NOAA Teacher at Sea
Alex Eilers
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan August 21 – September 5, 2008
Teacher at Sea Alex Eilers releasing an XBT
Mission: Leatherback Sea Turtle Research Geographical area of cruise: California Date: September 1, 2008
Science Log
The second week has been absolutely fabulous as we found a leatherback – in fact we found three!!! This week has been all about the turtle: from identifying the biotic and abiotic conditions that define leatherback turtle habitat and foraging grounds, to tracking and tagging – we’ve done it all.
• Abiotic oceanographic data provided by scientific instruments such as XBTs (expendable bathythermographs), CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth), and water samples containing nutrient data to characterize the abiotic foraging habitats of the leatherback turtle.
Alex working with the CTD device
• Net tow samples characterized the biotic conditions such as the jellyfish species prevalent in the turtle diet: moon jellies, sea nettles, and egg yolk jellies.
Alex Eilers measuring a moon jellyEgg yolk jelly with pipefish and larval rex soleTracking the turtles via handheld antennaAerial surveillanceTagging a big leatherback
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Alex Eilers
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan August 21 – September 5, 2008
Mission: Leatherback Sea Turtle Research Geographical area of cruise: California Date: August 31, 2008
Alex putting glow sticks on branch line.
August 29 – Longline fishing for swordfish
Today’s major objective was to catch swordfish for tagging using a fishing method called longlining. Longline fishing uses one main line held just below the water’s surface with several buoys. Attached to the main line are several smaller branch lines with hooks and bait. The branch lines extent 42 feet or 7 fathoms into the ocean.
Preparing to launch the longline is quite a sight and it requires a number of individuals, each working in unison. There is a person who baits the hooks on the branch line then hooks it to the main line, another person attaches a glow stick (used to attract the swordfish), and a third person attaches the buoy to the main line. There are also a number of people working behind the scenes sorting lines and working the winch. After all the branch lines are hooked to the main line, the line soaks in the water for several hours – in hopes that a swordfish will take the bait.
Crew setting gear
Reeling in the line took about two hours because the line was 4 miles long and held over 200 hooks. I thought this was an extremely long line but was told that commercial fishing vessels use between 40 to 60 miles of line with thousands of branch lines. Wow!
Unfortunately, we were unable to tag any swordfish but hope to try again on Labor Day. What an incredible experience today has been.
August 30 and 31 – Rock’n and Roll’n
Whoa, Whoa… is about all you heard me say over the past two days. We’re going through a rough patch today – high winds and swells up to 5 or 7 meters – between 15 and 20 feet. We sure were glad the scientific equipment was secured during the first few days – because everything that wasn’t tied down went flying – including chairs, drinks and the crew. The closest thing I could come to describing this experience would be like riding a non-stop Disney ride. The inclinometer reading (an instrument that is use to detect the degrees a boat rolls) recorded a maximum tilt of about 36 degrees. To put thing into perspective, I am now typing with one hand and holding the table with the other. Unfortunately, many of the science projects were cancelled due to high seas. We hope to be in the calmer waters of Monterey Bay area tomorrow.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Alex Eilers
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan August 21 – September 5, 2008
Mission: Leatherback Sea Turtle Research Geographical area of cruise: California Date: August 27, 2008
Everyone! Here’s the latest from my adventures at sea.
Today the crew was busy testing equipment. We tested both long-line fishing gear and box trawl netting! Both
tests were successful and we are looking forward to the real thing – more to come on this subject later. The picture below shows Scott Benson holding the box trawl net “catch.” Although it looks like group of eggs, they are actually members of the jellyfish family know as ctenophores or “comb jellies.”
Jellies
We had a successful observation session today. I’ll introduce you to some of the “stars” of the day.
Common Dolphins were everywhere. We saw over 100 riding the waves on the bow of our boat. They move with great speed – especially when you are trying to take a picture of them.
Common dolphins
Risso’s Dolphins – This is an unusual looking dolphin with a rounded head – unlike the traditional dolphin we all know. These creatures have numerous scratches and scars over their body from other Risso’s and from the squid they eat. They are gray when born and gradually become white with age.
Fin Whales – OK – I must admit – We didn’t actually see the Fin Whale but we did see the whale spouts from the three that we spotted.
Jelly Fish – We were excited to see so many Jellies – a favorite food of the Leatherback. Most looked like “Moon Jellies” but without catching them we cannot be sure of the type since there are many species.
To Do… Research one or more of the animals highlighted above.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Alex Eilers
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan August 21 – September 5, 2008
In the picture, the “Big Eyes” are covered and on the left side of the picture, the antennas are directly above me.
Mission: Leatherback Sea Turtle Research Geographical area of cruise: California Date: August 24, 2008
Today we were in assembly mode and I spent the majority of my time on the flying bridge (top deck). With the help of several scientists, we cleaned and replaced the viewing seats, installed the “Big Eyes” – (the largest pair of binoculars I’ve ever seen), and assembled and tested the Turtle tracking antennas. The “Big Eyes” will be used to help track and identify marine mammals, leatherbacks and birds near the boat. This is especially important prior to and during the times scientists have equipment in the water so we don’t catch or injure these animals. The receiver will be used to track the Leatherback Sea Turtles who have a transmitter attached to their carapace. The good news is we are receiving reports that there is a Leatherback approximately 110 miles off the coast of Monterey – the bad news is he may not be there when we arrive.
Safety training During our first true “day at sea” we had two practice safety drills; a fire in the galley (kitchen) and an abandon ship. The crew handled both drills quickly and efficiently. The abandon ship drill was exciting. When the bell rang, everyone was responsible for his or her own billet (job duty). My billet required me to grab my life preserver and survival suit and muster to the O1 deck (report to an area for role call).
Survival suit
Training to be a VO – visual observer We started the day on the flying bridge. Karin Forney, marine mammal researcher, trained us on how to be a marine animal visual observer or VO for short. During the first observing session, we only saw a few animals – sea lions and various birds.
I’m getting fairly good at spotting kelp beds (seaweed), however, the scientists are not interested in them, so I still need more practice identifying marine mammals.
By the afternoon, we started to see more marine life. A large pod of common dolphins swam playfully near the ship. This was a beautiful sight to see but not ideal for net testing. We waited 30 minutes without a mammal sighting then successfully tested the nets. As the scientists were pulling the nets aboard we spotted another smaller pod of common dolphins, some California sea lions and a small mola mola (sun fish). All in all it was a good day!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Alex Eilers
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan August 21 – September 5, 2008
Mission: Leatherback Sea Turtle Research Geographical area of cruise: California Date: August 21, 2008
Well I’ve arrived in San Diego safe and sound. The weather here is fantastic – warm, mostly sunny and a bit breezy. Let’s hope it stays like his throughout my time at sea. Here is a brief outline of how I’ve been preparing for the research cruise. I started the day at a LUTH survey orientation meeting. LUTH stands for Leatherback Use of Temperate Habitat. Lisa Ballance, the director of Protected Resources Division and Scott Benson, Chief Scientist welcomed the entire team. We spent the morning listening to the research planned for the trip and I was amazed at the amount of science to be conducted. This is going to be an exciting adventure. I must admit though – I’ve got some homework to do. I have to become more familiar with the acronyms the scientists are using, like CTD’s, TSG’s and especially XBT’s – because I have to load these this afternoon.
After lunch we piled in the vans and headed toward the ship to begin the loading process. My assignment was to load and store the XBT’s and help load the oceanographic equipment. And, I did my homework – I found out that the XBT stands for eXpendable BathyThermograph and they are used for the collection of oceanographic temperature data.
I took a quick break after unloading the van to pose for a picture. I’m standing beside NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan and the real work is now beginning. Better get busy – more to come later.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Terry Welch
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan May 27 – June 7, 2008
Mission: Juvenile Rockfish Assessment Geographical Area: Central California Coast Date: June 7, 2008
Weather Data from the Bridge for Sat. 06-07-08 19:00 GMT
The DAVID STARR JORDAN Deck crew watches from the bow
Science and Technology Log
Heading for San Francisco!
The weather has again had an effect on the scheduled research tasks. As the week went on the weather deteriorated so that some nights we could only do one trawl before the waves crashing over the aft deck made it too dangerous to be out there. Safety was the primary issue in everyone’s mind on the ship – bridge officers and the scientists discussed weather conditions and forecasts and the deck crew were careful to point out safety concerns involving equipment or wearing protective clothing. Even with the ship feeling like it was doing a wild tango at one point, I felt very secure. Last night was a complete wash as far as doing the scheduled work. By evening the ship officers decided to stay out the night in Drake’s Bay since the peninsula would give some shelter from the wind and waves. We used the time to prepare for a new group to come aboard in San Francisco, cleaning our staterooms and doing laundry.
I sorted through notes and organized the dozens of photos taken over the last 12 days. Here are some squid facts Ken Baltz, the cruise leader told me about earlier in the cruise:
The Humboldt squid we caught were probably around 5 months old and will only live about 1 year
These squid are one of the fastest growing organism
They have a very rapid metabolism, eating about 20% of their body weight daily vs. our human requirement of 0.5 to 1%
Keith not only can tell you the scientific name of this big cephalopod, he can identify an incredible number of ocean animals
The bongo plankton tow ties in with the squid sampling in an interesting way. It shows how all of the research coordinated on the DAVID STARR JORDAN this cruise (and really all NOAA projects) is working towards understanding what life is like in the ocean and how the distribution of organisms is changing. One plankton sample from each bongo tow was preserved in ethanol. The other sample was preserved in formalin (a formaldehyde solution). The rationale behind this was that formalin denatures or destroys the structure of an organism’s DNA. The ethanol sample could be used to do genetic testing. When the samples are examined back in the lab, the researchers are hoping to find paralarvae of the Humboldt squid in the same location as the adults collected this cruise. This would give credence to the idea that they are now breeding off the coast of California, rather than in the tropics as has been the accepted understanding. Bill and Robert (two of the volunteers on this leg of the cruise) had great questions while Ken was explaining this part of his research. Bill (and the others) had been using a fluorescent lure to “jig” for squid. Squid are attracted to the bioluminescence found in some ocean animals, like the “headlights” on a California Headlight fish.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Sue White shows how gripping life at sea can be.
He asked if the squid are caught in the nets because they are hoping to feed on the small fish being concentrated there. His hypothesis was to see if luminescent lures in the net would increase the number of squid caught. Robert asked about using radioactive isotopes to label squid and then look for the radioactive label in the paralarvae as a way to see patterns in breeding. Such intriguing thinking. I was not alone in wanting to be awake for our entry into San Francisco Bay. We enjoyed a hot breakfast for the first time in days (and for some the first time ever on the ship!) and were invigorated by bright sunshine. Well, the sun seemed bright through the San Francisco haze after being on the night shift! Everyone was outside by the time land was sighted and we enjoyed watching the Golden Gate Bridge get closer. For days I had not noticed much traffic at sea (especially at night) so it felt like driving into a major city in that the traffic kept increasing the closer we got to the Bay. Huge shipping barges and small personal sailboats were all out on a beautiful Saturday morning.
The map distance from Drake’s Bay was not far, but our speed entering the bay was such that it took several hours to get around the bend and in to where the piers are in San Francisco. Just as in leaving San Diego, the ship officers were busy piloting the ship to its place at the pier. Staff from the Santa Cruz lab were waiting to help offload specimens, some ship personnel were already off duty and looking forward to a day in the city, and my husband was patiently waiting on the pier to hear my stories of life at sea.
Personal Log
After almost two weeks at sea it was interesting to adjust to life on land. I did feel the ground moving as I walked and especially felt phantom ocean waves when I tried to sleep or take a shower (no grab bars to steady yourself on land though!). The sounds were so different too with less of the ongoing sound of the ship engine or the air system in my stateroom and more collective noise of traffic and airplanes. I had missed the simple sounds of my backyard birds, but did not notice this until I realized how wonderful the familiar can sound. I am brimming with new information and connections to make with classroom labs and activities. I (and my husband) can hardly wait until school starts so I have a new audience for my Teacher at Sea stories.
Challenge Yourself
Think about the area where you live. How many people in your neighborhood can you name? List the types of dogs that live in your neighborhood, too.
Name any of the birds that may fly into your area. (Is this naming business getting harder?)
Name any other wildlife that may inhabit your neighborhood. (Remember that wildlife can be small and not all will be mammals!)
How many insects can you identify? Can you name specific types of one kind of insect? In other words, can you tell the difference between a monarch and swallowtail butterfly? What about a skipper and a sulfur butterfly?
Scientists, from experience, can name an incredible number of organisms. Often they can even give the scientific name for exactly one species that differs only slightly from another. You can also increase your naming ability with practice… what would you like to become an expert in identifying???
A unique view below the Golden Gate Bridge
“We can only sense that in the deep and turbulent recesses of the sea are hidden mysteries far greater than any we have solved.” ~Rachel Carson
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Terry Welch
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan May 27 – June 7, 2008
Mission: Juvenile Rockfish Assessment Geographical Area: Central California Coast Date: June 1, 2008
Weather Data from the Bridge for Sun. 06-01-08 04:00 GMT
Joao Alves treats us to squid and salsa, Brazilian style.
Science and Technology Log
It’s shrimp night! We continue on up the coast of California. The transect schedule for tonight is off Point Reyes, north of San Francisco. The catch tonight surprised us (again) by being completely unique from earlier trawls. Usually the largest part of what we sort is krill. The first night it was very strange to see all of those eyes, but now the krill just seem like background to look past as you see other colors and textures. When we spread the catch out on our trays tonight, it was an orange pink instead of the typical brownish color. The nets were loaded with market shrimp! Joao took off with some after we sorted and came back later with boiled shrimp and cocktail sauce. This was the second time he had acted as a seafood chef for everyone. Friday night Joao brought down the squid he had saved from Tuesday and Wednesday night. He had been marinating it in his special recipe and spent the time before his shift sautéing squid strips for us. He had also made some salsa that was perfect with it . . . and the saltine crackers some of us were needing tonight due to the waves. It brought to mind this passage from John Steinbeck’s introduction to The Log from the Sea of Cortez: “…we could see the fish alive and swimming, feel it plunge against the lines, drag it threshing over the rail, and even finally eat it.”
Vlad Zgutnitski, Sam Brandal, and Jose’ Coito ready to do a trawl
We have a pattern down for the nights now. The scientists, deck crew and bridge are seamless in their coordination of a trawl. Everyone knows their job now and down to who turns the deck lights off once the nets are in the water seems to be done intuitively. As soon as the nets are brought in, the sorting starts. Big fish, or worse the big jellyfish, are caught as the nets are being rolled up. Some fish and the jellies are measured and added to a database by location. Jellyfish are especially hard on the nets because of their weight. If they become too plentiful, trawls can be cancelled to keep the nets from being destroyed.
Looking for rockfish – Gabe, Ben, Keith, Bill, and Robert (left to right)
Here is my count from one tray of catch tonight:
38 Myctophid (fish)
22 Californian Headlight (fish)
8 Sergestid ( tiny red dot shrimp)
5 Black Smelt (fish)
3 Black-tip (squid)
1 Blue Lantern (fish)
1 Gonatus (squid)
The fish are more familiar by now. The Myctophid and Headlight fish looked so similar at first, but now I can see the two bioluminescent dots between the eyes on the Headlight fish. With more experience, it became even more obvious that there were many differences differences, but harder when they are hidden behind the more generic krill, or in the case of tonight’s haul, the pinkish shrimp. The rockfish (Fig. 4) also have to been identified as separate from other fish also similar in size and color. Side by side it is easy to see that these fish that are both dark in color.
Personal Log
Juvenile Rockfish Sebastes saxicola
The waves just keep getting rougher as the cruise progresses. The motion onboard varies with different activities. The bars to grasp in the shower and at various places around the ship are very practical, to say the least. Sleep is an interesting process where you can wake up with tired muscles from trying to keep yourself in place! Those with more experience have said that it is physically tiring to be onboard and that we should expect to need more sleep. It is amazing how I have adjusted to sleeping during the day now. The volunteers have been great to work with. They are now bringing their music down to play as we sort the catch from each trawl.
It is fun to hear the eclectic playlists they have. I have also been impressed with how well-read they are. We have been able to talk about books that range from Steinbeck to environmental awareness. They also enjoy the oddities we find on our sorting trays… anything with suckers must be stuck on your finger to see how long it will hold on (little squid or octopi require peeling off!) One night we had double tailed fish. Somehow several of the fish that night managed to get one head caught in the other’s to the point that it looked like the head was in the center with a tail going off each side.
Challenge Yourself
Look at Figure 6 above. How many different types of animals do you see? (Hint: Different colors are easy to spot, but also look for different eyes since some of the animals we found were transparent! )
Can you find any animals that are not fish? We found tiny squid and octopi most nights. Squid tended to have really big eyes for their overall size. Most of what you see in Figure 2 is krill.
Describe what makes the juvenile rockfish different from the sand dab shown above.
“We can only sense that in the deep and turbulent recesses of the sea are hidden mysteries far greater than any we have solved.” ~Rachel Carson
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Terry Welch
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan May 27 – June 7, 2008
Mission: Juvenile Rockfish Assessment Geographical Area: Central California Coast Date: June 28, 2008
Weather Data from the Bridge for Wed. 05-28-08 04:00 GMT
This is the second night of collecting data for this leg of the cruise. Last night was a real learning curve for those of us new to the work involved. As soon as they were aboard, the scientists in charge of the rockfish survey (Ken Baltz – the Chief Scientist, Keith Sakuma, and Brian Wells) were busy organizing equipment so they could begin at sunset. Each night the plan is to start by gathering plankton using the bongo nets. The plankton is processed and preserved for later study back at the scientist’s lab in Santa Cruz. CTD (conductivity, water temperature, and depth) data is gathered throughout the day and night, and on the first night there was an electronics problem between the collection equipment that goes into the water and the computer. Since weather has become such a factor on this cruise, the scientists did not want to lose any opportunity to gather data or specimens. After sunset, the main focus through each night is to conduct mid-water trawls to collect data on fish populations and preserve samples for later study. All of this data goes into an ongoing database.
Bongo Plankton Tow
Each volunteer had specific jobs associated with the different specimens or data being collected throughout the cruise. Figure 1 shows how Robert Cimitile and Bill Matsuba worked the bongo nets. Gabe Singer was responsible for the CTD readings throughout the night shift. Ben Gire sampled krill from each trawl for a separate Euphausia study, checking for species type and numbers of gravid (“pregnant”) in an area. We all worked to sort the catch from each trawl. Last night there were a number of midshipman fish in the catch. Tonight there is a different sort of excitement since we are finding large numbers of Humboldt squid in the nets. These are processed for other research groups who are studying stomach contents and establishing the squid’s genome. Between trawls the deck crew, scientists, and volunteers “jigged” for squid using fluorescent jigs on fishing line over the port side of the ship. It was impressive to see the live squid and their reaction to being out of water. Their chromatophores pulse and change colors while they hiss water out of their siphons. Some also spray ink in the process.
Sue White, holds a live Humboldt squid!
These squid are huge compared to the tiny Gonatus or Loligo squid we have seen. The main fish being surveyed is the rockfish. They are few in numbers and when we do find one, it is placed in an ocean water ice bath to maintain them until Keith identifies them by species. This is also part of an ongoing, year-to-year survey to establish their distribution and numbers up the coast of California. Since they only come up to feed at night, they are the reason the trawls can only be done at night. It has been impressive to see the teamwork involved with working the cranes for the bongo nets and the CTD equipment, as well as the pulleys involved with the gates, and the trawlnet reel located on the gantry on the aft deck. Radio communication between the deck crew, the scientists, and the bridge starts each operation. The deck crew manipulates the equipment and the scientists and volunteers assist in positioning. They all have a part in collecting the specimens as they are brought up. The bridge officers maintain the course and speed of the ship for all operations and also are vigilant about safety on the aft deck. They maintain contact with the radio and also have visual contact with cameras.
Personal Log
Jigging for the squid
I feel rested tonight, but not quite used to working a night shift! Last night was the first time I think I have ever been awake for 24 hours, so my bunk looked wonderful this morning. It was easy to sleep through the day after being so tired and now it is beginning to seem more normal to work at night. The squid are amazing the animal unit. Seeing them alive and then being able to witness their dissection just a short time later was a singular experience that I will retell each spring now for my students. Joao, one of the fishermen, showed me how to hold the live squid behind their eyes so the arms would not “get me”. After seeing how they can latch on to fish even in the trawl net and how their beaks mince those fish, I have even more appreciation for what these animals can do as a predator! I am learning how to recognize and name a great diversity of pelagic animals. It has been an intensive learning curve for me in the last day (or should I call it night?) but I am starting to see the pattern of the trawls and it is very interesting to see how they vary according to transect location and even distance from the coast throughout the night.
Ben Gire (Volunteer) and Keith Sakuma (NOAA Scientist) with Humboldt Squid (CTD equipment is behind them to the right)
Challenge Yourself
How has the weather changed since my last log (Monday at noon)? Calculate the differences in wind speed and temperatures. Has the ocean salinity changed? Is the pressure rising or falling?
Do the temperature changes seem reasonable considering we have traveled north and the time of day is later?
The Humboldt squid are very well adapted for these conditions. Would you be comfortable swimming in this water too?
Daybreak and the nets are ready for nightfall
“We can only sense that in the deep and turbulent recesses of the sea are hidden mysteries far greater than any we have solved.” ~Rachel Carson
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Terry Welch
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan May 27 – June 7, 2008
Mission: Juvenile Rockfish Assessment Geographical Area: Central California Coast Date: June 27, 2008
The wet lab’s wind direction and wind speed instrumentation. Original to when the ship was built in the 1960’s??
Science and Technology Log
The DAVID STARR JORDAN (DSJ) departed from San Diego, CA this morning to begin Leg 3 of the Juvenile Rockfish Survey research cruise. The seas have been rough and Leg 2 of this cruise was cut short because of the weather conditions. Since weather has been such a huge influence in the last few weeks in this area of the Pacific and led to a loss of days at sea for the research scientists, here is some background for understanding the abbreviations and terms found in the “Weather Data from the Bridge” section above:
GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, international time which is the basis of time in each time zone around the world. Greenwich, England is located at Longitude 0° 0′ 0″, Latitude 51° 28′ 38″N (North of the Equator) or where the east meets the west. The DSJ is on Pacific Time which is 7 hours earlier.
Latitude is the distance the DSJ is north of the equator, expressed in degrees (or hours), minutes, and seconds.
Longitude is the distance the DSJ is west of the prime meridian which runs through Greenwich, England, expressed in degrees (or hours), minutes, and seconds.
(Ship) Speed / Wind Speed refers to how fast the ship is moving or how fast the wind is blowing. Speeds on water or in the air are measured in knots (kts). One knot is one nautical mile per hour. A nautical mile (6076 feet) is a little longer than a mile here on land (5280 feet). Use this conversion factor to change speed in the weather data to speeds on land: 1 knot = 1.16 mph. Here is a fun visual that connects wind speed in knots to our more familiar miles per hour. It also gives a more qualitative description of what different wind speeds are like.
(Ship’s) Course refers to the direction the ship is traveling to and is based on a 360o compass.
Wind Direction refers to the direction the wind is coming from. It is also based on a 60o compass.
oC = degree Celsius
The conversion factor to change metric temperature to our more familiar Fahrenheit scale is: [(°C X 9) / 5] + 32 = °F
An easy way to estimate, that you can do in your head, is to take °C and multiply it by 2 and then add 30 to get approximate °F: (°C X 2) + 30 = approx. °F
Want to do it the other way? Take your temperature at home, subtract 30 and divide by 2 to get the temperature in degree Celsius: (°F – 30) / 2 = approx. °C
Surface Water Salinity simply stated, describes how salty the ocean water is at the surface and can be referred to in PSUs (Practical Salinity Units). It is based on the understanding that the electrical conductivity of seawater is related to its salinity. A special conductivity meter is used at sea and the PSU value is calculated from the data. PSU is not a unit of measurement, but a calculated value. The average world ocean salinity is around 35 PSU.
Relative Humidity is a measure of the amount of water in the air compared with the amount of water the air can hold at the temperature it happens to be when you measure it. At the temperature given in the weather data above, the air has 71% of the moisture it can hold. If the temperature decreases while the number of molecules of water is the same, then the relative humidity would increase. The cooler air molecules are closer together and cannot hold as much water between them.
Barometric Pressure is the force the atmosphere is exerting on a given place, measured by an instrument called a barometer. Think of it as being the “weight of air”. Air pressure is recorded onboard using the unit mb, which stands for millibar. A millibar is 1/1000th of a bar. A bar is a force equal to 100,000 Newtons pressing on a square meter. You can feel the change in pressure in your ears when you are flying in an airplane. High pressure usually means good weather and dropping pressure means the weather is changing. Low pressure often brings precipitation.
Vlad and Sam prepare to lift our link to land.
After being in port since Friday, the ship officers and crew are busy with a flurry of preparation to be at sea again. Bags of groceries were brought aboard this morning while a steady stream of people came aboard too. The ship went from being asleep to bustling in a matter of hours. Engines were started and soot flakes billowed. Deck crew began the tasks of taking up the walkway and casting off. Ship officers were stationed on the port side (left hand side if you are facing towards the front of the ship) to report ship positions as we began to move away from the pier. We headed out to sea, passing what looked like a series of empty boat slips. As we got closer I could see dolphins there and trainers were putting them through their paces. The ship’s electronics technician, Kim Belveal (U.S.Navy, ret.), explained that this was a Navy training facility and the dolphins were trained to do very specific tasks, often tasks that reduced risk to people. We passed a Coast Guard ship truly under sail, rigged with huge sails. The lead fisherman, Jose’ Coito, has a son who is in the Coast Guard. He proudly told about his son’s training on that grand ship.
Personal Log
It has been a whirlwind time in the last week for me. I gave my last final exam for the school year on Friday morning, wrapped up the last details for school that afternoon, and headed home to pack. Since the last leg of the cruise was cut short, my travel plans changed within the last few days as well, meaning that I was going to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea one day earlier than planned and flying to a new destination as well. I flew to San Diego on Sunday and got to the ship Sunday evening. After settling into my stateroom, I felt a little like Goldilocks walking around the ship and making myself at home. It was very quiet, but eventually I met the ship’s electronics technician and Sam Brandal, an able fisherman, who had also just arrived on the DAVID STARR JORDAN to fill in for someone on vacation. It has been nice to have some down time to make the transition from school to my time as a Teacher at Sea. I spent today on the fly bridge with my binoculars. Chico Gomez, the chief bosun (also spelled boatswain), and Jose’ helped me spot whales on the horizon. I also saw seals and dolphins closer in to the ship. Sea jellies which ranged in size from about 2” to 10” floated by from time to time. Work starts tomorrow when we pick up the scientists at Avila and do the first transect schedule for this leg of the cruise at Point Sal, CA . . .
Challenge Yourself
Can you compile your own weather data from your home or school? Use measuring instruments you already have, or research in your local newspaper or online. Fill in the table below, converting your data to match the units and values from the DAVID STARR JORDAN bridge:
Here’s a quote from Rachel Carson that pretty much sums up what it’s like to look off the side of the ship: “We can only sense that in the deep and turbulent recesses of the sea are hidden mysteries far greater than any we have solved.” What mysteries will I see?
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Heather Diaz
Onboard NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan July 6 – 15, 2006
Mission: Juvenile Shark Abundance Survey Geographical Area: U.S. West Coast Date: July 15, 2006
Science and Technology Log
They did a swordfish set last night around midnight. We hauled in the set around 5:30am. We caught 4 blues and 2 makos. We also caught one pelagic ray. They set a shark line out around 7:45. We were hoping to be able to finish one last set before going into port. We were scheduled to be in port around 3.
Teacher at Sea, Heather Diaz, holds up a Blue shark.
Dr. Russ Vetter explained what the different computers are used for in the aft lab. There is one called at EK500/EQ50 which uses a split beam transponder to create a “map” of the ocean floor, so the scientists can use the data to find high spots, which sometimes are better for fishing. It also works as a sort of “fish finder” and the different things in the water show up in scale and color, so that you can see the approximate size of the animal/plant in the water. He also explained the Navigation computer, which digitally shows the charts (with soundings), topographical features (like islands and coastline), and our course. It also provides information on other vessels that are nearby, and when available, that vessel’s name and number…the same navigation computer they also use on the Bridge. The Nav. Comp. also provides information like our latitude and longitude and our speed.
There is another computer which monitors wind speed and direction, temperature of the water (under the boat), barometric pressure, and salinity of the water. All of these are real-time, and provide important information to the scientists. There is also an ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) computer which displays a constantly changing graph of current velocity relative to the ref layer.
The very last set of this leg was a bit slower than most, which may have been a good thing, since most people were starting to get a bit tired. We had 2 blues and 2 makos. We were very pleased to find out that we had, during the entire leg, managed to capture 80 blue sharks (78 were measured, sexed, and released), 63 mako sharks (61 were tagged and released), 23 pelagic rays (23 were released, none were tagged), 3 molas (3 were tagged and released), and 1 lancetfish (which was released but not tagged). Everyone seemed very pleased with the results, and now Dr. Suzy Kohin (Chief Scientist) and Dr. Heidi Dewar will head back to their lab at Southwest Fisheries to analyze the data.
Personal Log
Last night the sky was very clear, so we were able to see a lot of stars, including the Milky Way, which was very easy to see last night. The view from the Flying Bridge (the very top of the ship) is amazing, and we felt like we could see every star in the universe, even though we know we couldn’t. We could also see the far away glow of Los Angeles, a reminder that we will soon be back in port and that our trip is nearly over. Nearby, there was a large tanker and a container ship, which also looked neat in the dark. The container ship was still nearby this morning when we woke up.
The sunset this morning was amazing. There were a few wispy Cirrus clouds in the sky, which reflected the glow of the sun long before the sun made its first appearance in the sky. It was truly a beautiful sunrise, and a great way to start off our last day! This morning after the set, everyone was a bit disappointed that we have not caught a swordfish this trip. But, Dr. Heidi Dewar said she would consider doing another swordfish study in the future.
Everyone is busy packing and getting their gear ready to go home. Everyone, including me, is excited to be going home to see family and friends, but I think most people will be a little sad, too. For me, this has been an absolutely amazing experience! I have learned so much, and I have seen more in the past week than I ever could have from reading books or watching documentaries. There is just something so special about being able to feed a sea lion, touch a shark, or come within inches of a mola to feel the power of nature and the beauty of the ocean. I am awe struck in so many ways. The people aboard the DAVID STARR JORDAN could not have been kinder, and everyone has gone far out of their way to make me feel like part of the DSJ family. Everyone from the captain and the officers, the boatswains, the stewards, and everyone in engineering has been friendly and helpful. I will surely miss everyone on board. As for the scientists, they did an outstanding job of helping me to learn things and to make me feel like I was a real part of their crew. I will miss the lapping of the waves, the rolling of the ship, the camaraderie, the food, the animals, the scenery, the sunsets, and the sunsets. And, although I cannot take any of them with me, I will have the memories of them all forever.
I want to sincerely thank Lieutenant Commander Von Saunder, the amazing crew of the DAVID STARR JORDAN, Dr. Suzy Kohin, and her wonderful team of scientists for a fantastic experience! I never imagined it would be this incredible! I will be grateful to you all for a long, long, long time! Thank you for allowing me to share these past 10 days with you, and I wish you all safe travels and many more beautiful sunsets at sea to come!
