Schools on Board: Benthic Ecology

Posted on October 3, 2011 by admin

September 29, 2011

This morning, we had two scientists talk to us about benthic ecology. This deals with organisms living on the seafloor. They are good indicators of the global state of the environment, but the scientists don’t know much yet.

I went up on deck today to watch the Boxcore go to the bottom of the ocean. This is an instrument that brings up a cube of ocean floor sediments for analysis. The scientists took the top layer to their lab, and we had to shovel the rest of the mud out of the box back into the ocean. I like how the crew lets us get involved with these kinds of operations and we feel involved in life on the ship as opposed to only watching what is happening.

Afterwards, I went to the lab with two others to sort the organisms found in the mud from the Boxcore. My mind was blown when we showed the scientist some strange creatures we found and she didn’t know what they were. I thought scientists knew so much, but there are still so many species on the bottom of the ocean that are undiscovered.

Karen Butt ’12

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Schools on Board: Marine Mammal Exploration

Posted on October 2, 2011 by admin

September 28, 2011

In the morning, a few students went to the data acquisition room, where we got to see a sonar device used for detecting marine mammals and fish around the ship. The two scientists working with it explained that they were creating a database with the best frequencies to use to detect different species. I was surprised to find out that no one knows how to detect these animals that well, and even less is known about their behaviour. So far, I have had the chance to realize how truly mysterious the Arctic still is, even to the best scientists.

In the afternoon, the ocean was very calm, so the captain had the chief officer take all the Schools on Board participants out on the barge to look for wildlife. We were able to see quite a few seals get close to the boat, and we also saw several bowhead whales in the distance. At one point, we caught a glimpse of something white poke its head out of the water, and we were pretty sure it was a beluga.—Karen Butt ’12

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Schools on Board: Water Sampling in the Arctic

Posted on October 2, 2011 by admin

September 27, 2011

I got up at 1:30 am today, because the ship arrived at a sampling station, and they do not wait for daylight to collect the data. I was helping a scientist specializing in contaminants fill bottles from the rosette. This is an instrument used to sample ocean water at different depths. The scientist was measuring the mercury content in the water. I had to hold the bottles and was not allowed to touch anything else to avoid contamination. We took the samples to the ship’s clean room, where the air is filtered and the samples do not get contaminated. I helped the scientist set up a series of filters so he could determine the quantity of both phytoplankton and mercury in the ocean water.

After getting a few more hours of sleep, I went on a Zodiac with the contaminants team. This is because the water near the ship is contaminated because the ship is made of metal, so to sample the first 20 meters of the water column, they need to take a Zodiac far away from the ship where they can collect samples. I wrote down numbers for them while they were filling bottles with water from different depths. The officer drove the boat really fast on our way back to the ship, so it was a lot of fun.—Karen Butt ’12

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Schools on Board: Hands-On Science

Posted on October 2, 2011 by admin

September 26, 2011

Today, we were issued mustang survival suits and hard hats, so now we can go wherever we want on the deck and watch the various operations. We had a meteorology lecture from a scientist on board, and then we built pyranometers, instruments that measure the amount of solar radiation falling on a horizontal surface. We were given photodiodes, devices that convert sunlight into electricity. We built two pyranometers and we are trying to see how the features on ours affect the accuracy of our measurements. We will start collecting data in a few days and compare our results to the ship’s pyranometer.

I was surprised that us students are allowed to go to the science meetings that happen every evening. They state what they have achieved in the past 24 hours, raise any issues they may have had with the schedule and equipment, and discuss the plan for the next 24 hours. I like how the scientists let us see what they do as much as possible.—Karen Butt ’12

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Schools on Board: Life Aboard Ship

Posted on October 2, 2011 by admin

September 25, 2011

This morning, we had a presentation from the captain about life on board and the rules of the ship. Then, an officer gave us a tour of the ship, which highlighted all of its safety features. He showed us the lifeboats along with the survival suits we would have to wear if we were to abandon ship. I hope we never need to use them!

After dinner, we listened to a presentation from the chief scientists on board the Amundsen. He was telling us about a trip he took in a submarine to the bottom of the ocean where the remains of the Titanic were scattered. Afterwards, he started to tell about how research with Arctic Net works. The ship stops at different stations to collect samples of water, ocean floor sediments and different creatures. All the scientists on board share the data and their individual research projects are actually part of one big picture. They study a wide range of topics from nutrients to zooplankton to contaminants, but they all study the same places and make connections between their findings. It amazes me to see how everything is coordinated.—Karen Butt ’12

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