Lesley Urasky: Setting Sail from St. Croix, June 16, 2012

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Lesley Urasky
Aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces
June 16 – June 29, 2012

 

Mission:  Caribbean Reef Fish Survey
Geographical area of cruise: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Date: Saturday, June 16, 2012

Location:
Latitude: 17.6395
Longitude: -64.8277

Weather Data from the Bridge:
Air Temperature: 29°C (84°F)
Wind Speed: 15.76 knots (18.1 mph)
Relative Humidity: 79%
Barometric Pressure: 1,012.7 mb
Surface Water Temperature: 29°C (84°F)

Personal Log

My trip to meet the Pisces and become a Teacher at Sea was a two-day process.  I traveled from my home in Sinclair, Wyoming to Denver, Colorado to catch the first of three flights.  The first flight was from Denver to Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport; after a two-hour layover, I then flew to Miami.  Originally, I was to travel the entire way in one day.  However, I didn’t want to arrive in St. Croix at 10:00 p.m. and have to make my way to the pier, pass through security, board the ship, find my stateroom, and hopefully meet some of the crew and scientists late at night.  Instead, I spent the night in Miami and flew to St. Croix the next morning.

Google Earth view of my trip to St. Croix.

Once I landed at the Frederiksted Airport on St. Croix, I took a taxi to the cruise ship pier.  The taxi driver was very concerned about taking me there, because no cruise ships were docked; he was doubtful that any ship was there.  After convincing him that a NOAA ship was indeed docked, he moved aside the sugar cane in the back, loaded my bags, and took me to the pier.  Breaking my trip into two pieces turned out to be the best plan because once I got to the security gate, there was no approved members list at security and they wouldn’t accept my travel document.  They called the ship and the Commanding Officer (CO) came down the pier to meet me at the gate and escort me to the ship.  After a quick tour of the ship, I took some time to settle into the stateroom I’m sharing with the Operations Officer, Kelly Shill.  The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring Frederiksted.

The Pisces viewed from Frederiksted, St. Croix

On Friday, June 15th, I went to Christiansted with some of the ship’s crew members.  Kelly Schill, Operations Officer; Chris Zacharias, Junior Engineer; Peter Langlois, 3rd Mate; and I went shopping for souvenirs, had lunch, and fed the resident school of tarpon outside of Fort Christian Brew Pub.  Later that evening, we went to a beachside restaurant and watched a performance by some modern dance fire dancers.

Hungry tarpon waiting for tidbits.

Fire dancers

Today we left port and embarked on the third Leg of the Caribbean Reef Fish Survey.  The first leg was when the Pisces traveled from Pascagoula, Mississippi to San Juan, Puerto Rico; here the ship picked up the scientific crew.  The second leg was from San Juan, Puerto Rico to St. Croix; during this time period, they collected data about the ocean and the fish along the reef system.  I joined the scientists and crew of the Pisces at Frederiksted, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The Pisces was in port at St. Croix for three days for personnel change, resupply of the galley, and to give the crew a rest. During this leg, we will be traveling back to San Juan, Puerto Rico taking samples around St. Croix and St Thomas islands.  In addition to the reef fish survey, the Pisces will be deploying the base (anchor and chain) for another buoy to collect oceanographic data 3 nautical miles (nm) south of Saba, which is located between St. Croix and St. Thomas.  The University of Virgin Islands is working in conjunction with NOAA to accomplish this goal.  Once back in San Juan, the scientists will leave the ship, returning home with the data.  On the fourth leg, the Pisces will return to Mayport, Florida, retrieving a buoy that is adrift along the way.  Commander Fischel is kindly allowing me to remain aboard during the cruise back to port!

Science and Technology Log

Here is a quick overview of all equipment the survey will use to collect data. There is an array of four video cameras that is baited with frozen squid.  The array is lowered over the side of the ship at each sampling site, and allowed to rest on the bottom for 40 minutes.  The cameras cannot be deployed during the night because there are no lights on the array. Therefore, viewing is dependent upon the availability of sunlight penetrating the water column.  Because of the need for natural light, the cameras are only used during daylight hours; the array cannot be deployed earlier than one hour after sunrise and must be retrieved from the bottom of the continental shelf or shelf edge one hour before sunset.

After the camera array is deployed, a cluster of instruments called a CTD is lowered to collect data on the ocean environment.  CTD is an acronym for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth. Conductivity is used to determine the salinity (the amount of salts dissolved in the water).  Water conducts electricity (this is why you shouldn’t use electrical appliances while in or around water, and why the lifeguard tells you to get out of the pool during a thunderstorm).  As the salinity increases, conductivity increases.  Temperature is a very straight forward measurement.  I’m sure you’ve measured the temperature of several different things ranging from air temperature (to see how hot it is outside) to the internal temperature of a roasting chicken.  These measurements are related to specific depths within the water column. The depth the instrument is at in the ocean is calculated from measuring the hydrostatic pressure (how much pressure the overlying water exerts on the instrument).  The CTD instrumentation cluster collects huge amounts of data – 8 measurements per second!  These are averaged and compressed into “bins” covering 1 meter segments.

The CTD and camera array waiting deployment.

In addition, the instrument cluster also measures the amount of oxygen dissolved (DO) in the water column.  As you probably already know, most organisms require oxygen to live (carry out cellular respiration).  The amount of oxygen dissolved in the water is directly correlated to how much life the water can support.  More oxygen = more life.  When water is warmer, it loses its ability to “hold onto” oxygen; cold water will contain more dissolved oxygen.  This is one reason why climate change and warming aquatic environments are of great concern.

Victor, Joey, and Joe deploying the camera array

After both the camera array and CTD have been deployed and retrieved, the final step at each site is to collect fish through the use of bandit reels located at three sites on the ship.  All three are located on the starboard (right hand) side of the ship.  Reel #1 is starboard (S), Reel #2 is starboard aft (SA), and Reel #3 is starboard stern (SS) at the back of the ship.  Reel #3 is where I helped the attempts to collect fish.  Each bandit reel has ten hooks of the same size (8/0, 11/0, and 15/0) attached to a 300-lb test monofilament.  Each of the hook sizes are rotated around the stations throughout the day.  These hooks are baited with slices of frozen Atlantic mackerel.  A 10 pound weight is attached to the end of the line, the baited hooks attached, and the line let out until it hits bottom.  Then, a float is attached and the line is left for five minutes before being reeled back in.

Any fish that are caught are identified and have their length and mass measured.  Afterwards, the fish’s otoliths are removed and it is opened to determine its gender and have its reproductive stage assessed.  More on the fish specifics to come!

Lesley Urasky: Tropical Waters and New Discoveries!

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Lesley Urasky
NOAA Ship Pisces
June 14 – June 26, 2012

Mission: Reef Fish Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: U.S. Virgin Islands
Date: April 30, 2012

Personal Log

Hello, everyone!  Greetings from Sinclair, Wyoming!  My name is Lesley Urasky, and I am a science teacher at Rawlins High School in Rawlins, Wyoming.  I’m currently teaching Geology/Astronomy, Principles of Biomedical Sciences, and Physical Science.  This upcoming year will be my eighth  at RHS, and my fifteenth year as a science teacher.  I began my teaching career at the Science Academy of South Texas in Mercedes, Texas;  SciTech is a science and engineering magnet school.

We can see Elk Mountain from our classrooms at Rawlins High School

My love of exploring Earth’s natural wonders began at a very early age.  My parents took me to the mountains when I was only a few weeks old and were very instrumental in making sure I was able to explore through amazing family trips all over the United States.  I attribute my travel bug to my mother, who just “wants to go!”

A few years ago, I realized that there was an entirely amazing opportunity for teachers to travel to the far reaches of the world and bring these experiences back to their students. Teacher Research Experiences (TREs)  are designed to allow teachers to accompany research teams and share the amazing science being conducted to help understand how the Earth and its processes work.  TREs have been demonstrated to be highly effective programs (Silverstein, S.C., Dubner, J., Miller, J., Glied, S., & Loike, J.D. (2009). Teachers’ Participation in Research Programs Improves Their Students’ Achievement in Science. Science, 440-442.)

I first discovered these opportunities through a program called PolarTREC.  As a PolarTREC teacher I accompanied a team of scientists to Antarctica where we spent five weeks camped in the Central Transantarctic Mountains along the Beardmore Glacier.

Here I am tasting ice from the Last Glacial Maximum (last ice age). The ice is about 15,000-18,000 years old.

Now, I have the unique opportunity to bring a completely different region and type of science to students — I’ll be participating in another chance of a lifetime — sailing on the NOAA Ship Pisces!  I’ll be aboard the ship for Leg 2 of the Caribbean Reef Fish Survey.   Having been to the polar regions and seen first hand the changes occurring there, I feel it is extremely important to show how our changing climate is having an impact on the world’s oceans.  I’m excited to be able to participate in the reef fish survey (this is similar to what we’ll be doing, but in a different region) to learn about the health of reefs and their associated fauna.  I’m hoping to be able to make connections between the science I learn on the cruise with global changes.

NOAA Ship Pisces

To see a short video of what I may be doing on my cruise, see  the following video by NOAA’s Ocean Today.  

Paige Teamey: November 7, 2011

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Paige Teamey
Aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson
October 31, 2011 – November 1, 2011

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Atlantic Ocean, between Montauk, L.I. and Block Island
Date: November 7, 2011

Weather Data from the Bridge

Early Morning Sunrise

Clouds: 2/8 Cu, Ci
Visibility: 10 Nautical Miles
Wind: SE 21 knots
Temperature 14.0° Celsius
Dry Bulb: 14.1 ° Celsius
Wet Bulb: 12.0 ° Celsius
Barometer: 1024.2 millibars
Latitude: 41°08’232″ ° North
Longitude: 072°04’78″ ° West

Current Celestial View of NYC:	Current Moon Phase:	Current Seasonal Position (make sure to click on “show earth profile):
http://www.astroviewer.com/	http://www.die.net/moon/	http://esminfo.prenhall.com/ OR http://www.learner.org/

Science and Technology Log

Monday started with my alarm beckoning my eyes to open at 4:15am.  I found my right pointer finger hitting snooze not once, but twice, only to finally move myself from the medium of a dreamlike state to a stand-up position at 4:36.  I made it to the galley for breakfast and a safety brief for the 3102 launch.

Safety Brief. Mapping locations and surveys to be accomplished along Fisher Island.

Today I will be joining COXSWAIN Tom Bascom and HIC  Matt Vanhoy to perform near-shore surveying on sections that have both holidays and missed information.  Holidays do not mean we will be scanning for Santa’s missing sleigh, or find Columbus’s ship Santa Maria run aground, but rather areas that have been previously surveyed and unfortunately recorded absolutely no information.  Holidays occur sometimes due to rough seas, oxygen, as well as possible rocky ocean floors.

After Tom, Matt, and I were lowered in the 3102 by the davit and help of the TJ crew, we went to Fisher Island and began the slow mowing movements of surveying.  The ride to Fisher Island was incredibly bumpy and the entire deck was wet from the swells pushing up at the bow.  Currently there are winds upwards of 16 knots and a chill in the air.  Vanhoy is below deck in the surveying room and Bascom is manning the boat.  Me, well, I am observing for now and loving the chaotic changing seas.  After about 2 hours on deck with Tom I went below to the survey room… that lasted about 20 minutes.  I became really sea sick and returned to deck with Tom.  Matt told me that he often gets sea sick while surveying on the launches and will come up to the stern, puke, and continue on through the day (wow).  When you are on a launch the motions of the ocean are magnified and you can feel the movements much more so than on the ship.

Polygons and

While we were passing by the massive houses located on Fisher Island, Tom commented that unless there is love inside the homes, they are like the numerous clam shells we find already emptied and eaten by fish and gulls.  He said that peace and happiness is not a large house, but the land that surrounds the home.  Tom has been on the open waters for the past 30 years and has found solace in simplicity.  He is a determined individual who presses on and is concerned with following protocol and ensuring the safety of those around him.

After lunch we finished our survey sections and still had 3 hours before needing to return so went around the area and collected bottom samples.  Bottom samples (BS) is probably the most fun thing I have been able to help with on the ship.  We used a  device called the Van Veen Grab system and lowered it into the water. When we thought the Sampler was in contact with the ocean floor we pulled a few times up and down on the line and then hoisted the grabber to the deck.

The bottom samples are taken for the fisheries division as well as for ships that are interested in areas that they will be able to anchor in.  For the most part we pulled samples of course sand and broken clam shells (I hope this is no reflection of Fisher Island).  The further away from the shore line we went the more courser the sand became as well the more rocks we sampled.  Most of the rocks were metamorphic and consisted of marble and a little quartzite.  This surprised me given the location.  I though most of the rocks would be sedimentary based on the surrounding topography and surface features.

I appreciate Tom and Matt taking the time to review and connect me into each process.  Tom taught me how to drive the launch… that was really FUN.  With all of the monitors it was hard to discern between reality and a glamorous video game.  Radar showed me where I was going, and a survey map outlined the areas I was trying to move to in order to take the next bottom sample.  Watching everything at once is not easy to do because you also have to pay attention to the waters.  The shoals (shallow waters) often have “pots” which are lobster traps placed everywhere.  The pots have a cage on the bottom of the ocean floor and a huge buoy at the surface so you can locate them and steer clear of them.

Upon returning to the ship, I watched yet another amazing sunset and Matt take the survey data from the ship and upload it on the ship’s network while Tom and ENS Norman hosed down the salt from the deck and prepped the 3102 for a new day.

ENS Norman Hosing down 3101 after surveying Fisher Island for the day.