northwest atlantic – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

May 19, 2009April 5, 2021

Elise Olivieri, May 19, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Elise Olivieri
Onboard Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp
May 9 – 20, 2009

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Northwest Atlantic
Date: May 19, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 10.78 Degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1030 mb
Humidity: 71 %

Science and Technology Log

Taking part in the 2009 Sea Scallop Survey has been an experience of a lifetime. I learned how to identify many different species of fish, to use the FSCS computer system, and the many sampling techniques that are involved in fisheries research. I met some incredible people that inspire me to continue volunteering whenever I can for the sake of scientific research. I am very familiar now with many jobs and careers that one can have working for NOAA. My students will be very excited to see all the photographs and data that were collected on this survey. I have planed numerous activities where my students will use the data collected in the sea scallop survey which will help prepare them for the New York Schools Regents Examination. Some research scientists that I have met have promised to come and speak to my classes and educate my students on the many careers that NOAA offers. My roommate Lollie Garay and I had such a remarkable time on the Hugh R. Sharp. Although we worked different shifts, we had a few hours each day to discuss some lesson plan ideas and share pictures with each other.

The watch team: (in order from left to right) Gary Pearson, Cristina Bascunan, Vic Nordahl, me, and A. J. Ward. — The watch team: (left to right) Gary Pearson, Cristina Bascunan, Vic Nordahl, me, and A. J. Ward.

I really enjoyed working with the night watch. My Watch Chief Geoff Shook really knows how to manage a team. He is full of information, patient, and extremely helpful. Cristina, Geoff, Steve, Glynn, A.J., and I really worked well together. The Chief Scientist Vic Nordahl is an amazing guy. He can multitask like no other person I have ever seen. He works on several different tasks at once while checking the data, and even making a little time for Lollie and me too! Kevin McIntosh is another incredible scientist. He and Vic are very busy running the Sea Scallop Survey but he also has made himself very available to Lollie and me whenever we have any questions. Kevin is always there to help with data and explain how different instruments work as well.

I really feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with such a great group of people. I will never forget it! I have taken so much away from this trip, and my students will appreciate all the new knowledge I will continue to share with them. I am very excited to be returning home tomorrow morning. We are expecting a 10-hour steam tonight and hopefully we will arrive in Lewes, Delaware around 6:00 AM. The last thing we have to do tonight is clean our stateroom and the labs. This is easy work compared with all the tows we are accustom to sorting and measuring.

May 18, 2009April 5, 2021

Elise Olivieri, May 18, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Elise Olivieri
Onboard Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp
May 9 – 20, 2009

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Northwest Atlantic
Date: May 18, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 10.44 Degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1020 mb
Humidity: 62 %

Science and Technology Log

Today was a great day. It was a little cooler than usual but many tasks were accomplished. I am now able to identify almost every species of fish that comes up in the dredge. I know how to run events and my night watch team works together in harmony. Everything ran so smoothly today, and I believe it is all due to the fact that we get along so well. I have become good friends with everyone on my watch and some day crew as well. Relationships are important when you’re living with all different people in close quarters.

I had a chance to talk with Steve Ellis today. He is a port agent for NOAA Fisheries North East Regional Office. He works with management plans and is a Fisheries Reporting Specialist. Port agents like Steve are stationed where major commercial activity is located. He works under the fisheries statistics office and monitors commercial fisheries landing in order to supply data for proper fisheries management. Steve tracks fishery events and maintains reporting requirements that operate in U.S. waters. This helps the government get quota for different species of fish along with their age and growth. This also becomes a part of our Gross National Product. Steve also helps interpret regulations and provides a link between fishermen and managers.

Glenn Rountree (left) and I sorting the animals in our buckets

I also got a chance to sit and talk with Glynn Rountree. He is a volunteer on this NOAA Sea Scallop Survey and he has been volunteering on many cruises since graduate school. So far he has been a volunteer on at least 50 cruises for the Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA. Glynn has a Master’s Degree in Oceanography and is very helpful in answering almost any question you have about various animals and fish. Glynn worked in research administration for 8 years, and now has a job with environmental regulation of home building. It is important to understand that you do not have to be a scientist to work in a science field. There are so many significant issues that will affect us directly that it is very important we stay educated on issues like global warming, climate change, and endangered species. We need more college students studying these issues not business administration.

Animals Seen Today

Windowpane Flounder, Fluke, Sea Cucumber, Gulf Stream Flounder, and Fourspot Flounder.

May 17, 2009April 5, 2021

Elise Olivieri, May 17, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Elise Olivieri
Onboard Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp
May 9 – 20, 2009

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Northwest Atlantic
Date: May 17, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 13.61 Degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1012 mb
Humidity: 97 %

Here you can see the many different sizes of sea scallops.

Science and Technology Log

So Far the sea scallop survey has collected 76,170 sea scallops which can also be expressed as 9,251 kilograms. This is a tremendous amount of scallops and the survey is not even a third of the way complete. At stations where crabs and starfish were sampled we have collected 8,678 cancer crabs and 279,768 starfish (Asterias) so far. Without a reliable database like FSCS it would be impossible to keep up with such a large amount of information.

Today I got a chance to talk with Shad Mahlum. He is a seagoing technician for NOAA and was born and raised in Montana. He has experience working with freshwater surveys. In the past years he has studied how beaver dams influence native and non-native species of freshwater fish. Shad also spent some time looking at various cattle grazing strategies and how they affect food chains. Shad loves working on the open ocean and the physical process of sea scallop surveys. Shad hopes to work with freshwater and saltwater projects in the future.

Here I am holding a scallop and a Red Hake.

As I was gazing out into the deep blue sea a very large animal caught my eye. I was so excited to see another Finback Whale. They are the second largest animal on earth after the Blue Whale. They are known to grow to more than 85 feet. Finbacks are indifferent to boats. They neither approach them nor avoid them. Finback Whales dive to depths of at least 755 feet. They can grow anywhere from 30-80 tons. Finbacks eat Krill, fish and squid and their population numbers are approximately 100,000 or more. The only threats Finbacks have are polluted waters. It is incredible to see such a large animal breaching out of the water. I will never forget it.

Animals Seen Today

Wrymouth Squid, Eelgrass Slug, Razor Clam, Lobsters, Green Sea Urchin, Macoma clam, Sea Stars (Asterias), Horseshoe Crab, Fourbeard Rockling, Palmate Sponge, Hermit Crab, Black Clam, Golden Star, Tunicate, Winter Flounder, Surf Clam, Yellowtail Flounder, and Sea Mouse.

May 16, 2009April 5, 2021

Elise Olivieri, May 16, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Elise Olivieri
Onboard Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp
May 9 – 20, 2009

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Northwest Atlantic
Date: May 16, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 12.33 Degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1022 mb
Humidity: 96%

Sorting through more sand dollars on a chilly, overcast day.

Science and Technology Log

Today we had some extremely large tows of sand dollars. Thirty-two baskets filled to the brim with sand dollars in one particular tow. It’s hard work when you have to sift through hundreds of thousands of sand dollars looking for little Cancer Crabs. Too bad they were not real dollars. Today I got the opportunity to sit with my Chief Scientist, Victor Nordahl. Although he is very busy he sits and talks with Lollie Garay and me daily about how we will implement all the information we are gathering into the classroom. Today was different; I got a chance to ask Vic about his demanding daily tasks, and his career. Vic is a Fishery Biologist. He has been working for NOAA’s NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) for 17 years. His main job is to standardize the shellfish surveys and maintain the gear. When he is not working on equipment like the dredge for example, he is performing a quality check on all the data that is collected.

In 2007, the NOAA Ship Albatross IV was retired, which was the vessel the sea scallop survey was always conducted on. This vessel had the old dredge which is similar to the new dredge. The new dredge has some modifications such as rollers on the goose neck to prevent digging into soft substrate. Another addition to the new dredge is the twine top which allows fish to escape easier that the old dredge. The equipment was very hard to come by for the old dredge, so this made repairs exceptionally difficult. With the new dredge there are some very fresh and innovative ideas. Vic plans to introduce a Habitat Camera which can take many overlaid digital pictures of scallops which will have a continuous stream of real-time data.

There are many advantages to this new method. The most important being the habitat camera would mean far less tows which is less intrusive and damaging to the habitat. With this habitat camera it would be possible to see an absolute abundance of sea scallops due to the fact you would be able to see approximately 90% of the sea floor, and have digital images on file as well. You would have to dredge much less to see three times more. This new technology is very promising and some steps will be given a test run on Leg 3 of the sea scallop survey a few months from now. I can’t wait to read all about how this new technology will improve the quality of sea scallop surveys.

Personal Log

Smallest to largest scallop on the FSCS board.

When you think about 2 weeks you do not think of it as being an extremely long amount of time. Well, when you’re on a ship for 2 weeks it can feel like a lot longer. I must say I miss my husband Alex very much. Regardless, I am so lucky to have the opportunity to work with scientists like Vic Nordahl and Kevin McIntosh.

During the summer I participate in a two year fellowship with Columbia University called The Summer Research Program for Science Teachers. This is a great program where NYC science teachers are working with state-of-the-art technology along side research scientists. We participate in and bring back to our classrooms the newest information on some groundbreaking research going on at the moment. This program has endless advantages. The networks created are for a lifetime, and teachers in the program get the chance to collaborate ideas and share lessons and tips with each other. There are speakers, seminars, and fieldtrips that inspire science teachers to go the extra mile to interest students in research science. Jay Dubner and Sam Silverstein run this incredible summer research program and I can’t wait to tell them all about the research I am taking part in and how the program inspired me to become a Teacher at Sea. During the summer 2009 I will continue working with Dr. Robert Newton at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory studying and sampling water at Piermont Marsh.

May 15, 2009April 5, 2021

Elise Olivieri, May 15, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Elise Olivieri
Onboard Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp
May 9 – 20, 2009

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Northwest Atlantic
Date: May 15, 2009

Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 14.50 Degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1026 mb
Humidity: 94%

Science and Technology Log

What a morning we had today. It was sand dollar heaven aboard the Hugh R. Sharp. At least 3 of our tows were filled with hundreds of thousands of sand dollars. My work on this Sea Scallop Survey is pretty regular now that I have the hang of it. The dredge goes down and scallops, cancer crabs, starfish, hermit crabs, sea sponges, sand dollars, and sea slugs come up. We manually sort through the catch and weigh and measure the fish, and sea scallops. Every third station we count all the cancer crabs and starfish. Depending on the strata, various stations require five sea scallops to be measured for age and growth and their shells are preserved for later lab work. This work is very important for maintaining a long term study. With FSCS all the data can be organized and used to draw conclusions about the overall health of areas along the Mid-Atlantic.

Today I got a chance to talk with Kevin McIntosh. He is on the day watch so I do not get a chance to work closely with him, but he is a great scientist. He is a Biological Science Technician and also plays several roles along different cruises. He is often a Chief Scientist, FSCS Administrator, and he specializes in combing over data, and auditing data. Sometimes he serves as Watch Chief. At the moment he is working on a Scallop Imaging Machine where scallops can be photographed which would reduce the manual work load of the scientists with even better data collection resources. There would be a record of every scallop collected which means sub-sampling would be obsolete. Kevin is also working on a team which is collaborating to create FSCS 2.0 capabilities. Some highlights of FSCS 2.0 include a GPS location where data can be automatically retrieved and stations can be programmed to display directions and sampling requests.

This would also cut the sampling time in half. You would be able to have all the stations’ information at your fingertips. These new improvements would also make data cleaner and easier to audit and help double check your work. Kevin works very hard. Every time I see him he is working on something new.

Personal Log

I really enjoy sitting and talking with the crew here on the Hugh R. Sharp. Everyone has so many great projects going on and new goals for fisheries research. I found out today many of the crew have served time in the military. I now have even more respect for them. Fisheries research is hard work and there is so much that goes into this research that is often ignored. Especially the long hours of manual labor and the time needed to plan out each stations sampling routine. Today the seas were rough again. When the boat is rolling all over the place it is very hard to walk from one place to another. I learned a new trick today. Always keep your knees bent in rough seas; it makes walking a lot easier. Looking at the horizon also helps one from becoming sick, at least for a little while.