Tag: NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

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Kip Chambers: Gone Fishing… July 21, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Kip Chambers

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

July 17 – 30, 2017

 

Mission:  West Coast Pelagics Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise:  Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast

Date: 07/17/2017

 

Reuben Lasker Pier 17 in San Francisco
Nigel and Kip Pier 17 Photo Credit Bryan Thomas

Science and Technology Log: 

I had my first opportunity to get a look at the Reuben Lasker when I arrived at the Exploratorium on Pier 15 in San Francisco (SF) on the 16th of July.  My first impression was, this is a big, incredibly sophisticated research vessel.  The boat has been in port for a few days as it prepares to leave for the 2nd leg of the West Coast Pelagics Survey.  The first leg of the survey was conducted over the previous three weeks starting off of the coast of Vancouver Island and working down to the coast of Oregon.  The vessel will be steaming out tomorrow (7/18/17) back to where the first leg was completed to begin the 2nd leg of the survey.  The 2nd leg will begin near Newport, Oregon and continue down the coast of California finishing in San Diego on/or about August 11th.

I am beginning to get to know the crew, which is made up of members of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, civilian mariners and a science team.  All of the crews are under the NOAA umbrella and work closely together. The NOAA Corps, and civilian mariners are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the boat while the science crew’s role is to design the survey, collect samples, record, and analyze the data for the project.

There are 32 people on the boat, and I am amazed at the diversity of skills, education and background that is represented by everyone that is on-board.  It is encouraging to know there are so many talented people involved in this type of research. In just the short time that I have spent on the ship I have gained a better understanding of the many opportunities that are available for students in marine science.

As you might expect on a modern research vessel the technology is everywhere.  There are multiple sonar systems, numerous sensors that record continuous environmental information, and the wheelhouse is equipped with an array of navigational systems and computers that link to sensors throughout the vessel.  There are also the major mechanical components necessary to deploy and retrieve nets, gear, and various sensors.  I am eagerly anticipating seeing how all of these pieces fit together once we begin sampling.

Over the past 2 days while we have been in port, I have had a chance to explore the area around the dock and have found that NOAA is making a big impact on a global scale.  As I was walking up to the ship I noticed a buoy in the harbor that was labeled with PMEL-CO2 (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory).  Upon closer inspection I saw the NOAA symbol above the lettering and found an information plate on the rail describing the data the sensors on the buoy were collecting.  This buoy and others like it moored across the world’s oceans are collecting information about CO2 levels in our oceans.  The information is relayed to a satellite and then to a data center for analysis.  The data collected by these buoys will help provide a better understanding of how rising CO2 levels are affecting our oceans.  As I walked through the area surrounding the dock I found several more examples of research and educational programs that NOAA was supporting.  NOAA’s commitment to sound science and support for educational programs like the Teacher at Sea program is making a difference in how people interact with the planet.

 

PMEL-CO2 Buoy at Exploratorium, Pier 17
PMEL-Summary
Brett loading Reuben Lasker
CUFES in Action

Personal Log:

My journey to join the crew and scientist aboard the Reuben Lasker has been a rewarding experience in and of itself.  After arriving in SF I had the opportunity to spend the day exploring the area around the bay.  There is a great interactive facility near Pier 15 called the Exploratorium that is a designed to provide an enriching, educational experience featuring science and art displays. As I wondered through the facility it reminded me of why I love science and how creative approaches can inspire and bring out the child like curiosity and joy of learning in all of us.  I also had the opportunity to tour the impressive Aquarium of the Bay that had fantastic exhibits featuring marine invertebrates, numerous species of saltwater fish (including lots of sharks) and river otters.  NOAA’s fingerprint can be found here too, with a display explaining how NOAA is providing educational support for a program called The National Estuary Research and Reserve System that emphasize the importance of protecting and restoring estuaries.   It has been a very busy and fulfilling 3 days.  As I am writing, the ship is steaming toward Newport, Oregon and is already collecting data for the survey using a continuous underway egg sampler (CUFES). The CUFES sampler collects plankton and fish egg samples that will provide important data used by NOAA scientists to better understand the abundance and distribution of pelagic fish species in the California Current.  Once we arrive on location we will start using the acoustic trawling method (ATM) to sample for coastal pelagic fish species.  I can only imagine what wonders might lay ahead as we continue our journey,

I recently attended the Kansas Association of Teachers of Science (KATS) conference and listened to a very good presentation by Jeff Goldstein.   One the things he said struck me as particularly important.  He said, “Evidence based conclusions are important.”  It is important that we don’t disregard and ignore information that is based on good scientific principles and analysis.  My experiences over the last several days has given me a greater appreciation for critical role that NOAA plays in providing us with that information.  The photos above are representative of my first few days in SF and on-board the Reuben Lasker.

FYI: sometimes it seems like NOAA has its own special language, here is a small sample of some of the acronyms that I have picked up on so far…

CO – Commanding Officer

XO – Executive Officer

OO – Operations Officer

ATM – Acoustic Trawl  Method

CTD – Conductivity, Temperature and Depth

CUFES – Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler

CPS – Coastal Pelagic Species

SWFSC – Southwest Fisheries Science Center

NMFS – National Marine Fisheries Service

Links to Explore:

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/

The Exploratorium in San Francisco

https://www.exploratorium.edu/

Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco

https://www.aquariumofthebay.org/

The National Estuary Research and Reserve System

https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/

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Dawn White: Pinging for Populations, June 29, 2017

 

NOAA Teacher at Sea

 Dawn White

Aboard NOAA Ship the Reuben Lasker

June 19 – July 1, 2017

 

Mission: West Coast Sardine Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast

Date: June 29, 2017

 

Weather Data from the Bridge

Date: June 29, 2017                                                         Wind Speed: 7.7 kts

Time: 6:15 p.m.                                                                 Latitude: 4805.5N

Temperature: 12.7oC                                                      Longitude: 12520.07W

 

Science and Technology Log

The technology present on this ship is amazing and at the same time quite overwhelming.  These systems allow for data to be collected on a wide range of variables both continuously and simultaneously.  Below are a couple of photos of the acoustics room where multiple sensors are monitoring the feedback from sonar systems placed below the ship’s hull.  One of the acoustic probes sends out sound waves in a cone-like formation directly below the ship.  Another unit emits sound waves in a horizontal pattern.  The ship was designed to run as quietly as possible so as to not disturb the marine life present in the waters as the ship passes by and also to reduce the interference of the ship’s sounds with the acoustics feedback.

 

Acoustics technician Dan Palance manages multiple computers
Acoustics technician Dan Palance manages multiple computers

 

Acoustics technician Dan Palance managing the multiple computers that are constantly collecting data.

Multiple programs help to eliminate the “noise” received by the probes until all that remains are images that represent schools of fish and their location relative to the ocean floor.

 

Diagram of Multibeam Sonar System
Diagram of Multi-frequency scientific sounder

The images above were taken from a poster on board the Reuben Lasker. They illustrate the range of the water column surveyed by the various acoustic systems.

 

The “soundings” are received by the ship, processed and “cleaned up” using a series of program algorithms. The image below shows the feedback received from one of the systems.

Displays of feedback from an acoustics system

Once the background “noise” has been eliminated, the resulting image will show locations of fish, school size, and the depth (y axis) at which they can be found.

Graph of acoustic feedback, with background “noise” eliminated, depicting depth and size of fish schools

 

Extension question for my students reading this:  Approximately how deep are the schools of fish being picked up by the sonar at this location?

Acoustics aren’t the only tools used to try pinpoint the locations of the fish schools.  As I wrote about on an earlier blog, the CUFES egg sampler is used to monitor the presence of fish eggs in the waters that the ship passes over.  Water samples are analyzed every half hour.  If egg samples appear in an area where there is also a strong acoustics signal, then that may be a location the ship will return to for the night’s trawl.  The main focus of this trip is to monitor the anchovy and sardine populations, so extra attention is paid to the locations where those eggs appear in the samples.

Personal Log:

Each time we drop the net for an evening trawl it is always retrieved with a bit of suspense:  What’s going to be in the net this time?  How big is the haul?  Will we capture any of the key species or haul in something completely different?

I can honestly say that while on board there were no two hauls exactly the same.  We continued to capture large quantities of pyrosomes – unbelievable amounts.  Check out the net-tearing load we encountered one night.  We literally had to weigh them by the basketful!

Here I am getting ready to help unload this large catch.

TAS Dawn White prepares to help unload large catch

 

Net-tearing load of pyrosomes!

Above is the codend of the net filled with pyrosomes and fish.  A 5-basket sample was pulled aside for analysis.  The remainder was simply classified and massed.

While I was certainly don’t need to see another pyrosome any time soon, there were plenty of other times when some very unique species made an appearance!

Pacific Jack Mackerel
Solitary Common Salp
TAS Dawn White holds a Blue Shark
Dogfish Shark

Did you know?

The dogfish shark (pictured above) was one of about 50 or so that were caught in the same haul.  We had trawled through a school that was feeding on the small fish found at the ocean surface during the evening hours.  This is the same species of shark that is commonly provided to students for dissection.  Use the search terms “dogfish shark dissection” and see what you find!

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Kip Chambers: From the Prairies to the Oceans… July 5, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea 

Kip Chambers

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker 

July 17 – 30, 2017

Mission: West Coast Sardine Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast

Date: July 5, 2017

Weather Data from the Bridge: (Pratt, KS)

Date: 07/05/2017
Wind Speed: SE at 6 mph
Time: 16:00
Latitude: 37.7o N
Temperature: 29o C
Longitude: 98.75o W

Science and Technology Log:

Soon I will be aboard one of the most technologically advanced fishing vessels in the world, the NOAA research vessel Reuben Lasker. I will be participating on the second leg of the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) West Coast Sardine Survey. The ship will depart on the 17th of July from San Francisco, CA to conduct a survey primarily focused on Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) populations. The data collected from this survey, and others like it, will be used by NOAA and other federal and state agencies to make decisions about how to best manage the Pacific sardine fishery to ensure that Pacific sardines are harvested in a sustainable manner. The data provided by these types of surveys is critical to ensuring that appropriate regulations are put in place to protect the ecological integrity of our complex, marine ecosystems.

Personal Log:

Hello, my name is Kip Chambers. I am a biology instructor at Pratt Community College (PCC). PCC is a small liberal arts/vocational technical school located in south-central Kansas. I am thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to participate in the NOAA Teacher at Sea (TAS) program. I first learned about the program from a colleague more than 15 years ago, and it has been something that I have been contemplating for the last several years. After applying in the fall I was ecstatic to find out in early February that I had been accepted to the program. Even though I was born and raised in Kansas, and Pratt, Kansas is more the 600 miles away from our nearest ocean (Gulf of Mexico), I have always been fascinated by the immensity, power and beauty of our oceans. I have often been asked “what do the oceans have to do with Kansas?” For those of you who live near an ocean, or work directly with these precious resources, this may seem like a silly question, but for many of my students and people in my community there can be a lack of understanding of how our oceans affect all of us, and how critical they are to maintaining the biogeochemical cycles and energy flow that make life possible on the planet.

The story of Kansas’ geological history cannot be told without talking about oceans. The map below depicts the 11 physiographic regions that outline the geology of Kansas. Many of the rocks at and below the surface of Kansas were deposited as shallow seas moved into and out of Kansas over millions of years. Because of this, Kansas has a rich marine fossil record that provides insight into the role oceans played in shaping our state. There is an excellent web site that is maintained by the Kansas Geological Survey that provides additional information about our state’s geology and the types of marine fossils that can be found in many areas of the state.

Kansas Physiographic Regions           Figure 1.1 Physiographic regions of Kansas provided by the  Kansas Geological Survey. (http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/home.html)

The geology of Kansas is just one way oceans have affected our state; our economy, weather patterns, and ecology are all influenced by our oceans. Helping students to connect to our oceans, and understand that oceans impact the ecology of the entire planet, regardless of where you live is one of the main objectives that I hope to accomplish as I move forward with this project. It is my sincere hope that through my experiences with the TAS program I will become a more effective communicator and stronger advocate for relating the importance of protecting our planet’s most valuable resource, our oceans.

I would be remiss if I did not thank the people that have helped make this opportunity possible. Thank you to the NOAA TAS program, the crew and scientists of the Reuben Lasker that I look forward to joining soon, Pratt Community College, my family and friends and my beautiful wife Janet. See you in San Francisco…

Images from the Sunflower State:

 

Figure 1.2  Upper left, wind and wheat, lower left, energy production, upper right, generalized flight plan, lower right, Chambers’ family (Sadie, Janet, & Kip).  All photos from DK Chambers, map from Google Earth.

Links:

Kip Chambers’ page on NOAA Teacher at Sea Program website:
http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/#/2017/Dave*Chambers/blogs

Kansas Geological Survey’s GeoKansas website:
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/home.html

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s documents on Coastal Pelagic Species assessments:
http://www.pcouncil.org/coastal-pelagic-species/stock-assessment-and-fishery-evaluation-safe-documents/

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Dawn White: Finally Fishing! June 27, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Dawn White

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

June 19 – July 1, 2017

 

Mission: West Coast Sardine Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast

Date: June 27, 2017

 

Weather Data from the Bridge

Date: June 27, 2017                                                         Wind Speed: 28.9 kts with gusts
Time: 9:15 p.m.                                                                 Latitude: 4828.20N
Temperature: 13.4oC                                                      Longitude: 12634.66W

Science and Technology Log

White_Lasker route 6-27
The red line indicates the route of NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker transiting along the coast of Vancouver Island

We finally reached the tip of Vancouver Island on Sunday evening, June 25. It would be our first night of fishing.  The red line indicates the route taken by the Reuben Lasker as we transited along the coast to the northernmost tip of the island.  The blue lines indicate the path to be taken for regular interval acoustic monitoring for schools of fish.  Based on the acoustics results, a decision would be made as to where the fishing would occur at night.

 

 

 

White_deploying net
Crew deploying the fishing net

The photo at left shows the crew completing the deployment of the fishing net.  You can see the large winch that will release and retrieve the main body of the net.  The net will be set out for about 45 minutes.  During this time there are many variables that will be monitored.  Sensors attached to the net will collect data on time spent at each depth.  Other factors being monitored include temperature, wind speed, swell size,  and lat/long of trawl. In addition, there are four water-activated “pingers” attached to the net that emit sounds at frequencies known to disturb larger mammals in an effort to reduce accidental captures.

Once the net has been retrieved, the scientists collect the catch in large baskets and begin the process of weighing and sorting.  The first night’s catch was primarily made up of a very unique colonial type of organism called a pyrosome. The side nets and codend (mesh covered end of the main net where most of the catch is collected) were packed with these the first couple of trawls.

White_many pyrosomes
Many pyrosomes were mixed in with the catch.

You can see many pyrosomes mixed in with the rest of the catch here.  They are the pink colored cylindrical organisms.  They have been increasing in population over the past couple of years as well as appearing further north than ever observed before.  A nice overview of the pyrosome influx and volumes observed was recently reported in an article published by Environment entitled “Jellied sea creatures confound scientists, fishermen on U.S. Pacific Coast”. You can review the article here.

The trawl net being used was part of the research project, as it possessed modifications aimed at capturing and quantifying organisms that made it through an apparatus called the extruder door.  The purpose for this opening is to allow for larger mammals and non-target organisms to pass through the net relatively unharmed should they get caught.  Two additional pocket nets had been added to the main net for the specific purpose of monitoring what made it through the mesh.

This far north, the researchers were expecting to find mostly juvenile herring and salmon.  On our second night of fishing we actually had several species of fish and other marine animalia to i.d. The amount and type of data collected depended on the species of organism.  In some cases, we collected just the mass of the group of organisms as a whole.  For other species, we collected mass, lengths, presence/absence of an adipose fin, DNA samples from a fin clip, and more.  Certain species were tagged, bagged, and frozen for further study in a land-based lab.  It’s so interesting to see the variety we pull out of the net each trawl!

Some of the species collected can be seen below:

Extension question for my students reading this:

What traits could you use to differentiate between the juvenile salmon and Pacific herring?

 

Personal Log:

White_scientists collecting data
Here are some of the scientists making sure the correct data is collected and recorded from one of our catches.
White_here i am in yellow
Here I am (in yellow) with some of the scientists (L to R: Emily, Amy, and Angela) getting ready to receive the evening’s catch.

First trawl starts as close to sunset as possible, which for this latitude has been somewhere between 9:30-10:00 p.m. There is always this air of anticipation as we wait for the net to be emptied.  It has been enlightening to work with the science staff as they evaluate each sample.  The number of reference sheets and data recording forms is incredible.  It seems like you would need to take a course in data management just to ensure you were familiar enough with the requirements to not overlook some detail of importance.

The photo of the group above was taken about 11:00 p.m.  I was worried initially that I would not be able to flip my sleep schedule to match the work schedule, but it has been much more doable than I thought it would be.  Our staterooms are dark and quiet, so going to bed in the morning really doesn’t feel any different that at night.  Thanks to the extensive movie collection and my ability to keep downloading books to read on Kindle, I have had plenty of filler for downtime and that “reading before bed” I always do.

Time to go to work…..

 

Did You Know?

There are 36 species of dolphin worldwide, including 4 species of river dolphins.  Quite a few of the Common Bottlenose Dolphin followed the ship out of the harbor in San Diego, riding along on the wake produced by the ship.  On the way up the coast of California I saw a couple of Dall’s Porpoises (not in the dolphin family, but quite similar in appearance).  Then as we traveled south along Victoria Island there were a couple of Pacific White-Sided dolphins enjoying games along-side the ship. It is so exciting to see these animals out in their native habitat!

Every night before the ship drops the fishing net, a member of the science team is sent to the bridge to perform a 30-minute mammal watch.  The surrounding waters are observed closely for any signs of these and other larger species.  The investigators do their best to ensure that only the small fish species intended for capture are what enters the net.  Should there be a sighting, the ship moves on another 5 miles in an effort to avoid any accidental captures.  The scientists and crew work very hard to minimize the impact of their studies on the surrounding ecosystems.

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Dawn White: Sampling the Pacific, June 24, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

 Dawn White

Aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

June 19 – July 1, 2017

 

Mission: West Coast Sardine Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast

Date: June 25, 2017

 

Weather Data from the Bridge

 

Date: June 25, 2017                                                         Wind Speed: 22 kts

Time: 4:00 p.m.                                                                 Latitude: 5026.55N

Temperature: 14.3oC                                                      Longitude: 12808.11W

 

Science and Technology Log

 

Although the scientists have not performed any fishing trawls since departing San Diego, there is a survey crew on board that has continuously been monitoring the water column for a variety of factors using acoustics and an instrument called a Conductivity/Temp/Depth (CTD) probe.

Last night I was able to observe the launch and retrieval of a small, handheld CTD probe.  It looks very much like a 2 ft torpedo. The electronics and sensors built into the probe measure such factors as salinity, sound speed, depth, and water temperature.  This smaller probe is launched off the tail of the boat and let out on a line of filament from a reel that appears very similar to a typical fishing reel.  It does not take more than a couple of minutes for the probe to sink to a depth of about 300 meters.  Data is collected from the probe at various depths on the way down.  Once the probe has reached its target depth, it is simple reeled back in using a winch to retrieve it.  This requires quite a bit of energy as the probe is deployed with enough line for it to end up about 3 miles behind the ship.  The data from this probe is then blue-toothed to the program used by those monitoring the water column acoustically.  It help the techs make corrections in their acoustical readings.

 

White_scientists deploying probe_R
Surveyor Jian Liu and scientist Juan Zwolinski deploy the smaller CTD probe off the stern of NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

 

The Reuben Lasker also carries a larger version of the CTD probe with the additional capabilities such as water collection at various depths.  However, this version requires the ship to be stationary.  Taking measurements with the unit slows down the work of the day as each stop takes about 30 minutes from launch until retrieval.  The launch of the larger CTD can be seen below.

 

CTD launch
CTD surfaces after test
CTD being landed back on deck
White_CTD probe in basket
CTD Probe in steel protected basket

 

The data from the CDT probe is recorded real-time on the survey team’s computers.  Below you can see how this data presents itself on their video screens.

 

Several variables plotted against temperature (x-axis) and depth (y-axis)
Key for CTD Data: Temperature is in red, Salinity in blue, Fluorescence in green

On the left video display you can see that there are several variables that are plotted against a depth vs. temperature. The green line tracks fluorescence (a measure of the chlorophyll concentration); the light blue line tracks dissolved oxygen; the red line represents temperature; the blue line is for salinity.

 

Extension question for my students reading this:  What correlations or relationships do you see happening as you observe the change in variables relative to changes in depth?

 

White_Lasker route
Route of NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

Here is the route taken by the Reuben Lasker during the past 24 hours or so.  As you can see from the chart, the ship has now reached the northern-most end of Vancouver Island.  This is where the CDT recordings, marine mammal watching, deployment of two sets of plankton nets (to be explained later) and fish trawling will begin along the predetermined transect lines.

Note at the base of the screen the other parameters that are continuously recorded as the ship moves from place to place.

 

 

Personal Log

The action on-board is increasing dramatically today.  We have arrived at our outermost destination today, along the northernmost coast of Vancouver Island.  The sights from the bridge are amazing…all this blue water and rugged, pine covered coastline.  I am still waiting for that orca whale sighting!

The waves are up today but I’m holding my own.  Yeay!  Especially as the night fishing will begin in a few hours.

Unique activity of the day – I just finished a load of laundry!  The ship possesses 3 small washer/dryer units so we can redo our towels and whatever else we have used up during the course of this first week.  How serviceable can you get! I’ll retrieve mine as soon as dinner is over.  We have set meal hours and if you miss…it’s leftovers for you!  Best part of this is I am actually ready to eat a normal meal, even with the ship rocking the way it is today.

I have now been assigned deck boots and a heavy duty set of rain gear to cover up with when the fish sorting begins.  I can’t wait to see what all we pull up from these nutrient rich waters!

 

Did You Know?

Much of the data collected by the CTD and acoustic equipment from the Reuben Lasker is entered into a large data set managed by CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation).  Anyone interested in utilizing and analyzing this data can access it via the organization’s website located here.  There is an incredible amount of information regarding the work and research completed by this group found on this site. Check it out!