tsunami warning – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

October 25, 2006April 1, 2021

Brett Hoyt, October 25, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Brett Hoyt
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
October 8 – 28, 2006

Mission: Recovery and maintenance of buoy moorings
Geographical Area: Southeast Pacific, off the coast of Chile
Date: October 25, 2006

Weather Data from Bridge
Visibility: 12nm (nautical miles)
Wind direction: 150º
Wind speed: 5 knots
Sea wave height: 1-2ft
Swell wave height: 4-6 ft
Sea level pressure: 1017.1 millibars
Sea temperature: 16.7ºC or ºF
Air temperature: 17.9ºC or ºF
Cloud type: Stratus

Reggie Glover – Engine Utility Man (“Oilier”) helping keep the ship running smooth. Thanks Reggie!

The Crew

For the past 3 weeks we have been highlighting the scientists and their work. The other unsung heroes of this cruise are the ship’s crew. These tireless workers work 7 days a week and are on call 24 hours a day. They are up before dawn and go to bed well after sunset. They feed us three square meals a day (they are excellent chefs) and provide us even with the water we drink and bath with. Without our crew the research does not happen. For this we thank you.

Being a crewmember on a research vessel such as the RONALD BROWN has many hardships. You can’t go to the movies (they show two every night—not always your choice but you can request a movie to be played) or head to the mall (they do have a ship’s store—by the way I’ve seen bigger closets), but it’s our mall, and for this Dave, we thank you for running it. You can’t go for a walk in the park or even stroll down a neighborhood street. Your work place is also your home and you can’t leave either. But ………………for all these sacrifices how many of you can say you have really seen the world? For most of us, our “world” may only be the country we live in or perhaps the neighborhood we played in as a child. To you I ask, have you ever seen the sunset in Fiji or the glaciers in the Straits of Magellan? Have you ever visited a land that has not seen any rainfall in over 150 years? Have you ever gazed upon the heads of Easter Island or experienced 45ft waves in the Bearing Sea? If not, then you have not seen the world. It is because of this unique attraction for the world and all that is in it, that many people choose the life of a sailor.

Any one like big diesel engines? Jim Reed inspects the heart of the ship. The RON BROWN has six of these huge diesel engines connected to very large electric generators that in turn feed enough electricity to power the two 3000 horsepower engines that turn the propellers. — Any one like big diesel engines? Jim Reed inspects the heart of the ship, which has six of these huge diesel engines connected to very large electric generators that feed enough electricity to power the two engines that turn the propellers.

Today we will visit with Reggie Glover on board the RONALD H. BROWN. Reggie is a friendly, always there with a smile, genuinely kind man of 34 years of age. He has been a seaman for the past 3 years and has served on numerous ships. He got his start washing dishes for the Military Sealift Command. He was a civilian who worked on ships that supplied U.S. Naval ships. In only 2 and a half years he has worked his way up to “wiper.” Upon leaving the Sealift Command and joining NOAA, he changed jobs to become an “Engine Utility Man.” His past jobs have included truck driver, hotel employee, and fast food worker. When I asked Reggie why he decided to go to sea he replied, “College isn’t for everyone” and his career at sea provided an excellent opportunity to achieve financial freedom. “Money is good, there is tons of overtime, you don’t have to pay rent, and meals are provided. Your paycheck is all yours to save or to spend.”

Reggie has not always had it “easy.” Just before going to sea he was temporarily homeless. The sea provided a new career and a fresh start. When I asked Reggie what message he wanted to tell students he replied, “Come out to sea with a goal in mind, stick with it, and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. If your life isn’t going the way you want, perhaps a job at sea would be an alternative to jail, homelessness, or even college.” Reggie goes on to say that joining NOAA’s workforce provides many opportunities to advance your skills and education. NOAA has sent Reggie to Engine Utility School and Refrigeration School and he is planning on taking welding school this fall. He is currently working towards his 3AE (third assistant engineer).

One of the benefits he has enjoyed the most has been the free travel in seeing the world and meeting different people in it. After visiting with Reggie I can sense he has his goals and will achieve them through his persistence and dedication to a job well done.

If you like to know more about a career at sea, check out the NOAA Fleet and Marine operations website, Automated commerce employment, and Vessel employment opportunities.

Please contact the Marine Operations Center – Atlantic at (757) 441-6206, or Marine Operations Center – Pacific at (206) 553-4548, if you have any questions.

The Teacher

This is my final log and I would like to thank all those folks at NOAA who saw fit to send me half way around the world for the journey of a lifetime and a chance to participate in one of the most worthwhile projects any teacher could hope to imagine. I would also like to thank Dr. Bob Weller and all the crew from Woods Hole who took time to answer my questions and make me feel like one of the team. (Love to scrape those barnacles!) I would like to thank the captain and his crew for keeping us safe and making me feel very much at home 5,000miles from home. And, I would like to personally thank Lt. (JG) Jackie Almeida for her input and edits on my Teacher at Sea logs and for her help in making my job easier. If you are a teacher and would like the experience of a lifetime, go to the Teacher at Sea website and apply today.

October 24, 2006April 1, 2021

Brett Hoyt, October 24, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Brett Hoyt
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
October 8 – 28, 2006

Mission: Recovery and maintenance of buoy moorings
Geographical Area: Southeast Pacific, off the coast of Chile
Date: October 24, 2006

Data from Bridge

Visibility: 12nm (nautical miles)
Wind direction: 140º
Wind speed: 4 knots
Sea wave height: 0-1ft
Swell wave height: 6-8 ft
Sea level pressure: 1018.5 millibars
Sea temperature: 18.1ºC or 64 ºF
Air temperature: 18.7ºC or 65 ºF
Cloud type: stratus

Deployment of the new tsunami buoy began at 6am on October 23. The scientists deployed the buoy first and then plan to deploy the Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR). The reason for this is that the BPR must be located close enough to the buoy for the acoustic communication from the BPR to reach the surface buoy. As there are only a few instruments from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the buoy, this deployment process only took a few hours instead of most of the day. They plan on letting the buoy settle for many hours before they deploy the BPR. One of the challenges for the tsunami buoy is that unlike the Stratus 7 buoy which had a “watch circle” (the distance the buoy could wander) of over 3 miles, the tsunami buoy has a watch circle of no more than 1,500 meters. This difference is that you don’t want the buoy wandering out of range of the Bottom Pressure Recorder transmitter. To achieve this, the scientists must make the mooring line exactly the right length. The day before they deployed the buoy the scientists measured the contours of the ocean floor and knew precisely how deep the water was. At the last minute, the scientists from the Chilean Navy cut and spliced a piece of mooring line to exactly the right length. (See photo)

The Scientists

Here a scientist from the Chilean Navy is seen splicing in an eye into the line after it was cut to length. This process ensures that the buoy stays in the right location and does not wander too far.

The Machine

The Chilean Government's tsunami buoy on station in the South Pacific. This is only one half of the warning equation. — The Chilean Government’s tsunami buoy in the South Pacific. This is only half of the warning equation.

The Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR) with its anchor attached.

The Experiment

There was no experiment.

Classroom Activities

There is no classroom activity, as creating your own tsunami in the classroom would be way too messy.

October 22, 2006April 1, 2021

Brett Hoyt, October 22, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Brett Hoyt
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
October 8 – 28, 2006

Mission: Recovery and maintenance of buoy moorings
Geographical Area: Southeast Pacific, off the coast of Chile
Date: October 22, 2006

Jeff Lord using an acoustic transmitter to talk to the acoustic release. This machine also tells the scientists the range to the release that helps them in finding it.

Data from Bridge
Visibility: 12nm (nautical miles)
Wind direction: 130º
Wind speed: 19 knots
Sea wave height: 4-6ft
Swell wave height: 5-7 ft
Sea level pressure: 1019.7 millibars
Sea temperature: 17.3ºC or 63ºF
Air temperature: 18.0ºC or 64ºF
Cloud type: cumulus, stratocumulus, and stratus

Note:

All day on the 21^st was spent traveling to the Chilean tsunami buoy approximately 300 miles off the coast of Chile. During this time, the Woods Hole group was busy retrieving data from their instruments from Stratus 6. Many of the instruments collect data all year long and store it on flash memory cards. When recovered one year later, this data is then downloaded onto computers for later analysis. We arrived late in the day on October 22 at the tsunami site and immediately started the process of recovering the old buoy. As you can see, scientists work day and night to get the job done. I really have never seen a group of harder working people.

Jorge Araya and Alvaro Vera, members of the Chilean Navy, looking for the yellow glass balls which were released over an hour ago and take that long to reach the surface. Work vests were required but not hard hats for this part of the operation. Both have over 12 years with the Chilean Navy.

The Machine

The glass balls are attached to the Bottom Pressure Recorder, or BPR, and float to the surface leaving the anchor on the bottom of the ocean.

Jorge Gaete, a civilian contractor for the Chilean Navy for the past 2 years, helps with the deployment of the tsunami buoy.

Capturing the yellow flotation balls that have brought the BPR to the surface for recovery.

The second part of the tsunami warning system is the recovery of the buoy. This buoy receives the signal from the BPR and quickly transmits the warning via satellite to the Chilean authorities who in turn warn the public. This recovery was done at night. Without the vast array of sensors found on the Stratus 7 buoy, this recovery progressed quickly and was completed within 30 minutes.

Hooking lines to the tsunami buoy for a quick recovery.

The Experiment

There is no experiment today; however, I will try to explain how the system works. When a tsunami is triggered by an underwater earthquake the BPR detects the increase in pressure on the bottom of the ocean due to the increase in the height of the water column above the sensor. When I asked Alvaro how this worked when sea swell was 6-7 ft at times and waves could reach a height of 45ft he explained that the pressure is sharp and abrupt. This is indicated by a very short wave (period) of energy passing through the open ocean. In open ocean the height of a huge tsunami wave is so short a ship would hardly know one has passed by. It is only when this wave heads into shallow water that the wave becomes deadly.

The BPR immediately after recovery, without its anchor that remains on the bottom of the ocean.

Classroom Activities

Please share with your students the DART tsunami warning system.

My next log will cover the deployment of a new warning system.