Monthly Archives: April 2005

Jim Jenkins, April 30, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 30, 2005

Crewmembers retrieve a marine mammal listening device from the water.

Crewmembers retrieve a marine mammal listening device from the water.

Weather Data 

Latitude:  57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility:  8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed:  17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height:  4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature:  4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy

Science and Technology Log

Marine Mammal Listening Device

Earlier, a marine mammal listening device scheduled for recovery could not be picked up because the instrument responded to signals and released from its anchor, but it did not rise to the surface for recovery.  You may remember the theory was that it was stuck in the mud which prevented it from rising.  Well, things changed on the second effort to pick up one of these devices. This one popped to the surface and is now onboard the ship. The data and sounds recorded will be of great interest to scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Crewmembers deploy bongo nets.

Crewmembers deploy bongo nets.

A couple of days ago, I sent some photos of brittle stars, bivalves, barnacles and worms that had gathered on a mooring that had been 200 meters deep in the Bering Sea for about a year. Were you as impressed with all the life forms as I was?

I expected to see life forms on the marine mammal listening device because it had also been beneath the water for 1 year. You may be surprised to learn that there was almost nothing on the surface of the entire instrument!  Would you like to take an educated guess as to the reason for the lack of life on this mooring? You would be correct if you noted that this one was deployed at a deeper depth.  In fact, this one was 1,800 meters deep.  The role of the sun in starting the process of photosynthesis to feed all life is pretty impressive isn’t it?  I hope this example helps you even more appreciate the role of penetration of sunlight into the water as a huge factor in ocean food chains.

Bongo Tows

Four bongo shaped nets were lowered into the water this morning to catch zooplankton. Two of the nets had a 60centimeter diameter and 133micron holes in them.  This means that anything smaller than 133 microns simply passes through the net and is not collected. Lots of phytoplankton fall into this category and are not collected.

Mr. Jenkins displays a sample of zooplankton

Mr. Jenkins displays a sample of zooplankton

Two more nets had 20-centimeter diameter openings and nets which had 153-micron holes in them.  Can you see that these nets are set up to catch smaller plankton species? All nets were lowered to the bottom by a winch until they were 10 meters from the bottom.  The nets are then pulled up to the surface by a winch at a rate of 20 meters per minute.  All organisms are collected in a cylinder attached to the base of the net.  The cylinders are removed from the nets, taken into the laboratory where they are put into bottles. The bottles are then sent to a lab in Poland where technicians use microscopes to identify the species, and the number of each species, in each sample.

Today’s specimens had a lot of organisms visible to the naked eye.  I will be forwarding a photo in which you may be able to make out some specimens.  There were a few fish larva and even some squid larva.  Have you noticed that rivers around Virginia tend to have a greenish hue once algae populations begin to grow in the summer?  Well, this process also happens in the Bering Sea. The size of the mesh on bongo nets is adjusted during the summer months because a larger amount of algae growing in the water tends to be picked up.  These algae may even clog a net if too much is collected.  What can be determined by the small specimens collected in the bongo nets? For starters, finding a lot of zooplankton means that larger species are going to have more to eat.  This could mean healthier populations and better fishing.  Eggs of fish collected in the tows give an indication of the future of fish populations.  More eggs may mean more fish.

Our friend, the Walleye Pollock’s, eggs soon turn to a larval form before developing into small fish.  The larva of the Walleye Pollock have small ear bones called otoliths. These ear bones have growth rings in them which are similar to growth rings in trees.  It is possible to determine the age of Pollock larva to the number of days by examining and counting the rings in its ear! Knowing the age and number of larva in the water can be extremely helpful in predicting the number of fish that are likely to be available for harvest in the future.

Crab Classic contains “Surimi Crab.”

Crab Classic contains “Surimi Crab.”

Argos Apex Drifters

Two instruments have been dropped into the water and they are probably not going to be recovered.  In fact there will be no effort to recover them!

The first of these long yellow cylinders with satellite transmitters on the top was dropped into the water yesterday.  At first, the instrument simply sat horizontally on the surface of the sea until it picked up a signal from a satellite in orbit.  When the signal was received by the Argos Drifter, the instrument filled a bladder with water causing it to sit upright and sink into the sea. The instrument descends to depths of up to 2,800 meters.  It then rises slowly to the surface, all the time collecting data on salinity.  Upon reaching the surface, the instrument transmits all its data to the satellite.  After transmission, the instrument dives again and repeats this process of collecting data for 8 or 9 months.

Plans are to have 3,000 or more of these instruments in the water of all the world’s seas collecting data. Do you think that this is an improvement on having to actually travel to a particular site to collect salinity data?

Personal Log

E-mails from home tell me of balmy warm weather and spring plants coming out in profusion. Conditions are a little different here today.  Hands went back into pockets so that my they would not be made so inflexible by the cold that I could not use a pencil well to keep records when working on the deck this morning.  A winter coat and felt liners in my boots felt wonderful.  Do you think I may have some adjusting to do when I return to springtime in Virginia?

Several of you have asked about stars. It is getting dark rather late here, so I woke up the last couple of nights at 1:00 AM to take a walk on the deck to enjoy the stars.  The weather has been pretty cloudy, so I could only see two stars as I walked around the deck.  You would have appreciated the flat blackness of the sky, however.  I can imagine the stars being quite radiant on a clear night.  I will keep looking and let you know what I see.

Surimi Crab sandwiches were on the menu for lunch today.  Being a big fan of the Chesapeake Blue Crab, I ordered a sandwich and found it delicious.  After lunch, I went back to the kitchen to ask Chief Steward, Russell Van Dyke, to tell me about the Surimi crab. I was surprised to find out that there is no such thing as a Surimi Crab!

Russell was good enough to go down to the freezer to get a bag of Surimi Crab so that I could look at it.  I discovered that the package contained only 20% of a crab product.

Now for the question of the day: What makes up the other 80% of Surimi Crab?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Jim Jenkins, April 28, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 28, 2005

Waves and an ice floe on the Bering Sea.

Waves and an ice floe on the Bering Sea.

Weather Data 

Latitude:  57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility:  8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed:  17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height:  4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature:  4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy

Science and Technology Log

The past two days have been 12-hour workdays helping to do CTD tests. This involves putting an instrument into the water to measure the salinity, temperature and depth of the water in specific locations. All the data collected is stored in a computer file so that scientists can look at data the data for analysis. I have an experiment that I would like you to try to see how salinity influences oceans. First, mix up some water with varying levels of salinity.

Mr. Jenkins helps to retrieve a CTD.

Mr. Jenkins helps to retrieve a CTD.

You could do this by putting 1 teaspoon of salt in 100 ML of water, 2 teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water, 3 teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water and four teaspoons of salt in 100 ML of water.  It would be a good idea to color these with a drop or two of the same color of food coloring.  Label the cups and put them in order, least to greatest amount of salt. Now, fill four cups with 100 ML of fresh water.  It would be a good idea to put a drop or two of food coloring in these samples also.  Make sure to pick a color that is different than the color used for the saltwater samples. Gently pour the fresh water samples down the side of the container into the saltwater samples and record your observations.  You may notice that the fresh water stays on top of the salt water because the salt water has a greater density than the fresh water.  You are now on your way to understanding part of what CTD tests are all about.  That is, saltier water tends to sink toward the bottom of the ocean while fresher water tends to be at the surface of the ocean.

You now may want to experiment with changing the temperatures of your specimens and recording your observations and thoughts.  Your observations may lead you to conclude that colder water tends to sink while warmer water tends to rise.  Understanding this will put you well on your way to understanding characteristics of seawater due to salt and temperature differences that are the basis of CTD tests.

Ocean Birds

Ocean Birds

Do you remember our discussion of the Walleye Pollock?  You may remember that larva for the Pollock are in seawater and are influenced by currents which may transport the larva, or bring food to the larva.  The rise and fall of water due to temperature and salinity differences causes some of the currents that transport larva, or bring food to the larva through upwelling. Understanding how oceans circulate because of salinity and temperature differences and how this circulation influences ocean life is the basis of the measurements collected by CTD tests. Please let me know how your experiments go.  What are your observations and questions?

Yesterday, the ship was close to an island and lots of birds were following the ship or playing around the ship. I spent some time on the bridge looking at the birds through binoculars and reading about them in a bird book kept on the bridge.  Let me tell you about a few of the more interesting birds I saw.

The most interesting bird to me was a brown bird that resembled a puffin in some ways.  These birds tended to be in front of the ship.  The spent a lot of time flying, then would plop down into the sea to rest for a while. They are great floaters and bobbed well in the 8-foot swell waves. This bird is called the Northern Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis).  What do you think of the species name?

The Northern Fulmar has had a habit of following whaling ships to feed on offal or blubber thrown over the side. A second bird, a gull, was larger and largely white. This bird, the Glaucous Gull, is also known as, “Chief magistrate of the North,” because of some of its more peculiar habits.  It has a habit of feeding on the eggs and unattended young of other birds. Its most curious habit is its tendency to confront a bird called and Eider which it forces to disgorge what it has eaten so that the Glaucous Gull can enjoy a good meal!  What do you think of this?

Finally, the Laysan Albatross was a beautiful bird with a wonderful combination of straight edges and curves in its wings.  This bird is an incredibly graceful flyer.  Sailors and Pacific Islanders often refer to it as a “Gooney Bird.” This albatross feeds mainly on squid and tends to live in the open ocean, well away from shore. You might want to ask you parents about the albatross.  They are likely to tell you some great stories and even entertain you with a few lines of a poem they know!

Yesterday, a notation in the logbook read, “Confused Seas.”  Looking at the sea from the height of the bridge made this seem an apt description.  Waves were bumping into other waves in locations causing sections of the ocean to be in churning turmoil.  I noticed that the ocean waves caused by local winds were in the 1-2 foot range.  Larger waves, or swell waves, were in the 8-foot range. Discussion with the officers on deck helped me to understand that swell waves, like regular waves are generally caused by wind. The winds causing the swell waves tend to be further away, however. In fact, the swell waves coming to us yesterday might be the result of winds causing waves in the water as far away as Japan. I think you might enjoy looking at a globe to fully appreciate this phenomenon.

Personal Log

We are in transit today and a due to reach the site of a marine mammal mooring to be recovered tomorrow morning.  It is nice to have the time to write logs and replies to you guys at a more leisurely pace.

Last night, I learned something about myself.  Did you know that I smell, “greater than a toothpick and that I smell like a tree?”  I thought that you would appreciate this description brought to you by 5-year-old Sam Jenkins!

Question(s) of the Day: Which whale is capable of the deepest dive?  Which whale can hold its breath the longest?  How are the Gray Whale’s feeding habits different than the habits of other whales? (A great resource: http://cetus.ucsd.edu) Mrs. English may be able to help you with other good web resources. It would also be a great idea to visit Mrs. Griffith in the library!

Jim Jenkins, April 26, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 26, 2005

Here you can see the heavy chain that keeps Peggy the Mooring in place.

Here you can see the heavy chain that keeps Peggy the Mooring in place.

Weather Data 

Latitude:  57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility:  8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed:  17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height:  4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature:  4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy

Science and Technology Log

I am going to leave out cloud cover today.  Can you look at the data above and fill in the space for cloud cover?  I think you may also be able to know what current weather conditions are for today. Did you get the photos of the mooring, chain and cable which were covered with barnacles, brittle stars, worms, starfish and bivalves?  I thought these were pretty interesting and spent some time yesterday looking carefully at the photos to see what was identifiable.

By the way, the barnacle and associated organisms I am holding up in one of the photos are now in a jar which is wrapped in bubble wrap and inserted in a zip lock bag.  I am thinking that we will put it in a mesh bag and hang it from a tree limb to dry once I get back to school.

Yesterday, after dinner, I spent a long time talking with Mr. Rick Miller a mechanical engineer who has helped to design a lot of the moorings we are deploying or recovering on this cruise. Mr. Miller has an absolute passion for his work and I think he said a lot of things that you are going to find extremely interesting.

The mooring named Peggy was partly designed by Mr. Miller.  Do you remember that the top part of the mooring weighed 5,600 pounds?  You may be surprised to learn that the anchor and the chain holding Peggy to the ocean floor also weigh 5,600 pounds.  Mr. Miller went on to say that winds in the Bering Sea can be quite ferocious.  Long ago, engineers learned that a mooring with too much weight holding it to the ocean floor is not a good thing; the wind will simply blow the mooring over and push it below the water. This would prevent transmission of data that comes from the tower which is supposed to be above the water.

The fact that the anchor and chain for Peggy is the same weight as the surface part makes it possible for the anchor to move slightly when pulled on in a gale.  This keeps the mooring above water and close to the location in which it was dropped!

A second interesting design feature was made more interesting after looking at the barnacle cover on the mooring brought up yesterday. Mr. Miller and his team looked at the history of barnacle cover on submerged instruments in the Bering Sea and calculated that a half ton of barnacles would likely cover the underside of Peggy the Mooring within a 6-month period. To counter this, they painted the bottom of the floating piece with a paint which repels barnacles and sea life that might attach to the surface. What do you think might have happened if the surface had not been treated and the expected half ton of barnacles accumulated?

Chains used by NOAA to anchor moorings are tested so that each link is capable of holding a 42,000-pound weight. This would be strong enough to pick up approximately 20 of the cars that I drive to school each day.  This seems plenty strong to counter the weight of a mooring in even the strongest wind, or current, doesn’t it?

Mr. Miller was very surprised, as were a lot of scientists and engineers, when they came out to pick up moorings anchored with this chain and found them missing.  The breakthrough came when they recovered a link of a chain that was broken!  They took the chain to a metallurgist (a scientist who studies metals).  The metallurgist discovered that the fact that NOAA chains were heat-treated tended to form a strong crystal lattice in the metal.  Hydrogen atoms had a tendency to get trapped in this lattice.  The hydrogen expanded and forced a crack in the metal.  A force much less than 42,000 pounds was then able to break the chain.

The solution: NOAA chains are still tested to be able to hold 42,000 pounds, but they are NOT heat-treated. No problems with broken chains have been noted since this change.

I think Mr. Miller summed up his thoughts about design well with this statement:  “Overall strength is not the answer to all problems.  The key to success is to design to the requirements of the project.”

You may want to spend some time discussing the above statement with your classmates.  I think that there is a lot of wisdom in these words.

A lot of time was spent today doing CTD tests. You probably already know this because all of the pictures sent today related to CTD tests.  The tests took a bit longer than usual because all of the tests were at a depth of about 1,500 meters.

Personal Log

I think that Mr. Miller is an outstanding human being, in addition to being an outstanding engineer and scientist. Let me know what you think after reading the words he spoke in response to my request for a comment to some bright fifth graders in Purcellville, Virginia:

“Encourage them to go into a field for which they have a passion.  I would urge them to go into something that makes them smile when they think about it.  I would encourage going into something with which you can have fun.  Having fun has nothing to do with being easy. Challenges are fun.

Encourage them to keep life fun, and not be too heavy with life.

Remember that there are things equally important as academic endeavors.  Remember to be good stewards of the planet.

Encourage them to think about outcomes which are up to the individual.”

I leave you now to contemplate Mr. Miller’s words.  Have a great evening.  I look forward to talking with you tomorrow.

Question of the day: An instrument descends to a depth of 1,500 Meters at a speed of 50 meters per minute.  How long does it need to travel the 1,500 meters?

Jim Jenkins, April 23, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 23, 2005

Mr. Jenkins helps to retrieve a Calvets net

Mr. Jenkins helps to retrieve a Calvets net

Weather Data 

Latitude:  57, 37, 50 North
Longitude: 156, 02, 34
West Visibility:  8 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction: 161 Degrees
Wind Speed:  17 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 4-5 Feet
Swell Wave Height:  4-6 Feet
Sea Water Temperature:  4 Degrees C
Sea Level Pressure: 1001.5
Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy

Science and Technology Log

Get the microscopes ready!

Early this morning, I helped out with dropping and pulling up Calvets nets.  These nets collect fish eggs and other small life forms from the sea.  Specimens collected are put in jars, preserved with formaldehyde and sent to labs for analysis.  This is a quantitative sample, meaning that each test is designed to get a good idea of the amount of fish eggs in a specific amount of water.  In this case, the test measures eggs in a 100 cubic meter area. Specimens are filtered through a screen to eliminate most of the water.  Screens are then rinsed to make sure all the netted material goes into the specimen bottle.

You can see how big Peggy the Mooring is with Mr. Jenkins standing in front of it!

You can see how big Peggy the Mooring is with Mr. Jenkins standing in front of it!

Knowledge of the amount of fish eggs present in water can help make predictions about the health of fish populations. It can also help fishermen plan for the future.  This morning we ran an extra test and I collected the contents of the net to bring back to Mountain View Elementary.  There were a lot of copepods and some tiny worms visible to the naked eye in our specimen.  Other portions of the collected specimen were squirming with life, but I could not make them out with just my eye.  Let’s make looking at this specimen under the microscope the first activity that we do when I return to school.

The mooring named Peggy that I wrote you about earlier went into the water this morning. This was a complicated procedure. A couple of hours were spent “building” a chain with all the instruments which hang down to the bottom below this mooring,  All of the instruments needed to be bolted to specific lengths of chain with shackles.  The assembly was done according to a diagram drawn in Seattle.  The total length of all the chains and instruments joined together was 67 meters long.  Instruments used to gather data on temperature, salinity and nitrate levels at various depths were attached.

Once the chain was assembled, the whole assembly was lowered into the ocean as the times that each instrument hit the water were recorded.  One end of the chain was joined with a shackle to the mooring and it is ALMOST ready to go Peggy, the mooring, is so big that it was a complicated job to get it into the water. Two winches, several rope lines, a lot of communication and thinking were necessary to get it into the sea. About an hour after the process began, Peggy touched down lightly in the sea. A big cheer went up from everyone on the deck!

Rusty and Mr. Jenkins

Rusty and Mr. Jenkins

Finally, the anchor needed to be attached to the bottom of the chain and dropped into the water. In this case, the anchor was not the railway wheels that you have heard about so often. This anchor resembled half of a Tootsie Roll Pop lying round side up and it was bright yellow. The exterior was made of concrete.  A big mooring needs a big anchor!  The anchor for Peggy weighed in at 5,000 pounds! (This is equivalent to 2 and one-half small cars).

How did an anchor this big get from the deck into the water?  Again, it took considerable thinking and communication between deck hands and scientists.  Communication between people on the deck and officers on the bridge was also extremely important so that the ship was in the right location. The cooperation, thinking and communicating paid off. Finally, Peggy the mooring, settled into the sea!

I took many photographs of the process of putting the mooing into the sea as well as a farewell photograph as the ship pulled away. These will be sent to you later today and will be there by Monday when you return to school.

By the way, another small mooring was put in right after lunch.  Now we have an 18hour transit before reaching the site of deployment of the marine mammal listening device brought up by Chris Garsha and Lisa Munger that we discussed earlier.

Personal Log

I hope you guys had a great weekend!

Did you receive the photo of Rusty the ship’s cat? Well, I also sent copy of the photo to my home.  My wife, Chantel, just wrote to advise that our son, Sam, climbed up in her lap when he saw the photo on the computer screen to give a big kiss to both his dad and to Rusty. Needless to say, this was a heartwarming message for me!

Question of the Day: What is at the center of the yellow concrete anchor used for the mooring named Peggy?  (Hint: Reading previous logs might help you with this answer.)  This “easy as candy” question comes to you in honor of the weekend!  (Very Big Grin!)

Jim Jenkins, April 22, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jim Jenkins
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 18 – 30, 2005

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: April 22, 2005

Fair Visibility

Fair Visibility

Weather Data 

Latitude:  56, 28, 22 N
Longitude: 160, 35, 21 W
Cloud Cover: Cloudy
Visibility: 6 Nautical Miles
Wind Direction:  164
Wind Speed: 20 Knots
Sea Wave Height: 3-4 Feet
Swell Wave Height: 2-3 Feet
Sea Water Temperature: 2.4 Degrees C
Barometric Pressure: 1011 MB

Science and Technology Log

How is visibility determined?  This was the question I posed to Ensign Mandy Goeller. Her answer was that the distance is 10 nautical miles if the viewer can see the horizon.  Distance may also be ascertained if another vessel shows up on radar and can also be seen with the eye.  Finally, there is a degree of intuitive thought based on experience when writing visibility in a ships log.

A CTD cast was done this morning.  This involves having a winch lower a huge instrument (about the size of motorcycle) into the water until it is almost resting on the bottom.  Salinity, temperature and density readings are done on the way down for the instrument.  Readings done on the way up would involve taking readings on water which has been disturbed by the passage of the instrument.

This morning’s reading was done for the benefit of The Kodiak Crab Lab (I bet you like that name!) in Kodiak, Alaska.  One of the problems for king crab fishermen is that king crabs do not like to inhabit bands of cold water that stream through sections of the Bering Sea. Fishermen armed with knowledge of the location of these cold streams will likely not waste time, fuel and labor trying to catch crabs when the crabs are probably not going to be in the cold streams.  NOAA is trying to help by supplying knowledge.

Retrieval of a mooring was scheduled for this morning.  The boat arrived at the latitude and longitude at which the mooring was dropped off.  A hydrophone (listening device attached to an electrical cord) was dropped into the water to listen for the device after a NOAA scientist sent it a signal to “wake up” and respond with a signal so that it could be located. The plan was to have an “acoustic release” sent to the mooring when it could be located. This signal would cause a metal latch located just above the anchor to open so that the mooring could rise to the surface, be spotted and be recovered.  Unfortunately, the mooring never sent a signal.  The acoustic release signal was sent but the mooring did not pop to the surface as planned.  The mooring appears to be lost! I think it would be good to remember this the next time things do not go exactly as planned in our daily lives. Sometimes in science, as in all areas of human endeavor, things just do not go as planned.

The location of the lost mooring remains on file.  Maybe it will be found in the future.  Meanwhile, a mooring scheduled to be placed within a one third mile distance from the lost mooring was deployed as planned.

A second mooring was recovered as planned later in the day. This one was covered with huge barnacles and had a few life forms holding onto its surface.  I took a few photographs of tiny crabs and worms which were found on this mooring.  I held the crabs and worm in my hand for photographing so that you would have an idea of their size.  I am thinking all the research you did on crabs before the trip may make it possible for you to identify the crab.  Identifying the worm could be fun for someone!

Speaking of photos, I sent a number of photos to you today.  Earlier, I had a problem with the size of files being too large to be sent by satellite to you.  Please let me know what you think about the photographs.

Personal Log

I had breakfast this morning with Shawn Bowman, a young man wearing a Kings Point rugby shirt. Our conversation turned to rugby and I talked about one of our neighbors, Tom Levac, who is a student at The Merchant Marine Academy and also a rugby player.  It turns out that Shawn is a graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy and played rugby with Tom.  It is indeed a small world, isn’t it?

Had some time this morning just to walk around the deck and enjoy the beauty of the snow-capped peaks gracing coastal Alaska.  This was a scene so beautiful that it was almost painful (You may not understand this at your stage in your life, but I bet that your parents will be able to tell you of a similar place.  I was surprised when the people I was talking with when I described the beauty as being almost painful indicated that this was also the way they felt about thisplace.)  I very much hope that each of you will be able to visit this sparse, pristine, rugged and eternally beautiful part of the world. Lt. Miller had his binoculars out looking for walrus on the shoreline this morning.  There were none to be seen today. Maybe tomorrow?!

Question of the day: When are you guys going to send an e-mail!!!!  (Very Big Grin!)

Melissa Fye, April 22, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Melissa Fye
Onboard NOAA Ship Hi’ialakai
April 4 – 25, 2005

Mission: Coral Reef Ecosystem Survey
Geographical Area: Northwest Hawaiian Islands
Date: April 22, 2005

Location: Latitude: 23*36.3’North, Longitude: 164*43.0’W

Weather Data from the Bridge
Visibility: 10
Wind Direction:90
Wind Speed: 14 knots
Sea Wave Height: 2-4 feet
Swell Wave Height: 5-7 feet
Sea Level Pressure: 1018.8
Cloud Cover: 2/8 Cu, As, Si
Temperature outside: 24.4

Science and Technology Log

At 0500, surveying of the ocean floor was concluded and transit to Honolulu began.  Scientists in the lab compiled more data and finished up the survey trip with a benthic habitat map of the French Frigate shoals. There are still a few bits of editing to do on the map and some borders need to be added to the final form, but overall it is complete. Scientist Joyce Miller showed me an overview of the completed work using Fladermouse, or a computer mouse, that gives an onlooker the view a bat would have flying over the map. It is a 3-D view of the map, giving its operator the ability to zoom in on underwater pinnacles, sand waves, and coral reefs from any direction.  The contours of the ocean floor were very apparent and Joyce Miller commented that the AHI, new software, etc., enabled the scientists to create the final product much faster; this being the first time they had all the data compiled into map form before the end of a cruise. It was exciting to see all the surveying work put into one picture. With surveying complete for this cruise, and much of the editing done, scientists and crew spent the day doing laundry, finishing up tidbits of work, watching the sunset, etc. The HI’IALAKAI is expected to arrive in the University of Hawaii’s port by 0800, Saturday, April 23, 2005.

Personal Log

I spent the day answering the last of the emails from students, printing off previously completed emails and logs, and snapping pictures of the ship and persons aboard.  Scientists showed me completed benthic maps in the lab and I began packing up my things. It has been a terrific experience and I was lucky to be onboard with such hospitable people. I have truly enjoyed my time aboard the HI’IALAKAI and I have learned so much about ships, coral ecosystems, the Hawaiian islands, scientific data collecting, and those people on board this cruise.  I’m taking back to my classroom a wealth of resources like maps, charts, a binder of lessons, and many photographs and digital movies to weave into science lessons.  But more importantly than those things, I will be bringing back to the classroom real-life enthusiasm for the application of science in the real world.  I have experienced first hand, biological ecosystems, weather instruments and measurements, and map making, in a real life context. I want my students to know that life is not a collection of things, but a collection of experiences. I hope this trip (the resources and anecdotal stories I bring back to the classroom) encourages them to explore opportunities as they arise in their own lives. As a teacher, my underlying goal is to teach my students that learning should be a life long adventure!  And isn’t that what this trip is really all about? Even with all the pictures I have taken and emails I have written, no one will ever have an experience like I have had on board the HI’IALAKAI. Thank you to NOAA, CO Kuester, Lead Scientist Scott Ferguson, and everyone else I have encountered on this trip!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: There are “rivers” of water in oceans that are called currents.  What is name of the current that runs the entire length of the east coast? How does it affect people on the east coast?

ANSWER TO YESTERDAY’s Question:  CO Kuester (commanding officer) has given commands for the ship to arrive at the entrance to Honolulu Harbor by 0700 on Saturday, April 23rd. The ship has 260 nautical miles to still cover, and we travel ten knots an hour.  1) How many hours will it take us to reach our destination? 26 hours 2) A nautical mile > a statute mile (mile on land)  if…

1 nautical mile (1 knot) = 1.15 statute miles  then… 260 knots = 299 statute miles

Melissa Fye, April 21, 2005

Posted on by Teacher at Sea

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Melissa Fye
Onboard NOAA Ship Hi’ialakai
April 4 – 25, 2005

Mission: Coral Reef Ecosystem Survey
Geographical Area: Northwest Hawaiian Islands
Date: April 21, 2005

Location: Latitude: 23*36.3’North, Longitude: 164*43.0’W

Weather Data from the Bridge
Visibility: 10
Wind Direction:90
Wind Speed: 14 knots
Sea Wave Height: 2-4 feet
Swell Wave Height: 5-7 feet
Sea Level Pressure: 1018.8
Cloud Cover: 2/8 Cu, As, Si
Temperature outside: 24.4

Science and Technology Log

The HI’IALAKAI continued running survey lines of the ocean floor near Nihoa. Scientists continued grouping together larger swaths of data in the drylab, like pieces of a puzzle emerging from the depths of the ocean. We cruised by Nihoa several times collecting benthic data.

Personal Log

I began the day answering emails from students and teachers. I edited a file of data in the drylab and flitted about taking pictures of people and places on board. The cruise is beginning to wind down, so there isn’t as much to do at this point and no boats are being deployed either. I must admit my stomach is a little upset from the rolling and pitching of the boat. I sleep terribly one night, then like a rock the next.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: CO Kuester (commanding officer) has given commands for the ship to arrive at the entrance to Honolulu Harbor by 0700 on Saturday, April 23rd. The ship has 260 nautical miles to still cover, and we travel ten knots an hour.  1) How many hours will it take us to reach our destination? __________________ 2) A nautical mile > a statute mile (mile on land)  if…

1 nautical mile (1 knot) = 1.15 statute miles  then…       260 knots =____________ statute miles?

(thanks to Lt. Wingate and ENS Jones for help with this question!)

ANSWER TO YESTERDAY’s Question: I have seen many sea creatures around the Northern Hawaiian Islands coral reef ecosystem. Animals such as the whitetip shark,  sea turtles, and monk seals. These animals are all living things that eat other living things for energy. In a food web, they are called consumers.