NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karolyn Braun
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana October 4 – 28, 2006
Mission: TAO Buoy Array Maintenance Geographical Area: Hawaii Date: October 17, 2006
TAS Braun paints one of the TAO buoys to ready it for deployment.
Science and Technology Log
Plan of the Day: Transit TAO buoy painting
Today started our first of a three-day transit to latitude 170W. In the morning I did some knot tying and research on the theory of active fluorescence. I will be assisting Eric from the Monterey Bay Aquarium on testing the water samples we have been collecting from the past CTDs using an Active Fluorometer. Active fluorescence methods utilize the relationship between chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthesis. I will go into more detail tomorrow.
I painted the TAO buoys in the afternoon to get them ready for deployment on our next line. I was able to paint all the orange before the rain came but will have to paint the white tomorrow. The weather couldn’t figure out what it wanted to do. One minute the sun was blazing hot the next it was overcast the next raining then back to the sun again. I drank a lot of water but felt really dehydrated, so no work out today. I am going to drink plenty of water and go to bed early.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karolyn Braun
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana October 4 – 28, 2006
Mission: TAO Buoy Array Maintenance Geographical Area: Hawaii Date: October 16, 2006
Junior Officer Phoebe Woodward and TAS Karolyn Braun show off their ARGO tattoos by the ARGO floats before deployment.
Science and Technology Log
Well my morning started with a cloudy sunrise, which quickly turned to a nice rain shower. With very low visibility, the winds and waves picked up again, so the ship was pitching and rolling. More learning: Pitching is where the bow and stern move up and down, and rolling is where the vessel will move from one side to another.
While in transit I practiced my knot tying with Jeff and Chris, two of the deck crew, and Carrie, one of the cooks let me borrow her handbook of knots. I am learning! We had an on-time arrival to the TAO buoy at 8S/155W. The RHIB was sent out to retrieve it; it was secured on deck and lines were spooled in. We were able to take a half dinner break and then it was back to work. The new buoy was deployed into the water and the lines were fed out. We worked until about 7:15 then conducted a CTD and deployed our ARGO float. I even got a workout in. All in a days work.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karolyn Braun
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana October 4 – 28, 2006
Mission: TAO Buoy Array Maintenance Geographical Area: Hawaii Date: October 15, 2006
TAS, Karolyn Braun enjoying the fresh air before deploying a drifter buoy
Plan of the Day
Well today I woke up at 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise as we sailed past Malden Island. It was only two miles away…Beautiful. We were so close I could see the waves breaking on its sandy beaches. From doing some research, and thanks to the Chief Scientist, I found that Malden was formerly known as Independence Island. It is a low, arid, uninhabited island in the central Pacific Ocean, about 39 km² in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to Republic of Kiribati. The island is chiefly notable for its “mysterious” prehistoric ruins (of Polynesian origin), its once-extensive deposits of phosphatic guano (exploited by Australian interests from c. 1860-1927), its use as the site of the first British H-bomb tests (Operation Grapple, 1957), and its importance as a protected area for breeding seabirds.
At the time of its discovery, Malden was found to be unoccupied, but the remains of ruined temples and other structures indicated that the island had at one time been inhabited. At various times these remains have been speculatively attributed to “wrecked seamen”, “the buccaneers”, “the South American Incas”, “early Chinese navigators”, etc. In 1924 the Malden ruins were examined by an archaeologist from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, K.P. Emory, who concluded that they were the creation of a small Polynesian population, which had resided there for perhaps several generations some centuries earlier.
Malden was reserved as a wildlife sanctuary and closed area, officially designated the Malden Island Wildlife Sanctuary, on 29 May 1975, under the 1975 Wildlife Conservation Ordinance. The principal purpose of this reservation was to protect the large breeding populations of seabirds. The Wildlife Conservation Unit of the Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development, headquartered on Kiritimati, administers the sanctuary. There is no resident staff at Malden, and the occasional visits by foreign yachtsmen and fishermen cannot be monitored from Kiritimati. A fire in 1977, possibly caused by visitors, threatened breeding seabirds, and this remains a potential threat, particularly during periods of drought. There were 4 small buildings and some telephone poles visible but all looked very desolate.
The ship stopped, we conducted a CTD and were off for our next TAO buoy about five hours away. The winds picked up, so consequently the seas have picked up as well, so we are not traveling as fast—only about 10 knots. We are leaving the doldrums and entering the trade winds. Let me explain some. The Earth is a spinning globe where a point at the equator is traveling at around 1100 km/hour, but a point at the poles is not moved by the rotation. This fact means that projectiles moving across the Earth’s surface are subject to Coriolis forces that cause apparent deflection of the motion.
Since winds are just molecules of air, they are also subject to Coriolis forces. Winds are basically driven by Solar heating. Solar heating on the Earth has the effect of producing three major convection zones in each hemisphere. If solar heating were the only thing influencing the weather, we would then expect the prevailing winds along the Earth’s surface to be either from the North or the South, depending on the latitude. However, the Coriolis force deflects these wind flows to the right in the Northern hemisphere and to the left in the Southern hemisphere. This produces the prevailing surface winds (See figure).
The doldrums occur at the equator as the winds from the N.E. trade winds and the S.E. trade winds cancel each other out and everything becomes calm. Ok enough of the science for now. After we did a TAO visit, a CTD was conducted and I threw in my second Adopt-a-Drifter Buoy. I ended up taking a nap after all was said and done. With the swell getting bigger, so was my upset stomach. I woke up in time for dinner but didn’t eat much. I did some schoolwork and was off to bed. I am hoping tomorrow is better.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karolyn Braun
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana October 4 – 28, 2006
The sun setting on the southern Pacific Ocean.
Mission: TAO Buoy Array Maintenance Geographical Area: Hawaii Date: October 14, 2006
Plan of the Day
Today has been a day of much needed rest. I awoke at midnight to conduct the 1 a.m. CTD profile, which went extremely well. Once my head hit the pillow I was out, awaking around 8 a.m. I checked my email and tried to read some but fell asleep and woke-up around 11a.m. I went outside to see if any help was needed and they told me not to worry about it so I decided to complete some schoolwork that needed to be done. I felt like I was at the office without my students. I miss them a lot; they definitely make my life interesting. I have been getting several emails from them, which make my day. I ended my evening with a CTD profile and I was off to bed.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karolyn Braun
Onboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana October 4 – 28, 2006
Mission: TAO Buoy Array Maintenance Geographical Area: Hawaii Date: October 13, 2006
KA’IMIMOANA crewmembers make repairs to a TAO buoy.
Science and Technology Log
Well, last night I had conducted the 9:30 p.m. CTD profile solo. Everything was running smoothly, I remembered all the steps, and the CTD was in the water. The winchman was waiting for directions, and then we saw ERROR, ERROR, and the computers froze…. AAHHH! But I remained calm and called the Chief Scientist out of bed who called the Chief Electronic Technician (CET). By the time the CET arrived the XO (Executive Office) Robert, was in the lab as well. Come to find out, a fuse had blown. But the CET changed the fuse, and I completed the CTD profile. Before I knew it, it was 11 p.m.
I awoke to the Bridge calling me for my 5 a.m. wake-up call to conduct the 1.5N/155W CTD profile. This cast went like clockwork. I was even ahead of schedule. I know it’s silly, but I am really excited to sail over the equator. It’s something I have always wanted to do. I have done it by plane many times, but it’s a lot different sailing over it.
I was asked if I wanted to go on the TAO buoy repair. So of course I said YES! A chance to get off the ship and cruise in the RHIB boat to climb on a TAO buoy in the middle of know where—who would pass that up? It was a beautiful day and while waiting for my time to assist with the repair, I saw sharks and tons of fish. Absolutely beautiful! Also while waiting, Jeff, a GVA, or general vessel assistant, taught me how to tie a bowling knot and a Tug bowling knot. Not as easy as it looks, but Jeff made it easy to learn. After the repair, I had some lunch and got in a work out in time for the .5S/155W CTD cast. Everyday is such a blessing out here.
