Seaview

by Olav Olmseth


Hello from the GOAIERP inshore survey!  I am aboard the F/V Seaview and we are in the middle of our first of six research cruises this year. We left Juneau on April 16 and steamed south towards our first study site in Whale Bay, on the outer coast of southeast Alaska. We were delayed a bit as we had to hole up in a small bay for awhile to escape gale-force winds, but soon enough we were launching our research skiff in the protected waters of Whale Bay's Great Arm. We immediately set about sampling the fish community with our various gears: hydro acoustics, jigging, a surface trawl, beach seines, and a small purse seine. As we had anticipated, fish catches were pretty light: the last breath of winter has yet to leave the outer coast. On our last day in Whale Bay we did our oceanographic sampling: we have a multi-sensor water-sampling instrument that measures temperature, salinity, light levels, oxygen levels, and several other pieces of information. We also sample zooplankton using a fine-mesh net, and collect water samples for measuring nutrient loads.

It's not all work though-we managed to enjoy a steak dinner and an amazing sunset off the outer coast, including the fabled "green flash" just as the sun dipped below the horizon. We also had a German chocolate cake to celebrate not one but two crew members' birthdays. 

From Whale Bay we headed north to Sitka Sound, conducting acoustics and oceanography work around St. Lazaria on a beautifully sunny day. We overnight end in Sitka for a brief rest and re-supply, and this morning we now head north to Salisbury Sound to start our routine all over again!

Bioluminescence: It glows!

April 18, 2013 - Morgan Ostendorf

Last night and this morning, I finally witnessed bioluminescence in person for the first time; it was amazing! The first time I saw it was when I was filtering chlorophyll samples. As I folded over the filter, I saw a blue light flash. I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or if I was actually seeing bioluminescence.

I started the cruise with a list of things that I was hoping to see while we were out at sea, sort of like a wish list. Earlier in the evening, I was talking with Nancy, telling her that since I was able to check off seeing whales from my wish list, the next thing I really wanted to see was bioluminescence. She had told me not to get my hopes up as this isn't really the time of year to see bioluminescence, especially as far as phytoplankton go. Less than an hour later, I found myself prodding the filter with tweezers, with a bright blue flash occurring every time. I was overwhelmed with excitement and at the same time, I was having a hard time believing what I was seeing.

I spent some time talking to other scientists about bioluminescence. The most common color to see for bioluminescence is blue. Many of these tiny organisms contain the protein luciferin  (from the Latin for "light bringer").  When the protein reacts with an enzyme (called luciferase) it creates light. The light emitting organ of the cell is called a photophore and it exists in many ocean creatures, especially deep sea ones. Photophores are often used to attract prey. 

 Lisa told me that some copepods are bioluminescent. After telling Dean what I saw on the filters, he said if I was to look at the filter in the light, I might be able to see a small copepod on the filter. I also learned that some bacteria are bioluminescent. As far as phytoplankton go, it is the dinoflagellates that produce bioluminescence.

After the excitement from witnessing bioluminescence on the filter, things went back to normal and I started to analyze the chlorophyll samples that I collected the previous night (after filtering the chlorophyll samples, we let them sit in a freezer for 24 hours before analyzing them). After a few minutes had passed, Peter came in and asked if I was able to take a quick break (I had learned earlier that I could actually put the samples in the fridge after I had removed the filters and centrifuged them). I placed the samples in the fridge, put on my float coat and followed him to the aft (back) of the ship. I looked at the water and saw flashes of light in the water. All I could do was stand there in awe and wonder. Peter told me that this was the first time he saw bioluminescence so far on this cruise. I couldn't believe that after being told that it was unlikely to see bioluminescence on this cruise, I had seen it three different times, all in one night! After an exciting night/morning of unexpected surprises, I am happy to say that I can check seeing bioluminescence off of my wish list for this cruise.

My First CTD Deployment - Without losing the Equipment or Getting Hurt!

By Morgan Ostendorf
This morning we saw a dozen or so humpback whales breaching in Sitka Sound. We saw them feeding by using their pectoral and caudal (tail) fins to splash the water. There were multiple humpback whales doing this in order to corral either small fish (pacific herring) or euphausiids (krill) to eat. It was a great start to the day.

Mt. Edgecumbe (A volcano located in Sitka Sound) (Photo: Morgan Ostendorf)

This evening I had the chance to help deploy and recover the CTD (it was my first time). CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature and Depth. It is a tool that is used to measure the very basic properties of seawater. It is made up of a bunch of probes, attached to a wheel. The wheel is then lowered to the ocean floor and scientists can measure stuff in real time.  When deploying the CTD, the main goal is to make sure it doesn't bang into anything on the deck. A CTD costs over $100,000, so we don't want the electronics to be ruined. Also, if you are deploying or recovering the CTD, you have to wear a safety belt and be hooked to a safety line. This is done for safety reasons because we don't want anyone to fall in the water. 

Morgan O. and Nancy deploying the CTD just outside of Sitka Sound (Photo: Morgan Busby)

Greenling from the bongo net (Photo: Morgan Ostendorf)

Pelagic (mid-to-surface water) Shrimp from the bongo net (Photo: Morgan Ostendorf)

Octopus larva from the bongo net (Photo: Elizabeth Chase)

Spring phytoplankton bloom in progress!

By Morgan Ostendorf, University of Washington, on the vessel Oscar Dyson

Just north of Cross Sound we encountered a spring bloom with higher concentrations of chlorophyll than anything we saw in 2011. This is good news because one of the goals of this cruise is to investigate the spring bloom. In 2011 we never observed a spring bloom during the May cruise or in the satellite data collected later in the season.

Copepods and euphausiids (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)



Morgan identifies larval fish using a microscope (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)

Sampling in the sun

By Morgan Ostendorf, University of Washington, on the vessel Oscar Dyson

We left port around 1330 today (that is 1:30 pm for all you landlubbers) and the weather couldn't have been better. As we made our way to the first station, we saw some Dall's porpoises.

Leaving port in Seward (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)

Dall's porpoise (Photo credit: M. Frydrych)

We decided to do a test CTD cast at a station we call GAK1, where scientists have been taking measurements since 1970. We launched the CTD rosette, which measures conductivity, temperature, depth, (hence CTD) as well as oxygen concentration, light transmission and PAR (photosynthetically active radiation). Niskin bottles mounted on the rosette collected water samples. The rosette was lowered into the water until it was about 10 meters from the bottom. As the rosette was brought back to the surface, Niskin bottles were closed electronically by an operator at certain depths. Once the rosette was back on the deck, scientists took all the samples they needed. I was able to help take some water samples for measuring chlorophyll, which is related to the amount of phytoplankton in the water.


Suzanne collects a chlorophyll sample (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)



Deploying the CTD at the GAK1 station (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)

Since this is my first time ever being out at sea, I have been pretty excited. Thankfully, the weather and the seas have been cooperating so far. I quickly learned that the ship has no bias with the direction that it rolls; sometimes it feels like it is rolling in a circle. I am still in the process of getting my sea legs, but everyone has been nice and they have given me helpful hints about how to stand and walk on the ship. Personally, I like to employ the philosophy of holding onto the ship with at least one hand at all times. So far I have felt fine and have enjoyed my time so far, but we will see if that changes when the weather isn't so nice.

All Aboard!

By Morgan Ostendorf, University of Washington, on the vessel Oscar Dyson

Everyone has made it to Seward safe and sound for the Gulf of Alaska Project's Spring cruise on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. Some of us were a little worried that we weren't going to make it when the pilot of our airplane announced that we were going to have to land in Fairbanks and take a bus down to Anchorage because of ash coming from a volcano. Thankfully it was just an April Fools joke.

At the moment, almost everything has been loaded onto the ship and we are in the process of setting up lab spaces and tying everything down. We plan to depart Thursday for our research area off southeast Alaska. So far the weather has been beautiful and I'm hoping that the weather continues to cooperate. 

Seward, AK (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)

Morgan and Lisa set up a microscope in the lab (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)

Ana and Marie set up a clean area for measuring iron dissolved in seawater (Photo credit: M. Ostendorf)

2013 sampling is underway!

By Danielle Dickson, NPRB Program Manager

The Gulf of Alaska Project's Spring 2013 cruise aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson is underway! Researchers on this cruise will study oceanography offshore in the southeastern Gulf of Alaska. They will measure the physical properties of the water (temperature, salinity, current speed, etc.) and they will study phytoplankton, zooplankton and larval fish abundance.  Other vessels will begin work shortly.  Visit our blog throughout the season as we post exciting news from the field.

NOAA vessel Oscar Dyson