, affectionately termed the turtle, can tell the scientists if the fish are actually going into the net.
Close-up view of the AWT scale model to highlight the kite and the turtle that ride at the top of the net. The third wire holds the electrical wires that send data from the turtle to the bridge.
Step 4: Deployment from A-Frame
Once the kite is deployed, a pair of tom weights (each weighing 250 lbs), are attached to the bridal cables to help separate the head rope from the foot rope and ensure the mouth of the net will open. Then, after a good length of cable is let out, the crew transfers the net from the net reel to the two tuna towers and attaches the doors. The doors act as hydrofoils and create drag to ensure the net mouth opens wide.
The scientists use acoustic data to determine at what depth they should fish, then the OOD (Officer on Deck) uses a scope table to determine how much cable to let out in order to reach our target depth. Adjustments to the depth of the head rope can be made by adjusting speed and/or adjusting the length of cable released.
The scientists use more acoustic data sent from the turtle to determine when enough fish are caught to have a scientifically viable sample size, then the entire net is hauled in. Once on board, the crew uses a crane to lift the codend over to the lift-table. The lift-table then dumps the catch into the fish lab where the fish get sorted on a conveyor belt. Click on Julia’s video below to see the entire process (sped up to retain the your interest!)
Personal Log:
Belongingness
Continuing with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I will discuss some of the ways that the need of belongingness is met on the Oscar Dyson. There are several different ways that comaraderie is fostered on the ship: teamwork, common areas, meal time, and celebrations.
A Version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Teamwork
Remember the main goal of Leg 3 of this mission is to survey by acoustic-trawl the mid-water portion of the pollock population. To ensure that the goal of the mission is accomplished, several crews are necessary: engineering, officer, deck, and science crews. People assigned to a crew work together, and there is cross-talk between crews. For example, on the bridge where the officers work, there are two to four people navigating the ship and instructing the deck crew. The deck crew works together to put out and pull in the trawling nets, and the engineering crew works together to make sure the ship is operating properly. Similarly, the scientist crew members consult with each other while: reading the acoustics on the computer screens; deciding when, where, and how long to trawl; determining the best way to process the trawl; and reconciling the “catch” with the acoustical data. The collaboration within and between the four crews mimics a sports team that has offensive and defensive strings working together to maintain their positions to accomplish a common goal.
Oscar Dyson Crews
Common Areas
The ship is like a house with many rooms. Most of the staterooms (bedroom/bath) are shared. In terms of “living space” there is one dining area (called the galley), a conference room with books where people meet for drills or quiet work, a movie room, a laundry room, and an extra rest room. Because all these areas are shared, “ship etiquette” is followed, meaning that every individual keeps his or her space neat and also keeps the other common areas clean and organized. Sometimes, reminders are placed in areas where ship etiquette needs polishing.
Reminder of Ship Etiquette in Common Restroom
Meal Times
Meals on the Oscar Dyson are during one hour windows three times a day. Breakfast is served from 7 to 8 am, lunch 11am to noon, and dinner 5 to 6 pm. Unless people are sleeping or actively involved in trawling or processing, they eat at these times. Therefore, mealtime is a time to chat, joke, ask questions, and tell stories.
Galley Reminder
Celebrations
We have had three celebrations. Two of these were for birthdays celebrated on the ship. The stewards made a cake for dessert in one instance and hosted an ice cream social in the second. Another celebration was when we were in Prince William Sound to pick up net repair supplies. Because we were near land for the first time in many days and the sun was shining, many people came on deck at the same time to take pictures. Some spotted porpoises which added to the excitement. Fellow Teacher at Sea, Julia Harvey, captured a wonderful video of this event.
Did You Know?
The ship stewards are the people who plan and prepare the meals for those on board. Adam (below) is the second cook on the Oscar Dyson. He worked in various restaurants in Portland before coming to NOAA as a General Vessel Assistant (GVA) helping with the different crews on various ships as needed. When the spot as a steward opened on the Oscar Dyson, Adam got the job. He has taken various NOAA training courses for stewardship and is on the ship nine months out of the year as it surveys both in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska.
Adam, Steward on the Oscar Dyson
Something to Think About:
Today’s episode of Trawling Zoology features the animal family, Cnidaria. Cnidaria is a word that originates from the Greek word cnidos which means “stinging nettle.” Although the cnidarians are a very diverse family, all the members contain nematocysts (combination of Greek words nema meaning “thread” and kystis meaning “bladder”),basically barbed threads tipped with poison. If you have ever been stung by a jellyfish, you have felt this stinging sensation.
There are four very diverse groups of cnidarians: Anthozoa which includes true corals, anemones, and sea pens; Cubozoa, the amazing box jellies with complex eyes and potent toxins; Hydrozoa, the most diverse group with siphonophores, hydroids, fire corals, and many medusae; and Scyphozoa,the true jellyfish. We have brought up several members of these groups in our trawling.
Anthozoa: We have brought on deck both sea pens and sea anenomes. In both groups there was only one species represented.
Sea PensSea Anenomes (hermit crabs in front are not anthozoans)
Schyphozoa: We brought up a couple of different species of jellyfish; we used a classification field guide to help us identify them.
Jellyfish from the Invertebrate Field Guide for Alaskan WatersMany Jellies (members of the Aequorea genus) Found in the Methot TrawlJellyfish, Cyanea capillata
To learn more about the Cnidaria Family, click the Cnidaria on the picture below, and stay tuned for further exploration of this animal Tree of Life.
Can you spot the Cnidarian on the Tree of Life? Click on it to learn more.
False Point on Kenai Peninsula (viewed this morning through the fog)
Science and Technology Log
How do scientists use acoustics to locate Pollock (and serendipitously other ocean creatures)?
Scientists aboard the NOAA Research Vessel Oscar Dyson use acoustic, specifically hydroacoustic data, to locate schools of fish before trawling. The trawl data provide a sample from each school and allow the NOAA scientists to take a closer look by age, gender and species distribution. Basically, the trawl data verify and validate the acoustics data. The acoustics data, collected in the Gulf of Alaska in systematic paths called transects, combined with the validating biological data from the numerous individual trawls, give scientists a very good estimate for the entire Walleye pollock population in this location.
This screen is showing the echogram from the EK 60 echosounder during a trawl at 83.13 meters. The red line in the middle of the screen is the ocean floor. The colorful spikes above the red line indicate “backscatter” that is characteristic of capelin, a small fish that pollock feed on.
Hydroacoustics (from Greek words: hydro meaning “water” and acoustics meaning “sound”) is the study of sound in water. Sound is a form of energy that travels in pressure waves. In water, sound can travel great distances without losing strength and can travel fast, roughly 4.3 times faster in water than in air (depending on temperature and salinity of the water).
Click on this picture to see how sound travels from various ocean creatures through water. (Photo from sciencelearn.org)
The Oscar Dyson has powerful, extremely sensitive, carefully calibrated, scientific acoustic instruments or “fish finders” including the five SIMRAD EK60 transducers located on the bottom of the centerboard, the SIMRAD ME70 multibeam transducer located on the hull, and a pair of SIMRAD ITI transducers on the trailing edge of the centerboard.
Image of acoustic instruments on the Oscar Dyson. (Photo courtesy of NOAA Teacher at Sea Program)
This “fish-finder” technology works when transducers emit a sound wave at a particular frequency and detect the sound wave bouncing back (the echo) at the same frequency. When the sound waves return from a school of fish, the strength of the returning echo helps determine how many fish are at that particular site.
The green ship’s transducer is sending out sound waves towards the fish. The waves bounce back echoes towards the ship that are received by the transducer. (Photo courtesy of Oracle Thinkquest)
Sound waves bounce or reflect off of fish and other creatures in the sea differently. Most fish reflect sound energy sent from the transducers because of their swim bladders, organs that fish use to stay buoyant in the water column. Since a swim bladder is filled with air, it reflects sound very well. When the sound energy goes from one medium to another, there is a stronger reflection of that sound energy. In most cases, the bigger the fish, the bigger the swim bladder; the bigger the swim bladder, the more sound is reflected and received by the transducer. The characteristic reflection of sound is called target strength and can be used to detect the size of the fish. This is why fish that have air-filled swim bladders show up nicely on hydroacoustic data, while fish that lack swim bladders (like sharks) or that have oil or wax filled swim bladders (like Orange Roughy), have weak signals.
The above picture shows the location of the swim bladder. (Photo courtesy of greatneck.k12.ny.us)
These reflections of sound (echoes) are sent to computers which display the information in echograms. The reflections showing up on the computer screen are called backscatter. The backscatter is how we determine how dense the fish are in a particular school. Scientists take the backscatter that we measure from the transducers and divide that by the target strength for an individual and that gives the number of individuals that must be there to produce that amount of backscatter. For example, a hundred fish produce 100x more echoes than a single fish. This information can be used to estimate the pollock population in the Gulf of Alaska.
The above picture shows a computer screen with dense red “backscatter” characteristic of large amount of fish, most likely pollock. The yellow lines above and below the backscatter show the location of the trawl lines.
Personal Log:
Safety
Safety Announcements Don the Walls of the Oscar Dyson
Continuing with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I will continue up the pyramid (see below) and discuss some ways that the basic need of safety is met on the ship. The safety and security of all staff (as well as sea animals we encounter) are top priority on the Oscar Dyson. There are constant reminders of this priority during ship life.
A Version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Safety Drills
On the first day of our travel, before the Oscar Dyson was far from port at Kodiak, we had three drills. The fire drill and man overboard drill required me to report to the conference room and meet up with the rest of the science team. Patrick, the lead scientist, then reported that we (the scientist team) were all accounted for. The crew had more complex tasks of deploying a small boat and retrieving “the man overboard”.
The other drill was the abandon ship drill. On the ship, every person is assigned to a life boat (mine is Lifeboat 1). When the drill commenced, I reported to my muster, the portside of the trawl deck, with survival gear: jacket, hat, survival suit and life preserver. We will have drills weekly at anytime.
Abandon Ship Crew Assignments
Safety Gear
When working in the lab, the scientists wear orange slickers, boots, and gloves, not only to keep clean, but to protect us from anything that might be dangerous (fish spines, jellyfish tentacles, and so on). When on deck, we must wear hardhats (to protect from falling objects from the crane or trawl) and life preservers like the rest of the crew.
Gloves, a Must in Fish Lab!
Water Tight Doors
Watertight doors are special types of doors found on the ship which prevent the flow of water from one compartment to other during flooding or accidents. These doors are used onboard in areas, such as the engine room compartment, science and acoustics labs, and control bridge, where chances of flooding are high.
Water Tight Door on Bridge
These are just a few examples of how safety is emphasized on the ship. There are reminders in one’s line of vision constantly.
Safety, Everyone’s Responsibility
Did You Know?
There are various seafarer or crew positions on the Oscar Dyson. A ship’s crew can generally be divided into three main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, and the steward department. Rob and Greg are members of the deck department; both men hold Merchant Mariner Credentials as “Able Bodied Seamen” or ABS. Rob is from Boston, Massachusetts and went to school for seamanship in Fairhaven, MA. He considers his NOAA position as a good job with a good income, but his main profession is lobstering which he does on the open sea when he is not working for NOAA. Rob says, “The ocean is in my blood” and always wanted to work on it. Greg, on the other hand, chose to be a Merchant Mariner after a voyage at sea. He moved to Texas from Louisiana in his 20’s, went fishing for the first time, and got seasick. He considered battling seasickness a challenge, and thus pursing seamanship as a career. In his free time he is a free-lance photographer and journalist. Below are some pictures of Greg and Rob on the job. Notice they are always wearing their safety gear.
Greg and Rob Bringing in the Trawling Net
Greg and Rob, Preparing for a Camera Drop
Something to Think About:
Since I will begin teaching Zoology later in August, I have decided to highlight some of the animals that the scientist team has found in our trawls. Today’s feature will be one of the simplest multicellular animal families, the Porifera. Porifera is a word formed from combining the Latin words porus which means “passage-way” and fera meaning “bearing.” Porifera, commonly referred to as sponges, have tiny pores in their outer walls that filter water to get nutrients.
Various Porifera (Sponges) from a Bottom TrawlTeacher (me) Demonstrating How Water Flows out the Osculum (opening) of a Poriferan
To learn more about the Porifera Family, click the Porifera on the picture below, and stay tuned for further exploration of this animal Tree of Life.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Melissa George Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson July 22 – August 9, 2013
Mission: Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013
Current Data From Today’s Cruise
Weather Data from the Bridge (at 6:00 am Alaska Daylight Time) Sky Condition: Fog
Temperature: 12° C
Wind Speed: 11 knots
Barometric Pressure: 1017.5 mb
Humidity: 87%
Sun and Moon Data
Sunrise: 5:51 am
Sunset: 10:40 pm
Moonrise: 10:57 pm (July 24, 2013)
Moonset: 10:37 am
Geographic Coordinates (at 6:00 am Alaska Daylight Time)
How can you determine the population size of species? You could count every member of the population. This would be the most accurate method, but what if the individuals in the population move around a lot? What if the population is enormous and requires too much time to count each individual? For example, krill is a small crustacean (usually between 1 and 6 cm long) that accounts for 400-500 million metric tons of biomass in the world’s oceans. Would you want to count all of the krill in the Gulf of Alaska?
Krill (and a Few Capelin)
Often, ocean populations of animals are just too large to count. Sampling, or collecting a manageable subset of the population and using the information gathered from it to make inferences about the entire population, is a technique that ocean scientists use. There are a variety of ways to sample.
One method is called mark and recapture. In this method, one catches individuals from the population, tags them, and releases them in a certain area. After a set amount of time, an attempt is made to recapture individuals. Data are compiled from the recaptures and the population is mathematically calculated. Tuna populations in some areas are monitored this way; fishermen are required to report any fish that are recaptured. (Photo courtesy of Western Fishboat Owners’ Association)
Tuna with Tag Locations
Another method is quadrat sampling. The organisms in a subset area (quadrat) are counted and then the overall population in the entire area is calculated. For example, in the picture below, one quadrat would be randomly selected and the organisms counted. From this count the overall population would be extrapolated. (Photo courtesy of BBC Bitesize Biology)
Quadrat Sampling
The sampling method used on the Oscar Dyson employs the use of a transect line. The picture below illustrates the use of a transect line. On various increments along the transect line, samples of populations are taken. Imagine the Oscar Dyson’s path on the sea as the measuring tape and the trawl net is the sampling square. (Photo courtesy of Census of Marine Life Organization)
Transect Line Sampling
The overall survey area of the pollock study this summer is the northern Gulf of Alaska between the shore and the continental break. Within this area transect lines were established. These are pathways that the Oscar Dyson will travel along and periodically take samples of the fish.
The current set of transects are 25 nautical miles apart and are parallel, but transects in other areas may be 2 or 5 nautical miles apart. One nautical mile is equal to 1/60 of a degree (or 1 minute ) of latitude. Transects that we are following now are located on the shelf and are perpendicular to the coastline. Transects in inlets and bays may run differently, perhaps even zigzag.
Screen Shot of Oscar Dyson Transect Line Travel
If fish are located through acoustics monitoring off the transect line, the ship might break transect (a mark is made on the map), circle around to the desirable position, and collect a sample by trawling. The population of pollock can then be mathematically calculated from counting the sample. After trawling, the ship will return to the break and continue along the transect line.
Most days, scientists hope that the Oscar Dyson will finish a transect line by nightfall and then the ship can be at the next transect by sunrise. This maximizes the time for detecting fish acoustically and trawling to collect samples.
Personal Log:
In his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Abraham Maslow, a developmental psychologist, proposed a hierarchy of needs which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans. The largest, most fundamental needs are at the bottom, and as those are satisfied, individuals are able to progress up the pyramid. So, I am going to use this diagram (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) to discuss how basic needs are met on the ship. In today’s blog, I will begin the discussion at the bottom level (where else?).
A Version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The bottom layer includes the most basic physiological needs one requires for survival: food, water, warmth, and rest. (We might also include exercise in this level). So, let us begin at the beginning.
Food
Food is available in the galley. It is planned for and shopped for before the mission. Chief Steward, Ava, and Second Cook, Adam, do an excellent job preparing and executing delicious, healthy meals at set times during the day (Breakfast: 7 to 8 am, Lunch 11 am to noon, Dinner 5 to 6 pm). Since the staff on the ship are working around the clock, there is always food available (salad bar, cereal, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) if meal time is missed for sleeping. Below is a photo of the galley. (What are those neon yellow things on the bottom of the chair legs for, do you think?)
Oscar Dyson Galley
Water
Water is needed for in several capacities on the ship. The staff on the ship needs potable water to drink and to cook with. Additionally, water is needed for washing dishes, bathing, flushing toilets and doing laundry.
To get clean drinking water, we pump the salt water from the ocean into a desalination unit (a distiller). The distilled water is then sent to a 10,000 gallon holding tank. When water is needed, it is pressurized so that it will move to the faucets, drinking fountains, showers, and so on.
Water is also needed on the ship in the lab and on the deck to clean up after the catch is hauled in and processed. The water used here is salt water and is pumped onto the boat directly from the ocean.
Rest
Half of the staff on the ship is working around the clock; the other half is resting. For the science staff, there are two shifts, a morning shift (4 am to 4 pm) and an evening shift (4 pm to 4 am). The shifts are staggered at these hours so that the evening shift will be able to share two meals with the rest of the staff (usually lunch and dinner). In most cases, two people share a stateroom: one works days and the other works nights. Because the quarters are close on a ship, this gives each person some time alone in the room to sleep, bathe, and take care of other personal needs. A stateroom consists of a bunk bed, a desk, two lockers, and a bathroom/shower. Below are some photos of the stateroom that I share with my roommate, Abby. (Note: Because rooms are small and space is shared, it is not advisable to bring a large purple suitcase that won’t fit inside one’s locker.)
Oscar Dyson StateroomOscar Dyson Stateroom Bath
Exercise
There are two workout areas on the ship. One workout area has a treadmill, an elliptical machine, a bike, and a yoga mat; the other has a treadmill, a rowing machine, and some free weights. There are limited walking spaces on the ship, so these machines provide a way to stretch one’s legs, so to speak.
Oscar Dyson’s Exercise Room
Did you Know?
With a bachelor’s degree in science, math, or engineering and a 6 month training program at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, one can serve the United States as a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). Members of the NOAA Corps serve as operational experts, taking researchers to sea and helping to generate environmental intelligence. My roommate, Abby, serves as a member of the NOAA Corps.
Abby Controlling the Oscar Dyson
This is Abby’s second cruise with the NOAA Corps. She has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and just completed her NOAA officer basic training. One of her tasks is to be ready to deploy specific measures in case of a fire on board. Below, she is reviewing all of the locations on the Oscar Dyson with fire response equipment. For more information on NOAA Corps, click on the link.
Abby Locating Fire Response Equipment
Something to Think About
Knowing geography is essential to various positions on the ships such as scientific exploration and navigation. Many types of maps are seen on board, for example, computer generated bathymetric maps show the contour and depth of the ocean. Equally valuable are the “old school” tools (paper maps, compasses, straight edges, and pencils) used to plot the ship’s course.
Navigation ToolsPlotting Transects
Fun Fact
Etymology is the study of the origin of words. Many of the words in science originate from ancient languages such as Greek or Latin. For example, the word etymology comes to us from two Greek words: etymon meaning “the true sense of a word“ combined with logia meaning “doctrine, study.” Combining these two roots gives us “the study of the true sense of words,” which can be said to be the meaning of the word etymology.
Here are some root words I came across today all originating from Greek words:
zoo-from zoion meaning “animal”
phyto-from phyto meaning “plant”
plankton-from planktos meaning “drifting” or “wandering”
vorous-from vorous meaning “eating”
In the blogs thus far, I have discussed two species: walleye pollock and one of their prey, krill. Krill are classified as zooplankton, literally “animals that drift. ” Krill eat phytoplankton, or “animals that drift.” Pollock are considered to be zooplanktivorous, or “drifting animal eaters.” An award winning short video explaining The Secret Life of Plankton can be viewed by clicking on the link.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Avery Marvin Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier(NOAA Ship Tracker) July 8 — 25, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Shumagin Islands, Alaska Date: July 22, 2013
Current Location: 54° 55.6’ N, 160° 10.2’ W
Weather on board: Broken skies with a visibility of 14 nautical miles, variable wind at 22 knots, Air temperature: 14.65°C, Sea temperature: 6.7°C, 2 foot swell, sea level pressure: 1022.72 mb
Science and Technology log:
Rainier motto, painted in the stern of the ship above the fantail, the rear lower outside deck where we have our safety meetings.
“Teamwork, Safety First”, is inscribed boldly on the Rainier stern rafter and after being aboard for more than 2 weeks, it is evident this motto is the first priority of the crew and this complex survey operation at hand.
This is one of the survey launches that we use to gather our survey data. In this case, the launch is shown approaching the Rainier, getting ready to tie up.
It’s a rainy overcast morning here in SW Alaska and we are circled around the officers on the fantail for the daily safety meeting. Weather conditions, possible hazards, and the daily assignment for each launch are discussed. Per the instructions on the POD (Plan of the Day), handed out the previous evening, the crew then disperse to their assigned launches. The launches are then one-at-a-time lowered into the water by the fancy davit machinery and driven away by the coxswain to their specific “polygon” or survey area for the day. A polygon surveyed by a launch on average takes 2-3 hours at 6-8 knots to survey and usually is an area that is inaccessible by the ship. Many polygons make up one large area called a “sheet” which is under the direction of the “sheet manager”. Several sheets make up an entire survey project. Our hydrographic project in the Shumagins has 8 sheets and makes up a total of 314 square nautical miles.
The CO, XO, and FOO lead the safety meeting for the day, discussing weather conditions, water conditions, and the assignments for each launch.This is a chart of the Shumagin Islands showing the 8 sheets (highlighted in green) that we are surveying.East side of Chernabura Island divided into survey “polygons”, each labeled with a letter or word. Notice how each polygon is a small subset of the larger sheet.
On board each launch we have a complex suite of computer systems: one manages the sonar, another manages the acquisition software, and the third records the inertial motion of the launch as it rocks around on the water (pitch, heave, roll). The acquisition system superimposes an image of the path of the launch and the swath of the sonar beam on top of a navigational chart within the polygon. Starting at one edge of the polygon, the coxswain drives in a straight a line (in a direction determined by the sheet manager), to the other end of the polygon, making sure there is some overlap at the boundaries of the swaths. He/she then works back in the other direction, once again making sure there is some overlap with the adjacent swath. We call this “mowing the lawn,” or “painting the floor” as these are visually analogous activities. Throughout the day, we pause to take CTD casts so that we have a sound velocity profile in each area that we are working.
Typical launch dispersal for a survey day. Launches are signified by “RA-number”. You can also see the location of our tide measurement station and GPS control station, both of which we use to correct our data for errors.This image shows the software tracking the path and swath of the launch (red boat shape) as it gathers data, driving back and forth in the polygon, or “mowing the lawn.” The darker blue shaded area shows overlap between the two swaths. The launch is approaching a “holiday”, or gap in the data, in an effort to fill it in.
You might be wondering, why the swath overlap? This is to correct for the outer sonar beams of the swath, which can scatter because of the increased distance between the sea floor and the sonar receiver below the hull of the boat. The swath overlap is just one of the many quality control checks built into the launch surveying process. Depending on the “ping rate”, or the number of signals we are able to send to the bottom each second, the speed of the boat can be adjusted. The frequency of the sound wave can also be changed in accordance with the depth. Lower frequencies (200 khz) are used for deeper areas and higher frequencies (400 khz) are used for shallower areas.
Rosalind working the surveying computers in the launch
Despite what might seem like mundane tasks, a day on board the launch is exhausting, given the extreme attention to detail by all crew members, troubleshooting various equipment malfunctions, and the often harsh weather conditions (i.e. fog, swells, cool temperatures) that are typical of southwest Alaska. The success of the ship’s mission depends on excellent communication and teamwork between the surveyors and the coxswain, who work closely together to maximize quality and efficiency of data collection. Rain or shine, work must get done. But it doesn’t end there. When the launches arrive back at the ship, (usually around 4:30 pm), the crew will have a debrief of the day’s work with the FOO (field operations officer) and XO (executive officer). After dinner, the survey techs plunge head first (with a safety helmet of course) into the biggest mountain of data I have EVER witnessed in my life, otherwise known as “night processing”. We are talking gigabytes of data from each launch just for a days work. It begins with the transferring of launch data from a portable hard drive to the computers in the plot room. This data is meticulously organized into various folders and files, all which adhere to a specific naming format. Once the transferring of data has finished, the “correction” process begins. That’s right, the data is not yet perfect and that’s because like any good science experiment, we must control for extraneous factors that could skew the depth data. These factors include tides, GPS location error, motion of the launch itself, and the sound velocity in the water column.
Our chief surveyor works in the plot room cleaning and correcting data.Data showing the consequences of the tide changing. The orange disjointed surface shows the data before it was adjusted for the tide changing. You can see how the edges between swaths (i.e. red and olive green) do not match up, even though they should be the same depth.This image shows the edge effects of changing sound speed in the water column. The edges of each swath “frown” because of refraction owing to changing density in the water column. This effect goes away once we factor in our CTD data and the sound speed profile.
In previous posts, I discussed how we correct for tides and the sound velocity. We also correct for the GPS location of the launch during a survey day, so that any specific data point is as precisely located as possible. Although GPS is fairly accurate, usually to within a few meters, we can get even more precise (within a few centimeters) by accounting for small satellite errors throughout the day. We do this by determining the location of a nearby object (our Horizontal Control, HorCon, Station) very precisely, and then tracking the reported position of this object throughout the day. Any error that is recorded for this station is likely also relevant for our launch locations, so we use this as the corrector. For example, if on July 21, 2013, at 3pm, the GPS location of our Bird Island HorCon station was reported 3cm north of its actual location, then our launches are also probably getting GPS locations 3cm too far north, so we will adjust all of our data accordingly. This is one of the many times we are thankful for our software. We also account for pitch, heave, and roll of the launch using the data from the inertial motion unit. That way, if the launch rolled sideways, and the center beam records a depth of 30 meters, we know to adjust this for the sideways tilt of the launch.
This shows the set up of our Horizontal Control and tide gauge station. The elevated rock position was chosen to maximize satellite visibility.
After all correctors have been applied (and a few software crashes weathered), the survey technicians then sort through all the data and clean out any “noise.” This noise represents sound reflections on sea life, air bubbles, or other items that are not part of the seafloor. Refraction of sound waves, as mentioned in the last post, is caused by density changes in the water due to changes in the temperature, pressure, or salinity.
This shows sonar data with “noise”. The noise is the seemingly random dots above and below the primary surface. On the surface itself, you can see data from four different swaths, each in a different color. Notice the overlap between swaths and how well it appears to be matching up.This shows sonar data after the “noise” has been cleaned out. Notice how all data now appears to match a sea floor contour.
Many of the above correctors are applied the same day the data is collected, so the sheet manager can have an up-to-date record of the project’s progress before doing final planning for data collection the next day. After a sheet has been fully surveyed and ALL correctors applied, the sheet manager will complete a “descriptive report”, which accompanies the data and explains any gaps in the sonar data (“holidays”) and/or other errors present. This report, along with the data, is sent to the Pacific Hydrographic Branch for post-processing, and in 1-2 years, we will have a corrected and updated navigational chart. During this time the data is reviewed for quality and adherence to hydrographic specifications and then is distilled into a cartographic product (nautical chart) consisting of points, lines, and areas.
Personal Log:
So I am going to hold off in talking about an animal that has recently fascinated me and instead devote this personal log to some cool things I have been doing on the ship.
Most recently I got to be the helmsman and steer the ship. This involved me following orders from the “conning officer” who told me various steering commands such as: “Left ten degrees rudder”, “steady on course 167°”, “ease 5° right”, “helm in auto” (auto-pilot). To acknowledge the command, I repeated what the conning officer said followed by “aye”. For example: “Left ten degrees rudder, aye” or “course 167°, aye”. When the boat is actually on the course that was requested by the conning officer, I repeated the command with the word “steady”. For example: “Steady on course 167°”
Avery at the helm
You might be wondering why all of the commands involve degrees. Well that is because this ship is steered by the rudder, similar to how you manually steer a small sailboat. So changing the angle of the rudder will change the direction of the ship. To change this angle, you turn the steering wheel a desired amount of degrees beyond zero in the direction the conning officer instructed. So if he said “right 5 degrees rudder”, I would turn the steering wheel right, and stop at the 5 hash mark.
Once the boat actually turns 5°, I will make sure I am at the correct “heading” or degree mark that the conning officer instructed. A heading can be any number between 000-360 (where 000-deg = North, 045 = Northeast, 090 = East, etc.) as this boat can turn in a complete circle and be navigated in any direction. (There is 360° in both a compass and a circle.) Once I am steady at the correct heading, I will put the steering wheel back to 0° which means the rudder is completely straight and parallel with the boat. At this point the boat is going straight. If this were a car, you could just stay straight no problem.
But because this boat moves in water and is affected by ocean conditions such as swells, it is easily knocked off course of the heading. So as helmsman I am constantly making tiny adjustments with the steering wheel by a few degrees in either direction to maintain my heading. This adjustment is done using the steering wheel if I am driving manual, or using a dial on the gear panel if the boat is in “auto” (auto-pilot). Because the ship rudder must “push water out of the way” in order to steer the boat, there is a delay between when I turn the steering wheel to when the ship actually moves that amount of degrees. This is not a car which turns instantaneously by the movement of axles. So I need to account for that “lag time” as well as ocean conditions and the speed of the boat when turning the ship. For example, if the boat is going slow (3 knots) and I need to turn quickly, I will have to use a greater rudder angle. Throughout this process I have several digital screens that show me my current position and course, current heading and desired heading as well as other navigational aides. When I was helmsman, I was closely monitored and assisted by Jason, a former Navy Chief Boatswain, who is one of the best helmsman on the ship. To be a good navigator you need to know the fundamentals but you also need a lot of practice and exposure to various navigational situations.
Helm stand
Yesterday, Rosalind and I got to work on deck and help the Chief Boatswain with various deck tasks such as lowering the anchor and assisting with the davit to hoist the launches from their day of surveying out on the water. Assisting with the job of lifting a 16,000 lb launch with 3 people aboard using the davit winch was by far the most exhilarating experience thus far on the ship. I handled the task with extreme caution. As with being a helmsman, there are many factors I must consider as a davit operator. For example, if there is a significant swell, I need to be more aggressive with the davit movements to get the boat lifted fast to avoid any excessive swaying in mid-air. Most importantly, I must attentively follow the gestures of the deck boss below who is able to see the launch very clearly and is directing me on every davit movement. Even an experienced davit operator like Jason, who probably can predict the next davit movement in his sleep, must never assume and then act. He ALWAYS follows the exact orders of the deck officer below because he never knows what they are seeing that he cannot from the above deck. Overall, with Jason’s close attention and assistance, I think I did a good job of assisting with the davit. The boat made it safely aboard, and my heart returned to a normal beating pattern. 🙂
Getting the davit positioned and ready to lift the launch out of the water.
On a lighter note I learned how to play the good ole’ mariner pastime favorite, Cribbage. Rosalind (the other Teacher at Sea and my delightful roommate) taught me how to play. We had a cribbage tournament here aboard the ship in which about 12 people competed. I did not advance to the finals but had a lot of fun nonetheless. I am looking forward to gaining more Cribbage strategies so I can be a more competitive player for future matches.
First round of Cribbage tournament
Just for fun:
An adorable sole I caught on the fantail of the Rainer (I released him/her). 🙂
Fun factoid: A fathom which is a maritime measurement equal to 6 feet, was originally based on the distance, fingertip to fingertip of a man’s outstretched arms. Fathom that!
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: July 22, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: (7/23/13 at 11 pm) Wind Speed = 13 knots
Air Temperature = 12.7 C
Humidity = 93%
Barometric Pressure = 1017 mb
Science and Technology Log:
There is a great deal of hope to complete the survey, which is supposed to end near Yakutat in the southeast of Alaska. It began near the islands of Four Mountains during leg 1. We are on leg 3, the final leg this summer. Leg 3 began in Kodiak. Three Legs of the Survey
Kodiak Island is the green marker and Yakutat Bay is the red.
The purpose of this cruise is to survey the walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma)in the Gulf of Alaska. Pollock is a significant fishery in the United States as well as the world. Pollock is processed into fish sticks, fish patties and imitation crab. Last year, about 3 million tons of pollock were caught in North Pacific. The scientists on board will collect data to determine the pollock biomass and age structure. These data are used with results from other independent surveys to establish the total allowable pollock catch.
Walleye Pollock from the Latest Trawl
According to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, pollock can grow to about 3 ½ feet and weigh about 13 lbs. More typically the pollock are approximately 50 cm (20 in) and weigh .75 kg (1.7 lbs). They live in the water column and feed on krill, zooplankton and other crustaceans. As they age they will eat juvenile pollock and other small fishes such as capelin, eulachon and herring as well. Sexual maturity is reached around age 4. Spawning and fertilization occurs in the water column in early spring. The eggs stay in the water column and once hatched are part of the zooplankton until they are free swimming.
The general process used to catch the pollock involves multiple parts. I will break down those steps in a series of blogs. But basically, acoustics are used to locate fish in the water column. Once the scientists have located the fish along the transect (transects are the paths that the ship will travel on so the scientists can collect data), the Oscar Dyson sets out a trawl equipped with a camera. The trawl is brought in and data from the catch is documented. And then the ship continues on.
Trawling Nets on the Oscar DysonFish Lab on the Oscar Dyson
Trawling is usually completed only during daylight hours. Fortunately the sun does not set here in Alaska right now until after 10 pm. When it is dark, work aboard the Oscar Dyson continues. Jodi is documenting the sea floor with a drop camera. She is looking at life that is there as well as potential threats to the trawl nets for the bottom trawl surveys.
Questions:
How do scientists use acoustics to locate pollock?
How are the transects locations determined?
How are pollock and the rest of the catch processed?
What information is retrieved from the trawl camera?
What is a bottom trawl and how is it different from a mid-water trawl?
Personal Log:
We left Kodiak at 1 pm on July 22 heading southwest.
Goodbye Kodiak Island
We had 8 hours of travel time before we would reach our first transect. But before we got too far away from Kodiak, we needed to practice the three drills for the safety of everyone. The fire drill and man overboard drill required me to report to the conference room and meet up with the rest of the science team. Patrick, the lead scientist, then reported that we were all accounted for. The crew had more complex tasks of deploying a small boat and retrieving “the man overboard”.
The other drill was the abandon ship drill. We are assigned to a lifeboat and I reported to my muster on the portside of the trawl deck with my survival suit, long sleeve shirt, hat and life preserver. We will have drills weekly at anytime.
For the last two days I have been becoming oriented to the ship and to my responsibilities to the science team. Jodi, a post doctorate from Juneau gave us a tour of the boat on the first day we arrived in Kodiak. I then practiced finding all of the key parts of the ship I will need to access. I now am confident that I can find my stateroom, the mess, laundry room, both exercise spaces, acoustics lab, and fish lab. For other sites, I wander around for a while until I locate it.
Many doors on the the Oscar Dyson are water tight. They must be latched after passing through them.
My first shift began at 4 pm on Monday. There are two shifts for scientists. Some work 4 am to 4 pm and the others work 4 pm to 4 am. I work the night shift. I never drink coffee but today I realized that I needed it. My shift includes scientists Paul, Jodi and Darin as well as a survey tech named Vince. We all share staterooms with people who work the opposite shift.
The night shift science team includes Paul, Darin and Jodi (left to right). They monitor the fish in the acoustics lab also known as “The Cave”.
The ocean is very calm but most of us took Bonine (a seasickness medication) anyway to acclimate to the movement. Hopefully we will be adjusted to the motion before the seas get very rough if it does. The rocking of the boat does make one very sleepy.
The sea have been very calm for us.
Did You Know?
The requirements for joining the NOAA Corps include a bachelor’s degree in science, math or engineering and a 5 month program at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. This is Abby’s second cruise with the NOAA Corps. She has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and just completed her NOAA officer basictraining.
Something to Think About:
What is a day in the life aboard the Oscar Dyson like?
NOAA Teacher at Sea Avery Marvin Aboard NOAA Ship Rainier (Ship Tracker) July 8-25, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Shumagin Islands, Alaska Date: July 19, 2013
Current Location: 54° 49.684 N, 159° 46.604 W
Weather Data from the Bridge: Foggy and overcast, wind 21 knots, air temperature: 11.5° C
Science and Technology Log:
As the fog horn sounds every two minutes and we sail solitary through the ocean, we are now in full swing surveying the Shumagin Islands, between and around Nagai, Bird, and Chernabura Islands. Unlike the old-time surveyors who used lead lines (lead weight attached to a long string), we are using a multibeam sonar system, which enables us to gather a large quantity of very accurate data in a more efficient and timely fashion.
Processed sonar data showing 3D image of the sea floor.
Sonar, (SOund Navigation And Ranging)uses the principle of sound wave reflection to detect objects in the water. Just as our eyes see the reflection of visible light off of the objects around us to create a visual image, when a sound wave hits something, it reflects off that “thing” and returns to its starting point (the receiver). We can measure the time it takes for a pulse to travel from the Sonar device below the boat to the ocean floor and then back to the receiver on the boat. Using a simple distance=speed * time equation, we can get the water depth at the spot where each beam is reflected.
The skiff that we use for the shoreline activities discussed in the last post has a single-beam sonar system that directs a pulse straight down beneath the hull to get a rough depth estimate. However, for our hydrographic work on the ship and launches, we use a multibeam system that sends 512 sound pulses simultaneously towards the sea floor over a 120° angle. When many sound waves or “beams” are emitted at the same time (called a pulse) in a fan like pattern (called a swath), the reflected information creates a “sound picture” of the objects or surface within that swath range. The actual width of this swath varies with the depth, but with 512 beams per pulse, and sending out between 5-30 pulses every second, we acquire a lot of data. If you piece together many swaths worth of data you get a continuous topographical or physical map of the ocean floor, and thus the depth of the water. For more information about the specific sonar system used aboard the Rainier and its launches, check out the ship page or the NOAA page about their hydrography work.
Graphic showing an example of the multibeam swath below a launch. Notice how the swath gets wider as the depth increases.Cross section of sea floor data showing dot or “ping” for each multibeam measurement. Notice how many individual measurements are represented in this one section.Cross section of sea floor data. Each color represents data from one swath. Notice the overlap between swaths as well as the width for each one.Processed sonar data showing 3D image of the sea floor.
In order to understand the complexities of sonar, it is important to understand the properties of sound. Sound is a pressure wave that travels when molecules collide with each other. We know that sound can travel in air, because we experience this every day when we talk to each other, but it can also travel in liquids and solids (which whales rely on to communicate). As a general rule, sound travels much faster in liquids and solids than in air because the molecules in liquids and solids are closer together and therefore collide more often, passing on the vibration at a faster rate. (The average speed of sound in air is about 343 meters every second, whereas the approximate speed of sound in water we have been measuring is around 1475 meters every second). Within a non-uniform liquid, like saltwater, the speed of sound varies depending on the various properties of the saltwater at the survey site. These properties include water temperature, dissolved impurities (i.e. salts, measured by salinity), and pressure. An increase in any of these properties leads to an increase in the speed of sound, and since we’re using the equation distance = speed * time equation, it is crucial to consistently measure them when seeking depth measurements.
Data from CTD showing temperature vs. sound speed from one data set. Notice how the temperature and sound speed seem correlated.
To measure these properties, a device called a CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) is used. Conductivity in this acronym refers to the free flowing ions in salt water (Na and Cl, for example), which are conductive and the concentration of these ions determines the salinity of the water. The CTD measures these three properties (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) so the speed of sound in the water can be calculated at every point in the water column
To use the CTD, lovely humans like Avery and I will drop it into the water (it is attached to a winch system) at the area where we are surveying and as it travels to the sea floor, it takes a profile of the three saltwater properties mentioned before. Back in the computer lab, software takes this profile data and calculates the sound velocity or speed of sound through the water in that region. As a crosscheck, we compare our profile data and sound velocity figures obtained at the site to historical measured limits for each property. If our measurements fall significantly outside of these historical values, we might try casting again or switch to a different CTD. However, because we are surveying in such a remote area, in some cases, data outside historical limits is acceptable.
Graph of our sound speed vs. depth data showing comparison to historical data.
Given that we are trying to determine the water depth to within centimeters, variations in the sound speed profile can cause substantial enough errors that we try to take a “cast” or CTD reading in each small area that we are gathering data. The software the survey team uses is able to correct automatically for the sound velocity variations by using the data from the CTD. This means that the depth profile created by the sonar systems is adjusted based on the actual sound velocities (from the CTD data) rather than the surface sound speed. We are also able to account for speed changes that would cause refraction, or a bending of the beam as it travels, which would otherwise provide inaccurate data about the location of the sea floor.
Avery lowers the CTD into the water for a “cast”. The CTD needs to sit in the water for a few minutes to acclimate before being lowered for a profile.Avery successfully hauls in the CTD out of the water.
Personal Log:
You can’t go to Alaska without fishing its waters, rich with a variety of delectable fish species. So I decided to get my Alaskan recreation fishing license and try my hand at it on the fantail (stern) of the Rainier, while we were anchored in Bird Island cove. Carl VerPlanck, an experienced fisherman with arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger, had coached me on the best jigging techniques for catching a halibut and with my eyes (and mind) on the prize I followed his instructions diligently. It paid off as I landed several fish my first night on the fantail, with one halibut being a true keeper. John Kidd, NOAA Corps. Officer, gaffed my meaty fish over the steep rail of the Rainier and hauled it aboard. He was impressed with my catch (and hidden fishing talent), stating “This is the biggest fish caught so far this season.” Woohoo! Most impressive was the amount of meat the fish yielded (4 large filets) which I proudly donated to the kitchen and John. (Three big filets to the kitchen and one filet to John for his camaraderie, the use of his high-tech rod set-up and filleting skills). The following night, we all ate delicious baked Pacific Halibut filets, coated in a creamy Caesar glaze, prepared by chef-extraordinaire, Kathy. It’s pretty cool that I got to feed the ship!!
Avery’s meaty catch, a Pacific Halibut.John Kidd (NOAA Corps. Officer) filleting my halibutLook at all that meat!4 large fillets from the halibut
This was my first time catching a halibut and after close examination (and dissection) of this large, rather bizarre looking flatfish I became very intrigued and had several questions: How and why do the eyes migrate to one side? How do you tell the age of a halibut? What does the word “halibut” mean?
Like any good scientist, I proceeded to find the answers to these questions, and in doing so, learned many more interesting tidbits about Halibut. (The other species of halibut is the Atlantic Halibut which is very similar to the Pacific Halibut and is named as such for the ocean it occupies.)
So lets start with the name “halibut.” It’s origin is Latin (hali=haly=holy, but=butt=flat fish) and literally translates to “holy flat fish” because it was popular on Catholic holy days. Now what’s with the eye migration and why are both eyes on the same side? Well to understand this question thoroughly we must look at the conditions under which the halibut is born. Female halibut are sexually mature at age 12, spawning from November to March in deep water (300-1500 feet). Depending on their size, females release several thousand to several million eggs which are fertilized externally by the males. After the eggs are fertilized by the males, they become buoyant and start to float up the water column, hatching into free floating larva at about 16 days. As the larva mature, they continue to rise to the surface. At this larval stage they are upright, like any other “regular” fish, with one eye on each side of their head. This eye placement makes sense, considering they are in the open ocean with water on all sides of them. When at or near the surface, the larvae drift towards shore by ocean currents. As they get closer to shore and at about 1 inch in length, they undergo a very unique metamorphosis in which the left eye moves over the snout to the right side of the head. At the same time their left side fades in color eventually becoming white and their right side becomes a mottled olive-brown color. By 6 months, they are ready to settle to the bottom in near shore areas, hiding under the silt and sand, with just eyes exposed. Their mottled side will be face up, blending into their surrounds and their white side will face down, creating a “countershading” coloration, which helps keep them hidden from predators.
Halibut development: from halibut larvae to adult halibut. Notice the migration of the left eye to the right side and the pigmentation at the last stage.
The Pacific Halibut I caught was by no means a monster or “barn door” as the huge ones are called. But it also was not a “chicken”, slang for a small halibut. Female halibut can reach lengths of 8 feet and a weight of 500+ pounds. Males rarely exceed 100 pounds. Halibut are generally not picky eaters and will pretty much eat anything that lives in the ocean. Carl joked that a halibut would even eat an old shoe dangling from a fishing pole.
I was surprised to learn that halibut can live as long as 55 years. Scientists can accurately age a halibut by counting the rings in their ear bone or “otolith”, similar to dating a tree using its annual growth rings. So next time you catch a halibut and plan on keeping it, try to find the ear bone, grab a microscope and age the fish. If that fails, don’t forget to cut the cheeks out of the halibut (along with the 4 regular meaty fillets), for I am told that is the best part to eat. 🙂
Halibut otolith or ear bone that can be used to age the fish by counting the rings on the otolith (under a microscope).
Fun factoid: Sonar works a lot like the echo sounding of a bat, and its development was partially prompted by the Titanic disaster.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Chris Peters Onboard NOAA Ship Oregon II July 10 – 19, 2013
Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico, leaving from Pascagoula, MS Date: July 3, 2013
Welcome to my NOAA blog!
A little about my background…
Christine Peters
I am Christina (Chris) Peters, from Farmland Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland. I have been a fourth grade teacher at Farmland for the past eight years, after trying out some other careers. While my past teaching has included all subjects, I am excited to get to focus more on science this coming year as my team will be departmentalizing and I will be teaching two classes of science. We spend half the school year learning about life sciences and the environment.
I grew up only a few miles from where I teach today, and was the third of ten children in my family. My father loved to fish and used to take us fishing, in turns of course, in his seventeen foot motor boat. Most often we fished in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New Jersey, where my family frequently visited. We also fished in the Chesapeake Bay on occasion. One of my favorite summer meals was fresh bluefish. These experiences taught me to love the water, and to care about protecting that environment.
My father and I after a fishing trip. I was about ten, the same age as many of my students.
In addition to learning about and participating in the SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey, I will be learning something else completely new to me – how to blog! While I consider myself pretty technologically informed, I am new to blogging and am very excited, and a little nervous, about writing my own blog describing my Teacher at Sea experience.
Our mission on Oregon II
I will be flying to Mississippi next week and will be joining the crew of Oregon II on July 10 to participate in the SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey. To see pictures of the Oregon II, and to learn more about the ship, you can visit the website that describes details of the ship, as well as the different past and present projects for which Oregon II has been used. We will be departing from Pascagoula, Mississippi and measuring data on groundfish in the Gulf of Mexico. The Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) is a state/federal program designed to collect, manage and disseminate fishery-independent data in the southeastern U.S. I am excited to learn more about how the scientists and crew actually complete the surveys and record data. One of my goals is to pass along what I learn to everyone who reads my blog.
Furthermore, while the Groundfish Survey is the mission of the scientists and crew onboard Oregon II, I will have an additional goal of learning all about the jobs of the crew, and sharing much of that information with the readers of my blog. Hopefully, when you read about these exciting and important careers, many of you will consider the possibility of pursuing one similar to those described.
To all my upcoming fourth grade students, I am looking forward to adapting the data collection tools I learn about to our science activities in the coming year. I hope my past students will visit my blog and think about connections they can make to our fourth grade science units where we created and observed our own model ecosystems.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Katie Sard
25 days until I am aboard the NOAA Ship Rainier July 29 – August 15, 2013
Misson: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of the cruise: Alaska Peninsula Date: July 3, 2013
Personal Log
Hello from Newport, Oregon! I cannot begin to explain how excited I am for my upcoming Teacher at Sea (TAS) experience on the NOAA Ship Rainier. I have the privilege of working in a coastal community at Isaac Newton Magnet School (INMS) here in Newport.
Although I don’t typically get to walk across the bridge each day on my commute, this is me as I made my way over the Yaquina Bay Bridge for the first time by foot!
I teach Integrated Science to blended classes of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. My daily drive to work consists of looking out across the Pacific Ocean and passing over the Yaquina Bay Bridge. My students are one of a kind, and their budding interests in science motivate me to continue my own scientific education.
I moved to Oregon in June of 2011 with my husband so that he could pursue a PhD position at Hatfield Marine Science Center through Oregon State University. We moved here from Chautauqua County in Western New York State. Although I grew up on the “East Coast”, it wasn’t until moving to Oregon that I really began to appreciate our Ocean and what it means to be a member of a coastal community. Ever since our move I’ve been on a mission to discover all that I can about the Ocean in order to help my students appreciate what an amazing resource it truly is. While I was attending a teacher workshop recently, I read the following quote by David Sobel that said, “Give children a chance to love the earth before we ask them to save it.” The demands of the upcoming generations are enormous, and I am dedicated to making sure that my students grow to be scientifically literate citizens of our world. I know that my TAS experience will help me to help my students love their planet!
The NOAA Teacher at Sea program is giving me the opportunity to continue my scientific education, and to bring my knowledge back to my students, colleagues, and community members. The ship’s mission will be to do hydrographic surveys out around the Shumagin Islands, and in and around Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula.
Here is a map that I found to help me understand where exactly I will be visiting.
I’m nervous, excited, and eager for my journey to start as I’ve never been on a ship of this size, and I’ve never been out on the ocean for this duration of time. Be sure to check out the link to the Ship to get more information on the NOAA Ship Rainier.
In the upcoming month before my cruise I will be traveling back to my home town in New York with my husband Nick and my dog Luna.
My husband Nick, my dog Luna, and myself at Lost Creek State Park near our house in Newport.
We will spend several weeks there before heading back cross-country on the 40+ hour road trip. The next time you hear from me will be when I am aboard the NOAA Ship Rainier! I hope that you help to shape my experience by interacting with my via this blog while I am aboard the ship!
Did You Know?
The NOAA Ship Rainier is named for Mount Rainier which is the tallest peak in the state of Washington. It is the fourth tallest peak in the United States.
Here are a few interesting fishermen’s superstitions that I will keep in mind as I begin my journey:
It is bad luck to look back once your ship has left port.
It is said that disaster will follow if you step onto a boat with your left foot first.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Avery Marvin (Almost) Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier July 8–25, 2013
Mission: Hydrographic Survey Geographical area of cruise: Shumagin Islands, Alaska Date: July 1, 2013
Greetings from the Oregon Coast! Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you continue to follow me this summer throughout my 18-day Alaskan adventure aboard the NOAA ship Rainier. I am elated and honored to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea—an experience that will undoubtedly shape me and my classroom instruction for years to come.
NOAA Ship Rainier
My name is Avery Marvin and I am a middle school General Science and high school Biology teacher at Taft 7-12, a mid-size public MS/HS in Lincoln City, on the Oregon coast. I moved here just one year ago, and have been discovering the unique facets of living and teaching in a coastal community ever since. I continue to be amazed and inspired by the natural surroundings and marine resources (i.e. the NOAA base in Newport, Hatfield Marine Science Center) at my fingertips. Knowing I am New York native, many of my students have quizzically asked me, “Ms. Marvin, why did you move here?” My hope, then, is that through this NOAA experience, I will be further able to inspire and show kids that “here” is a pretty amazing place to be—not just in terms of its natural beauty but its ecological and research significance moreover. With this awareness and education, students hopefully will feel a greater sense of ownership of—and thus appreciate and actively protect—the greatest resource in their very backyard: the ocean.
Avery dives in the chilly waters of Tasmania, Australia
As an avid adventurer and ocean-goer, I have explored many waters both as a conservationist and a recreationist (i.e. scuba diver, fisherwoman). Yet Alaska is a place I have dreamed of visiting for most of my life, and to be able to combine my experience with like-minded scientists conducting vital ocean research is truly awesome to me. The Rainier, homeported at the NOAA Marine Operations Center – Pacific in Newport, Oregon, is a hydrographic surveying ship whose primary focus is mapping the sea floor in coastal areas. The depth data collected on the Rainier is used to update nautical charts. This is crucial work as commercial shippers, passenger vessels and fishing fleets rely on accurate nautical maps to safely traverse various ocean passages. In the case of Rainier’s work in Alaska, some of the terrain is being surveyed for the first time. Rear Adm Gerd Glang, director of Coast Survey, sums it up best, “Simply put, we have better maps of the moon than of our oceans.” Several multi-beam sonar systems located on the Rainier as well as on a few smaller launch boats are employed to acquire this mapping data. This six-minute video gives a good overview of the mission and daily operations of the Rainier.
My 18-day journey begins on July 8, 2013 in Kodiak, Alaska, where I will be meeting up with the Rainier. From Kodiak, we travel southwest to the Shumagin Islands, where the majority of the research on this leg of the trip will be conducted. We will then conclude our journey back in the Kodiak port. (Track Rainier’s movement here.) I can’t wait to dive in and absorb all that I can. I am particularly looking forward to working with and learning from all the scientists onboard, seeing the majestic Alaskan landscape and understanding how survey data can be used for mapping vital fisheries habitats.
I hope you will ‘virtually’ join me aboard the Rainier, this summer, and be a witness to some incredible scientific research. This blog will be updated weekly with interesting stories, pictures and lots of newfound information about our mission at sea. So check back often and feel free to leave comments and questions for me. If I don’t know the answer, I will ask a brilliant scientist to help me.
“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.” -Jacques-Yves-Cousteau
Amie Ell, NBCT Columbia High School – White Salmon, WA
Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you continue to follow my journeys this summer. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amie Ell. I am a teacher of sciences and mathematics at Columbia High School in White Salmon, WA. I live across the beautiful Columbia River in The Dalles, Oregon with my husband and two daughters. I have taught for 10 years, 8 of them with my wonderful CHS clan! I teach Physical, Earth, and Space Sciences as well as Algebra to primarily 9th graders.
This Friday I will fly to Kodiak to meet the crew of the Oscar Dyson and begin my adventure. I was elated to learn that I had been chosen to be a part of the NOAA Teacher at Sea program and assigned to the Oscar Dyson. I had hoped that I would be given the opportunity to visit Alaska. I have traveled to and explored many tropical ocean waters, but this will be my first Alaskan experience. The commanding officer tells me that “…This Gulf of Alaska Pollock survey is one of the best ways to see the remote coastline of Alaska and to experience one of its foundation industries from a research perspective…”
The NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson (photo courtesy of NOAA)
I have learned that I will be helping with a survey of the Alaskan walleye pollock. The main source of fish for many fast food fish sandwiches, fish sticks, and even your imitation crab meat is the walleye pollock. It is very important for scientists to maintain a careful watch on these fish so that their populations are not decimated by overfishing.
Please leave questions and comments for me. I would love to hear from you all. I know I will be missing home, friends, family, and all “my kids” at Columbia High. Check back often. I will always try to investigate and answer any questions you have. Let’s begin our communication with a little survey:
Did You Know? NOAA’s Pacific Marine Operations Center is located in Newport, OR. Nine ships are serviced here including the Oscar Dyson. Many of you have visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Next time you are there, see if you can spot this NOAA hub.
NOAA Pacific Marine Operations in Newport, OR. (photo courtesy of NOAA)
The Pisces is on its way to port, having had to suspend operations in wake of the bad weather that has since become Tropical Storm Andrea. We were supposed to go into Mayport Naval Base, right outside of Jacksonville, FL, but due to the storm we have been redirected to Port Canaveral.
It’s been pretty rough out there! (Picture courtesy Ariane Frappier)
Despite all of this, we made the best of a bad situation. Even though we couldn’t do fishing or camera drops yesterday, we did still manage to get some data. We spent as much time as we could mapping the seafloor before we had to dodge the storm, and we took the time in the morning to do an XBT, an Expendable Bathythermograph.
You can use an XBT to get a temperature and depth reading for the water without having to actually stop the ship. A tube with a probe on it is attached to a launcher and is fired into the water. The probe has copper wire attached to it to send the data back to the ship.
So…you drop the probe, you get the readings, and at least you get some data even if you can’t stop the ship to send more delicate equipment down.
Launching probe…
Other than that, the past couple of days have been all about cleanup and dodging the storm. To a certain extent that makes the scientific posts a little quieter than usual, but it’s been a very interesting experience watching everyone work together to make sure that the scientists could get as much work done as possible without endangering the ship or its crew.
We didn’t get to do everything that we wanted to do on this leg of the trip, unfortunately. But we still got a lot accomplished, and I feel like it was just as interesting to see how everyone was able to react to the weather and still get their job done.
Personal Log
Whew! I didn’t imagine when I got on the Pisces in Tampa that I’d spend the last bit of the trip dodging the first named Tropical Storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. But I definitely have a greater appreciation that, with science as in all things, sometimes life does not go quite to plan.
If all goes to schedule, I will be leaving the Pisces tonight, for our detour into Port Canaveral. We had to stop working a day early, and we’ll end up arriving a day early and into a different port. My last day has mostly been spent trying to rearrange for my travel home from a new city and with assisting the science crew in cleaning up the lab spaces.
All data collection requires a certain amount of flexibility. I knew that already – social science data is notoriously difficult to collect – but the problems that I face in my work are quite different from these. When international relations scholars have trouble with data, it’s usually because of things like difficulties in getting governments and/or people to tell the truth, etc. But sometimes, as now, it’s because conditions make it unsafe to collect the data. We can’t send people into shooting wars to count casualties, and we can’t send scientists into a hurricane to count fish.
Science is a method, not a subject, and the scientific method is one wherein we all simply do our best with what we have. Science has been so profoundly influential because of the simple power of this process, testing over and over what we think to be true, so that we can learn if we are wrong. It’s true if you study fish, if you study policy, or if you study anything in between.
There are many things we’ve discovered about our oceans, and the fish and other creatures that inhabit them. But there are still many more things to learn. I’m glad that we have scientists like the ones I met on the Pisces out looking for our fish, and glad that NOAA, in conjunction with states and other government agencies like the Coast Guard, are looking out for our oceans.
My thanks go out to the entire crew of the Pisces, and the great people at the Teacher at Sea program, for letting me be a part of the process.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Elizabeth Nyman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 28 – June 7, 2013
Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico Date: May 31, 2013
Weather Data: Surface Water Temperature: 24.55 degrees Celsius
Air Temperature: 25 degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1016.3 mb
Science and Technology Log
Work continues here on NOAA Ship Pisces. By the end of today, we’ll have sent the camera array down to 35 spots and caught at least 45 fish with the bandit reels. I’ve personally gotten to see some of the camera footage, as well as help the scientific crew with their analysis of the fish we caught.
Here’s a screen capture of some video taken yesterday from the Florida Middle Ground. The big fish on the left is a red grouper, the fellow poking his head up with the crazy eye is a spotted moray eel, and the yellow fish not far above him are reef butterfly fish. Note that “crazy eye” is not a scientific term. (Picture courtesy of NOAA.)
This work goes on for the entirety of daylight hours, beginning with our arrival at the first location sometime between 7 to 7:45 a.m., and not ending until around 6:30 to 7 p.m. It’s a long day, with 8-10 drops of the camera array and 4 different attempts to catch fish with the bandit reels. But the Pisces doesn’t sleep just because the sun goes down. When most of the ship goes to bed, the crew continues scientific work by driving the ship around in circles. The circles are actually well-plotted lines, and the route is chosen to allow the ship’s ME70, a multi-beam sounding unit, to map the sea floor.
Here’s an example of the routes we do at night. It will take all night to do one of these three blocks pictured here. (Picture courtesy of NOAA.)
Every possible moment of time is devoted to gathering as much data as possible, whether it’s fisheries data from the camera array and the bandit reels, or the mapping data that goes on at night. It’s expensive and time consuming to send a ship out here, 60-80 nautical miles off the west coast of Florida, and so everyone has to work hard while we’re out at sea. I have nothing but admiration for the entire crew of the Pisces, from the officers to the scientific crew to the deck crew, stewards, and ship’s engineers, because they all are always hard at work making NOAA’s scientific mission possible. But you might be wondering, what’s the point of all this? Why are we out here taking pictures and video of fish, and catching them to take back to the lab for testing?
This voyage is part of the SEAMAP Reef Fish Survey, which has been going on for over 20 years. The point is to gather information on the abundance of certain species of fish, which is why we need to see how many there are down there, through the cameras, and what their size, age, and fertility look like. This crew is based out of Pascagoula, MS, and that’s where the video taken of the fish is analyzed. They determine how many fish are present, and can actually measure the size of the fish by taking pictures with stereo cameras and using parallax, the difference in position from one camera to the next. They combine this data with the information that the Panama City lab generates from the ear bones and the sex organs, as well as any relevant external data from fishery observers and the like, to create a full a picture as possible about the overall health of the fish population.
Ariane Frappier, graduate student volunteer, examines NOAA reef fishery data from the Dry Tortugas for her thesis.
Cool. I like gathering data, and I definitely think that more knowledge of our fish and oceans is better than less. But we aren’t looking at fish out here just to look at fish, as awesome as that would be. This survey has a purpose. Data collected here is used by the SEDAR program, which stands for Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review. SEDAR will examine a particular species and analyze all the data collected about that species, before holding a series of workshops open to the public about that fish. At the end of the process, a series of experts will recommend how much fishing should be allowed for that population, in order to properly manage the fishery and prevent overfishing.
Personal Log
What we don’t get to record in our data, but is still pretty awesome, is the ability to view wildlife from the boat. I don’t mean the stuff we catch, though that’s pretty cool too, but the creatures that we just get to observe.
Okay, some of the stuff we catch is really cool. This is me with a silky shark.
So far, I’ve seen loggerhead sea turtles, just kind of relaxing and swimming not too far from our boat. I also got to see a pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins – I saw several of them, but the way they were swimming around in the waves, it’s hard to be precisely sure how many. I missed seeing at least two other dolphins – the seas have been kind of choppy, and so they disappear from view pretty quickly.
Atlantic Spotted Dolphins swimming very near the Pisces.
Then, pretty much right as I was writing this up, I got to see a leatherback sea turtle who surfaced for air pretty close to our boat. I didn’t get a picture, since you pretty much have to have the camera in hand for these things, they happen so quickly.
So here’s a picture from NOAA for you. The zoom on my camera’s not that good anyway. (Picture courtesy of NOAA.)
Did You Know?
The leatherback sea turtle is an Appendix I creature under CITES, the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. Appendix I creatures are those at risk of extinction, and international trade in these species or any part of these species is forbidden.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Elizabeth Nyman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 28 – June 7, 2013
Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico Date: May 28, 2013
Weather Data: Surface Water Temperature: 23.84 degrees Celsius
Air Temperature: 23.90 degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1017.8 mb
Science and Technology Log
So I’ve known for about two months or so that I was going to be taking part in one leg of an ongoing reef fishery survey. I even had an idea that it involved surveying fish that lived on reefs. But after our first full day at sea, and many hours of helping take part in the scientific work, I now begin to understand how exactly one surveys reef fish.
There’s a couple of different things that the scientific crew is doing to observe and understand the reef fish population. First, there is an ongoing video recording process throughout the day, from just after sunrise to just before sunset. For this, the ship and scientific crew lower a large, 600 pound camera array off of the starboard side of the ship. The cameras will go and sit on the sea floor and record all the fish that pass in front of it, for a total recording time of 25 minutes. After this time has passed, plus a little extra time, the cameras are pulled back up, the recordings are downloaded, we move to a different spot and the process begins again.
Hauling the camera array back on deck. I said it was big, didn’t I?
The video is reviewed the next day. Since this is our first day at sea, I didn’t get much of a chance to see any reef fishery footage, though I’m told that’s on the agenda for tomorrow. What I spent most of my time doing was helping out with another part of the survey process, something called the bandit reels. They’re used for good old-fashioned hook and line fishing.
It looks like a nice day to go fishing, huh?
There are three bandit reels on the Pisces, and each one can hold 10 fishing hooks. Each reel has different sized hooks, and the hook sizes are changed every drop. The line has a weight at the bottom to bring the hooks down to the sea floor, which have been baited with mackerel bits. After five minutes, the line is reeled back in, and you have fish…or you don’t.
My first drop, which had the biggest hooks, had a whole bunch of nothing. As did everyone else’s, though, so it wasn’t a testament to my poor fishing skills.
The second drop, however, was luckier.
I caught a moray eel!
A spotted moray eel! I was excited, anyway. But morays aren’t one of the fish that we’re looking for out here, so it wasn’t a particularly useful catch.
Our third drop was the most successful. Our bandit reel hauled in seven fish, one of whom got away (the biggest one, of course, one the size of a killer whale…yeah, just kidding!). The other six were brought into the wet lab, where they joined the other fish caught on that drop and would be measured and dissected.
We caught a big one!
The fish are measured three different ways. The first, by total length, examines exactly that, the total length of the fish from the nose all the way to the tip of the tail. The second measure goes from the nose to the fork in the tail, so it’s a shorter distance. The third, standard length, goes from the nose to just before the tail fin, where the fish’s vertebrae end, and is the shortest of all. They’re also weighed at this time as well.
After that, we start cutting into the fish. Two things are of interest here: the ear bone and the sex organs. The ear bones are removed from each fish, because they can be tested to determine the age of the fish. The sex organs will reveal gender, obviously, but also are examined to see how fertile each specimen is. We don’t do this kind of analysis on the ship, however. The ear bones and sex organs are sent back to the NOAA lab in Panama City, Florida, where they will conduct all those tests.
Personal Log
The best part of my first day at sea was definitely the ship safety drills.
Wait, what?
No, seriously. The absolute highlight of this one was my chance to try on what’s known as the Gumby suit. The Gumby suit is a nickname for a immersion survival suit – if we have to abandon ship and float around in the water, the suit will protect us from the elements. Now, we’re down here in the Gulf of Mexico, so that seems a little crazy, but think about how you’d feel if you were stuck in the water for hours on end. In really cold waters, that suit may be the difference between life and death.
The drills are important, and they’re mandated for a reason. In an emergency, all of this stuff can save lives.
Why do I like the drills so much? We’re required to have safety drills by law, and so as someone who studies and teaches international law, I always enjoy taking part in these things. It’s a chance to see the stuff in action that I talk about in class. And that’s kind of what this program is all about – the chance to experience things firsthand as opposed to just having to read about them.
I guess you kind of have to take my word for it, but that’s me in there.
Did You Know?
You’re supposed to be able to put on a Gumby suit in under a minute. They wouldn’t do much good if they took too long to put on.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Melanie Lyte
Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter
May 20 – 31, 2013
Mission: Right Whale Survey, Great South Channel Geographical Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Date: May 29, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Air temperature: 12.8 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit)
Surface water temperature: 11.8 degrees Celsius (53 degrees Fahrenheit)
Wind speed: 21 knots (25 miles per hour)
Relative humidity: 100%
Barometric pressure: 1023.5
Science and Technology Log
Photo Credit: NOAA/NEFSC/Peter Duley under Permit #775-1875
We finally had a right whale sighting today! It was a juvenile and was quite close to the ship. It was exciting to see it frolicking.
Allison Henry, chief scientist, recently told me that over 70% of the right whales they see have entanglement scars. The scars are due to entanglement in fishing lines.
Photo Credit:; Mavynne under Permit # EGNO 1151 Right whale with entanglement scars.
Sometimes teams of scientists with special training attempt to disentangle a whale. It can be dangerous work. The video below shows a team working to remove fishing lines from a whale in 2011. The scientists first need to attach the small boat to the whale with lines so they can stay with it while it swims until it exhausts itself. Only when the whale is tired, can the team work to cut away the entanglement.
Watch this video of a whale disentanglement.
The other hazard is that whales tend to rest and feed near the surface of the water in the shipping lanes, and can be hit by ships.
During the day, from 7am-7pm, the scientists take turns on watch. This means we watch for whales using “big eyes” which are giant binoculars. We spend 30 minutes on left watch, 30 minutes in the center, and 30 minutes on the right watch. At the center station we record sightings and update the environment using a computer program designed for this purpose.
photo credit: Barbara Beblowskiphot credit: Peter Duley
I visited the Wheel House on the ship today. This is also called the bridge, and is the control center of the ship (similar to the cockpit of an airplane). The wheel house has many controls that the crew needs to know how to use, and it takes years of training to be able to command a ship. I spoke with Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Taylor and Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Michael Levine about the workings of the Gunter.
Wheel or helm of the shipAuto Pilot
This is the wheel or helm of the ship. The Gunter is one of the last NOAA ships with this type of helm. The newer ships have a helm that looks more similar to that which you find in a race car. Although the helm is still used to steer the ship at times, especially when docking, the steering is left to the auto pilot the majority of the time.
ARPA radar
I know some of you were concerned about how the officers could see to steer the boat in the fog. The ship has an ARPA radar system that shows where other boats in the area are in relation to our ship. The radar also shows the course our ship is taking and alerts the crew to anything that may be in the path of the ship.
Throttles
The throttles control the speed of the ship. The maximum speed of ship is 10 knots which is about 12 miles per hour. The ship uses diesel fuel and it takes about 1,200 gallons of fuel to run the ship for a 24 hour period. At night they will sometimes shut down one engine which makes the ship go slower, but which saves about 400 gallons or $1,600 a day. This is one reason why we anchored for 3 days during the bad weather. The weather made surveying whales impossible so it didn’t make sense to run the ship during that time. The cost of running the Gunter is $11,000/day on average. This includes everything to do with sailing including salaries, food, etc.
Personal Log
I know that some of my first graders have been asking about where I sleep and eat on the ship. Below are pictures of my stateroom and the galley of the ship. Two very important places!
Stateroom (sleeping quarters)Galley on the Gordon Gunter
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Melanie Lyte
Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter
May 20 – 31, 2013
Mission: Right Whale Survey, Great South Channel Geographical Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Date: May 26, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Air temperature: 15.5 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit)
Surface water temperature: 12.01 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit);
Wind speed: 10 knots (12 miles per hour);
Relative humidity: 85%;
Barometric pressure: 1005.5
Science and Technology Log
Here we are on Sunday afternoon and we’ve been anchored off Provincetown since Thursday evening to wait out bad weather and unworkable conditions. When the fog cleared, the view of Provincetown was quite pretty from the ship, but I have seen enough of it, and am ready for some adventure . Luckily, we set sail this evening and will begin our watch for right whales again tomorrow morning. While Monday looks to be quite windy, Tuesday shows promise as a good day for whale sightings. All the scientists aboard are anxious to get back to work!
During our down time I was able to interview two people aboard with very different jobs – Peter Duley, one of the NOAA scientists, and Margaret Coyle, the ship steward.
Peter Duley NOAA scientist
Peter has worked for NOAA for 10 years, and has also worked for The National Science Foundation. He has literally been to the ends of the earth doing research. He did his under graduate work at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor Maine . Upon graduation Peter did field work in Belize banding birds. While his first love was birds, he became interested in marine mammals and has done research work studying harbor porpoises in the Gulf of Maine, pilot whales in the mid Atlantic to the Gulf of Maine, bowhead whales in Alaska, right whales along the East Coast, and even spent time in Antarctica studying leopard seals. He now spends his summers on right whale survey cruises, and his winters doing aerial surveys of right whales.
While interviewing Peter I was struck by the passion and excitement he has for his work. It is obvious that he loves what he does and is very dedicated to saving the “giants of the sea”. All of the whales Peter studies are endangered and it is imperative that scientists have a handle on the populations of these endangered whales so they can determine if the number of whales is rising or falling over a period of time, and what factors are influencing their survival. These scientists are so familiar with some of the right whales that they can identify the whales that have already been cataloged when they see them. They are cataloging all the whales using a number system that includes the year the whale was first seen, and another number that matches their mother if she is a whale that has previously been cataloged.
Peter’s favorite marine mammal is the leopard seal. He told me a story about the most dangerous situation he has been in while doing field work. He was in Antarctica in a small inflatable boat called a Zodiac and a leopard seal swam right up to the boat. He and his colleagues were excited and started taking pictures when the seal jumped out of the water and came down with its mouth on the side of the boat. The seal put a large hole in the boat. Fortunately, the boat had several different air compartments so the entire boat didn’t deflate in the frigid Antarctic waters, but Peter and his colleagues got back to shore as quickly as possible. My next question was, “What was your best research experience?” Peter said smiling, “The time the leopard seal put a hole in the boat!”
The other person I interviewed is Margaret Coyne, the ship steward. She probably is one of the most important people on the ship because she keeps us all fed! Not only does she make three meals a day for everyone on board, we actually eat like we are at a 4 star resort. There is always an amazing variety of delicious food at every meal.
Margaret Coyle Ship’s Chief Steward
Margaret and her 2nd cook Tyrone Baker, work 12 hour days from 5:30-6:30 with an hour break during the day. The galley is always buzzing with crew and scientists enjoying meals, snacks, leftovers, or anxiously awaiting for the homemade soup of the day to be brought out. There are always plenty of choices for all types of eaters – Margaret makes vegetarian options for each meal. She also makes her own yogurt, soy milk, fresh salad, ice cream, and a delicious dessert daily.
Lunch menuSpinach lasagna roll, squash and onions, black eye peas, and roasted potatoesSpaghetti with meat sauce, pesto grilled chicken breast, squash and onions, and a garlic bread stickBlueberry cobbler with whip cream
Personal Log
I will be happy when we start moving again and get back to the mission of surveying right whales. It has been difficult to be stationary for such a long time, but luckily, the scientists and crew are all so friendly that there is always someone to talk to. It is really interesting to learn about other people’s lives, and what brought them to where they are today. Hopefully I will remember this experience because of all the amazing whales I will get to see, but if not, I know I will carry fond memories of all the people I met.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Emilisa Saunders Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II May 14 2013 – May 30, 2013
Mission: SEAMAP Spring Plankton Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico Date: Saturday, May 25 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: Wind speed 15.7 knots; Surface water temperature 25.40 degrees Celsius; Air temperature 26.3 degrees Celsius; Relative humidity 85%; Barometric pressure 1017.3 mb
Holding the line as the MOCNESS goes in.
Science and Technology Log:
For the last couple of days, as the ship moves toward Texas, we’ve encountered lots of sargassum. Sargassum is a type of macroalgae, or seaweed. Some types of sargassum are benthic; as you remember, this means they live and grow on the bottom of the ocean. Out here on the Oregon II, we’re seeing planktonic sargassum – the drifting kind – and lots of it. This sargassum drifts around the surface of the Gulf, thanks to the tiny, air-filled float pods all throughout its leaves. When pieces of sargassum meet up, they become entangled and start to drift together. Before long, vast blankets or mats of sargassum form. We’ve seen some impressive mats in the past few days, some almost as long as the ship itself!
Blanket of sargassumSargassum City
These mats create a bit of a challenge when it comes to dropping the nets. The Bongo Net and the Subsurface Neuston stay below the surface, so typically they don’t catch much sargassum, unless some slips in just as the nets enter or leave the water. However, the regular Neuston net stays on the surface for the duration of the drop. This is a perfect opportunity for sargassum to slide right in. Ideally, we want this net submerged for 10 minutes, but when the sargassum is thick, we have to cut this down to five. Even then, we’ve had as much as 30 gallons of sargassum show up in one drop.
You can find so much life in one handful of sargassum
When we get sargassum, we have to spray it off with sea water and sort through it to collect any plankton that are tangled in the leaves. This is quite a bit of work when we get a lot of sargassum, but I have come to really enjoy it because of the amazing little creatures that we find. A piece of sargassum can be like a little city, teeming with life, with a large variety of species. Many of these are big enough that you can easily see them with the naked eye. These sargassum communities contain everything that their residents need to survive, including a food web and plenty of shelter. It’s also a great lesson in adaptation. The animals that live in sargassum blend in so well that we have to look very carefully to find them. Most of them are either transparent, or they exactly match the color of the seaweed, and there are tons of nooks and crannies for hiding.
Here are just a few of the delightful little animals that we’ve found in the sargassum:
Sargassum fish: These little guys are pretty amazing. They look fairly harmless, but they are actually ambush predators. They have two small foot-like fins on their undersides, which they use to move around and perch in one place in the seaweed. When a smaller animal comes close, the sargassum fish open their mouths wide and suck the unsuspecting prey in, just like a vacuum cleaner. They’ll even eat other, smaller sargassum fish! Some of them even have a piece of flesh called an esca that dangles from their head, which they use as a lure to attract prey.
A large sargassum fish from a Neuston net. See the little pectoral fin “feet?”This is the typical size for the sargassum fish that we’ve found (about one inch).
Sargassum swimming crabs: These tiny crabs are capable of walking on land, but they are also excellent swimmers, thanks to their paddle-shaped back legs. They are also ambush predators; they stalk smaller sargassum dwellers and give their prey a nasty jab to catch and kill them.
Sargassum swimming crab. See its paddle-shaped hind feet?
Sargassum nudibranch: Nudibranchs are a type of mollusk that have a shell in their juvenile stage, but lose the shell as they mature. Sargassum nudibranchs are so well camouflaged that we sometimes feel their soft bodies in the sargassum before we see them. They stay mainly in the sargassum, but if they happen to get washed out, they can flex their bodies back and forth to swim back to the seaweed. It’s really quite amazing to watch!
A little sargassum nudibranch. Looks like a blob here, but they are very graceful swimmers!
Challenge Yourself: Hey there, Nature Exchange traders! Can you think of an animal that blends into its environment in the Mojave Desert? What about a creature that is an ambush predator? Draw a picture or write down some facts and bring it in to the Nature Exchange for bonus points. Be sure to tell them that Emmi sent you!
Personal Log:
Yesterday, I saw some evidence of the impact that we have on our oceans. While sorting through some sargassum, I found a plastic ribbon with a balloon fragment attached wrapped around a piece of sargassum. We were hundreds of miles from shore when I found it. It was sad for me to see a piece of human trash tangled around this little sargassum community. I know it’s still pretty common for people to organize balloon releases to honor a special person or occasion, but I wonder if there might be another way to do so. Maybe instead of a balloon release, we can plant some trees, release ladybugs in a garden, organize a clean-up day at a local trail or park, etc. All of these things could impact the environment in a positive way. Just something to think about.
A piece of balloon and ribbon tangled up in the sargassum.
Now that I have adjusted to working the midnight to noon shift on the Oregon II, I am finding that I really enjoy it. In the past few days as we’ve approached a full moon, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the moon reflect on the water, making it look like liquid mercury. For the first several days of this cruise, the sky was so dark that we could only see as far as the ship’s lights would allow, and maybe the distant lights from an oil rig or two. It was the darkest dark I’ve ever seen. Now, the moon lights up the sky enough that we can actually see the horizon. Then, a few hours into the shift, we get to watch the sun rise, which is spectacular every time. I’ve taken so many pictures of the sunrise, I can’t choose a favorite!
Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico
We’re in the last few days of the survey, and we’ve taken the turn back east now. Until next time, be sure to track the Oregon II here: NOAA Ship Tracker
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Melanie Lyte
Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter
May 20 – 31, 2013
Mission: Right Whale Survey, Great South Channel Geographical Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Date: May 24, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: Air temperature 15.5 degrees celsius (60 degrees fahrenheit)
Surface water temperature 12.01 degrees celsius (54 degrees fahrenheit)
Wind speed 10 knots (12 miles per hour)
Relative humidity 85%
Barometric pressure 1005.5
Science and Technology Log
We are on the fifth day of our cruise and the weather is being very uncooperative! It has been foggy everyday which makes sighting whales very difficult. Before we started the cruise (it sounds strange to call it a cruise. It seems more like a mission), an aerial survey team did a fly over and spotted some right whales in the area we’ve been combing, but we have been unable to find them. Now we have set anchor off Provincetown, Cape Cod to sit out some bad weather that has moved in. We will stay here in this protected area until Sunday. This morning the wind was blowing at 54 knots or 60 miles per hour. Did you know that a knot is about 1.2 miles per hour? We set anchor last night and the wind was so strong it dragged the ship and anchor 300 yards!
While this is disappointing for me and for all aboard, I am amazed at the positive attitude and optimism shown by the scientists here. They take it all in stride, and are used to things not turning out as they had planned. I guess that’s the nature of field work. They are all extremely dedicated and passionate about their research.
NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter Photo credit: NOAA
You can track the course of the Gordon Gunter by going to the NOAA ship tracker website: http://shiptracker.noaa.gov/shiptracker.html . The ship is always in pursuit of whales so the track will sometimes look like a zigzag with lines crossing back and forth over each other. You can keep checking back to see our progress once we set sail again.
Although I have not seen many marine mammals, I have seen some sea birds that are new to me. The first is the gannet. The gannet is known for its diving ability. It can plunge into the ocean head first and go down 30 ft. It is a sea-bird so it never rests on land other than when it goes to its breeding colony.
Northern gannet Photo credit: Marie C. Martin
Next, I saw a greater shearwater. This bird is also a sea-bird which means it doesn’t go to land unless it is breeding. They congregate on Nightingale Island to breed. Nightingale Island is located between the tips of Africa and South America. They have a very long flight during breeding season!
Great shearwater Photo credit: birdfroum.net
I also saw a Northern Fulmar. They are also sea birds and they nest in Scotland. These birds look much like sea gulls.
Northern Fulmar Photo credit: Andreas Trepte
Personal Log
Today is day 5 of our cruise. While it is disappointing that the weather has not cooperated, it is such a learning experience to be on a ship like this one. I am learning so much everyday about what it’s like to be a scientist in the field. Besides being patient and optimistic, scientists need to be careful and precise in recording their field work. It is a good lesson for me and for you (my first graders) to always work carefully, and give close attention to detail in your work because that is what being a scientist is all about. Start practicing doing your best and most careful work now so you will be ready to be scientists when you grow up.
At this point I can see Provincetown from the ship, but for 2 days there was no land in sight. I really got a sense of just how big the ocean is. When we’re not sailing there is not much to do on the ship. I am fortunate that there are many new people to befriend, books to read and listen to, and delicious food at every meal. I also enjoy all your comments so keep them coming!
Did You Know?
Did you know that some of the scientists on this cruise have dedicated their entire working lives to surveying and cataloging right whales? They migrate with the whales down south in the winter, and come back up north in the spring.
Did you know that the sea depth is measured in fathoms? 1 fathom equals 6 feet
“Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”
What do think that means? Why can’t they drink the water? Hint: The poem is written about sailors who are shipwrecked in a big storm out at sea
New Vocabulary: Draw a ship and label all the parts below Bow- front of the ship
Stern- rear of the ship
Starboard- right side of the ship
Port- left side of the ship
Aft- toward the back of the ship
Forward- toward the front of the ship
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Melanie Lyte
Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter
May 20 – 31, 2013
Mission: Right Whale Survey, Great South Channel Geographical Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Date: May 22, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Air Temperature: 12.01 degrees Celsius or 54 degrees fahrenheit
Wind Speed: 8.88kts
Relative Humidity: 97%
Barometric Pressure: 1,012.42mb
Scientific crew on the Gordon Gunter Photo credit: Mark Weekely
Science and Technology Log
FOG (by Carl Sandburg)
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
And that’s just what we awoke to this morning – heavily clouded skies and fog. Unfortunately, it hasn’t moved on yet, and actually looks like it’s here to stay. This made visibility very poor. The fog horn had been blasting every few minutes all night so the fog didn’t come as a surprise, but was a disappointment. My first shift on watch was moved to the wheel house and we watched with the “naked eye” instead of the “big eye” (giant binoculars that are outside on the bridge). Our primary mission is to search for right whales, but any sea life observed is recorded. I was lucky enough to see 6 white sided dolphins on my first watch after Allison Henry (chief scientist) pointed them out to me. By mid-morning, the fog had lifted and the visibility improved. I am on 90 minute shifts from 7am-7pm with 90 minute breaks between shifts. While working we either watch for whales or record data as others watch for whales.
The scientists want to identify each whale they see. They do this by examining the unique patches of callosities the whales have on their heads and backs. The whales’ callosities are categorized as either broken or continuous.
Diagram from New England Aquarium
They have cataloged 669 right whales using this method since they began the identification process in the late 70’s. The callosities are the same color as the whale’s skin, but appear white or yellow due to the presence of thousands of tiny crustaceans called cyamids, or “whale lice”.
Photo credit: Allison Henry
If we spot a right whales and the conditions are good (no fog and the seas are not too choppy) some of us will go in the “small boats” to photograph the whales, and to do a biopsy sample on the whale if it has not already been sampled.
Biopsy tag in right whale Photo Credit: NOAA/NEFSC/Lisa Conger under Permit #775-1875
Another small boat will try to tag the whale. Tagging the whale is a sophisticated process and uses high tech equipment. Mark Baumgartner from Woods Hole Oceanic Institute (WHOI) showed us the dermal tag he will be using on whales. He also showed us how the tagging equipment has evolved over the last few years. The tag is shot into the whale where it goes into the skin about 3 inches. It has a GPS attached to it so it can be recovered from the whale when it falls off (usually in 24 hours). The scientists can set it to come off the whale in a certain amount of time. The implantable dart stays in the whale’s skin until it eventually works its way out which they estimate to be in 3-4 weeks. This process startles the whale, but is not thought to cause them pain.
Personal Log
We have been out on the water for 24 hours at this point, and I feel like I am adjusting well to life at sea. No seasickness yet (knock on wood), and I slept very comfortably last night (I know that comes as no surprise to any of you who know the ease with which I sleep in any situation). Everyone on the ship has been very friendly and willing to share information with me. The food is excellent, with lots of vegetarian choices, great mixed greens salad, and even a pineapple upside down cake for dessert last night.
Did You Know?
Did you know that right whales are identified by the callosities on their heads and bodies?
Did you know that the North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales? It is estimated that there are only about 470 right whales alive today.
Question of the day: What is the smallest whale in the world?
Getting just one small jar of plankton back to the lab on shore requires a lot of work. First comes all of the net-dropping work I described in the last post, which is a team effort from everyone on board, just to bring the samples onto the ship. From there, we have to take several more steps in order to preserve the sample.
Step 1: After the nets are brought back onto the bow of the ship, we hose them down very thoroughly using a seawater hose, in order to wash any clinging plankton down into the cod end.
Here I am, hosing down the Bongo nets. Photo by Alonzo Hamilton
Then we detach the cod end and bring it to the stern of the ship, where a prep station is set up. The prep table is stocked with funnels, sieves, seawater hoses and jars, and the chemicals that we need to preserve the plankton that we collect – formalin and ethyl alcohol.
Prep Station
Step 2: We carefully pour the specimen through the fine-mesh sieve to catch the plankton and drain out the water. It’s amazing to see what’s in the sample. This, of course, includes lots of tiny plankton; all together, they look kind of like sludge, until you look very closely to see the individual creatures. Lots of the fish larvae have tiny, bright blue eyes. (On a funny note, my breakfast granola has started to look like plankton after a week of collecting!)
Plankton in a sieve
Getting to see what makes it into each sample is kind of like a treasure hunt. Sometimes bigger organisms like fish, sea jellies, eel larvae, pyrosomes and snails end up in the sample. Quite frequently there is sargassum, which is a type of floating seaweed that does a great job of hiding small creatures. Take a look at the pictures at the end of the post to see some of these!
Step 3: Next, the sample goes into a jar. We use seawater from a hose to push the sample to one side of the sieve, and let the water drain out. Then, we put a funnel in a clean, dry jar and use a squeeze bottle of ethyl alcohol to wash the sample into the jar through the funnel. We top the jar off with ethyl alcohol, which draws the moisture out of the bodies of the plankton so that they don’t decompose or rot in the jar. The sample from the left bongo – just this sample and no other – is preserved in a mixture of formalin and seawater because it goes through different testing than the other samples do once back on shore. We top all of the bottles with a lid and label them: R for Right Bongo, L for Left Bongo, RN for Regular Neuston, and SN for Subsurface Neuston.
Plankton Ready to go in the Jar
Step 4: After the jars are filled, Alonzo and I bring them back to the wet lab, where Glenn attaches labels to the tops of the jars, and puts a matching label inside of each jar as well. The label inside the jar is there in case the label on the lid falls off one day. These labels provide detailed information about where and when the sample was collected, and from which net.
A label on the jar gives detailed information about the plankton inside
Step 5: After 24 hours, it’s time to do transfers. Transfers involve emptying the samples from the jars through a sieve again, and putting them back into the jars with fresh ethyl alcohol. We do this because the alcohol draws water out of the bodies of the plankton, so the alcohol becomes watered-down in the first 24 hours and is not as effective. Adding fresh alcohol keeps the sample from going bad before it can be studied. Once the transfers are done, we draw a line through the label to show that the sample is well-preserved and ready to be boxed up and brought back to the lab!
Boxes full of plankton samples ready to be brought back to shore
Personal Log:
I have the great fortune of working with some intelligent, knowledgeable and friendly scientists here on the Oregon II. Jana is my bunkmate and one of the scientists; she pointed out to me that just about every animal you can imagine that lives in the ocean started off as plankton. As a result, while the scientists who work with plankton do each have a specialty or specific type of plankton that they focus on, at the same time, they have to know a little bit about many types of organisms and the basics of all of their life cycle stages. In a way I can relate to this as a Naturalist; I need to have a bit of knowledge about many plants, animals, minerals and fossils from the Mojave Desert and beyond, because chances are, my smart and curious Nature Exchange traders will eventually bring them all in for me to see and identify!
The science team, from left to right: Andy, Alonzo, Glenn, me, Jana and Brittany. Photo by Brian Adornado
I want to take a few moments to introduce all of the members of the science team. I thought I’d have fun with it and use my own version of the Pivot questionnaire:
Meet Alonzo Hamilton
Alonzo Hamilton, scientist, testing water samples in the Wet Lab.
Alonzo is a Research Fisheries Biologist; he has been working with NOAA since 1984. Alonzo earned an Associate’s degree in Science, a Bachelor’s degree in biology, and a Master’s degree in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Science. Alonzo was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Mississippi.
What is your favorite word? Data
What is your least favorite word? No or can’t. There’s always a solution; you just have to keep trying until you find it.
What excites you about doing science? Discovery
What do you dislike about doing science? The financial side of it.
What is your favorite plankton? Tripod fish plankton
What sound or noise on the ship do you love? The main engines
What sound or noise do you hate? The alarm bells
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? An electrician. There are some neat jobs in that field.
What profession would you not like to do? Lawyer. There’s a risk of becoming too jaded.
If you could talk to any marine creature, which one would it be, and what would you ask it? A coelacanth. What is your life history? What’s a typical day of feeding like? Is there a hierarchy of fish, and what is it? What determines who gets to eat first?
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Meet Glenn Zapfe
Glenn Zapfe, scientist, contemplating the plankton samples.
Glenn is a Research Fisheries Biologist; he worked with NOAA as a contractor for 8 years before being hired on as a Federal employee three years ago. Glenn earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Life, and a Master’s degree in Coastal Science. He grew up in the Chicago area.
What is your favorite word? Quirky
What is your least favorite word? Nostalgia
What excites you about doing science? Going to sea and seeing organisms in their natural environment.
What do you dislike about doing science? Statistics. They can sometimes be manipulated to fit individual needs.
What is your favorite plankton? Amphipods
What sound or noise on the ship do you love? The hum of the engine
What sound or noise do you hate? The emergency alarm bells
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Glenn grew up wanting to be a cartoonist – but he can’t draw.
What profession would you not like to do? Lawyer
If you could talk to any marine creature, which one would it be, and what would you ask it? A cuttlefish, to ask about how they are able to change the color of their skin.
*************************
Meet Jana Herrmann
Jana Hermann, scientist and volunteer, aboard the Oregon II
Jana is a Fisheries Technician with the Gulf Coast Research Lab, and is on this cruise as a volunteer. She has worked with the Gulf Coast Research Lab since February 2013, but worked within the local Marine Sciences field for 8 years before that. Jana earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology and Environmental biology, and will be starting graduate school in the fall of 2013. Jana grew up in Tennessee.
What is your favorite word? Pandemonium
What is your least favorite word? Anything derogatory
What excites you about doing science? Just when you think you have it all figured out, something new comes up.
What do you dislike about doing science? Dealing with bureaucracy and having to jump through hoops to get the work done.
What is your favorite plankton? Janthina
What sound or noise on the ship do you love? This is Jana’s first cruise on the Oregon II, so she doesn’t have a favorite noise yet.
What sound or noise do you hate? Any noises that keep her from sleeping.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? A baker or pastry chef.
What profession would you not like to do? Any mundane office job with no creative outlet.
If you could talk to any marine creature, which one would it be, and what would you ask it? She would ask a blue whale if it is sad about the state of the environment, and she would ask it if mermaids are real.
******************
Meet Brittany Palm
Brittany Palm, scientist, aboard the Oregon II
Brittany is a Research Fisheries Biologist; she has worked with NOAA for 4 years. Brittany earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology, and is currently working on her Master’s degree in Marine Science. Brittany grew up on Long Island.
What is your favorite word? Midnattsol – the Norwegian word for “midnight sun”
What is your least favorite word? Editing. That’s not a fun word to hear when you hand in drafts of your thesis!
What excites you about doing science? Constantly learning. All of the fields of science, from chemistry to physics to biology, are interwoven. You have to know a little bit about all of them.
What do you dislike about doing science? Also, constantly learning! Every time you think you know something, a new paper comes out.
What is your favorite plankton? Glaucus
What sound or noise on the ship do you love? The ship’s sound signal, which is a deep, booming horn that ships use to communicate with each other.
What sound or noise do you hate? When she’s trying to sleep in rough seas and something in one of the drawers is rolling back and forth. She has to get up and go through all of the drawers and cabinets to try to find it and make it stop!
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Opening a dance studio. Brittany competed on dance teams throughout high school and college.
What profession would you not like to do? Anything in the health field, because she empathizes more with animals than people.
If you could talk to any marine creature, which one would it be, and what would you ask it? The Croaker fish. Brittany is studying Croaker diets and has dissected over a thousand stomachs. She would like to be able to just ask them what they eat!
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Meet Andy Millett
Andy Millett, scientist, in the Dry Lab of the Oregon II.
Andy is a Research Fisheries Biologist, and is the Field Party Chief for this cruise. He has worked with NOAA for 3 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology and a Master’s degree in Marine Science. Andy grew up in Massachusetts.
What is your favorite word? Parallel
What is your least favorite word? Silly
What excites you about doing science? When all of the data comes together and tells you a story.
What do you dislike about doing science? Having to be so organized and meticulous, since he is typically pretty disorganized.
What is your favorite plankton? Pelagia
What sound or noise on the ship do you love? Spinning the flowmeters on the nets. It sounds like a card in the spokes of a bicycle.
What sound or noise do you hate? Alarms of any kind, whether they are emergency alarms or alarm clocks.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Video game designer
What profession would you not like to do? Anything in retail or customer service
If you could talk to any marine creature, which one would it be, and what would you ask it? A giant squid, because we don’t know much about them. Andy would ask what it eats, where it lives, and other basic questions about its life.
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Challenge Yourself: Hey, Nature Exchange traders! The scientists shared their favorite plankton types; all of them are truly fascinating in their own way. Research one of these animals and write down a few facts. Or, pick your favorite Mojave Desert animal and write about that. Bring your research into the Nature Exchange for bonus points. Tell them Emmi sent you!
Bristletooth Conger Eel Larva. See its tiny little face on the left?Sargassum is a floating seaweed that often ends up in our Neuston nets. We record its volume and throw it back.Sea jellySargassum fish – they hide in the sargassum!Porpita jellyMyctophids are shiny silver and black, and quite pretty!A juvenile flying fish. I’ve seen some adults gliding through the air as well!Alonzo holding a juvenile filefish
NOAA Teacher at Sea Elizabeth Nyman Assigned to NOAA Ship Pisces May 28 – June 7, 2013
Mission: Reef Fish Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Florida Date: May 21, 2013
Me, with a map of Reykjavik, Iceland
Hi everyone! My name is Elizabeth Nyman, and I just finished my first year as an assistant professor of political science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. UL Lafayette is a public university with about 16,000 students, located in a region with twin claims to fame: a center for Acadiana/Cajun culture (and food!) and the heart of the Louisiana offshore oil industry. Ocean resources are very important to southwestern Louisiana, both living and mineral. My students and their families live near or in some cases on the water; their favorite places to vacation are the beaches on Florida’s panhandle.
I have been teaching undergraduates since 2007, mostly courses on international relations and comparative politics. All professors have to have their own areas of arcane specialization, and mine is international maritime law and conflict. I do research and teach about maritime piracy, island tourism and sustainable development, and international maritime treaties like the Safety of Life at Sea, written to protect future ship passengers after the sinking of the Titanic.
I tell people I have the best career in the world, and when they hear more about what I do, most people agree. I got my Ph.D. in political science from Florida State University, in Tallahassee, FL, about two hours drive from where I grew up in Jacksonville, FL. The first week of graduate school, I was supposed to find a topic for my First Year Paper, a sort of mini-thesis designed to throw us into the world of high level research. I sat through hours of my professors talking about what they did, and doodled in the margins of my notebook. One doodle said “international conflicts over oceans?” and that became the topic of my paper.
(See, I was paying attention! Honest!)
For my dissertation, I received a grant to study an international fishery dispute between the Caribbean island states of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. It wasn’t much money, but I was a grad student and thus very, very skilled at living on nothing. And I wanted to spend as much time in the Caribbean as possible. Other students were talking about their plans for dissertation research, visiting archives in major cities or traveling to presidential libraries. And strangely enough, people who had always wondered why anyone would care about international ocean politics suddenly wished they’d chosen that as a topic.
The fact that this was two blocks away from where I stayed had nothing to do with their change of opinion, I’m sure. 🙂
But make no mistake, ocean politics are serious business. I don’t need to convince my students of that – they know the economics behind offshore drilling, as well as what happens when things go wrong. They know how much the region known for its seafood depends on shrimp and other fisheries. The resources of the ocean are big business, and sustain livelihoods across the state and across America.
Thing is, fish don’t stay in one place, and today’s American fishing vessels compete with others around the world to catch fish as they dart in and out of national waters. Fish that are unfortunately running out, according to the FAO– about 30% of the world’s marine fish are being overfished, meaning that more are being caught than are being born to replace them. Another 57% are being caught at capacity, or about as many are caught as are born to replace them.
Fish, fish, everywhere…for now. (Picture courtesy of National Geographic)
Now, I’m no biologist, and one of the things that has always been a mystery to me is how we know what we know about fish populations. We know that close to 90% of the world’s fish are being caught at or above capacity – but how do we know what “capacity” is? How do we know if a population is in decline?
I applied for the Teacher at Sea program because I wanted to be able to answer questions like this. My students are intelligent and curious, and I usually get asked about the science behind the policies at least once a semester. I talk to them about NOAA and the work they do, but I wanted the opportunity to experience it for myself. It’s one thing to read about research, and another thing to understand it by taking part in it. I am excited that I get the chance to have this experience, and will be able to better bridge the gap between understanding the science and understanding the policies.
I am fortunate enough to be assigned to the Pisces, a ship involved in fisheries research off the coast of my home state of Florida. The Atlantic and the Gulf are my waters, in a sense, where I have lived and worked for almost my entire life, and these are our fish. They belong to all of us, those who live on the coast and those who only come for a visit. I can’t wait to learn more about them, to finally fill in the scientific gaps in my knowledge.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Sue Cullumber
(Soon to be) Onboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter
June 5– 24, 2013
Mission:Ecosystem Monitoring Survey Date: 5/21/13 Geographical area of cruise: The continental shelf from north of Cape Hatteras, NC, including Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine, to the Nova Scotia Shelf
My students on a field-trip to the desert.Howard Gray School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Personal Log:
Hi my name is Sue Cullumber and I am a science teacher at the Howard Gray School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our school provides 1:1 instruction to students with special needs in grades 5-12 and I have been teaching there for over 22 years! In less than two weeks I will be heading out to the Atlantic coast as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. I am so excited to have this opportunity to work with the scientists aboard the NOAA ship Gordon Gunter.
I applied to the NOAA Teacher at Sea program for the following reasons:
First, I feel that directly experiencing “Science” is the best way for students to learn and make them excited about learning. To be able to work directly with NOAA scientists and bring this experience back to my classroom gives my students such an amazing opportunity to actually see how science is used in the “real world”.
Visit to Española Island – photo by Pete OxfordStudents holding “Piggy” and our other baby Sulcata tortoises.
Secondly, I love to learn myself, experience new things and bring these experiences back to my students. Over the past several years I have had the opportunity to participate in several teacher fellowships. I went to the Galapagos Islands with the Toyota International Teacher Program and worked with teachers from the Galapagos and U.S. on global environmental education. From this experience we built an outdoor habitat at Howard Gray that now houses four tortoises. Students have learned about their own fragile desert environment, animal behavior and scientific observations through access to our habitat and had the opportunity to share this with a school in the Galapagos. I worked with Earthwatch scientists on climate change in Nova Scotia and my students Skyped directly with the scientists to learn about the field research as it was happening. Last summer I went to Japan for the Japan-US Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development. My students participated in a peace project by folding 1000 origami cranes that we sent to Hiroshima High School to be placed in the Hiroshima Peace Park by their students. We also held a Peace and Friendship Festival for the community at Howard Gray.
Completion of the 1000 cranes before sending them to Hiroshima.Japanese teachers learn about our King Snake, Elvis, from the students.
This year we had a group of Japanese teachers visit our school from this program and students taught them about many of the sustainable activities that we are working on at school. Each has brought new ideas and amazing activities for my students to experience in the classroom and about the world.
Dusk at the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
Lastly, Arizona is a very special place with a wide variety of geographical environments from the Sonoran Desert (home of the Saguaro) to a Ponderosa Pine Forest in Flagstaff and of course the Grand Canyon! However, we do not have an ocean and many of my students have never been to an ocean, so I can’t wait to share this amazing, vast and extremely important part of our planet with them.
So now I have the chance of a lifetime to sail aboard the NOAA ship Gordon Gunter on an Ecosystem Monitoring Survey. We will be heading out from Newport, RI on June 5th and head up the east coast to the Gulf of Maine and then head back down to Norfolk, Virginia. Scientists have been visiting this same region since 1977 from as far south as Cape Hatteras, NC to the an area up north in the Bay of Fundy (Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). They complete six surveys a year to see if the distributions and abundance of organisms have changed over time. I feel very honored to be part of this research in 2013!
NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter (photo credit NOAA)
One of the activities I will be part of is launching a drifter buoy. So students are busy decorating stickers that I will be able to put on the buoy when I head out to sea. We will be able to track ocean currents, temperature and GPS location at Howard Gray over the next year from this buoy. Students will be studying the water currents and weather patterns and I plan to hold a contest at school to see who can determine where the buoy will be the following month from this information. While out at sea my students will be tracking the location of the Gordon Gunter through theNOAA Ship Tracker and placing my current location on a map that one of my students completed for my trip.
Spending time with my husband, Mike, and son, Kyle.
Outside of school, I love to spend most of my free time outdoors – usually hiking or exploring our beautiful state and always with my camera! Photography is what I often call “my full-time hobby”. Most of my photos are of our desert environment, so I look forward to all amazing things I will see in the ocean and be able to share with my husband and son, students and friends! One of my passions is to use my photography to provide an understanding about the natural world, so I am really looking forward to sharing this fantastic adventure with everyone through my blog and photos!
Enjoying the view during one of my hikes in the Sonoran Desert.
NOAA Teacher st Sea Emilisa Saunders Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II May 14th – 30th, 2013
Mission: SEAMAP Plankton Study Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico Date: Monday, May 13th, 2013
Science and Technology Log:
Me and the Oregon II (and the silly crewmember in the background). Photo by Kaela Gartman
I’m finally aboard the Oregon II!
Today I got a sneak preview from the lead scientist, Andy, of the labs and some of the equipment that we’ll be using to collect plankton once we’re underway. There are three labs where we’ll be doing science for the next 17 days: the dry lab, the wet lab, and the chem lab. The dry lab, where I’m sitting and typing right now, is a room with computers that are used to remotely monitor the depths of the nets once they have been dropped, and to record data about those drops. The wet lab is where samples of plankton are preserved in jars to be sent back to shore and studied. The chem lab is where chlorophyll is separated from plankton samples.
I got to see the CTD, which is a unit that collects water at specific depths in order to measure physical characteristics of the water, such as salinity, fluorescence, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. I’m looking forward to learning more about this physical data and why it is important once we are underway.
The CTD collects water samples for testing
Andy also showed me the nets we will use to collect plankton. All of the nets are large and heavy and are raised and lowered by winches that are operated by the ship’s crew. The first is a Bongo net. If you’ve ever seen bongo drums, you can get a sense of what this unit looks like: two side-by-side nets with round openings. The nets themselves are shaped like cones, and we’ll attach a bottle called a cod end on the end of each to capture all of the plankton from the nets. Then there are two Neuston nets, which have large, rectangular openings. The regular Neuston net will be towed along the surface, and the Subsurface Neuston will be towed in a pattern at various depths, as will the Bongo. The unit that I am most excited about is the MOCNESS. This big frame holds up to ten nets, which can be opened and closed at certain depths; that way, we can collect samples from various depths and monitor plankton at separate locations and at specific depths in the water column. In the other nets, you know what you get and where it came from, but not how deep it was.
Bongo netsSubsurface Neuston Net
The water column is an idea that scientists use to think about and study the ocean from top to bottom, or from the surface to the ocean floor. When you think about the water column, imagine the ocean as an aquarium, and you’re looking into it and seeing the organisms that live at different depths and what the water is like at those depths.
The reason that the MOCNESS is so exciting to me is that it reminds us that the water in the ocean is not just a uniform mixture all throughout; different creatures live at different depths, and in different numbers at those depths. It’s easy to imagine that creatures that are benthic – meaning, they live on the ocean floor – will vary depending on where they are in the world and how deep the ocean floor is in that spot. It’s harder to imagine that pelagic organisms – those that live in the water column, neither at the very surface, nor at the bottom or at the shore – will also vary greatly depending on depth and location. The water itself is different as well; the temperature of the water and the amount of salt, light and oxygen changes with depth.
Challenge Yourself: Here’s a challenge for my Nature Exchange Traders: go on into the Nature Exchange and explain the terms water column, benthic and pelagic to earn some bonus points. Tell them Emmi sent you!
The journey begins! Photo by Kaela Gartman
Personal Log
Flying over Alabama on the descent into Mobile on Sunday, I was struck by how much water there was everywhere below me. Everywhere I looked, there were slow, meandering rivers, sparkling ponds, lakes and streams. At times when I thought I was looking down on a forest, I saw the sun reflecting off of water blanketing the ground beneath the trees and shrubs. I was even struck by the number of puddles in parking lots and lining the streets. I kept thinking that, living in the desert, I’m just not used to seeing so much water – and I hadn’t even reached the harbor yet! It was as if I was being slowly introduced to the world that I’m about to live in for the next 17 days.
I’ve been aboard the Oregon II at dock for just a few hours now, and I’m already overwhelmed with fascination, excitement, curiosity, and anticipation. I started the morning at my hotel feeling very nervous, knowing that I was about to experience a rush of newness: new people, places, sights, sounds, rules, routines, you name it. I told myself just to take a deep breath and take it in one thing at a time, and that really helped me to enjoy the experience. Now the nerves are mostly gone and I’m just very much looking forward to the ship’s departure tomorrow afternoon!
To my great fortune, I’ve already found everyone I’ve met to be incredibly kind and friendly. I got to meet some of the NOAA lab scientists who study the plankton that is collected from the Gulf, as well as field scientists Alonzo and Glenn, with whom I’ll be working the night shift on the Oregon II. Last but not least is Andy, the lead scientist for this cruise, who helped plan logistics for my arrival, gave me a tour of the ship and helped me get situated on board.
The folks I’ve met on board are from all over the United States. Some of them came to Pascagoula to work for NOAA to study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; some came as part of their graduate school studies. Everyone I’ve met either has or is pursuing an advanced degree, so the intelligence on board the ship is impressive. As challenging as it can be to for the scientists to be away from home for more than a hundred days out of the year, all of them have some level of appreciation for doing field work. Not all of the scientists who study plankton in Pascagoula are able to leave the lab to go on the cruises, so I am even more grateful that I have the honor of taking part. I’m also extremely grateful to learn that I will be of help to the team. Because of limited staffing and budgets, the science team depends on teachers, like me, to provide extra sets of hands during the field work.
My stateroom on the Oregon II
I’ll be staying in Stateroom 5 for this cruise, which I’ll share with a volunteer scientist named Jana. “Stateroom” is the word used for a bedroom on a ship. The stateroom is small, as expected, but it actually feels like it’s the perfect size. All of my belongings are unpacked in drawers and cabinets, and they all fit just fine. There’s a bunk with two beds, a sink, and three storage cabinets. Two of the cabinets are entirely for our use, and one mostly holds safety gear and flotation devices. There is enough floor space that I could lay on the floor and do snow angels, so there will be plenty of room to move around. I don’t expect to be spending all that much time in the stateroom once we are underway.
Time has taken on a whole new meaning in the past two days. Yesterday morning I left Las Vegas in the Pacific Time Zone and flew to Atlanta in the Eastern Time Zone, then to Mobile in the Central Time Zone. It was almost like time travel. After we embark tomorrow, I’ll start my work schedule, which will have me on duty from midnight to noon every day. Work goes on around the clock on NOAA vessels. This schedule will take some getting used to, but as a morning person, I am excited that I’ll be awake and active for my favorite part of the day, and I’ll get to watch the sun rise. Right now, I’m attempting to stay awake for my entire first night on the ship so that I can get on my work schedule right away. To add another level of confusion to my sense of time, ship crews observe 24-hour military time instead of using AM and PM. Numbers are difficult for me and don’t come naturally, so this will take some getting used to.
The clocks on the ship show the 24-hour military time system.
Just being on the ship feels quite surreal. As I write this at 23:33hrs, there are just a handful of people on board, and we are still at dock. Every once in a while some subtle movement reminds me that this is a ship in the water, but mostly it feels like solid ground. I know that will change once we get moving. Aside from the obvious signs, there are other little reminders that this is a ship, where everything must be secured for rougher waters. Computers and monitors are strapped and bolted to the tables, there are gripper pads spread out on tables and in drawers, and every door, from drawers and cabinets to staterooms, has to be latched shut and unlatched to open, and open doors have to be secured with a hook so that they don’t slam shut when the ship shifts. There’s also a constant hum of noise on the Oregon II. I’m interested to see how loud it is when we’re actually moving!
The adventures in science begin tomorrow!
Sunset at dock, from the dry lab of the ship
Did you know?
Bluefin tuna plankton are a type of ichthyoplankton, which comes from the Greek words for “fish drifters.” For those of you in Nevada, think of our state fossil, the ichthyosaurus, which means “fish lizard!”
Weather Data from the Bridge: Air Temperature- 12°C, Sea Temperature- 8.96°C, Wind Speed- 11.61 knots, Relative Humidity- 95%, Barometric Pressure- 1014.79mb.
Science and Technology Log: Wednesday was beautiful. The air was cold, the skies were blue, and the sea was calm. Most importantly: no fog. Sei whales seemed to be popping up everywhere. Then I saw it. The classic “V” shaped blow, a North Atlantic Right Whale. Not our first one of the trip, but the first in a few days.
The classic “V” shaped blow of the North Atlantic Right Whale. Photo: NOAA/NEFSC Peter Duley, collected under MMPA research permit number 775-1875
I sighted the blow at about 345° off the bow of the ship, and she was swimming toward us. The frenzy began. Our chief scientist, Allison Henry, grabbed the Canon Digital Camera with the 500 mm fixed zoom lens, and began capturing images of the right whale. Remarkably, yet unofficially, she could identify the whale through the lens of the camera. It was a female named Columbine. She was not alone. Columbine had a calf with her!
Side view of blow shot by me! Under NOAA Fisheries Permit # 775-1875
The calf swam very close to its mother and seemed to be rolling over on its back, flapping its flippers in the air. The whales don’t seem to be bothered by our large ship being near them.
The small boats were not launched in pursuit of Columbine for two reasons. Allison knew that both animals had already been biopsy sampled, so no need to repeat that process. Also, it is not wise to tag and follow a whale that is raising a calf.
North Atlantic Right Whale (Columbine’s calf) Photo Credit- Allison Henry taken under NOAA fisheries permit # 775-1875
Allison contributes photos collected in the field to the North Atlantic Right Catalogue that is maintained by The New England Aquarium. The aquarium maintains a searchable public database of right whale photos, sightings, and body descriptions. There is also a quick whale identification activity to practice photo identification of right whales.
I was dazzled by the flips and turns of Columbine’s calf. Giving a whale an official name is a complicated process that is the responsibility of The New England Aquarium and the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. However, I would like to unofficially name this baby “Arrow”.
North Atlantic Right Whale calf Photo Credit- Allison Henry taken under NOAA fisheries permit # 775-1875
Personal Log: This is my final blog post as a 2013 NOAA Teacher at Sea. I have learned a tremendous amount about marine mammals, but probably my most valuable lesson I have gained from this trip, a lesson I want to take back to my students, is about the nature of biological fieldwork.
I have learned that no two jobs are the same. Biological fieldwork is as different as the organisms being studied or sampled. I have put in some time looking at the way field biologist work, and each job has its own set of unique challenges and protocols. The process of sampling North Atlantic Right Whales in a vast ocean couldn’t be further from the process of surveying Lake Erie Water Snakes, identifying tree species in an upland forest, trudging through fast moving rivers for Hellbender salamanders, rummaging through scat to identify elk, moose, and pronghorn, or scaling walls at night for arachnids. I find it fascinating to look at the many faces of fieldwork.
Me and my chief scientist, Allison Henry Photo Credit- Sarah Fortune
There is, however, one common characteristic among my collection of field biologists that I have noticed. It’s an unusual sense of drive about the work. You can see it in their eyes when they’re on the job. No matter what the conditions, the fieldwork must get done, the sample must get collected, the photo must be shot, and the data must be recorded. It’s a maniacal quest for answers. It’s passion.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank so many people! Thank you Allison Henry, my chief scientist, for all the lessons, the laughs, and the whales! Thank you to all the NOAA scientists on board, Dave, Jen, Beth, Samara and Eric. Thank you to all the WHOI scientists on board, Mark, Nadine, Lauren, Sarah, and Chris. Thank you to the NOAA Corps officers, the Captain and Crew aboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. Thank you to everyone in the NOAA Teacher at Sea office. Also I would like to thank all my blog followers, especially my Tecumseh Middle School 8th graders, and my family! I will be home soon with another adventure under my belt!
The end of my time on the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, Teacher at Sea 2013- Photo Credit Dave Morin
Weather Data from the Bridge: Air Temperature – 12.20°C or 54°F, Sea Temperature 10.16°C or 50°F, Wind Speed- 9.24 kts, Relative Humidity 94%, Barometric Pressure- 1021.05 mb.
Science and Technology Log: Whale work can be intense and exciting, or slow and frustrating. A good day at work is when the weather cooperates the same time the whales cooperate. So far no one is playing nice. Fog has been the enemy for the last two days, making flying-bridge operations nearly impossible. Unless a whale swims up to our ship and jumps in for lunch, we aren’t going to be able to see it. Our watch efforts get moved to the bridge where the ship is controlled, and while it’s a good time chatting with the NOAA Corps officers, I’d rather be sighting whales.
The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. Carl Sandburg
For me however, this ship is like a small university on the sea with free tuition. Everyone here knows much more than I do about science, so days like these are spent asking questions. I wanted to focus this blog post on a question that came from my Tecumseh Middle School eighth grade students. They have been following my blog and following the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter using the NOAA Ship Tracker. The ship tracker can be used to locate any ship in the NOAA fleet on its current cruise or in the last twelve months. Current weather data from the ship can also be displayed.
The current cruise of the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. Screen shot courtesy of NOAA Ship Tracker
My students noticed that our ship was staying near the continental shelf, or Georges Bank, and wanted to know if it would be a better idea to look for whales in deeper ocean. I turned to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute scientist onboard, Dr. Mark Baumgartner (yet another superhero), for answers. He basically told me, the whales go where the food is most abundant.
Georges Bank is a shallow off shore plateau. During the ice age it was above water. Image credit- NOAA
North Atlantic Right Whales eat a zooplankton named Calanus finmarchicus or just Calanus. This tiny crustacean is packed with lots of calories in an internal structure called a lipid sac. In order to grow and develop a hearty lipid sac, the Calanus require lots of phytoplankton. In order to be a yummy and nutritious treat for the Calanus, the phytoplankton need nutrients in the form of nitrogen and phosphorous, water, and sunlight. Nutrients and water are abundant for the phytoplankton, but in order to get the needed sunlight for photosynthesis, the phytoplankton must be as close to sunlight as possible.
Northern Right Whale food- Calanus finmarchicus The lipid sac is clearly visible. Photo credit- C.B. Miller/K. Tande NOAA
Simply put the food chain links together like this: sunlight (source of energy), phytoplankton (producer), Calanus (primary consumer), and right whale (secondary consumer). The topography of the ocean near Georges Bank and the weather over the North Atlantic provide two things for this simple food chain: upwelling and wind.
Upwelling is a phenomenon that occurs in ocean waters when wind and a continental structure circulate water, allowing the cold nutrient rich water on the bottom to replace water on the top. The phytoplankton at the bottom essentially get a free ride to the top of the ocean where they are able perform photosynthesis. The Calanus can feed on the nutrient rich phytoplankton, and the whales can feed on the Calanus. This cycling allows the whales to feed close to the surface, where they need to be in order to breathe. If a whale has to dive deep for food, energy is wasted on the dive. It is more efficient to be able to get a good meal as close to the surface as possible.
Right Whales need the caloric equivalent of 3000 Big Macs per day. I’m lovin it! Image credit- MacDonalds
According to Dr. Baumgartner, a Northern Right Whale needs to eat 1-2 billion Calanus per day. This amount of zooplankton has the same weight as a wet Volkswagen beetle, and is the caloric equivalent of eating 3000 Big Macs per day. So there you have it, TMS 8th graders. The whales go where the food is…
Me with Dr. Mark Baumgartner Photo Credit-Eric Matzen
Personal Log: Still holding out for “The Big Day”, the day we can take the small boats out again. If it doesn’t happen, I will be happy for the experience I had on the Gordon Gunter. Sure would be awesome, though…
Hello, from Castleton, New York. My name is Melanie Lyte and I am a first grade teacher at Bell Top Elementary School . I am very fortunate to teach in a school of dedicated staff where creativity and innovation is fostered, and embraced. My principal, Jim McHugh, was the one who urged me to apply for the NOAA Teacher at Sea program, and I am grateful to him for his support and encouragement. Although Bell Top is a public school, many of the yearly activities our students are involved in are unique, especially in a public school setting. With funds from a NSTA administered Toyota Tapestry Grant we built a Learning Barn on our school grounds. The barn, built uniquely using both Dutch and English architectural styles so students can compare the two ways, houses an evaporator for a school wide maple sugaring project, as well as cider press for making apple cider in the fall. We also have amazing parental support at our school, a very active PTO, and of course the best kids in the world walk through our doors each day!
Bell Top Elementary School, Troy NY
I originally applied to be a teacher at sea because I love science and adventure, and I love to bring my experiences outside the classroom back to enrich my students. In the last few years I have camped in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia, hiked and kayaked in Alaska, visited the rain forests of Brazil, and traveled to China. I believe we must expose our children to the the broader world, and the natural world around them in order to foster a curiosity about far away places, and love and appreciation for our earth. We need to feed every student’s innate sense of wonder and excitement for the world around them.
My friend Harold and I on top of a volcano in Sumatra, Indonesia.
I think the opportunity to work with real scientists doing research will be a life changing event for me, and I am even more enthused because the mission of this voyage, conducting a right whale survey in the North Atlantic, is perfect for my first graders! What child doesn’t get excited about whales?!?! I am also very fortunate to teach with my partner in first grade, Sarah Lussier. She and I truly have a the best teaching partnership imaginable, and we, and our students, are enriched by it. To prepare our students for my upcoming voyage, we have been learning all we can about right whales, and whales in general. We painted a right whale and whale calf on the parking lot at school (that was an adventure in itself – think 42 first graders with paint brushes and black concrete paint). The students also researched right whales, created diagrams of the whale, and developed informational posters of what they learned. I think the consensus of the students is that right whales are “really cool, but a little lazy, and kind of ugly.” (as one of my first graders so eloquently put it). They are fascinated by the callosities on the whales and are saddened that the whales sit on top of the water so often and are in danger of being hit by boats. While I’m at sea the students in both our classrooms will be working on many other whale related activities, as well as following my blog.
Right whale calf created by first graders at BellTop Elementary School.Categorizing toothed and baleen whales by the first graders at Bell Top SchoolWhale Facts by first graders at Bell Top School.Whale Sizes by the first graders at Bell Top School.The right whale became the official state marine mammal of Massachusetts in 1980. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/NOAA
So in less than two weeks my adventure at sea will begin! I will be joining head scientist Allison Henry and the crew of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Gordon Gunter out of Boston MA. We will be conducting a North Atlantic Right whale survey, but I have been told we will see other whales as well such as humpback, sei, and minke. I can’t wait to explore the ocean with scientists, and learn all I can about the creatures who live there. I hope you will join me on my adventure by reading my blogs while I’m at sea.
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea
Date: May 5, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge (0300):
Partly cloudy, S Winds, variable, currently 3.71 knots
Air Temperature 2.8C
Relative Humidity 73%
Barometer 1025.1 mb
Surface Water Temperature 0.10 C
Surface Water Salinity 31.66 PSU
Seas up to 5 ft
Science and Technology Log
Once we completed our mooring work from Gore Point through to Pavlof Bay, we sailed on to Unimak Pass, nearly 400 miles away, and then entered into the Bering Sea. Unimak Pass is a strait (wide gap) between the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean in the Aleutian Island chain of Alaska. Upon arrival at our first station, we started the process of deploying our CTD sampling unit at predetermined points as well as MARMap Bongo casts(discussed in my next blog) when specified, within a region forming a rectangular “box” north of the pass. If you have been following my voyage using NOAA ship tracker, hopefully you now understand why we appeared to have been “boxed in” (I can hear the groans from my students even out here in the Bering Sea). It is important to understand the ocean waters of this region given that it is a major egress between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Therefore it serves as an important pathway between these two water bodies for commercially important fish stock as well as serving as a major commercial shipping route.
Unimak Pass
A CTD (an acronym for conductivity, temperature, and depth) is an instrument used by oceanographers to measure essential physical properties of sea water. It provides a very comprehensive profile of the ocean water to help better understand the habitat of important marine species as well as charting the distribution and variation of water temperature, salinity, and density. This information also helps scientist to understand how variations in physical ocean properties change over time. The CTD is made up of a set of small probes attached to a large stainless steel wheel housing. The sensors that measure CTD are surrounded by a rosette of water sampling bottles (niskin bottles) that individually close shut by an electronic fired trigger mechanism initiated from the control room on-board the ship. The rosette is then lowered on a cable down to a depth just above the seafloor. The science team is able to observe many different water properties in real time via a conducting cable connecting the CTD to a computer on the ship. A remotely operated device allows the attached water sampling bottles to be closed (sample collected) at selective depths as the instrument ascends back to the surface.
CTD UnitHere I am in my hot colored rain pants helping to deploy the CTD. Notice the niskin bottles?Monitoring the drop with PeterData screens in the lab
On this cruise, our CTD was equipped to collect real-time water column measurements of conductivity, temperature, density, dissolved oxygen, salinity, chlorophyll levels, and light as the unit traveled down through to a set point just above the ocean floor. Additionally, water samples for determining concentrations of nutrients (nitrate (NO3-1), nitrite (NO2-1), ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (PO4-3), and silicates (SiO4-4), dissolved oxygen, dissolve inorganic carbon, and chlorophyll were measured at specified depths within the water column as the unit was raised back to the surface. Replicate measurements of some chemical constituents measured on the ascent are completed to help support the reliability of the dynamic measurements of these same species made on the drop. All of the nutrient samples are then frozen to -80C and brought back to the lab on shore for analysis. Dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon, and chlorophyll samples are also treated according to unique methods for later detailed analysis.
The sampling begins from a niskin bottle!Filling the sampling vials to be stored for later analysisPeter placing samples in the freezerScott preparing the chlorophyll samples
Our first CTD cast from the “Unimak Box” began with my shift, a bit after midnight, on May 3rd and ended 32 hours later on May 4th. The science crew worked nonstop as they completed 17 different CTD casts. Again, it was impressive to see the cooperation among the scientists as each group helped one another complete CTD casts, launch and retrieve Bongo nets, and then collect the many different samples of water for testing as well as the samples of zooplankton caught in the bongo nets. My task was to collect nutrient water samples from each CTD cast. As the water depth increased so did the number of samples that were collected. During our sampling water depths ranged from approximately 50 meters (5 samples) up to 580 meters (11 samples). On our last cast the air temperature was -2.3o C with water temperature reading 2.90 C. Seas were relatively calm and we were able to see many different islands in the Aleutian chain.
Personal Log
It was rewarding to be able to help the team collect water samples for nutrient testing, especially given that we are able to sample many of these same nutrient species in our chemistry lab at Franklin Pierce. I want my students to know that I practiced “GLT” when collecting nutrient samples making certain to rinse each sample bottle and sampling syringe at least three times before each collection. Want to know what “GLT” references…ask one of my students!
My most “interesting” time on board ship happened during our first night of CTD testing along one of the lines of the Unimak Box. At 2:45 am Peter, Douglas, and I were recording flow meter values from the previous bongo net tow on the side quarter-deck. I was writing values down on a clip board as Peter read the values off to me. I happened to glance over the deck towards the sea when I noticed an unusually large wave about 2 meters out from the boat traveling towards us. Suddenly it crashed on top of us knocking us to the deck floor. Water flooded all around us and through the doors of our labs. I immediately grabbed onto one of the ship’s piping units and held on tight as the water poured back off the deck. In an instant the sea was calm again after the “rogue” wave released its energy on our ship. Because Peter and I fell onto the deck our clothes became completely soaked with icy cold seawater. Upon standing, we checked on each other and then immediately began retrieving empty sampling bottles and other lab paraphernalia as they floated by in the water emptying off the deck. Douglas was able to hold-on to the CTD and remained standing and dry under his rain suit. This is the first, and I hope the last, “rogue” wave that I ever experience. Fortunately, no one was lost or injured and we were able to retrieve all of our equipment with one exception…the clip board of data log entries that I was holding!
I must admit that I am disappointed at the limited internet access while on board ship. I find it somewhat disheartening that I have not been able to write the consistent blogs promised to you telling of my adventures. Hopefully this will improve as we change course and you will continue to follow along.
View as I traveled to work!Islands of the Aleutians.Island hopping!Not all islands are completely snow covered.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Angela Greene Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter April 29-May 11, 2013
Mission: Northern Right Whale Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean out of Woods Hole, MA Date: May 5, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: Air temperature-8.4°C or 47°F, Sea temperature-8.4°C or 47°F, Wind Speed 14 knots, Winds are out of the northeast, Barometric Pressure- 1024.4 mb, wave height- 1-2 feet.
Science and Technology Log: To say the environment aboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter changes when a right whale is spotted during a watch duty, would be a major understatement. The goal is to find a Northern Right Whale, and when we do, the frenzy begins.
Believe it or not, that white splash is a Northern Right Whale. Photo credit Mark Baumgartner
A quick decision must be made as to whether the small boats will be launched. The small boats enable the scientists to get extremely close to the whales. This proximity allows them the chance to photograph whales from many angles for later identification. This distance may also provide an opportunity for scientists to use a crossbow to acquire a biopsy sample. The sample will provide genetic information needed to determine the gender, parents, and siblings of the whale. The biopsy also can give a toxicity level of the animal.
Holding the crossbow used to collect whale biopsy sample. Photo credit Eric Matzen
Being in the small boats also gives the team of four the opportunity to scoop a fecal sample from the ocean that a right whale may present. Poop samples can give diet information and hormone levels. Checking hormone levels enable scientists to determine the stress levels of the whale and whether or not the whale is pregnant.
Whale Poop in a baggie.
Our team spotted a right whale, and the boats were launched. The small boat was able to get extremely close to what is called a SAG, or “surface active group”. This particular group of four Northern Right Whales was so close to the small boat that it looked as if the whales were performing a show for the scientists! It was one of the most incredible events I have ever witnessed!
Small boat and a right whale blow. Photo taken under NOAA fisheries permit number 775-1875Small boat and a right whale fluke. Photo taken under NOAA fisheries permit number 775-1875
During the SAG event, many photos were taken under a NOAA fisheries permit, which is necessary due to the endangered status of the species. It’s interesting to note here, that the public is not allowed to be within five hundred yards of a Northern Right Whale without a permit, making the opportunity to be in the small boat a momentous occasion.
A fecal sample was acquired, which is considered a rare opportunity, however a biopsy was not in the cards for this small boat launch.
Northern Right Whale photo taken from small boat- a biopsy was acquired from this whale on last year’s trip. Photo Credit Jennifer Gatzke. Photo taken under NOAA fisheries permit number 775-1875My stateroom. You may notice the trash can right next to my bunk.
Personal Log: This is difficult fieldwork, indeed! Two days of rough seas made our flying bridge observations come to a grinding halt. I woke up Friday morning knowing I had a 7:00 am watch duty, and was throwing up the nothingness in my stomach.
My roommate came back to our stateroom with the news that many others, including the crew, were also experiencing seasickness. I took an odd sense of comfort hearing that other people were also ill. We were in the middle of ten foot ocean swells that made the boat feel like the inside of Maytag washing machine. My roommate’s water bottle fell out of her top bunk and landed squarely on my forehead, and our desk chair toppled over on its side. Motion sickness medications work wonders, but make me incredibly sleepy. Seems like everyone was either sleeping or watching movies… basically just surviving until calmer waters.
This morning’s sunrise brought much happier seas, and the whale watch continues. It’s cold enough for me to finally don the “Mustang Suit” as everyone tells me I will feel more comfortable than my lined jeans and Tecumseh Arrows jacket. I am hoping for my chance to get to be in the small boat!
Partly cloudy, Winds 10 – 15 knots
Air temperature: 4.0 C
Water temperature: 5.3 C
Barometric Pressure: 1014.14 mB
Science and Technology Log
The primary mission of this cruise is to deploy and recover moorings in several locations in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. These moorings collect data for a group of scientist under the auspices of the Ecosystems & Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (EcoFOCI) which is a joint venture between the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). Participating institutions on this cruise include NOAA-PMEL, AFSC, Penn State, the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), and the University of Alaska (UAF). This interdisciplinary study helps scientist better understand the overall marine environment of the North Pacific. This understanding will lead to a better management of the fishery resources of the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea.
To ensure that time at sea is maximized for data collection, a day or so before leaving Seward, Alaska, the science crew begins assembling their various monitoring instruments under the directions of Chief Scientist for this project, William (Bill) Floering, PMEL.
William Floering, Chief Scientist.Dan Naber from University of Alaska.
Some of the equipment that will be deployed includes an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), which measure speed and direction of ocean current at various depths. This data helps physical oceanographers determine how organisms, nutrients and other biological and chemical constituents are transported throughout the ocean. Argos Drogue drifters will also be deployed to help map ocean currents. Conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) measurements will be conducted at multiple sites providing information on temperature and salinity data. Additionally, “Bongo” tows will also be made at multiple locations which will allow for the collection of zooplankton. The results of this sampling will be used to characterize the netted zooplankton and help to monitor changes from previous sampling events. In future blogs I will describe these instruments in greater detail.
The furthest extent of our mission into the Bering Sea is very much weather and ice dependent with much variation this time of the year in the North Pacific Ocean. Current ice map conditions can be found at http://pafc.arh.noaa.gov/ice.php.
Operation Area
Cruise Area
Personal Log
As I rode in the shuttle bus from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska on Friday, April 27, and then onto the pier where the Oscar Dyson was docked, I was immediately impressed by its size and overall complexity.
Traveling to Seward, Alaska.Oscar Dyson in port.
Upon arrival I was met by Bill Floering, Chief Scientist on the cruise. He gave me a tour of the overall ship and then I settled into my room, a double. Just like being back in college myself, and being the first to the room, I had my choice of bunks and therefore selected the lower bunk (I did not want to fall out of the top bunk if the seas turned “rough”). Arriving early provided me time to become oriented on the vessel given that I have never been aboard such a large ship before. I also had the opportunity to walk into Seward, AK, with a member of the science team, for a dinner downtown with extraordinary views of the surrounding mountains.
My stateroom!
View from Seward, Alaska.
On Saturday, April 27, the rest of the science crew arrived and my roommate, Matthew Wilson, moved in. Matt is from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) based in Seattle, Washington. That evening we traveled into town again for another great dining experience…halibut salad with views of Resurrection Bay.
Matt Wilson from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
Sunday, April 28, was a busy day of sorting and setting up various instruments for deployment. Winds were very strong, with snow blowing over the peaks of the mountains, glistening in the brilliant sunshine.
Scott McKeever from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.Scott at work on an ADCP buoy.Here I am helping to install instrumentation.
View of Seward Harbor.
Monday, April 29, our day began with a safety meeting followed by our science meeting. At that time we were assigned to our work shift. I will be working from 12 midnight to 12 noon each day during the cruise. Once the ship sets sail, the science crew is working 24 hours per day!
Science team meeting with Bill and Survey Tech Douglas Bravo.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Emilisa Saunders Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II May 14 – 30, 2013
Mission: SEAMAP Spring Plankton Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Personal Log
Hello, and welcome to my blog! My name is Emilisa, but you can call me Emmi. I’m about to go on the adventure of a lifetime, and I’m so glad you’ve decided to join me.
Standing in the light of an annular eclipse at the Springs Preserve.
For six years now, I’ve worked at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I have the best job: I’m a Naturalist, which means I get to teach kids and their families about nature. Some of you may know me from the Nature Exchange, which is a natural item trading center where kids bring items they’ve collected from nature – rocks, fossils, sea creatures, dead bugs, plant parts, etc. – to learn about those objects and trade them for other natural items from all over the world. This program is so much fun, more than 8000 kids have signed up to trade in the past six years. It’s a ton of fun for me, too. Every day I soak up whatever knowledge I can about the natural world so that I can show kids all that there is to love about nature, science and learning.
Last Fall, I heard about a program that lets teachers explore nature and science in the most amazing way: the teachers help scientists study sea creatures from aboard an actual research ship at sea! This program is called Teacher at Sea, and it is offered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. NOAA is in charge of studying the weather, climate, oceans and shores. They share what they learn with all of us, and help to protect our environment and natural resources. Through the Teacher at Sea program, NOAA chooses 25-30 teachers each year to spend several weeks aboard ships, learning about how NOAA scientists study amazing ocean environments, about the jobs that people do at sea, and about how teachers can use science skills to study the natural world.
As soon as I heard about the Teacher at Sea program, I knew I had to apply. What an amazing opportunity! I sent my application and waited very impatiently for a couple of months. I checked my email every day, even when I knew it was far too early to find out. Finally, I got the email I had been waiting for: I had been chosen for the program! On May 14th, I’ll be heading out to sea to study plankton in the Gulf of Mexico on the NOAA ship Oregon II!
NOAA Ship Oregon II, courtesy of NOAA
The Oregon IIis like a floating science lab. It sails out of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is 170 feet long, which is more than half the length of a football field. On the ship, scientists collect samples of living creatures from the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, so that they can study how healthy the oceans are. There are labs right on board the ship, and the scientists bring samples back to be studied in labs on shore, too.
You can actually track the ship while it’s at sea to see where we are in the Gulf! Just click here and select the Oregon II: NOAA Ship Tracker
Hiking the Narrows at Zion National Park with my husband, Doug.
Now, I love adventures that let me spend time in nature. I love to hike and go for long runs, and I’m even learning to SCUBA dive with my husband, Doug. Even so, this is going to be a very new experience for me. I grew up in the tiny state of Vermont, which has lots of mountains and snow, but no oceans. I spent my summers swimming in lakes and ponds and only traveled to the Atlantic Ocean a few times. I spent just a few hours here and there on whale watching boats, and that’s it! Then, nine years ago, I moved even farther away from the ocean to Las Vegas, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, where I fell completely in love with the hot, dry land and the tough creatures, large and small, that survive here. I love to take trips to the ocean as often as possible, but I definitely spend most of my time landlocked!
When I’m on the Oregon II, I’ll be seeing, doing and learning things I never have before. I’ll get to know what it’s like to eat, sleep, work and live on a ship, and I’ll meet all the people who work hard to make the ship run. For the first time, I’ll also get to work with scientists and learn about the skills and tools they use to study creatures in the ocean. I can’t wait to meet all of these people who work at sea!
On this cruise, we’ll be collecting and studying plankton, which are the tiny plants and animals that drift in the ocean currents. Some of them are so small that we can’t see them without a microscope, but the entire ocean depends on them for food, and the whole world depends on them for the oxygen that we breathe. The plankton that we’ll be looking at the most closely are bluefin tuna eggs and larvae; larvae are very young fish. I still have a lot to learn about plankton, but I came across this amazing video; it’s beautiful to watch and is very interesting, too!
But there is one thing that I’ve learned by studying nature and teaching kids about the environment: everything is connected. Even though I’ll be travelling far away and studying ocean life, I’ll be able to come back to Las Vegas and teach families all about how our actions here in the desert affect other habitats all over the world. I am so excited that being a Teacher at Sea will help me show the kids I meet at the Springs Preserve all about how healthy oceans keep our desert healthy, too, and how they can grow up to be the scientists or ship crewmembers who protect our oceans.
I hope you check back on this blog from time to time to learn more about NOAA, plankton, and life at sea! I can’t wait to get started!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Angela Greene (Almost) Aboard NOAA Ship Gordon GunterApril 29-May 11, 2013 Mission: Northern Right Whale Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean out of Woods Hole, MA Date: April 24, 2013
Personal Log:
I am quite certain I am about to fall in love with a whale, as I embark upon a journey that will surely change me forever. My name is Angela Greene, and I have had the honor of teaching middle school in the Tecumseh Local School District for the last twenty-five years!
Tecumseh Middle School: “Home of My 8th Grade Scientists!”
I care deeply about my students, and I am committed to providing them with amazing science experiences in my classroom! I love my job, my students, and learning. I am a NOAA Teacher at Sea!
I applied for the NOAA Teacher at Sea program because I believe the best way to develop myself, as a professional educator is to seek out field experiences that will enable me to work side by side with leaders in the scientific community. I can’t think of a better way to efficiently expose my students to careers in the field of science as well as the scientific issues that will directly affect their lives than to “walk in the shoes” of highly trained scientists.
“Walking in the Shoes of a Scientist”: Me with Dr. Kristin Stanford, Lake Erie Water Snake Recovery Plan Coordinator
The purpose of this blog is to tell my family, students, friends, and colleagues a story, a love story, if you will. I hope to share my love of teaching, my love of wildlife, and my insatiable love for learning.
In only a few hours, I will fly to Boston, Massachusetts, take a bus to Woods Hole, and board the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. The ship will take me, as well as a group of ocean scientists, into the Northern Atlantic to search for the critically endangered Northern Right Whale.
NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter (photo credit NOAA)
At this point, I know very little about this mammal, so I enlisted the help of my 8th grade scientists using a technique I called “Teach Your Teacher”. Together, we brainstormed a list of questions about Right Whales, the Gordon Gunter, and marine research. Each student selected a topic, complied a summary of their findings and wrote me a quick “good bye” note. I collected the pages and promised not to read them until I was on the bus to Woods Hole.
I also wanted my students to have an understanding of the actual size of Northern Right Whales and other North Atlantic Whale species. We celebrated our new learning and my incredible opportunity to sail with NOAA by having “Tecumseh Middle School Whale Day”. For one day the concrete campus of our school became ocean habitats to student-created “chalk whales”. We calculated the actual size of four whale species using the scaled measurements of sketches found in our research. This data enabled us to create over forty whales using sidewalk chalk! We were amazed at the size of our whales, and the chalk models enabled us to compare the external anatomy among the species. Our local news channel, WDTN, stopped by to film us for the evening news! We determined that 14 middle school students could fit head to toe along the length of a fin whale. We had a terrific day!
My preparation time is coming to an end. I need to finish packing, say my goodbyes to my family and dogs, and focus on the journey that’s about to begin. One of the most important lessons a teacher can learn from rare field experience opportunities is that this time will quickly end. I promise to enjoy every second while I am falling in love with a brand new world.
Fourteen Tecumseh Students Fit Head to Toe in a Chalk Fin Whale
Greetings! My name is Frank Hubacz, and I teach General Chemistry and Environmental Chemistry at Franklin Pierce University where we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary. Our main campus is located in Rindge, New Hampshire near the base of Mount Monadnock; this 3,165-ft. mountain summit is the most frequently climbed mountain in North America. At Franklin Pierce, we encourage our student body of approximately 1400 students to embrace their education and to achieve academic success through the integration of liberal arts and our various professional programs.
I first started teaching biology in 1976; however my interests soon migrated into the study and teaching of chemistry. I have been teaching general chemistry at Franklin Pierce University since 1992. While attending the 2006 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Annual Convention in Anaheim, CA I had the good fortune to attend the headline presentation given by Jean-Michele Cousteau. His presentation, entitled “Responsible Living…Because Everything is Connected”, considered the vital relationship between the health of our planet, as monitored by way of the health of the Ocean, and our actions as residents of the Earth. Cousteau offered that, “When we think about our actions as teachers, students, tourists, parents, builders, farmers or name a profession, we must recognize all of our actions have environmental consequences…Because our health depends on the health of the planet, being aware of these connections can help us live responsibly” (NSTA Convention Program Itinerary, 2006). During his appearance, Cousteau impressed upon his audience the importance of understanding how the Ocean can help us to monitor the health of our Earth. Please note that I purposely use the term “Ocean” as opposed to “oceans” to emphasize the interconnectedness of this large body of water that covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface. I then began to reflect upon the fact that I did very little relative to incorporating ocean systems in our study of general chemistry. At this same conference, I was also introduced to the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program (TAS) and decided to apply during my next sabbatical leave in order to experience ongoing Ocean research with the hope of bringing this experience back into the classroom.
My goal as a TAS participant is to use this experience to help me explicitly incorporate Ocean related phenomena into the study of general chemistry topics such as density, conductivity, gas behavior, acid/base chemistry, solubility equilibrium, and kinetics. Additionally, I hope to develop new laboratory exercises that are Ocean related as well as to help students to realize the wealth of live NOAA data available to help them better understand the complexity of the Ocean. As a result I hope that students will gain a better understanding of “ocean chemistry” as well as to develop an appreciation of the interconnectedness among their actions, the health of our planet, and the health of the Ocean. Additionally, by actively participating in an ongoing ocean research project, I will develop a deeper understanding of the various career and research opportunities available for my students to pursue. I hope to convey to them the excitement of discovery as it relates to the Ocean thereby causing them to give serious consideration to following this line of study upon graduation.
A little bit about me…
I live with my wife of 38 years, Joan, in a rural community in central Massachusetts. Our daughter Jessica lives in Vermont and has provided us with three beautiful grandchildren. She currently leads their family’s home-school program and is expecting a new baby in June.
Jess, Josh, and family sledding with Grampie
Our son Daniel is currently pursuing his Ph.D. program in Geology at the University of Delaware having completed his Master’s degree at this same institution. His studies focus on fluvial geomorphology.
Maggie, Dan, and JoanKayaking at Race Point in Provincetown
Whenever possible my wife and I “escape to the Cape” to enjoy all that Outer Cape Cod has to offer. Our favorite activities include kayaking, freshwater, as well as saltwater fishing, dune riding, shell fishing, collecting mushrooms, collecting sea glass on long walks, and the peaceful views of the ocean beaches.
Joan and I enjoying the beach!
We also have a marine reef aquarium in our home, maintained steadfastly by my wife. The aquarium currently contains many varieties of soft corals that we are learning to propagate along with several types of reef “critters”.
During the winter months I enjoy downhill skiing and am a night-league NASTAR (NAtional STAndard Race) racer on a team known as the Sled Dogs. Our team’s motto, “strive for mediocrity” ensures that we focus on having fun and enjoying a winter’s evening of skiing at our local mountain.
In summary, I am eagerly looking forward to participating in the Teacher at Sea Program aboard the Oscar Dyson and all that this adventure has to offer! I will use this experience to help my students to better understand “ocean chemistry” as well as to develop an appreciation of the interconnectedness among their actions, the health of our planet, and the health of the Ocean.
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