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News and Events 2006
NOAA Ship RUDE Hosts Department of Homeland Security for Training Exercise
On December 7, NOAA Ship RUDE hosted four Department of Homeland Security (DHS) explosives detection K-9 units for training aboard the ship. After providing a safety briefing for RUDE crew, each of three USCG and one Federal Protective Service explosives detection K-9 units attempted to locate five different trace amounts of explosive compounds placed in various locations aboard the ship. RUDE proved to be a challenge for both the dogs and their handlers because of the ship's various systems, tight quarters, steep ladders, and a multitude of shipboard odors ranging from food to flares to fuel oil. The DHS units were very appreciative of the opportunity to train in a shipboard environment. Federal K-9 units are required to complete four hours of practical training monthly and are constantly looking for new locations and unique situations in which to conduct training exercises. To quote one of the DHS explosives officers, "If a drug detection K-9 team is not successful in their mission, some drugs get away. If one of our explosives K-9 units fails, people die and property is destroyed. Any new situation that we can expose these teams to, helps make us better when it counts." OMAO looks forward to more opportunities to strengthen our ties and alignment with DHS and DOD components and security activities.
Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez Presents a $30,000 Grant Aboard NOAA Ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE
 On December 8, NOAA Ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE hosted Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez and Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere VADM Conrad C. Lautenbacher during their trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. While on board, Secretary Gutierrez presented a $30,000 grant to the Western and Central Pacific Fishing Line Recycling Program. The grant was made possible through a partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA's Marine Debris Program. The recycling project has been funded as part of the Marine Debris Grants Program, which provides grants to improve our understanding of the impacts of marine debris and reduce and prevent debris in the marine environment.
Participants in the presentation ceremony included members of the multi-agency marine debris partnership, made up of federal, state, local, non-governmental, industry, and academia partners. Upon the conclusion of the ceremony, Secretary Gutierrez and VADM Lautenbacher were given a tour of OSCAR ELTON SETTE’s bridge and mission decks by LTJG Jason R. Saxe and ENS Sarah A.T. Harris, who described the various capabilities of the ship with an emphasis on the ship’s involvement in the marine debris removal program.
NOAA Ships DAVID STARR JORDAN and McARTHUR Return From Long Data Gathering Missions
Scientists onboard NOAA Research Vessels DAVID STARR JORDAN and McARTHUR II returned to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California, after spending a combined 240 days at sea gathering scientific information on marine life. “This was a Herculean research project that represents a true ecosystem-based approach to management,” said Dr. Lisa Ballance, Chief Scientist for the survey. “We surveyed almost 100,000 kilometers of ocean in one of the most remote areas of the Pacific Ocean, studying marine mammals, seabirds, marine turtles, squids and fishes, marine debris and oceanography.”
Read the NOAA Fisheries press release for the full story. You can also read more about the cruise in the San Diego Union Tribune article "Hooked on Mysteries."
Census of Coral Reefs Expedition Aboard NOAA Ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE
A research expedition aboard NOAA ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE was conducted in October to collect and identify many of the small plants and animals that live in and around one of the healthiest and least disturbed coral atolls in the world, French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. French Frigate Shoals is one of the atolls in the newly created Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. The expedition was coordinated by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Coral Reef Ecosystem Division and is part of the Census of Coral Reefs (CReefs), one of 17 projects under the larger international Census of Marine Life. Visit the CReefs site and read an article from the Honolulu Advertiser to learn more about the expedition and some of the discoveries.
RADM De Bow Presents Keel Plate to School Team
RADM De Bow traveled to Sacred Heart School in Southaven, Mississippi, October 25, 2006, to present a duplicate keel plate to the student team that won NOAA’s Name a NOAA Ship contest. The students competed to name NOAA’s third fisheries survey vessel (FSV), which will now be called PISCES after their winning suggestion.
The entire school, from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, met in an assembly to listen to RADM De Bow’s presentation about NOAA, OMAO, and the NOAA Corps. Also addressing the audience were the team’s teacher-sponsor Jeannine Foucault and team member Molly Mohler, who also spoke at the keel laying ceremony at Moss Point, Mississippi, last June.
RADM De Bow’s presentation—including video clips of the PISCES keel laying ceremony; the launch of FSV 2, HENRY B. BIGELOW; a P-3 ride through a hurricane; and tsunamis--was a big hit with the kids. They peppered him with questions like “Why are your shoes so shiny,” “how much does an airplane weigh,” and “was it scary flying into Katrina?” After his presentation, RADM De Bow helped pass out certificates to honor roll students as part of the assembly.
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Monument Trustees Partner in Marine Debris Removal
 Working from the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette, a 13-person marine debris team removed more than 13 tons of derelict fishing gear from the fragile coral reef environment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. This recent 28-day multi-agency removal effort was coordinated by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
Read the full NOAA News story about this project.
New Shipwreck Discovered During First Expedition to Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Since Marine Monument Designation
 NOAA marine archaeologists have confirmed the identity of a shipwreck discovered July 3 in the waters of the recently designated Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) Marine National Monument.
The team identified the wreck, found at Kure Atoll, as that of the 258-foot iron hulled cargo ship DUNNOTTAR CASTLE. The discovery was made during the first research expedition aboard NOAA ship HI'IALAKAI to the NWHI since it was designated a marine national monument on June 15.
Read NOAA's News Story for more information about the discovery. Logs of the expedition can be viewed at the National Marine Sanctuaries Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Marine National Monument Expedition Web page.
NOAA/OMAO Exercises G-IV and SWATH Contract Options
Gulfstream Tail Doppler Radar - NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) exercised a contract option with King Aerospace Inc. of Addison, Texas, for the construction, integration, and system testing for a tail Doppler radar (TDR) to be installed on the Gulfstream G-IV hurricane surveillance jet.
With the TDR system, the G-IV will be able to acquire three-dimensional hurricane core wind field data. The raw radar data will be processed onboard the aircraft through quality-control software being developed by NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division in Miami, Florida.
This quality-controlled data will then go into the new Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting model being developed by the National Weather Service’s Environmental Modeling Center in Suitland, MD. The model will be used by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center to aid forecasters in hurricane intensity forecasts. NOAA expects the system to reach full operational capability by the beginning of the 2009 hurricane season. Read the NOAA News Story for more details
New Coastal Mapping Vessel - NOAA also exercised an option with VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi, to complete the final design and build of a new Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull Coastal Mapping Vessel (SWATH CMV). VT Halter Marine completed the vessel’s preliminary design under a separate option.
The primary mission of the SWATH will be to map the full seafloor in waterways along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Caribbean Sea and Great Lakes, using side scan and multibeam technologies.
VT Halter Marine expects to deliver the SWATH by the summer of 2008. The vessel will be homeported at Fort Point in New Castle, New Hampshire, and will replace the 40-year-old RUDE. Locating the vessel at New Castle will significantly enhance coastal and ocean mapping research partnership opportunities with the NOAA Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire. Read the News Release for more details
 Name Newest NOAA Ship Contest Open to West Coast Students
Students in Washington, Oregon and California have an opportunity to contribute to federal maritime history by naming the newest fisheries survey vessel currently being built for the NOAA fleet. The Name NOAA's New Ship contest began September 20.
The contest is open to all students in grades 6 through 12 in the three West Coast states. The contest was created to encourage interest in scientific studies, particularly those relating to fisheries and the oceans.
The deadline for submission of entry packets is December 15. The winning team will be announced in March 2007. For more information on the contest, please visit http://www.education.noaa.gov/shipname/ and the full NOAA News story.
NOAA Aircraft Missions into Tropical Storms
 Scientists from NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD) and Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) were able to capture a substantial amount of data necessary to further their research during a number of aircraft missions into Hurricane Helene the week of September 17 - 23.
The HRD scientists flew several missions from Barbados aboard theGulfstream IV-SP and the Lockheed WP-3D Orion for the Saharan Air Layer Experiment, the most comprehensive study yet of the mitigating influence of Saharan dust on hurricane intensity. The G-IV crew flew two solo missions around gradually developing Helene on September 15-16 and then joined up with the WP-3D Orion for multi-aircraft coverage of the hurricane on September 18 and 20.
The two aircraft flew coordinated missions on alternating days gathering meteorological profile data from the highest altitudes possible using GPS dropsondes. The two-plane coverage allowed for the exploration of how much SAL air made it into the hurricane's core as Helene gradually moved into less an area with less SAL influence.
 The STAR scientists, which included scientists from the University of Massachusetts and the Jet Propulsion Lab, collected scatterometry data in regions of high wind and heavy precipitation to validate satellite-measured surface winds from QuickScat and WindSat. Additionally, they obtained data to evaluate a new instrument under development, the Imaging Wind and Rain Profiling system (IWRAP), which provides detailed profiles of wind speed and rain rate between the aircraft's altitude and the ocean surface. These experiments required multiple penetrations into the hurricane at relatively low levels of 5,000 to 7,000 feet.
Student Intern Takes the Prize Aboard ALBATROSS IV
For the first time, NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program partnered with the Office of Education to host a high school student intern aboard a NOAA ship. Alexa Carey, 17, returned to her senior year at Gold Beach High School in Gold Beach, Oregon, with an unusual take on "how I spent my summer vacation." Alexa spent two weeks in August working with scientists aboard ALBATROSS IV. Alexa was one of three winners of NOAA's "Taking the Pulse of the Planet" award sponsored by NOAA's Office of Education at this year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May. For her project “Effectiveness of Strobe Lights, Sound Frequency and Lasers in Reducing Salmon Entrainment through Hydropower Turbines,” Alexa won a paid NOAA internship, and chose to work aboard ALBATROSS IV.
Teacher at Sea Karen Meyers, who teaches 7th and 8th grade science at Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills, Maryland, served as Alexa's chaperone during ALBATROSS IV's ecosystem monitoring cruise. Read NOAA's news story for more information and pictures. To read Alexa's and TAS Karen Meyer's logs, visit www.teacheratsea.noaa.gov/2006/meyers/index.html.
NOAA Aircraft Missions into Tropical Storms Debbie and Ernesto
N42, Lockheed WP-3D Orion flew a 9.4 hour flight into Tropical Storm Ernesto on August 29. This National Hurricane Center tasked mission was primarily to map the surface wind field around the storm in anticipation of its landfall into southern Florida as a potential minimal hurricane.
A secondary objective, as part of the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting intensity forecast improvement research effort, was to map the three-dimensional horizontal wind field using the aircraft's tail Doppler radar, to test some of the Imaging Wind and Rain Processor equipment for the Ocean Winds experiment, and to perform further evaluation on our ability to stream flight level and radar data real-time over the high-speed satellite communications system to a ground station. A second flight was conducted August 31.
N49, Gulfstream IV-SP: From August 27 through August 30, the day and night crews flew six surveillance missions around Tropical Storm Ernesto. These round-the-clock maximum-endurance flights were aloft for a total of 50 hours. During these flights, 140 GPS dropwindsondes were launched, and 21,625 miles were covered. These flights helped the forecast models run by the Environmental Modeling Center at National Centers for Environmental Prediction to bring the forecast in line with a Florida landfall, and keep the forecast reasonable while TS Ernesto interacted with the mountainous east end of Cuba.
NOAA Diving Center Hosts Training in Derelict Fishing Gear Removal
For the second time in 14 months, the NOAA Diving Center (NDC) was host to training on derelict fishing gear removal, which took place the week of August 14. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with the Northwest Straits Foundation (part of the NOAA Fisheries Restoration Center community-based restoration program), provided training for Army and Navy divers on techniques and methods for proper removal of derelict fishing gear so they can clean up restricted waters.
The divers used the NDC training facility for classroom work and then in-water demonstrations on how to properly remove derelict gear. Later in the week they then proceeded to open water off Bellingham, Washington, for removal of actual derelict nets. The Navy divers utilized surface-supplied dive gear and staged their operation off a USCG buoy tender, demonstrating a true cooperative effort by many different federal agencies working toward a common goal to protect the environment.
NOAA Ship FAIRWEATHER Completes NOAA Fisheries Mission:
 On August 20 FAIRWEATHER completed a 21-day NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) mission in the Bering Sea. A true "One-NOAA" project aboard one of NOAA's multi-mission platforms, the FISHPAC cruise was conducted to gather habitat data for the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
The NOAA "FISHPAC" project is a multiyear collaboration between the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the NOS Office of Coast Survey (Hydrographic Surveys Division), and the Office of Marine and Aircraft Operations (Marine Operations Center - Pacific), with significant technical support from the UNH Center for Coastal Ocean Mapping (Durham, New Hampshire) and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (Keyport, Washington). The primary objective is to evaluate the utility of acoustic backscatter for characterizing essential fish habitat (EFH). In July-August 2006, acoustic surveys will be conducted along strong gradients of groundfish abundance, as estimated using trawl survey catches at fixed stations over many years.
A total of five 140-nautical mile transects over long-term trawl-survey stations were surveyed three times to gather bathymetric, backscatter and ground truthing data that will be used to support the Essential Fish Habitat mandate, serve as the basis for multiple scientific publications and up to two PhD and five Masters degree programs at the University of New Hampshire. Data from one pass over each line will be processed for submission to the NOS/Office of Coast Survey, which will provide soundings for uncharted areas in Bristol Bay.
Five separate sensor packages were put over the side, including the newest Klein 7180 Long Range Side Scan Sonar, to gather bathymetry, imagery, bottom samples, and still- and video-footage along the transects. An ultra-short baseline (USBL) tracking/positioning system was also deployed to obtain precise positioning of the deployed sensors. FAIRWEATHER also contributed to the NWS mission with frequent meteorological observations from a very sparsely observed area of the Bering Sea.
Following an inport in Dutch Harbor, FAIRWEATHER returned to its second season of work in the Shumagin Islands where it is working in tandem with RAINIER. This "One-Fleet" mission uses both platforms for what they are best suited: RAINIER for inshore hydrography with its multitude of survey launches, and FAIRWEATHER for offshore areas with its two launches and higher-resolution shipboard multibeam systems.
NOAA Aircraft and Ship Participate in Texas Air Quality Study / Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study
 Two of NOAA's aircraft, a Lockheed W-P3 Orion and a Twin Otter, and NOAA ship RONALD H. BROWN are three of the platforms being used to conduct the Texas Air Quality Study and Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition Study.
This intensive field study will focus on providing a better understanding of air quality and the impact of air pollution caused by ozone and aerosols on human health and regional haze. The study area will be Texas and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and will be conducted August 1 through mid-September.
For more information about the project, read the NOAA News Release, and visit the 2006 TexAQS/GoMACCS web page. Also available is a story about the project in the Baytown Sun newspaper.
Senator DeMint Tours G-IV
 On August 17, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), Chairman of the Disaster Prevention and
Prediction Subcommittee for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, held a hearing on the 2006 hurricane season in Beaufort, South Carolina, at the Marine Air Station. At his request, the Aircraft Operations Center flew the Gulfstream-IV jet to the Air Station to be available for VIP and media tours.
After a briefing by the Air Station's Commanding Officer about what would happen to the Air Station in the event of a major landfalling hurricane, the Senator and his staff toured the GIV. They were briefed on various aspects of hurricane research, reconnaissance and surveillance conducted by the G-IV and P-3 aircraft.  Jack Parrish, Meteorologist/Flight Director, showed the Senator a series of flight tracks of the major hurricanes that the aircraft has flown into and explained how the aircraft is instrumental in improving track forecasts for NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS).
Dr. John Jones, Deputy NWS Assistant Administrator and the NOAA witness at the hearing, toured the aircraft as well. With the G-IV in the background, Senator DeMint followed with a stand-up question and answer session with local print and television news media. The media and Marine Corps base personnel then toured the aircraft.
AOC Commanding Officer CAPT Steve Kozak, Aircraft Commander CDR Michele Finn, Pilots LCDR Jeff Hagan and LCDR Will Odell, Equipment Specialist Gordon Kitson, Meteorologists Jack Parrish and Marty Mayeaux, and Public Affairs Specialist Lori Bast represented AOC aboard the G-IV.
Senator Mikulski Visits NOAA Ship DELAWARE II
 On August 22, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), ranking minority member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, visited NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and DELAWARE II in Woods Hole, Masachusette.
The purpose of the visit to DELAWARE II was to learn more about OMAO's mission, platforms, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps. After a tour of the NEFSC lab, she toured the ship and got a full explanation of ship systems and past and future projects.
The Senator spent nearly an hour and half talking about issues—primarily those involving the Marine and Aircraft Operations Centers. Topics included wage mariner and NOAA Corps matters, fuel costs, unmanned aircraft systems, autonomous underwater vehicles and the HENRY B. BIGELOW.
Into the Fury: WP-3D Orions and Hurricane Forecasting
Want to see what NOAA's WP-3D Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft looks like and how it provides information to NOAA forecasters about tropical storms and hurricanes? Florida Today has interactive files showing the aircraft, the science stations, and equipment used to collect information on hurricanes.
NOAA's Lake Amphibian Aircraft Participates in Safe Seas 2006
 On August 9, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary’s LT Julie Helmers, Pilot, and Mr. Ben Waltenberger, Physical Scientist, flew the NOAA 64 Lake Amphibian aircraft in Safe Seas 2006, a very important drill. This exercise simulated the collision of a cargo ship with an oil tanker in which 356,000 gallons of oil spilled.
The spill was simulated by a biodegradable green dye, and to help establish trajectories of spills, numerous drift cards were deployed. NOAA 64 was first overhead to conduct a wildlife survey with Research Coordinator Jan Roletto from Gulf of the Farallones. This survey pinpointed positions of a whale, numerous sea lions and hundreds of birds within the simulated spill area so that the Incident Command Center could best set the exact location for the C-130 to drop the “dispersant” in an effort to prevent environmental impacts. The secondary mission of the first flight was to establish initial flow of the drift cards.
After NOAA 64 departed the drill area for Half Moon Bay airport to switch passengers, the dispersant portion of the exercise commenced. NOAA 64 was back on scene with NOAA videographer and media coordinator for the National Marine Sanctuaries David Hall to film the final dispersant run as well as all vessels participating in the Safe Seas drill. NOAA 64 continued its participation the following day with a final aerial search for drift cards and an over flight of Devil’s Slide Rock to determine the effects of low flights over noise sensitive bird populations. See the NOAA News Story for more information about this drill.
 Scientists Aboard NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER Study Invasive Lionfish
NOAA Ocean Service researchers, in collaboration with the Essential Image Source Foundation, embarked aboard the NOAA research vessel Nancy Foster to further examine the status in the Atlantic Ocean of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish. Research will be conducted off the coast of North Carolina from water depths of 115 to 150 feet deep, from Cape Lookout to Cape Fear. Visit NOAA News Online for the full story.
Four NOAA Aircraft Support Harbor Seal Project
On August 3, NOAA's Gulfstream Jet Prop Commander, leaves to join three of NOAA’s aircraft; two Commanders and one Twin Otter, in Alaska. NOAA 51 and 45 will be based out of Kodiak, AK, and NOAA 47 and 48 will be based out of Cordova, AK, all in support of the Harbor Seal project.
The project is run by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, under NOAA Fisheries Service's Alaska Fisheries Science Center. This is the largest number of aircraft that AOC has had in Alaska at one time in recent history. The aircraft are equipped with GPS tracking units, which will allow real time Internet-based viewing.
NOAA Gulfstream G-IV Flies First 2006 Tropical Storm Surveillance Mission
The NOAA G-IV high-altitude jet flew its first surveillance mission of the 2006 season profiling the atmospheric conditions around developing Tropical Storm Chris on August 2. The G-IV crew flew for 8.6 hours, launched 28 GPS dropwindsondes, and covered 3,671 nautical miles around the storm.
Data from the flight was not only assimilated in real-time into forecast models at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction at Suitland, MD, but were also analyzed immediately after the mission by Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) personnel and the Hurricane Research Division for clues regarding what made Chris weaken so rapidly during and following the G-IV mission.
WP-3D Orion Aircraft Flies Ocean Heat Budget Survey
An Aircraft Operations Center WP-3D, N42RF, conducted an ocean heat budget survey in the central Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, 27 July, in support of a tasked mission from the National Hurricane Center and National Center for Environmental Prediction's Environmental Modeling Center.
A team of four scientists, led by Dr. Peter Black from NOAA¹s Hurricane Research Division and Dr. Nick Shay, Prof. of Oceanography the University of Miami, conducted this 9.1 hour mission, crisscrossing the central Gulf at an altitude of 5000 ft., dropping a total of 87 Airborne Expendable Bathythermographs (AXBT's) along the path of the aircraft.
The AXBT's measure the water temperature from the surface down to 1000 feet. The purpose of the flight was to gather information about the Gulf of Mexico water heat content that will be used in several coupled ocean-atmosphere HWRF models to improve hurricane intensity forecasts in the event a storm should pass over the warm core region of the Gulf.
This type of research data will be critical input to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS, a partnership of more than 60 countries under development that will revolutionize the understanding of Earth and how it works.
NOAA Accepts Delivery of New Fisheries Survey Vessel HENRY B. BIGELOW
 On July 20, NOAA accepted delivery of HENRY B. BIGELOW. This is the second of four 208-foot fisheries survey vessels (FSVs) to be delivered by VT Halter Marine, with the third ship, PISCES, and the as-yet unnamed fourth ship in various stages of construction. HENRY B. BIGELOW will support NOAA research efforts in conservation and management of fisheries and marine ecosystems primarily in northeastern U.S. waters.
The ship is named for Henry Bryant Bigelow, the founding director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a pioneering ocean researcher whose extensive investigations are recognized as the foundation of modern oceanography.
HENRY B. BIGELOW is the first NOAA vessel to be named by students through a NOAA educational outreach contest. A team of five students and their marine biology teacher from Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire, won the contest. Mrs. Judd Gregg, wife of the senior senator from New Hampshire, is the sponsor of the ship.
The ship will be home ported in New England, although a permanent base has not been named. The ship will be based temporarily at Naval Station Newport, in Newport, Rhode Island. The tentative commissioning date is October 5 at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
Read the NOAA News Online Story for more details.
PISCES Keel Laying Ceremony
 On Friday, June 23, NOAA celebrated the laying of the keel of NOAA ship PISCES and cutting the steel for the fourth ship. PISCES, is the third of four planned fisheries survey vessels under contract with VT Halter Marine in Moss Point, Mississippi. The keel-laying event marks the first major milestone in the construction of the ship. The steel-cutting ceremony marks the beginning of construction.
The ship's sponsor is Dr. Annette Nevin Shelby, wife of Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). Dr. Shelby welded her signature on the keel plate with the help of a welder from VT Halter Marine. The keel plate will be affixed to the ship at a later time. VADM Conrad Lautenbacher was the keynote speaker. RADM De Bow represented OMAO and Dr. Steve Murawski represented NOAA Fisheries. The team of students and teacher from Sacred Heart School in Southaven, Mississippi, who won NOAA’s ship naming contest attended the ceremony.
Read the NOAA News Story about the keel laying and steel cutting for more information.
Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Conduct Flyover and Open House to Honor 50th Anniversary of Hurricane Research
On May 22, a NOAA WP-3D Orion (N42RF) and an Air Force Reserve C-130 hurricane hunter did three flyovers of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, in Miami, FL, in honor of the 50th anniversary of hurricane research. On May 23, both hurricane aircraft were available at the Opa Locka Airport for public tours as part of the same 50th anniversary celebration. Read the NOAA news story about the past 50 years of hurricane research.
NOAA Ship ALBATROSS Recovers Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 
On May 19, the ALBATROSS IV recovered an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that began malfunctioning shortly after Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) scientists released it last week. The instrument is part of an array of AUV gliders that study the baleen whale distribution in the Great South Channel, a critical marine mammal habitat between Cape Cod and Georges Bank. In addition to other measurements, WHOI scientists can pinpoint the location and type of marine mammal using the four AUV sound recorders and implementing triangulation techniques.
 NOAA Ship HI'IALAKAI Departs for 25-day Scientific Expedition
On May 19, NOAA Ship HI'IALAKAI departed Pearl Harbor for a 25-day mission into the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and south to Johnston Atoll. The project is in support of NOAA's Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Coral Bleaching project.
Sardine Survey Aboard NOAA Ship OSCAR DYSON
During April 12 - May 8, NOAA ship OSCAR DYSON conducted a sardine survey for the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC). This was the first time the survey was conducted from the OSCAR DYSON. Read more about the survey and see video footage from the cruise by visiting the SWFSC Fish News story.
NOAA Hurricane Preparedness Campaign May 1 - 5
 NOAA's Orion W-P3 hurricane hunter aircraft, the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center personnel and forecasters from the NOAA National Hurricane Center conducted a 5-day 5-city tour to increase hurricane awareness and encourage preparedness in vulnerable coastal and inland communities along the Gulf coast and Florida May 1 through 5. To see which cities were visited and learn more about the mission of the tour, read NOAA's Online News Story.
NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON Visits Baltimore, Maryland
 NOAA ship THOMAS JEFFERSON participated in Volvo Ocean Race activities in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on April 28-30. THOMAS JEFFERSON, which supports NOAA’s nautical charting mission, participated in activities that highlighted NOAA’s contributions to the safe navigation of the racers.
The ship was docked at the National Aquarium at Baltimore pier, and the public was afforded an opportunity to see a NOAA ship inside and out during public tours led by officers and crew. More than 900 people toured the THOMAS JEFFERSON over the weekend. NOAA Corps officers and civilians from NMAO greeted the public and answered questions outside the ship. Additional ship tours were scheduled for NOAA and Commerce VIP's and a class from Manheim Township Middle School (Lancaster, PA) that won a contest to predict the arrival time of the first sailboat to reach Baltimore. On May 1 the ship conducted a Congressional cruise from Baltimore to Annapolis before resuming operations in the Chesapeake Bay.
Groundbreaking Expedition Aboard NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN
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Photo by Russ Hopcroft
UAF/NOAA/CoML |
A team of Census of Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ) scientists from 11 nations was aboard the RONALD H. BROWN for a 20-day expedition in April to investigate zooplankton at depths never sampled before. Researchers collected specimens from the Northern Sargasso Sea, the Southern Sargasso Sea and the North Equatorial Region east of the Leeward Islands. Read more about their groundbreaking mission at http://www.cmarz.org/CMarZ_Cruise_April/index.htm and the article "Zooplankton DNA-Sequenced on Rolling Sea" on the Census of Marine Life Web site.
NOAA Ship DELAWARE II Retrieves Drifting Buoy
 The NOAA Ship DELAWARE II recovered a National Data Buoy Center NOMAD buoy on April 27. The buoy, which had broken free of its mooring and was heading east in the Gulf Stream, was found 145 miles southeast of Nantucket Island, 99 miles from its mooring. Being 30 feet long and weighing 12,000 pounds, the buoy would have to be towed back to port. Using the rescue boat, two crew members attached a towline to the buoy, but on-scene conditions precluded divers from assessing the under water conditions of the buoy. Once conditions improved, divers found that over 100 feet of heavy anchor chain dangled from the buoy. The divers attached a line to the chain and hoisted it aboard the ship where it was cut. After cutting the chain the DELAWARE II headed to Woods Hole. The buoy was handed off to the USCG twenty four hours after being located. Read more about the recovery and see more pictures at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's E-zine "FFiles".
 NOAA and U.S. Coast Guard Conduct Medical Evacuation Drill
On April 24, 2006, NOAA ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE conducted a medical evacuation drill with a United States Coast Guard District 14 HH-65 helicopter. The SETTE rendezvoused with the HH-65 during a fire drill while transiting from Honolulu to the Island of Hawaii. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer was lowered to the ship from the helicopter (see picture on the right) and then directed the crew in the proper way to handle the tagline and rescue basket. After forty-five minutes the helicopter retrieved the rescue swimmer and headed back to the airfield, but not before making one last pass to give the scientists a chance to snap some photos.
 NOAA Aircraft Conducts Flood Survey Flight of the Red River
On April 12 CDR Mark Moran and LTjg Pat Didier flew NOAA’s Rockwell Aero Commander (N51RF) on a Red River Flood survey flight with Mike DeWeese, Senior Hydrologist, and Andrea Holz, Hydrologist, from the NWS North Central River Forecast Center in Chanhassen, MN, aboard. One of the areas surveyed was the Pembina River along the US-Canadian border, a river that has proved difficult to forecast. The hydrologist forecasters were grateful for the opportunity to view locations of breaches and overflows. “Thanks for allowing the pilots to fly us over the Pembina River yesterday. This is an area where we had relatively little information about levees, dikes, breakouts, etc. and has consequently caused us considerable trouble in forecasting this year. The ability to view the river from the air during the flood was extremely valuable to the RFC and has resolved many of our forecast questions. Please thank the pilots for us as they were very accommodating to our needs,” wrote Mr. DeWeese in an email to Tom Carroll, Director, NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center.
The full story can be found at http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2611.htm
For Aerial photos of the flight, go to National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center's (NOHRSC) Web page of digital aerial photography (http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/snowsurvey/photos/index.html?year=2006&survey=14&sort=line)
OREGON II Completes Annual
Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise
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| LT Adams prepares to
release 48.4 pound striped bass. (Photograph
by Stephen D. Taylor, North Carolina Division
of Marine Fisheries; provided courtesy
of the National Marine Fisheries Service
and U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise
team.) |
OREGON II recently wrapped
up its annual cooperative winter tagging cruise
with some record-breaking results. According
to Chief Scientist Perry Thompson, "Any
way you analyze it, this year's cruise was
highly successful. We broke all the
records except for total striped bass tagged,
for which we still came in third place overall,
at 4,445 tagged. This is topped only by the
first and second place records also set by
the OREGON II, in 2000 and 1994, respectively. We
tagged a record 9,555 spiny dogfish out of
a total of 11,988 that we physically handled. We
caught six Atlantic sturgeon in one haul, and
tagged 24, caught one recapture and sampled
tissue from four others, for a total of 29
encountered, all records. We tagged twelve
sexually mature horseshoe crabs, also a record
high number. Notable by their absence
or near-absence from this year's samples were
red drum, spotted sea trout, spot, and Atlantic
mackerel and menhaden. Notable unusual
catches were the American lobster and juvenile
haddock. The largest striper was the
big 48.4-pounder. The smallest was a
fish in the neighborhood of 300 mm..."
Visit
the Maryland
Fish and Wildlife Service Web site to
see other pictures and find out more about
the cruise.
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