phytoplankton – Page 14 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

April 28, 2005March 18, 2021

Jim Jenkins, April 28, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 28, 2005

Waves and an ice floe on the Bering Sea.

Weather Data

Latitude: 57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility: 8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed: 17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height: 4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature: 4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy

Science and Technology Log

The past two days have been 12-hour workdays helping to do CTD tests. This involves putting an instrument into the water to measure the salinity, temperature and depth of the water in specific locations. All the data collected is stored in a computer file so that scientists can look at data the data for analysis. I have an experiment that I would like you to try to see how salinity influences oceans. First, mix up some water with varying levels of salinity.

You could do this by putting 1 teaspoon of salt in 100 ML of water, 2 teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water, 3 teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water and four teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water. It would be a good idea to color these with a drop or two of the same color of food coloring. Label the cups and put them in order, least to greatest amount of salt. Now, fill four cups with 100 ML of fresh water. It would be a good idea to put a drop or two of food coloring in these samples also. Make sure to pick a color that is different than the color used for the saltwater samples. Gently pour the fresh water samples down the side of the container into the saltwater samples and record your observations. You may notice that the fresh water stays on top of the salt water because the salt water has a greater density than the fresh water. You are now on your way to understanding part of what CTD tests are all about. That is, saltier water tends to sink toward the bottom of the ocean while fresher water tends to be at the surface of the ocean.

You now may want to experiment with changing the temperatures of your specimens and recording your observations and thoughts. Your observations may lead you to conclude that colder water tends to sink while warmer water tends to rise. Understanding this will put you well on your way to understanding characteristics of seawater due to salt and temperature differences that are the basis of CTD tests.

Do you remember our discussion of the Walleye Pollock? You may remember that larva for the Pollock are in seawater and are influenced by currents which may transport the larva, or bring food to the larva. The rise and fall of water due to temperature and salinity differences causes some of the currents that transport larva, or bring food to the larva through upwelling. Understanding how oceans circulate because of salinity and temperature differences and how this circulation influences ocean life is the basis of the measurements collected by CTD tests. Please let me know how your experiments go. What are your observations and questions?

Yesterday, the ship was close to an island and lots of birds were following the ship or playing around the ship. I spent some time on the bridge looking at the birds through binoculars and reading about them in a bird book kept on the bridge. Let me tell you about a few of the more interesting birds I saw.

The most interesting bird to me was a brown bird that resembled a puffin in some ways. These birds tended to be in front of the ship. The spent a lot of time flying, then would plop down into the sea to rest for a while. They are great floaters and bobbed well in the 8-foot swell waves. This bird is called the Northern Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis). What do you think of the species name?

The Northern Fulmar has had a habit of following whaling ships to feed on offal or blubber thrown over the side. A second bird, a gull, was larger and largely white. This bird, the Glaucous Gull, is also known as, “Chief magistrate of the North,” because of some of its more peculiar habits. It has a habit of feeding on the eggs and unattended young of other birds. Its most curious habit is its tendency to confront a bird called and Eider which it forces to disgorge what it has eaten so that the Glaucous Gull can enjoy a good meal! What do you think of this?

Finally, the Laysan Albatross was a beautiful bird with a wonderful combination of straight edges and curves in its wings. This bird is an incredibly graceful flyer. Sailors and Pacific Islanders often refer to it as a “Gooney Bird.” This albatross feeds mainly on squid and tends to live in the open ocean, well away from shore. You might want to ask you parents about the albatross. They are likely to tell you some great stories and even entertain you with a few lines of a poem they know!

Yesterday, a notation in the logbook read, “Confused Seas.” Looking at the sea from the height of the bridge made this seem an apt description. Waves were bumping into other waves in locations causing sections of the ocean to be in churning turmoil. I noticed that the ocean waves caused by local winds were in the 1-2 foot range. Larger waves, or swell waves, were in the 8-foot range. Discussion with the officers on deck helped me to understand that swell waves, like regular waves are generally caused by wind. The winds causing the swell waves tend to be further away, however. In fact, the swell waves coming to us yesterday might be the result of winds causing waves in the water as far away as Japan. I think you might enjoy looking at a globe to fully appreciate this phenomenon.

Personal Log

We are in transit today and a due to reach the site of a marine mammal mooring to be recovered tomorrow morning. It is nice to have the time to write logs and replies to you guys at a more leisurely pace.

Last night, I learned something about myself. Did you know that I smell, “greater than a toothpick and that I smell like a tree?” I thought that you would appreciate this description brought to you by 5-year-old Sam Jenkins!

Question(s) of the Day: Which whale is capable of the deepest dive? Which whale can hold its breath the longest? How are the Gray Whale’s feeding habits different than the habits of other whales? (A great resource: http://cetus.ucsd.edu) Mrs. English may be able to help you with other good web resources. It would also be a great idea to visit Mrs. Griffith in the library!

April 26, 2005March 18, 2021

Jim Jenkins, April 26, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 26, 2005

Here you can see the heavy chain that keeps Peggy the Mooring in place.

Weather Data

Science and Technology Log

I am going to leave out cloud cover today. Can you look at the data above and fill in the space for cloud cover? I think you may also be able to know what current weather conditions are for today. Did you get the photos of the mooring, chain and cable which were covered with barnacles, brittle stars, worms, starfish and bivalves? I thought these were pretty interesting and spent some time yesterday looking carefully at the photos to see what was identifiable.

By the way, the barnacle and associated organisms I am holding up in one of the photos are now in a jar which is wrapped in bubble wrap and inserted in a zip lock bag. I am thinking that we will put it in a mesh bag and hang it from a tree limb to dry once I get back to school.

Yesterday, after dinner, I spent a long time talking with Mr. Rick Miller a mechanical engineer who has helped to design a lot of the moorings we are deploying or recovering on this cruise. Mr. Miller has an absolute passion for his work and I think he said a lot of things that you are going to find extremely interesting.

The mooring named Peggy was partly designed by Mr. Miller. Do you remember that the top part of the mooring weighed 5,600 pounds? You may be surprised to learn that the anchor and the chain holding Peggy to the ocean floor also weigh 5,600 pounds. Mr. Miller went on to say that winds in the Bering Sea can be quite ferocious. Long ago, engineers learned that a mooring with too much weight holding it to the ocean floor is not a good thing; the wind will simply blow the mooring over and push it below the water. This would prevent transmission of data that comes from the tower which is supposed to be above the water.

The fact that the anchor and chain for Peggy is the same weight as the surface part makes it possible for the anchor to move slightly when pulled on in a gale. This keeps the mooring above water and close to the location in which it was dropped!

A second interesting design feature was made more interesting after looking at the barnacle cover on the mooring brought up yesterday. Mr. Miller and his team looked at the history of barnacle cover on submerged instruments in the Bering Sea and calculated that a half ton of barnacles would likely cover the underside of Peggy the Mooring within a 6-month period. To counter this, they painted the bottom of the floating piece with a paint which repels barnacles and sea life that might attach to the surface. What do you think might have happened if the surface had not been treated and the expected half ton of barnacles accumulated?

Chains used by NOAA to anchor moorings are tested so that each link is capable of holding a 42,000-pound weight. This would be strong enough to pick up approximately 20 of the cars that I drive to school each day. This seems plenty strong to counter the weight of a mooring in even the strongest wind, or current, doesn’t it?

Mr. Miller was very surprised, as were a lot of scientists and engineers, when they came out to pick up moorings anchored with this chain and found them missing. The breakthrough came when they recovered a link of a chain that was broken! They took the chain to a metallurgist (a scientist who studies metals). The metallurgist discovered that the fact that NOAA chains were heat-treated tended to form a strong crystal lattice in the metal. Hydrogen atoms had a tendency to get trapped in this lattice. The hydrogen expanded and forced a crack in the metal. A force much less than 42,000 pounds was then able to break the chain.

The solution: NOAA chains are still tested to be able to hold 42,000 pounds, but they are NOT heat-treated. No problems with broken chains have been noted since this change.

I think Mr. Miller summed up his thoughts about design well with this statement: “Overall strength is not the answer to all problems. The key to success is to design to the requirements of the project.”

You may want to spend some time discussing the above statement with your classmates. I think that there is a lot of wisdom in these words.

A lot of time was spent today doing CTD tests. You probably already know this because all of the pictures sent today related to CTD tests. The tests took a bit longer than usual because all of the tests were at a depth of about 1,500 meters.

Personal Log

I think that Mr. Miller is an outstanding human being, in addition to being an outstanding engineer and scientist. Let me know what you think after reading the words he spoke in response to my request for a comment to some bright fifth graders in Purcellville, Virginia:

“Encourage them to go into a field for which they have a passion. I would urge them to go into something that makes them smile when they think about it. I would encourage going into something with which you can have fun. Having fun has nothing to do with being easy. Challenges are fun.

Encourage them to keep life fun, and not be too heavy with life.

Remember that there are things equally important as academic endeavors. Remember to be good stewards of the planet.

Encourage them to think about outcomes which are up to the individual.”

I leave you now to contemplate Mr. Miller’s words. Have a great evening. I look forward to talking with you tomorrow.

Question of the day: An instrument descends to a depth of 1,500 Meters at a speed of 50 meters per minute. How long does it need to travel the 1,500 meters?

April 23, 2005March 18, 2021

Jim Jenkins, April 23, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 23, 2005

Mr. Jenkins helps to retrieve a Calvets net

Weather Data

Science and Technology Log

Get the microscopes ready!

Early this morning, I helped out with dropping and pulling up Calvets nets. These nets collect fish eggs and other small life forms from the sea. Specimens collected are put in jars, preserved with formaldehyde and sent to labs for analysis. This is a quantitative sample, meaning that each test is designed to get a good idea of the amount of fish eggs in a specific amount of water. In this case, the test measures eggs in a 100 cubic meter area. Specimens are filtered through a screen to eliminate most of the water. Screens are then rinsed to make sure all the netted material goes into the specimen bottle.

You can see how big Peggy the Mooring is with Mr. Jenkins standing in front of it!

Knowledge of the amount of fish eggs present in water can help make predictions about the health of fish populations. It can also help fishermen plan for the future. This morning we ran an extra test and I collected the contents of the net to bring back to Mountain View Elementary. There were a lot of copepods and some tiny worms visible to the naked eye in our specimen. Other portions of the collected specimen were squirming with life, but I could not make them out with just my eye. Let’s make looking at this specimen under the microscope the first activity that we do when I return to school.

The mooring named Peggy that I wrote you about earlier went into the water this morning. This was a complicated procedure. A couple of hours were spent “building” a chain with all the instruments which hang down to the bottom below this mooring, All of the instruments needed to be bolted to specific lengths of chain with shackles. The assembly was done according to a diagram drawn in Seattle. The total length of all the chains and instruments joined together was 67 meters long. Instruments used to gather data on temperature, salinity and nitrate levels at various depths were attached.

Once the chain was assembled, the whole assembly was lowered into the ocean as the times that each instrument hit the water were recorded. One end of the chain was joined with a shackle to the mooring and it is ALMOST ready to go Peggy, the mooring, is so big that it was a complicated job to get it into the water. Two winches, several rope lines, a lot of communication and thinking were necessary to get it into the sea. About an hour after the process began, Peggy touched down lightly in the sea. A big cheer went up from everyone on the deck!

Finally, the anchor needed to be attached to the bottom of the chain and dropped into the water. In this case, the anchor was not the railway wheels that you have heard about so often. This anchor resembled half of a Tootsie Roll Pop lying round side up and it was bright yellow. The exterior was made of concrete. A big mooring needs a big anchor! The anchor for Peggy weighed in at 5,000 pounds! (This is equivalent to 2 and one-half small cars).

How did an anchor this big get from the deck into the water? Again, it took considerable thinking and communication between deck hands and scientists. Communication between people on the deck and officers on the bridge was also extremely important so that the ship was in the right location. The cooperation, thinking and communicating paid off. Finally, Peggy the mooring, settled into the sea!

I took many photographs of the process of putting the mooing into the sea as well as a farewell photograph as the ship pulled away. These will be sent to you later today and will be there by Monday when you return to school.

By the way, another small mooring was put in right after lunch. Now we have an 18hour transit before reaching the site of deployment of the marine mammal listening device brought up by Chris Garsha and Lisa Munger that we discussed earlier.

Personal Log

I hope you guys had a great weekend!

Did you receive the photo of Rusty the ship’s cat? Well, I also sent copy of the photo to my home. My wife, Chantel, just wrote to advise that our son, Sam, climbed up in her lap when he saw the photo on the computer screen to give a big kiss to both his dad and to Rusty. Needless to say, this was a heartwarming message for me!

Question of the Day: What is at the center of the yellow concrete anchor used for the mooring named Peggy? (Hint: Reading previous logs might help you with this answer.) This “easy as candy” question comes to you in honor of the weekend! (Very Big Grin!)

April 22, 2005March 18, 2021

Jim Jenkins, April 22, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 22, 2005

Weather Data

Latitude: 56, 28, 22 N
Longitude: 160, 35, 21 W
Cloud Cover: Cloudy
Visibility: 6 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 164
Wind Speed: 20 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 3-4 Feet
Swell Wave Height: 2-3 Feet
Sea Water Temperature: 2.4 Degrees C
Barometric Pressure: 1011 MB

Science and Technology Log

How is visibility determined? This was the question I posed to Ensign Mandy Goeller. Her answer was that the distance is 10 nautical miles if the viewer can see the horizon. Distance may also be ascertained if another vessel shows up on radar and can also be seen with the eye. Finally, there is a degree of intuitive thought based on experience when writing visibility in a ships log.

A CTD cast was done this morning. This involves having a winch lower a huge instrument (about the size of motorcycle) into the water until it is almost resting on the bottom. Salinity, temperature and density readings are done on the way down for the instrument. Readings done on the way up would involve taking readings on water which has been disturbed by the passage of the instrument.

This morning’s reading was done for the benefit of The Kodiak Crab Lab (I bet you like that name!) in Kodiak, Alaska. One of the problems for king crab fishermen is that king crabs do not like to inhabit bands of cold water that stream through sections of the Bering Sea. Fishermen armed with knowledge of the location of these cold streams will likely not waste time, fuel and labor trying to catch crabs when the crabs are probably not going to be in the cold streams. NOAA is trying to help by supplying knowledge.

Retrieval of a mooring was scheduled for this morning. The boat arrived at the latitude and longitude at which the mooring was dropped off. A hydrophone (listening device attached to an electrical cord) was dropped into the water to listen for the device after a NOAA scientist sent it a signal to “wake up” and respond with a signal so that it could be located. The plan was to have an “acoustic release” sent to the mooring when it could be located. This signal would cause a metal latch located just above the anchor to open so that the mooring could rise to the surface, be spotted and be recovered. Unfortunately, the mooring never sent a signal. The acoustic release signal was sent but the mooring did not pop to the surface as planned. The mooring appears to be lost! I think it would be good to remember this the next time things do not go exactly as planned in our daily lives. Sometimes in science, as in all areas of human endeavor, things just do not go as planned.

The location of the lost mooring remains on file. Maybe it will be found in the future. Meanwhile, a mooring scheduled to be placed within a one third mile distance from the lost mooring was deployed as planned.

A second mooring was recovered as planned later in the day. This one was covered with huge barnacles and had a few life forms holding onto its surface. I took a few photographs of tiny crabs and worms which were found on this mooring. I held the crabs and worm in my hand for photographing so that you would have an idea of their size. I am thinking all the research you did on crabs before the trip may make it possible for you to identify the crab. Identifying the worm could be fun for someone!

Speaking of photos, I sent a number of photos to you today. Earlier, I had a problem with the size of files being too large to be sent by satellite to you. Please let me know what you think about the photographs.

Personal Log

I had breakfast this morning with Shawn Bowman, a young man wearing a Kings Point rugby shirt. Our conversation turned to rugby and I talked about one of our neighbors, Tom Levac, who is a student at The Merchant Marine Academy and also a rugby player. It turns out that Shawn is a graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy and played rugby with Tom. It is indeed a small world, isn’t it?

Had some time this morning just to walk around the deck and enjoy the beauty of the snow-capped peaks gracing coastal Alaska. This was a scene so beautiful that it was almost painful (You may not understand this at your stage in your life, but I bet that your parents will be able to tell you of a similar place. I was surprised when the people I was talking with when I described the beauty as being almost painful indicated that this was also the way they felt about thisplace.) I very much hope that each of you will be able to visit this sparse, pristine, rugged and eternally beautiful part of the world. Lt. Miller had his binoculars out looking for walrus on the shoreline this morning. There were none to be seen today. Maybe tomorrow?!

Question of the day: When are you guys going to send an e-mail!!!! (Very Big Grin!)

April 20, 2005March 18, 2021

Jim Jenkins, April 20, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 20, 2005

Weather Data

Science and Technology Log

You might want to begin by comparing yesterday’s barometric pressure (1002.8 millibars) to today’s pressure (1011.1 millibars). Knowing that a rising barometric pressure is an indication of good weather would give you an idea of the weather that we are enjoying right now. It is bright, sunny and warm for this part of the world. Last night, there was another indication that the weather today would be nice when I looked out the porthole to see a lot of pink in the sky just before I went to bed. Do you remember the saying, “Red sky at night, sailors delight?” Do you think this applies also to reddish shades of pink?

Sarah Thornton sits beside the instrument used to measure nitrate levels in the ocean. (The cylindrical device in the lower right of the photo.)

Tomorrow, the phrase, “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning,” may apply! Matt Faber, Ordinary Fisherman, on the Miller Freeman is sitting across from me reading the paper as I type. Matt advises that we are expecting a drop in the barometric pressure tomorrow of about 10 millibars to around 1000.00 millibars. What do you think this means about tomorrow’s weather? If you predict that the weather will change dramatically you are correct. In fact, Matt notes that we are expecting high winds tomorrow. Winds are projected to come from the east at 35 knots per hour. Sea wave height will probably be 6 to 8 feet high. This is quite a change from today’s one-foot sea wave height, isn’t it?

I asked Matt about his experiences in rough weather at sea. He told me of a trip in February of this year when the sea wave height was in the 20-30 foot range. (This would make some waves higher than Mountain View School Elementary School!) Matt advises that the best strategy for these conditions is to “hang on,” and “put up a rail on your bed so that you do not fall out of bed at night.” I am taking his advice on these things as well as his advice to visit the ship’s doctor to get some medicine to prevent seasickness!

This is the operations officer Lt Miller. He knows a lot about marine geology. What are your questions about rocks, earthquakes, volcanoes, faults, trenches, tsunamis......? — This is the operations officer Lt Miller. He knows a lot about marine geology. What are your questions about rocks, earthquakes, volcanoes, faults, trenches, tsunamis……?

Visiting the bridge to get the data needed to start my journals to you is becoming a great opportunity. Do you remember the story of seeing a killer whale on my first trip to the bridge to collect data? Well, today I got another surprise! The operations officer, Lt. Mark Miller, called me over to look at a volcano that was spewing smoke. The view through the binoculars was stupendous! Unfortunately, the distance and the conditions did not make it possible to get a good photograph. By the way, the name of the volcano is Shishalden. It is on Unimak Island. This may be a great topic for research for some of you. I am looking forward to having the time to research this myself when I return home.

Today, I have talked with Sarah Thornton, a scientist from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Sarah is here to deploy an instrument that measures the nutrients in seawater that feed all ocean life. In the past, sampling involved traveling to a location, taking a water sample, and then taking it back to the lab for analysis. Sarah’s instrument collects the data as it sits beneath the surface of the ocean. Sarah will come back in 6 months from the time she drops it off to pick it up. The instrument will then have 6 months of data which will be available to lots of people studying food chains in the sea.

This is the library where most of the logs to you are typed. The computer is put away right now so that it does not fall off the table with rolls of the ship. I am writing from "Data Plot" where computers are bolted down. — This is the library where most of the logs to you are typed. The computer is put away so that it does not fall with rolls of the ship. I am writing from “Data Plot” where computers are bolted down.

Sarah’s instrument will be placed below the large yellow doughnut centered mooring that I described on day one. ISUS is the name for Sarah’s instrument. The letters stand for In-Situ (Latin for “In Place) Spectrophotometric Underwater Sensor. The words are complicated, but the idea is not as complicated. Put simply, an ultraviolet light is sent through sea water. Different substances in the water absorb light at very specific frequencies. Nitrate, the primary food for phytoplankton, also absorbs light at a very specific wavelength. This enables data on nitrate level to be recorded. As noted earlier, Sarah will be able to take six months of nitrate level testing back to labs for analysis when she comes back to pick up her instrument next September or October. Scientists can then look at the nitrate levels to see how well fish populations will be fed in the future. Good nitrate levels mean that the fish will be well fed and plentiful. Lower nitrate levels may mean problems for fish and for fishermen.

I assumed that ISUS would be placed close to the surface where the sun’s rays were able to penetrate to start photosynthesis. I was a little surprised to learn that the instruments are typically placed at a depth of only thirteen meters. Can you think of a reason for this depth? If you guessed that they placed at this depth to avoid problems with ice, boat traffic and weather, you are exactly right.

Light penetration in the Bering Sea may be common at 40 meter depths under some conditions. Sediment in the water or a lot of phytoplankton in the water may lessen light penetration, however. And there is measurable amount of light at 100 meters in some parts of the Bering Sea. Do you think the 13 meter depth of the instrument is logical in light of all you know?

Personal Log

I am going to send a photo of my stateroom today. It occurs to me that you might find this interesting. The room is about 12 feet X 12 feet. It is divided diagonally into two smaller rooms. Each room has a bunk bed and two lockers. A shower and bathroom are in one corner of the room. I am lucky to have a good roommate.

Later today, I am going to go down to the gymnasium for a run. I have had little physical exercise since I got on the ship. I do not want to come home and have you guys run circles around me on our Tuesday runs.

Remember to let me know what you want to learn about, while I am on the ship. This is a great opportunity for you to impact your own education. Please take advantage of this. Question for the day: A major tsunami, or seismic wave, hit the coast of the United States more that forty years ago. Can you find the exact year and place?