We made a krill trawl today to check the sonar equipment. It was a check on one of the primary food sources of the Pollock and it helps the echo-integration specialists hone their skills at identifying Pollock versus other schools of marine organisms. The trawling device was designed to catch a small bucket of krill of which it did. The specimens were weighed and then photographed on a scanner for later base study analysis. The greatest thing about the cruise so far is the warm, helpful welcome I received on board and the willingness of everyone to spend some time with me to share conversation, and bring me up to speed on what is taking place.
Members of the fisheries biology staff begin to count out and weigh the Walleye Pollock from the sorting table.
Personal Log
I had a few days to visit Dutch Harbor while the scientific staff rotated and the ship restocked. The most impressive observation for most people living in the lower forty-eight states must be the abundance of our national bird, the Bald Eagle. They congregate here for the free fish that spill overboard at one of the many fishing plants. They are rather like pigeons here. The harsh climate does not suit trees well so the eagles perch on the hillsides and, more often, on the store rooftops and streetlights right in town.
Living on the 205ft MILLER FREEMAN takes some getting used to. I am not accustomed to the small living quarters on board yet. I am rooming with the two Russian scientists in a “cozy” 54 sq. ft. bunkroom. I sleep on the top bunk and have been pleasantly lulled to sleep by the drone of the engine the past two nights. The sea has been calm but overcast. I have had the chance to see Minke whales, Dall’s porpoises, fur seals, and incredible amounts of sea birds! I have been getting used to the many hatches, decks, and stairways. I still find myself laughing out loud when I come to a dead end or the wrong deck just trying to get to my room.
Executive Officer Sean Cimiculla oversees the operations of an on-board firedrill. The sailing crew trains regularly for fire scenarios on the ship.
Science and Technology Log
Hello to all! I welcome you, and myself, aboard the good ship MILLER FREEMAN in the Bering Sea. I am a sixth grade classroom teacher from Wildhorse Plains, Montana. I will be aboard the ship from July 16 to August 4. This is the MILLER FREEMAN’s third tour this summer of 2006 surveying the Walleye Pollock. My goal is to keep you informed of the importance of this scientific endeavor and share with you the experience of being a “land lover” at sea while drawing observations of the uniqueness of spending time in a self-contained salt-water vessel, also known as a ship!
The NOAA task is to survey the density and population of a very valuable commercial fish called the Walleye Pollock. The results of this survey will be forwarded to fishing regulatory agencies that will look at the data collected to make decisions that may affect the catch limit, areas that are fishable, and length of the walleye Pollock season. You may have never have heard of the walleye Pollock, but I bet you have tasted it! This fish is commonly used in the United States as a generic fish entry. Frozen food companies often use this species as the main ingredient in fish sticks, imitation crab, and fish sandwiches. Fast-food chain restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King offer it in their fish selections on the menu. Other countries also have high stakes in the profitability and abundance of this fish in Bering Sea waters. Japan, and especially Russia, both have a great interest in the success of the catch and population trends for these cold-water schooling fish. Russian fishermen harvest the Pollock from the waters in their coastal territory along the Bering Sea as well.
Near the end of this leg of the survey, the MILLER FREEMAN is scheduled to cross into Russian waters to continue the study to get a truly encompassing sample of the entire cross-section of the Bering Sea.
International and Domestic Implications
Aboard the ship are two Russian Biologists that are working in conjunction with the NOAA fisheries biologists to record the sampling results of our work here. They hope to use this information in their country to relay the same boundaries and limits as mentioned above. The success of the Pollock harvest in northern Bering Sea has the potential to make or break the profitability of the small family owned fisheries as well as the larger corporate fishing plants. A large part of the annual harvest is exported to counties all over the world. You might say this species is the “bread and butter” of the annual fishing season. The location and prediction of a sustaining population of Pollock in the Bering is paramount to the livelihood of many stakeholders. Nearly 72 percent of all the schooling groundfish taken from this area in 2004 were Pollock!
Survey Update to July 16, 2006
Leg I and Leg II
The preliminary findings have been consistent in finding the Pollock thus far. The MILLER FREEMAN has been systematically plotting a course that has traditionally been a good source for Pollock harvest and study. The technology survey instruments and sampling devices have worked well, and the density of Pollock has been measured.
Leg III
The MILLER FREEMAN speeds out to sea to pick up where it left off doing the study. It is stocked with fisheries biologists setting up and checking instruments. It will take us a full day’s and a night’s travel to reach our starting point. As of July 16, formal permission has not been granted to enter the international waters of Russia. The crew is hoping this can be rectified or alternative studies and revisions will need to be incorporated on this third leg.
As of July 16, The Ship OSCAR DYSON remains at port in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. This other NOAA vessel is similarly equipped to study Pollock but is undergoing some repairs on its generating plant. It is hoped that it will meet up with us in the Bering Sea to coordinate some surveys maneuvers with the MILLER FREEMAN.
Crewmembers retrieve a marine mammal listening device from the water.
Weather Data
Latitude: 57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility: 8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed: 17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height: 4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature: 4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy
Science and Technology Log
Marine Mammal Listening Device
Earlier, a marine mammal listening device scheduled for recovery could not be picked up because the instrument responded to signals and released from its anchor, but it did not rise to the surface for recovery. You may remember the theory was that it was stuck in the mud which prevented it from rising. Well, things changed on the second effort to pick up one of these devices. This one popped to the surface and is now onboard the ship. The data and sounds recorded will be of great interest to scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Crewmembers deploy bongo nets.
A couple of days ago, I sent some photos of brittle stars, bivalves, barnacles and worms that had gathered on a mooring that had been 200 meters deep in the Bering Sea for about a year. Were you as impressed with all the life forms as I was?
I expected to see life forms on the marine mammal listening device because it had also been beneath the water for 1 year. You may be surprised to learn that there was almost nothing on the surface of the entire instrument! Would you like to take an educated guess as to the reason for the lack of life on this mooring? You would be correct if you noted that this one was deployed at a deeper depth. In fact, this one was 1,800 meters deep. The role of the sun in starting the process of photosynthesis to feed all life is pretty impressive isn’t it? I hope this example helps you even more appreciate the role of penetration of sunlight into the water as a huge factor in ocean food chains.
Bongo Tows
Four bongo shaped nets were lowered into the water this morning to catch zooplankton. Two of the nets had a 60centimeter diameter and 133micron holes in them. This means that anything smaller than 133 microns simply passes through the net and is not collected. Lots of phytoplankton fall into this category and are not collected.
Mr. Jenkins displays a sample of zooplankton
Two more nets had 20-centimeter diameter openings and nets which had 153-micron holes in them. Can you see that these nets are set up to catch smaller plankton species? All nets were lowered to the bottom by a winch until they were 10 meters from the bottom. The nets are then pulled up to the surface by a winch at a rate of 20 meters per minute. All organisms are collected in a cylinder attached to the base of the net. The cylinders are removed from the nets, taken into the laboratory where they are put into bottles. The bottles are then sent to a lab in Poland where technicians use microscopes to identify the species, and the number of each species, in each sample.
Today’s specimens had a lot of organisms visible to the naked eye. I will be forwarding a photo in which you may be able to make out some specimens. There were a few fish larva and even some squid larva. Have you noticed that rivers around Virginia tend to have a greenish hue once algae populations begin to grow in the summer? Well, this process also happens in the Bering Sea. The size of the mesh on bongo nets is adjusted during the summer months because a larger amount of algae growing in the water tends to be picked up. These algae may even clog a net if too much is collected. What can be determined by the small specimens collected in the bongo nets? For starters, finding a lot of zooplankton means that larger species are going to have more to eat. This could mean healthier populations and better fishing. Eggs of fish collected in the tows give an indication of the future of fish populations. More eggs may mean more fish.
Our friend, the Walleye Pollock’s, eggs soon turn to a larval form before developing into small fish. The larva of the Walleye Pollock have small ear bones called otoliths. These ear bones have growth rings in them which are similar to growth rings in trees. It is possible to determine the age of Pollock larva to the number of days by examining and counting the rings in its ear! Knowing the age and number of larva in the water can be extremely helpful in predicting the number of fish that are likely to be available for harvest in the future.
Crab Classic contains “Surimi Crab.”
Argos Apex Drifters
Two instruments have been dropped into the water and they are probably not going to be recovered. In fact there will be no effort to recover them!
The first of these long yellow cylinders with satellite transmitters on the top was dropped into the water yesterday. At first, the instrument simply sat horizontally on the surface of the sea until it picked up a signal from a satellite in orbit. When the signal was received by the Argos Drifter, the instrument filled a bladder with water causing it to sit upright and sink into the sea. The instrument descends to depths of up to 2,800 meters. It then rises slowly to the surface, all the time collecting data on salinity. Upon reaching the surface, the instrument transmits all its data to the satellite. After transmission, the instrument dives again and repeats this process of collecting data for 8 or 9 months.
Plans are to have 3,000 or more of these instruments in the water of all the world’s seas collecting data. Do you think that this is an improvement on having to actually travel to a particular site to collect salinity data?
Personal Log
E-mails from home tell me of balmy warm weather and spring plants coming out in profusion. Conditions are a little different here today. Hands went back into pockets so that my they would not be made so inflexible by the cold that I could not use a pencil well to keep records when working on the deck this morning. A winter coat and felt liners in my boots felt wonderful. Do you think I may have some adjusting to do when I return to springtime in Virginia?
Several of you have asked about stars. It is getting dark rather late here, so I woke up the last couple of nights at 1:00 AM to take a walk on the deck to enjoy the stars. The weather has been pretty cloudy, so I could only see two stars as I walked around the deck. You would have appreciated the flat blackness of the sky, however. I can imagine the stars being quite radiant on a clear night. I will keep looking and let you know what I see.
Surimi Crab sandwiches were on the menu for lunch today. Being a big fan of the Chesapeake Blue Crab, I ordered a sandwich and found it delicious. After lunch, I went back to the kitchen to ask Chief Steward, Russell Van Dyke, to tell me about the Surimi crab. I was surprised to find out that there is no such thing as a Surimi Crab!
Russell was good enough to go down to the freezer to get a bag of Surimi Crab so that I could look at it. I discovered that the package contained only 20% of a crab product.
Now for the question of the day: What makes up the other 80% of Surimi Crab?
Latitude: 57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility: 8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed: 17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height: 4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature: 4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy
Science and Technology Log
The past two days have been 12-hour workdays helping to do CTD tests. This involves putting an instrument into the water to measure the salinity, temperature and depth of the water in specific locations. All the data collected is stored in a computer file so that scientists can look at data the data for analysis. I have an experiment that I would like you to try to see how salinity influences oceans. First, mix up some water with varying levels of salinity.
Mr. Jenkins helps to retrieve a CTD.
You could do this by putting 1 teaspoon of salt in 100 ML of water, 2 teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water, 3 teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water and four teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water. It would be a good idea to color these with a drop or two of the same color of food coloring. Label the cups and put them in order, least to greatest amount of salt. Now, fill four cups with 100 ML of fresh water. It would be a good idea to put a drop or two of food coloring in these samples also. Make sure to pick a color that is different than the color used for the saltwater samples. Gently pour the fresh water samples down the side of the container into the saltwater samples and record your observations. You may notice that the fresh water stays on top of the salt water because the salt water has a greater density than the fresh water. You are now on your way to understanding part of what CTD tests are all about. That is, saltier water tends to sink toward the bottom of the ocean while fresher water tends to be at the surface of the ocean.
You now may want to experiment with changing the temperatures of your specimens and recording your observations and thoughts. Your observations may lead you to conclude that colder water tends to sink while warmer water tends to rise. Understanding this will put you well on your way to understanding characteristics of seawater due to salt and temperature differences that are the basis of CTD tests.
Ocean Birds
Do you remember our discussion of the Walleye Pollock? You may remember that larva for the Pollock are in seawater and are influenced by currents which may transport the larva, or bring food to the larva. The rise and fall of water due to temperature and salinity differences causes some of the currents that transport larva, or bring food to the larva through upwelling. Understanding how oceans circulate because of salinity and temperature differences and how this circulation influences ocean life is the basis of the measurements collected by CTD tests. Please let me know how your experiments go. What are your observations and questions?
Yesterday, the ship was close to an island and lots of birds were following the ship or playing around the ship. I spent some time on the bridge looking at the birds through binoculars and reading about them in a bird book kept on the bridge. Let me tell you about a few of the more interesting birds I saw.
The most interesting bird to me was a brown bird that resembled a puffin in some ways. These birds tended to be in front of the ship. The spent a lot of time flying, then would plop down into the sea to rest for a while. They are great floaters and bobbed well in the 8-foot swell waves. This bird is called the Northern Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis). What do you think of the species name?
The Northern Fulmar has had a habit of following whaling ships to feed on offal or blubber thrown over the side. A second bird, a gull, was larger and largely white. This bird, the Glaucous Gull, is also known as, “Chief magistrate of the North,” because of some of its more peculiar habits. It has a habit of feeding on the eggs and unattended young of other birds. Its most curious habit is its tendency to confront a bird called and Eider which it forces to disgorge what it has eaten so that the Glaucous Gull can enjoy a good meal! What do you think of this?
Finally, the Laysan Albatross was a beautiful bird with a wonderful combination of straight edges and curves in its wings. This bird is an incredibly graceful flyer. Sailors and Pacific Islanders often refer to it as a “Gooney Bird.” This albatross feeds mainly on squid and tends to live in the open ocean, well away from shore. You might want to ask you parents about the albatross. They are likely to tell you some great stories and even entertain you with a few lines of a poem they know!
Yesterday, a notation in the logbook read, “Confused Seas.” Looking at the sea from the height of the bridge made this seem an apt description. Waves were bumping into other waves in locations causing sections of the ocean to be in churning turmoil. I noticed that the ocean waves caused by local winds were in the 1-2 foot range. Larger waves, or swell waves, were in the 8-foot range. Discussion with the officers on deck helped me to understand that swell waves, like regular waves are generally caused by wind. The winds causing the swell waves tend to be further away, however. In fact, the swell waves coming to us yesterday might be the result of winds causing waves in the water as far away as Japan. I think you might enjoy looking at a globe to fully appreciate this phenomenon.
Personal Log
We are in transit today and a due to reach the site of a marine mammal mooring to be recovered tomorrow morning. It is nice to have the time to write logs and replies to you guys at a more leisurely pace.
Last night, I learned something about myself. Did you know that I smell, “greater than a toothpick and that I smell like a tree?” I thought that you would appreciate this description brought to you by 5-year-old Sam Jenkins!
Question(s) of the Day: Which whale is capable of the deepest dive? Which whale can hold its breath the longest? How are the Gray Whale’s feeding habits different than the habits of other whales? (A great resource: http://cetus.ucsd.edu) Mrs. English may be able to help you with other good web resources. It would also be a great idea to visit Mrs. Griffith in the library!
Here you can see the heavy chain that keeps Peggy the Mooring in place.
Weather Data
Latitude: 57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility: 8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed: 17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height: 4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature: 4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy
Science and Technology Log
I am going to leave out cloud cover today. Can you look at the data above and fill in the space for cloud cover? I think you may also be able to know what current weather conditions are for today. Did you get the photos of the mooring, chain and cable which were covered with barnacles, brittle stars, worms, starfish and bivalves? I thought these were pretty interesting and spent some time yesterday looking carefully at the photos to see what was identifiable.
By the way, the barnacle and associated organisms I am holding up in one of the photos are now in a jar which is wrapped in bubble wrap and inserted in a zip lock bag. I am thinking that we will put it in a mesh bag and hang it from a tree limb to dry once I get back to school.
Yesterday, after dinner, I spent a long time talking with Mr. Rick Miller a mechanical engineer who has helped to design a lot of the moorings we are deploying or recovering on this cruise. Mr. Miller has an absolute passion for his work and I think he said a lot of things that you are going to find extremely interesting.
The mooring named Peggy was partly designed by Mr. Miller. Do you remember that the top part of the mooring weighed 5,600 pounds? You may be surprised to learn that the anchor and the chain holding Peggy to the ocean floor also weigh 5,600 pounds. Mr. Miller went on to say that winds in the Bering Sea can be quite ferocious. Long ago, engineers learned that a mooring with too much weight holding it to the ocean floor is not a good thing; the wind will simply blow the mooring over and push it below the water. This would prevent transmission of data that comes from the tower which is supposed to be above the water.
The fact that the anchor and chain for Peggy is the same weight as the surface part makes it possible for the anchor to move slightly when pulled on in a gale. This keeps the mooring above water and close to the location in which it was dropped!
A second interesting design feature was made more interesting after looking at the barnacle cover on the mooring brought up yesterday. Mr. Miller and his team looked at the history of barnacle cover on submerged instruments in the Bering Sea and calculated that a half ton of barnacles would likely cover the underside of Peggy the Mooring within a 6-month period. To counter this, they painted the bottom of the floating piece with a paint which repels barnacles and sea life that might attach to the surface. What do you think might have happened if the surface had not been treated and the expected half ton of barnacles accumulated?
Chains used by NOAA to anchor moorings are tested so that each link is capable of holding a 42,000-pound weight. This would be strong enough to pick up approximately 20 of the cars that I drive to school each day. This seems plenty strong to counter the weight of a mooring in even the strongest wind, or current, doesn’t it?
Mr. Miller was very surprised, as were a lot of scientists and engineers, when they came out to pick up moorings anchored with this chain and found them missing. The breakthrough came when they recovered a link of a chain that was broken! They took the chain to a metallurgist (a scientist who studies metals). The metallurgist discovered that the fact that NOAA chains were heat-treated tended to form a strong crystal lattice in the metal. Hydrogen atoms had a tendency to get trapped in this lattice. The hydrogen expanded and forced a crack in the metal. A force much less than 42,000 pounds was then able to break the chain.
The solution: NOAA chains are still tested to be able to hold 42,000 pounds, but they are NOT heat-treated. No problems with broken chains have been noted since this change.
I think Mr. Miller summed up his thoughts about design well with this statement: “Overall strength is not the answer to all problems. The key to success is to design to the requirements of the project.”
You may want to spend some time discussing the above statement with your classmates. I think that there is a lot of wisdom in these words.
A lot of time was spent today doing CTD tests. You probably already know this because all of the pictures sent today related to CTD tests. The tests took a bit longer than usual because all of the tests were at a depth of about 1,500 meters.
Personal Log
I think that Mr. Miller is an outstanding human being, in addition to being an outstanding engineer and scientist. Let me know what you think after reading the words he spoke in response to my request for a comment to some bright fifth graders in Purcellville, Virginia:
“Encourage them to go into a field for which they have a passion. I would urge them to go into something that makes them smile when they think about it. I would encourage going into something with which you can have fun. Having fun has nothing to do with being easy. Challenges are fun.
Encourage them to keep life fun, and not be too heavy with life.
Remember that there are things equally important as academic endeavors. Remember to be good stewards of the planet.
Encourage them to think about outcomes which are up to the individual.”
I leave you now to contemplate Mr. Miller’s words. Have a great evening. I look forward to talking with you tomorrow.
Question of the day: An instrument descends to a depth of 1,500 Meters at a speed of 50 meters per minute. How long does it need to travel the 1,500 meters?
