Sue Zupko, Miscellaneous, September 18, 2014

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Sue Zupko
Aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow
September 7-19, 2014

Mission: Autumn Bottom Trawl Leg I
Geographical Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean from Cape May, NJ to Cape Hatteras, NC
Date: September 18, 2014

Weather Data from the Bridge
Lat 39°10.4’N     Lon 0714°18.7W
Present Weather PC
Visibility 10 nm
Wind 153° 5kts
Sea Level Pressure 1015.1
Sea Wave Height 1-2 ft
Temperature: Sea Water 22.3°C
Air 21°

Science and Technology Log

Flags are just one way the ship communicates. There is equipment which ships use to communicate information to other ships. Ships in the area appear on the Bigelow’s radar. The NOAA Corps can even find out their name and what type of ship it is. It’s almost like an email address which lets you know who is sending you the message. We have had naval vessels, sailboats, yachts, container ships, research vessels, cruise ships, etc. appear on radar.

The Bigelow has a protocol (rule) which says if another ship comes within one mile of our perimeter (the radar even shows the big circle like a halo around its position), the officer on duty must make radio contact and ask them to change course. This is especially important if we are trawling or dropping the bongo (plankton net) or CTD. All this information gets logged into the Deck Log which is an official document. It is critical for the officers to keep accurate information and observations during their watch so others know what has been happening and for future reference should the ship have an emergency.

Last night on the fly bridge I noticed that the green and white lights were on. I knew from talking to Ensign Estela that this was the signal at night for “we are trawling”.

Bridge light controls for signals.
Bridge light controls for signals.

Flags, lights, radar, radio, Facebook , web pages and email. These are all methods the Bigelow has used to communicate while I’ve been aboard.

Personal Log

Dave filets a flounder
Dave filets a flounder

We were sharing stories on our watch and Dave told of when he sailed in the Pacific for a Sea Semester, sailing as mariners of old did. He had to navigate using the stars. We were able to do that on the flying bridge last night. The Big Dipper was visible and it was clear we were traveling NW. Soon, the ship changed course (direction) and headed right toward Polaris (the North Star) so we knew we were traveling north.

This is our last day of trawling. Tomorrow we steam back to Newport and get in late. People are excited to see their families again. I have to wait until Saturday to return home since my plane leaves early that day. We weren’t sure what time we would get in on Friday and there were no later flights for me. I am looking forward to seeing my family, but sad to be leaving the sea. Fortunately, we only had a couple of “rockin’ an a rollin’ ” days which made me feel a little “off”. When that happened, everyone was so kind. Many people asked if I was feeling better when they saw me after the waves died down. Crackers were a big help.

Atlantic City
Atlantic City (courtesy of Wikimedia)

Currently (no pun intended) we are off the Jersey shore and can see Atlantic City.  My mother used to live near the shore when she was a little girl and her father had a boat. She loved the ocean. No doubt the shore has changed quite a bit in 75 years. The ocean is a change agent. Man is, too. Our land, climate, and weather often change as a result of the sea–currents, tides, storms all contribute. We help change the ocean, too. Hopefully, we are getting better about it by not dumping pollutants in as much as we once did. Part of NOAA’s mission is to check for pollutants to help keep the marine environment healthy. Yes, the ocean is vast, but man’s lack of understanding of the ocean causes us to do things which are harmful to the ocean environment. I worry about all the plastics wrapping the fresh foods in the supermarkets now. We used to just pick the items we wanted in the meat and produce sections. Now most things are pre-wrapped and much is processed. We need convenience due to our busy lives, but at what cost to our environment and our health? Perhaps we need to visit the farmer’s market more and ask for meat to be in more biodegradable wrappers.

As I sit here enjoying the sun glistening off the ripples caused by a gentle breeze, I realize how much I love the ocean. Its storms and the wildness of it have my respect, but there is a draw to its vastness, the incredible diversity within it, its changeability, and variety of colors. I am so grateful for this opportunity to discover and learn by sailing with NOAA. So far, I know of at least one of my students who is in college for marine biology. I wonder what influence these NOAA experiences will have on my current and future students.

Miscellaneous Information

The ship has a system similar to your car’s odometer. It measures short trips as well as total miles covered. According to the MX420 GPS on the ship on the bridge, the Bigelow has traveled 54,254 nm.

MX420 GPS shows how many miles it has traveled.
MX420 GPS shows how many miles it has traveled.

Getting ready for processing fish is similar to how fire fighters dress. Jump in the boots, pull up the pants, and you’re ready. We head out to the conveyor belt and sort the fish. Many hands make the work load light. Here we are sorting croakers and weakfish. If one person on the line misses a fish, the next one gets it. Then we consolidate similar species into one container.

After removing a fish’s otolith, they are stored in envelopes and put into this sorting system. The samples are taken back to the lab to determine the age of the fish.


It’s a Win-Win situation. Skilled Fisherman, Steve, catches up on light reading about sharks in the Dry Lab. He then goes out and helps deploy the CTD  and Bongo nets.  He also taught me to mop floors on the bridge.  A skilled fisherman is multi-talented and, as I learned, can do many things very well.

Engineer, Kevin Van Lohuizen
Engineer, Kevin Van Lohuizen

Engineers, such as Kevin Van Lohuizen, who is on temporary assignment from the Reuben Lasker, works often in 107° heat. They are responsible for fixing anything mechanical broken on the ship from the washing machine to toilets to generators. They can “do it all”. Thank goodness for the engineers. Kevin earned his Bachelor’s of Marine Engineering Technology from the California Maritime Academy. By the way, Kevin says you should always have a flashlight with you on a ship in case the lights fail.

Rudder in hold.
Rudder in hold.

The rudder is double-actuated which means it can add a little bit of turning ability . The Bigelow‘s rudder, which turns the ship, has a small turning radius similar to a sports car (turns on a dime) rather than the normal rudder’s radius which is more like a truck (turns take forever and need a lot of space). There are two pumps for the rudder, which are switched daily.

What happens to Styrofoam cups when submerged in a bag to 300 m and are brought back up? My students colored Styrofoam cups with Sharpees and we submerged them. I had it in the dry lab and was asked to open the bag in the wet lab. Why do you think that would be? This bag was totally full when submerged. Look at it afterwards.

Remember that a clean ship is a happy ship? At the end of the last watch, everyone starts cleaning, from the Chief Scientist to the lowly Teacher at Sea.  We were all handed scrub brushes and a pail of soapy water. The deck hands cleaned the net and the deck. The other watch scrubbed all the buckets (I found them on the fantail at 1:30 am doing this).

 

Did You Know?

There are over 26,000 species of bony fish, making fish the most speciose vertebrate animal (by number of species).

Question of the Day

What are plankton and why are they important? Plankton are plants and animals which cannot move on their own and rely on currents and wind to move them. Phytoplankton make about 80% of our oxygen and are the basis of the marine food chain. What do you think?

Vocabulary

Planktos in Greek means “wanderer”. Plankton is derived from this.

Something to Think About

Tallest bar shows most of the fish were measured at that length.
Tallest bar shows most of the fish were measured at that length.

Nicole was explaining that the protocols are set up by scientists looking for certain data about catch. She always seems to know when the jaguar will scream, meaning we need a special measurement or to preserve a sample. She had me pull down a monitor and pull up the fish we were processing at the time and had me pull up a bar graph for that species.  She showed how for every 1 cm of length of the fish, the protocol was to ask for information. When I measured and it was longer or shorter than the average, we had more processing to do. Once we hit our quota for that protocol, the rest were just measured and added in. So, if my fish ranged from 19-21 cm, I would have to do special measurements or get samples for just three fish within that range. If the range was 15-25, it could be a lot more, depending on the lengths of the fish caught. The more fish sampled the more it falls into a bell curve, similar to our heights. You’ll notice some students are tall, others are short, most fall in between. They don’t need to repeat getting the information on every fish–it would probably be pretty close to the same data.

Challenge Yourself

Carry cloth bags to the grocery store rather than using their plastic or paper bags. In many areas stores charge for each plastic bag. Recycle as much as possible and encourage others to do the same. Yes, it takes a little effort, but if more people did this we would reduce our trash going to landfills or into the ocean.

Sunset from flying bridge of the Bigelow
Sunset from flying bridge of the Bigelow

Animals Seen Today

We saw a lot of the same species all day. We collected Sea Robins, rays, skates, and Croakers by the hundreds, even thousands. I was able to measure a 40 pound ray and several large skates. Earlier this week we had rays which were so big, we had to call out all the deckhands from the watch and several scientists to weigh and measure them using the crane. One was 240 pounds and the other just 192 pounds.

Steven Frantz: Critters at Sea, August 5, 2012

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Steven Frantz
Onboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
July 27 – August 8, 2012

Mission: Longline Shark Survey
Geographic area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic off the coast of Florida
Date: August 5, 2012

Weather Data From the Bridge:
Air Temperature (degrees C): 29.0
Wind Speed (knots): 10.28
Wind Direction (degree): 138.68
Relative Humidity (percent): 076
Barometric Pressure (millibars): 1022.33
Water Depth (meters): 28.45
Salinity (PSU): 35.612

Location Data:
Latitude: 3323.40N
Longitude: 07808.17W

Critters at Sea

On my last blog I introduced you to five species of shark found so far. I think you can tell which one is my favorite, which is yours?

Even though our mission is to collect data on sharks, you never know what might come up on the end of a hook (or tangled in the line!). Data is still collected on just about everything else we catch. For today’s blog I have put together a photo journey on the so many other beautiful creatures we have caught.

Basket Starfish
Basket Starfish with pieces of soft red coral
Black Sea Bass
Black Sea Bass
Blue Line Tile Fish (Unfortunately damaged by a shark)
Blue Line Tile Fish (Unfortunately damaged by a shark)
Box Crab
Box Crab
Clearnose Skate
Clearnose Skate
Conger Eel
Conger Eel
Red Grouper
Red Grouper
Mermaid's Purse (egg case from a skate or ray)
Mermaid’s Purse (egg case from a skate or ray)
Candling the Mermaid's Purse reveals the tail and yolk of the animal
Candling the Mermaid’s Purse reveals the tail and yolk of the animal
Hammerjack
Amberjack
Scallop Shell
Scallop Shell
Scomberus japonicus (Can you come up with a common name?)
Scomberus japonicus (Can you come up with a common name?)
Sea Urchin
Sea Urchin
Spider Crab
Spider Crab
Starfish
Starfish
Red Snapper (10Kg)
Red Snapper (10Kg)

There you have it. I hope you enjoy the pictures of just some of the beauty and diversity in the Atlantic Ocean. Be sure to visit my next blog when we tie up loose ends!

Sunset
Sunset

Marsha Skoczek: There’s No Place Like Home, July 17, 2012

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.
Eel hiding under sponge
Scorpionfish against Diodogorgia

The fish are not the only living things that like these rocky habitats.  Usually when there are rocky surfaces, we find sponges, corals, hydroids and algae growing on top.  These creatures not only give the reef its beautiful appearance, but they also help to provide habitat as well.

Notice how the flounder blends in with the sand?
Sand tilefish make their burrows in the rubble under the sand.
Spider crabs on sandy bottom

Species that live in the sandy bottom habitat have their own set of adaptations. Animals such as the flounder and sea cucumbers have skin colorations that match the speckled appearance of the sand itself.  Sand tilefish carve out burrows from the rubble beneath the sand.  The spider crabs have a carapace that mimics the texture of the rocks it lives near.  The stingrays, with their low profile, sit on the sandy bottom and use their mouth to scour the sand in search of crabs and clams to eat.

Lophelia at artificial reef
Anemone at artificial reef
artificial reef

Artificial habitats are also full of life.  At the shipwreck we visited, not only did we see fish living here, we also saw anemone, tube worms, Venus flytrap anemone, hermit crabs, eels, Lophelia coral to name a few.  Other man-made habitats can help rebuild coral reefs.  John Reed has placed reef balls on the Occulina Reef in an effort to rebuild the original reef damaged by bottom trawling. These reef balls provide a structure for the corals to anchor themselves to and give the fish places to hide. Even oil platforms can be considered as an artificial reef structure giving a wide variety of species a sturdy structure to call home.

 

Personal Log

The Science Party

While aboard the Pisces I have learned to identify well over 100 different species of fish and invertebrates.   Andy and Stacey quiz me as we are watching the live footage, and I think I finally can tell the difference between a reef butterfly and a bank butterfly.  John frequently hands me a text book and challenges me to look up the species we see on the ROV live feed.  I am extremely appreciative of everyone being so helpful and sharing their knowledge with me.  Each of the scientists have taken the time to answer all of the question that I have.  The crew of the Pisces has also been wonderful to work with.  Everyone has done their best to make me feel at home. This has been such an amazing experience, I am excited to bring it all back to the classroom this fall!  I will never forget my time on the Pisces.

Ocean Careers Interview

In this section, I will be interviewing scientists and crew members to give my students ideas for careers they may find interesting and might want to pursue someday.  Today I interviewed John Reed and Stephanie Farrington.

John Reed

Mr. Reed, What is your job title?  I am the Research Professor in the Robertson Coral Reef and Research Program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Why did you decide to become a marine biologist?  I always knew that I wanted a career where I could do my work outside.  My biggest influence came when I was around 13 – 14 years old, I remember watching “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” every Sunday night with my family and thinking that’s what I want to do!

What type of responsibilities do you have with this job?  Currently I am studying deep coral reefs as part of the Robertson Coral Reef and Research Program and several NOAA grants. My focus is primarily off the Florida coast and up through the Carolinas.  My objective is to protect and conserve deep sea coral ecosystems.  Around Florida alone, our group has discovered over 400 individual deep coral mounds some over 300 ft tall.  We have calculated that the area of these deep water reefs may exceed that of all the shallow water reefs in the United States combined.  These reefs habitats are incredibly diverse with hundreds of different species of bivalves, crustaceans and fish just to name a few.  Deep water hard corals grow very slowly, only about half an inch per year, core sampling has dated deep coral mounds at over 1,000,000 years old.  It is vital that we protect these deep reefs from destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling or energy projects.

I also manage the archives for the biomedical marine division at Harbor Branch where we have over 35,000 deep and shallow marine specimens from around the world.  Each specimen has video footage of it in its natural habitat (in situ from the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible), still photos, museum samples as well as several smaller samples for our biomedical research.  We have discovered novel compounds from some of these marine organisms which may be future cures for cancer or other diseases.  Currently our chemists and biologists are working on the chemical compounds that we discovered in a deep water sponge that grows off Florida.  In the lab it is potent against pancreatic cancer which is a very deadly disease.

What type of education did you need to get this job?  I earned my Bachelors Degree in chemistry and biology from University of Miami and my Masters Degree in marine ecology from Florida Atlantic University.  My Masters Thesis was on The Animal-Sediment Relationship s of Shallow Water Lagoons and took me four years to study and wrote.  While working on my thesis, the Smithsonian had a branch at HBOI, so I would ask the scientists there for help in identifying the animals in my study.  Working with these scientists helped me make the connections that eventually get my job with HBOI.

What types of experiences have you had with this job?  I have been fortunate enough to travel the world visiting over 60 countries and collecting thousands of marine samples for biomedical research at HBOI.  I have been able to dive in the Johns0n-Sea-Link submersible to depths of 3000 ft and scuba dive to 300 ft.  My research on the deep water Oculina coral reefs off the east coast of Florida allowed me to use our submersibles as well as lock-out diving to study the growth rate and fauna associated with these deep water coral.  It is very humbling that my research on these reefs helped to establish the Oculina Marine Protected Area which was the first marine protected area in the world to protect deep sea corals, and more recently the 24,000 sq. mile deep sea coral habitat area of particular concern off the southeastern U.S.

What advice do you have for students wanting a career in marine biology?  Even if people tell you there are no jobs in marine biology, find a way to do it!  Follow what you are passionate about.  Get experiences as an undergrad, do internships, build your resume.  Make the effort!  Do things that are going to set you above everyone else.

When looking at graduate school, compare the course offerings of several universities.  Research the Principal Investigators (PIs) at those same schools and make contact with them.  Get a position as a Teaching Assistant or Lab Aide to build on your resume.  All of these things will help you to get the job you want once you graduate.

 

Stephanie Farrington

Ms. Farrington, What is your job title?  I am a biological scientist for John Reed at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.

What type of responsibilities do you have with this job?  I accompany John on his research expeditions and help collect data.  When we return to HBOI, I analyze the data and program everything into GIS maps to give us a visual layout of the different habitats we saw and the species that live there.

What type of education did you need to get this job?  I earned my Bachelors Degree in biology and marine science from the University of Tampa.  My Masters Degree is in marine biology from the NOVA Southeastern University Oceanographic Center.  My thesis was on the Biogeography of the Straights of Florida which gave me a solid background in the marine invertebrates of our region.  This is one of the reasons John hired me to work with him.

What types of experiences have you had with this job?  I have been fortunate to travel in our Johnson-Sea-Link submersible six times, twice sitting up front in the bubble, one dive went down to 1700 feet below the surface.  I have also been on 8 research cruises since I started at HBOI two years ago.  I also had the opportunity to sail on the Okeanos Explorer for three weeks.

What advice do you have for students wanting a career in marine biology?  Marine biology is about collecting and analyzing data and doing research and there is so much cooler stuff in the ocean than just dolphins!

Channa Comer: If Sand Dollars Were Real Dollars, May 19, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Channa Comer

On Board Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp
May 11 — 22, 2011

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Leg 1
Geographical area of cruise: North Atlantic
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2011

Science and Technology Log
I started this post at just before my shift started and from the portholes (windows) in the conference room it looks like a beautiful, sunny day. I’ve learned to enjoy the sun while its out since the weather can change very rapidly. We’ve had some rough weather over the last few days. It was rough enough on Tuesday that dredging was suspended from 11:30 in the evening until 5am Wednesday morning. Since then, the tows have been proceeding as scheduled and we are on track to complete the 155 scheduled tows by Saturday.

Sand Dollars
Sand Dollars

Yesterday was sand dollar day. We completed 12 tows during the day shift and each tow seemed to have more sand dollars than the last. In our final tow of the shift, there were 48 46-liter baskets of sand dollars and one basket of scallops. If only they were real dollars, everyone on the boat would be able to retire.

All the data that we collect is entered into the Fisheries Scientific Computer System (FSCS). The FSCS is the system that is used on the Sea Scallop survey to collect station and biological data for each tow. The SCS collects data during each tow via vessel sensors and manual data entry. At a random location the operator starts a program that logs the station location data into a series of files during the 15 minute tow. Examples of the data collected are, latitude, longitude, ocean depth, vessel speed, time, and various meteorological measures. The data is then compiled and additional values are calculated from the 1 second interval files, tow length, tow duration, average speed, etc. The additional data is important for monitoring and standardizing each tow to a set of default parameters. With a tow duration of 15 minutes, at a speed of 3.8 knots the dredge should cover about 1 nautical mile of distance on the bottom of the ocean. The raw files from the SCS are sent to the mobile sampling van and made available to users there.

After the dredge is brought up and the catch has been sorted, we break up into three teams of two and head to the van. Each work station has an electronic fish measuring board to measure each species, a touch sensitive monitor used to pick the species to work on, and a motion compensating digital scale to weigh individual fish. The main workstation has an additional large scale. The large scale is use to measure each species as a whole rather than an individual within one species. The three computers are interconnected and each workstation can observe the entire list of species being processed.

There are additional FSCS computers in a second, “dry” lab. The computers in the dry lab log data during the measuring process. Each workstation in the dry lab is wired through the ship to the van. All data is backed up immediately to the main FSCS server. Once all data is collected after a tow, the Watch Chief loads the data into a database and audits the data for accuracy. While it is a complex system, we are generally able to process a catch within 30 to 40 minutes.

New Animals Seen
Winter Skate
Fluke
Witch Flounder
Conger Eel
Small Mouth Flounder
Winter Flounder
Snail Fish
Windowpane Flounder
Spotted Hake
Spider Crab
Yellow Tail Flounder
Silver Hake
Sea Grape
Sea Squirt

Personal Log
Day 9 – Thursday, May 19, 2011
Today Vic gave us a lesson in putting together the iron rings that are used in the construction of the scallop dredge. Two inch diameter iron rings are connected with small iron compression links. The rings are put together with a tool called a link squeezer which looks like a giant bolt cutter. I felt very strong after putting a few together and I may use them to make a nautical themed belt. We brought in the largest eel of the trip today, a 64 cm long Conger Eel. Steve who held the fish so that I could photograph it had a hard time since it was pretty strong, slippery and wiggling furiously.

As the cruise draws to a close, while I’ve had a great time, I am anxious to return to NY. I can’t wait to share my photos, experience and the samples that I’ve collected with my students and friends. I also can’t wait to sleep in my own bed, have a long shower in my own bathroom, and have a big bowl of broccoli — seriously. I’m sure that I’ve gained at least 10 lbs on this trip.