Evening August 15 – North- Northwest of Wainwright, Alaska
Air temp 35F, sea depth 47m , surface sea water temp 32.2F
Life on a LEGO
The LEGO is a nickname given to the large green plastic pallet-like mooring. Their retrieval from the sea floor is pictured here. This equipment was retrieved after being deployed for a year on the sea floor in about 40 meters of water. The mooring is called a DAFT (Direction Acoustic Fish Tracker). On the DAFT there are instruments that measure ocean temperature, salinity, and pressure. The primary instrument is an echo sounder that records any schools of fish that may pass overhead.
Retrieval of the “Lego,” a large plastic mooring that has spent the past year collecting data at the ocean bottom
What the DAFT was not designed to do, but does well, is catch sea life. The fiberglass pallet has 1 1/2″ square holes in it that allow water to pass through on retrieval and it also catches sea life as if it were a net. Yesterday we pulled two of these “Legos” from the sea and they were covered with marine life. The most remarkable sight were the large blue king crabs, (around half dozen on one pallet). Here I am holding one of the bigger ones– such awesome looking creatures!
TAS Roy Moffitt holding a blue king crab
On the smaller size, we found a hermit crab (shown here hiding in a shell).
Hermit Crab
Also on board were many sea stars. Most were the Brittle Stars. This is the picture of the sea star with the small legs. I think they are called the Brittle Stars because when I tried to gently remove them from the mooring, sadly their legs kept breaking off. There were dozens of these on the mooring.
Sun Star
There was another sea star with nine legs. It was very pretty and looks like a drawing of the sun. Not surprising, I found out this one is called the “Sun Star.”
Some not-so-pretty items on the moorings I like to call “mooring acne” are called tunicates. These are filter feeders and come in many different forms.
Tunicate
Sea Squirt
The one on my hand looks like a giant pimple and when you try to take it off the mooring it squirts you in the face. Not surprisingly this tunicate is called the “Sea Squirt.”
Think about it…
All of the life on the Lego mooring was sent back to the sea to hopefully find a new home. The Lego pallet mooring mentioned above is not large, about 4 ft by 6ft. The mooring in this story was only in the ocean one year and became the home of the above mentioned marine animals – crabs, sea stars, tunicates, and also thousands of barnacles! One tiny piece of the sea floor contained all this life! Imagine how rich in life the entire unseen ecosystem is in the Chukchi Sea!
Today’s Wildlife Sightings
For the last two days, I saw several walruses. Pictured below is one that popped up by a piece of ice. Teaser – look for a future blog focusing on walrus and their habitat.
A walrus pops its head up above water near a piece of ice
Now and Looking forward
We are now seeing small bands of pack ice and individual pieces of ice called “growlers”. Sea ice has not interrupted science operations, as of today. There is plenty of open water so far. We should see ice of different concentrations for the rest of the trip as we continue to head north. Look for future pictures and some of the science on sea ice coming soon. For now here are a couple pictures from August 15.
“Growlers” – the view looking from the deck of USCGC Healy down into the fogAnother view of the walrus, swimming near broken up ice
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean Date: June 14, 2017
Weather Data from the Bridge Latitude: 41 31.54 N
Longitude: 70 40.49 W
Wind Speed 10 Knots (11.5 mph)
Air Temp 20.2 C (68.4 Fahrenheit)
Science and Technology Log
Contrary to the popular Rolling Stones song “Time is on my Side,” time is not on our side while we are taking survey of the scallop population in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. This survey has been meticulously planned for months leading up to the actually event. There is no time budgeted to sit at a dredge station longer than you have to.
The Nobeltec Cruise Track for the 2nd and 3rd legs of the 2017 Scallop Survey. You can see this survey has covered 1000’s of nautical miles, and stopped at over 100 dredge stations.
For seven days our noon to midnight science crew has been working at a blistering pace to dredge the ocean floor or take pictures with the underwater camera, HabCam. We are on a tight schedule, and in a twelve hour period we are able to work through 10 dredge stations. There has been little down time, and because some of the dredge stations are so close together, there is no time to be unproductive while we are at a station. Because of this, there are often stations where we simply are not able to individually count all the organisms we collect. There are many situations where our crew must use the method of subsampling.
For you in the Midwest, imagine you wanted to know how many dandelions were in your yard. Now if you are anything like me, you have way too many to count. If you went to count them all individually, it would literally take you all day if not more. It is just not time efficient to do such a thing. But if we took a population sample of some random areas in the yard, we could come up with an answer of how many dandelions were in the yard, and get a very close answer to actually counting them individually.
A similar example I can give you is with a recent dredge catch that was full of sand dollars. In one of our massive dredge catches composed of about 99.5% sand dollars, I completed an estimate sand dollars in a similar manner. I filled 2 liter pail full of sand dollars. My count for that pail was 188 sand dollars per 2 liters. In this catch we had 46 baskets each with a volume of 46 liters. So at 94 sand dollars per liter with there being 2,116 liters total, you can estimate there are about 198,904 sand dollars in that dredge catch.
A dredge catch that was almost 100% sand dollars. These sand dollars are dripping with a green algae and cover our buckets and wet gear in a green coating.
We are faced with similar tasks while sorting through the dredge. When we face those situations, we turn to the method of sampling, and we take a representative sample of our catch. At most stations we are taking count of sea stars, crabs, waved whelks, all fish, and scallops. When we collect the dredge, most of the time it would not be time efficient to totally count up all the sea stars, so we turn to subsampling.
Here’s how subsampling works. Once we have sorted our dredge catch into various pails, we count up our specimens. For sea stars however we always take a subsample. To do that our watch-chief takes a scoop full of whatever is in our discard pails, and she does this randomly. She puts the random sample in a 4.5 liter pail. From here, she can begin to estimate the number of sea stars in our dredge catch. For example, if she goes through the 4.5 liter pail and finds six sea stars, and she knows there are four 46 liter pails of discard from the dredge, with a little math work she can figure out how many stars are in the dredge. If there are four 46 liter pails of discard, then there is a total of 186 liters of discard. She knows from her random sample that there are 6 sea stars per 4.5 liters which would come out to 1.3 sea stars per liter. By multiplying that number by 186, you can determine that an expanded estimate for the sea stars in the dredge collection would be 242 sea stars.
An example of our discard baskets from our dredge catches. This catch was sea star heavy, and this shows it would have taken too much time to count each sea star individually. Since many sea stars are predators of scallops, a count needs to be recorded.
We also use this method when we have a large catch of scallops. When we have an overly large scallop catch on the dredge, we are not able to count and measure every single scallop from the catch. In these cases we use a representative amount. In one case we caught 24 baskets of scallops, each basket able to hold 46 liters. If we were to measure all of those scallops we would be at that station far too long to move onto the next dredge. When we caught enough scallops to fill 24 baskets, we used 3 baskets of scallops as a representative amount. All of the scallops in the 3 baskets were measured for their shell height. We would then take a mean average from these scallops to represent the 21 other baskets. We are also able to estimate the number of scallops in the 24 baskets the same way I estimated the number of sand dollars in a dredge catch.
A large catch of scallops from one of our dredge stations. In this case a representative sample of shell heights was taken.
Representative samples and population estimations through sampling are valuable tools that scientists use to collect a lot of data in a more efficient amount of time. From this data, mathematical models and predictions are developed. By implementing these methods, we are able to get more data from more locations.
Personal Log
It has been 9 days since I arrived in Woods Hole, Massachusetts to be a part of this journey. As I shared in my last blog, it is hard to be away from home, but many of the people here are gone more than 100 days per year. There is one thing that makes that time away easier….eating! Here on the Hugh R. Sharp, I would imagine I’ve put on some extra pounds. Most days I feel like a cow grazing. There are so many snacks on board, that it is so easy just to walk by the galley and grab a mini candy bar, chips, pop, or ice cream. I have discovered there is no better candy bar than a Baby Ruth. On top of the snacks and sweets, the cook, Paul, cooks up some mean dinners. Though I miss my wife’s home cooking, Paul’s cooking is a good substitute.
Lots of candy and snacks and some good dinners is probably leading to some extra poundage! There are two drawers always full of candy, and a freezer always full of ice cream. Pictured on the left is the ship’s cook, Paul.
Outside of eating, there is not much recreational time on the ship. I do try to get up a couple hours before our shift begins to just enjoy being out on the ocean. I haven’t been able to make myself get up yet for sunrise at 5:05 AM. After working a twelve hour shift sorting dredge catches, there’s not much you want to do but sleep. Sleeping on the boat has been good. Probably some of the deepest sleep I’ve had since our kids were born. I’ve gotten used to the motion of the boat, the sound of waves hitting the bow, and the boat stabilizers which sound like a giant snoring. I’m a sleep walker, so that was a concern coming in that I would find myself on deck, sleep walking. But I’m sleeping so sound, I don’t think it’s possible. However I did warn my roommates to stop me if they saw me up in the middle of the night.
Part B of the survey has started, and with that most of my crew got off the ship, and I will have a new crew starting today. It was a great group of people to work with.
Part A of the survey the day crew from left to right: Crew chief Nicole, myself, Dylan, Sue, and Nancy. Then the night crew of Lauren, John, Jill, Han, and crew chief Mike.
Did You Know?
Living in Illinois, there are not many times where knowing your parts of a ship come in handy. However, as I have been living on the Hugh R. Sharp for over a week now I have picked up some terms. I did not know many of these coming on, so this is a “Did you know?” moment for me.
Front of the ship: bow
Back of the ship: stern
Moving to the front of the ship: forward
Moving to the back of the ship: aft
The left of this picture is port, and the right is starboard. It took me awhile to figure out what our turn would be like if we were making a turn to starboard.
If you were on the bow, your left would be the: port
If you were on the bow, your right would be the: starboard
Fathom: 6 feet
A heading of zero: North, a heading of 90: East, a heading of 180: South, a heading of 270: West
Heading to a location quickly: steam
Kitchen (where I constantly graze in between dredge stations): galley
Location of the ship’s navigational equipment is: bridge
Bathrooms: the head
As soon as the day group’s shift started at noon we were right into sorting the catch and doing the work-up of weighing, measuring and taking samples.
It’s with a good bit of anticipation waiting to see what the net will reveal when its contents are emptied! There were some new fish for me to see today of which I was able to get some nice photos. I was asked today if I had a favorite fish. I enjoy seeing the variety of star fish that come down the conveyor belt as we sort through the catch even though they are not part of the survey. The Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) are beautiful with their blue and black bands on their upper bodies and their shimmering scales. They are a schooling fish and today one catch consisted primarily of this species. I’m fascinated with the unusual looking fish such as the goosefish, the Atlantic wolffish (Anarchichas lupus) with its sharp protruding teeth, and some of the different crabs we have caught in the net. Another catch today, closer to land where the seafloor was more sandy, was full of Atlantic Scallops. Their shells consisted of a variety of interesting colors and patterns.
Today I also had a chance to have a conversation with the Commanding Officer of the Henry B. Bigelow, Commander Jeffrey Taylor. After serving as a medic in the air force, and with a degree in Biology with a concentration in marine zoology from the University of South Florida. What he enjoys about his job is teaching the younger NOAA officers in the operation of the ship. He is proud of his state-of-the-art ship with its advanced technology and engineering and its mission to protect, restore, and manage the marine, coastal and ocean resources. Some things that were touched upon in our conversation about the ship included the winch system for trawling. It is an advanced system that monitors the cable tension and adjusts to keep the net with its sensors open to specific measurements and to keep it on the bottom of the seafloor. This system also is more time efficient. The Hydrographic Winch System deploys the CTD’s before each trawl. CO Taylor also related how the quiet hull and the advanced SONAR systems help in their missions. What we discussed that I am most familiar with since I boarded the Henry B. Bigelow is the Wet Lab, which was especially engineered for the Henry B. Bigelow and its survey missions. This is where I spend a good bit of time during the survey. The ergonomically designed work stations interface with the computer system to record and store the data collected from the fish samples 100% digitally. I was pleased to hear what thought, skill and fine tuning had gone into designing this room as I had earlier on the trip mentally noted some of the interesting aspects of the layout of the room. Commanding Officer Taylor also had high praise for his dedicated NOAA Corps staff and the crew, engineers and scientists that work together as a team.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Carmen Andrews Aboard R/V Savannah July 7 – 18, 2012
Mission: SEFIS Reef Fish Survey Location: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida
Date: July 13, 2012
Latitude: 29 ° 19.10’ N
Longitude: 80 ° 24.31’ W
Weather Data:
Air Temperature: 28.3° C (82.94°F)
Wind Speed: 12 knots
Wind Direction: from Southeast
Surface Water Temperature: 27.48 °C (81.46°F)
Weather conditions: Sunny and Fair
Science and Technology Log
Catching bottom fish at the reef
As the fish trap lies at the bottom of the ocean at the reef site, fish can enter and exit freely through the opening.
Red snapper swimming near a sunken fish trap
At the end of approximately 90 minutes, the R/V Savannah returns to the drop site and begins the process of raising the trap with whatever fish remain inside. The six traps are pulled up in the order in which they were dropped.
Scientists and crew waiting to arrive at a trap location
The crew member on watch in the wheelhouse will maneuver the boat toward the paired poly ball buoys at a speed of about 5 knots. The boat draws alongside each pair on the starboard side.
R/V Savannah approaching poly ball buoys on the starboard side
One of the scientists throws a grappling hook toward the line that links the poly balls.
Throwing the grappling hook to secure buoys
The line is hauled in and passed to a waiting scientists, who pull the poly balls on deck. There is substantial hazard associated with this step. Undersea currents can be very powerful near the bottom where traps are set. As scientists are pulling in the cable by hand, unexpected current force can yank the trap cable, rope and buoys out of their hands and off the deck in an instant. If personnel on deck aren’t mindful and quick to react, the speeding rope can cause serious rope burn injury.
Nate is pulling poly balls and rigging onto the deck, as Adam P. gets ready to take the line
The cable connecting the fish trap and the poly balls is pulled in and threaded through the pulley system of a pot hauler. The pot hauler is an automated lifting tool that is operated by the second crew member on watch. At this time the first crew member on watch has left the wheel house and is piloting the boat from a small cab on deck above the pot hauler, so he can monitor the action below.
Pot hauler hoisting the fish trap to the boat
The pot hauler makes a distinctive clicking sound as it draws the trap toward the surface at an angle. It can take one to five minutes to raise the trap to the deck, depending on the depth of the water.
Tight cable raising submerged fish trap
As the fish trap becomes visible, shimmering rapidly changing shapes can be seen as fishes’ bodies catch and reflect sunlight.
Fish trap breaking the surface of the water
The trap clears the water and gets pulled aboard.
Grabbing the fish trap and pulling it aboard
Very quickly, and with two scientists holding each side, the trap is upended onto its nose and suspended above the deck. A third scientist opens the trap door at the bottom and the fish are shaken into a plastic bin.
Orienting a fish trap to ready it for dumping the catch into a binFreshly caught red snapper and black sea bass
Ice pellets are shoveled onto the fish and a cover is snapped on the bin. If the catch is small, fish may be placed in a bucket or tub and cover with ice.
Fish are covered in ice before the bin cover is snapped on
A numbered tag is removed from the trap and tied onto the bin to identify specimens from each catch. The containers holding the day’s catch are set aside for later processing.
Every so often, unexpected sea life is brought up in the traps. The catch has included sea stars, sea urchins, several kinds of tropical fish and many moray eels.
Moray eel slithering on the deck. A moray’s bite can be very severe.
Video cameras are also removed from the top of the trap. Their data cards will be downloaded. Fish behavior and surrounding habitat videos will be analyzed, along with anatomical specimens and size data taken from the fish themselves in the wet lab.
Personal Log
Every day brings more wildlife encounters and sightings. I am dazzled by the many fascinating organisms I’ve been able to see up close. Sometimes I am quick enough to grab my camera and put the animal into my view finder, focusing clearly enough to catch a great image. Here are a few of those images (including some new friends from the cruise):
Adam P. holding a barracudaDaniel with a wahooTrolling with a hooked dolphinfishSea starsA sheerwater — bird found in open waterSheerwaters dive beneath the surface of the water to catch fish. This bird is consuming a fish with its wings open to balance itself on the water.
Other times I have to capture a memory. Last night I tried reef fishing. I have no experience fishing. At all. Adam P. handed me his own rod and reel. The hook was baited and the line was already lowered to the bottom, down at around 40 meters (more than 120 feet).
Shortly after I took it, the tip of the rod began to bend downward and pull. I asked Adam if that meant something had been hooked. He said, “Go ahead. Reel it in.” That’s when I discovered that even recreational fishing is tough work – particularly this unfamiliar technique of holding the rod with the right hand and reeling in with the left. Neophyte to fishing is me.
When the fish got to the surface, Adam took the big, beautiful black sea bass off the hook for me. On the deck it splayed out the spines of its dorsal, caudal and pectoral fins defensively. I was concerned because the fish’s air bladder was hanging out of its mouth from its rapid ascent to the surface. Adam punctured the air bladder to deflate it. He threw the fish back into the sea at my request, and assured me that the fish will go on with its life. I’m optimistic it will.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Janet Nelson Huewe Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp June 13 – 25, 2012
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Geographic Area: North Atlantic Monday, June 25, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge: Latitude: 41 24.21 North
Longitude: 069 54.98 West
Wind Speed: 13.7 kt
Air Temperature: 17 C
Final Log:
We are steaming for home. Woods Hole, MA that is. In the past ten days we have conducted 71 scallop dredge tows and processed 15, 979 scallops. We also took over 4 million images with the HabCam in 691 nautical miles of this leg. We have been a little busy.
A tow of scallops
This morning (0600 hrs.) we mustered in the dry lab and began our assignments, ranging from swabbing the decks to vacuuming our state rooms. Tonight I will be in Boston and then on my way back to Minnesota. I am ready to go home, but I know I will think back fondly on a few things. The rocking of the boat when I’m going to sleep. Meals prepared for me. The sound of waves and water. The hum of the engines. Seeing what comes up in the scallop dredge. Being on deck and on the bridge. A hap chance at seeing whales or dolphins. New friends and fun banter. Even though this journey began with an unpleasant introduction, it is ending with fond feelings.
Me and a barn door skate!
Being on this boat has been interesting for several reasons. I have learned new things about ocean life that I can take back to my classroom as well as a few souvenirs. I can honestly say I have never seen more scallops in my life, not to mention sand dollars and sea stars! I am looking forward to sharing this experience with my family, students, and friends. As I write this last blog, I am thinking of what a privilege it has been to be a member of this team of researchers. I am honored to learn from them. To my team: Jon, Nicole, Mike, Jess, Alexis, Ted, Nick (TG), and TR, thank you!! This experience would not have been the same without you! I will remember you fondly for many, many days to come.
