Safety is very important on NOAA vessels. We did various safety drills while I was on board. We did a fire drill and a man overboard drill. We also did an abandon ship drill where we reported to our assigned lifeboats. During one of these drills, I was required to put on a “Gumby” suit. This survival suit is designed to keep you from getting hypothermia if you are to be in the water for long periods of time. For another drill, I donned a blindfold and found my way out my room and to the outside deck. This drill was to simulate an emergency situation with no lights. It was pretty scary to walk through the boat in the dark.
“Gumby” suit
Blindfold deck escape
The final day of fishing and camera drops proved to be awesome. We had lots of fish on camera and caught fish all four times we dropped lines. I was able to collect the measurements and samples from those fish without any extra guidance. The mission scientist recorded and observed, but they didn’t have to assist me. Their confidence in me was a pretty great feeling.
The video below is an example of the videos collected by both SatCam and RIOT Cam. These arrays have 6 cameras. The video is the view from these cameras stitched together. The top camera is not included in the panorama. The NOAA scientists use the videos to count fish species they study during the SEAMAP reef fish survey.
Personal Log
As we were docking, I had mixed emotions as we approached the harbor. I disembarked in Tampa, Florida. I was very excited to get back home but I knew my journey on Pisces was coming to an end. I am proud of myself for taking this trip. I am grateful for all the support from my family, friends, team teachers, and administration. I would not have been able to sail without their help. I learned so much more than I imagined and I will treasure the memories I made on this adventure. Being a Teacher at Sea increased my appreciation of Gulf of Mexico and I want to pass that on to my students.
Tampa Skyway Bridge
Image from a rooftop webcam of us Docking
Cow on the plane
Life at home has returned to normal. I returned back to school this week. I’ve spent a lot of time talking to my students about my experience aboard the ship. They have asked tons of questions. They are very interested in every aspect of my time at sea and loved all of the pictures and videos. I love that they are so engaged in the lessons this week. We are in the last month of school and it is often hard to keep the student’s attention. My Teacher at Sea tales and lesson plans have kept them focused and on task. They claim to have missed me and I, of course, missed them.
Welcome home sign
Counting fish on camera footage for lesson
Students working on NOAA lesson
I do have a few pieces of advice for the others that have yet to embark on their Teacher at Sea journey.
It is amazing. You will love it.
Bring a water bottle and a backpack. I used both of these almost constantly.
Talk to everyone on the ship. Every member of the vessel has valuable knowledge.
Ask your students what they are the most curious about. After a brief overview of NOAA and the mission I was going on, I had my students write questions for me to get answered. It was a great way to gauge what they were most interested in and these also make great conversation starters.
Did You Know?
If there are not enough male grouper in a given area, the largest or dominant female will change from a female to male.
Lat: 29° 35.5335′ N Long: 084° 19.8126′ W
Air Temperature: 18.2°C (64.76°F)
Water Temperature: 20.43°C (68.77°F)
Wind speed: 28.11 knots (32.35 mph)
Conditions: stormy, Seas 7 to 9 feet
Science and Technology Log
While I have been at sea, I have spent time exploring Pisces and getting to know the people on board. This research vessel is 209 feet long, 50 feet wide, and it has a draft of 20 feet. It is large enough to hold 39 passengers. The crew of the vessel during my sail consists of 5 NOAA Officers, 5 deck crew, 5 engineers, 4 technicians, 2 stewards and 5 scientists.
NOAA Ship Pisces
Pisces is loaded with science equipment. It has the capability to run acoustic surveys, marine mammal surveys, and various fish surveys. The onboard wet lab is used to process the marine life brought in on trawls, long lines, or bandit reels. In the dry lab, the mission data is stored and processed by the scientists and survey technicians on the ship. There is a side sample station on the starboard deck where the cameras and ROVs are launched and the trawls are deployed on its stern. The centerboard, on the hull underneath the ship, has mounted sensors that send back various types of data for the scientist to use. This vessel was also engineered to be quiet while underway so it won’t scare marine life. The ship shares the oceanographic, hydrographic and weather data it gathers daily to the outside world.
Wet Lab
sample station deck
Bandit Reels
The Commanding Officer gave me a tour of the bridge. The bridge is the navigation center. The vessel can be operated from one of four different stations. The science that is being conducted determines where the officer will navigate from. The technology on the bridge is quite amazing. The dynamic positioning system allows the vessel to stay within certain parameters when supporting science missions. It functions almost like an auto-pilot to keep the ship in the proper position.
Bridge Center Navigation“Moo”ving the ship
NOAA Ship Pisces is like a floating city. I had the opportunity to explore the engine room with the ship’s first assistant engineer to see how this mini-city works. He showed me how they process sewage and garbage aboard the vessel. I learned how the vessel creates its own water and power. I saw the huge engines. This ship has two 8 cylinder engines and two 12 cylinders engines that power the ship. I also learned how the bilge/ballast system keeps the ship stable and how the bow thruster aids in steering
one of four engines on Pisces
Personal Log
Most of the days pass quickly and I lose track of time. I can’t believe I have been at sea for 10 days. Having a different type of workday is very unusual to me. I have taught for almost 18 years so school days are what I know. It is different to work with adults all day instead of children. It is a definite change of pace. Today is a slow day. We are currently standing-by due to a weather delay. We have moved closer to shore and are riding out the storm. Hopefully, we will be able to be back up and running tomorrow.
I will surely miss the trips to the galley when I get home. I have probably gained five pounds on this trip. The stewards that cook on this ship do an amazing job. It is nice to have already prepared meals. I have gotten spoiled by not cooking too. I know will miss the view when I get back to land. Watching the waves never gets old. I could stare at the water all day. Even when it is stormy the ocean is beautiful.
Ship’s stewards
Gulf of Mexico
flybridge sunset
Being away from home is hard. It’s difficult not to harass my team teachers about my classroom while I am gone. I know that my students are well taken care of but it is hard not to worry. The letters from my students, emails from family, texts from my husband, messages from friends, and sweet videos from my granddaughter help me combat homesickness.
Did You Know?
The Gulf of Mexico is home to 21 marine mammals and 5 sea turtle species
Student questions
How many species of sharks are in the gulf? There are approximately 49 shark species in the gulf.
Lat: 29° 54.7331′ N Long: 087° 12.1562′ W
Air Temperature: 22.5°C (72.5°F)
Water Temperature: 21.29°C (70°F)
Wind speed: 5.8 knots (6.7mph)
Conditions: blue sky, flat seas
Science and Technology Log
This week I have learned a lot about the reef fish studied in this SEAMAP survey. I have learned how to weigh the fish and take various length measurements. I have also learned how to examine the gonads and distinguish a male from a female. I can now properly remove the otolith bones from the otic capsule that is located at the base of the fish’s skull.
Dana measures the length of a fish.
Dana weighs a fish gonad on a hanging scale.
Dana removes an otolith from the fish.
We have had some unusual catches that have provided great learning experiences as well. The bandit reel caught a sharksucker on the line as it returned. This fish belongs to the Remora family. It attaches to sharks and other marine animals. This was a really unusual creature to observe.
TAS Dana Kosztur displays a sharksucker captured on the bandit reel.
The camera arrays had fireworms hitch a ride to the deck from the bottom of the gulf. These guys look like large spikey caterpillars. They have venom in their bristles that can cause a painful sting.
This fireworm hitched a ride on a camera array.
Personal Log
Today was a beautiful day. The water is such a beautiful blue. The sky was cloudless last night so I finally got to look at the stars. The night sky seems much more vast and bright away from the light pollution on land. The stars are amazingly bright. I am enjoying life on the ship but I do miss home. I have a greater respect for those that work away from home for long periods of time. Teamwork and a positive attitude seem to be the lifeblood of this NOAA vessel and that makes it much easier to adjust.
Did You Know?
Many birds will often land on the vessel to rest during their migration route across the Gulf of Mexico.
Migrating barn swallows
Waves transmit energy, not water.
Cow at sea
Questions from students:
Why do scientists need to know what types of fish are on the reef?
It is important to manage and maintain the reef fish species because they are often over-fished.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Leah Johnson Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: Saturday, August 1, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Time 12:13 PM
Latitude 033.995650
Longitude -077.348710
Water Temperature 24.37 °C
Salinity 36.179 ppt
Air Temperature 27.4 °C
Relative Humidity 83 %
Wind Speed 15.95 knots
Wind Direction 189.45 degrees
Air Pressure 1012.3 mbar
Science and Technology Log: I am still amazed at the wealth of data collected aboard the Pisces on this survey cruise. I am getting better at identifying the fish as they are hauled up in the traps, as well as when I see these fish on video. Because of light attenuation, many fish look very different in color when they are underwater. Light attenuation refers to the gradual loss of visible light that can penetrate water with increasing depth. Red light has the longest wavelength on the visible light spectrum, and violet has the shortest wavelength. In water, light with the shortest wavelength is absorbed first. Therefore, with increasing depth, red light is absorbed, followed by orange, then yellow. Fish that appear red in color at the surface will not appear red when they are several meters below the sea surface where they are captured on camera.
For example, we hauled in some blackfin snapper earlier this week. At the surface, its color is a distinct red like many other types of snappers, and it has a black spot near the base of its pectoral fin. When I looked at the videos from the trap site, I did not realize that all of the fish swimming around with yellow-looking tails were the very same blackfin snappers that appeared in the traps! When I remembered that red light is quickly absorbed in ocean water and noticed the black spot on the pectoral fin and shape of the dorsal fin, it made more sense.
Top: Blackfin snapper collected from trap. Bottom: Video still of blackfin snappers swimming near trap.
I tell my geology students every year that when identifying minerals, color is the least reliable property. I realize now that this can also apply to fish identification. Therefore, I am trying to pay closer attention to the shape of the different fins, slope of the head, and relative proportions of different features. The adult scamp grouper, for example, has a distinct, unevenly serrated caudal fin (tail) with tips that extend beyond the fin membrane. The tip of the anal fin is elongated as well.
Scamp grouper
Another tricky aspect of fish identification is that some fish change color and pattern over time. Some groups of fish, like wrasses, parrotfish, and grouper, exhibit sequential hermaphroditism. This means that these fish change sex at some point in their lifespan. These fish are associated with different colors and patterns as they progress through the juvenile phase, the initial phase, and finally the terminal phase. Some fish exhibit fleeting changes in appearance that can be caught on camera. This could be as subtle as a slight darkening of the face.
The slight shape variations among groupers can also lead groups of scientists to gather around the computer screen and debate which species it is. If the trap lands in an area where there are some rocky outcrops, a fish may be partially concealed, adding another challenge to the identification process. This is no easy task! Yet, everyone on board is excited about the videos, and we make a point to call others over when something different pops up on the screen.
We were all impressed by this large Warsaw grouper, which is not a common sight.
I have seen many more types of fish and invertebrates come up in the traps over the past week. Here are a few new specimens that were not featured in my last “fish” post:
knobbed porgy
whitebone porgy
blue angelfish
planehead filefish
starfish (no species ID)
bank sea bass
arrow crab
graysby grouper
reticulate moray eel
sand perch
spotfin butterfly fish
almaco jack
Did You Know?
Fish eyes are very similar to those of terrestrial vertebrates, but their lenses that are more spherical.
Lens from fish eye
Personal Log:
I love being surrounded by people who are enthusiastic about and dedicated to what they do. Everyone makes an extra effort to show me things that they think I will be interested to see – which I am, of course! If an interesting fish is pulled up in the trap and I have stepped out of the wet lab, someone will grab my camera and take a picture for me. I continue to be touched by everyone’s thoughtfulness, and willingness to let me try something new, even if I slow down the process.
Me, on the deck of the ship. We just deployed the traps off the stern.
As our cruise comes to an end, I want to thank everyone on board for letting me share their work and living space for two weeks. To the NOAA Corps officers, scientists, technicians, engineers, deckhands, and stewards, thank you for everything you do. The data collection that takes place on NOAA fishery survey cruises is critical for the management and protection of our marine resources. I am grateful that the Teacher at Sea program allowed me this experience of a lifetime. Finally, thank you, readers! I sincerely appreciate your continued support. I am excited to share more of what I have learned when I am back on land and in the classroom. Farewell, Pisces!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Leah Johnson Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: Thursday, July 30th, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Time 12:13 PM
Latitude 34.18282
Longitude -76.13712
Water Temperature 25.62 °C
Salinity 35.3592 ppt
Air Temperature 29.8 °C
Relative Humidity 71 %
Wind Speed 13.23 knots
Wind Direction 159.25
Air Pressure 1013.2 mbar
Science and Technology Log: Career Spotlight: I would like to introduce everyone to Ensign Hollis Johnson, one of the Junior Officers on NOAA Ship Pisces. She was kind enough to let me ask her a few questions about life at sea.
Ensign Hollis Johnson
Q: What is the role of a Junior Officer (JO) on this ship?
A: The primary duty of a JO is driving the ship. We are also the eyes and ears of the Commanding Officer (CO). We carry out standing orders, ensure ship safety, and also make sure the scientists are getting what they need for their survey work.
Q: Does this job description vary depending on the ship?
A: This is a generic fleet-wide description, and some ships are a little different. On hydrographic ships, there is more computer-based work with data collection. On fisheries ships, collateral duties are split amongst the JOs; for example, we have an environmental compliance officer, a safety officer, a movie officer, and a navigation officer.
Q: What do you like best about your job and being at sea?
A: I really like driving the ship. Few jobs offer this kind of an opportunity! I also like the fact that no two days are ever the same, so my job is a constant adventure. The best things about being at sea in general are the sunrises and sunsets, and the dolphins, of course.
Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of your job and life at sea?
A: This job requires long hours. We can easily work 12-16 hour days, and while in port we still have to work some weekends. Because of this time commitment, we have to make sacrifices. But, we get that time back with our land assignments because there is more flexibility.
Q: When do NOAA Corps officers go to sea, and for how long do they stay?
A: After a 5-month training period, JOs are sent straight to sea assignments for 2 year periods. This can be extended or shortened by 6 months depending on what you are looking for in your next assignment. I extended my assignment at sea for 5 months so I could get my upcoming land assignment in California to work with dolphins for 3 years. After the land-based assignment, NOAA officers typically return to sea as operations officers, then back to land, then sea as executive officers, and so on. That is how you move up.
Q: What exactly will you be doing when you are on your next assignment in California?
A: The title of my position will be Cetacean Photo Specialist. I will be in La Jolla, CA, doing boat and aerial surveys, lots of GIS work and spatial surveys of marine mammal populations. I will participate in the center’s marine mammal stranding network. I will also be involved with outreach and education, which includes giving tours and presentations on scientific studies happening at the lab.
Q: Is life at sea different from what you expected?
A: Actually, it is easier than I thought it would be. I have always been a homebody and lived near my parents, I’m always busy here so time flies. I have internet and phone service so I still feel connected.
Q: Where did you go to college, and what degree did you earn?
A: I attended the University of Georgia, and earned a B.S. in Biology with a focus in marine biology.
Q: When / how did you decide to pursue a career in science?
A: When I was a kid I went to Sea World and fell in love with the whales and dolphins. I always loved animal planet. I also considered being a veterinarian for a while. I tried to be realistic because it is hard to land a career as a marine biologist, but I interned at a lot of places and made connections so I could do what I wanted to do.
Q: How did you find out about careers with NOAA?
In college, I took a summer course about marine mammals and toured a NOAA lab. About a year later, in June, my uncle saw the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster in port in Georgia, and I talked to someone on board about the work they were doing at sea. I immediately applied, interviewed, and was commissioned in January. It all happened very fast once I found out about it.
Q: You were one of the divers who recovered the missing trap this week. How long have you been diving?
A: I was certified to dive when I was 18. It is amazing, and something everyone should try. When I became an officer, the first thing I did was beg my command to send me to the NOAA Dive Center for training as a working diver.
Q: If a high school student is interested in a career like yours, what advice would you give?
A: Do a lot of volunteer work before you expect to get paid. You are investing in your future. If you want it bad enough you have to make sacrifices – but it will pay off. Make connections. If a marine biologist gives a presentation at your school, hang out after and talk with them. Ask for their email address and follow up. It’s a small world in marine research and networking is key.
Q: What is your favorite marine animal, and why?
A: I love thresher sharks and octopuses, but I’ll say Orcas. I’ve always found their species-wide diversity fascinating.
Personal Log:
There are so many people on this cruise who scuba dive and see amazing things below the sea surface. I have only snorkeled. I see dive certification in my future!
Did You Know?
The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps is one of the seven uniformed services in the United States. Their motto is “Science, service, stewardship”.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Leah Johnson Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Time 12:13 PM
Latitude 033.707470
Longitude -076.827550
Water Temperature 25.8 °C
Salinity 37.1618 ppt
Air Temperature 29.2 °C
Relative Humidity 75 %
Wind Speed 16.08 knots
Wind Direction 25.88 degrees
Air Pressure 1013.2 mbar
Science and Technology Log: Career Spotlight: I would like to introduce everyone to Danielle Power, the Survey Technician on NOAA Ship Pisces. She was kind enough to let me interview her today.
Editing map area coordinates in the acoustics lab
Q: What is the role of a survey technician (ST) on this ship?
A: The survey technician keeps track of scientific equipment and spaces. This includes calibrating sensors and maintaining and repairing equipment. When science parties are on the ship, the ST assists with data collection and oversees CTD operation.
Q: Does this job description vary depending on the ship?
A: Yes. On the Nancy Foster and other ships with big dive platforms, STs do a lot of diving and deck work. There are often two STs on board, each working a half-day shift. These STs do not work so intensively with fish. Hydrographic vessel STs deal with mapping and tide station installs.
Q: What do you like best about your job and being at sea?
A: My favorite thing about life at sea is that there are no bugs, and I don’t have to deal with allergies! I also meet awesome people on every cruise. Every trip is a little different, so I am always learning new things.
Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of your job and life at sea?
A: Being at sea for a long time, all the time, is taxing.
Q: Is life at sea different from what you expected?
A: Yes. This job requires living with 20 other people in a confined space all the time, and it isn’t easy. I didn’t fully realize this back in college. I don’t have easy access to things I might want or need. I also have to give up certain aspects of social life. You can’t just take a day off, you have to take an entire leg of a cruise off (up to 2 weeks), which is a lot of money to not be making and a lot of work to be missing. So I have to miss some big events for important people in my life, like weddings and holidays.
Q: Where did you go to college, and what degree did you earn?
A: I graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. I earned a B.S. in biology with a concentration in marine biology.
Q: When / how did you decide to pursue a career in science?
A: In 6th grade, I went on a family vacation to Disney world. I went to Sea World, and it ignited my love for all things ocean. I have stuck with it ever since.
Q: If a high school student is interested in a career like yours, what advice would you give?
A: Work hard, and get a college degree that is relevant. Make sure you know that this is a job you truly want to do. Find internships and experience life on a ship before you commit. If you enjoy it, then make the most of the career and all of the opportunities that come with it.
Q: What is your favorite marine animal, and why?
A: An Octopus! Cephalopods are very intelligent creatures, and I love that they can blend into environments so well that they cannot be seen. They can change not just their color, but their texture. They are so interesting! They can go into small spaces, because they can fit anywhere their beaks fit and they use parts of their environment as tools.
recording data in the wet lab
Personal Log: I am blown away by all of the different jobs that need to be filled while out at sea. Working on a boat was something that I never even considered when I was in high school. The idea just never occurred to me, and I didn’t know anyone at the time who did anything like this. There are so many interesting career opportunities that exist, and new types of jobs will develop as needs and technology change over time.
Read all about career opportunities with NOAA here!
Did You Know?
NOAA stands for “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”. It officially formed in 1970, but the environmental agencies that came together to form NOAA originated in the 1800s. Learn more about NOAA’s history here.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Leah Johnson Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: Monday, July 27, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Time 12:38 PM
Latitude 034.384490
Longitude -076.576130
Water Temperature 23.75 °C
Salinity -No Data-
Air Temperature 30.8 °C
Relative Humidity 62 %
Wind Speed 10.15 knots
Wind Direction 88.23 degrees
Air Pressure 1014.8 mbar
Science and Technology Log: As I mentioned in an earlier post, flexibility is key. Things don’t always go according to plan. Originally, we were going to head northeast from Morehead City Port, but the weather did not cooperate with us. We headed south to avoid a large storm, and then moved closer inshore. This forced us to choose some different areas to sample. Most of our sample sites are situated over the continental shelf between Cape Fear and Cape Hatteras. Tomorrow we hope to move to deeper waters beyond the shelf break.
Map of Pisces route so far. Image from Shiptracker.
On July 23, we lost a trap. After one of the deckhands threw the hook out to catch the buoy rope and started the winch, the rope went taut and then snapped. Occasionally this happens because the traps can shift and become wedged under or hooked onto a rocky ledge on the seafloor. We do our best to avoid this, but it happens. This is why it is important to have extra traps, cameras, and camera housings on board.
Map showing positions of two lost traps. Water depth is shown in feet.
We planned to retrieve our trap the following day, but the storm chased us out of the area. Two days later, we lost a second trap! Unfortunately, this one was too deep to recover on a dive. The traps we deploy have zinc clasps that dissolve after ~24 hours, so fish can eventually exit the traps on the off chance that we are unable to retrieve them. Still, we don’t want to simply abandon traps on the seafloor or run short on gear, so we made plans to retrieve the first trap. We just had to remain patient and hope for calmer seas. Finally, our window of opportunity opened up today.
The small boat is on a davit on the 01 deck.
A small boat is located on 01 deck near the stern of NOAA ship Pisces. The deck chief oversees operations as it is lowered for the divers, the dive master, and deckhands to board. They take an inflatable buoy and rope with them, and then head out to the coordinates of the trap. The divers descended ~20 meters to the shelf where the trap was indeed wedged on a rocky ledge. First, the divers removed the two GoPro cameras that were attached to the trap. Next, they secured a rope attached to a buoy on the trap. The ship will then be able to use this buoy to retrieve the trap as typically done. The divers ascended the line and were picked up with the small boat.
The small boat returns after successfully finding the trap.
The deckhands then attached our standard buoys to the rope, and returned to the Pisces. The divers climbed up a rope ladder on the starboard side of the ship, and the small boat was hoisted up. We then hauled up the missing trap like we would any other. The trap was empty, and all of the bait was gone – not surprising after a 4-day soak!
Personal Log:
I make a point to stand near the bow of the ship and watch the sea and sky for a while every day. I usually see some flying fish, which are fun to watch. They zip out of the water, dart across the waves, and then dive back under. One of them landed on deck after a storm, so I had a chance to see one up close.
Flying fish
The skies are beautiful, too. I have seen some impressive clouds and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. The view is completely unobstructed, so I can just take it all in without distraction. I find it all very peaceful.
The skies at sea are stunning.
Did You Know?
After otoliths and tissue samples are collected from the fish we keep, the fish are filleted, frozen, and donated to local food banks.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Leah Johnson Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: Friday, July 24, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Time 12:38 PM
Latitude 033.235230
Longitude -077.298950
Water Temperature 25.88 °C
Salinity -No Data-
Air Temperature 28.3 °C
Relative Humidity 78 %
Wind Speed 5.76 knots
Wind Direction 355.13 degrees
Air Pressure 1011.3 mbar
Science and Technology Log: When the traps are reeled in, the GoPro camera attachments are unclipped and brought into the dry lab. The cameras are encased in waterproof housing that can withstand the higher pressure at the seafloor. One camera is placed on the front of the trap, and one camera is placed on the back. Each video card captures ~45 minutes of footage. The videos will be carefully scrutinized at a later date to identify the fish (since many do not enter the traps), describe the habitat, and also describe the fish behavior. While aboard the ship, the videos are downloaded and watched just to make sure that the cameras worked properly, and to gain a general idea of what was happening around the trap. Occasionally, there are some really exciting moments, like when a tiger shark decided to investigate our trap!
This tiger shark appeared in the video from both trap cameras as it circled.
While the cameras are being prepped in the dry lab for the next deployment, we are busy in the wet lab with the fish caught in the traps. The first step is identification. I could not identify a single fish when the first trap landed on the deck! However, I am slowly learning the names and distinctive features of the local fish. Here are a few examples of the fish that we have hauled in so far:
spottail pinfish
white grunt
vermillion snapper
red porgy
tomtate
black sea bass
red snapper
pinfish
scup
Once the fish are identified, they are sorted into different bins. We record the mass of each bin and the lengths of each fish. Most of the smaller fish are returned to the ocean once the measurements are recorded. Some fish are kept for further measuring and sampling. For each of these fish, we find the mass, recheck the total length (snout to tail), and also measure the fork length (snout to fork in tail) and standard length (snout to start of tail).
I measured the fish while one of my crew mates recorded the data.
The fish is then ready for sampling. Depending on the species of fish, we may collect a variety of other biological materials:
Otoliths (ear stones) are made of calcium carbonate, and are located near the brain. As the fish grows, the calcium carbonate accumulates in layers. As a result, otoliths can be used – similarly to tree rings – to determine the age of the fish. I retrieved my first set of otoliths today!
Muscle tissue (the part of the fish that we eat) can be used to test for the presence of mercury. Since mercury is toxic, it is important to determine its concentration in fish species that are regularly consumed.
Gonads (ovaries in females or testes in males) can be examined to determine if a fish is of reproductive age, and whether it is just about to spawn (release eggs / sperm into the water).
The stomach contents indicate what the fish has eaten.
This toadfish had snail shells in its stomach!
The soft tissues are kept in bags and preserved in a freezer in the wet lab. Sample analyses will take place in various onshore labs.
Personal Log: It is important to remember that this ship is home to most of the people on board. They live and work together in very close quarters. There are daily routines and specific duties that individuals fill to keep Pisces running smoothly. Cooperation is key. I do my best to be useful when I can, and step aside when I cannot. Despite my inexperience at sea, everyone has been incredibly kind, patient, and helpful. I am lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people who are willing to show me the ropes!
Did You Know? The lionfish is an invasive species in the Atlantic Ocean. Its numbers are increasing in waters off the Southeastern U.S. coast. These fish have few predators, and they are consuming smaller fish and invertebrates which also sustain local snapper and grouper populations.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Leah Johnson Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Time 12:20 PM
Latitude 034.242730
Longitude -076.394350
Water Temperature 24.99 °C
Salinity 36.5532 ppt
Air Temperature 29.5 °C
Relative Humidity 80%
Wind Speed 15.45 knots
Wind Direction 229.54 degrees
Air Pressure 1012.5 mbar
Science and Technology Log: As a fishery-independent survey, our task is to monitor the population of fish – mostly those of commercial value – at a wide variety of locations. While commercial operations provide some information based on their annual catch, a fishery-independent survey is able to conduct a broader assessment in a given area of the ocean, even though fewer fish are caught. Because there is no limitation on fish size and a wider array of locations are sampled, these surveys can be used in conjunction with reports from commercial fishing vessels to provide a better picture of changing fish populations over time.
I am on the second leg of the sampling survey in the Southeast Atlantic, and I am working the 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM shift. We will be setting traps and cameras in waters between Myrtle Beach, SC and Hatteras, NC. NOAA Ship Pisces left port at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, July 22. I stood near the bow of the ship as we headed out to sea, and watched flying fish zip through the spray. Once we left the sheltered waters near Morehead City Port, the seas became rough. High winds led to high swells, and we were unable to set any fish traps that afternoon. Because of these conditions, we changed our plans so that we could shelter behind a cape overnight. Flexibility is key!
Map of Pisces route upon departure on Tuesday, July 22. Source: Shiptracker
Today, skies were clear and the water was calm. We deployed a total of 18 traps in three areas over the course of the day. I helped to bait the chevron traps and line them up on the deck. Once the ship was over the chosen location, the traps and buoys were pushed overboard. Most of the traps today were deployed at a depth of ~25 meters. Six traps are deployed in an area, and are set at least 200 meters apart. The traps soak for 90 minutes, and then the ship circles back for the first trap. It is hauled up on the starboard (right) side, and the fish fall into a large tray placed beneath the trap opening.
The crew pulls up a trap.
We collected a variety of fish which had to be sorted, measured, and either kept for further sampling or returned to the sea based on the species. The bulk of the fish were black sea bass, but there was also a wide range of small fish (including scup, pinfish, and tomtate), red snapper, gag grouper, toadfish, and triggerfish. A small octopus came up with the second trap, which was exciting for the whole crew! One trap line snagged during retrieval, so a couple people may try to collect it on a future dive. The camera footage has been interesting too, as there are many fish that may swim near the trap but never enter. Therefore, the cameras provide additional data for the survey. Just today, a tiger shark was caught on tape!
A wide variety of fish are brought up in a chevron trap.
Personal Log I have only spent one full day at sea so far, but I am enjoying every second of it. I am fascinated by all of the fish and other marine life. I spent some quality time watching dolphins jumping alongside the ship in the afternoon, and just looking out over the water. Sometimes the horizon is completely empty. Occasionally, I can see a lighthouse on a cape or another ship. Most of the time, we are surrounded by only sea and sky. The color of the water varies with weather conditions and water depth.
I have not experienced any sea sickness, and I am grateful for that. It was a little difficult getting used to the movement of the ship. I was definitely wobbling all over the place on day one. The swells were big though, so everyone was wobbling around with me. Putting food on my plate during dinner was especially challenging – and keeping it on my plate while walking to a table was more challenging still! However, my sea legs are improving, and I managed to do some yoga at sunset on the fly deck with a couple of the crew members! I didn’t fall over…. much. It was great way to wrap up the day. Keeping up with regular activities, like exercise, is really important while at sea. I am also growing used to the sensation of being rocked to sleep at night.
Did You Know? The triggerfish earned its name because of its dorsal fin. If you press down on the first spine (a long, thin bone) at the front of the fin, it won’t budge. However, if you place your finger on a lower, shorter spine (the “trigger”), you can collapse the fin. Cool!
NOAA Teacher At Sea Leah Johnson Soon Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 21 – August 3, 2015
Mission: Southeast Fishery – Independent Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern U.S. Coast Date: July 7, 2015
Personal Log
About Me
I am a science teacher at Naperville Central High School in Naperville, IL. My background is primarily in Earth Science, but I enjoy learning and teaching in all areas of science. Currently, I teach Principles of Biology and Chemistry to freshmen and sophomores, and two elective courses – Weather and Environment and Physical Geology – to juniors and seniors. I work with amazing people who are invested in science education and outreach, and they are very supportive of my upcoming adventure at sea!
Outside of my career in science and education, I love painting, reading, traveling, horseback riding, and biking. I am lucky to be married to someone who shares many of my interests, and we have a couple awesome huskies, too!
Why Teacher At Sea?
I have always been fascinated with the ocean. I have spent many vacation hours snorkeling in Florida, Hawaii, and the Bahamas, and exploring tide pools along the Pacific Northwest coast. When I am home in the Midwest, I can often be found with my nose in a book about deep sea fish, or watching ocean documentaries. I heard about NOAA’s Teacher At Sea Program several years ago as a graduate student, and decided to apply during my second year of teaching high school. To my surprise and delight, I was admitted to the program. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn more about ocean life, and to share this hands-on experience with my students and others who are curious about marine life, careers at sea, and what it’s like to live on a boat for two weeks!
Enjoying the California Coast
Assignment: Fisheries
On Monday, July 20, I will fly to North Carolina and meet up with the crew of NOAA ship Pisces. We will embark from Morehead City on July 21 and sail along the outer banks of the Carolinas. The purpose of this cruise is to monitor fisheries in the Southeastern waters of the U.S. We will be counting and measuring nearly all of the reef fish that are caught in traps, and determining the age and gender of a select number of fish. Underwater cameras will be used in addition to traps to establish a better survey of the local fish populations. I am very excited to participate in this research, and learn from a group of dedicated and highly-experienced individuals who have established careers in ocean science and sailing.
NOAA Ship Pisces, Photo courtesy of NOAA
Sharing the Experience
When I write my next post, I will be in the Atlantic Ocean. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you, and I will do my best to answer any questions you have. Communication is critical to science outreach, so please come along for the ride by checking out my posts and the blogs of other Teachers At Sea who have documented their fascinating ocean adventures as well. Thanks for reading!
Did You Know?
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean on Earth, covering about 41,105,000 square miles. This area makes up nearly 20% of Earth’s surface!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Heidi Wigman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 27 – June 10, 2015
Mission: Reef Fish Survey Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico (24°29.956’N 083°320.601’W) Date: June 8, 2015
Weather: 83° @ surface, E-SE winds @ 10-15 knots, seas 2-3 ft, average depth 123m
Science and Technology Log:
NOAA’s mission is three-fold: science, service, and stewardship. By utilizing fisheries, hydrographic, and oceanographic scientists in the field, NOAA’s goal is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, while also putting forth a conservation effort towards coastal and marine ecosystems. This knowledge is shared with businesses, communities, and people, to inform on how to make good choices to protect our fragile earth.
Sunset on the GulfSunrise on the Gulf
The specific mission, for our current voyage, on the Pisces, is to survey fisheries at pre-determined sites throughout the Western portion of the Gulf of Mexico. The data from these surveys will be brought back to the lab in Pascagoula, Miss. and analyzed. Then determinations will be made for future surveys and studies. According to Chief Scientist, Brandi Noble, “These fishery independent surveys increase our knowledge of natural reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. We get a better picture of what’s down there and work with outside agencies to determine how to maintain the health of the fisheries. Data gathered will be used in future stock assessments for the Gulf of Mexico.”
Bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf
The methods used to gather data on this cruise are through the use of the camera array and the bandit reels. The camera arrays are deployed at sites that have been mapped and sit at the bottom for a total soak time of 40 minutes. This footage is analyzed and processed by scientists to determine what the conditions of the reef are and the species of fish present in the area and their abundance. This gives a partial picture, but to get a complete and accurate report, fish need to be studied more closely. The “Bandit Reels” provide a more hands-on approach and allow the scientists to get data on sex, maturity stage, and age of species. Some of the fish are released after some initial measurements, but the commercially important species are dissected and samples are taken for further lab analysis. Initial measurements made with anything brought aboard include total length (TL), fork length (FL), standard length, SL (from nose to caudal fin), and weight.
Removing the otolith to determine the age of the fishRemoving organs to determine sex and maturity
A closer look at the data allows scientists to make predictions on fish populations and growth over time. Some of the data we got on this trip were for the Lutjanus campechanus (red snapper) and for the Pagrus pagrus (red porgy).
There are several ways to disaggregate the data to determine differences and similarities based on region, time, species, etc. For our purposes, we’ll make some observations involving probability, proportion, and statistics.
Math Problem of the day: You are a scientist and have brought data back from the Gulf of Mexico to analyze in your lab. You have three tasks: a) to get an average fish size based on weight (species specific) b) to determine what the proportion is of the Standard Length to the Total Length of each species (hint: ratio of SL/TL; find average) c) determine the theoretical probabilities that the next Red Snapper will be >1,100g, and that the next red Porgy will be <1,000g (hint: how many times does this happen out of the total catches?)
Coming Soon . . . Meet some of the crew behind the Pisces
Previous Answers:
Trigonometry of Navigation post: 18 m/s @ 34°SE
Bandit Reels post: about 14.6 nautical miles
The STEM of Mapping post: layback = 218m, layback w/ catenary = 207m
NOAA Teacher at Sea Heidi Wigman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 27 – June 10, 2015
Mission: Reef Fish Survey Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico (25°32.388’N 083°38.787’W) Date: June 5, 2015
Weather: 82° @ surface, NE winds @ 5-10 knots, seas 0-2 ft, chance of showers and Tstorms, average depth 77m
Science and Technology Log:
I first got my Open Water SCUBA certification in Santa Monica, CA at about 14 years old. My dad and I would explore the waters off of Avalon on Catalina Island, and some offshore sites in Southern California. As a freshman in college, I made my way up through PADI’s advanced course and into my certification as a PADI Rescue Diver. Along the way, I had the chance to do several deep dives (depths below 100′), wreck dives, night dives, drift dives – it was an amazing experience. Later in life, I had the chance to actually work underwater, and would spend 3-4 hours below the surface each day. No matter where I was sent, and what the visibility was (sometimes nil) I felt like I was in my element. During the Reef Fish Survey cruise, we are not doing any dive operations, but I thought that it would be a good opportunity to look at some of NOAA’s dive missions and some of the science and math behind SCUBA.
NOAA marine archaeologist diving at the wreck of the USS Montana (photo: NOAA Ocean Explorer)
The use of scientific and research diving has been performed since 1952, with the invention of the Self-Contained, Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA). Underwater operations have led to significant discoveries in marine science and beyond. Some of the specific types of dives performed by NOAA are biological surveys and sampling, shellfish studies, botanical sampling, geological mapping, deployment, inspection, maintenance, and recovery of instruments, and archaeological site documentation and excavation.
NOAA research diver surveying the USS Monitor (photo: NOAA)
Understanding the basic physics behind diving can help to guide a diver to make smart choices, and stay safe. Anyone that has plunged below the surface a few feet, has felt the pressure that is exerted on them; generally with a discomfort in the middle ear. With diving, you not only have to deal with the atmospheric pressure, but hydrostatic pressure (pressure due to the weight of water), water density, temperature, buoyancy, and gas laws. During SCUBA diving, the body’s tissues absorb additional Nitrogen from air breathed under pressure. Excess Nitrogen will remain in these tissues for a period of time depending on depth and duration of dive. Lucky for divers, the U.S. Navy developed a set of dive tables that can be used to determine safety limits with dive times, in order to account for decreasing the amount of Nitrogen in the body, and avoiding dive related traumas. With our ever-increasing reliance on technology, it is important to have a working knowledge of dive table usage as well.
{Fig. A} NOAA No-Decompression Dive Tables
*This lesson is to give a general and basic understanding of dive tables, NOT to instruct on the usage for purposes of diving
The idea behind dive tables is to use the maximum depth of a dive (even it is only momentarily), and determine the ABT (Actual Bottom Time); and in the case of a repetitive dive, the amount of surface time in order to release the residual Nitrogen from the body. Keep in mind, ABT refers to the start time of the diver’s descent and ends when the diver begins a direct, uninterrupted ascent to the surface.
Let’s look at a scenarios for determining ABT for a diver that is only planning one dive in a 12-hour period:
Your dive team must recover a sampling device located in a bay, whose depth does not exceed 53ft. At this depth, how long do you have to search for and recover the device without exceeding the U.S. Navy No-Decompression Limits?
{Fig. B} Chart 1 – used to find ABT at depth
[Answer: {Fig.B} if you round up to the depth of 55 ft, the team can stay under for 74min., any longer would require a decompression stop on ascent]
What if you want to go on a second dive later in the day? This is where you will look at the Letter Group Designation for a surface interval, based on the ABT at a certain depth.
At 10:13 am, dive team Alpha descends to conduct an inspection of their research vessel. During the inspection, they accidentally drop a dive light. The vessel is at anchor and the hard, sandy bottom is only 47ft deep, and the water is relatively clear. The divers recover the light, and complete their inspection. They begin their ascent at 10:52. What is the Letter Group at the end of the dive? [Answer: {Fig.C} – Repetitive Group Designation is F].
{Fig. C} Chart 1-2 – used to find surface interval
By Following column F {Fig. D}, you can see the times (represented in hours:minutes) to help plan surface interval for your following dive. So if you rested for 2hrs 45min after your first dive, and were planning a 60 depth on your second dive, you would have to plan for 41 minutes of ABT.
{Fig.D} Chart2-3 – moving from surface interval time to planning dive #2
Math Question of the Day: By using {Fig. A} the No-Compression Dive Table, try to figure out the following scenario:
Dive team Bravo plans to make an afternoon dive to complete the aquatic life census they started in the morning. The diver’s surfaced from their first dive at 9:57 am, and determined that, following this dive, their Repetitive Group Designation (Letter Group) was E. They anticipate re-entering the water at approximately 3:00pm. What will their Letter Group be at the beginning of this next dive?
Previous Answers:
Trigonometry of Navigation post: 18 m/s @ 34°SE
Bandit Reels post: about 14.6 nautical miles
The STEM of Mapping post: layback = 218m, layback w/ catenary = 207m
NOAA Teacher at Sea Heidi Wigman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 27 – June 10, 2015
Mission: Reef Fish Survey Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico (26°33.512’N 083°43.064’W) Date: June 4, 2015
Weather: 82° @ surface, NE winds @ 5-10 knots, seas 0-2 ft, chance of showers and Tstorms, average depth 75m
Science and Technology Log:
The science behind underwater acoustics play a huge role in the operations of the Pisces. Each of the five survey types (CTD, camera rig, sidescan, bandit reels and AUV) need accurate data about the depth and contours of the ocean floor. Most people are familiar with the idea of how radar sends out a “ping” and waits for a return in order to determine a distance of an object. This is not a new, or even a human invented design — bats, dolphins, and some whale classes use “echo location” to get information on food sources and predators. As a pulse is emitted from the transmission source, it travels through the water at a certain speed, and as it encounters objects, returns as an echo.
“ping” transmit and return provided by C. Thompson
As data is received, it can be read as a function of voltage output to time in seconds, but this type of information generally is not useful for operational purposes. This two-way travel data needs to be converted to provide a graphical representation of the contour of the ocean floor, and the location of objects in the water. An algorithm turns all of this into usable data, that gives the viewer a depiction of what is under the vessel, and at what depth.
sonar imagery provided by C. Thompsonechosounder depth measurement, provided by C. Thompson
In order to get depth (Z), you need to know about how fast sound travels (c) – and this can vary with environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, depth, turbidity, etc. The third variable is the time (t) in seconds that it takes from ping to return. The formula that is used to calculate the depth is Z = c*t/2.
During our cruise, the sound speed value we are using (1540 m/sec) is the mean value of the measured sound speed vs. depth profile, with slight margin of error on the minimum values. Therefore, any miscalculations based on the constant will provide a reading more shallow, rather than more depth.
The EK60 echosounder emits a frequency of 18kHz, with most of the power in an 11° conic sector directed downward(see diagram). In order to find the area covered by the pulse, we first need to find the diameter (d) and the vertical depth (Z) or the max beam range (R).
sonar effective area; provided by C. Thompson
Math question of the day: What is the area covered by one sonar ping from the Pisces? If you know that your vertical depth is 75m, and the bisect on the beamwidth (11°) angle, use some trigonometry to help find your radius. [Tan 5.5 = r/75]. Once you have the value of r, use the formula for area [A=3.14(r*r)]
Previous Answers:
Trigonometry of Navigation post: 18 m/s @ 34°SE
Bandit Reels post: about 14.6 nautical miles
The STEM of Mapping post: layback = 218m, layback w/ catenary = 207m
Coming soon . . . A trip underwater – A closer look at NOAA dive tables
NOAA Teacher at Sea Heidi Wigman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 27 – June 10, 2015
Mission: Reef Fish Surveys on the U.S. Continental Shelf Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico (29°30.456’N 87°47.246’W) Date: May 29, 2015
Weather: 80°, wind SE @ 8-13 knots , 95% precipitation, waves 2-3 @ 3 sec.
Science and Technology Log
During my time aboard the Pisces, I wanted to focus on the use of mathematics in the day-to-day shipboard operations, and during science ops. I have been lucky to find math everywhere – even down to the amount of pressure it takes to open a water-safe door (which is a lot). As the officers navigate the Pisces through the Gulf of Mexico, special attention needs to be on the vast number on oil rigs in the area, as well as getting the scientists to the designated drop points. As a course is charted through the water, environmental effects (current and wind) can alter its final outcome. Basically, this is where trigonometry comes in to play – a real-life application, and answer, to the notorious “when am I ever going to use this?”
Suppose that the Pisces is traveling at a cruising speed of 15 m/sec, due East, to get to the spot of deployment for a camera rig. The ocean current is traveling in a Southern direction at 10 m/sec. These values are the “component vectors” that, when added, are going to give a resultant vector, and will have both magnitude and direction. If you think of the two forces acting upon each other as the legs of a right triangle, and the resultant vector as the hypotenuse, then using the Pythagorean Theorem will allow you to compute the resultant velocity. Use a trig function (invTAN) to find the angle at which the Pisces needs to travel to get to its drop point.
Personal Log
Time goes by slowly at sea – and that’s a good thing for me! I miss my family and friends, but this is an experience that I am enjoying each minute of. Thanks Pisces crew for being awesome!
Coming next . . . Bandit Reels, CTDs and AUVs – oh my!
AM watch (0400-0800) plotting our coursePisces cruising the Gulf of MexicoNavigation tools of the trade
NOAA Teacher at Sea Heidi Wigman Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces May 27 – June 10, 2015
Mission: Reef Fish Surveys on the U.S. Continental Shelf Geographical area of cruise: currently @ 30°22.081’N 088°33.789’W (Pascagoula, MS) Date: May 26, 2015
Weather Data from Bridge: 82°, wind SW @ 10 knots , 90% precipitation, waves 3-5 @ 3 sec.
Science and Technology Log
We are 3 hours from raising anchor, untying from the dock, and heading out to sea. Being aboard the Pisces for 2 days before departure turned out to be a blessing: getting to map out the lay of the 206′ labyrinth, hanging out with the crew, and even getting in a couple of runs around Pascagoula (even in the extreme humidity).
Yesterday was a day of dewatering drills, in case of lower-level compartment flooding. We used the diesel and the electric pumps to run through set-up in the event of a flood in the engine compartment. As the resident TAS, I don’t think that I would necessarily be relied upon to place gear in an emergency, but nevertheless, I wasn’t going to sit out and miss all of the fun.
Today we are running through a series of drills: fire, man overboard, and abandon ship. Each of these events has a series of alerts that indicate what the emergency is, and all hands are to report to their designated muster areas – in the case of an abandon ship, that would be the life rafts. Each of these drills also requires everyone to bring their immersion suits and PFD (Personal Flotation Device), and in my case, to don the suit.
Another training that we did today was to learn how to use the Ocenco EEBD (Emergency Escape Breathing Device) – basically a cool re-breather that fits in a pouch and provides about 10 minutes of fresh oxygen. This would generally be used in case of a fire, not if you are submerged.
So, with all of the drills and trainings, I feel ready for any major disaster that we may encounter while at sea. Thanks NOAA Corps for making sure that I am safe and in good hands!
FRB – Fast-Rescue BoatOscar – waiting to be the star in the man-overboard drillLife rafts awaitingBright safety orange so you won’t miss it
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: August 1, 2014
Science and Technology Log
After the fish are weighted and measured some are returned to the sea and others are kept for further study. For the fish that are kept the Pisces scientists usually keep two parts of the fish the otoliths and a part of the gonads (reproductive organ).
As I mentioned in an earlier post the otoliths are the fish ear bones, which can be used to determine the age of the fish. The otoliths are located behind the eyes so scientists use a knife to cut through the head being careful not to break the otoliths. They are removed from the fish rinsed in water and put into a labeled envelops to be taken back to the lab for further study.
White Grunt OtolithLocation of Fish Otolith. Picture from NOAA
Scientists are also interested in studying fish gonads to understand more about fish growth and reproduction, which is important for helping maintain a healthy fish population. You don’t want to catch fish before they are old enough to reproduce. The NOAA scientists use tissue teks to collect a small section of the gonads. Each fish is given a number based on the trap that it was caught in, this number is printed on the tissue tek and the envelop with the fish otoliths.
Diagram of fish gonads. Picture from marshall.eduTissue Tek, on the Pisces different species of fish get different colored tissue teks.
When the gonads are removed sometimes they are very small and thin and fit easily into the tissue tek but often times they have to be trimmed to fit. You don’t want to overfill the tissue tek because you may destroy the sample or cause it to spoil if the chemical preservative can’t get into the middle of the sample.
Examples of tissue teks that were not properly prepared. Picture from NOAA.
Back at the lab scientists slice the tissue into thin strips and examine it under a microscope to determine development: presence of eggs, size of eggs.
Fish Gonads under the microscope. Picture from NOAA.
Did you know that fish can be male, female or transgender. Some fish start out as females when they are young and become male as they mature.
Personal Log
I have to tell you, typing a blog while my body sways from one side to the other is very strange. I still have to take a Dramamine after I wake up and I have to sit down when the water gets rough, however life on the ship has gotten easier. We have been fortunate to have great weather for our two week cruise, it only rained on our last day out at sea. I can’t believe that tomorrow we will be back in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Sunrise on the top deck of the Pisces.
A warm thank you to all the crew and scientists aboard the Pisces. I have learned so much and will take back to my classroom a new excitement and love of the ocean. I will be able to introduce my students to what it means to be a scientist at sea and how what we learn in the classroom translates to what they can do in the future. I have enjoyed getting to know you and hearing about your lives. You are a talented group of people.
We saw some dolphins on Thursday night.
COOL CATCH OF THE DAY
A pair of butterfly fish (every time we have caught them they have come in a pair)
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 31, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 25.3C
Relative Humidity:98%
Wind Speed: 13.5 knots
Science and Technology Log
The dry lab is the technology center of the day shift. This is where chief scientist Zeb Schobernd works throughout the day to decide when and where to drop the traps. Dropping and retrieving traps is a real team effort, the night shift creates the maps, Zeb decides where to set the traps, the Pisces crew deploys and retrieves the traps and finally the fishery scientists collect and analyze the fish samples.
Pisces crew deploying the trapPisces crew retrieving the trap.
After 90 minutes in the water the traps are brought back to the surface and the wet lab gets to work on processing the fish while Chris Gardner a NOAA scientist takes the cameras into the dry lab for analysis. On this cruise we are trying to gather information on the fish populations off the coast of North and South Carolina. Fish can be an indicator of a good hard bottom habitat but what happens if the fish don’t go into the trap?
For various reasons fish may not go into the traps, this is where cameras come into play.Each trap has a large Cannon camera mounted on the back of the trap and a smaller go pro camera on the front.
These cameras allow scientists to visually sea the sea floor as well as allowing them to see the fish that do not go into the traps. In the dry lab Chris plays the footage to confirm the habitat and fish presence. However the real work begins back in the lab when the scientists analyze the videos. Each video is watch and the number and type of fish is recorded. This data in addition to the caught fish gives NOAA scientists a better indicator of the quality of habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sargassum TriggerfishLionfish
The cameras are put into protective casing and the scientists have to make sure the case is fully closed to prevent any water from entering and destroying the cameras. The Go Pro camera has three different cases that can be use. From left to right they are the IQ Sub House Golem Gear which is approved for up to 150m, the middle case is called a Dive House and is approved for up to 60m and the far right case is the standard Go Pro Case and is approved for up to 40m. On this cruise we have been using the IQ Sub Golem Gear. You will notice that the camera has a number 5 written on it. Each camera is labeled (1-6) and corresponds with the traps that it will be attached too.
Go Pro casesGo Pro camera
Personal Log
On Monday I was woken up at noon by the abandon ship drill. The ship does safety drills every week and for this drill we had to grab our life jackets and survival suits and head outside. I didn’t know what to expect from the drills since I was sick last Monday for the practice drills. We had to put on the life jackets but we didn’t have to put on the survival suits this time. The drill was over quickly and I headed down the wet lab to check out the traps. The cool catch of the day was a spiny lobster that wandered into one of the traps. Everyone was surprised to see the lobster!
COOL CATCH
Spiny Lobster
SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE
Name: Adria McClain
Title: Survey Technician
Education/Training: Undergraduate degree in Biology; graduate degree in Meteorology & Physical Oceanography.
Where are you from? Born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
Adria with the Spiny Lobster
Job Description/Duties: I am responsible for collecting, quality-controlling, and managing the ship’s meteorological data (temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed/direction) and oceanographic data (water temperature, salinity, current speed/direction, speed of sound in water). Additionally, I am responsible for the ship’s scientific equipment (e.g. conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensor, scientific seawater system) and the ship’s scientific software. I also assist the visiting Fisheries Biologists with sorting and measuring fish.
How long have you worked for NOAA? About six months.
How did you get into this work? I am also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy – I belong to the METOC (Meteorology & Oceanography) community. While I was on active duty, I did oceanographic surveys aboard the Navy’s research ships. I like doing science at sea so this job is a good fit.
What are your future plans (how long will you stay on the ship)? My crystal ball is a bit fuzzy right now so I don’t know how long I’ll be on this ship. I do plan to go back to grad school for a PhD in Earth Systems Science at some point in the future.
How many days are you out at sea? I believe we have 150 sailing days on the schedule for this fiscal year.
What is the most challenging part of your job? Being away from home for extended periods of time.
What do you do when you aren’t on the ship? U.S. Navy Reserve military duty. In my free time, I like to read and travel.
What is your favorite fish? The Smooth Lumpsucker (Aptocyclus ventricosus)
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 28, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 27.5 C
Relative Humidity: 86%
Wind Speed: 15.03 knots
Science and Technology Log
There is a lot of work that goes into allowing the fishery team to be able to set traps every day. The acoustics lab/ night shift is responsible for creating the maps of the seafloor that will be used the following day. The team consists of David Berrane a NOAA fisheries biologist, Erik Ebert a NOAA research technician, Dawn Glasgow from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and a Ph.D student at the University of South Carolina, as well as Mary a college student studying Geology at the College of Charleston and Chrissy a masters student at the University of South Carolina. This team is amazing! Starting at around 5:00 pm the day before they stay up all night mapping the ocean floor.
The night shift collecting data
Every night Zeb Schobernd lets the night shift know which boxes they will work on. These boxes are created in the offseason by the research scientists, they base their selection on information from fishermen, the proximity to already mapped areas, weather and previous experiences. The first step in creating a bathymetric map is to create a line plan, which lets the ship know which area will be covered. The average line takes about half an hour to complete but they can take up to several hours. The ship drives along these lines all night long while the team uses the information that is gathered to create their maps.
So how do they get this information? The ship uses sonar to collect data on the water column and the ocean floor. The Pisces has a 26 multi-beams sonar system, which allows the research team to create a better picture, compared to using single beam sonar. The beams width is about 3 times the depth of water column. This means that depending on how deep the water is in any given location, it will determine how many lines need to be run to cover the area.
Multi-beam sonar (picture from NOAA)
The picture below is one of the computer screens that the scientists look at throughout the night. It provides the sonar information that will then be used to map the floor. Sonar works by putting a known amount of sound into the water and measuring the intensity of the return. A rock bottom will yield a stronger return while a sand bottom will absorb the sound and yield a less intense return. In the image red means that there is a more intense return while blue and yellow signifies a less intense return. You will notice in the center screen there is a strong red return at the top of the beam this is because the ship is sending out the sound and it takes about four meters until you start recording information from the sea floor.
SIMRAD (multi-beam sonar)
Finally before the maps can be created the team has to launch an XBT (expendable bathy thermograph) two times per box or every four hours. The XBT measures the temperature and conductivity of the water, this is important because sound travels at different rates in cold versus warm water. This information is then used when the scientists calculate the sound velocity, which is used to estimate the absorption coefficient of sound traveling through the water column.
Once the data is collected the team begins the editing process. First they have to remove random erroneous soundings in order to get an accurate map; they fondly call this process dot killing (this basically means getting rid of outliers). They do this by drawing a box around the points of data they want to remove and deleting the point. Next they apply tide data to account for the deviations in the tides, this information is obtained from NOAA and is based on the predicted tides for the area. Finally they apply the sound absorption coefficient.
Editing the data (killing dots)
The final product is put into GIS (Geographic Information Systems), which the chief scientists will use to determine where the traps should be set the following morning. On the map below blue indicates the deepest areas while red shows the shallowest. The scientists want to place the traps in areas where there is a large change in depths because this is usually where you will find hard bottoms and good fish habitats.
Finished map
Personal Log
I have spent the past three nights in the Acoustics/Computer Lab with the night shift mapping the ocean floor. While the ship sails along the plotted course, I have had the opportunity to see the sunrise and sunset on the Pisces as well as a lightning storm from the top deck.
Lighting on the ocean (picture from sciencedaily)
On Thursday night a little after midnight after launching the XBT we see decided to go onto the top deck of the Pisces to get a better look at the lighting storm in the distance. Even at night it was still humid and hot and as we climbed up to the top deck it was dark all around us until suddenly there would be a flash of color in the clouds and you could see everything, until it went dark again. We tried to take a picture but the lightening was just too fast for our cameras. This is the closest picture I could find to what it was like that night except the water was not calm.
SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE
Name: Erik Ebert Title: Research Technician
Erik editing data collected on Sunday July 26th.
Education: Cape Fear Tech (Wilmington, NC)
How long have you worked for NOAA/NOS: 6th field season, 5th year
Job Summary: I work on ecosystem assessments throughout the Gulf of Mexico South Atlantic & Caribbean
– Team oriented production of ocean floor maps
– System setup & keeping the acoustic systems operating correctly
How long have you participated in this survey: Since 2010
What do you like about your job: That the data we collect, and the maps we create can be used again for different studies. The types of data we collect includes bathymetric data, information on the water column, & fish that populate the water column.
How many days are you at sea: 60 days (April-November)
What do you do when you are not on the boat: Process & produce fish density maps from the data collected during the cruises. I also work for National Ocean Services (provide data to policy & decision makers to the state of the ecosystem)
Most challenging about research on a ship: Being away from home is the biggest challenge.
What would be your ideal research cruise: My ideal research cruise would be a cruise similar to what we just completed in Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a 3-year assessment of the reef ecosystem using ROV, Diving and Acoustics to study how the ecosystem changed over time.
Favorite fish: Trigger Fish “cool swimming behavior”
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 23, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 27.4 C
Relative Humidity: 85%
Wind Speed: 13 knots
Science and Technology Log
The goal of the Southeast Fishery Independent Survey (SEFIS) is to assess the location and abundance of different species focusing on snappers and groupers as well as collecting bathymetric data about the ocean floor that can be used in the future. The scientists are divided into day and night shifts, the night shift maps the ocean floor, while the day shift uses these maps to set traps and catch fish.
Traps on the back deck ready to go.
Each morning the scientists set up six chevron traps on the back deck of the Pisces, each trap is stocked with 24 menhaden, which serves as the baitfish. The traps contain the same amount of bait, two cameras one on the front and one on the back, and each trap stays underwater for 90 minutes. Chief Scientist Zeb Schobernd works in the dry lab to let the crew know when and where to drop the traps (more on this later).
Trap going down the ramp into the water
When its time to retrieve the traps the crew of the Pisces works with chief scientist and the Bridge to retrieve the traps. When you are on the deck waiting for the traps to be lifted on board you have to wear a safety helmet and life preserver. Once the traps on are on the deck the scientists really start to hustle. They remove the cameras from the traps and empty the trap into black bins.
Chevron Trap being lifted onto the deck
Once we are in the wet lab the first step is to sort the fish by species. In the picture on below you will see 3 bins with red porgy, vermilion snapper, and trigger fish these are 3 of the 4 most common commercially important fish we catch the 4th is black sea bass.
Sorting the fishRed Porgy, Vermilion Snapper, & Trigger FishMeasuring the total length of the fish
Next we need to weight the sample in kilograms and record the total size of the fish in millimeters. The fish that are not being kept for further study are returned to the ocean. It can get very busy and messy in the wet lab when the traps produce a large catch. The goal is to process one trap before the next trap is brought on deck. The traps are dropped three times daily for a total of 18 traps caught per day; it is the scientist’s goal to completely process the traps before the completion of their 12 hours shift. Certain fish are of special interest to the scientists because they are commercially and recreationally important to the fishing community so these fish are set aside for further study. On Monday July 21st we caught a 10.47 kg Red Grouper, which is one of the fish that is studied in more detail.
Red Grouper caught on Monday July 21, 2014
For this fish in addition to recording the weight and total length, scientists also record the fork length and standard length. The scientists also collect the otoliths (ear bones) from the fish which are used to determine the age of the fish just likes rings on a tree are used to determine age. Finally scientists collect DNA and part of the gonads for additional study back at the laboratory.
Personal Log
My first few days on the Pisces have been busy and very exciting there is so much to see and learn. Everyone on board has been very friendly and welcoming. As I look out my window every morning all is see is blue for miles. Even though we are only 10-50 miles off the coast of North Carolina on any given day there is nothing out here but ocean. It’s impressive how vast the ocean is and how little we know about the geography of the ocean or the animals that inhabit the sea floor.
Leaving Morehead City, North CarolinaLooking down from the top deck of the Pisces.
We set sail from Morehead City, North Carolina at 10am on Sunday July 20th and I had a great view from the top deck of the Pisces as we left the harbor. After lunch we practiced the abandon ship and fire drills, however I was not able to participate because I was seasick. Did you know that seasickness occurs when our brain receives conflicting information from our body. Onboard the Pisces it doesn’t look like anything is moving so my eyes sent my brain a message that there was no movement, but my inner ear, which is responsible for balance, sensed the motion of the boat and this conflicting information caused my seasickness. By Monday I was feeling much better and I was ready to get to work.
The bunks in our stateroom
Life on the Pisces is very comfortable. I am sharing a stateroom with Mary who is a great roommate. We each have our own bunk with a curtain for privacy as well as lockers for storage. Additionally our bathroom is located in our room, which was a wonderful surprise because I thought that we would all be sharing a single bathroom. There is a lounge across from our room with large comfy chairs and an impressive DVD collection, however I have been too tired from working in the wet lab to enjoy it yet. There is also a gym somewhere on the ship but I don’t think that I will ever have enough balance onboard the ship to use the gym safely. Stay tuned, tonight I’m going to spend the night mapping the ocean floor and I’ll let you know how it goes.
SCIENTIST SPOT LIGHT
Zeb Schobernd : Chief Scientist
Education: Masters from Earlham College and a Masters from College of Charleston in Marine Biology
How long have you worked with NOAA? Since 2007, started this project in 2010
Chief Scientist Zeb Schonberned in the dry lab
How important is collaboration in your research? Being able to share and work together is a large part of the marine biology community. On this cruise for example we are collaborating with scientists from Beaufort as well as with local universities we have 2 volunteers from the College of Charleston sailing with us.
How long have you participated in this survey? Since the start of the SEFIS survey in 2010, currently in its 5th season.
Does your team change every year? The core group of research scientists stays the same, but the volunteers and lab assistants’ changes year to year.
How does the Pisces compare to other ships? The Pisces is larger than other ships I have worked on. It’s more comfortable, there is more space for scientists to spread out and work. Additionally the Pisces has the equipment need to map the floor, which makes determining where to drop traps more efficient.
How many days a year do you go out to sea? I spend about 45 days out at sea.
What do you do when you are not out at sea? I work on processing the videos that were collected on the cruise; we need to identify the fish species that are on caught on camera. The cameras are often more valuable then the fish that we trap because some fish may never go in the trap so these videos allow us a better picture of the underwater ecosystem.
What is the biggest challenge about doing research at sea? The biggest challenge would be bad weather that impacts sea conditions. Also time away from home can be challenge on long cruises.
What would be your dream research cruise? I would like to be able to use a submersible to record videos of tropical fish for further study.
Any advice you have for students interested in marine biology as a career? Gain hands on experiences in the field by doing internships while in college to determine if this is what you really want to do. What I do on a day to day basis is very similar to what I experienced on a research cruise while I was in grad school.
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 13, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 27.6 °C
Relative Humidity: 73%
Wind Speed: 5.04 knots
Science and Technology Log
Someone is always working on the Pisces. When Nate Bacheler and the other fishery scientists have finished their work for the day collecting fish, it is show time for the hydrographers, the scientists who map and study the ocean floor. Their job is to map the ocean floor to help Nate find the best places to find fish for the next day. Warren, Laura, David and Matt were kind enough to let me join them and explained how they map the ocean floor while on board the Pisces.
People have learned over the years that some fish like to hang out where there is a hard bottom, not a sandy bottom. These hard bottom areas are where coral and sponges can grow and it also happens to be where we usually find the most fish.
Instead of using a camera to find these hard bottom habitats, the mapping scientists use multibeam sonar. Here is a simple explanation on how sonar works. The ship sends a sound wave to the bottom of the ocean. When the sound wave hits the bottom, the sound bounces back up to the ship.
Since scientists know how fast sound travels in water, they can figure out how far it is to the ocean floor. If the sound wave bounces back quickly, we are close to the ocean floor. If the sound wave takes longer, the ocean floor is farther away. They can use this data to make a map of what the ocean floor looks like beneath the ship.
The neat thing about the Pisces is that it does not send down one sound wave only. It sends 70 waves at once. This is called multibeam sonar.
Single Beam versus Multibeam sonar. Can you see why hydrographers like to use multibeam sonar? Credit: NOAA
So, now you know how sonar works in simple terms.
But it gets a little more complicated. Did you know that sound speed can be affected by the water temperature, by how salty the water is (the “salinity”), by tides, and by the motion of the ship? Computers make corrections for all of these factors to help get a better picture of the ocean floor. But, computers don’t know the physical properties of our part of the ocean (because these properties change all the time) so we need to find this information and give it to the computer.
To find the temperature of the ocean water, the mapping scientists launch an “XBT” into the water. XBT stands for “expendable bathythermograph.” The XBT records the changes in water temperature as it travels to the ocean floor. It looks like a missile. It gets put into a launcher and it has a firing pin. It sounds pretty dangerous, doesn’t it! I was excited to be able to fire it into the water. But, when I pulled out the firing pin, the XBT just gently slid out of the launcher, softly plopped into the ocean, and quietly collected data all the way to the ocean floor.
Kevin McMahon nervously holding the XBT Launcher and waiting for the order to fire.
Kevin McMahon watches as the XBT gently plops out of the launcher.
With the new data on water temperature, the hydrographers were able to create this map of the ocean floor.
Example of an Ocean Floor Map
In the map above, blue indicates that part of the ocean floor that is the deepest. The green color indicates the part of the map that is the next deepest. The red indicates the area that is most shallow.
Nate talks to the hydrographers early in the morning and then predicts where the hard bottom habitats might be. In particular, Nate looks for areas that have a sudden change in elevation, indicating a ledge feature. If you had Nate’s job, where would you drop the 6 traps to find the most fish? Look at the map below to see where Nate decided to deploy the traps.
The green dots are the spots where Nate dropped the traps in hopes of finding fish.
To find out more about using sound to see the ocean floor and to see an animation of how this works, click on this link:
We have now gotten into a regular routine on the ship. The best part of the day for me is when we are retrieving the traps. We never know what we will see. Sometimes we catch nothing. Sometimes we find some really amazing things.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Closer view of sharksucker on my arm
Somebody is crabby.
Sea stars with beautiful navy blue colors
A pair of butterflyfish
Did you know?
The ocean is largely unexplored. Maybe someday you will discover something new about the ocean!
Hello everyone! My name is Emina Mesanovic and I am so excited to have been selected by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to be a part of the 2014 Teacher at Sea field season. July 20th can’t come fast enough.
I am very excited to share this experience with everyone on the blog this summer and back at school in the fall. As I learn more about the research being done on the Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS), and my ship the Pisces, so will you!
During the school year I teach science at Danbury High School and I LOVE my job. The students at DHS are amazing and I enjoy watching them learn and grow as they explore science inside and outside the classroom.
Students collected physical, biological and chemical information on Long Island Sound for Project Periphyton.
In the classroom I try to give my students experiences and interactions with science content so that they can truly internalize the knowledge and be active participants in the learning process. I know that the experiences that I will have while on the cruise will enhance my ability to craft and deliver lessons, by incorporating current research into the classroom. My students are always more interested in topics that are current and relevant and I am looking forward to bringing back stories of scientists working collaboratively to study and solve problems.
Students collecting physical data on the Shepaug River for Project Periphyton.
When I am not teaching I enjoy being outdoors preferably near water. I love the beach and there is nothing I enjoy more then listening to the calming noise of the ocean while I read a good book. In planning a vacation my first thoughts are always is it near warm water and what cool and exciting things can I do there. That is how I found myself Zip-lining through the forest in the Dominican Republic and Ice Skating on the beach in San Diego.
Zip lining in the Dominican Republic
Soon I will be heading out on the NOAA Ship Pisces into the Atlantic Ocean whereI will be find out more about the various jobs my shipmates have, information about ocean ecology, and life onboard a ship. Stay tuned and let me know if you have any questions.
The Pisces my home for the next 12 days. Picture courtesy of NOAA
Geographic area of the cruise: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina
Date: July 11, 2014
Weather Information from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 28.1 °C
Relative Humidity: 86%
Wind Speed: 17.08 knots
Science and Technology Log
As mentioned earlier, we are trying to collect data about fish populations in the Atlantic Ocean, off the southeast coast of the United States. One way to do that is to catch fish in traps. But, wait. What if some of the fish don’t go in the trap?
To help get a better estimate of fish populations, scientists use technology used by skateboarders, surfers, and snowboarders – the GoPro camera.
GoPro Camera on Chevron Trap
There are two cameras mounted on the top of the trap. One is placed on the front of the trap. Another camera is placed on the back of the trap.
Because the video file is so large, I won’t be able to upload it to this blog. But here are some screenshots of what we see on the video.
GoPro Camera and Trap Heading into the Ocean
This is what the camera sees as it is sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
Hello pufferfish! This is a view of what we can see with the video camera.
Sometimes the video helps explain why we do not have many fish in our trap. In this photo, a tiger shark is swimming in front of the camera.
So, how do you count fish on the video? The fish can be very fast and they zoom in and out of view. The scientists use a procedure called MeanCount. They look at the video from minute 10 to minute 30. Every 30 seconds, they stop the camera and count the number of fish of each species that they are studying. They then find the average number of those fish in this twenty-minute video segment. This MeanCount allows them to better estimate the fish population of that species.
Spotlight on Ocean Careers
I have been fortunate to meet many interesting people while at sea. One of those people is Adria McClain, the survey technician on the Pisces. Listed below are her answers to questions that I asked about her job.
Adria McClain holding a spottail pinfish
Tell us your name and where you grew up.
My name is Adria McClain and I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
What is your job title and could you explain what you do.
Survey Technician. I am responsible for collecting, checking, and managing the ship’s meteorological data (temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed/direction) and oceanographic data (water temperature, salinity, current speed/direction, speed of sound in water). Additionally, I am responsible for the ship’s scientific equipment (e.g. conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensor, scientific seawater system) and the ship’s scientific software. I also assist the visiting Fisheries Biologists with sorting and measuring fish.
What got you interested in doing this type of work?
I’ve always liked science and knew from an early age that I wanted to be a scientist. I studied Biology in college and Oceanography in graduate school – this job allows me to do work in both fields.
How can a student prepare to do this type of work?
Take lots of science and math classes in high school and in college. Take lots of English classes too! In the sciences, it is important to be able to communicate verbally and in writing. I would also recommend taking a basic seamanship course to learn about navigation, shipboard communication, tying knots, and safety at sea.
Why do you think it is important to study the ocean?
The reasons are many, but to name a few, the ocean influences Earth’s climate and weather patterns, the ocean harbors yet undiscovered species, and the ocean provides food for humans and countless other life forms. What was your favorite subject or subjects in school, and why were they your favorite(s)?
All of them! I’ve always had a passion for learning. If I had to pick a favorite subject, it would be a tie between science and foreign languages. I liked science because I was always fascinated with the natural world and wanted to understand and be able to explain what I observed in nature. I liked foreign language study because I wanted to be able to communicate in more than one language.
What are your hobbies?
Reading, science, and travel. I am also a Batman enthusiast and collect Batman comic books, movies, TV shows, as well as books about the mythology, philosophy, and psychology of Batman.
Tell us about what it was like when you were in 6th grade.
In my school district, elementary school included sixth grade. We stayed with the same teacher all day and the subjects we studied included social studies, math, science, reading, writing, music, and physical education.
“International Day” was one of my favorite days – once per year, each of the school’s 12 classrooms featured the food, art, and history of another country or culture. Each student received a “passport” and could choose which countries to visit that day.
What is your favorite sea creature?
The Smooth Lumpsucker (Aptocyclus ventricosus)
This cute blob is a Smooth Lumpsucker. Credit: Adria McClain
Adria explained to me that the Smooth Lumpsucker won’t be found on our current trip. Too bad. It looks pretty cool. She said that you can find it in much colder water, like the North Atlantic Ocean. To find out more about the Smooth Lumpsucker, you can click on this link:
It has been fun and challenging living on a ship. It is VERY different from living on land.
My room is comfortable and I sleep on the top bunk. The greatest part of all is when it is time to sleep. While you are lying down in bed, the waves will roll you gently from side to side. At the same time, the head of the bed will rise up and down too. And, if that wasn’t enough movement, we sometimes feel the ship slide left and right.
Because my room is on the bottom floor, the water from the waves will crash against the window. It makes a sloshing sound. With all the rocking and sloshing, I sometimes think that I am sleeping in a washing machine. So far, it has been a relaxing way to fall asleep.
I spend much of the day in the wet lab. Yes, you are right. It is wet in there. In the picture below, I am standing in the entrance to the wet lab.
This sharksucker can stick to humans too.
This is where we collect data on the fish, like their weight and size. It is also where the scientists collect samples to help determine the age and reproductive health of certain species.
My favorite part of the wet lab is the fish waterslide. The fish that are returned to sea are dropped down a hole in the wet lab where they land on a jet stream of water and get launched back home.
Triggerfish returning to sea from the ship’s “waterslide”.
We also have a dry lab. Yes, you are right again! No fish are allowed in here. This is where the scientists have their computers and where the video cameras are kept when they are not in their waterproof containers. Our chief scientist, Nate Bacheler, works on 5 computers at once when it comes time to decide where and when to drop the traps.
Nate Bacheler in the Dry Lab. Can you see the 5 computers that he uses?
Did you know?
A team of 5 seventh graders from Sacred Heart School in South Haven, Mississippi named our ship the Pisces. They won a contest to name the ship by writing an essay and explaining why NOAA should choose the name that they selected.
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of MexicoMission:SEAMAP Reef Fish SurveyDate: June 10, 2014Observational Data:Latitude: 28˚ 4.545 NLongitude: 90˚ 43.557 WAir Temp: 28.4˚C (83.1˚F)Water Temp: 25.4˚C (77.7˚F)Ocean Depth: 148.0 m (486 ft.)Relative Humidity: 80%Wind Speed: 11.8 kts (13.6 mph)Barometer: 1,011.1 hPa (1,011.1 mbar)
Science and Technology Log:
Adria McClain, a survey technician, works on meteorological and oceanographic data collection in the acoustics lab.
It takes many different types of skill sets with many different types of backgrounds to make a NOAA mission like this a success. Since it takes all kinds of people to get the job done, NOAA needs people with all of these backgrounds working together as a team for a common goal. Maybe a NOAA career is in your future?
Physical scientist Joe Tegeder is tracking the progress of one of the night-long mapping missions. Since the mapping grids commonly resemble a tightly-knit zig-zag of mapping trails, they are commonly referred to as “mowing the lawn.” Such a pattern is needed in order to properly map a given area.
Do you have an interest in meteorology or oceanography? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet Adria McClain; Adria is a survey technician who is responsible for collecting meteorological and oceanographic data and managing and maintaining the databases that store these observations. She also helps integrate the Pisces’ system resources with each visiting science party. She has an undergraduate degree in biology, a masters in physical oceanography and meteorology. She was on active duty in the Navy for 10 years with the Meteorology and Oceanography Community or METOC. During those ten years, she served two tours with the Naval Oceanographic Office where she was a hydrographer using sonar to make nautical charts for the Department of Defense. She also served one tour at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center where she developed atmospheric and ocean models. She states that she very much likes her job even though she still has a lot to learn about fish and fishery biology since she does not have a background in those areas.
Lead fisherman Joe Flora is maintaining the weather deck by power washing surfaces. An advanced ship like the Pisces is a major investment in science and must be carefully maintained for future use.
Do you have an interest in the physical sciences and mapping? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet Joe Tegeder; Joe is a physical scientist who is responsible for using the acoustics equipment onboard specifically the ME-70 and the EK-60 in order to map fish habitat on the ocean bottom. He has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in marine science. He currently works for the Pacific Hydrographic Branch for NOAA where he primarily works with updating nautical charts in the U.S. waters of the Pacific. Previously, he worked for the Naval Oceanographic Office where he helped map out harbors from around the world to develop anti-mining operations for possible future military missions.
Do you have an interest in doing the hands-on operational work required to carry out fisheries science? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet Joe Flora; Joe is the lead fisherman onboard the Pisces. He helps implement all of the operational aspects of science missions by launching and retrieving science equipment, operating bandit reels, and cleaning and maintaining the ship in general. He was with the Military Sealift Command for eight years where he worked on refueling ships and transport operations involving cargo and ammunition. For the last nine years, he has worked in NOAA onboard the ships Thomas Jefferson, Gordon Gunter, and the Pisces. He has been on the Pisces for six years.
NOAA Corps officers are manning the bridge overseeing operations and ship resources. From left to right: Ensign Johnson, Commander Fischel, and Lieutenant Commander Mowitt.
Do you have an interest in hands-on science and exploration? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet the NOAA Corps; they navigate the ship, allocate and coordinate the ship’s resources with the crew and the embarking science party, and most importantly make sure all hands are kept out of harm’s way by implementing proper safety procedures and protocols. They bring all of the component parts together for a successful mission and try to make it as functional and as successful as possible. Applicants to the NOAA Corps must possess a minimum of a four year degree with a minimum of 48 semester hours in science, math, or engineering coursework. All of the officers onboard the Pisces have one thing in common: they have a background in science, mostly biology and marine biology. They also had to complete Basic Officer Training Classes after which they reported to a NOAA ship to serve onboard for two years where they learned watch duties and various other collateral duties along with all of the ship’s systems and operations. In addition to assigned duties, they needed to know how to deploy and recover a diverse array of equipment including fishing gear, oceanographic instrumentation, sonar devices, and underwater cameras. I could tell right away on the cruise that the officers had an inherent interest in science since they were always dropping in to see what we were working on exhibiting a genuine curiosity in the science that was going on. NOAA officers are rotated out of their work positions spending a certain period of time out to sea and on land in varying geographical areas with alternating assignments. This gives them a well-rounded experience in many aspects of NOAA’s mission.
Members of the science party processing and recording fish specimens in the wet lab. Pictured from left to right are Paul Felts, John Moser, Adam Pollack, and Harriet Nash.
Do you have an interest in working with food preparation and presentation? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet Moises Martinez and Mark Potter; Moises is the chief steward. His responsibilities include making sure there is enough storage for food, linens, and toiletries. He is also responsible for hospitality onboard the ship and cleaning of the galley and mess. He works with the second cook to preplan menus, but he really tries to take requests from the scientists and crew and responds accordingly. He knows that there is not as much to do at sea during downtime as on land; so, he appreciates how much people look forward toward their meals; he tries to make everyone happy when possible. He was in the Navy for eight years where he realized his interest in preparing food. Later he worked two years in Italy with the Military Sealift Command as a cook and a baker. When he came back to the United States, he found out that NOAA was trying to contact him to see if he was still interested in working for them. He found this to be surprising since he had forgotten that he had applied through NOAA before he left for Italy two years prior. He started out as a second cook for NOAA and has worked his way up the last six years. Meet Mark; he is the second cook onboard the Pisces. His responsibilities include cleaning, preparing food, cooking, and restocking. He used to work in computer servicing but had to make a career change due to the economic downturn. He liked preparing food; so, he decided to go back to school. He went to Great Lakes Culinary Institute in Traverse City, Michigan, where he worked with some world class chefs to learn what he needed to know in order to work onboard the Pisces. Prior to his assignment on the Pisces, he worked on freighters and research vessels in the Great Lakes for a couple of years.
Do you have an interest in engineering and mechanical systems? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet Jake DeMello; Jake is the chief engineer for the Pisces. His responsibilities include maintaining any mechanical, propulsion, or electrical system. He works to ensure that these systems are running safely and efficiently. He has worked for NOAA for six years. Prior to NOAA he worked in engineering on cruise ships and tankers. He has a BA in marine engineering from the California Maritime Academy and is licensed as an unlimited chief engineer through the Coast Guard.
The science party’s chief scientist, Kevin Rademacher, is coordinating from the dry lab a camera array drop with the bridge and the crew out on the weather deck.
Do you have an interest in science? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet the fishery research biologists onboard the Pisces; this includes the science party’s chief scientist and fishery research biologist, Kevin Rademacher, fishery research biologist Paul Felts, and fishery research biologist John Moser. Other members of the science party include fishery biologist Adam Pollack and guest scientist Harriet Nash. In order to be a fishery biologist, one needs a degree that includes courses such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, and various other aquatic topics. A background including technology, computer programming, and statistics is also useful when data analysis software is needed to produce maps and other displays of research data. Having research experience that gives one the ability to do the data collection and processing, trouble-shooting, and analysis that is needed to carry out fishery research is also necessary.
Jim Johnson works on the camera array after another full day of scheduled camera drops and data acquisition.
Do you have an interest in computers, computer programming, and electronics? If so, NOAA needs you! Meet Jim Johnson; Jim is an electronics technician for this mission. His responsibilities include data downloading and maintenance and repair of the camera array system. He started working for NOAA as a contractor and has been a NOAA employee for the last five years. He has a four year degree in electronic engineering technology and a background in computers, technology, and computer programming.
Personal Log: Unfortunately, my time on the Pisces is quickly coming to an end as the science carried out by the Pisces continues on for another leg of the SEAMAP survey. I am so grateful for this experience and this remarkable program that NOAA has in place to provide such research experiences for teachers. I look forward to developing materials in my classroom from this experience and making an impact on my students’ lives by sharing my experiences with STEM related NOAA careers. I am also thankful to all of the crew and scientists of the Pisces for showing patience in everything from explaining basic ship operations and procedures to showing me how to carry out some of the science onboard. The hands-on nature of the cruise made it an extremely valuable learning experience. It is my hope that this program will continue offering such opportunities to educators well into the future. I truly believe that the future of STEM-related jobs in the United States depends on programs like this to develop tomorrow’s scientists and engineers.
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Mission:SEAMAP Reef Fish SurveyDate: June 1, 2014
Observational Data:
Latitude: 27˚ 50.503 N
Longitude: 93˚ 46.791 W
Air Temp: 26.3˚C (79.3˚F)
Water Temp: 23.3˚C (73.9˚F)
Ocean Depth: 126.8 m (416 ft.)
Relative Humidity: 84%
Wind Speed: 7.8 kts (9.0 mph)
Barometer: 1,009.5 hPa (1,009.5 mbar)
Science and Technology Log:
It was not until the Pisces arrived at its first survey area off the coast of Texas that I was able to appreciate the volume of scientific data collection that this vessel could collect. It took most of the 27th and all of the 28th to arrive at our initial survey area. While in transit, the Pisces is constantly collecting data. Data such as air temperature, wind direction, relative humidity, wind speed, and barometric pressure are recorded and periodically reported back to NOAA and the National Weather Service and from other marine vessels to improve data on meteorological events in the Gulf and weather forecasts.
In addition to collecting meteorological data, the Pisces uses a fishery acoustics system called the ER-60 to track depth and various sea floor features. This system can also be used to monitor biomass such as fish, coral, and even plankton. Once we arrived at our initial survey area within the SEAMAP survey grid, the amount of science conducted increased dramatically. In the survey areas, the camera array is dropped to the sea floor to survey fish populations. In most cases we are looking at fish habitat from 50 to 120 m deep. Video and still photos are taken of fish attracted to the bait bag filled with squid. To ensure that sampling is both consistent and unbiased for the survey, pictures and video are pulled at random from all four cameras on the camera array. It is important that the same procedures are carried out throughout the SEAMAP survey gird concerning data collection in order to be able to reliably compare different survey areas and track species development and abundance.
In order to assist the camera array in obtaining accurate information about precisely how deep the camera array is when it is recording fish population data, a Temperature Depth Recorder or TDR is attached to the camera array to compare position in the water column to what the ship’s fishery acoustics system is displaying. This is necessary in case the camera array has fallen off an underwater cliff or is hung up on some other topographic feature.
The Conductivity Temperature and Depth or CTD submersible probe can measure the salinity of the water, temperature, pressure, plankton concentrations, dissolved gases, and water samples at different depths.
The Conductivity Temperature and Depth submersible aids the ship’s acoustic equipment in determining an accurate depth of the ocean bottom. Since sound travels at different velocities in water that has different densities and temperatures, information regarding the salinity and temperature of the water must be fed into the ship’s fishery acoustics system to calibrate the system for it to accurately read the bottom depths. If temperature or salinity are not taken into account, the depth will either be too shallow or too deep compared to the true value.
The Pisces not only has the ER-60 for fishery acoustics, but it also has a state of-the-art multi-beam echo sounder, the ME-70, that has 27 transducers that are aligned in a configuration allowing for scans of wide swaths of the ocean bottom. In fact, the Pisces has engines that are specifically designed to run quietly enough to accommodate such advanced acoustic equipment. The ME-70 is used for mapping various sample areas of the SEAMAP survey.
While the camera array can be used to measure the length of some of the fish viewed, it cannot reliably determine characteristics such as age or sex. Determining age or sex just through appearance can be very tricky in the Gulf and is frequently unreliable. Many species of fish will grow at different rates depending on available forage and other environmental factors. This is an issue that is also commonly encountered among freshwater fish in South Dakota. Complicating fish characteristics even further, many reef fish are one or the other sex at different phases of their lives. They are not strictly male or female but change roles depending on complex physical or environmental factors. With so many factors complicating these characteristics, live catches are necessary to determine the full story of what is going on with reef fish in the Gulf.
For live catches we use bandit reels. Bandit reels are similar in concept to a standard fishing rod and reel except they are built for heavy duty sea fishing. The reel and rod are attached to the side of the ship. One hundred pound test line is used with a five pound sinker weight. Each line for the bandit reels has ten hooks, a small float that keeps the hooks in a vertical column, and a large float that keeps the ten hooks just above the ocean bottom.
Again, in order to guard against bias in the results, we use the bandit reels with a set procedure. For our survey we are using three bandit reels at a time each with ten hooks. The bandit reel stations are in radio communication with the dry lab, where the chief scientist is coordinating the sampling, and the bridge, which is keeping the ship in position for the lines preventing lines from running under the ship. Since we want to be as objective as possible without contributing to any type of bias in the sampling, each line was in the water for exactly five minutes. Even though it may have went against every natural inclination of most fishermen and fisherwomen, we were not allowed to jig our lines or do anything that might attract more fish to our bait. In addition to standardizing the number of hooks and the length of time spent fishing, three different sizes of hooks are used and rotated out from each bandit reel station; consequently, one of each of the three hook sizes is always being used for each survey area.
White, nickel-sized disk-like structures called otoliths can reliably age fish. They are inner ear structures that grow in size as a fish ages allowing calcium carbonate deposits to form over the course of its life. Scientists can read these calcium carbonate deposit rings like rings in a tree to determine the age of the fish. Credit Harriet Nash for the photo.After all the measurements are taken of the fish and their otoliths and gonads have been sampled, the information must be added to the database for use in the SEAMAP Survey. Credit Adam Pollack for the photo.
After five minutes of fishing, the lines are brought up and fish are tagged one through ten to keep fish identified with a specific hook and depth. The tagged fish are then taken to the wet lab for measurement readings. In the wet lab, fish length, weight, sex, and phase of reproductive development are recorded. Since reproductive development, and sometimes even sex, can be difficult to determine, a sample of each fish’s gonads (ovaries or testes) are removed and placed in a labeled specimen vial for confirmation in the lab back on land. The otoliths (inner ear bones) are removed from the fish, as well, in order to reliably age the fish back in the lab. Once the measurements are recorded, they need to be added to the database to be compiled with the gonad and otolith specimens. This is just a small piece of the monitoring that is occurring in the Gulf through NOAA. The Gulf of Mexico is a remarkably diverse expanse of ocean and requires significant scientific research in order to understand and track fish populations and the habitat and forage that sustain them. Without these types of intensive scientific studies on the ocean, we could not possibly manage or attempt to conserve a natural resource that we would, otherwise, have little to no understanding of.
Personal Log:
Since we had arrived off the coast of Texas a couple of days ago, we have been slowly back tracking to Pascagoula as we go through our survey areas. The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days; however, sea swells do cause the boat to jostle around a bit. Each day we see more species on the surface of the water and through our camera array under the water. Since the science log is rather long for this post, I will talk more about life at sea and the different types of organisms we are encountering in future posts.
Did You Know?
Fish identification can be a tricky business in the Gulf of Mexico. Many species of Gulf fish alter their physical appearance depending on their reproductive development, environmental factors, or phase of physical development. Fish will even appear to have different patterns depending on whether they are viewed under our out of water.
This is the aftermath of a fire early Sunday morning that destroyed most of the high school in Hoven. My classroom is in the lower left of this picture. Credit Jill Cody for the photo
I see the pictures, the video, and the news stories, and it is still hard to accept the reality of what happened Sunday morning. For those of you who are not familiar with my town and the events surrounding it, our community suffered a great loss over the weekend by losing much of the high school to a fire. Since I was on vacation when it happened and had to leave directly from that to the Pisces, I never saw the fire or the resulting damage, and I suppose reality will finally sink in three weeks from now when I see my school and classroom in person to see what science materials and equipment is salvageable. My sympathies to those affected by this tragedy. However, I am heartened by my community’s initial response of determination to rebuild our school and to continue our tradition of offering high quality education to rural South Dakota. Though the future remains uncertain, I stand with those who support saving our school district and will be there to help see this transition through. I will proceed with the NOAA Teacher at Sea program while keeping in mind that I am now helping move forward the recovery from this tragedy by advancing and enhancing the future of science education in Hoven and beyond.
Back in the Gulf, I flew into Gulfport, Mississippi, on Monday, May 26, and took a taxi to the Pisces in Pascagoula, Mississippi. By chance I met a crewmember who noticed the NOAA Teacher at Sea t-shirt I was wearing at the airport. He too had flown in on the same plane that I had from Atlanta. He was very interesting to talk to learn about many of the diverse backgrounds needed to operate a ship like the Pisces. In our conversation he had talked about why he joined NOAA and some of his past work that had given him the experience necessary for the job. Since he is a crewmember on the deck crew, experience at sea and ship operations is a necessity. The crew allows for day-to-day operations, ensures safety of the ship and the passengers, and assists with the research in its logistics and implementation where necessary. The crewmember I talked to had extensive experience working at sea on cargo ships and looked forward to his future work with NOAA and was very interested in all the science that the Pisces carries out. In general, the crew can be divided up into the following categories: deck crew, officers, stewards, technicians, and engineering. The deck crew carries out the implementation of operations and day-to-day maintenance of the decks. The officers are members of the NOAA Corps, one of seven uniformed services of the United States. The stewards maintain the galley (kitchen) and mess (dining room) providing meals to everyone on the Pisces. The technicians process data and maintain data collection systems and other electronics. Engineering operates and maintains the ship’s engines, equipment, and various electrical and operational systems. Whether it is the deck crew, officers, stewards, technicians, or engineering, all are needed to make the science carried out by the science party possible.
A picture of me on the top deck of the Pisces as we leave Pascagoula, Mississippi, for the Flower Gardens off the coast of Texas. The USS America is in the background. Credit Harriet Nash for the photo.
I arrived at the Pisces during the afternoon on the 26th. This was very helpful in giving me some time to explore the area in Pascagoula and the ship before takeoff the next day. I was assigned a very nice stateroom that I am sharing with another member of the science party. I was surprised that our accommodations were so spacious. We get our own desk, tv, sink, bathroom, and shower. It reminded me of living in the college dorm my freshman year minus the group showers; so, I was more than pleased with the living arrangements. Looking around Pascagoula directly adjacent to where the Pisces was docked, I was amazed at all of the heavy industry concentrated around the Pascagoula River. The river hummed with activity day and night with trains, cargo ships, tugboats, oil and gas well repair work, ship repair work, fishing operations, and tourism. It was quite remarkable to see where some of the goods that we buy in stores back in South Dakota first make their landing on the North American continent and to get a sense of the scale of the sea-based operations needed to make international trade possible. The ocean is how you are able to sell your beans to Brazil or wheat to China. It is the economical lifeblood that connects all of us, but we seldom think of what happens to our goods beyond the retail store or the elevator. We just know the system works and take the infrastructure behind it for granted. Though South Dakota is more than a thousand miles from the Gulf of Mexico, it is linked by trade with the rest of the world through the Gulf.
The NOAA ship Pisces is a state-of-the art research vessel. Even when in transit to a specific operational location, it is always recording data and making observations of the ocean and the atmosphere.
Onboard the ship I was able to explore the different decks. The Pisces is a large ship, but it is not until you move around on the decks that you realize how much space is needed to carry out all of the diverse series of scientific operations. The Pisces is equipped with a hydraulic crane with the ability to lift 10,000 pounds, which is needed to raise and lower science equipment and remove and replace the gangway, the walkway needed to board and get off the ship while it is docked. The ship also has a giant spool called a net reel where they store the fishing nets used for trawling missions and a series of winches with thousands of feet of wire to lower scientific instruments into the depths of the ocean. Even when the Pisces is not carrying out any specific operations while in transit to an operation point, the ship is utilizing every opportunity to gather data on the ocean and the atmosphere. The Pisces is specifically designed to run quietly to allow for state-of-the-art acoustic sensors to gather information on topographic features of the bottom and even information on various types of biomass in the water column such as fish, plankton, and the different types of coral on the ocean bottom. The ship is also always taking meteorological readings for scientific use, calibration, and navigation. Wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, water temperature, barometric pressure are just some of the observations that are constantly being compiled; therefore, even in the dead of night in our transit, the Pisces is carrying out valuable scientific research and monitoring.
Science and Technology Log:
We are enroute to the Flower Gardens, one of the northern most reef forming corals in the world. In fact, the Flower Gardens were not officially documented to have extensive coral reefs until the early 1960s when researchers started to investigate rumors of coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico. What research divers found was amazing: a pristine coral reef not touched by poaching or pollution. We are scheduled to arrive at the reefs this evening, May 28. We will begin the fish surveys using the camera array and bandit reels tomorrow, as well, to document fish populations among the coral reef structures.
One means of surveying fish abundance and size is using this submersible camera array. It is equipped with four cameras that are used for random sampling for survey data. The array is fitted with a bait bag filled with squid in order to attract fish such as grouper and snapper.
Did you know?
The world’s coral reefs contain a remarkably rich and diverse multitude of life, yet they are threatened by poaching, pollution, disease, invasive species, and increasing ocean temperatures and acidity.
Geographical Area of the Cruise: along the continental shelf edge off the coast of Louisiana
Date: May 9, 2014
Personal Log:
Pole of inaccessibility…I admit I was shocked to see that South Dakota claimed such a dubious geographical title in a recent issue of National Geographic. South Dakota is technically not the geographical center of North America; that title goes to North Dakota. South Dakota, however, does carry the rather obscure title of being a pole of inaccessibility for the North American continent, the point farthest from all North American shorelines. Basically, if you live in South Dakota, you live at least 1,000 miles from a coast…any coast! Perhaps our isolation from the ocean is more than a physical measurement on a map. How often do South Dakotans think of living on an ocean planet? Indeed, our perception of the world is seemingly skewed considering we live smack in the middle of that 30% we call land. Living in South Dakota, it is easy to forget about the ocean and its impact on our daily lives. We live as far from it as one can in North America; yet, we are inseparably bound to it. The seafood you eat, the nearly subconscious purchases of foreign goods you make, the moisture we receive, the crops you sell, and even a large portion of the air that we breathe link us all to the ocean’s central value in our lives; therefore, understanding the ocean and the ocean sciences is vital to our daily lives even to landlocked South Dakotans.
South Dakota, a sea of former and current grassland! (Credit Spencer Cody for photo)
Here is where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Teacher at Sea program come into play. It has become obvious to me since my selection as a Teacher at Sea that very few people in this region associate NOAA with ocean research. They seem to know that NOAA plays a role in researching the atmosphere such as working with the National Weather Service to forecast storms, but they never make a connection to the ocean even if it is the second word in NOAA’s namesake.
It is understandable that South Dakotans in general would assume this because the only exposure we have to NOAA in this part of the country deals with storm and weather forecasting. In reality NOAA operates a fleet of ocean research vessels that cover the expanse of U.S. waters and beyond in order to increase our understanding of what we really have in our oceans and how it all interacts with each of its differing component parts. Also, NOAA has its own uniformed service called the NOAA Corps, which keeps the fleet operational and aids and assists in ocean research. My goals as a Teacher at Sea are twofold: connecting NOAA’s oceanic and atmospheric work to the classroom and connecting students to the education and training-related pathways that could potentially lead to NOAA careers. Essentially, I am to learn and document as much as I can on my cruise and use this experience to enhance the education of my students and to provide access to possible careers in oceanic and atmospheric work through NOAA. I am greatly thankful and humbled to receive such an opportunity through the NOAA Teacher at Sea program. This is truly a great opportunity for learning for both me and my school.
I enjoy geology, paleontology, and many other sciences. It is probably a safe guess that a large dinosaur left this track behind.
More about me…I will be starting my ninth year of teaching in Hoven this August. I teach 7-12 science: Earth, Life, Physical, Biology, Biology II, Chemistry, and Physics. I enjoy teaching all of the varied sciences. It is hard to get bored when you teach everything. Hoven is a very nice town to live and teach in. It reminds me a lot of growing up in Veblen, another small, rural South Dakota town. I have always been an advocate for rural education and strongly believe that small schools like Hoven offer an exceptional learning environment for students.
Unfortunately, I will have to leave my wife, Jill, and my daughters, Teagan and Temperance, behind for a few weeks. I will miss them, but also realize that my four-year old daughter being present on a research vessel would make any productive research almost impossible. She is very rambunctious.
I am counting down the days until I fly out on the 26th to Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the Pisces will be leaving and returning after the mission is completed. I am very excited about the research involved in my upcoming mission. Researching fish species abundances associated with the topography of the Gulf of Mexico has so many implications because our mission is just a small piece of a giant survey puzzle that includes nearly the entire edge of the North American shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Ships in the survey area have been using many innovative ways of monitoring reef fish abundance. I look forward to learning more about this technology and will report more on the subject once I am underway. For more information about the Pisces, visit the Pisces homepage or track our movements using the NOAA ship tracker.
My wife and two kids on vacation at Isle Royale National Park in the middle of Lake Superior.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Paul Ritter
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 16– August 1, 2013
Pisces team picture
Mission: Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) Geographical area of cruise: southeastern US Atlantic Ocean waters (continental shelf and shelf-break waters ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC to Port St. Lucie, FL) Date: July 31, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge
Science, personal, Technology Log
Date: Wednesday July 31, 2013 One day before we leave but you would not know it on the ship. We are business as usual. Our team is somewhere off of the coast of Cape Canaveral, and we have three sets of traps to set before we can call it a day. With NASA’s Cape Canaveral Space Center in the background, we began laying traps in a zigzag pattern over the top of an underwater rock formation that the acoustics lab found the night before.
Our day’s catch was much better than in days past due to the fact that we he had moved much closer to shore. For some reason our leg of the expedition experienced an unusual upwelling of cold water upon the continental shelf where we were exploring. Our temperatures for most of the trip ranged from 14 to 16 degrees Celsius. Once we traveled closer to shore our temperatures went up to around 19 degrees Celsius. This change in location meant that the water on the ocean floor was warmer and warmer water means more reef fish that are hungry. FISH ON.
Notably, something that stands out in my mind that has made the entire trip successful is the camaraderie of the acoustics, and the wet /dry lab teams. You would not know by looking, that many of them had never met prior to this trip. Arguably, these people are the best of the best in the marine biology industry, and none of them have egos. They are so fun to be around. They are very much a family. Every time someone enters either lab, a round of “HEY’S” is shouted out by the entire group, as if we had not seen each other in years. It reminds me of the old television show Cheers, when Norm would walk in to the bar and everyone would yell his name “NORM”. I loved that show. Anyway, I would give almost anything to work, side by side, with these people the rest of my life. I imagine that this group of scientist is exactly what all other researchers aspire to have.
At the end of the day, trap six, the last trap, was pulled and we finished with a haul of good ol’ Black Sea Bass. You got to love it. The time was 3:45 and it was time to pack it up and clean the labs. As a team, we boxed all of the equipment up, we scrubbed everything from top to bottom, and did it with the same enthusiasm we had had the entire trip. We got the word from James Walker, Chief Bosun on the Pisces, to get all of our gear ready to be put into cargo nets ASAP. He informed us that we were scheduled to arrive at Mayport Naval Station for a 7:00 A.M. dock time. It did not take long for all of us to amass the gear and ready it all for transport.
At some point after supper, which was crab legs, and rib eye steaks, Ryan Harris, the skilled fisherman, and I were walking the deck and realized that we were about to get wet from a storm. Thinking quickly, we moved all of the non-waterproof materials inside the wet lab. I told Ryan I would see him in the morning and headed to my stateroom. For some reason I could not get to sleep. I was exhausted but just could not shutdown. Zach, my roommate, and I talked about going home and all of the things we were going to do when we got there, for around an hour and then called it a day.
The Pisces steamed through the night and we were right on time. Grabbing a cup of coffee, I raced out to the ships observation deck so I could watch us come into the dock. It was amazing. The crew and the bridge worked flawlessly together to bring our ship, that we have called home for the last sixteen days, back dockside. My hat goes off to them. James directed everyone to get into their positions. A small rubber ball with a long lines attached was hurled by one of the men, who was on port bow of the ship, overboard and onto land. Waiting on shore, several young Navy men caught the ball and pulled the rope onto land forming a tight rope between the ship and land that any member of the Wallenda family could walk. As the onshore men placed the rope on the davit, the ship motored forward to use the rope to pull the ships aft to the dock. Upon docking, the crew of the Pisces completed our landing by connecting the massive cables that were lifted by a crane on shore. These cables allowed the ship to shut off her engines, that had been going nonstop for the last sixteen days, and run on shore power. Ah quiet at last. Just because we were tied to land, it did not mean that our jobs were over.
Off loading the scientific equipment aboard the Pisces.
We still had to move the cargo nets with all of our scientific equipment to land, and then the arduous task of loading it all into the team moving van. The task of loading the van should have taken hours but the phrase “many hands make light work” was reaffirmed as the entire scientific party jumped in and made light work of the job. Once complete, we all gathered, took our last pictures, hugged, and said our goodbyes. And just like that, I jumped in a minivan with five of the ship’s crew and Matt Wilson, the team hydrographer.
Within 20 minutes we were at the airport and all headed to our gates. My flight from Jacksonville was relatively easy, with no issues but when I arrived at O’Hare the same could not be said. I think at last count my gate was moved at least 3 times before I made my way to gate G1. Twenty minutes before flight time, I noticed that we had not boarded the plane yet. The gate attendants were scurrying around like a mouse running from my cats, and then the ominous “ding” came over the speaker. “Ahh ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry about the delay but we are experiencing some mechanical issues with plane”. “We will try to keep you informed as to the progress and hopefully get you on to your final destination quickly”. “Thank you for your understanding”. After an hour or so, we finally got the direction that we were again moving to another gate.
As we were walking to our final exiting point, I started talking to a couple of the flight attendants and asked them what had happened. Apparently, my original plane had taken a goose missile to one of the engines and it totally destroyed any chances that plane would fly again in the next several weeks. As you could imagine, the attendants said it was quite a stressful situation. I, for one, am very thankful that they changed my plane. Finally, I boarded my new plane and made my way to my seat. I could not wait to see my wife who was waiting for me at the airport. As we taxied down the runway, the pilot came on the planes intercom and informed us that she was going to try to speed up our flight time a bit. Speed up a bit? I guess. Our scheduled flight was to take 45 minutes to travel from Chicago O’Hare to Bloomington Regional Airport. Our captain did it in 25 minutes flat. Woo hoo. I am going to American Airlines to request that she trains the entire fleet. Just before landing, as if I could have scripted it, our plane flew over my hometown of Pontiac, Illinois. It was then at that moment, that I knew I was home. I could not wait to see my wife. The plane landed and we rolled to the gate. I don’t think it was 3 minutes and we were all off of the plane. I hurried out the door, ran through the terminal, and there she was. My wife was smiling and more beautiful than ever before. I had missed her and my girls so much.
I will miss my new brothers and sisters of our scientific team and ship’s crew. My students, family and friends are going to be amazed by all of the stories, pictures and videos. I am excited that all of them and others are going to be able to participate in reading the data from the real research we did on board. I could not be more thankful to NOAA for my opportunity to live my childhood dream. As I write these last sentences of my blog I am welling up with tears. For sixteen days, in July of 2013, I aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces got to be a Marine Biologist, and ocean explorer. I will never forget it.
Paul Ritter in front of the ‘Pisces’ sign
Did You Know?
I took a lot of pictures on my trip and these are what I consider my top 20 photos.
Paul Ritter in a “gumby” suitPlaying Bean Bags on the PiscesWarren Mitchell and Paul Ritter lock and load the XBTMe…. and my MoraySea turtle off the port bowPaul Ritter and Shark Sucker in the wet lab of the PiscesPaul Ritter and a 24 lb. Red Snapper in the wet lab of the PiscesPaul Ritter setting Traps on the PiscesPaul Ritter getting to know a Blue CrabPaul Ritter driving the PiscesSunset on the PiscesCatch of the day.Paul Ritter and Ryan Harris catching Bonito.Paul Ritter with a Palm WarblerAtlantic Spotted DolphinsNurse Shark caught on our Go Pro cameraPaul Ritter – Safety drill aboard the PiscesPaul Ritter and some of the many Sea Stars.Common OctopusPaul Ritter catching a Barracuda aboard the Pisces.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Paul Ritter
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 16– August 1, 2013
Mission: Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) Geographical area of cruise: southeastern US Atlantic Ocean waters (continental shelf and shelf-break waters ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC to Port St. Lucie, FL) Date: July 24, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge
Science and Technology Log
Date: Wednesday 7-24-2013
Zeb and Doug in the lab making the call.
Woke up this morning around 6:15. Worried that I overslept, I rushed as fast as I could to get to the aft deck for our daily trap baiting routine. As I walked on deck, I quickly realized that no one else was on time either. I knew something was amiss. Immediately, I headed to the dry lab to find where the rest of the crew was located. The day before we had to cut our expedition short due to high seas and heavy currents and today while the waves have calmed down the currents have not. Zeb made the decision to wait until 8:15 to make our first drop of the day. Quickly, traps one through six went into the water, and then came the waiting game. Ninety minutes went by and with fingers crossed we reeled in our chevron traps. First trap in….. nothing. Second trap….Nothing. The third trap came to the surface and at first it appeared that we were skunked once again, but upon further inspection we had caught an Almaco Jack. Almaco Jack (Seriola rivoliana)is a game fish that is in the same family as Yellowtail and Amberjack. While I have not eaten this particular species of Jack, the crew tells me it is quite tasty. An interesting fact about the Almaco Jack is that they remove their surface parasites by rubbing against the skin of passing sharks. Nothing like asking for a shark to eat you. Fourth trap was a big zero just like the first two, but the fifth trap had netted a Coney Grouper (Cephalopholis fulva) and Spider Crab (Libinia dubia). Not many in our party had previously seen a Coney Grouper and it was exciting in the dry lab as the scientists all inspected our little five pound red beauty. As for the Spider Crab, aka. Decorator Crab, I was shocked that it decided to ride the trap all the way to the surface, when it was small enough to escape at any point in time. The Decorator Crab is so named for being a master of disguise. This cunning little crustacean affixes to bits and pieces of seaweed, rock and other debris to disguise itself perfectly for the habitat that it lives in. To me the Decorator Crab is one very cool little dude. Even though our team found a couple of cool specimens it was not enough for us to spend the rest of the day there. So Zeb made the call to head south. Our next stop the waters of Florida. It is estimated that it will take us around six hours to make the journey.
Me and My ConeySay Hello to My Little Friend – Spider Crab
Personal Log
Cornhole anyone?
Having the lab clean and all of our chores completed we had to find a way to keep busy. So what else could be better than playing Cornhole on the aft deck while traveling the waters south at 9.6 knots or about 11 miles per hour. Zach, Julie, Patrick and I played about 10 rounds before we got tired and headed below deck. I am sure you probably have wondered about life on the NOAA Ship Pisces. There are several work schedules which people follow. The crewmember’s position on the ship determines what shift they work. It is possible to work two 4 hour shifts, an 8 hour shift or, 12 hours on, 12 hours off. It just depends on your particular job on the shift.
Most all staterooms house two members of the crew. Crewmembers are generally placed in staterooms where the other person in the room has an opposite schedule. In other words, one person works when the other person sleeps. This schedule seems to work well as long as the person who is awake does not disturb the person sleeping. Each stateroom has its own private bathroom with a shower. One thing that I have learned quickly is that it can be tricky to use the restroom while underway. I do not want to go too in depth about using the privy but let’s just say this, it can be very tricky to use the restroom or shower for that matter, when you are bouncing off the walls from the waves outside.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the Pisces are served promptly at the hours of 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The crew all make their way to the mess deck, where Moises, the Chief Steward, has an entire smorgasbord prepared and ready to eat. Breakfast usually consists of a combination of eggs, pancakes, sausage, biscuits, English muffins, fried potatoes (hash browns), and BACON. No breakfast would be complete without BACON. The other day one of the NOAA scientists, Patrick Raley, suggested that I needed to try the Pisces McMuffin, which consists of bacon, egg, cheese and salmon on an English muffin. Well, when in Rome…. So I decided to have one for breakfast that day. It was amazing. I am here to tell you folks, if McDonalds finds out about this, you will find one on their menu. Lunch and dinner consist of some meat (steak, crab, chicken, meatloaf, pork, scallops, and fish), vegetable (steamed, sautéed, or raw), some sort of potato, and a salad.
One thing I can tell you about being a field research scientist is that it is usually a messy job. My clothes generally get destroyed every day. Once on board, some species of the caught fish are simply measured for length and weight. The real mess comes when we catch some of the more sought after species, which are more the focus of our study. Each of these fish get a complete work up, including the collection of their otolith. What is an otolith? An otolith is basically a bone in the head of a fish that can tell us its age. This bone would be similar to a person’s ear bone. Why do we want to know how old fish are? Knowing the age of any population allows biologists to better understand how populations react to various environmental and human pressures. It allows us to be able to manage our natural resources in a sustainable way.
The Pisces McMuffin
Anyway, it is not a good idea when you come to do your own expedition to bring new clothes or shoes. It all will get very dirty. Under the mess hall is the laundry facility. I have already done one load of laundry since I have been on board and I am sure I will do many more before I head home. To do laundry is no different from doing it at home with one exception. Due to having only a few clothing items on this trip, I have to wash them all at the same time. When my wife, Jodee, reads this, she will cringe, but I am not separating the whites, colors, lights or darks.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Paul Ritter Aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces July 16– August 1, 2013
Mission: Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) Geographical area of cruise: southeastern US Atlantic Ocean waters (continental shelf and shelf-break waters ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC to Port St. Lucie, FL) Date: July 22, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge
Science and Technology Log
Yesterday was a very exciting day. After we dropped off our first traps, the ship’s officers brought the ship to a full stop and it was time to release the CTD. What is a CTD? CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth. The CTD unit is an array of sensors that is lowered to just above the bottom of the ocean to take a continuous profile of the water column. Moments after the CTD reaches the bottom it is brought back to the surface and the deck hands bring it back on board the ship. From here, the scientific crew can analyze the data from the CTD to determine the water conditions for the drop area. On some expeditions, the CTD is fitted with a device that actually takes water samples at the different depths for chemical and biological analysis. This information allows the scientists to get a complete picture of the water column where the traps are set and where the fish live.
What is a CTD? CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth.
Another instrument that is used by the ship is the Expendable Bathythermograph or XBT. This device was used by the military for many years to measure the temperature of the water at various depths. The most interesting thing about this probe is how it is deployed.
Warren Mitchell, a fisheries biologist for NOAA’s Beaufort Laboratory, decided it would be a good idea for me to be trained firsthand to deploy this vital instrument. The first thing I had to do was put on my hardhat and safety vest and step on to the recovery deck. At that point Warren called up to the bridge to ask for permission to drop the XBT. The officers on the bridge gladly gave us permission and Warren then got me into a launching position with my feet spread apart and my elbow braced on hip. The CO then happened to walk by and asked me if I had my safety glasses on, to which I immediately said yes.
It was at this point that Warren gave me permission to launch the XBT. I was excited. I was ready. I could not wait for Warren to give me the signal. The only problem was I did not know the signal and I could not find the trigger. I did not know what to do. I was getting worried. Warren then repeated the orders “launch”. “How?” I replied. Tip the barrel forward, lean forward, he replied, and the XBT slid out of the tube into the water.
The joke was on me. Here I had been led to believe that this was going to be some grand launch something just shy of the space shuttle taking off into space. The reality was that the XBT just falls into the water. Very non-exciting for me but everyone on the boat laughed for hours. So did I. It is good to be treated like one of the family. After our final set of traps for the day, I ventured out to see what it is like to work in the acoustics lab.
Warren Mitchell NOAA Scientist gives instruction to Paul Ritter on the proper deployment of the XBT.
Personal Log
Monday 7-22-13
Nurse shark outside our chevron trap.
To this point this expedition has been so amazing. Would you believe there are 3 people aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces that live or once lived within 60 miles from my home town? Crazy I know. We have had only one medium sized squall to this point with 3 to 5 foot seas. We have brought up traps with tons of jellyfish, in which I got a nematocyst (jellyfish stinging cell) to the hand. It was not too bad but I did feel a slight burning sensation.
We have had a number of different types of starfish, all of which I have never seen. One particular trap that we sent to the ocean floor, while upon retrieval did not have any fish, but did have a secret to share. After Julie Vecchio, one of our volunteer scientists replayed the video cameras that are on the top of the trap, we discovered that a nurse shark had been trolling the area around our trap. I have seen so many amazing things. Several days ago we were hauling traps and just as we brought our trap up there was a sea turtle that came up to the boat. I snapped a couple of photos, as quick as I could and then went right back to work. It was not two minutes later and I saw a baby sea turtle the size of a fifty cent piece. Immediately, the first thing that came to my mind was thought of Crush and Squirt from Disney’s Finding Nemo talking to me.
Crush: Okay. Squirt here will now give you a rundown of proper exiting technique.
Squirt:Good afternoon “Paul”. We’re gonna have a great jump today. Okay, first crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall. There’s a screaming bottom curve, so watch out. Remember: rip it, roll it, and punch it.
Paul: Whoa! Dude! That was totally cool!
Turtle off the port bow.
Tuesday July 23, 2013
Somewhere in the middle of the night the wind picked up and so did the waves. I share a stateroom with Zach Gillum a graduate student from East Carolina University. This kid is amazing. We really have become great friends.
One of the great things about this trip is to be totally immersed in an expedition with like-minded people. We will all hang around waiting for traps, or eating dinner and start conversations about some environmental issue or ecological principle. I sure wished I lived closer to my new friends. Anyway, our stateroom window is about 4 foot above the waterline. Many times during the night, our window was under the water as a wave passed by. When we woke up, the wind and waves increased. A four to seven foot wave is enough to make many run for the toilet. So far so good for me when it comes to sea sickness.
I just hope we don’t find any bigger waves. We gathered on the aft deck as we usually do but we delayed deployment, waiting for improvement in weather conditions. The major problem we had was with larger waves comes the possibility of the traps bobbing up and down on the ocean floor. With adverse conditions on pick-up, we are also more likely to drag traps across the bottom. We set the first six traps, pulled them up and just as we had suspected not many fish. Around 1:00 P.M. Zeb Schobernd, our Lead Scientist, made the decision to head to another location. It just goes to show you that when you are at sea, you need to follow the 3 F’s. Flexibility, fortitude, and following orders.
Waiting to work.
Did You Know?
Did you know that a jelly fish’s nematocyst are like mini speargun?
These little stinging cells fire when they come in contact with the surface of and organism. Some jellyfish tentacles can contain up to 5000 or more nematocyst.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Paul Ritter Aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces July 16– August 1, 2013
Mission: Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) Geographical area of cruise: southeastern US Atlantic Ocean waters (continental shelf and shelf-break waters ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC to Port St. Lucie, FL) Date: July 20, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge
Science and Technology Log
Each day the fish traps aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces are baited and prepared with cameras, and sent to the ocean floor where they must sit for ninety minutes. It is necessary to keep this time consistent for all locations and traps so we can compare apples to apples. We call this a “control variable”. The particular parameter that someone measures that is a constant and non-changing point of comparison in an experiment or scientific observation is a controlled variable for consistency.
After being on the bottom for the time allotted, the officers on the bridge drive the ship back to the number one trap and drives alongside the trap’s buoys. Approximately, half way down the ship is the side sampling deck. From the side sampling station, approximately halfway down the ship, we take a grappling tied to a long rope and hurl it over the side, aiming between the two buoys. It is important that we hit it on the first attempt.
If we miss, the ship has to take vital time to maneuver around to make another attempt at the buoys. Have we missed? Honestly, yes but only a couple of times. If we have done our job correctly, we pull in the grappling hook and with it the buoys, and rope. The buoys are then unhooked from the rope and the rope is threaded into a pot hauler, which is a large tapered wheel that grabs onto the rope without slipping. The pot hauler then hydraulically pulls the rope and trap up to the surface. Once at the surface, another hook and winch is connected to the trap and the entire rig is pulled up on the side sampling deck. It is at this time that our team attacks the trap by taking off the cameras and unloading its cargo of fish. If we have fish, they are taken to the wet lab and all the measurements are taken. Once empty, the trap is carried to the main aft deck and prepared for the next round of trapping. It really is a lot of heavy work but it is all worth it to understand the ecology of our ocean reefs.
Personal Log
Patrick and I Working on a Red Snapper
7-20-13
Today started around 12:30 am. It was not something that I intended to do. The night before we went to bed around 10:00 pm. I was sore and very tired from the long and hard day we had fishing. For some reason I woke up and looked out the window and saw that it was very bright outside. I thought it was daybreak and it was time to get up. I looked at my clock and it said it was 12:30. But that could not be. It was too light outside for just pass midnight. I actually thought my clock was broke so I fired up my computer to check the time. Sure enough, it was 12:30.
The moon was so bright and reflecting off of the water in a way that the light was coming right into my room. Crazy. After the confusion, I finally made it back to sleep. Around 5:30 my internal alarm clock went off. I actually never need an alarm clock to wake up, ever. For some reason I always have been able to just think about when I want to get up and I do. Anyway, I got up, brushed my teeth and headed to work.
Our Team in the Wet Lab
At 6:15, I met up with my brothers and sisters of the trap setting team which consists of Doug Devries – NOAA Scientist; Patrick Raley – NOAA Scientist; Jenny Ragland – NOAA Scientist; Julie Vecchio – volunteer Scientist; Zach Gillum – graduate student / Scientist, and me – the new guy scientist. Have you ever watched Star Trek? Usually each show’s scientific mission consists of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, Lt. Uhura, who are all in one color uniform, and a new guy who is in the red shirt. The mission goes something like this. Captain Kirk will say “Mr. Spock go check out the nondescript rock. Bones see if you can get some readings on that green flower over there, Uhura please open up a channel to the ship, and New Guy, go check out that purple pulsating blob over next to the cliff.” I really hope these guys don’t watch Star Trek…..
To be completely honest, it is nothing like Star Trek at all. Our team is amazing. I am very humble that they have accepted me into their family. They are so fun to be around and I could not be more thankful for their friendship and guidance. Each of us has to play many vital roles in the mission. This expedition would not work if we did not have each other to rely on. I don’t want to let my teammates down, and I will do anything to make sure that does not happen.
Anyway, back to the traps….. We set our first set of traps of the day and ninety minutes later we discovered that our return was not very good. Our second set of traps, on the other hand, were much better and netted many fish. Some of the fish included Black Sea Bass, Grey Trigger, Tomtate, White Grunt, and one of the most desirable fish on the market, the Red Snapper. Red Snapper is a fish that can grow upwards of 40 lbs. and live as long as 50 years if it can escape being caught. This amazingly beautiful red fish has had much pressure from commercial and sport fishermen and as a result their numbers have dwindled. After speaking with Zeb Schobernd, our mission’s Chief Scientist, it is his hope that due to strict regulation of the harvest of the species, we will see an increase of the population. The data we are collecting will help develop a better survey for reef fish populations in the future, especially grouper and red snapper.. Lunch was at 11:00 and what a lunch it was. Crab legs, and prime rib. Man, the crew of the Pisces eats very well and I am thankful. My wife is a great cook, and I would say that the ship’s chief steward is a close second. After lunch, we quickly we set our third series of traps and were able to increase our catch exponentially. Dinner consisted of Jamaican jerk chicken, pork roast, green beans, lettuce salad, and cheese cake. After dinner I took a little time to visit the team in the acoustics lab. The acoustics lab is responsible for mapping out the ocean floor to determine where we should put traps out the next day. I will probably touch more on them in my next blog.
Swabbing the deck
Did you know?
Did you know that NOAA ships do not just stay in one particular location of the world?
The Pisces has sailed from Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico, and down to Venezuela and back. Not to mention the Pisces is one of the fastest ships in the NOAA fleet capable of reaching speeds greater than 17 knots with a following current.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Paul Ritter Almost on board NOAA Ship Pisces July 16 – August 1, 2013
Mission: Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) Geographical area of cruise:southeastern US Atlantic Ocean waters (continental shelf and shelf-break waters ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC to Port St. Lucie, FL) Date: July 16, 2013
Personal Log
My name is Paul Ritter and I am Biology and Earth Science teacher at Pontiac Township High School, in Pontiac, Illinois. I have an amazing wife by the name of Jodee and am the proud papa to my two girls, Baylee and Taylor. Even though I have only been gone for one day, I miss them already. Pontiac is located 130 miles south of Chicago on Interstate 55. Our community, where my wife, children, and I were born and raised, is the epitome of Corn Town USA. With that being said, our community does have several distinctions that set us apart from being a typical agricultural town. Pontiac is home to the National Pontiac Automobile Museum, the Wall Dogs Museum for international artists, the National Route 66 museum, and a museum call the War Museum that showcases our service men and women who were in all of the major wars of the USA. Our town is the number two tourism town in Illinois behind Chicago. The number two largest landfill in the USA calls Pontiac home. We have a maximum security prison that houses around 1,200 inmates. Caterpillar, among other industry, is a valued company that hangs its hat in Pontiac. It hardly seems possible but this is my 20th year of being a teacher. You know, for me teaching is just as exciting today as it was that first year in the classroom.
The Ritter Family
Being from the Midwest, people from my region associate NOAA with our planet’s weather. In reality, NOAA is so much more. NOAA plays a major role in Environmental Satellite Data, Marine Fisheries, Oceans, Weather, and Atmospheric Research. NOAA is so vitally important to the sustainability of our world. It is for this exact reason that I applied to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea. It is my goal to find real ways to integrate the amazing work of NOAA into our classes. My specific mission is aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces with the Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS) group which is a fishery-independent monitoring and research program targeting reef fish in southeast U.S. continental shelf waters. Initiated in 2010, SEFIS works cooperatively with the long-term and ongoing Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction (MARMAP) sampling program to:
provide fishery-independent data to support reef fish stock assessments
perform reef fish ecology research, including, but not limited to
assessment of spatiotemporal distribution
habitat affiliation patterns
NOAA Ship Pisces was launched at VT Halter Marine, in Moss Point, Mississippi on December 19th, 2007, christened by Dr. Annette Nevin Shelby, wife of Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. Commissioned on November 6, 2009, Pisces is the third of four new Fisheries Survey Vessels to be built by NOAA. The ship was named Pisces by a team of five seventh grade students from Sacred Heart School in Southaven, Mississippi.
Monday July 15, 2013
I woke up extra early for some reason around 5:00 A.M even though the night before was a late night with the final night of my daughter Baylee’s play, the Little Mermaid. Excited and anxious about leaving on my great expedition, I knew I needed to get out of the house or I was going to wake everyone else. I headed to town and filled up the car with fuel. Wanting to waste some time, I headed to some of our local stores to get some last minutes for the trip. Around 8:30, Jodee and the girls drove me to the airport in Bloomington, Illinois. It was exciting and sad at the same time. I was very much looking forward to my expedition, but I wished I could take the family to be a part of the adventure. We have had so many adventures together and I know they would have had a great time. Maybe next time. I flew from Bloomington to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and then finally landing in Jacksonville, Florida. The ride from Bloomington to Chicago was quick and easy but the same could not be said for the next leg of the flight to Florida.
Our plane to Jacksonville was around 30 minutes late to land in Chicago and then when finally aboard we taxied around the runway for about 25 minutes. It felt like we were on a behind the scenes tour of O’Hare. I was waiting for the pilot to come over the announcements and say “Ladies and gentlemen if you look to your right you can see Lake Michigan”. Finally in the air, somewhere over Georgia we hit the turbulence. Man it was bumpy. While this was going on, I took the opportunity to get to know the guy who was next to me in seat 11B. Ironically, we went to the same college at the same time and lived in the same dormitory. Small world. We finally arrived in Jacksonville and off to the hotel I went. You know it is funny, I have been so fortunate to be able to travel to some amazing places, but I have never been on a ship in the ocean for pleasure or otherwise. I am not really sure if I will get sea sick or not. I’m thinking not, but I am guessing I will find out very quickly.
Tuesday July 16, 2013
Dr. Zeb Schobernd and the rest of the scientists are making their way down to meet me in Jacksonville to pick me up at the hotel. Here is another very cool part of this trip…. Zeb’s hometown, which is Bloomington, Illinois, is only 35 miles from where my family I live. From there we are headed to the Pisces which is in port to spend our first night on board. I look forward to getting to know my new shipmates.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Jennifer Petro Aboard NOAA ship Pisces July 1 – July 14, 2013
Mission: Marine Protected Area Survey Geographic Area of Cruise: South Atlantic United States Date: July 1, 2013
Weather Data: Air temperature: 28 Degrees C (82 Degrees F)
Barometer: 1013.1 mb
Humidity: 74%
Wind direction: SW
Wind speed: 11.29 knots
Water temp: 29.6 C
Latitude: 30.39°N
Longitude: 81.43°W
Science and Technology Log
Hello from aboard NOAA ship Pisces. We are gearing up to set sail so I will take this opportunity to introduce myself before we get underway! My name is Jennifer Petro and I am an 8th grade Science Teacher at Everitt Middle School in Panama City , Florida. I am particularly excited about this mission as I am working alongside scientists from the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Lab located on Panama City Beach. I will also be working with scientist from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute as well as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The focus of this mission is to survey fish and invertebrate populations in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) from Florida to North Carolina. We will also be doing mapping of new areas to determine future MPAs.
The scientist have been busy setting up and calibrating their equipment. We will be using an ROV, Remotely Operated (underwater) Vehicle, to view the MPAs. There are several cameras attached to the ROV which the scientist will use to identify and count species. There are many feet of wire and cables being set up in the dry lab.
NOAA Scientists Stacey Harter and Stephanie Farrington setting up equipment for ROV dives during our Marine Protected Area surveys.
Personal Log
Currently we are still at port and are scheduled to set sail in a few hours. The Pisces is a rather comfortable vessel. We arrived yesterday afternoon so I already have one night’s sleep on board under my belt. I imagine things will change when we are out at sea, but for the moment she is gently swaying in port. I share a room with one of the scientists and we in turn share a bathroom. Pretty great so far! The Pisces is currently moored at NAS in Mayport , FL and is dwarfed in size to all of the naval vessels that surround her!
NOAA Ship PiscesNOAA ship Pisces
Today’s post is going to be rather short. My excitement is definitely building. we set sail in just about an hour so my next post will be from sea!
The weather has been rather difficult here over the past day or so. Yesterday, the winds were so bad that we had to cancel fishing from our bandit reels. We had winds up to 23 knots, or about 26 miles per hour! So far today’s weather seems to be much the same, so no fishing today either.
It’s been a very wet and gray couple of days at sea.
We keep putting the camera array in the water, even though we can’t fish. But with the winds, waves, and current as strong as they are, the team has to be much more careful about getting the camera in the water and getting it back out again. The cameras are very expensive, so they have to take care that nothing happens to them. It’s been taking a couple of tries to get the boat lined up enough to get the camera array out of the water. Thus, the whole process takes much longer in the rougher weather.
This is me helping to deploy the camera array in better weather.
Since the science has been a little slower than usual, I figured that I would use today’s post to talk a little bit more about the crew in command of the Pisces, and how the ship gets to these sometimes remote places to conduct our scientific research.
The view from the bridge. Forecast: rain.
The ship’s officers come from the NOAA Corps. NOAA has its own commissioned officers, 321 in total, spread across 19 ships and 12 airplanes. I’d never known that NOAA had its own officers, so I’ve been fascinated to learn how the process works. In some ways, it’s similar to any other uniformed branch of service, with basic eligibility requirements – US citizenship, pass a medical exam, etc. There are also some that are a little more specialized to NOAA, though. For example, you need a bachelor’s degree, with at least 42 credit hours in “science, math, or engineering course work pertaining to NOAA’s missions.”
Applications are competitive, with those for the next cycle being accepted until August of this year. You have to be able to get and maintain a Secret level clearance to be a NOAA Officer, so they’re selective for a reason.
The officers have to be aware and involved with the scientific work on board. They’re responsible for putting the ship into position for the operations to occur. The scientific team selects sites for survey out here in the Gulf, but it’s the ship’s officers that put us in position to drop the camera and/or go fishing, when the weather allows. They also have to be aware of what’s going on with the science team, to make sure that our fishing lines don’t catch on the bottom of the boat, or that the cameras aren’t damaged when the deck crew raises and lowers the array.
The science only happens when everyone works together.
Personal Log
Life on a boat is different. There’s the obvious, with it taking a while to learn to walk again or with seasickness, if you’re so inclined. (I’ve been spared that misfortune so far, even with the bad weather!)
One thing unique to boats is the amount of different doors.
Doors?
There are a series of watertight doors, designed to protect the rest of the ship if a portion floods. These doors would hopefully contain any problems that occurred and keep the ship afloat. All of the doors that open to the outside are watertight.
These doors can be very loud when you open them, so you have to be careful. The ship has crew working 24 hours a day, which means there’s always someone sleeping.
In addition to the watertight doors, some of the interior doors act as fire boundaries. They’re very, very heavy – I can turn the handle and lean into them and they don’t move. It’s heavy for a reason, though. We have A60 doors on the Pisces, which have been designed to withstand an open flame for up to an hour.
Not all interior doors are fire boundaries though, just as not all doors were meant to be watertight. For example, in the hallway that leads to my bunk, the stairwell to my deck has a fireproof door but my room itself only has a “normal” door. The other end of the hallway opens up to the outside, so it has a watertight door.
I’m definitely getting a workout every time I go in and out of a room!
Did You Know?
The United Nations has a specialized agency devoted to maintaining safety in maritime shipping called the International Maritime Organization, or IMO. The IMO regulates everything from pollution from ships to the design of the ships themselves.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Marsha Skoczek Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 6-19, 2012
Mission: Marine Protected Areas Survey Geographic area of cruise: Subtropical North Atlantic, off the east coast of Florida. Date: July 17, 2012
Location: Latitude: 30.4587N
Longitude: 80.1243W
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 26.8C (80.24 F)
Wind Speed: 10.8 knots (12.43 mph)
Wind Direction: From the SE
Relative Humidity: 79 %
Barometric Pressure: 1017
Surface Water Temperature: 28.9C (84 F)
Science and Technology Log
South Atlantic MPAs
During the thirteen days we have been out to sea doing research, we have sent the ROV down both inside and outside of five different MPAs from Florida to North Carolina and back again. This allows the scientists to compare fish populations and densities both inside and outside of the MPAs. Since we left Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida, we have been averaging a distance from shore of between 50 and 70 nautical miles. It will be fourteen days until we see land once again. From this distance, the ocean seems to stretch on forever. Gazing at the beautiful blue water, it is easy to forget an entire other world lies beneath us. Not all of the ocean floor is flat, there is a small percentage that does have some elevation and structure. The type of structures on the ocean floor determine what types of species will live there.
For this mission, we have mainly been studying areas within the mesophotic zone of the ocean ranging from 40 to 150 meters (130 – 500 feet) below the surface. Temperatures here range from 12 – 23 degrees Celsius (50-70 F). Very little sunlight reaches the mesophotic zone, but zooxanthallae are still able to photosynthesize at this depth. Corals and sponges will also filter feed using the abundant particulate organic matter drifting in the water column they will filter out and eat the plankton.
Tomtates hide in crevices.
The multibeam images help the scientists determine where to launch the ROV. Areas with a change in elevation tend to indicate that there are rock structures below the surface. It is around these rocks that the majority of fish prefer to live, so these are often the areas at which the scientists chose to collect data.
The ridges we have seen range in height from 1 meter to 5 meters. The fish really like areas in the rock that have cracks, crevices and overhangs for them to hide. Many times as the ROV approached the fish, they would scurry into a nearby hiding place. I can’t help but imagine that the ROV with its bright lights and unnatural features must seem like an alien spacecraft to these fish that have never had contact with humans before. But ROVs aren’t the only thing that these fish need to hide from. I noticed that the larger fish that are toward the top of the food chain were not as skittish as the smaller reef fish. Sometimes amberjacks and scamp would even follow the ROV as if curious about we were doing. And lionfish never budged as the ROV passed unless it happened to be sitting in the ROV’s path.
Lobster hiding in rock. Notice how his coloring resembles the reef behind him.
