Monthly Archives: August 2005

Stephanie Wally, August 31, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
Stephanie Wally
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
August 29 – September 10, 2005

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Eastern Prince William Sound, Alaska
Date: August 31, 2005

Tide Staff Installation

Tide Staff Installation

Weather Data from Bridge 

Time: 1400
Cloud Cover: Low Clouds
Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles)
Wind: 340°, 4 knots
Sea Wave Height: 0’
Swell Wave Height: 0’
Sea Water Temperature: 5.0°C
Sea Level Pressure: 1009.2 mb (millibars)
Temp: 11.7°C

Science and Technology Log 

The crew of RAINIER has been upbeat since yesterday’s successful installation of a tide gauge on an island close to the face of the Columbia Glacier.  Data from the temporary tide gauge will be collected to analyze changes in water level.  It is important to know the water level since other portions of the ship’s current mission depend on surveying the bottom in shallow depths.

The officers, surveyors, divers, coxswains, and crew worked together to ensure all aspects of the gauge were installed and operating correctly.  The weather proved to be the biggest challenge in the installation procedure.  We had periods of heavy rain, stormy seas, and near-freezing temperatures.  Thanks to our foul-weather gear, snack supply, alternating breaks, and sheer dedication of the team, we all returned safe and sound to RAINIER. We were welcomed by the CO, XO, and a warm meal from the galley crew.

Today we returned to the island in fairer weather to take bearings of the NOAA bench marks we laid in the rock.  By triangulating the position of each disc, their location can be recorded for future surveying and exploration.  Even though Global Positioning System (GPS) technology provides the station location, it is important to have a back up means of finding these bench marks in the future.  Who will look after our tidal gauge and bench marks while we continue our transit toward Valdez?  Hopefully the harbor seals, otters, and bald eagles!

Answer to yesterday’s question: 180° = South

Stephanie Wally, August 30, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
Stephanie Wally
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
August 29 – September 10, 2005

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Eastern Prince William Sound, Alaska
Date: August 30, 2005

Leaving Seward at Dusk

Leaving Seward at Dusk

Weather Data from Bridge 

Time: 0800
Cloud Cover: Low Clouds, Stratocumulus
Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles)
Wind Direction: 60°
Sea Wave Height: 0’
Swell Wave Height: 0’
Sea Water Temperature: 11.7°C
Sea Level Pressure: 1013.5 mb (millibars)
Temp: 11.1°C

Science and Technology Log 

Greetings from Prince William Sound, Alaska!  My name is Stephanie Wally, and I teach 6th grade math and science in Oakland, California.  For the next two weeks, I will be aboard the NOAA ship RAINIER participating in a hydrographic survey of the Eastern Prince William Sound… charting the seafloor and installing tidal gauges where no man, woman, or vessel has gone before!  The exciting adventure began Monday, August 29, when we departed from Seward, Alaska.

The crew, led by our Captain, Commander Noll, and Executive Officer, Commander Neander, helped me get acquainted with life aboard a scientific research vessel.  Ensign Laurel Jennings picked me up from the train station and gave me my first tour of the ship.  As a visitor on this vessel, I was quick to notice how each individual is constantly focused on their duties that contribute to the completion of the mission.  The primary objective of this project is to gather hydrographic survey data that can be used to create accurate charts of south central Alaskan waters.  We will be navigating through the waters near the Columbia Glacier, just outside Valdez.  What makes this leg of the journey so interesting is that we are charting areas that have never been documented before. Some charts that the NOAA Officers and survey technicians are using were created in the early 1900’s!  In the following log entries, I will further explain the ins and outs of hydrography, also known as “hydro” here on the ship.  I am looking forward to sharing my experience during this expedition with my students, colleagues, friends, and family.

Question of the day: If 0° is considered NORTH, 90° is EAST, what direction is 180°? 

Joan Raybourn, August 25, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
Joan Raybourn
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV
August 14 – 25, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Productivity Survey
Geographical Area: Northeast U.S.
Date: August 25, 2005

Personal Log

Today was the last day of our two-week adventure at sea. At dawn this morning, we paused for a while before entering the north end of the Cape Cod Canal. While we have been within sight of land for a day or two, it was strange to see land on both sides of us. The canal was built in the 1930s, and using it to get back to Woods Hole saves at least half a day’s sailing time. Without it, we would have to sail all the way around the “arm” of Cape Cod. We slipped into the canal and eased our way south, back into civilization. We stood on the bow of the ship and watched fish playing in the water, seabirds hovering hopefully over them. People walked their dogs on the path beside the canal, and sailboats passed silently. All was quiet. When a siren split the air, we knew we were back.

The trip through the canal took about an hour and a half, and we were in Buzzards Bay. We made our way through the islands and back around to Woods Hole, to the pier where our trip began. We cleaned the labs and packed our gear and samples to go ashore. At the pier, a gangplank was attached to the ALBATROSS IV so that we could move “all ashore that was going ashore”. We lugged boxes and crates over it to the NOAA warehouse, the EPA truck, and the NOAA van that would take the samples back to the lab in Rhode Island. It was a strange feeling to be back on land. At the beginning of the trip, my body had to adapt to the motion of the ship, and for the first two days I staggered around until I got my sea legs. Back on land, my body had to adapt again; even though my brain knew I was on solid land, the sensation of motion persisted.

And then it was over. By 2:30, everyone who was leaving was gone, and our shipboard community was dissolved. Since my flight home is not until tomorrow, I will stay one more night aboard the ALBATROSS IV. It’s a little lonely now, with everyone gone and no work to do. But I’ve been up since midnight, when my last watch began, and an early bedtime tonight will be welcome. What an adventure this has been! I will never forget my days out on the wide blue sea, with nothing to see but sky and wind and ocean. Whenever city life hems me in, I’ll be able to go back in my mind’s eye, feeling the wind and the sunshine, and watching the endless play of the sea, all the way to forever.

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James Miller, August 25, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
James Miller
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
August 13 – 27, 2005

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: North Pacific, Alaska
Date: August 25, 2005

Science and Technology Log 

Woke up last night at 2:00am during transit to Seward to catch some of the Northern Lights show.  For a short while they jumped around the sky in the distance but never came directly above like they often do.  If it is clear enough, I’ll try again tonight in Seward.

After racing out to the public phone to make my first call home in two weeks, I spent the day touring Seward. It’s a beautiful fishing town with great views of the glaciers and lots of tourists.  It is much like Homer but better in that the town is in walking distance of the ship.

I went to the Sea Life Center, which has great exhibits of Alaska’s wildlife.  They have huge tanks with birds, sea lions, and harbor seals.  They also had a live video feed of the sea lion rookery about 35 miles outside of Seward.  There were three or four cameras set high up on the rocks overlooking the seals and the adjoining harbor.  While I was there, a pod of transient killer whales entered the harbor at the sea lion rookery.  They would zoom-in on the whales, and you could see them clearly through the video feed hunting and waiting for an unfortunate pup to fall off one of the rocks.  It was an amazing sight and apparently uncommon because many of the center’s employees came to watch. In the half hour I watched, the whales just swam by closely with their heads out of the water, but they didn’t get any meals.

Met with surveyor, Dave Sinson, to get some training on a 3-D surveying software program that he’ll be burning onto a disk for me to show my students.  The software is actually downloadable for free off the internet and comes with sample data.  It will be tremendously useful in demonstrating, visually, the crucial mission of the RAINIER.

Going to hike up Mt. Marathon tomorrow, which leads up to a glacial dome.  On Saturday I’m going with some crewmembers to hike the famous Exit Glacier.  Should be fun! From there it is home to N.Y.

Personal Log 

Being this is my last log, I just want to direct my final personal comments to any potential Teacher-at-Sea candidates.  I have learned much over the last two weeks from this experience.  There are so many real world lessons to be learned working on a NOAA ship such as the RAINIER.  At first I was a bit reluctant about the parallels that could be drawn between the work onboard and my math classes, but it didn’t take long before I saw the endless number of connections that can be integrated into K-12 classrooms.

The crew of the RAINIER is very professional, patient, and friendly.  As I mentioned in an earlier log, I was amazed at the depth and breadth of their knowledge.  I am the fifth TAS member aboard the RAINIER this year.  You would think the crew would get tired of having to train another TAS member only to have them leave in a couple of weeks. At sea they are teachers, and I was grateful by how they would go above and beyond in terms of training me.

With regard to life aboard the ship, you adapt to it quickly.  There’s really something to the whole “getting your sea legs” thing.  Your body does seem to adjust to the constantly moving world of a ship.  Even the other visitor aboard, who had a difficult time with motion sickness early on, did fine after a few days.

I’m thankful for having been afforded this tremendous opportunity.  I’ve grown personally and professionally, and I’m sure my students, in turn, will benefit from it.

TAS Miller out.

Joan Raybourn, August 24, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
Joan Raybourn
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV
August 14 – 25, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Productivity Survey
Geographical Area: Northeast U.S.
Date: August 24, 2005

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 43°32’ N
Longitude: 69°55 W
Visibility: 8 miles
Air Temperature: 17° C
Wind direction: E (99 degrees)
Wind speed: 5 knots
Sea wave height: 1’
Sea swell height: <1’
Sea water temperature: 18.8°C
Sea level pressure: 1018.0 millibars
Cloud cover: 7/8 Cumulus

Question of the Day: At what degrees on the compass would you find the intermediate directions? (Use information below to help you and look for the answer at the end of today’s log.

Yesterday’s Answer: GMT stands for “Greenwich Mean Time”. GMT is the time at the Prime Meridian, which passes through Greenwich, England. People around the world can use this time as an international reference point for local time. We are on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), which is four hours behind GMT. At 1:33 a.m. GMT, it was already August 24 in Greenwich, but our local time was 9:33 p.m. EDT, still August 23, so that is the date I used in the log.

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Science and Technology Log

Over the last eleven days, the ALBATROSS IV has zigzagged back and forth across southern New England waters, Georges Bank, and the Gulf of Maine. The collection stations were chosen in advance of the trip and plotted on an electronic chart. So how does the crew drive the boat to the next station?

Ship navigation is a combination of automated and manual tasks. Based on the ship’s current position and the latitude and longitude of the next station, the navigator determines what heading to take. That is, he decides in exactly which direction to go using a compass. The ship has an electronic gyroscope as well as a manual compass similar to the ones you may have seen, only larger. It has a magnetic needle that points north, and is divided into 360 degrees. The cardinal directions are these: 0° is north, 90° is east, 180° is south, and 270° is west. The navigator enters the heading into the ship’s navigation computer, and if conditions are normal, he can set the ship on Autopilot. Then the computer will automatically adjust the ship’s direction to keep it on course.

The fact that the ship is running on Autopilot does not mean that the crew can take a break. The crew sets the ship’s speed depending on weather and sea conditions, and on how much other ship traffic there is in the area. In open water, the ALBATROSS IV cruises at about ten to twelve knots, which means we cover about 10 to 12 nautical miles per hour. The crew must constantly monitor to make sure the ship is operating safely and efficiently. They plot the ship’s course on paper, monitor weather conditions, watch for other ships and communicate with them, and adjust the ship’s course and speed. At the collection stations, they are able to put the ship at the exact latitude and longitude called for, and keep it there during water casts and sediment grabs, or moving at just the right speed for plankton tows.

Navigators keep a constant watch out for other ships, using a combination of visual and radar data. They use radar to pinpoint the ships’ locations, and often can be seen scanning the sea with binoculars. Signal lights on ships help with navigation, too. Ships have a red light on the port (left) side and a green light on the starboard (right) side. This helps navigators know which side of a ship is facing them and in which direction it is headed. Of course, radio communication makes it possible for ships’ crews to talk to each other and make sure they are passing safely.

Personal Log

Tonight will be the last night of the cruise. We expect to be back in Woods Hole by midday tomorrow, two days earlier than planned. We’ve been blessed with excellent weather, and have made good time cruising between stations. I was very excited last night to see fireworks in the toilet! Toilets on the ship are flushed with sea water, which often contains some bioluminescent phytoplankton. Sometimes the swirling action of the water will excite them, and we’ll see blue-green sparkles and flashes as the water washes down. (Sewage and waste water are biologically treated on board so that they are safe to release into the ocean.)

I want to thank the crew of the ship, especially the NOAA Corps officers who have welcomed me on the bridge and answered many questions about ship operations. I am particularly grateful to Capt. Jim Illg, who reviewed all of my logs, and Ensign Patrick Murphy, who answered many questions about weather and navigation.

Finally, I want to thank the scientists who willingly shared their knowledge and patiently taught me protocols for their work. Jerry Prezioso, a NOAA oceanographer, served as chief scientist on this cruise. He helped me prepare ahead of time via telephone and email, and has been endlessly helpful to this novice seafarer. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he has a knack for turning any event into a positive experience. Jackie Anderson, a NOAA marine taxonomist, taught me to operate the CTD unit and helped me identify the kinds of zooplankton we captured in the bongo nets. Don Cobb, an EPA marine environmental scientist, helped me understand the kinds of research the EPA is doing to monitor the health of our oceans and estuaries. Thanks to all of them for their  work in keeping Planet Earth healthy, and for making this an experience I can take back to my classroom and use to help make science real for my students.

Today’s Answer: The intermediate directions are those that fall between the cardinal directions, so to find their degree equivalents, find the halfway point between the numbers for each cardinal direction. Northeast would be at 45°, southeast would be at 135°, southwest would be at 225°, and northwest would be at 315°.

James Miller, August 24, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
James Miller
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
August 13 – 27, 2005

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: North Pacific, Alaska
Date: August 24, 2005

Location: Kodiak Island Coast Guard Station
Weather: Sun and clouds, 60’s
Wind: variable
Seas: calm
Itinerary: Refuel and depart for Seward

Science and Technology Log 

We arrived into the Kodiak Island Coast Guard Station around 8am for refueling.  The seas were calm and the views were great.  The island is much bigger and mountainous than I anticipated, and most of it is uninhabited. The Coast Guard base is immense, and as I understand it, the largest in the country.  Many of the people that live on the island either work on the base, or on one of the many fishing boats.

A brand new NOAA ship the OSCAR DYSON was also tied up at the dock.  The DYSON is a fisheries ship that takes out researchers for up to forty days.  It was an impressive ship to look at; it actually seemed as tall as it was long (~200 ft).  I received a full tour of the DYSON with the captain and XO of the RAINIER.  It’s inevitable that new ships have kinks that need to be worked out by the crew.  The DYSON certainly has its fair share of kinks, and it will probably take several years before they correct them all.

The DYSON was designed to make little to no noise, the theory being they would be able to come up on schools of fish or whales without them scattering.  The hull is rounded to prevent noise, and the propeller, which was designed with declassified submarine technology, is also built for stealth.  However, they were actually having some noise trouble with the propeller (go figure), so they asked the RAINIER to send down some divers to check if something got fouled in it or the shaft.  They didn’t find any problems.

The Coast Guard has a few vehicles that they permit NOAA to use for the time that they’re in port. So I had an opportunity to go with some of the crew to visit the NMFS Wildlife Center.  It had some interesting displays and a large aquarium with all sorts of marine critters.

Personal Log 

It was nice to put my feet on stable ground and walk more than 30 yards today.  I wanted so much to make a phone call home, but unfortunately I didn’t have a calling card and that was the only way the phones on the dock worked. The phones were quite busy though, the crew wastes very little time getting to the phones.  We’ll be in Seward at 7am tomorrow, so one more day.  We’re getting into port a day early, so I’ll have all of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to see Seward.  The RAINIER doesn’t leave for Prince William Sound, the next leg of the trip, until Monday morning.  I’ll be staying on until Saturday Morning.

Joan Raybourn, August 23, 2005

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NOAA Teacher at Sea
Joan Raybourn
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV
August 14 – 25, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Productivity Survey
Geographical Area: Northeast U.S.
Date: August 23, 2005

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 44°23’ N
Longitude: 66°37’ W
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind direction: W (270 degrees)
Wind speed: 12.7 knots
Sea wave height: 1’
Sea swell height: 1’
Sea water temperature: 11.1°C
Sea level pressure: 1014.7 millibars
Cloud cover: 1/8 Clear with a few cumulus clouds low on the horizon

Question of the Day: What does “GMT” stand for and how does it affect the date in the log information above?

Yesterday’s Answer: The clock shows 9:17 a.m. There are 24 hours around the clock face. The hour hand is pointing a little past the 9, so that is the hour. To read the minute hand, notice its position. On a twelve-hour clock, this position would indicate about 17 minutes past the hour. Since this clock counts off 24 hours instead of counting to 12 twice, the afternoon and evening hours have their own numbers. For example, 4:00 p.m. on a twelve-hour clock would be 16:00 on a twenty-four-hour clock. There is no need to indicate a.m. or p.m. since each hour has its own unique number.

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Science and Technology Log

Today I spent some time up on the bridge talking to the crew about weather. The ship collects all kinds of weather data from on-board sensors, including air temperature, air pressure, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity. It also receives weather data from sources outside the ship via satellite link and email. I was especially interested in how the crew determines visibility, cloud cover, sea wave height, and sea swell height, since these represent subjective data. “Subjective” means that someone uses known data and their own experience to make a judgment. Here are some examples.

Visibility just means how far you can see into the distance. This is very hard to judge on the sea because there are no reference points – no objects to “go by” to decide how far away something is. Radar gives an accurate distance from the Albatross IV to objects such as other ships, and on a clear day, the horizon is about twelve miles away. A navigator learns to estimate visibility by combining radar information with how far away objects look in relation to the horizon. It takes a lot of practice to be able to judge visibility using only your eyes!

Cloud cover just means the amount of the sky that is covered by clouds. This is expressed in eighths. Today the cloud cover was about 1/8, meaning about one eighth of the sky had clouds and seven eighths was clear. To make the estimate, mentally divide the sky in half and ask yourself if about half of the sky is cloudy. If you see that less than half the sky has clouds, then mentally divide the sky into fourths, and then eighths. This can be tricky if the clouds are scattered around because it is hard to see a fraction that isn’t all “together”. Once again, this skill takes a lot of practice.

Sea swell height and sea wave height are both descriptors of how the ocean surface is behaving. These are important to observe because they affect the motion of the ship. Swells are large rolling humps of water that are created by the winds from storms. Navigators can tell how far away the storm is by observing the speed of, and length between, the swells. The ship might rock with long, slow swells caused by a storm hundreds of miles away, or with the shorter, faster swells of a storm that is closer. Waves, on the other hand, are caused by local wind; that is, the wind that is blowing right at your location. Waves might just be rippling the water if the wind is light, but can be large if the wind is strong. Both swell height and wave height are estimated in feet from the trough (bottom) to the crest (top) of the wave. Again, this skill takes lots of practice.

Personal Log

Yesterday we got word that a pod of about seventy right whales had been sighted in the Bay of Fundy. This represents a large fraction of this endangered species’ entire population of fewer than 300. Our route has taken us up a little way into the bay, and we have been eagerly watching for whales. We’ve seen several blows in the distance, and occasionally a glimpse of a long back breaking the water. Most of them have been fin whales, but we did see two or three right whales before it was completely dark. It’s exciting to see these giants of the ocean and we hope to see more when the sun comes up.