tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36246490124176821982024-03-12T15:59:21.428-07:00Mr. T at SeaBruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-10237651291829902902010-09-06T04:10:00.000-07:002010-09-06T04:12:16.710-07:00NOAA Teacher at Sea Aids Gulf Oil Spill Research EffortsHere's my <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/features/04_resources/teacheratsea.html">interview</a> on the NOAA website.Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-10310264713626630432010-07-19T05:58:00.001-07:002010-07-19T06:12:38.790-07:00Back Home<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><br /></u></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHataXo9E685zcxSD2auMld1C_l3wfe5yrSA0xvRle-zHSYhDSOWlcXYP8QqC3vQtMJ3VXN6BmFJDyWDP4Swyr_z-3E-nPUvMpW7sJJfToewWGn18lYHDTw4UVqKZ7Ck9BcPRY83knkv2/s1600/BT+Oil+Rig.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHataXo9E685zcxSD2auMld1C_l3wfe5yrSA0xvRle-zHSYhDSOWlcXYP8QqC3vQtMJ3VXN6BmFJDyWDP4Swyr_z-3E-nPUvMpW7sJJfToewWGn18lYHDTw4UVqKZ7Ck9BcPRY83knkv2/s400/BT+Oil+Rig.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495604172675343410" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">We steamed home from the western Gulf to Pascagoula, around the Mississippi Delta, from Friday to Saturday. We saw lots of oil rigs, but no sign of oil in the water.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>After 17 days at sea it was nice to be back on land. Teachers at Sea was a hands-on, total-immersion learning experience, unlike anything I've ever done before. I learned an amazing amount about the Gulf, the marine ecosystem, about how to do science at sea, and what it's like to live on a ship. You can't get that from a book, a video, a website or even a blog like this. You just have to get out there and do it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSU5h7QHNXC1OlmpW-hg77PCrJhTN8k0GZJEokpn4OCnb3wccejbQe1JhFC54mvXQXkdaYCCcc-D5puY7Mn257Q8creAxGZ4yCCGYUejrEc2kARNexD0rJ9oVNFp4nLu3NWX0YXxFwEe4D/s1600/Dock.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSU5h7QHNXC1OlmpW-hg77PCrJhTN8k0GZJEokpn4OCnb3wccejbQe1JhFC54mvXQXkdaYCCcc-D5puY7Mn257Q8creAxGZ4yCCGYUejrEc2kARNexD0rJ9oVNFp4nLu3NWX0YXxFwEe4D/s400/Dock.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495603755328302722" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 328px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGwDLXkQrXqkUNVJ7jCVCGEMeELp_kjFvU20S6-eaKmcnN6xy6A68Dl5qO5wt1q2RXEaK-zTFNq0RCZN4XIBIK9ozRZMIWrkK9gaCAK2ThtOd9oimk0Kqxcq7G0PaIIEuUuRLJZ4vbtI3/s1600/Sunset+7-16.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGwDLXkQrXqkUNVJ7jCVCGEMeELp_kjFvU20S6-eaKmcnN6xy6A68Dl5qO5wt1q2RXEaK-zTFNq0RCZN4XIBIK9ozRZMIWrkK9gaCAK2ThtOd9oimk0Kqxcq7G0PaIIEuUuRLJZ4vbtI3/s400/Sunset+7-16.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495604378601011490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-20449612400980473032010-07-15T11:31:00.000-07:002010-07-15T12:01:14.115-07:00Last Day of Fishing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">NOAA Teacher at Sea: Bruce Taterka<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">NOAA Ship: <span style="font-style: italic;">Oregon II</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Date: Thursday, July 15, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Weather Data from the Bridge <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Time: 1400 (2:00 pm)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Position: Latitude 28.32.95 N, Longitude 93.50.85 W<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Present Weather: 35% cloud cover<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Visibility: 8 nautical miles<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Wind Speed: 5 knots<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Wave Height: 1-2 feet<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Sea Water Temp: 31.6 C<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 32.7<span style=""> C</span>; Wet bulb = 27.0 C<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Barometric Pressure: 1016.84<span style=""> </span>mb<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Science and Technology Log <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">NOAA has closed off a large portion of the Gulf to fishing and shrimping because of the oil spill, but based on fish samples and real-time data being collected on the Oregon II and other NOAA ships, the western Gulf still appears to be unaffected by oil.<span style=""> </span>In fact, the Texas shrimp season opens today. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">The second leg of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Oregon II’s</span> Summer Groundfish survey is coming to its end.<span style=""> </span>Today is our last day of fishing.<span style=""> </span>Tomorrow we’ll spend cleaning up and steaming back to the ship’s home port of Pascagoula, Mississippi, which we’ll reach on Saturday and then I fly home Saturday afternoon.<span style=""> </span>The map shows the ship’s track for the Summer Groundfish Survey.<span style=""> </span>Leg 1 was from Pascagoula to Galveston.<span style=""> </span>Leg 2, our current cruise, left from Galveston on July 1 and headed south, zigzagging our way down the coast almost to Mexico then </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQaz1hA1Rmye8YWfVtrDEsAqJT23ED6631DPJmG7uFi8y0EeepEMCXQT2Y4R6LljXT8tK-wOsQn_oAfJzaPz3X0bZxmy-yvUpEFE5muAYc4L5Bpb7qsYd4dPYHpA5-ODbDYq-f90lkelQ/s1600/Ship+Track+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQaz1hA1Rmye8YWfVtrDEsAqJT23ED6631DPJmG7uFi8y0EeepEMCXQT2Y4R6LljXT8tK-wOsQn_oAfJzaPz3X0bZxmy-yvUpEFE5muAYc4L5Bpb7qsYd4dPYHpA5-ODbDYq-f90lkelQ/s400/Ship+Track+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494203655698725298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">working our way back up, collecting samples and data the whole way.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">This part of the Gulf has been oil free, but tomorrow on our way back to Pascagoula we should be going through the spill.<span style=""> </span>Check back for pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Earlier this week I got a chance to run the CTD from the lab.<span style=""> </span>The graph on the computer screen shows the data being collected as the CTD drops to the sea floor.<span style=""> </span>If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the green line, which represents dissolved oxygen, dropping drastically towards the sea bottom.<span style=""> </span>This indicates hypoxia – low dissolved oxygen at the sea floor.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3O8JLawyXBW4INpU5OjL37_PunDpZdqh4XSsZXKG99o6AG38CRGetMTtXBFHLs0NRZ5paGhQkgioC-5cz0HfYX5u45oAlyxQXtqa-kEGVbRz-_RBRzywZqSbpziAWc6miSfQ1XOlyAQ9/s1600/BT+CTD+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3O8JLawyXBW4INpU5OjL37_PunDpZdqh4XSsZXKG99o6AG38CRGetMTtXBFHLs0NRZ5paGhQkgioC-5cz0HfYX5u45oAlyxQXtqa-kEGVbRz-_RBRzywZqSbpziAWc6miSfQ1XOlyAQ9/s400/BT+CTD+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494204359788788738" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">This reading was from an area where the bottom was hypoxic, which resulted in a small catch in our trawl net.<span style=""> </span>Yesterday, however, we got into less hypoxic waters and pulled in our biggest haul yet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimylV5ToTJwD_dCI5aAg29RaMQuugIjCs0-QQ007is_qANqyN1OOL_4caMXIS7gsQkFqsLRWCwGe6YLJ-QDNq07aywUnFwCSpqMqacZqVdZNjaVAGNUiWNCz0YjDuqeTs3krSQTSkH2RaQ/s1600/Big+Catch+380+kg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimylV5ToTJwD_dCI5aAg29RaMQuugIjCs0-QQ007is_qANqyN1OOL_4caMXIS7gsQkFqsLRWCwGe6YLJ-QDNq07aywUnFwCSpqMqacZqVdZNjaVAGNUiWNCz0YjDuqeTs3krSQTSkH2RaQ/s400/Big+Catch+380+kg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494204756678893602" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">This is 380kg (~836lbs) of fish and invertebrates being hauled in.<span style=""> </span>It took a long time to shovel into baskets, sort by species, measure, weigh, determine sex and enter the data into FSCS.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtShp05EZzNNcPQQH6mRDnPsJi5eZwE6pf4jA0emDq6XIJRB0dJt4bjrWMszBxt6gfjTsmufBjyVlet6y56GaFeDVBa3BtAct7QyOer1Rj0DGPJkDxl-KzUkkT4gOGk5YZHdo7kT49lLs/s1600/Big+Catch+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtShp05EZzNNcPQQH6mRDnPsJi5eZwE6pf4jA0emDq6XIJRB0dJt4bjrWMszBxt6gfjTsmufBjyVlet6y56GaFeDVBa3BtAct7QyOer1Rj0DGPJkDxl-KzUkkT4gOGk5YZHdo7kT49lLs/s400/Big+Catch+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494204763550667490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Personal Log<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;">Yesterday some dolphins tried to steal our catch.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAa1Wy_ggiBvwdZ5QooVtav4PE5HL1cbK6uXyyY8Oh5FGZvgQfFQuWjnf9LoXY-EhhG1Y-OckeqldfUYFRUAcAqJX_AT1mmitl2MW9Jx1Mef3cYEci5l3ur5lhI-kDRNiMzmgncrDNSCaa/s1600/Dolphins+3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAa1Wy_ggiBvwdZ5QooVtav4PE5HL1cbK6uXyyY8Oh5FGZvgQfFQuWjnf9LoXY-EhhG1Y-OckeqldfUYFRUAcAqJX_AT1mmitl2MW9Jx1Mef3cYEci5l3ur5lhI-kDRNiMzmgncrDNSCaa/s320/Dolphins+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494205550505332882" border="0" /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZG0qBTf9KqZB7wrHAlp1nZ_F-oNRAqEK1s7fKy6Te7mDWlaF8q3AZj4jMVek3uo21mNJL99ZNtYjGOaEvQTRwuVc2nhc5WdkheiZ6v0N5o4_beSrj7ik2pLhZqBf9E9_w1mAGToOWwmF_/s1600/Dolphin+4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZG0qBTf9KqZB7wrHAlp1nZ_F-oNRAqEK1s7fKy6Te7mDWlaF8q3AZj4jMVek3uo21mNJL99ZNtYjGOaEvQTRwuVc2nhc5WdkheiZ6v0N5o4_beSrj7ik2pLhZqBf9E9_w1mAGToOWwmF_/s320/Dolphin+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494205539444543330" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We caught a Bonnethead Shark, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Sphyra tiburo</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, related to Hammerheads.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2kbmf-tF6Mnvy2I9CijFO70zzd08O-srATzAB-KKKX28u2BW3S1d5DncyH8j3fe5Xdfe8KAvS8QzsLI1DG23dzVSFs-5rj7qE1n798o3__Do_SpuxJO_cLojALtRfEzwFB1UKxMsr6mo/s1600/Bonnethead+-++Sphyra+tiburo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2kbmf-tF6Mnvy2I9CijFO70zzd08O-srATzAB-KKKX28u2BW3S1d5DncyH8j3fe5Xdfe8KAvS8QzsLI1DG23dzVSFs-5rj7qE1n798o3__Do_SpuxJO_cLojALtRfEzwFB1UKxMsr6mo/s400/Bonnethead+-++Sphyra+tiburo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494205913838006434" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-53945680744356181152010-07-12T10:01:00.000-07:002010-07-12T22:16:31.504-07:00It's All Connected<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" >NOAA Teacher at Sea: Bruce Taterka<br /></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> NOAA Ship: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Oregon II</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" ><br /><br />Weather Data from the Bridge </span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Time: 0015 (12:15 am)</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Position: Latitude = 28.13.24 N; Longitude = 094.15.51 W</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Present Weather: Cloud cover 20%</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Visibility: 6-8 nautical miles</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Wind Speed: 20 knots</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Wave Height: 2-4 feet</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Sea Water Temp: 29.4 C</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br />Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 29.6 C; Wet bulb = 25.7 C</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Barometric Pressure: 1011.96 mb</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" ><br /><br />Science and Technology Log</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">“IT’S ALL CONNECTED.” If you took my Environmental Science class I hope you know what I’m talking about. Everything in an ecosystem is connected to everything else. This is a guiding principle of studying and managing ecosystems. I saw this last summer when I helped investigate the relationship between plants, caterpillars, parasitic wasps and climate change in the cloud forest of Ecuador. I see it in the relationship between human development, deer, invasive plants and native plants at the Schiff Nature Preserve in New Jersey.</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br />I’m seeing it now in the Gulf of Mexico. Obviously, the ocean environment is connected to human activities – the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill makes that abundantly clear. But there are also countless natural connections, and much less obvious human impacts, that must be understood and assessed if the Gulf ecosystem is to be protected. Commercial fish and shrimp stocks can only be sustained through a careful understanding of the human impact and natural connections in the Gulf.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: times new roman;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-kBF88kndhUcyimcumAcuWZUzTAl3lqdAEosCMpvo-al-RjosD5W0hgcquKKRT_OGqKrqsC_RxAiQuhm3iAQDNeGdwh6siJqFUSkKIVJ-NHzgA9cs131hMEwJw_jeyvdKpSlTcAQVKLn/s1600/Oil+Rig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-kBF88kndhUcyimcumAcuWZUzTAl3lqdAEosCMpvo-al-RjosD5W0hgcquKKRT_OGqKrqsC_RxAiQuhm3iAQDNeGdwh6siJqFUSkKIVJ-NHzgA9cs131hMEwJw_jeyvdKpSlTcAQVKLn/s400/Oil+Rig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493218489041096802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-size:85%;">Drilling platform off the coast of Texas.</span></span><br /><br /></div> <span style="font-family:times new roman;">That’s why we identify and count </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" >every </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">organism we bring up in a trawl. Sometimes we get 50 or more different species in one catch, and we don’t just count the commercially important ones like red snapper and shrimp. We count the catfish, eel, starfish, sea squirts, hermit crabs and even jellyfish we haul in. Why? Because even though these organisms might seem “unimportant” to us, they might be important to the red snapper and shrimp. They also might be important to the organisms the red snapper and shrimp depend on. And even if they’re not directly important, studying them might tell us important things about the health of the Gulf.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI5GQBQGRvlOPj5pnaXqUk2rV1LDrSGXAQ1tCRVt7bdEypvHkyVk78pr722cV4XOQmlZF4SEiYaY4Zxp6f5-9QfOX2f-PmhebzkN4e-AdyEofiWIQx-GOtbQrfw_widDaO3SufakkV0yK/s1600/Brittany.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfI5GQBQGRvlOPj5pnaXqUk2rV1LDrSGXAQ1tCRVt7bdEypvHkyVk78pr722cV4XOQmlZF4SEiYaY4Zxp6f5-9QfOX2f-PmhebzkN4e-AdyEofiWIQx-GOtbQrfw_widDaO3SufakkV0yK/s200/Brittany.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493067423776021090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I’m learning a lot about this from the incredibly knowledgeable marine biologists in the science party. Brittany Palm is a Research Fishery Biologist from NOAA’s Southeast Fishery Science Center (SEFSC) in Pascagoula, MS, and leader of the day watch on this leg of the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Oregon II’s</span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;">Summer Groundfish Survey. Brittany is working on her M.S. on a fish called croaker, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Micropogonias undulatus</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, studying its stomach contents to better understand its position in the food web. Croaker is not an economically important species, but it lives in the same shallow sea floor habitat as shrimp so shrimpers end up hauling in a huge amount of croaker as bycatch. So, when the shrimping industry declined in 2003-2004, the croaker population exploded. Since croaker are closely associated with shrimp habitat and the shrimp fishery, we might gain important insights by studying croaker population and understanding what they eat, and what eats them.</span> <a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIyf8cRp3dFu77YlHXXpr-JI0IsKwEIt21c19i2PFP_1ECTbLHXyhYoFCe_nxNvj7wsvo54SUq6tG0837UOMJAeHHfCWo_-f4Kkdr1nmp1iuKCN1L0EOtgmPO8fcDO03vTtmndSG-V33I/s1600/Alonzo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIyf8cRp3dFu77YlHXXpr-JI0IsKwEIt21c19i2PFP_1ECTbLHXyhYoFCe_nxNvj7wsvo54SUq6tG0837UOMJAeHHfCWo_-f4Kkdr1nmp1iuKCN1L0EOtgmPO8fcDO03vTtmndSG-V33I/s200/Alonzo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493067719191923314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br />Alonzo Hamilton is another NOAA Fishery Biologist from the SEFSC. Alonzo explained to me that there’s a lot to be learned by looking at the whole ecosystem, not just the 23 commercial species that are managed in the Gulf. For example, many of the crabs we commonly catch in our trawls are in the genus </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Portunas</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, known as “swimming crabs.” </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Portunas</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> species normally live on the sea floor, but wh<span style="font-family:times new roman;">en severe hypoxia sets in, </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Portunas </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">crabs can be found at the surface, trying to escape the sever oxygen depletion that typically takes place at the bottom of the water column.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span> <a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qvADLx3c3vzqRtehi58a7kRqeySn8IIN7XXuzXDUuFVUtFdEjdn85YzdPZA-h_drA2qj__fb7zvi318q_IdueCN74FlC4eId41oEuQd5aWjAnjmmGdFDn08F3Hx4WcICWhX4W8IbHMya/s1600/Portunas+spinicarpus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qvADLx3c3vzqRtehi58a7kRqeySn8IIN7XXuzXDUuFVUtFdEjdn85YzdPZA-h_drA2qj__fb7zvi318q_IdueCN74FlC4eId41oEuQd5aWjAnjmmGdFDn08F3Hx4WcICWhX4W8IbHMya/s320/Portunas+spinicarpus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493068360700212610" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Portunas spinicarpus</span> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Sean Lucey is a Research Fishery Biologist from NOAA’s Northeast Fishery Science Cent</span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7i-PkM6gcByD2BrFLeK0v7gU6WN0lwJKW2zHOiIMq1F_zt2Q5_SThDt4jWfCE2M_xloaABLgdHeZ44FKv_Xc6B1jVC5m0ZTaryyFeYl9Bms0wzmnLNeS4WghuM1VSenlafOS33gfR4vI/s1600/Sean.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7i-PkM6gcByD2BrFLeK0v7gU6WN0lwJKW2zHOiIMq1F_zt2Q5_SThDt4jWfCE2M_xloaABLgdHeZ44FKv_Xc6B1jVC5m0ZTaryyFeYl9Bms0wzmnLNeS4WghuM1VSenlafOS33gfR4vI/s200/Sean.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493089358525255666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">er in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He’s working on the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Oregon II</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> right now to support the SEFSC because of huge manpower effort demanded by the oil spill. Sean explained that the NEFSC has been conducting its groundfish survey annually since 1963, making it the longest-running study of its kind. Originally the survey only looked at groundfish population, but as our understanding of ecosystem dynamics increased over time, more and more factors were analyzed. Now NEFSC looks at sex, age, stomach contents and many other species besides groundfish to obtain a more complete picture of the food web and the abiotic factors that affect groundfish. NEFSC even measures primary production in the marine ecosystem as one tool to estimate the potential biomass of groundfish and other species at higher trophic levels.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxIg0kaBbK_qThc5TK_KeIJQEG_U9oVdEHXcidWpYrtlEbwct49-rLTMRX7-PE-_nAj6QUnvGO61ArtLHNu4z_2JoU-ASC88hrFno7UFI_RodQoGX_qW8OxpXD7maqWRVKb4zryMiL8Vt/s1600/Andre.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxIg0kaBbK_qThc5TK_KeIJQEG_U9oVdEHXcidWpYrtlEbwct49-rLTMRX7-PE-_nAj6QUnvGO61ArtLHNu4z_2JoU-ASC88hrFno7UFI_RodQoGX_qW8OxpXD7maqWRVKb4zryMiL8Vt/s200/Andre.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493089699449030002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Andre DeBose is a NOAA Fishery Biologist from the SEFSC and the Field Party Chief for the Summer Groundfish Survey. In addition to leading the science team on the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Oregon II</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, Andre is conducting research on Rough Scad, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >Trachurus lathami</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, an important food species for red snapper and important bait fish for red snapper fisherman. By gaining a better understanding of the relationship between Red Snapper and its prey we can better understand, and better manage, the ecosystem as a whole.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">There’s a lot of information to be learned beyond just counting fish. By taking a wide look at the marine environment we can better understand how the whole ecosystem functions. This enables us not only to be more informed in setting sustainable catch levels, but also enables us to identify and respond to things that contribute to hypoxia and other problems that degrade habitat and reduce populations. It’s all connected.<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDRh_yjt2JGoo0zAMxcrFkg6l_SFufXFsjDSd0AHsqHPilTmuIaY_3MNn_j-usFNzIZAE2JJeZNIImIUx34Qrl4fPADh4at0iiiOkqUL1kqN2A5gAPDG11nLpv3ORY3_weDl9BgDHlyrH/s1600/Sunset.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDRh_yjt2JGoo0zAMxcrFkg6l_SFufXFsjDSd0AHsqHPilTmuIaY_3MNn_j-usFNzIZAE2JJeZNIImIUx34Qrl4fPADh4at0iiiOkqUL1kqN2A5gAPDG11nLpv3ORY3_weDl9BgDHlyrH/s400/Sunset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493220522657436754" border="0" /></a>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-35385685038400485312010-07-11T08:44:00.000-07:002010-07-11T16:22:36.378-07:00Sorting the Catch<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.Default, li.Default, div.Default {mso-style-name:Default; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">NOAA Teacher at Sea: Bruce Taterka<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">NOAA Ship: <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on"><i style="">Oregon</i></st1:state></st1:place><i style=""> II</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Mission</st1:city></st1:place>: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geographical Area of Cruise: <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Date: <st1:date month="7" day="11" year="2010" st="on">Sunday<span style=""> </span>July 11, 2010</st1:date></p><p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date month="7" day="11" year="2010" st="on"><br /></st1:date></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="Default"><b><span style="font-size:11;">Weather Data from the Bridge </span></b><span style="font-size:11;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Time: <span style=""> </span>0730 (<st1:time hour="7" minute="30" st="on">7:30 am</st1:time>)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Position: Latitude 28.18.6 N; Longitude 95.19.4 W<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Present Weather: party cloudy<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Visibility: 10 nautical miles <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Wind Speed: 12.35 knots <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Wave Height: 2 feet <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Sea Water Temp:<span style=""> </span>28.9 C <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;">Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 29.1 C; Wet bulb = 25.4 C<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;">Barometric Pressure:<span style=""> </span>1014.30 mb</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Science and Technology Log<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Kim and I have blogged about some of the tools we use aboard the <i style="">Oregon II</i> like FSCS, <span style=""> </span>CTD, Bongos and the Neuston.<span style=""> </span>But what, you ask, are some other tools we use that are not high tech?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisM6Z9Y3uFMCUs7K_BGXI9oF_8h3I21GwOROSIVkFUn1DnVeVp68aUFXsbdLZjtlvWliDCC6pWnwQPCiWsEhMDzjgKmDKEKnxx2uvnKEpansgjMcOrNbV_Cwxke6aM9k-H6Nlaej7OyVM8/s1600/BT+shoveling.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisM6Z9Y3uFMCUs7K_BGXI9oF_8h3I21GwOROSIVkFUn1DnVeVp68aUFXsbdLZjtlvWliDCC6pWnwQPCiWsEhMDzjgKmDKEKnxx2uvnKEpansgjMcOrNbV_Cwxke6aM9k-H6Nlaej7OyVM8/s400/BT+shoveling.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492788696863843714" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">Believe it or not, shovels, baskets and trays are important tools on the ground fish survey.<span style=""> </span>When a catch comes in the net is held by a crane and emptied into baskets, but a lot flops out onto the deck.<span style=""> </span>We use shovels to pick up the rest.<span style=""> </span>In the wet lab we use small shovels to move the catch along and trays to sort the organisms by species.<span style=""> </span>(Check out the video below!) When it comes to identification paperback field guides and laminated posters can help with ID.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Once we sort the catch, certain species have to be prepared and saved for research.<span style=""> </span>Some specimens go to university scientists.<span style=""> </span>For example, we bag and freeze specimens of batfish for an ongoing research study.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurLtrbHoiAzULkvKhkB0lgRqDim9qe0fAkD7KLC3TL0DNSFYJB8X9INbTeBDQzUPdsxYbtpO_g4-JeK-9XfzmM4g0_o6eeym-_-zOBpevls5BZHLhwbfEOjPdvUzhocE5jOSSdKnC7qwI/s1600/Batfish+-+ogocephalus+declaverastras.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurLtrbHoiAzULkvKhkB0lgRqDim9qe0fAkD7KLC3TL0DNSFYJB8X9INbTeBDQzUPdsxYbtpO_g4-JeK-9XfzmM4g0_o6eeym-_-zOBpevls5BZHLhwbfEOjPdvUzhocE5jOSSdKnC7qwI/s400/Batfish+-+ogocephalus+declaverastras.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492789121078672962" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Slantbrow batfish, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Ogcocephalaus declivirostris</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For food species like shrimp and red snapper, we bag specimens to go to NSIL (National Seafood Inspection Lab).<span style=""> </span>This is especially important now because of the oil spill –seafood samples are being tested to determine what parts of the Gulf can be opened to commercial fishing.<span style=""> </span>Samples from leg I of the Groundfish Survey are going to be sensory tested, or “sniff” tested. <span style=""> </span>For this test we have to wrap the specimens in foil to contain any scents so that the ‘sniff testers’ (people trained to pick up petroleum scent at an amazing 100 ppm) can identify if petroleum products are present.<span style=""> </span>For leg II the focus is on chemical sampling for petroleum.<span style=""> </span>However, protocols can change daily when you are sampling during a disaster.<span style=""> </span>Here’s a link to a recent news story on testing the fish we’re catching and sending to the lab: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/07/09/gupta.seafood.test.cnn">http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/07/09/gupta.seafood.test.cnn</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Personal Log:<br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We've been seeing lots of cool stuff. Yesterday we were trailed by a school of sharks for most of the day.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrk2up8z29QzmLQfjtafZFWyIYilIKqd_Kvb1EFhHoxGwk-xB3RpFsl7D4ikRMhzmsvm4ou67vZjaZ4l8pBAsQPwGK8og6yd-gUY3vsL5DAYUPdh7tcW6-xB3ZfetjCC3rXLQ5XynYDjf/s1600/Shark+1+sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrk2up8z29QzmLQfjtafZFWyIYilIKqd_Kvb1EFhHoxGwk-xB3RpFsl7D4ikRMhzmsvm4ou67vZjaZ4l8pBAsQPwGK8og6yd-gUY3vsL5DAYUPdh7tcW6-xB3ZfetjCC3rXLQ5XynYDjf/s400/Shark+1+sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492790970243685842" border="0" /></a><br /><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" >Here's a shark circling our CTD.</span><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGu7STzwfyFLN-3bHJcpjjaWVQZbENnpbiYGS8t2z2Njyfii0zs58LTHMYKRCLxzqQmoIJT_Q64oIBVo7Zn3b-J9llyubMxLsyXn6zbCTnZoEIyKdc1rBVnRhG9Suf5pjxaLFdD3_BCjsP/s1600/Shark+CTD+sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 382px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGu7STzwfyFLN-3bHJcpjjaWVQZbENnpbiYGS8t2z2Njyfii0zs58LTHMYKRCLxzqQmoIJT_Q64oIBVo7Zn3b-J9llyubMxLsyXn6zbCTnZoEIyKdc1rBVnRhG9Suf5pjxaLFdD3_BCjsP/s400/Shark+CTD+sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492790981054435874" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">We also caught a large Roughtail Stingray, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Dasyatis centroura</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">, in our trawl.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kYZqQjAX-BjQIwMIUF_oMMztDCqShJseLIPo15P7iKv-hKa45_52j4O0PeTiT2VctOaOHnah7hqvUocgiHPNsKEGZeBrW-v1u8x63uZqd6ISieCYJlf2-Q2DNx-oyGWy6EdtnXRuHi4h/s1600/Ray+1+sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kYZqQjAX-BjQIwMIUF_oMMztDCqShJseLIPo15P7iKv-hKa45_52j4O0PeTiT2VctOaOHnah7hqvUocgiHPNsKEGZeBrW-v1u8x63uZqd6ISieCYJlf2-Q2DNx-oyGWy6EdtnXRuHi4h/s400/Ray+1+sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492790965170501426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">He swam away feeling fine.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPh19781bjSf9Bcx_J_Jg8VHeOfuYiIT6zau8z5-RsL7X8tOROAmJlesmQbNJ9rqjFW_9fFlYzhtgIaCZwvHFBSEpTE8aZgx_Xng4pfBfjzTJkdiqGlfjF4ak57S6TMiIyopU1TY8J3f5/s1600/Ray+2+sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPh19781bjSf9Bcx_J_Jg8VHeOfuYiIT6zau8z5-RsL7X8tOROAmJlesmQbNJ9rqjFW_9fFlYzhtgIaCZwvHFBSEpTE8aZgx_Xng4pfBfjzTJkdiqGlfjF4ak57S6TMiIyopU1TY8J3f5/s400/Ray+2+sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492790959989103314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here's a video showing us processing a catch yesterday. It's a time lapse showing in 2 1/2 minutes the 45-minute process of sorting the 57 kg(~125 lbs) into 55 different species.</span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz-nOmMFhI1IjvdDXTqzKnBMSAYEqM1CG_Tj3w_S2nlj6j5kzNCHYkZ32XKSlEwbLJiQ9RzMIHvYFqDtyVh' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-48470787929207355022010-07-08T15:08:00.000-07:002010-07-08T15:35:35.547-07:00Sexing the Catch<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.Default, li.Default, div.Default {mso-style-name:Default; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">NOAA Teacher at Sea: Bruce Taterka <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">NOAA Ship: <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on"><i style="">Oregon</i></st1:state></st1:place><i style=""> II</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Mission</st1:city></st1:place>: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geographical Area of Cruise: <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Date: <st1:date year="2010" day="8" month="7" st="on">Thursday, July 8, 2010</st1:date></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="Default"><b><span style="font-size:11;">Weather Data from the Bridge </span></b><span style="font-size:11;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Time: 1630 (<st1:time minute="30" hour="16" st="on">4:30 pm</st1:time>)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Position: Latitude = 28.20.93 N; Longitude = 095.58.98 W<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Present Weather: Could cover 100% <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Visibility: 4-6 nautical miles <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Wind Speed: 18 knots <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Wave Height: 6-8 feet <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Sea Water Temp:<span style=""> </span>28.9 C <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;">Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 27.2 C; Wet bulb = 25.3 C<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;">Barometric Pressure:<span style=""> </span>1011.56 mb</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Science and Technology Log<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">As you can tell from our previous blogs, we spend a lot of our time on the <i style="">Oregon II</i> counting, measuring and weighing our catch and loading the data into FSCS.<span style=""> </span>These data are critical to NOAA and the states in managing fish stocks and the Gulf ecosystem.<span style=""> </span>In addition to knowing population size, weights, and lengths of individuals it’s also important to know the sex of the organisms. <span style=""> </span>Information on the male:female ratio helps NOAA and the states assess the ability of the population to reproduce, and to establish sustainable catch levels for commercial fishing.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">But how do you determine the sex of marine organisms?<span style=""> </span>For most fish and invertebrates you can only tell the sex by internal anatomy, which almost always requires cutting the animal open. <span style=""> </span>This is time consuming and not always practical when we have a large catch to process and other tasks take priority, such as preparing samples to be analyzed for contamination from the oil spill which is our top priority right now.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">For some organisms, however, sex can be determined externally.<span style=""> </span>One of the things we’ve learned in the past week is how to determine the sex of shrimp, flatfish, crabs, sharks, skates and rays.<span style=""> </span>Here’s how:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p><b><o:p></o:p></b><b><o:p></o:p></b><b><o:p></o:p></b><b><o:p></o:p></b> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Shrimp:</b><span style=""><span style=""> </span>the males have a pair of claspers (called <i style="">petasma</i>) on their first set of legs.<span style=""> </span>The petasma are absent in females.<span style=""> </span>The males use the petasma during mating to grasp the female and transfer the sperm sac.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheadqT2CBvTLUkq6J-__GtEIDOjFuBp01zQ-jMfII8pZEKRy1_DfPPTg1csDm3gzMwde1SMFHVXh-fIM1qIdiJRm4YGw13JhelUi1CIEpyFNlk4UwOYZtCca1M2qsqYDDAggdCubrJDPMy/s1600/Shrimp+M.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 385px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheadqT2CBvTLUkq6J-__GtEIDOjFuBp01zQ-jMfII8pZEKRy1_DfPPTg1csDm3gzMwde1SMFHVXh-fIM1qIdiJRm4YGw13JhelUi1CIEpyFNlk4UwOYZtCca1M2qsqYDDAggdCubrJDPMy/s400/Shrimp+M.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491661356608732338" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Male - arrows show the petasma<br /><br /></span></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoVIaiF4gZ6FhngWlFgZpxurNGppsFod1PwxQPvVfVg3mXAYS85TALBPDfUvoPLwMvWfn3KQ1eEfoOAJbx5GaCceYZAx7VJF_jyN6UTkWP1UwNZ-A8OSltybz345YTx525DR31wxHa8LL/s1600/Shrimp+F.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoVIaiF4gZ6FhngWlFgZpxurNGppsFod1PwxQPvVfVg3mXAYS85TALBPDfUvoPLwMvWfn3KQ1eEfoOAJbx5GaCceYZAx7VJF_jyN6UTkWP1UwNZ-A8OSltybz345YTx525DR31wxHa8LL/s400/Shrimp+F.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491661365974256482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Female - petasma are absent</span> </span><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Crabs:</b><span style=""><span style=""> </span>On most crab species females have wide plates curving around the rear of the abdomen, while males have a long narrow plate or plates.<span style=""> </span>On females, the eggs develop under the curved plate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSYbcWOj3-7GFOmjscicnzLXLsfPFxjBskXdnYQ_EbIIrdJmlImrzJDr-v3VSZIU8PA-pMy6hetqBqS3fSP3CCAVbDAZ5TOwI6Gta9RIqQwx3lmz1BcVGLtpX5AguVMKEupzJZMhcAHqx/s1600/Crab+M.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 342px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSYbcWOj3-7GFOmjscicnzLXLsfPFxjBskXdnYQ_EbIIrdJmlImrzJDr-v3VSZIU8PA-pMy6hetqBqS3fSP3CCAVbDAZ5TOwI6Gta9RIqQwx3lmz1BcVGLtpX5AguVMKEupzJZMhcAHqx/s400/Crab+M.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491662931783922258" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Male</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH2s-QVCGlz5HE8Y-J_GBAv2EZ6cA891ccBptIS72MZ7fbqSYGbLfyfPL0ue5aLQ2ICZZ86RcUvJa36OzUlsq_gHwr3oaVe1XLJ86uv49Wq5Shxn64pwLPgRrBmTYS9kJvNVB-aFvFDoE/s1600/Crab+F.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH2s-QVCGlz5HE8Y-J_GBAv2EZ6cA891ccBptIS72MZ7fbqSYGbLfyfPL0ue5aLQ2ICZZ86RcUvJa36OzUlsq_gHwr3oaVe1XLJ86uv49Wq5Shxn64pwLPgRrBmTYS9kJvNVB-aFvFDoE/s400/Crab+F.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491662939923360434" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Female</span><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GpgU6l2BuPSoegPWvB_BtZZx2KtKw4HbwyEACmk73yHm-z7cPUJ6_pLdZ1cIV904-MNuDvATclLiP_vwlKCZ3jXQI6kVnqOFEaAgwckFSQZJW_uitOQ1Ntww94uLIESkbkCIvyo1EJ0-/s1600/Crab+F+w+eggs.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GpgU6l2BuPSoegPWvB_BtZZx2KtKw4HbwyEACmk73yHm-z7cPUJ6_pLdZ1cIV904-MNuDvATclLiP_vwlKCZ3jXQI6kVnqOFEaAgwckFSQZJW_uitOQ1Ntww94uLIESkbkCIvyo1EJ0-/s400/Crab+F+w+eggs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491662947129318194" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Female with eggs</span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Flatfish:</b><span style=""><span style=""> </span>When you hold a flatfish up to the light you can see through it, which enables you to do an internal examination without cutting it open.<span style=""> </span>On female flatfish, the gonad extends in a dark red, curved wedge which is absent in the male.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk5JibZ6Fe4lhiACTyQ557YS6AdsHR0mtx_JcpZcGm9Qc9wjhwsrHTAogEthAQsa9zi6tRZDX46ijCWxGZW8rieVapSy_ke_xbpIhCktS6uVov0r2uiKuwQKRcrGBl4-HMvkPGT0si0p8/s1600/Flatfish+F.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk5JibZ6Fe4lhiACTyQ557YS6AdsHR0mtx_JcpZcGm9Qc9wjhwsrHTAogEthAQsa9zi6tRZDX46ijCWxGZW8rieVapSy_ke_xbpIhCktS6uVov0r2uiKuwQKRcrGBl4-HMvkPGT0si0p8/s400/Flatfish+F.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491664120933486098" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Female showing long curved gonad</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ5fETNhkS-md_bcphSBqMuk-mhMaTyOVZRc4JZhK63kQMeUk0JEF7nWtgMb2p9izNgwML7Z5QQNwO4XiPGYCY-nKIYN9HBlQ9bB7z5iZzC56IFpicc6-Bq96gArefRYXvmwsuy8Xmg0X/s1600/Flatfish+M.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ5fETNhkS-md_bcphSBqMuk-mhMaTyOVZRc4JZhK63kQMeUk0JEF7nWtgMb2p9izNgwML7Z5QQNwO4XiPGYCY-nKIYN9HBlQ9bB7z5iZzC56IFpicc6-Bq96gArefRYXvmwsuy8Xmg0X/s400/Flatfish+M.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491664116290557714" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Male - long gonad is absent</span><br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Sharks, skates and rays. </b><span style=""><span style=""> </span>Males have external claspers that they use in mating, while in females the cloaca is smooth and claspers are absent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4Qgs12h8u8BaFkyHqoW0CcwJBn_jWHDwEiz81GTYraS4viabs7HNMcL8qmsTvbR6tHtvwQ-jecf5IyVnnF2VPs1gpzS4XVUc91siKGfhxX4ZbfVrZEs23RzmVrS5enZUusOwW_f9jyjl/s1600/Shark+M.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4Qgs12h8u8BaFkyHqoW0CcwJBn_jWHDwEiz81GTYraS4viabs7HNMcL8qmsTvbR6tHtvwQ-jecf5IyVnnF2VPs1gpzS4XVUc91siKGfhxX4ZbfVrZEs23RzmVrS5enZUusOwW_f9jyjl/s400/Shark+M.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491664792267438034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Male Angel shark - arrows point to claspers<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSgQEEeaHETrE1boYoR7QbBAXke1NHp9PFoVQu7tB3PQyOoMU_zoA7VldS0UpTMdJHfqEjC2rqZEGAL2fm60RUngXQoFsucQ1Kh9eDawYNuj8qjHgxJK6LC99BbQMhC-6SAwBNZEAaciw/s1600/Shark+F.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSgQEEeaHETrE1boYoR7QbBAXke1NHp9PFoVQu7tB3PQyOoMU_zoA7VldS0UpTMdJHfqEjC2rqZEGAL2fm60RUngXQoFsucQ1Kh9eDawYNuj8qjHgxJK6LC99BbQMhC-6SAwBNZEAaciw/s400/Shark+F.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491664796682885714" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Female Angel shark - claspers are absent<br /></span></span><br /><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Personal Log</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">A tropical depression moved through the Gulf yesterday evening, making it too rough and windy to fish.<span style=""> </span>So instead of counting, measuring and loading data into FSCS, my watchmates and I cleaned the lab, secured our gear, and headed up to the lounge to watch <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Shutter</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place> on the large-screen TV.<span style=""> </span>Last night my bunk was like a roller coaster, tossing me from side-to-side and head-to-toe as the ship rolled and pitched in the big swells.<span style=""> </span>Today has been a slow day for the scientists on board, waiting for the storm to pass so we can start trawling again, while the crew and officers remain as busy as ever.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-16170487840147162282010-07-07T16:03:00.001-07:002010-07-09T11:19:54.226-07:00Trawling in Deeper Waters<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.Default, li.Default, div.Default {mso-style-name:Default; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">NOAA Teacher at Sea: <span style=""><span style="">Bruce Taterka</span></span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">NOAA Ship: <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on"><i style="">Oregon</i></st1:place></st1:state><i style=""> II</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mission</st1:place></st1:city>: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geographical Area of Cruise: <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Date: Wednesday, July 7, 2010</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="Default"><b><span style="font-size:11;">Weather Data from the Bridge </span></b><span style="font-size:11;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Time: 2015 (8:15pm)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Position: Latitude = 27.20.39 N; Longitude = 096.35.21 W<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Present Weather: Could cover 90% <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Visibility: 4-6 nautical miles <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Wind Speed: 15 knots <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Wave Height: 2-4 feet <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11;">Sea Water Temp:<span style=""> </span>28.6 C <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;">Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 28.5 C; Wet bulb =<span style=""> </span>26.7 C<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;">Barometric Pressure:<span style=""> </span>1008.27 mb</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Science and Technology Log<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Since setting out on Friday we’ve headed south along the Gulf coast of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> almost to the Mexican border, and now we’re heading back north but farther offshore, in deeper water.<span style=""> </span>As a result our trawls are pulling up a deep-water assemblage of species different from those we saw in shallower waters a few days ago.<span style=""> </span>There is still no sign of oil in this part of the Gulf, but we’re still taking samples of fish and shrimp for analysis to make sure there’s no contamination here from the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ten-foot seas are predicted for tonight so we’re heading north along the Texas coast, away from the storm, and we've put away the fishing gear until it gets calmer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Last log we talked about FSCS (Fisheries Scientific Computer System).<span style=""> </span>So what is it, how is it used, and what is so great about it?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">FSCS, pronounced ‘fiscus’, is an automated system for recording the massive amount of biological and oceanographic data generated 24 hours a day by NOAA scientists during fisheries surveys.<span style=""> </span>During a trawl survey, fish and invertebrates from each haul are sorted, counted and weighed by species. Scientists record data from individual fish, such as sex, weight, length and even stomach contents, resulting in tens of thousands of new data points every day. <span style=""> </span>Before NOAA rolled out FSCS in 2001 aboard the ship Albatross IV, scientists recorded all data by hand, an incredibly tedious process.<span style=""> </span>With FSCS, however, data are recorded digitally which is much faster, allows integration of biological and oceanographic data. It also enables NOAA to obtain critical real-time information to assess and manage the health of the marine ecosystem and individual fish stocks. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">FSCS uses a Limnoterra FMB4 (fish measuring board) which has a magnetic pen to upload the length of an organism within a millimeter, and software that annotates all of the data on length, mass, sex, etc.<span style=""> </span>The software has an index of species scientific names and can print labels for specimen samples that are to be shipped to other scientists and to the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Pascagoula</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">MS</st1:state></st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We use FSCS 24 hours a day, and I can't imagine how NOAA scientists did this work without it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><br />Personal Log</b></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I'm enjoying my 12-hour shifts processing fish, shrimp and invertebrates on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Oregon II</span>. Our noon-to-midnight watch is working well together and starting to bond.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVt8lCyTiX615PdgWGDhWRV5L_SGm55JQZBEHXQbTX3WRRzs6cPMaMCgPPMA7sdUJwM1Wl_Xysyj2tAf8hDqRkzM33ZwZABZyOQ5aRHnXn_FkmP4u7s-VQ63VcEBVbHs4uaOfghM0sa9P/s1600/Day+Watch+Fish+Lab.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVt8lCyTiX615PdgWGDhWRV5L_SGm55JQZBEHXQbTX3WRRzs6cPMaMCgPPMA7sdUJwM1Wl_Xysyj2tAf8hDqRkzM33ZwZABZyOQ5aRHnXn_FkmP4u7s-VQ63VcEBVbHs4uaOfghM0sa9P/s400/Day+Watch+Fish+Lab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491306809933833954" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >My watch-mates in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Oregon II</span> wet lab.</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I'm seeing lots of very cool marine life that we're hauling up from the bottom of the Gulf with our trawling net. Here are just a few of the things I've seen in the past two days:<br /></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3nyFA8OJ9l3lLTYLm84Rdes-mH2abpjwfuXaPGbg-LeLZlj4nZMIymUG9sgoP3yHxJz5UNxjfp_z7GB_-kgAiAhTZKbyq2SE92a8i3Qx4wfLxd7501iVpXC3equvYyO7taiM47HEzW50/s1600/Dwarf+frogfish+-+Antennarius+radiosus.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3nyFA8OJ9l3lLTYLm84Rdes-mH2abpjwfuXaPGbg-LeLZlj4nZMIymUG9sgoP3yHxJz5UNxjfp_z7GB_-kgAiAhTZKbyq2SE92a8i3Qx4wfLxd7501iVpXC3equvYyO7taiM47HEzW50/s400/Dwarf+frogfish+-+Antennarius+radiosus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491306272782490802" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Singlespot frogfish - <span style="font-style: italic;">Antennarius radiosus</span>.<br />Note the lure on its snout.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx03vHGTUw8o5Ix1KreYh4huII1JaXxLDrw1wnKWFlpIJfoDONxIT1lt8J9SahG0FN1FHpQoANr6qL33pTzCvwRnZoXv_tNdvdMhRcO6iamHmACyrwID9bkwmtC8f9qc2GX2FymFhsr5B/s1600/Catfish+Stomach+Contents.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx03vHGTUw8o5Ix1KreYh4huII1JaXxLDrw1wnKWFlpIJfoDONxIT1lt8J9SahG0FN1FHpQoANr6qL33pTzCvwRnZoXv_tNdvdMhRcO6iamHmACyrwID9bkwmtC8f9qc2GX2FymFhsr5B/s400/Catfish+Stomach+Contents.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491306511479989122" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Examining the stomach contents of a catfish.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDlrAquU7VxQmC8-hWBPDxikY53ssG8N_rHgPy6cjkacEMsZqP2G7rKMJdibu8L7q7KIk2zKmPgLH9EzQNxHa86vzXvb-gAqTTyknbPYhSQJUKv745aPR3f9XSW_7FZc-AJS59fXjwxl9/s1600/Red+Snapper+-+Lutjanus+campechanus.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 381px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDlrAquU7VxQmC8-hWBPDxikY53ssG8N_rHgPy6cjkacEMsZqP2G7rKMJdibu8L7q7KIk2zKmPgLH9EzQNxHa86vzXvb-gAqTTyknbPYhSQJUKv745aPR3f9XSW_7FZc-AJS59fXjwxl9/s400/Red+Snapper+-+Lutjanus+campechanus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491307067566438226" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red snapper - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Lutjanus campechanus</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnytj3BVGUxTCkYaolmROTVxiHwJyvORMeybcmQsbQV7NGCTX-qE05onpcjK_nwxqECB2YTGCOvbBPXvHcA1rS_JybZz6BfM9TnH7B1qi7uLlFono2rHsTDnulaHfuELtVCEbphdvzsdqN/s1600/Sargassum+camoflage.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 346px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnytj3BVGUxTCkYaolmROTVxiHwJyvORMeybcmQsbQV7NGCTX-qE05onpcjK_nwxqECB2YTGCOvbBPXvHcA1rS_JybZz6BfM9TnH7B1qi7uLlFono2rHsTDnulaHfuELtVCEbphdvzsdqN/s400/Sargassum+camoflage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491305857286453554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Camoflage in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Sargassum</span>. Can you spot the crabs?</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7uD_9B6N99hl-huTQRGtT5zO8XbL8gmEw5WbwjZ2sF9hG506cxJp2WOjuss7Mf-QyX8b_mVhyphenhyphenGkIR7v84NUvOvHGNByPOXJL1aC9iGtmh2Cnytb5O1L4PloSid_xPAgT1Ff95TXyE0qs/s1600/Sunset.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7uD_9B6N99hl-huTQRGtT5zO8XbL8gmEw5WbwjZ2sF9hG506cxJp2WOjuss7Mf-QyX8b_mVhyphenhyphenGkIR7v84NUvOvHGNByPOXJL1aC9iGtmh2Cnytb5O1L4PloSid_xPAgT1Ff95TXyE0qs/s400/Sunset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491307641749848514" border="0" /></a>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-89990866672285795952010-07-04T22:32:00.001-07:002010-07-06T17:48:25.137-07:00Out in the Gulf<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">NOAA Teacher at Sea:</span> Bruce Taterka<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">NOAA Ship: <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state> II<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mission</st1:place></st1:city>: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geographical Area of Cruise: <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Date: Sunday, July 4, 2010</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">Weather Data from the Bridge <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Time: 1000 hours (10:00am) <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Position: Latitude = 27.58.38 N; Longitude = 096.17.53 W <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Present Weather: partly cloudy, haze on the horizon <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Visibility: 8-10 nautical miles <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wind Speed: 17 knots <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wave Height: 2-4 feet<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sea Water Temp: 28.6 C <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 29.2 degrees Celsius; Wet bulb = 26.1 C<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Barometric Pressure: 1011.1 mb<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">Science and Technology Log<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The purpose of the SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey is to collect data for managing commercial fisheries in the <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>SEAMAP stands for Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Right now we’re working along the Gulf Coast of Texas, far from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, so we’re not seeing any effects of oil here.<span style=""> </span>However, part of our mission is to collect fish for testing to make sure that oil spill has not impacted the marine life in this area and that the fish and shrimp from Texas are safe to eat.<span style=""> </span>We’re also collecting water samples from this area to use as baseline data for the long-term monitoring of the impact of the oil spill in Gulf. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9-vnM8Re80Y059yOi-UBVYszXmWL1MtxIvUGaTzRgOfcKWRZQTRcsXfGq96tgaikAFOvlpLVaZxWI1BrVHTT1A08EGD-Ogx9fO48TKYztee1-MN6fhvVVAJ0uunmRKi_rrEP2hur8-F6/s1600/BT+Titration.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9-vnM8Re80Y059yOi-UBVYszXmWL1MtxIvUGaTzRgOfcKWRZQTRcsXfGq96tgaikAFOvlpLVaZxWI1BrVHTT1A08EGD-Ogx9fO48TKYztee1-MN6fhvVVAJ0uunmRKi_rrEP2hur8-F6/s320/BT+Titration.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490292007740463794" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Analyzing a water sample in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Oregon II's</span> lab.</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">There are four main ways the Oregon II is gathering SEAMAP data on this cruise, and we’ve already learned how to use all of them.<span style=""> </span>The main way we collect data is by trawling, and this is where we do most of our work on the Oregon II.<span style=""> </span>In trawling, we drag a 42’ net along the bottom for 30 minutes, haul it up, and weigh the catch.<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntv52EUpV_SRNBXKIyAYpVwPAMheF_o2iurrmDqfKJ9T5kp4La6tsctTzMFGdSihqBo-ZJ-A2KkgFPh8sVOFEFieKTYT9NPKIlTWc2g1tjRfyny6WyJGHp4yqQTx1PYnA48SuuYD4YnxC/s1600/BT+Trawl+Haul.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntv52EUpV_SRNBXKIyAYpVwPAMheF_o2iurrmDqfKJ9T5kp4La6tsctTzMFGdSihqBo-ZJ-A2KkgFPh8sVOFEFieKTYT9NPKIlTWc2g1tjRfyny6WyJGHp4yqQTx1PYnA48SuuYD4YnxC/s320/BT+Trawl+Haul.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490292393221182034" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Hauling in the trawl net.</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We then sort the haul which involves pulling out all of the shrimp and red snapper, which are the most commercially important species, and taking random samples of the rest.<span style=""> </span>Then we count each species in the sample and record weights and measurements in a computer database called FSCS (Fisheries Scientific Computer System).<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfy4qamGLwdEyAgOVYWGfZ-rlQVP3NpFRDDtupPfvVSxjjPubrT-hByjpV6kp9jfvv0wAv2fYxgh-dxZ4XW1GwIdl2gjxlnEgk11-pwBBDuOKoa1EM_sG8DxiKoowq82DgsSx1oN3IBhw0/s1600/BT+Lab+Squid.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfy4qamGLwdEyAgOVYWGfZ-rlQVP3NpFRDDtupPfvVSxjjPubrT-hByjpV6kp9jfvv0wAv2fYxgh-dxZ4XW1GwIdl2gjxlnEgk11-pwBBDuOKoa1EM_sG8DxiKoowq82DgsSx1oN3IBhw0/s320/BT+Lab+Squid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490292724368161426" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Logging a sample into FSCS.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Here on the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> coast, where we’re working now, the SEAMAP data is used to protect the shrimp population and make sure that it’s sustained into the future.<span style=""> </span>Since 1959, <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> has been closing the shrimp fishery seasonally to allow the population to reproduce and grow.<span style=""> </span>The SEAMAP data allows <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> to determine the length of the season and size limits for each species.<span style=""> </span>Judging by our trawls, the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> shrimp population is healthy.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Another tool for data collection is the CTD, which stands for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth.<span style=""> </span>The CTD also measure dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll and other characteristics of the marine ecosystem and takes measurements from the surface to the bottom, creating a CTD profile of the water column at our trawling locations.<span style=""> </span>These data are important to assess the extent of the hypoxic “dead zone” in the <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place>, and to relate the characteristics of our trawling hauls to dissolved oxygen levels.<span style=""> </span>SEAMAP data collected since the early 1980s show that the zone of hypoxia in the Gulf has been spreading, causing populations to decline in hypoxic areas. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We also use Bongos and Neustons to gather data on larval fish, especially Bluefin Tuna, Mackerel, Gray Triggerfish, and Red Snapper.<span style=""> </span>The Neuston is a rectangular net that we drag along the surface for ten minutes to collect surface-dwelling larval fish that inhabit Sargassum, a type of seaweed that floats at the surface and provides critical habitat for small fish and other organisms.<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAKIXvQ1kqeEQyA6DqGwstKxydX-5gGEzdbUl0FEsT7B1bjL-_UzR-P5yaa3NG3lQerKBM6W7dxsgqZ-gCHaMOjI6E_WAFaSl8nh_j-OTHe73IZWyjF7-9V20DabrJuYEoQ1lSW0W6j2s/s1600/BT+Neuston+Strainer.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAKIXvQ1kqeEQyA6DqGwstKxydX-5gGEzdbUl0FEsT7B1bjL-_UzR-P5yaa3NG3lQerKBM6W7dxsgqZ-gCHaMOjI6E_WAFaSl8nh_j-OTHe73IZWyjF7-9V20DabrJuYEoQ1lSW0W6j2s/s320/BT+Neuston+Strainer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490293108020079234" border="0" /></a> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Examining the results of a Neuston drag. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQLGQLMX9Vni_UKh6eCPBvdQxpWDFVa5u0YuOrDg92kWSw5hpj0x4uHIr1Hn1NQK3yoS8AQROmx5xkfs2geiqggun6-rijen48J_oW42intLmzlwvDYIkdHIjxPIB-0EGQa2wdTKRQcFs/s1600/Bongos.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQLGQLMX9Vni_UKh6eCPBvdQxpWDFVa5u0YuOrDg92kWSw5hpj0x4uHIr1Hn1NQK3yoS8AQROmx5xkfs2geiqggun6-rijen48J_oW42intLmzlwvDYIkdHIjxPIB-0EGQa2wdTKRQcFs/s320/Bongos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490293609960300146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Bongos.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We drag the Bongos below the surface to collect ichthyoplankton, which are the tiny larvae of fish just after they hatch.<span style=""> </span>The Neuston and Bongo data on fish larvae are used for long-term planning to maintain these important food species and keep fish stocks healthy.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">Personal Log<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">This is a great learning experience, not only about marine science but also about living and working on a ship.<span style=""> </span>The Oregon II is literally a well-oiled machine, and the operation of the ship and the SEAMAP study depends on a complex effort and cooperation among the science team, the crew, the officers, engineers, and the steward and cook.<span style=""> </span>Everyone seems to be an expert at their job, and the success of our survey and our safety depends on that.<span style=""> </span>It’s a different feeling from life on land.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Life aboard the Oregon II is comfortable, especially now that I’ve gotten my sea legs.<span style=""> </span>(I was hurting after we set out on Friday in 4’ to 6’ swells, but by Saturday afternoon I felt fine.)<span style=""> </span>The food is excellent and most of the ship is air conditioned.<span style=""> </span>The Gulf – at least the <st1:placetype st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype> off of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> right now – is beautiful.<span style=""> </span>The seas are deep green and blue and teeming with marine life.<span style=""> </span>I’m looking forward to spending the next 2 weeks on board the Oregon II and being part of the effort to study the marine ecosystem in the Gulf and how it’s changing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqyokWbXRxxQznni5F_1f55PSc9SWAYRV5P-91cdibBWigK0SrOKVn0oRhwcWSlzHbMUIf-sRnrv_oO38737Sl32oUdw786-SP7-vPaZqdInd9YzSBf-C6gyu30DCSONVV30ZEZAUjKTi/s1600/Gulf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqyokWbXRxxQznni5F_1f55PSc9SWAYRV5P-91cdibBWigK0SrOKVn0oRhwcWSlzHbMUIf-sRnrv_oO38737Sl32oUdw786-SP7-vPaZqdInd9YzSBf-C6gyu30DCSONVV30ZEZAUjKTi/s400/Gulf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490294002298099538" border="0" /></a><br /><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-64544979978723953972010-07-01T12:59:00.000-07:002010-07-01T14:03:09.130-07:00On board the Oregon II in the Port of Galveston<div>I arrived in the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Port</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename>Galveston</st1:placename></st1:place> last night in the rain on the edge of Hurricane Alex, which was making landfall farther south along the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype>Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span> </span>The boat was quiet.<span> </span>I found my quarters – Stateroom 4, below deck – which I am sharing with <a href="http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ot/visitor/otstew.htm">Walter</a>, the Second Cook for our cruise.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl774KM-E9dVbECjwSal3tZbh73kXNTk73ami5PkUB_ceqEooLw1VBQbMgzEjqsRpXaT0TaB4z9747YyvLhiredf6PKb2cEwdPHjkSS191onZP4aTSfQZiYRkWb3Mzt2LH9VqoX8wTgpk1/s1600/Stateroom+4.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl774KM-E9dVbECjwSal3tZbh73kXNTk73ami5PkUB_ceqEooLw1VBQbMgzEjqsRpXaT0TaB4z9747YyvLhiredf6PKb2cEwdPHjkSS191onZP4aTSfQZiYRkWb3Mzt2LH9VqoX8wTgpk1/s320/Stateroom+4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489031497618249986" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div><div style="text-align: left;">We were supposed to set sail today, but given the wind and rain that Alex brought to the Gulf our departure is delayed until tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Today is a wait-out-the-weather day.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-1uHazlWNsKe6Z2Uo51aqquEdN2aQ8fa0WM96ffkz_T4cAtripSShmvwez-JKuIsDPvnjFKIftaMiVAGbppBHCBWPlPQsJk-8hf_0YM8dDxMaecFaZ6qel7-IQRrSjRtRsyTCx6lOreM/s1600/Porthole.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-1uHazlWNsKe6Z2Uo51aqquEdN2aQ8fa0WM96ffkz_T4cAtripSShmvwez-JKuIsDPvnjFKIftaMiVAGbppBHCBWPlPQsJk-8hf_0YM8dDxMaecFaZ6qel7-IQRrSjRtRsyTCx6lOreM/s320/Porthole.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489032845051802914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 309px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://kimscollaborations.blogspot.com/">Kim</a> (the other Teacher at Sea the Oregon II) and I are meeting the officers and the crew and scientists and learning about our work for the next two weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll be working the “day” shift – <st1:time hour="12" minute="0">noon</st1:time> to <st1:time hour="0" minute="0">midnight</st1:time> – while Kim will be on nights.</div><p class="MsoNormal">We set out tomorrow, heading south along the coast.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Heavy seas are expected in the aftermath of Alex, which will be a major test for my sea legs. You can follow the Oregon II's progress <a href="http://shiptracker.noaa.gov/ship.aspx?ship_code=ORSCSACQ&timeframe=cc&mapservice=st_nmao">here</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYopaQUCS1I3tbOVnLzTjXYwYBHMvezBfm8dK5juAHhYxMT1p4VDfZFwisWJlRYcL9PyqBSAoz28mbxnPzaaI5IBvkO4QUiNZvRZ8c05_AMAjh3SG4laWBytHRoEDz2IuyNMEanPh6OX6/s1600/BT+on+Board.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYopaQUCS1I3tbOVnLzTjXYwYBHMvezBfm8dK5juAHhYxMT1p4VDfZFwisWJlRYcL9PyqBSAoz28mbxnPzaaI5IBvkO4QUiNZvRZ8c05_AMAjh3SG4laWBytHRoEDz2IuyNMEanPh6OX6/s400/BT+on+Board.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489035554404358242" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 329px; " /></a></p></div>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624649012417682198.post-41308368795062142322010-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:002010-06-18T05:09:26.184-07:00Getting Ready to Sail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSbCVrCwfx0meAuGXGgnZ6GOQF7JXgRqdc9GVni_OoHHkws3Q1TFTgibfLqQrVYLfNeN4yx9jsz6OE63r7TtVNMee0aUAf2pehRRbKwCQUH7a08UkT_i54FUH4itd53pc7Qiy9-C2Zp2T/s1600/Oregon+II.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSbCVrCwfx0meAuGXGgnZ6GOQF7JXgRqdc9GVni_OoHHkws3Q1TFTgibfLqQrVYLfNeN4yx9jsz6OE63r7TtVNMee0aUAf2pehRRbKwCQUH7a08UkT_i54FUH4itd53pc7Qiy9-C2Zp2T/s320/Oregon+II.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483770424640238290" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In two weeks I’ll be pushing off from </span></span><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Galveston</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><st1:state st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Texas</span></span></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on board the NOAA ship </span></span><a href="http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ot/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Oregon II</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to participate in </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">a groundfish survey to assess the stocks of bottom dwelling species in the </span></span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Gulf of Mexico</span></span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The government uses this data to regulate the fisheries in order to promote healthy stocks of different species and long term economic growth in the fishing industry. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I’m not yet sure exactly what my daily responsibilities will be, but I’ll be working under the direction of the ship’s Chief Scientist to help with operations that might include </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ot/visitor/trawl/trawl.htm">trawls</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ot/visitor/bongo/bongo.htm">bongos</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ot/visitor/neuston/neuston.htm">neustons</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ot/visitor/CTD/ctd.htm">CTDs</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The survey will be conducted from </span></span><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Galveston</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><st1:state st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Texas</span></span></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to </span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pascagoula</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span></span><st1:state st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mississippi</span></span></st1:state></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> over the course of 16 days. I’m looking forward to learning a lot and seeing conditions in the Gulf. More to come!</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg661NPjGreirfpnuv6IIknz1Ng-7sygvrU1JzEEUz3iSN2CZAloq_vy3J77Q4DM85KgEpqUiGCXv8YlIC3P4_uOm0eBOegYXpdHfYC_z_cbMYz9RlCKg2oH_2-tGB4cyS1TU7aspJL7z6l/s1600/Gulf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg661NPjGreirfpnuv6IIknz1Ng-7sygvrU1JzEEUz3iSN2CZAloq_vy3J77Q4DM85KgEpqUiGCXv8YlIC3P4_uOm0eBOegYXpdHfYC_z_cbMYz9RlCKg2oH_2-tGB4cyS1TU7aspJL7z6l/s400/Gulf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483770222874972786" /></a>Bruce Taterkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17075531378173585724noreply@blogger.com0