Tag: whales

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Tamil Maldonado, July 22, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Tamil Maldonado
Onboard NOAA Ship Fairweather
July 18 – 28, 2005

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: North Pacific
Date: July 22, 2005

Science and Technology Log

FOCI… Today I have been working hand in hand with scientists, throwing nets, collecting depth, pressure, temperature, and chlorophyll data.  We have also been washing nets, getting survey of larvae, writing it down in sheets database, labeling, freezing larvae and chlorophyll samples.  We analyze some graphs we were getting from the experiments.

Here are some questions I have… how is global warming affecting ecosystems? How do fish overcome these changes?  Do they go up or down in the ocean columns?  Are they changing their nursery places?  How is their behavior in comparison to other years? Which parameters affect them most: salinity or temperature?  Some of these questions are being answered by the scientists, and others are still unanswered for which we are trying to find the answers. It seems that Alaskan fish can adapt easily to salinity changes.  Remember that glaciers are melting more continuously than before and fresh water (since it is less dense than seawater) stays in the surface, which means there is a change in salinity and temperature in the ocean.  Therefore there could be changes in fish behavior and in their ecosystem.  It seems the larvae and fish will be affected by temperatures.  They could be moving from ocean columns to get to the right temperature.  But they also need food like plankton that maybe stays at a different column of seawater.  That will be a survival problem.

Scientists are focusing their work on commercial fish such as Pollock and Pacific Halibut. It is the first time they have done this survey during summer.  They want to have a template for next year to compare data with.  Later we could do some statistical models, and mathematical models to compare in terms of years or data columns.

Navigation… This afternoon I as actually sailing the boat…  I had the power on my hands.  I needed to be really focused and follow instructions at all times.  We also calculated times for some positions, stations where we were going to do survey.  I also calculated True Speed, which depends on relative speed, wind speed, angles and locations of the boat.

I had the chance to see whales, little fish and a jelly fish of the size of my 4 fingers.

I also did some hydrographic studies of the region,  got some data, pictures and depths of the ocean.

We had problems with the coaxial cable again and I got some other information about sonars that I started to read.  I even worked out today!

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Kathy Virdin, July 28, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathy Virdin
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 20 – 28, 2004

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Date: July 28, 2004

Latitude:58 degrees 01.110 N.
Longitude: 153 degrees 16.529 W.
Visibility: Less than 1 nautical mile
Wind direction: Light
Wind speed: Airs
Sea wave height: 0 ft.
Swell wave height: 0 ft.
Sea water temperature: 9.4 C.
Sea level pressure: 1003.9 mb.
Cloud cover: Cloudy/ foggy

Science and Technology Log

Today we have the exciting assignment of surveying the site of an 1860’s wreck of a Russian vessel. We’ll be making black and white images of the site of the wreck, giving archaeologists the depths of the whole area of wreckage. What makes this find so unusual, according to the Kodiak News, July 16, 2004, is that divers have already found a cylinder that spells out the name of the vessel “Kad’yak”. It is so rare to find an identifying object, that it happens in only about one out of a hundred sunken wreck findings. The Maritime Studies Program of Eastern Carolina University has a permit form the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the National Science Foundation, and NOAA to do research on the site. They have sent down divers through the month of July and they have found a cannon, deck braces, a ballast pile, and three anchors. This has been identified as the oldest wreck ever found in Alaska waters. These samples all help to identify and date the wreck. After careful cleaning and preservation treatments, they will be put on display in various museums. Our survey will be a multi-beam swath survey, made from several of our launches, that will take several hours. We may not know much immediately from our survey, because all the data will need to be processed, cleaned and sent to the cartographers for charting. Perhaps we’ll read more about it in days to come in the newspapers or scientific journals.

Virdin 7-28-04 image1

Personal Log

I was excited to know that we were traveling through Whale Pass today and when I went out to the flying bridge to get a good look at the area, I saw a whale, quite near the ship. It was the first time I’ve seen a whale that close and it stayed on the surface for several minutes. When a whale is spotted, they make an announcement to all hands that a whale is spotted on port side or starboard side. Everyone grabs their cameras to try and get a good picture. I tried too, but I don’t know if it’ll turn out, as they are notoriously hard to film. They move through the water so gracefully and quickly that photographs are hard to come by. As we are moving through an area of straits, the weather is cloudy and foggy, but when the fog lifts, it brings a lovely view of the mountains. I’ll be headed to Homer, Alaska tomorrow for a few days of sightseeing, then home and back to the classroom. What an adventure this has been! Thank you NOAA!!

Virdin 7-28-04 image2

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Kathy Virdin, July 20, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kathy Virdin
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 20 – 28, 2004

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Date: July 20, 2004

Time: 2:20 p.m.
Latitude: 55 degrees 39.4 N
Longitude: 158 degrees 00.3 W
Visibility: 10 nautical miles (nm)
Wind direction: Northwest
Wind speed: 7 kts
Sea wave height: 0-1 ft.
Swell wave height:2-3 ft.
Sea water temperature:13.3 degrees Celsius
Sea level pressure:1010.1mb.
Cloud cover:3/8 partly cloudy

Science and Technology Log

Today we reached the point where we would begin our surveys. I watched the survey technicians lower a Seabird (sound velocity profile unit) into the water, then raise it back up and hook it into a computer, where they could download the information. This will give them the salinity (salt content), temperature and pressure of the water. They lowered the Seabird 117 meters down into the water, before retrieval. At the same time, from the hull of the ship, a transducer sound wave emitter is sending sound waves to the bottom and measuring the time it takes for their return. From this information, they will calculate the distance to the floor of the ocean. They use this data from the Seabird to help them make corrections in the sound wave speeds from the transducer. The salinity, temperature and pressure will cause variations in the speed of sound, so they need to correct for this effect to gain an accurate depth measurement.

This information is being processed and viewed by cartographers (map designers) who will take what data the RAINIER gives them to update old maps or develop new maps and charts. These maps are used by fishermen, geologists or anyone who navigates through these Alaskan waters. We are headed for the Shumagin Islands where we will send out launches (smaller boats) to measure depths in places where the Rainier might not otherwise go. I found it interesting to note that environmentalists would also use this information, since they know where certain species of fish are likely to live, and they can decide how best to protect them if they are endangered. We will go back and forth three times in one plotted line to make sure our data is accurate and complete. When we send out a launch in more shallow water, they will use a different sonar device, called a Reson. It emits higher sound waves which will give a more accurate reading. For middle to deep depth measurement, they will use the Elac sonar and a vertical beam echo sounder which goes straight down that can be used for shoreline measurements. Because Alaska has such rough terrain, it’s important to get accurate measurements for those who use her waters.

Personal Log

I am amazed by how specific the data is that the survey technicians collect and how well everyone knows their job. This is truly a finely tuned, professional organization. Everyone has been so kind to answer my many questions even though I’m sure I’ve gotten in their way. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Plot room, where the data is logged into the computers and then interpreted by the technicians. Outside, it’s a beautiful, sunny day, which is the first pretty weather we’ve had. We saw a pod of whales, recognizable by the blow of water coming from their nostrils. I could see them really well through the high-powered binoculars that belong to the ship. I am working on a list of questions that I will use to interview different members of the crew, as well as the scientists so I can take this information back to my students, as they learn what the roles are on a NOAA vessel. Someday, I want my students to be the next generation of scientists that use the knowledge we are gaining today to frame the discoveries they will make in the future.

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Sena Norton, July 15, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Sena Norton
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
July 6 – 15, 2004

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Date: July 15, 2004

Location: In transit to Kodiak
Latitude: 55 deg 50.440’ N
Longitude: 154 deg 13.187’W
Visibility: 10+ nm
Direction: 060
Wind Speed: 11 kts
Sea wave height: 1-2 ft
Swell wave height: 2-3 ft
Seawater temperature: 12.2 deg C
Sea level pressure: 1011.9 mb
Cloud Cover: 6/8
Weather: Partly cloudy with spots of rain and fog.
Temp 12.8 deg C

Plan of the Day:
Transit to Kodiak, arrival Friday morning 0900 hours.

Science and Technology Log

There is not much science going on during a transit except for cleaning the data that was recovered and doing some analysis. Most everyone is either on watch or in their rack catching up on sleep before or after their watches.

Fresh water is made on board from salt water when the fresh water tanks get low. It is an easy process but like all desalination it takes a large amount of energy. There are not really deep-set conservation issues on board, but they ask for people to use good judgment. Wash full loads of laundry, take quick showers and not waste water in other forms. The water is filtered and the salt is removed, bromide is added to sterilize it and finally it is then run through processors that measure its purity. I have not personally seen a difference in water quality from the water that was pumped on-board and the desalinated water that the ship made. However, I am even more conscious of the water that I use because it is a limiting factor out at sea.

Personal Log

Last night during our transit there was a call from the bridge of whales on the starboard bow. Sure enough 180 degrees and as far as you could see were whales. You could see their blow mist and then ever so often see them breech or dive down and show their flukes. Anytime I see a whale my heart races, I was jumping like a kid during Christmas to see that many whales all collected together. What an experience!

SW region: takes in Kodiak Island, the AK peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. Kodiak was the first Russian capital city and home to many brown bear. Many of the Aleutian Island communities are isolated. The environment is very harsh and limits the plant and animal production. Some of the Aleutian Islands cross the 180 meridian, making AK the most eastern state in the union. They are closer to Tokyo than to Anchorage.

Question of the Day:

How many days could the ship go without making its water?

According to the Chief Engineer, with this many people on-board the storage capacity of the water tanks the RAINIER would be out of water in 5 days. That is why it is important for fresh water to be made from salt water.