Delaware II Headed to the Gulf of Mexico

New refrigeration units were loaded aboard the Delaware II to preserve samples taken at sea. (Photo by Shelley Dawicki/NOAA)

With little fanfare on a beautiful summer-like day, Delaware II departed Woods Hole, MA, late Friday afternoon, June 18, for yet another research cruise. Still, everyone aboard knew this cruise was different.  The ship is headed to the Gulf of Mexico, where it will sample pelagic or open ocean fish such as tuna, sharks and billfish for potential impacts related to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill.

A crew member covers the longline equipment, to be used to catch sharks, tunas, and other large pelagic fish. (Photo by Shelley Dawicki/NOAA)

Two surface drifters equipped with satellite transmitters to be deployed in the Gulf of Mexico where over 20 others are already tracking the water’s current. (Photo by Shelley Dawicki/NOAA)

Oceanographer Jim Manning from the NEFSC‘s Woods Hole Laboratory took advantage of the opportunity to send four more surface drifters to track ocean currents in the Gulf. Assembled by students in New England, the low-cost drifters with satellite transmitters will be deployed at various spots across the Gulf, joining the more than 20 he has already sent to help researchers track currents in the Gulf that can spread the oil and other pollutants.

Captain Steve Wagner (right) chats with Chief Engineer Brian Murphy as they await arrival of more equipment to be loaded onboard. (Photo by Shelley Dawicki/NOAA)

Crew members loaded last minute gear, including four brand new refrigeration units to preserve fish samples for laboratory analysis, before departing for the five-day transit to Key West, FL, where they will stop for a day to embark scientific staff and load remaining equipment and supplies before heading into the Gulf.

Scientists from the NEFSC’s Apex Predators Program at the Narragansett Laboratory, from the Woods Hole laboratory, and from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami will collect highly migratory species like tuna and sharks via longline fishing in the vicinity of the oil spill for food quality studies and to monitor the distribution and abundance of highly migratory species in the Gulf related to the presence of oil.  CTD (for conductivity, temperature and depth) profiles to measure water temperature and salinity at various depths will also be collected, and water samples will be taken from various depths being fished for hydrocarbon analysis.

A small group assembled on the dock in Woods Hole, MA, as the ship set sail for its month long cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by Shelley Dawicki/NOAA)

The cruise is expected to last a month.  Captain Steve Wagner expects a calm transit to Florida given the seven-day weather forecast.

Final Day for the Aeriel Survey Team

Our surveys took us out to The Deepwater Horizon today. We completed a sawtooth survey (our path made a zigzag shape) criss crossing over the source and covering the area well east and west of the site.

We saw a large pod of 200-250 pantropical dolphins, as well as several smaller groups to the west of the source, 5 sperm whales, a small group of Risso’s dolphins, and some unidentified sharks.

Jen Gatzke in a NOAA57. Photo by Pete Duley/NOAA

We were hoping to jump on NOAA46 this afternoon for a look at the high altitude multispectral imaging, but their afternoon flight was canceled because of a shift in oil spill response efforts. This was our last flight on this round of surveys, and the surveys will pick up again on or about June 28^th. Tonight is our farewell dinner with the science crew and pilots from both teams, and we will be heading back to Hyannis, MA, tomorrow morning. We’ve enjoyed our stay in the Gulf and want to thank the good people of Alabama for all their fine hospitality…and their delicious peaches.

~Submitted by Jen Gatzke and Pete Duley

Aerial survey crew. From left: Pete Duley, Jen Gatzke, Lisa Belskis, Carrie Horton, Kevin Barry, Mark Nelson, Tanner Sims

Another Update from the Aerial Surveys in the Gulf

Pete Duley, Carrie Horton, Kevin Barry on board the NOAA57 for an aerial survey of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by Jen Gatzke/NOAA.)

On our fourth day, Agent Sims (a.k.a Tanner Sims) and the scientists explored the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuarium to learn about their efforts in the Oil Spill Response. Those interested in volunteering in the Mobile Alabama area may contact mobilebaykeeper.org more information. Volunteers will need hazardous material training if they are to be handling oiled wildlife or materials. We do not have such training, so we did not clean any birds yesterday, but we did pick up some delicious peaches at the farm stand which we all enjoyed on NOAA57 today.

Today’s surveys led us into the blue water of the eastern gulf where Bryde’s whales might be expected – because neither Jen nor Pete had ever seen this species, we were very excited. We started along the Alabama and Florida border and moved east on 75 mile north/south lines. Sightings included a pod of 100 Risso’s dolphins (and several smaller groups), 34 Atlantic spotted dolphins, many groups of bottlenose dolphins, several loggerhead sea turtles and a Kemps ridley sea turtle, Bull sharks, eagle rays, Hammerhead sharks, a billfish. Kevin saw two large whales he suspected may have been sperm whales, but we did not break for them.

~Submitted by Jen Gatzke and Pete Duley

NEFSC Support for Deepwater Horizon Aerial Surveys

We are here in Mobile, Alabama to support the efforts of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) in surveying the extent of the oil spill and its impacts on marine mammals and sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the second trip in the past month, and we have been here for four days. The weather has been extremely hot and humid, but we have been able to survey the past three days.

Crew aboard the NOAA 57 conducting aerial surveys. (Photo by Pete Duley/NOAA)

We fly at 600 ft to allow us to identify sea turtles to species. There are five observers who rotate through stations with a rest position. The right and left bubble window observers guard the trackline with a belly observer sweating profusely in the back. Kevin Barry is our chief scientist, and he is joined by Carrie Horton, both from the Pascagoula Lab. Lisa Belskis is also here from the Miami Lab, and on the last trip we were joined by April Goodman from the Beaufort Marine Lab.  On day one our tracklines covered the nearshore Mississippi coastline. During the first day we saw bottlenose dolphins, Kemps ridley and loggerhead sea turtles, many species of sharks, cownosed rays, manta rays, and many schools of bonito fish.

Day two brought a heat index of over 100 and extra water bottles and fresh blueberries thoughtfully provided by our “southern” host, Carrie Horton. Our survey lines were 75 mile long north/south lines east of the source of the Deepwater Horizon, beginning at the coastline itself and moving offshore. Sightings included 8 Risso’s dolphins, one large pod of 50 bottlenose dolphins (and numerous smaller groups), many Kemps ridley and loggerhead sea turtles, manta rays, sharks, and highly active schools of bonito fish. There was quite a bit of boat and air traffic at the source, and it was very hazy as they were burning oil off the sea surface that day. The P3 NOAA43 R4, AKA “Miss Piggy,” was flying air quality tests over the source that day. Our pilots were in contact with Miss Piggy and all other traffic as it was very hectic.

Our trusty NOAA 56 in Houma, LA, where we refueled. (Photo by Pete Duley/NOAA)

Yesterday we flew along the Louisiana coastline surveying everything west of the source. This is the area that has been in the news recently as being the most heavily impacted. We flew over Grand Isle, saw the efforts underway to protect nesting islands, skimmers and shrimpers working with booms.

Tim Cole was lucky enough to enjoy a crawfish boil on his first trip. (Photo by Carrie Horton/NOAA)

We landed in Houma, LA, to refuel  just like the first trip did a few weeks ago.  We were hoping there’d be another crawfish boil like last time, but alas…it was not to be. We enjoyed the comforts of the air conditioned FBO and all their free snacks with no further incident… except for a reported celebrity sighting of Anderson Cooper.

Today we are on a scheduled down day, and NOAA 46 is flying the Secretary of the Department of Commerce over the source to investigate the area and their research in high altitude (12,500 ft) multispectral digital imaging. From this altitude they are able to image a 2.4 kilometer strip width of the spill area. Oil Spill Response is being directed from these images. We would like to acknowledge the many pilots we’ve had throughout the project: Commanders Mark Neslon, Phil Eastman, Brad Fritzler, Ron Moyers, Ensign Tanner Sims, Ensign David Cowen, and Rob Mitchell. We would also like to thank our mighty NOAA 57.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Gulf…

~Submitted by Jen Gatzke and Pete Duley

Not Anderson Cooper, but quite possibly the biggest crawfish ever. (Photo by Carrie Horton/NOAA)

Whale Watching before Our Return

After some stormy weather Sunday night and early Monday morning, the skies have cleared and seas have calmed, conditions good for both satellite ground-truthing and marine mammal observations.  We made it all the way to the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, where we casted the Rosette samplers to collect water several times before turning back south.

Fluke of a right whale. (Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

As our cruise track took us through the center of the Gulf of Maine, the good weather allowed for some excellent marine mammal sighting opportunities.  Tuesday afternoon we crossed paths with numerous feeding whales including: humpback, fin, right, and minke.  At one point we slowed to collect surface water samples, and several whales were close enough for us to get pictures even with just a simple point and shoot camera.

Two right whales feeding. Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA.

Today is our last day of sampling.  We will work our track line down the New Hampshire and Massachusetts coast, finishing up in Cape Cod Bay.  The cruise has been very successful.  All the research groups will be taking lots of samples back to their labs, which will keep them busy until it’s time to head back out to sea again.

Beneath the Ocean Floor

Ponar grab before being deployed (photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

Now that our cruise track has taken us into the Gulf of Maine, we are deploying a ponar grab,  a piece of gear that collects sediment samples from the ocean floor.  The jaws of a ponar grab sink several inches into the sediment, and when the grab is pulled to the surface the jaws close, capturing the sediment samples.

Alison (University of Rhode Island) collects samples from the surface of the sediments to identify what microeukaryotes (small plants and animals invisible to the naked eye) are living there.  The first step is scraping collections from the surface layer of the sediment.

Sediment sample with layer of algae, microeukaryotes, and a brittle star (photo by Alison Cleary/URI)

Back in the lab, Alison will then use a process called DNA probing that allows her to identify the different organisms present in a single sample.  What’s living on the bottom can then be compared to what planktonic krill eat; birds, fish, and whales in turn eat krill.

Krill collected with a Bongo net.

Observing through the Fog

Northern fulmars observed from the Delaware II. Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA.

We spent the last several days circling Georges Bank in the fog.  The weather has reduced the visibility for the observers, limiting the ability for marine mammal sighting.  However, we have seen lots of pelagic bird species around the boat including: greater shearwaters , sooty shearwaters, northern fulmars, gannets, and storm petrels.  These birds are out on the banks searching for food to eat.

We were able to see this greater shearwater, even in the dense fog. (Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

Despite the poor visibility, the Climate Variability on the East Coast (CLiVEC) scientists continue to collect and process lots of seawater for their primary production studies, and our bongo net collections are going well.  The nets have had good collections of zooplankton and fish larvae.  Including more yellowtail flounder and gadoids, most likely haddock but we will verify the identifications back in the lab under a microscope.

A microscope is needed to properly identify these fish larvae, which are likely haddock. (Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

Testing Water Samples

Mark fills the eggs with water drained from the Niskin bottles

Climate Variability on the East Coast (CLiVEC) researchers aboard are also examining the relationship between oxygen and primary production.  Mark (University of Washington) measures oxygen in the ocean waters both onboard and back in the lab using water collected with a Rosette sampler.   He drains water from the Niskin bottles into fragile 500 cc glass containers nicknamed “eggs.”  To avoid contaminating the water samples with oxygen from the air, he purges the transfer tube with carbon dioxide gas.  The eggs filled with ocean water are stored in cases that will be shipped back to the lab.

Eggs filled with water samples to be shipped back to the lab for analysis.

These eggs will be analyzed for stable oxygen isotope ratio (¹⁷O/¹⁶O relative to air) to determine primary production.

Mark performes the Winkler Titration in the lab onboard the Delaware II.

On board Mark measures the amount of dissolved oxygen in the ocean water with a chemistry process called the Winkler Titration (see picture of Mark in titrating in the lab).  The values he determines using Winkler Titration can then be used to calibrate dissolved oxygen concentrations collected with the Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD), which can be used to collect data more quickly than by taking water samples alone.  In addition, Mark is also collecting water samples to determine the dissolved inorganic carbon concentration.

Fun with Phytoplankton

Pete pipetting sodium bicarbonate into bottles of ocean water. (Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

We have been conducting phytoplankton experiments on the back deck of the ship throughout the ecosystem monitoring cruise.  Pete Bernhardt (Old Dominion University) and his colleagues are using stable isotopes to examine primary productivity (photosynthesis) and other vital rates of phytoplankton to examine productivity on the shelf.  Stable isotopes are elements that do not radioactively decay over time.  Therefore they are useful in examining biological rates.  Pete is using both carbon (13C) and nitrogen (15N) in his phytoplankton experiments with ocean water collected with the Rosette sampler.  To measure primary productivity, he adds sodium bicarbonate labeled with 13C by pipette to bottles of ocean water containing phytoplankton.

Pete loads his syrine with nitrogen to be injected into ocean water samples. (Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

In other bottles, he injects nitrogen gas labeled with 15N to measure rates of atmospheric nitrogen uptake.  These sealed bottles are placed in incubators (water baths) on the back deck of the ship that have seawater continuously pumped through them.  This simulates the water temperature and light levels the phytoplankton would experience in the ocean environment.  The bottles are allowed to incubate for a period of time, during which the phytoplankton grow, multiply, and use the stable isotopes Pete added to the bottle.  Pete then filters the water from the bottles on board the ship.  He will analyze the filters after returning to shore, to determine the rates of primary productivity and nitrogen uptake.

Pete places samples of ocean water in incubators on deck. (Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA)

Monitoring on a Larger Scale

Two common terns sitting on the A-frame of the ship. (Photo by Marie C. Martin/CUNY)

The two observers on board the Ecosystem Monitoring cruise, Marie and Mike (City University of New York), take turns standing watch from the flying bridge.  They have a laptop on-site that allows them to record data as they count animals and observe their behavioral patterns.  In addition to birds and mammals, they record sea turtles, predatory fishes, ocean sunfish, sharks, debris in the water, fishing vessels, and the presence of fishing gear.

Mike photographing dragonflies on the Delaware II. Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA

Sometimes they even observe and photograph insects, like when the ship is invaded by dragonflies.  When they do see animals they note their feeding activity and patterns.  As we traveled northward along the New Jersey coast, they observed feeding terns to the west of the ship, probably coming from nesting locations on the shore.  The day prior, they saw feeding fin whales.  Unfortunately for them, we are on a schedule and did not have time to spend in the area closely observing the whales’ behavior.  On the other hand, we are headed back north where we are likely to see several more species of birds and mammals, including right whales.

On a side note, we haven’t yet run into the potential problem I mentioned a few days ago– ctenophores clogging the nets. We hope that won’t happen at all, and so far so good. However, the night watch did catch enough to fill the cod-end of the net. This was at our southern most station, south of Oregon Inlet, NC. The net may not have gotten clogged, but there were enough ctenophores to fill the sieve. Alison had to spend several minutes swirling the gelatinous soup to make the sample small enough to fit into one of our sample jars.

Alison swirls a sieve full of ctenophores. Photo by Harvey Walsh/NOAA