Tag: Weather

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Patricia Donahue, August 19, 2008

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Patricia Donahue
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier 
August 19-23, 2008

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of Bear Cove, AK
Geographical Area: Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 59.43.7 N, 151.02.9 W
Date: August 19, 2008

Weather Data from the Bridge at 1600 hours 
Broken clouds (5/8)
Visibility 11 to 27 nautical miles
Winds 230˚ at 6 knots
Seas 0-1 ft (light breeze) at 8.3˚C
Air pressure 1003.5 millibars and falling slightly
Dry Bulb 13.1˚C, Wet Bulb 12˚C
Cumulus and cirrus clouds between 2000 and 3300 feet

Science and Technology Log 

Today I recorded the temperature twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The data is written on a sheet and then entered into a specialized computer program. Once saved, the floppy containing the data is placed in a transmitter for delivery via satellite to the National Weather Service. There are few weather stations in the area so the ship is acting as one! The information will then show up on maps as a station model such as the one shown above. My students learn how to code and decode these models and it was awesome to see where the data comes from and how it is delivered.

This is a weather map symbol that shows wind direction (the arm extending from the circle) from the southwest; wind speed (the smaller arm) at 6 knots; temperature at 13.1˚C; dew point and 12˚C; pressure at 1003.5 mb; and cloud cover which is indicated by the shaded circle and shows broken clouds, meaning partly cloudy.
This is a weather map symbol that shows wind direction (the arm extending from the circle) from the southwest; wind speed (the smaller arm) at 6 knots; temperature at 13.1˚C; dew point and 12˚C; pressure at 1003.5 mb; and cloud cover which is indicated by the shaded circle and shows broken clouds, meaning partly cloudy.

Yesterday and today I also made note of true north and magnetic north. The difference between them was 17 degrees yesterday and 16 degrees today. In Texas a few weeks ago this difference was about 12 degrees. The officer on the bridge told me that there is a lot of interference that accounts for the larger difference here. I was reminded of what I’ve recently learned about the polarity reversals the Earth has undergone throughout its history. According to scientists, the planet is entering a period in which true north and magnetic north will deviate more and more from one another. I read a book I found in the wardroom about the geology of Alaska and discovered that the area we’re in now is mainly sedimentary rock. Through the “big eyes” on the flying bridge I can see a lot of stratification in the rocks. 

NOAA Ship Rainier
NOAA Ship Rainier

One of the engineers showed me the engine room. I was able to see the freshwater generator system that makes potable water for the ship. Salt water is “flashed” to its boiling point but not 100 degrees Celsius! This evaporation is done at a very low pressure by creating a vacuum of more than 90% so the boiling point of the water is much lower. This saves energy. The water evaporates, leaving behind the salts and other minerals dissolved in it. The water vapor is condensed and stored in a tank for use by the crew. One of the evaporators can make about 130 gallons of water in an hour and the ship has two of them. (If the water intake is not as salty, such as where we are now due to the glacial melt water, then more water can be generated.) There are also two storage tanks, each holding 8,400 gallons for a total of nearly 17,000 gallons.

The ship uses between 2000 and 3000 gallons per day so the amount stored could last for 5 days if necessary. There are only 53 people aboard. I did the math and realized that the crew is using a lot less water than I thought. Generally, an estimate of water use is 150 gallons per person per day. Not only is the crew careful about water use, some salt water replaces freshwater. For example, the toilets use salt water. Another interesting thing about the evaporators is that they use titanium plates. Titanium is very, very expensive! Back home people are stealing catalytic converters out of cars to recover the titanium in them! Since I teach the gas laws, distillation, and the periodic table, I plan to include a lesson about the evaporators.

Personal Log 

Today’s big events were a fire drill and an abandon ship drill. Fortunately I’ve gotten to know the ship fairly well and I was able to get to my assigned muster station in a timely fashion. The newly arrived personnel, myself included, also watched survival videos. Extra survival equipment had to be put away and I volunteered to help. I was able to climb down through hatches into the area where dry goods are stored. I wonder if they’ll let me climb the mast? My fears about seasickness have not been realized due to the fact that we are in very calm water. The bay seems more like a lake! From the ship I can see the Dixon Glacier and the Portlock Glacier. I’m sure they are a lot farther away than they appear! The survey team that went out today reported difficulties in the areas where the glacial runoff enters the bay. I hope I get to go out tomorrow.

Animals Seen Today 

Bald Eagle, Otter

Question of the Day 

How much fresh water is each person aboard the Rainier using in one day?

Challenge Yourself 

Use the internet to find out how many people are aboard a large cruise ship or a large naval vessel. Calculate how many gallons of water they would use. How many freshwater generators would the ship need? How much water would the cruise ship have to store to last for 5 days? Using the station model above, can you determine the relative humidity?

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Beth Carter, June 27, 2007

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Beth Carter
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
June 25 – July 7, 2007

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Gulf of Esquibel, Alaska
Date: June 27, 2007

Weather Data from Bridge 
Visibility:  6 miles
Wind direction:  034 degrees
Wind speed:  5 mph
Sea Wave Height:  none
Swell Wave Height:  none
Seawater temperature:  12.2 degrees C
Sea level pressure:  1017.2 mb
Dry Bulb Temperature: 12.2
Wet Bulb Temp:  11.7
Cloud cover, type: 8/8, stratus and cumulus
Depths: 31 fathoms

Researchers are kneeling in a sitka spruce forest as they check the computer that is collects and records tidal data on a small island in Nossuk Bay, Alaska.
Researchers are kneeling in a Sitka spruce forest as they check the computer that is collects and records tidal data on a small island in Nossuk Bay, Alaska.

Science and Technology Log 

On Tuesday afternoon, June 26, I went out with a crew of researchers to check the equipment that collects tidal data for Esquibel Bay. There are six main pieces of equipment used to collect this data: 1) a cylinder of nitrogen, 2) a hose attached to the nitrogen cylinder that emits small bubbles of nitrogen into the water, 3) a computer that collects and records data, 4) a solar collector to power the computer’s battery, 5) a  transmitter that sends the data to a satellite, and 6) the tide staff (an actual wooden staff in the water), and GPS benchmarks. The staff is set and readings taken so that the vertical measurements of the staff are linked to the benchmarks. The gage, which is officially a “tertiary” gage, is set up concurrent with a “primary” gage that has been acquiring data for over one epoch (19 years or more). Sitka, Alaska, is the site of NOAA’s primary gage, which has similar tidal characteristics to the area that we are working now. Thus, only an amplitude and phase differential must be applied to the Sitka gage to get a water level for this area.  Without the staff readings, there would be no way to tie the “bubbler” level to the ground surrounding the gage site, and thus no way to recover the actual local vertical datum (water level) relative to the gage in Sitka.

The nitrogen cylinder slowly leaks bubbles through the hose, which are released into the water. When the tide is high, there is more water and pressure above the hose which makes it more difficult for the bubbles to escape the hose. When the tide is low, there is less water above the hose, and therefore less pressure, which makes it easier for the bubbles to escape. Readings are recorded digitally every six minutes, averaged every six seconds. Staff-to-gage measurements are also recorded every six minutes whenever the site is visited, and 3 hours’ worth are recorded at  installation and removal, so that the vertical measurements of the station  are effectively “tied” to the measurements at the primary water level station at Sitka. (Good Working Question: Download data from both  stations and compare the two – are there differences? Next, compare Sitka and Ketchikan and Kodiak – are there bigger differences?).

ENS Meghan McGovern, Junior Officer of RAINIER, and Shawn Gendron, survey technician, position the tripod which will hold the transmitter to collect the GPS information needed by the RAINIER.
ENS Meghan McGovern, Junior Officer of RAINIER, and Shawn Gendron, survey technician, position the tripod which will hold the transmitter to collect the GPS information needed by the RAINIER.

For some reason, the transmitter is not emitting signals that can be read by the satellite, and therefore by the scientists at NOAA headquarters. This is why the skiff took several technicians over to check the equipment to see if it is still functioning and recording properly. They downloaded the water level data to send to headquarters via email while also setting up GPS equipment so that an ellipsoidal (GPSrelative) height can also be linked to the orthometric (gravitational) elevation determined through water level measurement, and will return to the ship and process the GPS data. The tides are important to hydrographic surveying, because obviously, the water is deeper at high tide than at low tide. The goal is to collect accurate information on tides, and then combine that with the data collected by the launches, in order to get accurate depth information.  The tide-corrected depths on the chart they want to show are relative to the mean low low water, which is the average of the lowest of daily tides taken over the last 19 years. On the Atlantic Ocean, tides are semi-diurnal. This means that there are two high tides and two low tides per 24 hours. But, on the Northeastern Pacific, tides are mixed.  See here for more details.

Today, (Wed. June 27), the crew returned to the small island to check on the HorCon station, which stands for Horizontal Controls.  The RAINIER established this water level station in April of 2007, and set into place 5 benchmarks which are tied into the international framework of benchmarks that make it possible to utilize GPS, or Global Positioning Satellites to determine one’s exact location. RAINIER’s researchers placed a receiver antenna on top of a tripod, which was positioned exactly above the center of the metal disc benchmark cemented into a rock.  The antenna receives from some of the 11 Global Positioning System satellites that orbit the earth and constantly change their relative positions. For a final position to be accurate, at least four satellites must be recorded in two different sessions of more than six hours duration separated by at least one day. They connected the cables, turned on the GPS receiver and then waited for the satellite constellation (also known as the ephemeris) to be downloaded so that all available satellites could be tracked. The first satellite was tracked around 1 hour later, and then we left the island, as the equipment was to be left in place for at least 6 hours.  When we returned 6 hours later, 8 satellites had made contact, and the recordings were noted and will be taken for evaluation onboard the ship.

Anna-Liza Villard-Howe, the Navigation Officer of the RAINIER, explained to me that the GPS measurements of benchmarks are being conducted in order to get as precise a determination of sea level as is possible, so that all the hydrographic information collected by the RAINIER can be referenced to the ellipsoid. Sea level has changed in Alaska in the recent past due to glacial rebound, which means that as the glaciers recede, the land is actually rising. Also, many large earthquakes have occurred in Alaska in the last century, which also changed the shape of some landforms and affected sea level readings. Online Sea Floor Mapping Activity Targets Kids (CED, OCS). In celebration of World Hydrography Day, NOAA’s Ocean Service  Communications and Education Division, in cooperation with NOAA’s Office  of Coast Survey, launched a new educational offering — Sea Floor Mapping —  on the National Ocean Service Education Web site. It is designed for students at the 3rd – 5th grade level, and the media-rich activity teaches young people about mapping the seafloor and why it is important.  This activity also conveys information about NOAA’s missions of discovery and service. The Sea Floor Mapping Activity is available online here.

Questions of the Day 

  1. Why are tides in the Pacific and Atlantic different?  What are the factors that affect tidal changes?
  2. Look up a tidal chart for the inlet or beach nearest to your home.  How far apart are the high and low tides?
  3. Who (which country or countries/which agencies) is responsible for the maintenance of the 11 Global Positioning Satellites that are now orbiting the earth?  If a satellite fails, would it be replaced?  By what agency?

Personal Log 

While on the tiny island, one of the officers carried a shotgun…in case we met a bear!  I’m pleased to say we didn’t encounter a bear, but did discover animal scat, and two eagle feathers. One was a tail feather – beautifully white – and we didn’t collect the feathers because it is illegal to collect eagle feathers.  We also saw 7-8 harbor seals on a rock outcropping. We tried to sneak up on them to get good photographs, but they bobbed and rocked and slipped into the water before we got very close. Also, on the island I was surprised to find many clumps of saltwort, which Eastern coast students (and my first grade class!) should recognize from the mud flat near the salt marsh.  It tastes….salty! No surprise there.

On Wednesday, there were so many white gnats that we sent the skiff back to the ship for bug repellant. They were like No-See-Ems, only we could See Em and Feel Em!  We built a small, smoky fire, which made things somewhat better.   The highlight of the day for me was kayaking after dinner with the XO (Executive Officer) of the ship, and Ian Colvert, an assistant survey technician.  We saw a rainbow and paddled through a misty rain, then sunshine…a beautiful evening.

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Beth Carter, June 26, 2007

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Beth Carter
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
June 25 – July 7, 2007

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Gulf of Esquibel, Alaska
Date: June 26, 2007

Weather Data from the Bridge
Visibility:  10 nautical miles
Wind Direction:  132 degrees, from the Southeast
Wind Speed:  6 knots
Sea Wave Height:  0-1 feet
Swell Wave Height – no swell
Seawater Temperature: 11.7 degrees Celsius
Sea Level Pressure: 1018.8 millibars
Cloud Cover & Type: 7/8 coverage, mixed cumulus and stratus
Air temperature:  Dry Bulb: 15 degrees C,  Wet Bulb:  10 degrees C
At anchor, water depth: 32 fathoms

NOAA Teacher at Sea, Beth Carter, prepares to set sail on NOAA Ship RIANIER.
NOAA Teacher at Sea, Beth Carter, prepares to set sail on NOAA Ship RAINIER.

Science and Technology Log

At 8:00 this morning, our CO (Commanding Officer) held a safety and mission briefing on the fantail of the ship.  The fantail is the back open area of the ship. The RAINIER’s main mission is to conduct hydrographic mapping surveys from its six small launches that are carried aboard the RAINIER. Each launch has equipment that transmits sound waves that are directed toward the floor of the bay, or area to be mapped.  The sound waves bounce back to a special receiver on the launch, and the depth data is recorded on the launch.  These depths are plotted as dots, and so later in the evening, the technicians basically “connect the dots” to form a picture of the ocean floor in the area that was surveyed that day. When the RAINIER finishes this 3-week leg of its mission, all of this data will be given to the NOAA Office of Coast Survey, Pacific Hydrographic Branch, in Seattle, WA.  They take the data and create digital terrain models, or DTM’s, which are color-coded maps of the sea floor.  The maps look very cool…the deepest waters are shown to be dark blue, lighter blues show shallower water, and hazards and rocks and sand bars are shown in various shades of green, yellow, red and orange. The resulting DTM’s represent the most probable bathymetry of the area. The maps are so detailed you can see the outlines of sunken ships and large rocks on the bottoms of the bays. The information from our leg will be compiled for chart 17404, and for smaller scale charts. If you are interested in seeing maps that show the areas we are charting, try this website.

Crew of the NOAA Ship RAINIER prepare to deploy a launch.
Crew of the NOAA Ship RAINIER prepare to deploy a launch.

Creating these maps is important because current maps of the waterways in Alaska are outdated – some of them very outdated.  Yesterday, the CO showed me some sections of map that were created as long ago as 1834-1899, with more of the maps being created between 1900-1939, or 1940-1969. It is interesting that NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) is using sonar in much the same way that whales and dolphins and bats use sound waves for echolocation so that they can determine locations of the sea floor, obstacles, or other animals.

I asked about the current debate over the Navy’s use of sonar, and the belief that its sonar is interfering with the whales/dolphins’ abilities to use their sonar. Vincent Welton, our Electronics Technician, explained to me that NOAA uses a higher frequency, less amplified type of sound waves that will not confuse the marine mammals.  The Navy sometimes uses a very low frequency sonar to detect submarines. Today, two of the launches are out doing the hydrographic mapping.  Later in the day, two divers will go out to check the bottom of the hull, and I will go out on a small skiff to watch some of the technicians gather some data on tides. It appears that some of the equipment to measure tides is working erratically, so we will go check that out. 

Personal Log

I enjoyed watching the crew deploying the four skiffs and launches that are going out for today’s work. Everyone has to wear hard hats and float coats to stay safe when out on the fantail. The best part of the morning was when Steve Foye, the Boatswain Group Leader, pointed out to me that a humpback whale was swimming near the ship.  I saw the whale spout several times, and twice, he seemed he rolled on his side, as I saw a fin pop up. Then, his fluke appeared above the water, and he slapped the water and disappeared.  Steve told me he was “diving down to check out the groceries…he knows which aisle to shop on.” He also said he’d be down a long time, as he’d taken a big breath and was going to going to be eating until he needs to come back up to breathe.  If you are a CFCI student (or any student!) and have a question for me, please E-mail this address: teacheratsea.rainier@noaa.gov. I’d love to hear from you, and promise to try to respond in my logs.

Terms Used Today

  1. Fathom:  1 fathom equals 6 feet
  2. Sea level pressure:  Barometric, or air pressure.  When air pressure is high as it is today (over 1000 millibars or mb) it indicates that the weather is sunny or overcast, with little threat of rain.  When the pressure drops, it often means a storm or rain is on the way.  The eye of a hurricane can have a barometric pressure reading as low as 875 mb.
  3. Cloud cover: expressed in terms of portions of the sky covered out of 8 parts (whole coverage)
  4. Wind direction:  indicates which direction the wind is blowing FROM.  0 degrees is North, 90 degrees is East, 180 degrees is South, and 270 degrees is West.

Questions of the Day

  1. Why is it important to have updated maps of waterways in Alaska, or anywhere? Who needs to use these maps?  Why?
  2. Before this sonar technology was developed, how were depth maps created?
  3. We are anchored today.  How deep is the water under the ship? (1 fathom equals 6 feet, and the water is 32 fathoms deep now)
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Brett Hoyt, October 19, 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 19, 2006

Dan Wolfe, senior scientist at NOAA, at his workstation on board the research vessel the RONALD H. BROWN.
Dan Wolfe, senior scientist at NOAA, at his workstation on board

Weather from Bridge 
Visibility:  12nm(nautical miles)
Wind direction:  130º
Wind speed:  20 knots
Sea wave height: 5-7ft
Swell wave height: 3-4 ft
Sea level pressure: 1020.4 millibars
Sea temperature:  19.4ºC or 66 ºF
Air temperature:  19.2ºC or 66ºF
Cloud type: cumulus, stratocumulus

The Scientists 

Today we will be interviewing Dan Wolfe, a senior meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—NOAA for short.  Standing an imposing 6’3”, it seemed only fitting that our next scientist should be studying the heavens.  Mr. Wolfe is a 30-year veteran of NOAA and has been a scientist for the past 31 years.  Mr. Wolfe entered the Coast Guard in 1969 immediately after graduating high school.  He was initially assigned to the Coast Guard icebreaker “Glacier” transferring to the oceanographic unit where he staged scientific experiments.  He traveled to the Arctic and it was there that he discovered his soon to be life long passion for the atmosphere and all that is in it. Mr. Wolfe was a trained scuba diver while stationed on the Glacier. After leaving the Coast Guard he attended Metropolitan State College where he earned his degree in meteorology.  He has the distinction of being the first student to graduate in meteorology at this college.  It was while at Metropolitan College that Mr. Wolfe became a coop student working for NOAA. After earning his degree he went to work for NOAA as a meteorologist where for the next 30 years he has become one if its leading atmospheric scientists.  After seven years on the job he decided that he wanted to know more and enrolled at Colorado State University where he earned his masters degree.

This is a radiosonde, which measures relative humidity, temperature, barometric pressure, and winds as it passes through the atmosphere and radios its data back to the scientist.
This is a radiosonde, which measures relative humidity, temperature, barometric pressure, and winds as it passes through the atmosphere and radios its data back

Mr. Wolfe is one of the few individuals who has worked in BOTH the Arctic (North) and the Antarctic (South) (not just Antarctica but actually at the South Pole). His work has taken him to the depths of the Grand Canyon and to the Arctic more times than he cares to remember.

One of his more exciting job assignments with NOAA is managing a 1,000-ft research tower just off of I25 north of Denver Co.  When I asked Mr. Wolfe what message he would like to give to upcoming scientists he replied, “Kids should seek out paid/or unpaid internships while in high school. Look for internships within your community in careers that you think you might like.  This gives you the opportunity to try a job before investing money and time in college in a future you may not enjoy. If you try a job and discover you don’t like it, try something else until you find something you do like.  Be sure to give the job a chance though.”

NOAA Teacher at Sea, Mr. Hoyt, releasing a radiosonde off the aft deck
NOAA Teacher at Sea, Mr. Hoyt, releasing a radiosonde

The Machine 

One important scientific instrument used by a meteorologist is the radiosonde (pronounced radio sond). This device measures relative humidity, temperature, barometric pressure, and winds by utilizing the global positioning satellite system.  The radiosonde is battery activated then secured to a large helium balloon.  It is then released where it begins its ascent into the upper atmosphere, measuring humidity, temperature, and pressure sending these data back to the scientist via a digital radio frequency. Depending on the balloon used, these radiosondes can obtain heights in excess of 6 miles. The atmospheric data collected on this cruise will be shared with other scientists to help improve global weather computer models.

The Experiment 

There is no experiment as these data are transmitted via satellite link immediately after the flight is finished to the National Center for Environmental Prediction to be fed into their continuously running forecast models.

Classroom Activities 

Elememtary K-6: 

Ask the students, “What is weather?”  “Why is it important to predict the weather?” Have the students take a piece of drawing paper and divide it into four equal parts.  In each part have the students draw and color four different types of weather common to where they live.  Example could be sunny, rainy, partly cloudy, and snow.

Middle School:  

Why do we use calibrated thermometers to measure air temperature?   Ask students to answer on paper whether the classroom is hot, warm, cool, or cold and to estimate the actual temperature of the room.  Then compare the students’ answers to the actual temperature.  Then discuss the importance of a “standard.”  Without this “standard” scientists around the world would have no way of communicating what the atmosphere is doing.

Please examine the High School for more activities

High School: 

Everyday we hear on the radio, television, or newspaper that it will be sunny, partly cloudy, partly sunny, etc.  How do meteorologist arrive at this? Today we will learn how.

Divide the sky into eight parts.  Examine each part and count how many squares have clouds. There is no hard and fast rule on what to do with partially filled boxes

No squares having clouds-Clear or Sunny 

One to two squares having clouds-Mostly Clear or Mostly Sunny 

Three or four squares having clouds-Partly Cloudy or Partly Sunny 

Five, Six, or Seven squares having clouds-Mostly Cloudy 

Eight squares having clouds-Overcast or Cloudy Take the sky photo below and print it out. Draw a grid like the one above on top of the sky photo. Have the students write down what they think the day is.  Then compare the student’s answers. Is this an exact science?

Have your teacher take photos of the weather in your area and do your own.

hoyt_log8w

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Karen Meyers & Alexa Carey, August 30, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Karen Meyers & Alexa Carey
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV
August 15 – September 1, 2006

Mission: Ecosystem Monitoring
Geographical Area: Northeast U.S.
Date: August 30, 2006

Weather Data from Bridge 
Visibility: 10-12 nautical mile
Wind direction: 3.7 o
Wind speed:  8.5 kts
Sea wave height: 1’
Swell wave height: 2-3’
Seawater temperature: 18.8 C
Sea Level Pressure: 1014.2 mb
Cloud cover: 7/8

Science and Technology Log 

There was a spectacular sunrise this morning and then, during our next-to-last station Steve pointed out a sun dog in the sky above us. We’ve got one more station left to do – in Cape Cod Bay and then we’ll sail through the Cape Cod Canal and back to port at Woods Hole, about a day and a half early.  We will have completed 138 stations in total.  It will all turn into a set of numbers put out on the Web, at some point, and, when I see them, I’ll now know what went into producing them.

Tamara Browning, a teacher from Tenafly Middle School, Tenafly, NJ, and Karen Meyers deploy a drift buoy in the Gulf of Maine.
Tamara Browning, a teacher from Tenafly Middle School, Tenafly, NJ, and Karen Meyers deploy a drift buoy in the Gulf of Maine.

Personal Log – Karen Meyers 

The photo contest entries are up.  The “kids” watch came up with several entries and some of them are pretty cute.  I especially like the one of me, with a shrimp on my shoulder, on the cover of Time magazine, labeled “Teacher of the Year” and the caption “Teacher discovers the oceans are teeming with life.”  I still think we’ve got a good shot at winning. Voting opens at 1100 and closes at 1600.  The suspense is killing me!  It’s been a wonderful trip and there’s a lot about this life that I’ll miss including the constant and ever-changing beauty of the sea; the clean, fresh air; the spectacular sunrises; the 3 meals a day cooked for me; but, most of all, the camaraderie with an interesting and fun-loving group of people.

Personal Log – Alexa Carey 

All the photos are up and the competition is over with.  It’s great what the other group has come up with.  There’s a picture of Tamara and Karen peaking over the bongo nets, Don getting eaten up by the grab and Jerry “pickled” inside of a sample jar.  So far, we have no idea who’s going to win. I love our picture of Tony as a fairy.  As soon as you know Tony, though, that makes the picture all the more entertaining.

We’re almost off the boat.  I’m going to miss the crew terribly, especially Tony, Mike, Steve, Tim, Lino and Orlando.  Okay, I admit it…I’ll miss every single person A LOT!  =) I’ll miss talking with Kurt (XO/CO) and the rest of the officers, Tracy and Alicea.  It’s terrible that I miss these people already…especially because I haven’t left yet.

As soon as we get into port, many of the crew will head off to their homes.  It’s difficult on them because they are away from land for such a long period of time.  Respect is definitely deserved for these men and women who dedicate such a large part of their lives to helping forward knowledge of the oceans and its inhabitants.  I promised Orlando a picture of the Ling Cod I caught (my first fish ever) the week before I came out.  Although there is quite a bit of distance between all of us, I’ll give it my all to keep in touch with everyone when I get home.