Tag: Oscar Dyson

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Laura Guertin: NOAA and NOAA Fisheries, June 12, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Laura Guertin

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

June 10 – June 22, 2023


Mission: 2023 Summer Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Walleye Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska

Geographic Area of Cruise: Islands of Four Mountains area, Western Gulf of Alaska
Location (site of calibration, June 11): 57o 32.6154′ N, 153o 55.8318′ W

Data from 2PM (Alaska Time), June 11, 2023
Air Temperature: 8.29 oC
Water Temperature (mid-hull): 6.3oC
Wind Speed: 10.35 knots
Wind Direction: 166.14 degrees
Course Over Ground (COG): 222.34 degrees
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 0.13 knots

COG = The direction the ship is heading relative to land. Over Ground means in relation to the Earth, so COG means the true direction free from the effects of sea currents.
SOG = Speed, real progress with respect to Earth. SOG means the true speed free from the effects of sea currents.

Date: June 12, 2023

I am pretty sure that, on a daily basis, I mention NOAA in my classroom, during public outreach events, and in conversations with colleagues and neighbors. But too often, individuals are not aware of this government agency and the critical role NOAA plays in our lives, even for those that are not scientists. So this blog post is for everyone not familiar with the services NOAA provides us all, along with a focus on NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (aka “NOAA Fisheries”).

NOAA is an agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep the public informed of the changing environment around them. — from About our agency

The letters N-O-A-A stand for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce. NOAA has a fascinating history, going back to 1807 and President Thomas Jefferson founding America’s first physical science agency, the Survey of the Coast. Fast-forward to 1870, when the Weather Bureau was establshed as the first agency dedicated to the atmospheric sciences. In 1871, the first conservation agency, the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was in place. All three of these agencies were brought together in 1970 with the formation of NOAA. (*yes, NOAA recently celebrated its 50th anniversary! See this playlist of videos to learn even more about its history and the people of NOAA from over the years. There is an additional video that goes back to the original agency and mission of 1807.)

NOAA mission: To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. — from Our mission and vision

View this video for an overview of NOAA “meeting the moment.”

When I think of and hear “NOAA”, there are several terms/phrases that pop into my mind – science research, atmosphere, hydrosphere, weather and climate, health and safety, economy, conservation, sustainability, and so many more. The educational resources provided by NOAA are also valuable for additional background reading, citizen science opportunities, and multimedia materials (including podcasts!).

Quilt hanging on a wall with NOAA across the top and images that represent NOAA's areas of work

A STEAM Moment

I mentioned in my first blog post how I have a passion for and explore the integration of science and creative arts, specifically crafting via crocheting and quilting. To help others learn about the mission of NOAA and its key focus areas, I created a quilt to showcase NOAA’s work in research, weather, climate,  ocean & coasts, fisheries, charting, satellites,  marine & aviation, sanctuaries, and education. This quilt is just another tool in my education/outreach toolkit! To learn more about this quilt and to view a video, see this post.

NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries provides science-based conservation and management for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, marine mammals, endangered species and their habitats. — from Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service, is a NOAA office composed of five regional offices, six science centers, and more than 20 laboratories around the United States and U.S. territories. Working with additional partners, NOAA Fisheries achieves its two core mandates: (1) to ensure the productivity and sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities through science-based decision-making and compliance with regulations; and (2) to recover and conserve protected resources including whales, turtles, and salmon.

There are several NOAA websites and videos that showcase the history and work of this office. I recommend the NOAA Fisheries About Us page, History page, YouTube playlist of NOAA Fisheries videos, and especially this overview video:

The main Fisheries page on NOAA’s website has fascinating facts you can scroll through. For example, I did not know that the total area NOAA Fisheries is responsible for monitoring and enforcing regulations for marine fisheries is 4.4 million square miles! This area is the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world! And the Fisheries News & Announcements page is a wealth of articles, press releases, multimedia material and more that will soon become required reading for students in my courses, adding to the materials I already tap into on NOAA’s Climate.gov and NOAA’s Ocean Facts!

#TheMoreYouNOAA

NOAA has an incredible range of resources and materials that are constantly being updated and expanded upon. There is something for everyone! (*including on Twitter, where you will find individuals and organizations highlighting NOAA’s work with the hashtag #TheMoreYouNOAA)

I’ll end this post with one of the fun audio narratives from the NOAA Ocean podcast series, which details phrases we use today that came from the Age of Sail (the period of time between the 16th and 19th centuries, transcript available).

NOAA Ocean Podcast: Episode 29 – The Nautical Origins of 10 Popular Phrases

The Challenger mission – so much more than fish

The mission of H.M.S. Challenger 150+ years ago was not as developed as the statements for NOAA and NOAA Fisheries – terms such as ‘conservation’, ‘management’, and ‘sustainability’ were not part of the expedition. Challenger was all about collecting samples, whether those samples be seafloor mud, manganese modules, corals, crabs, and plant and animal life from the islands they visited over their 3-year journey. The six Challenger scientists were not concerned about aquatic systems or human/environment interactions – this really was a journey of discovery and documenting what exists in these unexplored areas. It took 50 volumes of the Challenger Report to describe what was seen and collected – including roughly 4,700 new plant and animal species!

For the fish samples collected at that time, the “Challenger fishes” were incorporated into the British Museum (of Natural History) collection. There were 688 specimens of shallow water, shore and miscellaneous estuarine and freshwater fishes; 261 deep-sea fishes; and 125 pelagic fishes. Some of the fish were then sent over to the National Museum of Ireland in 1899, including type specimens of sixteen species (*data on the Challenger fishes from Wheeler and O’Riordan, 1969).

Sketch of a deep-sea eel, a figure from the Challenger publication
A deep-sea eel, one of the many sketches from samples collected on the H.M.S. Challenger (image in the public domain, part of the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank)
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Laura Guertin: My Journey Begins on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, May 31, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Laura Guertin

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

June 10 – June 22, 2023


Mission: 2023 Summer Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Walleye Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska

Geographic Area of Cruise: Islands of Four Mountains area, Western Gulf of Alaska
Location (in port): 57o 47.0200′ N, 152o 25.5543′ W

Date: May 31, 2023

Not every educator has the amazing opportunity to volunteer with scientists on a NOAA ship. But in 2014, that opportunity became a reality for me when I joined NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson for a hydrographic survey in the Atlantic Ocean. Now my journey at sea with NOAA continues in 2023 as I head out on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson for an acoustic-trawl survey of walleye pollock populations in the Gulf of Alaska.

Ever since I was an undergraduate intern for two summers at NOAA Maine Operations Center – Atlantic in Norfolk, VA, I wanted to sail on a NOAA ship. The NOAA Teacher at Sea (TAS) program opened that door for me and has provided so much, from my own advancement of the science and technology used to map the ocean floor, to content and stories I share with students and at science outreach events for the public. Now as a TAS alumna, I can’t wait to see how much more I can learn, teach, and share from my latest ocean expedition with NOAA.

Photo of Laura Guertin on a boat on the Atlantic ocean
Offshore of Miami, Florida, where I went to graduate school (University of Miami – Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science)

I’m a college professor, teaching introductory-level earth science courses primarily for non-STEM majors at Penn State Brandywine in Media, Pennsylvania. I am dedicated to not only helping my students build their science literacy but also seeing the relevance of why and how science matters in their present and future lives. My research has involved using technology tools to enhance student learning of geoscience content, with my current work focusing on having students produce audio narratives (or “podcasts”).

Photo of Laura Guertin with RDML Gallaudet standing in front of flags in DC office
RDML Gallaudet and I in his office in Washington DC

I also blog for the American Geophysical Union (AGU) about educational technology, pedagogy, and science communication on my blog GeoEd Trek. I’ve dedicated several posts on NOAA and its programs and resources . But it was my blog post A New Year’s resolution: help the public learn about NOAA (December 30, 2017) that caught the attention of RDML Tim Gallaudet, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at that time. He was kind enough to invite me to his office in Washington DC to thank me for the post – and, naturally, I wrote up a blog post about the visit and our conversation! That visit has been “the” highlight of all my NOAA experiences! (*see A conversation about science communication with NOAA’s RDML Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D. (March 13, 2018))

Heading back out to sea with NOAA in 2023 is special for so many reasons. Life for all of us was disrupted in March 2020 – the COVID pandemic has been long and hard. My teaching and research has had so many twists and turns, and I still don’t know how everything will be moving forward. Getting out to sea on my first-ever fisheries expedition is not just exciting for me, but it has been heartwarming to see how many of my students and colleagues are sending me messages and looking forward to frequent updates! In a way, I’m taking so many people out to sea with me, and I’m going to work so hard to make this an informative and thrilling adventure for us all!

Photo of book cover, Endless Novelties of Extraordinary Interest - The Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger and the Birth of Modern Oceanography
Cover photo of Macdougall’s book on the Challenger expedition

Last year (2022) was a notable year for the field of oceanography. It was the 150-year celebration of when the H.M.S. Challenger set sail to collect meteorological and oceanographic data ranging from deep sea soundings and temperatures to biological samples. Although there were several ships that went out on scientific expeditions prior to 1872, the Challenger expedition (from 1872-1876) is the one credited as giving rise to the field of oceanography – and it’s interesting that before 1872, the term “oceanography” didn’t even exist in any dictionaries! I read the book Endless Novelties of Extraordinary Interest: The Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger and the Birth of Modern Oceanography by Doug Macdougall, and I couldn’t help but make connections between the methods of oceanographic research back at the time of Challenger versus today. Keep a look out for many comparisons between the work and logistics of Challenger to my experiences on Oscar Dyson in my upcoming blog posts – no doubt I will be sharing some current items of “extraordinary interest!”

I’m also looking forward to continuing to explore the intersections of science and art (STEAM) can be used to engage audiences and to communicate science data. I like to crochet temperature data and use these temperature records created in yarn for teaching and outreach (it is similar to the amazing work of The Tempestry Project!). While on board Oscar Dyson, I’ll not only be exploring under the sea but looking up towards the sky as my atmospheric observations will inform my Stitch the Sky project! Stay tuned for a future blog post to follow along and/or to create your own data visualization for your location.

*If you are interested in reading about my first TAS experience on NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, here are direct links to those blog posts:

Photo of Laura Guertin in front of the hull of the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson
NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson (at Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, 2014)
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Phil Moorhouse: The Rest of the Story, September 22, 2019

airport meal

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Phil Moorhouse

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

August 27, 2019 – September 15, 2019


Mission: Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations.

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak – Aleutian Islands)

Date: September 22, 2019


Weather Data from Richmond, Virginia

Latitude: 37 44.36 N
Longitude: 77 58.26 W
Wind Speed: 5 knots
Wind Direction: 195 degrees
Air Temperature: 31 C
Barometric Pressure: 1018 mBar
Sky:  Clear

Conclusion

Wow, it’s hard to believe that my time on the waters of Alaska aboard the Oscar Dyson are over.  It was an experience I will never forget.  I just hope that I can instill in my students the idea that all kinds of things are possible when you follow your interests. 

It has taken me several days to reacclimatize to life on land.  Standing in front of my class, I have caught myself swaying.  It also took several days to readjust my sleep schedule.  (I don’t get rocked to sleep anymore and my hours are completely different.)

There were so many things I will miss and never forget: all of the unique experiences and sights I got to see, starting with my side trip to Barrow and swimming in the Arctic Ocean before the start of the expedition, getting to explore some of Kodiak before we left port, all of the open sea and species that were part of the random samples, the little coves we snuck into when storms were approaching, getting a “close-up” of the Pavlof volcano, and getting to explore the native land around Dutch Harbor where we were able to watch Salmon spawning and Bald Eagles doing their thing. 

  • Arctic Ocean swimming partners
  • Spires marking the opening of Castle Bay where we hid out from the storm.
  • Pavlof Volcano and Pavlof’s Sister
  • Shelikof Strait
  • Bald Eagle fishing near Dutch Harbor
  • Bald Eagles were common site. This one perched on a Russian Orthodox Steeple.

It was also interesting talking to and learning from the ship crew.  There are some interesting stories there about how they got to NOAA and what they have experienced since then.

  • Oscar Dyson crew preparing the nets for the next trawl.
  • Survey crew, Megan Shapiro checking out a smooth lumpsucker.
  • Ensign Lexee Andonian and 1AE Alan Currie managing the trawling equipment off the ship stern.
  • Survey Chief Phil White and Megan Shapiro monitoring the trawl nets in the water.
  • Engineer crewmember Gavan Roddey showing me the water purification system.
  • Scientists and Survey Crew working together.

At the top of the list though would have to be the connections I made with the scientists I spent almost three weeks with.  Being able to go out into the field with them and talking about what they have seen and learned over years of research has really reenergized my love for science in general.  Starting my shift looking forward to seeing what each Bongo station would bring up or what each trawl would bring to the sorting table, made for an expedition that went much too quickly.  It was interesting listening to my fellow scientists comparing how the numbers and ages of pollock caught at the various stations compared to what they had found in the Spring and in previous years. 

airport meal
The science crew all had the chance for one last meal together at the Anchorage airport before parting ways. I am very thankful for being accepted so well and for everything I have learned.

Overall, this has been an experience I will never forget.  I have learned so much about Alaska, the ocean, marine species, global warming, and scientific technology.  My time as a Teacher at Sea aboard the Oscar Dyson is something I will never forget and hope I can pass the excitement and experiences on to my students.

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Emily Cilli-Turner: One Fish, Two Fish….Pollock Counting Techniques July 29, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Emily Cilli-Turner

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

July 24 – August 11, 2018

 

Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Bering Sea

Date: July 29, 2018

 

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 57° 10.46 N

Longitude: 171° 58.29 W

Wind Speed: 11.16 knots

Wind Direction: 77.54° (NW)

Air Temperature: 10.1° C (Manual Reading from the Bridge)

Barometric Pressure: 992.7 mb

Visibility: 6 nautical miles

Sea Wave Height: 3 feet

Sky: Overcast

 

Science Log:

How do the scientists aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson estimate the number and biomass of pollock in the Eastern Bering Sea? By using the science of statistics, of course! When political strategists want to determine what percentage of voters support a specific candidate or issue, they take a sample from the population of all registered voters. Voters in this sample are then asked about their preferences and statistical techniques are employed to extrapolate the results from the sample to the entire population and measure the margin of error.  Similar statistical techniques are employed by the scientists on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, but as you can imagine it is more difficult to sample pollock than voters that can be called on the phone!

Before each pollock survey begins, a set of transects is created for the Eastern Bering Sea.  These transects are paths for the ship to follow along which the scientists sample the pollock.  As you can see below, the transects for this survey are a fixed distance apart and cover the entire area of interest.  Generally, the transects are straight lines created to be perpendicular to the ocean depth grade. This allows for the scientists to encounter a variety of species as well as different ages of pollock to gain a robust picture of the ocean life in the area.

transect
The transects for this survey leg can be seen as the straight lines. The other markings are places where the trawls have been done and other scientific instruments have been deployed.

The NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson follows the transects during daylight hours, continuously recording water column acoustic backscatter data using EK60 instruments mounted on the bottom of the centerboard.  Scientists monitor the backscatter images, and when they observe sufficient pollock or other fish aggregations they  use the trawling nets to take a random sample of the fish and other ocean life they observed.  The trawling net is 140 m long with a vertical mouth opening of 25 m and horizontal mouth opening of 35 m. The net is deployed from the back of the ship and dragged at a fixed depth for an amount of time determine by the lead scientist to ensure a large enough sample. Once the trawling net is hauled in, the sample of marine fish and invertebrates is processed in the wet lab and entered into a database. Later the pollock numbers and weights by length are combined with  recorded acoustic data to create a robust estimate of the pollock population in the Eastern Bering Sea.

View of trawling nets being hauled in from the bridge.
View of trawling nets being hauled in from the deck.

After the catch comes in, the first job in processing the sample is to sort the specimens from the trawling net.  The first part of the net to come in is called the pocket net. This small net, also called a recapture net,  has a fine mesh and is designed to capture small species such as krill, age 0 pollock and jellyfish which slip through the meshes of the large trawl.  After the pocket net is processed, we process the codend, the closed end of the net and the main section where larger fish enter and are captured.  The fish in the codend are sorted by species.  The scientists can choose to measure the length of all the pollock in the haul or, if it is a particularly large catch, split the haul and measure length of a subsample of pollock.  Other species are also identified and their length is measured for later estimates of the total biomass that pollock make up as compared to other species.  Smaller species such as krill are weighed in aggregate instead of individually.

codend
The codend of the trawling net.

Sample analysis consists of measuring the lengths of approximately 200-400 adult pollock in the catch using the magnetic length board.  This is just one of the numerous software and instruments created by the MACE (Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering) group at NOAA in Seattle to make analysis easier and more automated.  The length distribution of the adult pollock helps scientists determine the approximate age distribution of pollock in the sample and it also helps them compare this distribution to other samples taken in the Eastern Bering Sea.  A subsample of about 50 pollock from the haul is taken to get more in-depth measurements. From these pollock, we measure both the length and weight and a subsample from the 50 is taken to determine the gender, measure maturity (i.e. what stage in the life cycle the pollock is at), and collect the otolith (ear bone), which gives a more accurate measurement of the pollock’s age.

TAS Emily Cilli-Turner
measuring the length of pollock from a haul.

Personal Log:

At this point, I am getting used to life at sea and have a nice routine.  The beginning of my shift, from 4am to a little past 7am, starts at sunrise and during which we resume our path along the transect.  No trawling operations are conducted at night, but there is still excitement.  If the underwater acoustics show that the pollock are at an appropriate depth, we can go pole fishing off the boat.  NOAA scientist Mike Levine is interested in post-capture mortality of pollock and the feasibility of tagging pollock.  Thus, he would like to catch pollock using a fishing pole, which puts much less stress on the pollock and increases the chance of their survival after the catch, instead of the trawling nets.

fishing
NOAA scientist Mike Levine with a pollock caught with a fishing pole.

As an instructor of mathematics, I have little knowledge of fish biology, but the scientists are great teachers!  I have been given a crash course on fish anatomy using specimens from the catch and I have learned how to sex the fish as well as how to collect the ovaries and the otoliths (ear bones).  If you asked me a week ago if I ever thought I would know so much about pollock after just a couple days on board, I would have laughed.  It has been great being the student and being able to learn so much in such a short time with real hands-on experience!

Did You Know?

Most of the personnel that are responsible for piloting and maintaining the ship are part of NOAA Corps, which is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.

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Emily Cilli-Turner: Getting Ready for an Adventure! July 22, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Emily Cilli-Turner

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

July 25 – August 15, 2018

Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Dutch Harbor, Alaska

Date: July 15, 2018

Personal Introduction:

Olympic Mountains
Hiking in the Olympic Mountains near Seattle, WA

Hello!  My name is Emily Cilli-Turner and I will be aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson as a participant in the 2018 NOAA Teacher at Sea program.  I am Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of La Verne in La Verne, California where I teach the entire undergraduate curriculum in mathematics.  This will be my sixth year teaching full-time. My bachelor’s degree in mathematics is from Colorado State University and I received my doctorate from University of Illinois at Chicago, where I specialized in undergraduate mathematics education.  I am especially interest in the transition students make when they enter a proof-based course and how to best acclimate them to the abstract and non-formulaic nature of proving.

I am passionate about math and science education and excited to use the data collected from my time on the ship to create real-world applications problems for my students.  I will be teaching Calculus I and II next semester and I plan to use the data gained from my experience to teach my students about concepts such as rates of change and statistical techniques.

I have a strong love for the ocean and so I am excited to be on the water for so long. I am transitioning to California after living in Washington, where I co-owned a 23-foot sailboat with some friends.  We often would sail to different islands and ports on Puget Sound, which was always a blast. When I am not teaching or sailing, I enjoy walking my dog, hiking and reading!

On a boat
TAS Emily Cilli-Turner on her boat in the Puget Sound

Personal Log

In about a week, I will fly to Dutch Harbor, Alaska to board the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson and participate in the Alaska Pollock counting survey.  Before receiving this placement, I have never really heard of Pollock, but after researching it I realized it is an amazing fish! Pollock can easily taste like other fish and is often used for imitation crab amongst other things.

I am also really excited to meet the scientists and the crew.  The reason I know about the Teacher at Sea program is that I have a friend that works at NOAA in Seattle.  I mentioned offhandedly that I would love to go out on a NOAA cruise and she said, “Well…they do have the Teacher at Sea program.”  I was immediately intrigued and I wrote my application as soon as it was available. As a person who is passionate about education and the ocean, the Teacher at Sea program is a great fit for me and I know I will learn a lot that I can take back to my students. Hopefully, I can also inspire them to seek out a career with NOAA.

Did You Know?

Pollock eat crabs, shrimp and small fish.