NEFSC

NEFSC May Cruise 2013 – Surveying

| nlysiak

After 2 days of bobbing around in big waves and high winds, it’s nice to have a day with good sighting conditions.  The winds are calming down and we’ve got sunny skies with full visibility.

The plan for today is to survey in the Great South Channel, an area between the Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank (see map) – where zooplankton concentrate in the spring and summer.  This makes for a good feeding habitat for whales, fish, and seabirds.  Today, scientists are rotating through an observer rotation, where 3-5 people scan the water with naked eye, small or large binoculars/“big eyes” (photo 1).  When we see something interesting (e.g., right whales) the number of scientist on the fly bridge grows (photo 2)

Map photo credit: Amy Caracappa-Qubeck, WHOI

NEFSC May Cruise 2013 – Testing

| nlysiak

After leaving the dock yesterday, we went to Vineyard Sound for some testing.  We launched both of the small boats on board, did a test cast with the oceanographic instruments, and performed fire and abandon ship drills.

This morning, south of Nantucket, we awoke to the sound of the ships’ fog horn and low visibility (photo #1, taken from the porthole in one of the labs).

A scientist from the NOAA Fisheries lab deployed one of five yellow listening buoys, which will sit on the seafloor and record all ambient noise until August, when they’ll be collected (photo #2).

Foggy days mean that we can’t do much work (today most folks are working on their laptops, napping, watching movies, or reading), for now we’re steaming northeast into our study area and hoping for clearer conditions.

Sea of Diamonds

Image | | nlysiak

“Sea of Diamonds” is the tongue-in-cheek title of a memoir that my friend and colleague, John Nicolas, said he would write but never did.  He was a long time marine mammal researcher for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Vietnam veteran, and all around salty dog.  Many fond memories were had at sea, sitting around the dinner table, and listening to him tell stories – he had a knack for stirring up all kinds of trouble.  When I go to sea, those who knew him still have a great time reminiscing about his stories in the years since he passed.  As this site is a venue for telling stories about going to sea to study whales, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate title.