Today, I had the incredible experience of going out on one of the survey launches with Hydrographic Survey Tech Haley Kenyon and Ensign James Hutzenbiler to run side-scan sonar. We rely on these smaller boats particularly when the water becomes too shallow for NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson to maneuver safely or when we are working in areas where the depths are completely unknown.
Aboard the small boat and ready for the day!
Once underway, Ensign Hutzenbiler and Haley navigated our assigned lines with incredible efficiency.
ENS Hutzenbiler drives the launch
When we ran into an issue with our POS (Position and Orientation System) data, Haley had Ensign Hutzenbiler hold position while she stepped out to secure an antenna connection with electrical tape.
Survey Tech Haley Kenyon secures the antenna
When the glitch popped up again later, a full system reboot got us back online for the rest of the day. The ingenuity, calm troubleshooting, and seamless teamwork on that small launch were inspiring—and together, they logged over 70 nautical miles of high-quality bathymetric data.
software displaying survey lines
View of NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson from the launch vessel as we return to the ship
Personal Log
Before we even stepped foot on the launch, we went through a comprehensive risk assessment using a GAR (Green-Amber-Red) model.
The colors represent our overall risk score:
Green (0–23): Low risk; proceed with standard precautions.
Amber (24–44): Moderate risk; requires consultation with the Executive Officer (XO) and crew to implement specific risk mitigations.
Red (45-60): High risk; the launch does not deploy unless risks can be successfully mitigated to lower the score.
Float Plan, including the GAR risk assessment, for launch vessel 2904
The GAR sheet is led by the coxswain—the officer in charge of the vessel—but it is a collaborative discussion. Once our mission for the day is outlined, the entire crew reviews every safety factor together.
The pre-launch small boat meeting
For my trip, the lake was calm and the mission was straightforward. I bumped our “Mission Complexity” score up slightly because it was my first time on the launch, meaning the team had to account for extra safety oversight for a newcomer. When weather conditions worsen—like on a day another crew faced choppy waters—the risk may elevate to Amber. If the risk does rise to Amber, they thoroughly map out contingency plans—including designated safe-harbor ports along their route if conditions deteriorate. Thanks to that preparation, everyone is able to execute their missions and return safely. What impressed me most about the GAR process is its culture of open safety. If anyone—regardless of rank, role, or whether they are actually going on the boat—feels a risk factor is underestimated, they have the authority to raise the score. Crucially, a score can never be voted down by someone else; it can only be raised. Knowing that safety is actively evaluated from every angle made me feel completely confident heading out on the water.
That culture of psychological safety, open communication, and continuous learning is something I am eager to bring back to my physics classroom. My students spend a lot of time collaborating in lab teams, and I want to find a way to create an environment where every student feels just as empowered to speak up—whether it’s pointing out a safety oversight or double-checking a peer’s lab setup or providing feedback on solving a problem. I already model this by encouraging students to call out my own errors, but seeing how seamlessly the crew on Thomas Jefferson prioritizes collective growth has me reflecting on how I can cultivate that same deep trust in my classroom right from the start of the school year.
Did You Know?
Port is the left side of a ship or boat while starboard is the right side when facing the front (bow) of the ship as shown in the image below:
The port side of the boat is named so because that is the side of the boat that was traditionally tied up to the dock or port, opposite to the steering or steer board, “starboard.” https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/port-starboard.html.
One of the crewmembers told me that to remember port and starboard to always remember that port has four letters in it and so does left, so they are on the same side of the boat.
In my last post, we left off our acoustics 101 with the emergence of the first modern echosounders in the 1990s. Today, we will look at the current system aboard Oscar Dyson and learn how the science team can use their knowledge of acoustics to estimate fish populations. First, let’s look at the physical components that make up the EK80 echosounder system.
Each frequency requires its own transceiver. These six transceivers are the heart of the EK80 echosounder.
Transceiver – a combination of a transmitter and a receiver; in other words, it both produces an electrical pulse to be sent to the transducer and converts the backscattered signal into usable data a computer can understand. You can think of the transceiver as the electronic brain that manages all of the signal inputs and outputs.
Transducer – Just like you might plug a microphone into your laptop to record audio, each transceiver needs a transducer to first convert the electrical pulse into an acoustic pulse that is transmitted into the water, and to measure the acoustic backscatter that returns. You can actually see the transducers in the photo of the centerboard below. The transceivers measure frequencies ranging from 18 kHz (those really annoying mosquito ringtones that only young people can hear are around 18 kHz) to 330 kHz.
The red circles on the bottom of the centerboard are the faces of the transducers. These sensitive instruments are mounted at the lowest point of the ship to isolate them from the vessel’s noisy hull. (Photo credit: NOAA)
The Echogram
Once the transceivers process the acoustic backscatter, the data is displayed on a screen for interpretation.
There’s quite a lot going on here! Let’s break it down into smaller pieces so we can learn to look at the data like a scientist.Each of the six frequencies appears as a vertical section that scrolls from right to left as the vessel moves. The top of each plot represents the ocean surface, and the thick red layer near the bottom shows the seafloor. The space in between lets us look at what is below the ship! Weak backscatter appears blue; stronger backscatter appears yellow and even red.
Our old friend munge is making an appearance in this echogram! It is the heavy backscatter layer just beneath the surface that is strongest at 18 kHz. Lower in the water column, we see that most backscatter occurs at higher frequencies, with only sparse backscatter in the lower-frequency plots. Backscatter that is observed only at higher frequencies indicates smaller organisms, such as krill or copepods. Backscatter that appears across all frequencies is likely generated by fish.
As you spend more time looking at this scrolling echogram, you can begin to recognize patterns and draw reasonable inferences. Below are some examples of the variety you can see in just a few hours in the cave.
Younger pollock can gather in schools 20-40 meters tall that appear as very thin red ellipses.You can clearly see occasional reflectors on the 18 & 38 kHz channels; these may well correspond to adult fish. The only way to be certain is to trawl in an area that looks like this and see what the net brings up!We know that large fish like pollock return a relatively even acoustic signal across every channel that we look at; there do not appear to be any significant pelagic fish present in this echogram.
Now that we can read echograms, we are ready to call for our first trawl! Come back next time to see what we data we can scoop up in “The Anatomy of a Midwater Trawl”.
Personal Log
Things aboard Oscar Dyson have settled into a routine. We travel along acoustic transects during daylight hours, stopping 2-3 times a day to do a midwater trawl. Routine doesn’t mean boring, though! Maintaining a ship of this size and complexity is more than enough to keep everyone busy. The checklist for this leg included checking on the smaller craft that service and support Oscar Dyson on her mission. Conditions cleared on 06/29, and the Peggy D, the workboat that lives on the starboard hero deck, was given a thorough check and taken for a 30-minute voyage.
Peggy D secured to the aft hero deck of Oscar Dyson. ENG Connor Rauch and ENG Chelsea Gostomski on the aft deck of Peggy D.LCDR LeeAnn Keener and I enjoying the scenery.Bosun Alex Steele instructs me in the safe operation of Peggy D.
Safety drills and practice are a part of the routine as well. ENGR Connor Rauch practices recovery during a man-overboard drill on Peggy D. In the case of an actual man overboard, the smaller vessels are used for recovery, as they can respond much more nimbly and are far safer in close quarters with a swimmer.
Wildlife
This smooth lumpsucker (Aptocyclus ventricosus) is just as surprised to see me as I am to see him.Lumpsuckers have a unique feature: a ventral suction disk that allows them to firmly attach themselves to rocks in rough conditions.
Mission: Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (RREAS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean; U.S. West Coast
Date: June 11th, 2024
Weather Datafrom the Bridge
Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2024 Latitude: 35.42 °N Longitude: 121.22 °W Sea Wave Height: 4-5 ft Wind Speed: 4 knots Air Temperature: 57 ° F Sky: Foggy / light rain
Science Log
Arriving on the Lasker
We’re off! After landing in San Francisco and driving down to Santa Cruz, I arrived on the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker by way of small boat transfer. The Lasker was anchored in Monterey Bay, and sent a small boat to pick up myself and some of the science team and crew to be taken aboard. We boarded the small boat, the “RL-2 Shark,” then traveled to the side of the Lasker where we were hoisted up via a winch. I then got a full tour around the ship, and the opportunity to meet many people who work on the Lasker, including members of the science team, NOAA Corps, and Lasker crew.
Charlotte boards the RL-2 Shark in Santa CruzApproaching the LaskerRL-2 Shark on board the LaskerThe RL-2 Shark approaches the Lasker
The Night Shift
Running a ship like the Lasker is a 24-hour-a-day operation. At all times there are some groups of people sleeping and others who are working. The majority of the science crew works at night, so my day typically begins with dinner at 5:00 pm and then working with the science team from approximately 9:30 pm until 6:30 am. As a morning person this was very difficult at first! But after two nights working, I’m finally adjusting to our new schedule.
What is the Goal of the Survey?
The main scientific focus of the upcoming mission is the Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (RREAS). This survey has been conducted since 1983, and collects data on rockfish and other organisms in their ecosystem.
Rockfish are a very important fish commercially and recreationally in California and on the West Coast. One of the primary purposes of the survey is to use the data collected to help provide additional information about the management of commercial and recreational fisheries off the west coast.
CTD Operations
CTD rosette, ready to be deployed into the ocean.
I began my first night shift by observing a CTD deployment. CTDs are instruments that measure Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD). CTD measurements are conducted approximately 5-6 times a day, and twice at night. The CTD descends down into the ocean to a depth of up to 500 m . There are other instruments and sensors attached to the CTD that measure things like chlorophyll levels and oxygen levels. The data taken from the water column serves as a foundation for scientists to understand the ocean environment.
All of the CTD data, and all the data that the Lasker collects, is free and available to the public.
Trawling
Hand-drawn diagram of trawl net, courtesy of scientist Tanya Rogers.
When do we trawl?
The reason the science team trawls at night because there is net avoidance during the daytime, meaning the fish will see the net coming during the day and swim away from it. Other creatures migrate towards the surface at night. In a pattern called vertical migration, these mesopelagic species migrate to shallow waters to feed during the night, while spending day hours at depth.
Having more diverse species to study is useful for the Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (RREAS). The more data that is collected on rockfish and other species helps scientists to better understand the heath of different fish species, and make predictions and assessments of ocean trends.
How does trawling work?
Each night, the Lasker crew, NOAA corps officers, and science team work together to trawl for different fish species.
In our Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey, the science team conducts midwater trawls, at approximately 30m depth to target the fish and other ocean organisms that are targeted for the study.
The last few days we’ve averaged 5 trawls per night. The process begins by deploying the trawling net behind the ship into the midwater section of the water column, and trawling for fish for either 5 or 15 min. After the net is brought in, the contents of the trawl are sorted, measured, and recorded by the science team. This data will be later analyzed to help better understand the ocean ecosystem.
Teacher at Sea Charlotte with the catch of a trawl.
The science team sort fish and other organisms from the trawl.
Personal Log
NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker: My New Home at Sea
NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker (photo courtesy of NOAA)
My new home for my time at sea is the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker. The Lasker is a NOAA fisheries vessel, with a home port located in San Diego, CA.
During my time at sea, the Lasker will be sailing off the coast of California, sailing out of Santa Cruz and back into port in San Diego.
Living on the ship reminds me a lot of my college dorm room. On the ship most people have roommates, and we all have shared spaces like the mess (cafeteria), science labs, outside decks and places to relax. Everyone aboard the ship has been extremely welcoming and kind, always answering any questions I might have and teaching me about life aboard a ship. I am happy to call the Lasker home over my trip at sea!
There are three major teams working and living as a cohesive unit aboard the Lasker. The Reuben Lasker crew, NOAA science team, and NOAA Corps officers each have distinct roles and work together each day to accomplish various science projects.
Sunset aboard the Lasker.
Did you know?
Adjusting to working the night shift (approximately 9:00 pm – 7:00 am) as a typical morning person has meant sleep is often on my mind. Chatting before our second night shift, scientist Ily Iglesias shared with me how dolphins sleep. Both dolphins and whales sleep much differently than most mammals. Known as unihemisphericsleep, dolphins
Late afternoon: full cloud cover, rain squalls, 10-14 knot winds, 41 degrees
Science and Technology Log
Thursday’s science was a bit different. Two boats went out to do some final surveying and follow up in Port Clarence and Grantley Harbor. Because the area of Grantley harbor to be surveyed was in less than 4 meters of water, an Ambar jet boat was used with a single beam sonar mounted aft on the port side. The second boat that went out was one of the small launches for use as a dive boat for NOAA trained divers (https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/diving-program). The goal of the dive boat was to dive on a particular location in Port Clarence that was giving a strange image that must have been coming from a man-made structure. The sonar showed a grid pattern roughly 100m x 60m with lines 7-8m apart on the long axis and 5-6m apart on the short axis. The team felt strongly that they needed to understand what was there in order to determine if it was safe for anchoring. I’ll follow up more on this later…
I went out with the team on the Ambar. As is the case with all the small launches, the Ambar is brought down from the boat deck to the breezeway deck for loading before the actual release.
Ambar jet boat at the breezeway deck, loading supplies. You can see parts of the davit where it was previously cradled on the boat deck above.
All gear, materials, food (long days out there!!) and people embark prior to the final drop to the water and the actual launch. This takes a team of a dozen or so people working in coordination. Prior to the start of launch, a safety officer is required on deck to oversee the process. This might be the CO (Commanding Officer), XO (Executive Officer) or Operations Officer. Most of the other personnel involved are a part of the deck crew, including the coxswain (who drives the small launches). A davit operator handles the control of the boat via cable(s) all the way down. The bosun (boatswain) on the breezeway deck is directing commands to the operator using hand signals. Several hands are securing the craft with ropes against the side of the ship. All of these moves have to happen in perfect coordination for the safety of everyone and the protection of the Ambar and Fairweather. Personal protective equipment is worn by all parties throughout. This includes a flotation vest or jacket and a hard hat which you can see on those on the boat in the image to the left.
Five of the other six small launches on the Fairweather undergo a similar process. Each is housed in a davit cradle and each has one or more cables to control the craft during its descent toward the waterline. The davits all shift their cradling position while the cables lift to assist in the release of the craft. Once the craft is entirely free of the cradle, it is slowly lowered down the side of the vessel to the breezeway deck for loading as described above. One boat, though, has a really cool option. This is the FRB or Fast Rescue Boat. This craft can actually be launched by the driver, which is a requirement of any FRB.
Workboat on the fantail – note the three lines attached, two at the stern and one at the bow. These are handled expertly by the deck crew during launch to keep her true.
The final craft is a workboat which is housed on the fantail. It is not used for surveying, but will often be employed as passenger transport. It is also used for pick up and drop off of material that may be used on land, such as the HorCon station discussed in my previous post. This craft is not seated in a davit cradle and is instead launched through the use of a very large crane (see image below). The crane is attached to the launch at a center point connected with three lines.
Crane on the Fairweather boat deck centered between four small launch davits.
The craft is moved from the position on the fantail to either the port or starboard side level with the deck and lowered to the water before loading. For this reason, it is much more difficult to keep it completely horizontal and not hitting the deck and doing damage to the Fairweather.
So back to the Ambar and what we were actually doing in Grantley Harbor. Much of the harbor is quite shallow and when a team had been in there previously, they felt that there may be some irregularity to the otherwise uniform seafloor. They had been getting some interference and scattering on the side scan. They wanted to understand why and also to get a complete picture of the harbor seafloor. With the Ambar and the single beam sonar, there is little to no danger of doing damage in extreme shallows since the equipment is not on the underside of the boat and the Ambar itself can be beached as there are no propellers.
Single beam sonar in its mount on the stern of the Ambar. It is in the down position as it will be when launched tomorrow.
We took the boat into the shallows with the single beam sonar to take measurements along lines to as shallow as 2m. While surveying in the shallows, we found that there were sea grasses growing and according to the Operations Officer who was on board, that may have been the reason for the interference. Regardless, we continued to survey a regular pattern in order to have good data for future charts. During this time, I was given the opportunity to drive the Ambar… which showed me how much more difficult staying a straight line course is than the coxswains make it look.
Yep. The outlined line is my line. I am reasonably proud that I actually manage to make it from one side to another. But even that was with a WHOLE lot of coaching!!
Upon return to the Fairweather, the Ambar is reattached to the cable and brought back up to the breezeway deck. Ropes are again used in coordination to keep the boat steady as it is lifted, much the reverse of what was described above. At that point all materials are unloaded and all the people disembark. The Ambar is then hoisted back up into the davit cradle.
When I’m back in an area with lots of bandwidth, I’ll create a video post to show just how cool the launches of small boats really is…
Personal Log
Shipboard life on a NOAA vessel is quite different from life on land. First, because the ship is a twenty four hour operation, people are needed at all hours. Many of the positions on NOAA vessels run on a 4 hours on, 8 hours off cycle. Some positions have recently shifted to 4 on, 4 off, 4 on, 12 off to afford greater lengths of time for sleep. When you are on the lower decks, it is also easy to lose track of time – and of course when you’re in Alaska during summer, it’s still light out at 10 o’clock. There are auroras to potentially be seen in the wee hours and multibeam surveying that happens through the night. There are always people up and about doing things – so the ship is a busy place at all times.
And with this in mind, I have to admit I have not been doing a great job getting to sleep. But I do sleep well on the ship, the rocking is the best cure for insomnia I’ve ever experienced. And I have been eating incredibly well – and I mean INCREDIBLY well. Mealtimes are the same each day, so that’s a great help. I will talk more about the food and the kitchen in a future post. Fortunately, with all that good eating, there’s a gym on board, so I’ve been able to work some of it off. There’s also laundry on board and a lounge with lots of movies. I like it. And waking up to the ocean and a lovely sunrise each morning makes the tiredness not really matter much.
Light early in the eastern sky – the sun comes up all around you this far north. It’s truly lovely.
As a part of NOAA’s mission, we had the opportunity to go ashore at a small town at Port Clarence called Brevig Mission. It is a town of almost 400, most of whom are native to Alaska. While ashore, we were able to spend time talking with the people, purchasing some of their handcrafts and fish, and even visiting the school. The people live simple lives. They still hunt walrus, seal and whale and those foods are the staple of their diet through the frozen winter months. I found it fascinating that they use all of the parts of the animals – the items that I purchased were from seal and walrus.
On the left is an ornament made of seal fur and on the right is a pendant of walrus tusk.
The CO (Commanding Officer) also arranged for ship tours for people from the town. The folks were taken in the Ambar out to the Fairweather in small groups and shown around. It was fun speaking afterward with those who went – there was a lot of excitement! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go to the town. They have a crazy history (see the “Did you know?” section below.)
Mom with her two little girls down near the water on their ATV. This is the most common form of transport around Brevig Mission.
Did You Know?
This cross memorializes all of the residents of Brevig Mission who died in the 1918 flu. It now lays on the ground aside the mass grave. All of the names and ages of the victims are listed.
Brevig Mission was hit hard by the 1918 Spanish Flu, perhaps in percentage mortality, the hardest hit place in the world. Of the 80 residents of Brevig Mission, 72 succumbed to the flu and died in a 5 day period. It was absolutely devastating. One of the current residents shared with me that reaching 400 is encouraging to the town and everyone there believes that the town is continuing to grow.
This is the location of the mass grave from the 72 flu victims of the 1918 Spanish Flu. It is a sobering place.
In 1997, the lungs of a well-preserved victim in the mass grave were shipped to a molecular pathology lab in Washington, D.C. and the flu virus was reconstructed. The evidence showed that it was a bird flu (similar to the avian flus which plague our world today) but incredibly virulent as it passed from birds to humans. You can read more about the findings here. (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/alaska-science-forum/villager-s-remains-lead-1918-flu-breakthrough)
Geographic Area: Northwest Hawaiian Island Chain, Just past Mokumanamana (Necker Island)
Date: July 20, 2017
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Science and Technology Log:
As promised in Blog Post #3, I mentioned that “Thing number four we deliberately throw overboard” would have a dedicated blog post because it was so involved. Well, grab some popcorn, because the time has arrived!
Thing number 4 we deliberately throw over the side of a ship does not get thrown overboard very often, but when it does, it causes much hubbub and hullaballoo on the ship. I had the unique opportunity to witness one of only ten ocean noise sensors that are deployed in US waters come aboard the ship and get redeployed. These sensors are found all over US waters – from Alaska to the Atlantic. One is located in the Catalina Marine Sanctuary, and still others are hanging out in the Gulf of Mexico, and we are going to be sailing right past one! To see more about the Ocean Noise Sensors, visit the HICEAS website “other projects” tab, or just click here. To see where the Ocean Noise Recorders are, click here.
The Ocean Noise Sensor system is a group of 10 microphones placed in the “SOFAR” channel all over US waters. Once deployed, they collect data for two years in order to track the level of ocean noise over time. It’s no secret that our oceans are getting louder. Shipping routes, oil and gas exploration, and even natural sources of noise like earthquakes all contribute to the underwater noise that our cetacean friends must chatter through. Imagine sitting at far ends of the table at a dinner party with a friend you have not caught up with in a while. While other guests chat away, you and the friend must raise your voices slightly to remain in contact. As the night progresses on, plates start clanging, glasses are clinking, servers are asking questions, and music is playing in the background. The frustration of trying to communicate over the din is tolerable, but not insurmountable. Now imagine the host turning on the Super Bowl at full volume for entertainment. Now the noise in the room is incorrigible, and you and your friend have lost all hope of even hearing a simple greeting, let alone have a conversation. In fact, you can hardly get anyone’s attention to get them to pass you the potatoes. This is similar to the noise levels in our world’s ocean. As time goes on, more noise is being added to the system. This could potentially interfere with multiple species and their communications abilities. Calling out to find a mate, forage for food, or simply find a group to associate with must now be done in the equivalent din of a ticker-tape parade, complete with bands, floats, and fire engines blaring their horns. This is what the Ocean Noise Sensor is hoping to get a handle on. By placing sensors in the ocean to passively collect ambient noise, we can answer two important questions: How have the noise levels changed over time? To what extent are these changes in noise levels impacting marine life?
Many smaller isolated studies have been done on ocean noise levels in the past, but a few years ago, scientists from Cornell partnered with NOAA and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and the Pacific Marine Environmental Lab to streamline this study in order to get a unified, global data source of ocean noise levels. The Pacific Marine Environmental Lab built a unified sound recording system for all groups involved in the study, and undertook the deployments of the hydrophones. They also took on the task of processing the data once it is recovered. The HICEAS team is in a timely and geographical position to assist in recovery of the data box and redeploying the hydrophone. This was how we spent the day.
The recovery and re-deployment of the buoy started just before dawn, and ended just before dinner.
Our standard effort of marine mammal observation was put on hold so that we could recover and re-deploy the hydrophone. It was an exciting day for a few reasons – one, it was definitely a novel way to spend the day. There was much to do on the part of the crew, and much to watch on the part of those who didn’t have the know-how to assist. (This was the category I fell in to.)
At dawn, an underwater acoustic command was sent to the depths to release a buoy held underwater attached to the hydrophone. While the hydrophone is only 1000m below the surface seated nice and squarely in the SOFAR channel, the entire system is anchored to the ocean floor at a depth of 4000m. Once the buoy was released, crew members stationed themselves around the ship on the Big Eyes and with binoculars to watch for the buoy to surface. It took approximately 45 minutes before the buoy was spotted just off our port side. The sighting award goes to CDR Stephanie Koes, our fearless CO. A crewmember pointed out the advancement in our technologies in the following way: “We can use GPS to find a buried hydrophone in the middle of the ocean…and then send a signal…down 4000m…to a buoy anchored to the ocean floor…cut the buoy loose remotely, and then actually have the buoy come up to the surface near enough to the ship where we can find it.” Pretty impressive if you think about it.
The buoy was tied to the line that is attached to the hydrophone, so once the buoy surfaced, “all” we had to do was send a fast rescue boat out to retrieve it, bring the buoy and line back to the ship, bring the crew safely back aboard the ship, hook the line up through a pulley overhead and back to a deck wench, pull the line through, take off the hydrophone, pull the rest of the line up, unspool the line on the wench to re-set the line, re-spool the winch, and then reverse the whole process.
Watching the crew work on this process was impressive at least, and a fully orchestrated symphony at best. There were many tyings of knots and transfers of lines, and all crew members worked like the well-seasoned deck crew that they are. Chief Bos’n Chris Kaanaana is no stranger to hauling in and maintaining buoys, so his deck crew were well prepared to take on this monumental task.
Much of the day went exactly according to plan. The buoy was safely retrieved, the hydrophone brought on board, the lines pulled in, re-spooled, and all sent back out again. But I am here to tell you that 4000m of line to haul in and pay back out takes. A Long. Time. We worked through a rainstorm spooling the line off the winch to reset it, through the glare of the tropical sun and the gentle and steadfast breeze of the trade winds. By dinner time, all was back in place, the buoy safely submerged deep in the ocean waters, waiting to be released again in another two years to repeat the process all over again. With any luck, the noise levels in the ocean will have improved. Many commercial vessels have committed to adopting “quiet ship” technology to assist in the reduction of noise levels. If this continues to improve, our cetacean friends just might be able to hear one another again at dinner.
Personal Log
So, I guess it’s pretty fair to say that once you’re a teacher, you’re always a teacher. I could not fully escape my August to May duties onboard, despite my best efforts. This week, I found myself on the bridge, doing a science experiment with the Wardroom (These are what all of the officers onboard as a group are called). How is this even happening, you ask? (Trust me, I asked myself the same thing when I was in the middle of it, running around to different “lab groups” just like in class.) Our CO, CDR Koes, is committed to ensuring that her crew is always learning on the ship.
If her staff do not know the answer to a question, she will guide them through the process of seeking out the correct answer so that all officers learn as much as they can when it comes to being underway – steering the ship, preparing for emergencies, and working with engineers, scientists, and crew. For example, I found out that while I was off “small-boating” near Pilot Whales, the Wardroom was busy working on maneuvering the ship in practice of man overboard scenarios. She is committed to ensuring that all of her staff knows all parts of this moving city, or at a minimum know how to find the answers to any questions they may have. It’s become clear just how much the crew and the entire ship have a deep respect and admiration for CDR Koes. I knew she was going to be great when we were at training and word got out that she would be the CO of this Leg on Sette and everyone had a range of positive emotions from elated to relieved to ecstatic.
As part of this training, she gives regular “quizzes” to her staff each day – many of them in good fun with questions for scientists, crew, engineers, and I. Some questions are nautical “things” that the Wardroom should know or are nice to know (for example, knowing the locations of Material Safety Data Sheets or calculating dew point temperatures), some questions are about the scientific work done onboard, while others are questions about personal lives of onboard members.
The Chief Medical Officer, “Doc” gives a lesson on water quality testing.
It has been a lot of fun watching the Wardroom and Crew seek out others and ask them where they live while showing them their “whale dance” to encourage sightings. It has exponentially increased the interactions between everyone onboard in a positive and productive way.
The other teaching element that CDR Koes has implemented is a daily lesson each day from Monday to Friday just after lunch. All NOAA Officers meet on the bridge, while one officer takes the lead to teach a quick, fifteen minute lesson on any topic of their choosing. It could be to refresh scientific knowledge, general ship operations, nautical concepts, or anything else that would be considered “good to know.”
The Chief Engineer gives a rundown on the various ship emergency alarms.
This sharing of knowledge builds trust among the Wardroom because it honors each officer’s strong suits and reminds us that we all have something to contribute while onboard.
I started attending these lunchtime sessions and volunteered to take on a lesson. So, this past Tuesday, I rounded up some supplies and did what I know best – we all participated in the Cloud in a Bottle Lesson!
Here I am learning to use a sextant for navigation.
The Wardroom had fun (I think?) making bottle clouds, talking about the three conditions for cloud formation, and refreshing their memories on adiabatic heating and cooling. It was a little nerve wracking for me as a teacher because two of the officers are meteorologists by trade, but I think I passed the bar. (I hope I did!)
Teaching about adiabatic cooling with the the Cloud in a Bottle Demo with the Wardroom!
It was fun to slide back into the role of teacher, if only for a brief while, and served as a reminder that I’m on my way back to work in a few weeks! Thanks to the Wardroom for calling on me to dust up my teacher skills for the upcoming first weeks of school!
ENS Holland and ENS Frederick working hard making clouds.
Facebook Asks, DeSchryver Answers
I polled all of my Facebook friends, fishing (ha ha, see what I did there?) for questions about the ship, and here are some of the questions and my answers!
Q: LC asks, “What has been your most exciting moment on the ship?”
It’s hard to pick just one, so I’ll tell you the times I was held at a little tear: a) Any sighting of a new species is a solid winner, especially the rare ones b) The first time I heard Sperm Whales on the acoustic detector c) The first time we took the small boat out for UAS operations….annnndddd d) The first time I was on Independent Observation and we had a sighting!
A group of Melon-Headed Whales, or PEPs, cruise along with the ship.
Q: JK asks, “What are your thoughts on the breakoff of Larsen C? And have there been any effects from the Alaskan quake and tsunami?”
We’re actually pretty isolated on board! Limited internet makes it hard to hear of all the current events. I had only briefly heard about Larsen C, and just that it broke, not anything else. I had no clue there was a quake and tsunami! But! I will tell a cool sort of related story. On Ford Island, right where Sette is docked, the parking lot is holding three pretty banged up boats. If you look closely, they all have Japanese markings on them. Turns out they washed up on Oahu after the Japan Tsunami. They tracked down the owners, and they came out to confirm those boats were theirs, but left them with NOAA as a donation. So? There’s tsunami debris on Oahu and I saw it.
Q: NG asks, “Any aha moments when it comes to being on the ocean? And anything to bring back to Earth Science class?”
So many aha moments, but one in particular that comes to mind is just how difficult it is to spot cetaceans and how talented the marine mammal observers are! They can quite literally spot animals from miles away! There are a lot of measures put in place to help the marine mammal observers, but at the end of the day, there are some species that are just tougher than nails to spot, or to spot and keep an eye on since their behaviors are all so different. And as far as anything to bring back to our class? Tons. I got a cool trick to make a range finder using a pencil. I think we should use it!
Q: MJB asks, “Have you had some peaceful moments to process and just take it all in?”
Yes. At night between the sonobuoy launches, I get two miles of transit time out on the back deck to just absorb the day and be thankful for the opportunities. The area of Hawai’i we are in right now is considered sacred ground, so it’s very powerful to just be here and be here.
These sunsets will give Colorado sunsets a run for their money. No green flash in Colorado = point awarded to Hawai’i.
Q: SC asks, “What souvenir are you bringing me?”
Well, we saw a glass fishing float, and we tried to catch it for you, but it got away.
Q: LC asks, “What’s the most disgusting ocean creature?”
Boy that’s a loaded question because I guarantee if I name a creature, someone out there studies it for a living. But! I will tell you the most delicious ocean creature. That would be Ono. In sashimi form. Also, there is a bird called a Great Frigate bird – it feeds via something called Klepto-parasitism, which is exactly how it sounds. It basically finds other birds, harasses them until they give up whatever they just caught or in some cases until it pukes, and then it steals their food. So, yeah. I’d say that’s pretty gross. But everyone’s gotta eat, right?
Q: KI asks, “Have you eaten all that ginger?”
I’m about two weeks in and I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten about a pound. I’m still working on it!
Q: HC asks, ”Have you seen or heard any species outside of their normal ocean territory?”
Sort of. Yesterday we saw Orca! They are tropical Orca, so they are found in this area, but they aren’t very common. The scientific team was thinking we’d maybe see one or two out of the entire seven legs of the trip, and we saw some yesterday! (I can’t say how many, and you’ll find out why in an upcoming post.) We have also seen a little bird that wasn’t really technically out of his territory, but the poor fella sure was a little far from home.
Q: JPK asks, “What kinds of data have you accumulated to use in a cross-curricular experience for math?”
We can do abundance estimates with a reasonably simplified equation. It’s pretty neat how we can take everything that we see from this study, and use those numbers to extrapolate how many of each species is estimated to be “out there.”
Q: AP asks, “What has surprised you about this trip?”
Many, many things, but I’ll mention a couple fun ones. The ship has an enormous movie collection – even of movies that aren’t out on DVD yet because they get them ahead of time! Also? The food on the ship is amazing. We’re halfway through the trip and the lettuce is still green. I have to find out the chef’s secret! And the desserts are to die for. It’s a wonder I haven’t put on twenty pounds. The crew does a lot of little things to celebrate and keep morale up, like birthday parties, and music at dinner, and shave ice once a week. Lots of people take turns barbecuing and cooking traditional foods and desserts special to them from home and they share with everyone. They are always in really high spirits and don’t let morale drop to begin with, so it’s always fun.
Celebrating Engineer Jerry’s Birthday.
Q: TS asks, “What’s the most exciting thing you’ve done?”
I’ve done lots of exciting things, but the one thing that comes to mind is launching on the small boat to go take photos of the pilot whales. Such a cool experience, and I hope we get good enough weather to do it again while we’re out here! Everything about ship life is brand new to me, so I like to help out as much as I can. Any time someone says, “Will you help with this?” I get excited, because I know I’m about to learn something new and also lend a hand.
