Tag: the bridge

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Kathy Schroeder, May 6, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathy Schroeder
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
May 5 – May 18, 2010

Mission: Fisheries Surveys
Geographical Area: Eastern Bering Sea
Date: May 6, 2010

Out at Sea!


We left Dutch Harbor at 9pm on May 5th. I went to the bridge (where the Captain pilots the ship), which is 4 decks higher than where I sleep, and watched us depart. On our way out through the pass we passed a volcano. A scientist, Brian, works on the bridge watching birds. He has great binoculars and let me borrow them. I got to see my first Puffin! The sunset at 1030pm was gorgeous! Woke up 7 hours later to get to work. My shift will change, but for now it will be 7a-7p or 9a-9m. Began the day with a fire drill! Got to put on my survival suit! Now it was time to get back to work. I put on my orange suit (called a float coat) and went on the starboard side of the ship to help with releasing the tows. The first is the Neuston tow. It looks like a rectangular metal box with a net attached and a cylinder tube at the end. It collects plankton from the surface of the ocean. The tow stays at a 45 degree angle for 10 minutes and then is pulled onboard. We take the collection and put it in a quart size glass jar. On average, it is not very full. We then add sea water and formalin to preserve the specimens. Then we release the Bongo nets. They look just like two pairs of bongo drums, one large and one small.There are four circles (two different sizes) attached to nets and then connected to the collection containers (cups at the bottom of the net). They go down 300 meters or 10 feet off the bottom, and are then pulled back up. This takes over 30 minutes. (During this time a Laysan Albatross came along side the ship, and just wanted to hang out with us!) Once the nets are pulled in, three containers are preserved. We take the last container and sift through it using tweezers to pull out any larval fish (mostly pollock) and put them in a glass petri dish on ice. They are then taken to the microscopes and looked at closely for classification. Some are flash frozen on slides, others are individually preserved in alcohol. My best find last night was a squid the size of a tic-tac! After 14 hours of work it was time for me to go to bed. It was great waking up to so many messages and emails. Keep them coming. And for the questions-NO! I have not been sick 🙂
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Jillian Worssam, July 9, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jillian Worssam
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 5 – August 1, 2004

Day: Four
Friday July 9th, 2004 21:15

Longitude: 57° Sea Wave Height: 0-1′
Latitude: 172° 44 Swell Wave Height: 0-1′

Visibility: 25 yrds fog Sea Water Temperature: 9.3C
Wind Direction: 69.6 Barometric Pressure: 1022 strong high pressure
Wind Speed: 14.1kts Cloud Cover: complete 100%

Haul Data
Depth of haul: 89 meters
Temperature at depth: 4.1° C
Species breakdown: walleye pollock, chum salmon, smooth lumpsucker, unidentified jellyfish

Science and Technology Log:

First haul of the evening and to our surprise pulled up a smooth lumpsucker (Aptocyclus ventricosus). What an amazing fish quite large in girth, but relatively short( approximately 10 inches). A large globe shaped body with the ventral sucking disk. We placed the fish in water and released it back into the Bering.

As for the rest of the catch, quite a few chum salmon this time, so I anticipate some smoked snacks tomorrow. I am becoming more and more comfortable with the process of slicing the fish to determine gender. Tomorrow will attempt the removal of the otoliths. Amazing the data that can be removed for the preservation of an ecosystem. We are off to complete another haul right now, so I am off to don my rain gear: thick rubber pants, rubber boots, and rubber jacket. I must also wear a hard hat and life jacket when on deck while the cranes are in motion and the ramp is down. With the ramp down it is easy access to the ever cold Bering Sea.

Personal Log:

Well I did it, finally tackled the treadmill, what a treat. My body had wanted to jog for days so in thirty minutes this morning I completed three miles, and for the first time ever I was jogging below sea level as the workout room is toward the bottom of the boat. Amazing the difference between 7000 feet and sea level. The way the treadmill is situated it rocks back and forth not side to side, it is similar to walking rises, with an uphill climb every now and then.

I also spent some more time in the bridge today. I would like to learn all the equipment so tonight I was taught about the EOT (Engine Order Telegraph) The one instrument on the bridge that actually looks familiar as it has probably been in every old war sea movie ever made. You know the big round brass machine with a level and an arrow, and the person on deck moves the arrow to face the command they would like sent to the engine room. The commands vary from full ahead to slow, half even stand by. Now with modern technology this apparatus is obsolete, but still on board in case of emergency and the electronics fail.

I was also introduced to an amazing centrifugal force windshield washer, but those details will have to wait until tomorrow.