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June 25, 2025June 25, 2025

Jenna Cloninger: CTDs and Cephalopod Central, June 20, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenna Cloninger

Aboard Bell M. Shimada

June 11 – June 26, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 1)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Today’s Date: June 20, 2025

Track the Ship: Bell M. Shimada

Weather Data Snapshot: 9:54am, Pacific Daylight Time

Currently, the air temperature is 58°F (14°C) with a wind speed of 23 knots and a wave height of 9 feet. Not only are the seas rough offshore, but the wind is making it very chilly to work outside. Luckily, we have some gear that keeps us warm for times when we need to be outside for extended periods. The sky is clear, and the sun is shining, so I am counting my blessings despite the cooler temperatures.

two women bundled up for outdoor work in large red "float coats" and beanies - they are striking somewhat silly poses for the camera. Jenna (left) is wearing a Teacher at Sea beanie. — Melissa (left) and myself (right) preparing to go outside for UCTD deployment.

Science and Technology Log

It’s been an exciting week regarding technology! I had the opportunity to help prepare a CTD (a piece of equipment mentioned in a previous blog post) for deployment as well as the opportunity to observe a UCTD being deployed. A CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) is a tool that measures how salty and warm the water is at certain depths . For larger CTDs, the ship comes to a stop, scientists then lower the CTD using a cable, and it collects data as it goes down. A UCTD (Underway CTD), however, is a smaller version that can be used while the ship is moving. It’s dropped into the water and pulled behind the ship, collecting data as it sinks. This allows scientists to gather information more quickly and without stopping the ship. Both tools are important for helping scientists understand seawater conditions and how they change based on depth, time of day, season, location, etc.

Elias stands, and Jenna kneels, near a large apparatus consisting of a white metal frame, a ring of gray water sampling bottles, and a scientific probe. Jenna is wearing a hard hat and doing something (stringing a wire?) on the CTD as Elias looks on. — Elias and myself preparing the CTD for deployment.

Jenna, wearing a red float coat and Teacher at Sea beanie, stands on deck and holds what appears to be a metal tube in both hands for a photo. — Photo of me with UCTD equipment.

In other news, we have run into several different cephalopods this week. Cephalopods are part of a group of marine invertebrates that includes octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus. They are known for having large heads, arms or tentacles, and relatively high intelligence when compared to other invertebrates. In our case, we caught a few different kinds of squid, a few small octopus, and a nautilus in our trawling net. I was particularly excited to see the nautilus, because I had never seen one in person before!

close up view of a paper nautilus against a white background; we can see the curved shell with sawtooth bumps, and the eye of the nautilus peeking out the opening of the shell — Paper Nautilus

a squid in a green plastic basket — Robust Clubhook Squid

smaller squid photographed against a plastic blue background — Market Squid

close-up view of a small octopus — Tuberculate Pelagic Octopus

three octopus in messy piles in a green plastic basket — A group of three (3) Seven-Armed Octopus.

As you can see, cephalopods come in many different varieties. I enjoy teaching about them in the classroom because of their unique evolutionary features, like chromatophores, which are specialized cells that enable cephalopods like squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses to rapidly change color. It should also be noted that cephalopods are part of the phylum Mollusca, just like the abalone that I discussed in a previous blog post. In general, I really love teaching about mollusks in the classroom because of the amount of diversity that we see within the phylum.

Personal Log

Speaking of squid, I tried calamari (fried squid) for lunch yesterday. I typically do not eat seafood of any kind, but when you’re on a ship, the food options may not always be what you want them to be. (That’s not to say that the food isn’t amazing, because it is. I am simply a picky eater.) Let’s just say that I will not be eating any more squid any time soon. (But I will still pose for pictures with them!)

a gloved hand holds out a very round squid for a close-up photo — Me, holding a Sandpaper Squid.

I also got to photograph a sunrise on the Pacific! The mornings have typically been hazy, or the boat has been facing the wrong direction for me to view the sun properly, but I finally managed to catch the sunrise while out on the back deck after processing our last catch of the night. Seeing the sunrise and sunset on the Pacific are two goals that I had when I started this journey. Unfortunately, because of my night shift hours, I do not think I will be able to catch a sunset any time soon. Perhaps on the last night of the cruise, I will stay up past my “bedtime” and wait for the sunset!

view through the A-frame on the aft deck of the sun rising over the ocean. seabirds trail the boat, silhouetted against the sun. to the right of the deck, a group of four crewmembers wearing personal flotation devices and hard hats work to untangle a trawl net. — Sunrise on the Pacific ocean from the fishing deck of NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada.

On another note, it has been 10 days since I left Georgia and arrived on the west coast, and I am starting to feel the effects of working such long days. I miss my family, and I miss the comfort of home. That is not to say that I am not enjoying this learning experience, because I am. But I want people to know that individuals who conduct research on scientific vessels like NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada are some of the most hard-working people I have ever met. I get to go home after 16 days and return to my own house with my own bed and other creature comforts. Some people are on this ship for several legs between now and September, and if they’re not at sea, they’re at their respective places of everyday work, such as an office or science center. It’s quite admirable, and humbling, to see how dedicated these people are to marine science and to the well-being of our oceans. It makes me want to be a better teacher so that we have people in the future who love and care for the ocean and are interested in preserving it as well.

view through a porthole window of a churning ocean — A view of the rough seas from my stateroom.

Did You Know?

Let’s talk about butterfish! Off the Atlantic coast, there is a commercial fishery for Atlantic butterfish. There’s another species of butterfish known as the Pacific butterfish that is quite common off the coast of California even though it’s not fished commercially in this region. I have decided that butterfish are the cutest fish that we have caught in our net so far! I love them so much that my teammates toss me all the butterfish when we are sorting our catch, and I make excited noises when I find them buried amongst our anchovies, mackerels, and sardines. In honor of the humble butterfish, I dedicate this Did You Know? section to them!

a hand holds a fish up to a laminated photo of a group of fish (labeled Peprilus simillimus, Pacific butterfish) mounted on a metal wall — A Pacific butterfish from our catch being compared to an image of the species.

According to NOAA, butterfish are small, round fish that are bluish on top with silvery sides and belly. They have small mouths, blunt noses, and grow to about 6–9 inches long, though some can reach 12 inches and weigh up to 1.25 pounds. Butterfish grow quickly but don’t live long; most only live about 3 years and can reproduce by age 1. They spawn in the summer (June and July) and swim in loose groups, feeding on small invertebrates. Why do we care about butterfish? Many animals, like bigger fish, marine mammals, and seabirds, eat butterfish. That means that they are a humble yet important piece of a healthy and balanced ocean ecosystem.

an orange-gloved hand holds three fish by their tails, splayed out like flowers, above a pile of smaller fish (probably anchovy) — A bouquet of butterfish, my new favorite fish.

June 6, 2015August 21, 2021

Alex Miller: Making Waves, June 5, 2015

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Alexandra (Alex) Miller, Chicago, IL
Onboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada
May 27 – June 10, 2015

Putting ourselves in the way of beauty. Several members of the science crew joined me to witness this sunset.

Mission: Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment
Geographical area of cruise: Pacific Coast
Date: Friday, June 5th, 2015

Weather Data:

Air Temperature: 14.0°C
Water Temperature: 12.7°C
Sky Conditions: Clear
Wind Speed (knots/kts) and Direction: 21.9 kts, NNW
Latitude and Longitude: 45°00’19”, 124°19’94”

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Before I go into the events of the research and life onboard the Shimada, let me explain the weather data I share at the beginning of posts at sea. Weather can change quickly out at sea so the ship’s Officer(s) of the Deck (OODs) keep a running record of conditions throughout the cruise. On the Shimada, the OODs all happen to be NOAA Corps Officers, but there are civilian mates and masters on other ships.

Another important reason to collect weather conditions and location information is that it’s need to be linked to the data that is collected. The ship collects a lot of weather data, but I’ve chosen to share that which will give you an idea of what it’s like out here.

The bridge with a view of the captain’s seat.

First, I’ve shared the temperature of both the air and the water. Scientists use the Celsius temperature scale but Americans are used to thinking about temperatures using the Fahrenheit scale. On the Celsius scale, water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C, whereas on the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32°F and boils at 212°F. I won’t go into how you convert from one scale to another, but to better understand the temperatures listed above, temperatures around 10°C are equal to about 50°F.

Second, the sky conditions give you an idea of whether we are seeing blue or gray skies or I guess at night, stars or no stars. Clear skies have graced us intermittently over the past few days, but we’ve seen everything from light showers to dense fog.

Third, is the wind direction and speed. Knots is a measurement used at sea. It stands for nautical miles per hour. 1 knot = 1.2 miles/hour or 10 knots = 12 mph. The NOAA Marine Weather Forecast allows us to prepare for what might be coming at future stations. Depending on wind speed, some nets cannot be deployed. If wind speeds reach 25-30 kts, the kite-like neuston will literally fly away. If a weather day ends up keeping scientists from collecting data that can be very disappointing and, unfortunately, there’s no way to make up for lost time.

With the wind speeds picking up, so have the swell sizes, making for a rougher ride. As funny as it can be to watch a colleague swerve off their intended path and careen into the nearest wall, chair or person, we have to remember to, “save one hand for the ship,” meaning, be ready to steady yourself.

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Randy (foreground) and Larry (background) in their culinary kingdom.

Considering how well taken care of I’ve been on this cruise, it only seems right to tell you guys all about the heroes of the mess (also galley, basically, it’s the dining area), Larry and Randy. Larry and Randy plan and prepare three meals a day on board the Shimada. There’s always a hot breakfast and our dinners have included steak, mahi-mahi, and I like to think they were catering to the quarter of me that’s Irish when they made corned beef and cabbage last night. This dynamic duo really outdo themselves. Both are trained merchant mariners, meaning they hold their Z-card, and they tell me that working as a chef at sea definitely helps to bring home the bacon.

It feels good knowing that they don’t want us to just have cereal and sandwiches for the two weeks we are at sea.

Larry (background) and Randy (foreground) admiring their hard work.

I especially want to shout out Randy, the denizen of the desserts. So far Randy has made from scratch: bread pudding, chocolate white-chocolate cookies, rum cake and date bars. Good thing for me his mother was a chef because he’s been cooking since around the age of 6.

I just finished a Thanksgiving style turkey meal prepared by these two and all this told, I’m thankful there’s an exercise room on board with a stationary bike. Seriously though, these guys are doing a lot to make the ship feel like a home. With the disruption in my sleep cycle, I’ve been sleeping through some meals. Like 50% of meals. They noticed. When I came walking into dinner yesterday, after sleeping through two meals, they were full of concern and questions. Awww.

So, on behalf of all the crew and scientists, I want to say thank you for all that you do!

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Wednesday night, or Thursday morning–days tend to run together when you’re working the night shift–the net picked up an unusual jelly that Ric had to key out using a jelly identification manual. Using photos in the Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates by Wrobel and Mills, Ric identifies this jelly as the Liriope (sp. ?). While Ric is an accomplished biologist, he specializes in fish identification, so the question mark after the scientific name of this jelly represents the need for a jelly expert to confirm the identification as Liriope. But what’s in a name, right? What’s really interesting about this jelly is that it usually inhabits warm water areas between 40S and 40N. We were towing north of the 44^thparallel!

That wasn’t the only unusual sighting we had. Amanda, who does her surveys exclusively in the Northeast Pacific, meaning relatively close to shore (12 – 200 km) saw, for her first time in the wild, the Hawaiian petrel, a bird whose name alone suggests that Oregon is too far north to be seeing them. Additionally, it’s being more of an offshore bird makes it even more unlikely to see as far east as we are.

All images in this slideshow were taken by Amanda Gladics, Faculty Research Assistant, Oregon State University.

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Her initial reaction to the sighting was mild surprise that she saw something she didn’t quite recognize, she decided to grab her camera and photograph the bird so she could take a second look at it. Later, she realized just how rare of a sighting she had made. After consulting with Josh Adams at USGS, it was confirmed that the bird was a Hawaiian petrel.

Though most of the community nests on the big island of Hawaii, smaller colonies are found on Oahu and Kauai, and Adams explained that they tend to loop around areas of high pressure when foraging (searching) for food. It just so happens that such an area is within our transect range. If you look at the image to the right you can see this area as a loop marked with 1024 (mb, millibars, a pressure measurement) just off the coast of Oregon.

Map of pressure systems and precipitation in the Pacific. Note the high pressure system of the coast of Oregon (1024 mb). Photo courtesy of Amanda Gladics.

Amanda has also sent her images to Greg Gillson and Peter Pyle, two experts in the field; Gillson confirms the sighting as a Hawaiian petrel and is notifying the Oregon Birding Association Records Committee. She is still waiting to hear back from Pyle.

Super cool!

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Considering these two events alongside some warmer water temperatures the CTD and ship sensors have picked up in our transect area, the conclusion several of the scientists are reaching is that these unusual sightings are coincident with an El Niño event this year. El Niño events occur in a cycle. They are a disruption of the normal ocean temperatures, leading to anomalously warm temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. This can affect weather and climate and perhaps it can also affect animal behavior. There’s also that warm blob to consider. You yourself can see that the water temperature is warmer here than it was at our earlier transects.

For more information on how NOAA monitors El Niño events, please follow this link.

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Personal Log

In an effort to gain a deep understanding of all the research taking place on board the ship, I’ve started transitioning back to the day shift. After investing five days in training myself to stay up all night, I’m now trying to sleep through the night. My body is utterly confused about when it’s supposed to be asleep, so right now it’s settled on never being asleep. I’ve been able to catch naps here and there but I’m resorting to caffeine to keep me going.

However, there’s always a silver lining. This morning I climbed to the flying bridge for a bit of solitude with the rising sun. Few things can compare to a sunrise on a ship while it’s traveling northeast and to top it all off the swells crashing against the bow were so high that, at times, I could feel the sea spray. So I thought I would make this .gif so you can share this moment too.

Until next time, scientists!

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Question of the Day:

Amanda can only survey when the ship is traveling faster than 7 kts. If the ship travels at 7 knots for 1 hour, how many nautical miles does it cover? Standard miles?

September 27, 2014August 21, 2021

Amy Orchard: Days 9-13 – Conch, NOAA Corps, Seining, & Mission Stats, September 27, 2014

NOAA Teacher At Sea
Amy Orchard
Aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster
September 14 – 27, 2014

Mission: Conchs Surveys and Fish Seining
Geographical area of cruise: Marquesas Keys Wildlife Management Area
Date: September 22-26, 2014

Weather: September 25, 2014 17:00 hours
Latitude 24° 27 N
Longitude 82° 14 W
Broken clouds, Lightening, Funnel Clouds
Wind speed 7 knots.
Air Temperature: 28° Celsius (82.4° Fahrenheit)
Sea Water Temperature: 29.9° Celsius (85.8°Fahrenheit)

MONDAY

Typical Day

Today started as it has every other day – up at 5:15 am, a trip to the gym, 30 minutes of yoga under the stars on the “Steel Beach” on the top deck of the ship, a sunrise and a delicious breakfast by Lito & Bob.

gym — The elliptical or the rowing machine are my normal choices for caloric burning.

sunrise — Be sure to notice the silver of a moon among all those gorgeous colors.

Then science begins at 7:30 am and usually goes till 7:30 pm or later if I am writing, studying fish identification books or asking a million questions of the scientists!

Conch

Today I began with small boat trip to assist the conch scientists Bob and Einat (pronounced A KNOT) Their surveys will be the same all week (in different locations) They drop a weight tied to a rope with a bouy and dive flag on top. They dive down the line and survey four transects, to the north, south, east then west. Each transect is 30 meters by 1 meter. They only count the Queen Conch within that defined area. Then they come back up the line and move to the next site. They have already made 270 dives this summer alone. Einat told me they may dive up to 11 times a day! I’m not sure Einat’s hair ever dries out.

measuring tool — This is the tool used to measure the lip (or the curled up front part of their shell) The largest slot would indicate a sexually mature adult, the middle; a young adult and the skinniest (TL stands for Thin Lip) for the youngest.

Einat on the transect line — Here you can see Einat as she glides along the measuring tape which marks the area of study. In her hand she holds a measuring caliper and her clipboard (which she can write on underwater!)

Einat measuring conch lip — Einat measuring a Queen Conch with her measuring tool.

NOAA Corps

While our coxswain ENS Conor Maginn and I waited for Bob and Einat, I asked lots of questions about the http://www.noaacorps.noaa.gov/about/about.html As I have mentioned before, I am impressed with the character, quality and kindness of everyone on board. I truly hope I am able adequately convey the experiences I have had to my Junior Docents and Earth Campers and perhaps inspire many of you to look into NOAA as a career option. It’s very possible my career would have taken a different direction if I had known about the NOAA Corps earlier in my life.

The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. They are not trained for military action, but rather for positions of leadership and command in the operation of ships and aircraft which support scientific research. Conor told me about his training which included leadership, 1^st Aid and CPR, firefighting, navigation, seamanship and radar. In addition to the 320 officers in the Corps, there are 12,000 civilian employees; some of these positions do not require an advanced college degree.

Seems like a wonderful agency to work for with great benefits such as seeing the world and supporting scientific data collection which leads to making the world a better place.

ENS Conor Maginn

ENS Carmen DeFazio

Stowaway

TUESDAY

More on Conch

Einat was happy to have me out on the boat with them again. She claims I am a lucky charm because the only time they have found conch on their surveys has been while I am aboard. Perhaps I should become a conch whisperer.

really pink conch — I took this photo last week of a Queen Conch at Fort Jefferson. Bob was surprised how pink & purple it was. They get their color from the algae they eat.

Queen Conch have an average life span of 8-11 years, although some in the Bahamas have been aged up to 40 years old. About the only way to age them is to date the corals which grow on their backs. They are herbivores which graze mostly on red algae. They are docile and Bob says “very sweet animals”. Bob and Einat are surveying to collect more information about their population densities as they will not reproduce unless there are enough numbers in one location. The Queen Conch is a candidate for the Endangered Species Act. Harvesting of conch has been illegal in Florida and its adjoining waters since 1986. This is a big deal because collecting conch for meat, fishing bait and their beautiful shells has been an important part of the Florida Keys since the early 19^th century.

Conch harvesting 1959

Mural which welcomed me to the Key West airport

When all conditions are just right, a Queen Conch will lay 400,000 eggs at once, called an egg mass. Only 1 in 8 million of these eggs will survive to adulthood. Many efforts are being made to help their populations increase including raising for release into the wild. Bob told me that they have even taught these captive-raised conch how to avoid predation so when they are released they can survive.

conch with egg mass — Bob and Einat were very excited to see Queen Conch laying egg masses. Understandably so since the eggs hatch 5 days after being laid, there is a very short time frame in which to see this in the wild.

I try to be as helpful on the small boats as I can be. Here is a slide show of me working really hard to pull the weight dive flag back to the boat.

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WEDNESDAY

Receiver Data Retrieval

Today the divers retrieved acoustic receivers from the ocean floor which have been out for a year in order to bring the data top side for analysis.

Dani seems pleased with the retrieved data.

Each color represents an individual fish. Each small dash indicates one “ping” or one transmission from that particular fish’s tag.

The work the FWC has been doing in this area has been vital to providing the data necessary to show that these reserves act as connected highways essential to numerous species of fish and to justify the creation of these large ecological reserves which closed 150 square miles to commercial and private fishing. Their data shows an increase in both the abundance and size of at least 4 species of fish in the protected areas where there was a decrease or no change at all in the non-protected areas in the same region.

It has been fulfilling to give a hand in collecting this critical data.

THURSDAY

Seining

The small boat took us to the Marquesas Islands today for some seine netting. The fish biologists were not sure what to find since they don’t have opportunities to get this far out. They were especially pleased to see Lane Snapper since they rarely find them. We also saw 17 other fish species. These mangrove islands are crucial habitat for juvenile fish. Many species will spend the beginning of their lives in the sea grass beds near the islands, seek refuge as they grow within the mangroves and then head out to deep waters to live their lives as large adults.

Amy snorkeling off shore of the mangroves

Best thing to happen today – I finally saw a sea turtle! They surface only occasionally but then dive back down so quickly that it is really hard to get a photograph of them, therefore no photo to share, but it is certainly a wonderful memory I will keep with me forever.

Dominoes King

The game was on again at the end of the second week. The science team lost its crown. The Commanding Officer of our ship LCDR Jeff Shoup won the championship and thus the crown stays on the Nancy Foster – right where it is meant to be.

FRIDAY

We pulled into Key West a day early, giving me plenty of time to finish up my writing and collect some statistics from our 13 day scientific cruise:

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission personnel – 10
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Personnel – 7
University of North Carolina at Wilmington Remotely Operated Vehicle Operators – 2
Nancy Foster Officers – 9
Nancy Foster Crew – 14
Teacher at Sea – 1
Media Reporter at Sea – 1
ROV Operations – 14 hours and 20 minutes underwater
ROV digital stills – 957
ROV longest dive – 4 hours and 10 minutes
ROV deepest dive – 128 meters (420 feet)
Multibeam seafloor mapping distance – 787.9 linear nautical miles
Dives – 167
Fish surgeries performed- 8
Acoustic Receivers exchanged – 6
New Acoustic Receivers Installed – 5
Reef Fish Visual Census (or fish counts) – 40 dives on 11 stations
Seine Net pulls – 5
Number of species of fish counted in seines – 18 species
Total fish counted during seining – 290
Conch surveys- 14
Conch measured – 57
Conch females laying eggs – 2
Egg masses – 1
Facebook Reach on the FKNMS Account with Cruise Posts as of 8:15 on 9/26/2014: 528,584
Laughs – lots!
Fun had – tons!
Days/Nights of sea sickness for Amy – 0
Number of accidents- 0

Mission was a success!

Challenge Your Observational Skills

Can you find the fish in this photo? Hint, it is NOT yellow!

hide and seek — You will have to zoom in to find this itty, bitty fish. Good luck finding it!

NOTE: Scott Donahue, Chief Scientist for this cruise, actually found TWO fish in this photo! Can you find them both? He has a good eye!

BONUS QUESTION: Can you identify the fish in the photo once you find them?

Answer to the last blog’s question: Goliath Grouper is no longer being considered for Endangered listing because their populations have recovered due to a fishing ban.

Definition of the word EXTIRPATED: Completely removed from an area.

Sunset at port - Key West — Sunset at port – Key West

The sun has set on my adventure, now it’s back to Arizona. I leave better educated, but with plenty of questions to still find answers to. I leave more inspired. I am a better scientist, educator and a better person because of my Teacher At Sea experience.

A heart-felt “Thank You!” goes out to each and every person who made it possible for me.

July 14, 2010April 15, 2021

Kimberly Lewis, July 14, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea Kimberly Lewis
NOAA Ship: Oregon II
July 1 -July 16 2010

Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: Sunday, July 14, 2010

Wed July 14, 2010 : the nightshift is running smooth

The sunrise is here and we are caught up on processing our catches. I may go try to grab a bite to eat before we get to the next station. I will be setting the CTD for a DO (dissolved oxygen) sample to do a titration. Hopefully when the boat is still and the CTD is down I will get a cool photo.