Greenversations

Day 6 (9.10.08):

We all seem a little bummed that today is our last day at sea. Correction: most of us are bummed, some of the landlubbers that haven’t been feeling too great are anxious to get back on land. We should be pulling into San Francisco around 7 p.m. tonight. I think it’s going to be great to go through the Golden Gate, hopefully it won’t be too foggy and we’ll actually see the bridge.

Since the survey is over and we’re just in transit, we are going to look for marine mammals. Hopefully we’ll spot a few!

We just pulled into San Francisco! I’m sitting in my room typing, trying to avoid packing and the reality that the adventure is over.

Off the Farallon Islands we saw a humpback whale, dolphins, seals and sea lions!

Going through the Golden Gate was amazing. We really haven’t seen the sun since we left Eureka and oddly enough, when we first spotted the Golden Gate Bridge, we actually saw that there it was sunny in San Francisco! We all went to the stern of the boat, snapping photos – everyone needs a picture of being on the boat with the Golden Gate Bridge above us! Amy’s family went to the bridge to see the ship pass through. When Captain Jere realized that someone’s family was up there, he came down, told us to plug our ears and blew the horn for them!

It’s great to be home, but I’m sad it’s over.

Day 5 (9.9.08):

Since pushing off on Sunday morning, we’ve lost three scientists to seasickness at different times. Fortunately, we’re all stoked to be doing hands on work; no one has a problem covering shifts when someone doesn’t feel well. Last night’s transit was particularly hard on some folks, but [knocking on wood] I sleep like a baby on this boat and luckily I haven’t gotten sick at all. I find the rocking hypnotic, but a few others don’t share my sentiments.

We are way ahead of schedule. There were 12 CTD deployments scheduled – and four were completed last night, leaving 8 for today. My shift doesn’t start until 2 p.m, so I’ve spent most of the day wandering around the ship, talking to scientists and the crew. The seas are a bit rougher today, so walking around on the ship has been particularly challenging. Walking is more like a zigzag through the ship, and I’ve been bumping into things constantly. I walked up to the stern of the ship and watched the boat go over waves and come crashing down. The seas have been so rough that some waves were above the height of the back deck – we took a sharp turn and some waves crashed over the deck!

So far, the only marine mammals we’ve seen were at seals at the dock in Eureka. Emily, one of the deck technicians on the crew spotted a whale yesterday or the day before, so we’ve all had our eyes peeled. Oddly enough, a hummingbird was flying around so Emily and Amanda (the chief steward) brought some sugar water out for the little guy. Kim, the first mate, told us that the hummingbird flew up into the bridge and flew out.

I’m hearing that the Captain cancelled the last CTD site as the seas are too rough, so we only have 3 samples left before the survey is complete! The last sample is our deepest on this survey at about 500 meters. For this survey’s final sample we all agreed to meet outside and celebrate a successful, safe survey.

It’s about 9 p.m. and the last sample is complete. With the last sample complete, we all cheered and thanked Allan for his great work on the survey. We all met on the back deck as planned to see the CTD surface from the depths one last time. When the last CTD sample was on its way back to the surface, Tina and I went down to the back deck. On our way down, my feet slipped out from under me and I slid (or fell..) all the way down the stairs. None of the EPA folks caught it – they were hypnotized by the science, but when I looked up, two of the guys on the crew were looking right at me. They saw the entire thing. When they saw that the only thing bruised was my ego, they laughed. So embarrassing…but I’m glad Margaret didn’t get it on camera.

This has been a great team effort. Being on a ship is a bit like a family – we all work, eat and when we can, goof off together. The crew has been great to work with all around, very professional, friendly, they take the time to answer our questions and most importantly, they ensure our safety – correcting us if we forget a hard hat, life vest or anything else that that could put us in harm’s way. For me, the best part about this experience was getting my hands dirty while collecting data and getting to know people in our office that we might not otherwise meet in our daily work. This has been a fascinating experience, I’m anxious to see the results of the survey and I’d love to do it again.

Next stop: San Francisco!

Day 4 (9.8.08):

This afternoon, Eugenia used her plankton sampler to take a deep water plankton sample. It’s exciting to have this kind of opportunity because Eugenia usually samples off piers. She’ll use this information to try to figure out plankton characteristics that can be tied to red tides and other bio-toxic occurrences that compromise our ability to each shell fish. VIDEO: See Eugenia sampling.

The previous shift finished all the grabs, so my shift moved onto using the CTD, which stands for Conductivity, Temperature and Depth. Sieving for critters was fun yesterday, but I was excited to do something new. A CTD measures the water’s characteristics and will be used in conjunction with the other samples to determine how the HOODS site is performing and will give scientists a better idea of water quality in the area. The CTD is deployed off the side of the ship, dropped down — almost but not quite — to the ocean floor.

As readings are taken continuously with depth, the information is displayed real time on a computer screen and saved in a computer file in the Data Acquisition Center (DAQ). Usually a scientist and a member of the tech crew monitors the data coming in to see any important features at a particular location and make sure the device is working.

Our shift ended around 9:30. We were strictly on CTD sampling; this is by far the most nerve wracking process as two doors open and the CTD is deployed off the side of the ship – which leaves room for falling. I didn’t fall, but those who know me, are fully aware of my clumsiness on land. CTD samples aren’t hands-on the way sediment sampling and sieving samples are, but what’s really interesting is that we get the data on a computer in the Data Acquisition Center in real time and can be analyzed later.

Day 4 (9.8.08):

First full day at sea. Got to sleep in a bit this morning, until about 8, so I missed breakfast, but lucky for me the mess deck is stocked with all kinds of good food so no one will go hungry. I’m hearing that we’re close to our last sediment grab which puts us way ahead of schedule.

Since we were so ahead of schedule, this morning, Margaret and I thought it would be great to talk to some of the crew on the boat and talk to people about life at sea.

The crew is pretty diverse with 16 men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Many of the crew got into the maritime industry because of a parent or relative. They all seem to like their jobs and are very accommodating to EPA staff. It must be strange to live on a vessel that has a different people coming and going year-round, but they don’t seem to mind and are very personable.

We started with Captain Jere. He’s an excellent captain, a real character with an eclectic background and a hard New England accent, which I love. He reminded me of why I stayed in New England for so long after college. Captain Jere told us that he used to run this exact kind of ship, it was called a T-AGOS back during the Cold War when it was used as a submarine hunter. This is a man that really knows his ship – he also told us that there used to be a “burn room” within the dry lab. Burn rooms on submarine hunters are stainless steel rooms where all the top secret documents are kept – if the ship was compromised, one of the crew dashes to the burn room, flips a switch and the entire contents of the room go up in flames while maintaining the vessel’s integrity without causing a ship-wide fire. VIDEO: See the burn room.

We got a chance to take a tour of the galley, commonly known as a kitchen on land. The chief steward, Amanda, is very accommodating to different dietary needs and makes us some very tasty meals. No one goes hungry on this ship!

It’s funny; boats have different names for everything. Boats don’t have ropes, they have lines. If something is secured it means it’s not working. It’s not a ramp, it’s a gangway. It’s not the cafeteria, it’s the mess deck; it’s not the kitchen, it’s the galley. It’s not the toilet, it’s the head. The bridge is where the Captain and his mates steer the boat from and where all the navigational equipment is housed. Port is left and the color is red, starboard is right and the color is green. The different colors are lit on each side respectively while the boat is at sea so that other ships can tell which direction we’re heading. ….the list goes on and on…

Day 3 (9.7.08):

Just finished my shift. My hands are freezing and I’m knackered, but it was so much fun! With great interest I sieved the benthic grabs and found a tiny Dungeness crab, a shrimp and tons of worms, some of which were very colorful.

Amy is on the Periwinkles team, but she stuck around a long time to help us out. She told me what the little critters were and is so fun to work with, it’s great. The Tiger Sharks worked well together and we kept a good pace going throughout. We were lucky to get a lot of good grabs without having to take grab after grab after grab to get a good one.

Tiger Sharks managed to get 10 sediment grabs for a total of 20 samples. It’s great to have such knowledgeable people around me that can not only tell me what all these little critters but are so passionate about their work. Amy with her infinite marine biology knowledge made the sieving go by so much faster. And I learned something. Bonus!

Day 3 (9.7.08):

Finally, we push off. The scientists are excited to get working and I was pleased to find out that I don’t just have to sit around and watch! I’m going to get the chance to get my hands dirty with sampling, too. Our group has been divided into two work crews, the Periwinkles and the Tiger Sharks – I’m a Tiger Shark. I’ll be joining the Sharks for the 2pm – 10pm shift.

After getting underway, we did an “abandon ship” drill. I was literally just getting out of the shower, barely had time to dry off and throw clothes on! The alarm sounds 6 times and we all muster on the upper deck, life vests and survival suits in hand, a head count follows and in the event of an actual abandon ship order, we get on the life rafts and get off the boat. Of course, I forgot my life vest and survival suit – not to worry though, I did have my comb. One of the crew comes barreling up the stairs and yells, “You’re standing between me and my life vest – bad place to be!” I realize I need a life vest and suit and see one sitting on the deck, and as I go to pick it up and another crew member comes down the stairs and says, “hey, that’s mine.” I’m thoroughly embarrassed with my dripping wet hair and comb, but thankfully Chris came over and got me a life vest. Sometime during my first most embarrassing moment at sea, we lost sight of land. Interesting feeling! VIDEO: Watch the drill and safety briefing.

The Captain made it to the first sampling site in no time at all – but unfortunately it took four drops of the equipment to get a proper sample. The first round of samples collected had everyone really excited. For each grab a photo is taken of the sediment before it is transferred into a sieve (for the benthic organism collection) or a pan (for the chemistry analyses). My shift is from 2 pm until 10 pm, so I’m just observing during this shift to make sure I know what to do.

For this survey, we will be going to 19 sites and taking two grabs per site for a total of 38 grabs. Why two grabs? One to look for critters (benthic organisms) and the other for chemical concentrations (chemistry sample). VIDEO: Tour the lab

This week we’re focusing on OSV Bold, one of EPA’s research ships. Two usually shore-based EPA staffers, Margot Perez-Sullivan and Margaret Ford, went out on the ship with the researchers a couple of weeks ago with one goal: come back and share what it’s like. They wrote and photographed each day, but had no Internet access at sea, so we’re posting their blog entries this week. And the EPA folks will read and respond to comments all week. We’ll resume our usual blog features next week: Question of the Week, Science Wednesday, and Lina’s multilingual musings. Let us know whether this kind of in-depth reporting floats your boat! — Jeffrey Levy, Greenversations editor.

Day 1 (9.5.08):
I’ve never been on a cruise. Never spent the night on a boat…at best it was a ferry here and there or the random tourist trap night cruise. When I found out I was invited to tag along and document science and research in action on the EPA’s Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) Bold, I was thrilled. And a little scared.

The EPA uses the OSV Bold to monitor coastal waters throughout the United States. This summer marks the Bold’s maiden voyage to the west coast and this is her last survey before returning to the eastern seaboard. The Bold has an enormous mission and its surveys are carefully planned to maximize monitoring and research year-round. The Bold is 224 feet long, has a full crew of 18 and can accommodate up to 19 scientists on any one survey.

Our west coast scientists are excited to have the research vessel on this side of the country and are taking every opportunity possible to get out to sea and conduct research and sampling surveys on the Pacific.

A team of nine scientists descended upon Eureka, California this September and began mobilizing for the upcoming Humboldt Open Ocean Disposal Site (HOODS) survey. HOODS is an ocean disposal site for dredged materials. West coast ports are the gateway to Asia; the Port of Los Angeles alone receives 50% of the nation’s foreign goods. These mega ships need deep ports to come into, which is where dredging and ocean disposal sites come into play. In a nut shell, sites like HOODS receive sands and sediments from local ports that need to move this material to make sure large ships can come into ports. A sediment testing program is in place to make sure that only clean, nontoxic sediments are taken to HOODS.

That said, during this survey, scientists are taking samples to determine the chemistry of HOODS’ sediments to confirm that the sediment testing is accurate, ensuring the sand and sediment material being dumped from the ports meets EPA standards, meaning it’s clean and doesn’t negatively impact the ecosystem near the site. Our scientists are also documenting the presence of benthic organisms (tiny sea critters that live on the ocean floor) in and around the HOODS disposal site. The results will be put together to make sure the HOODS site is being taken care of properly. VIDEO: Scientist Brian Ross discusses the survey plan.

For our marine biologists, the benthic samples will give them a good idea of the health of the ocean floor. There is a direct correlation between the types and health of these tiny ocean floor critters and the overall ocean floor environment.

We’ve got nine environmental scientists on this survey with over 5 decades of education combined. Our nine environmental scientists are: Allan Ota, ocean disposal site expert and co-Chief Scientist; Brian Ross, ocean disposal site expert; Amy Wagner, marine biologist; Greg Nagle, chemist; Kevin Ryan, drinking water expert; Tina Yin, watersheds expert; Eugenia McNaughton, Ph.D in algae plankton and quality assurance guru; Carolyn Yale, Ph.D. watershed planner; and Chris McArthur, Chief Scientist from our Atlanta regional office.

Margaret Ford our videographer and I are on board to document the survey.

We arrived this evening and got our room assignments, a short orientation of the survey schedule and a walk around the work areas with Allan. Often, to maximize time at sea, Bold surveys run on 24-hour operations, luckily we are only on 8 hour shifts for this survey. VIDEO: See our arrival.

We are scheduled to push off tomorrow afternoon…

What did you know about ocean research BEFORE you read this blog? Very little (63%, 94 Votes) Some (19%, 28 Votes) Quite a bit (18%, 27 Votes) Total Voters: 149  Loading ...

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

About the author: Darius Davis is a summer intern in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I recently graduated from Withrow University High School and plan to attend Ohio State University in Columbus, OH in the fall of 2008. I will be studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Pharmacy.

This is my second year interning at EPA through the black employment program. I feel that this program has not only opened up many opportunities for me, but allowed me to get a hands-on experience in the science field. The last two years I have worked in two different areas at the EPA. The first year, which was my junior year in high school, I worked with microbiology and this year with drinking water. While in the microbiology area, I worked and did experiments with E.coli bacteria. The name of this experiment was UV Disinfection on E. coli Bacteria. I really enjoyed working in this area because there were many chemicals involved and we used a lot of different machinery in order to carry out the experiment. This year with drinking water was also very interesting. I was able to work with a database and observe a lot about the copper pipes, which were sent in from various locations throughout the country. I was then able to make reports about the pipes and what we observed from them. The objective was to figure out why the water that ran through these pipes were forming holes in the pipe and what could be done to prevent the holes from forming within the pipe. While at EPA, I was also acknowledged for my once in a lifetime achievement of receiving the Gates Millennium Scholarship. This scholarship covers ten years of my college education through my doctoral degree at the college of my choice with ALL expenses paid, including one year of study abroad.

I feel that working at the EPA really broadened my horizons on what all goes into making the environment a better place to live. This experience also made me more confident with studying the sciences when I attend college. Anyone who is ever offered an opportunity like this one should definitely take advantage of it, because in the end it will all be worth it!

About the author: Kelly Leovic has been with EPA in Research Triangle Park, NC since 1987 and has served as the Project Officer for the Research Apprenticeship Program since 1996.

Last month I “introduced” eight high school student interns in EPA’s Research Apprenticeship Program, a collaborative program between EPA and Shaw University. The Program encourages high school students to pursue advanced degrees in environmental science.

The internship provides students with hands-on research experience by immersing them in an EPA laboratory or computer project. This summer, the students learned cell culturing techniques, identifying cell DNA damage, fluorescent microscope use, analyzing filters to measure air pollution, and the application of databases in environmental research and regulations.

About halfway through the internship the students began to get really serious and a bit nervous. Why? Because on July 18 they would be presenting their projects to nearly 100 people, including their peers, parents, and EPA mentors.

On July 16, my coworker Suzanne gathered the students for a “dry run.” Some needed more work than others, but this is why we practice. The next day, we did another practice session – things were getting better. We share tips from previous years such as avoiding slides that are too fancy and, my personal pet peeve, for every slide that has a graph EXPLAIN the x and y variables FIRST.

As the students took the podium on July 18, I could tell that they were ready. All gave professional presentations on very complex topics, showing their understanding of the work that they did during their internship. Once they completed their presentations, they would each pause to ask, “Any questions?” Fortunately, we had a lively audience, so most of the students had at least a question or two. Although they dread this part, I tell them that it will make them stronger and that they will appreciate it in ten years.

We are so proud of the students who have interned at EPA. As of June 2008, 109 students have completed the four-year program, and 100% of these students attended college, with 62% majoring in a field of study related to science or math. In addition, 57% have gone to graduate school. The extra support provided by the program has also helped many of the students to receive scholarships. I guess you could say that they “took the podium and kept on going!”

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. More Science Wednesdays.

About the author: Aaron Ferster is the lead science writer-editor for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. Previously, he has worked as an exhibit writer for a zoo, a first-mate on a whale watch boat, an elephant trainer, and as a stage hand for a travelling magic show.

I have a close friend who is a talented fiction writer. Occasionally, we good-naturedly give one another a hard time about our chosen crafts. “You get to make stuff up—how can anything be easier than that?” is my rhetorical reply whenever she points out what a painless gig I have as a science writer at EPA.

While I can’t speak for other science writers, I might just have to admit that what I do is easier than creating fiction. There never seems to be a shortage of fascinating stories unfolding at labs and field sites wherever researchers or engineers are running experiments, gathering data, or building the next prototype. And I’ve got the added benefit that my personal interests—the environment and human health—dovetail perfectly with EPA’s mission.

Come to think of it, I might be kind of spoiled.

I’m not the only one who has noticed there are a lot of good science stories being generated at EPA. If you’ve followed “Greenversations,” you’ve probably noticed the strong current of science that runs through many of the posts. Regular contributors include Robert Lackey, a senior EPA scientist who writes often about salmon restoration from EPA’s Western Ecology Division lab in Corvallis, OR; and Sandy Raimondo, a research ecologist from EPA’s Gulf Ecology Division lab in Gulf Breeze, FL who recently wrote about environmental research and sailing.

It’s a trend. The wealth of good science stories here at EPA has led me and my fellow Greenversations bloggers to declare that Wednesday posts will now be for science. “Science Wednesday” will feature experiences related to environmental science, brought to you by scientists, engineers, researchers, and perhaps the occasional science writer from across EPA.

Future posts will include entries on a long-term study on urban stream restoration, EPA’s ecological research programs, investigations on suburban runoff and the impact of pavement and parking lots, coral reef monitoring, research on the state of the marine environment, and many, many others on environmental science.

“Science Wednesday,” because you really can’t make this stuff up.