06/23/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
A quiet day, lot’s of work and looking, but not much else. We were visited by dolphins, a couple of ocean sunfish, the Coast Guard and not much else. Coast Guard said hi and not much else. The day ended quietly too with another grant sunset–only this time we saw the green flash! It’s a bit of a misnomer really as you expect to see a quick green flash like lightning across the sky. Really, it is more of the green shrink because it is the last bit of sun shrinking away as a green color. There were some nice clouds adding texture to tonight’s sunset. I have attached picture of the sunset.
Since the events on the boat were standard, I thought I would begin to tell you about this oil crisis and what we learned and where we stand in our efforts. As we have reflected on the crisis, we have come to realize that it was, and is, at its core a giant marine toxicology experiment. In fact, it’s the world’s largest marine toxicology experiment! Here is why I say it is so…
The oil crisis released at least 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. That oil began moving into inshore waters and onto coastlines. There it caused great concern as it impacted tourism and a number of economically valuable species like oysters. It was also fouling birds as it was on the surface of the water. These outcomes were undesirable, particularly during a national economic crisis.
British Petroleum (BP) made the decision that to decrease the toxicity of the oil crisis inshore, it would apply chemical dispersants and keep the oil offshore and in deep water. The dispersants would break the oil into small droplets and allow it to sink into the water column. The consequence of this decision is that it increases the toxicity offshore as the oil remains there longer and moves from the surface throughout the water column and onto the ocean bottom.
There are three major groups of pollutants of concern in this crisis. There is the crude oil itself, metals in the oil and the dispersants applied to the oil. The toxicology of the dispersants themselves, and the dispersants mixed with oil or metals remain poorly understood and understudied. Thus, whether the decision was right or wrong, this approach was a giant experiment with dispersants that would hopefully work. Did it work?
Nobody knows yet, but progress so far depends on your perspective. On the one hand, the oil is gone from the surface and the public, in general, believes the crisis is over. Thus, from a public relations perspective, the dispersants were a huge success and have become the way to deal with oil spills now.
However, from a toxicology/science perspective, we know nothing further about the toxicity of dispersants, dispersants mixed with oil, and dispersants mixed with the metals from the oil. There has not been enough time yet for significant data to come forward. Preliminary results suggest that the dispersed oil has coated the bottom of the Gulf impacting the abundant life there; dispersed oil is still reaching the inshore waters and coastlines; and that dispersed oil is much more toxic than crude oil. But there is still much to do and much to learn, so from a science perspective, the jury is still out. Let’s hope there are no additional spills until we figure it out.
With that information as a backdrop, I will begin in future emails to tell you what we are finding–interspersed of course, with boat adventures!
I am pleased also to tell you that a video with us in it from last year was posted on Alexandra Cousteau’s Facebook page. You can find it at: http://vimeo.com/16839012
Congrats to Alexandra and her team on a job well done!
John
P.S. Our current location is somewhere off of southern Florida in the Gulf. 28 degrees 53.9 minutes North and 85 degrees 38.8 minutes West, for those who want to track us as we go.
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/20/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Father’s Day.
It was a very quiet morning. Seas were relatively calm. Air was warm with a gentle breeze blowing. Sun was shining brightly. Team was going about its busy routine, interspersed with students trying to call home with Father’s Day wishes (our internet phones were not working). It felt as a Father’s Day should: warm, pleasant, quiet and relaxing. It didn’t last.
It was about 1 pm when the first wrinkle in the day came. An ocean sunfish or mola swam alongside the boat (picture attached). An odd looking fish it moved slowly through the water and mesmerized us. As the fish left, the sun was really hot and I decided that we should have a team swim.
We had left sperm whale territory and were in about 600 feet of water closing in on prime Bryde’s whale space. We had sampled 4 sperm whales and seen 10 of them, which is a pretty good sampling ratio, particularly on this side of the Gulf where there are fewer whales. I was also pleased that we now knew the sperm whales were back in waters off Florida. Last year, after the oil spill, they were not.
Searching for Bryde’s whales in the Gulf of Mexico is no easy task as the population is estimated to be only 15 whales. This small number makes them at even greater risk to pollutants. Moreover, the sounds they make are poorly understood so we cannot track them with the array. It is strictly a visual search, which means a lot of hot tiring work for the team. So swimming seemed a good way to start, and swim we did.
After swimming for a bit, our deckhand Alyssa asked me to stop clicking in the water. It was an odd comment and no one was quite sure what to make of it. A while later, Johnny had gone back on deck to dive in again and then called out to me: “Dad, you’re not going to believe this but there is a sperm whale clicking on the array!” Alyssa exclaimed “See, I wasn’t kidding.” So we had sperm whales around somewhere (but not near us).
Indeed this development was odd as we were in much shallower waters now. But, while unexpected, there is nothing that prevents a sperm whale from swimming in shallower water. Now, I had a dilemma; the team needed this swim–that was clear, but a whale was on the array and workwas calling. What to do?
Well, knowing that sperm whales stay down to generally 45 minutes (or 70 minutes in the one whale’s case), and given that it was Sunday and Father’s Day, I opted to finish the swim. It was a roll of the dice, but the right decision as there would be many whale watch hours to come.
It paid off. As I ended the swim, I dashed into the pilot house and there indeed was a sperm whale clicking on the array. Remarkable. I rinsed off with the hose and checked again. The clicking had stopped, which meant we had a whale at the surface. I called out to the team and they went right into action mode without hesitation. About 15 minutes later, Rick called in from the midlevel platform “Whale blow, 1 mile ahead at 1 ‘o’clock!” and we were on our way.
As we go closer, the calls became erratic. “Whale is at 2 o’clock!” “Whale is at “11 o’clock!” “Whale is at “12:30!” All came within minutes. Captain Bob was at the helm and thought someone on our team needed retraining. I thought for a moment and asked Bob is anyone had a visual on the whale itself yet. He thought maybe, but was not sure. I walked to the bow to ask the biopsiers if they had actually seen a sperm whale. They said no, it was too far, but it probably was a sperm whale. I told them I was not so sure it was.
I went back to the pilot house and told Bob that no one had a clear visual of the whale itself and that I did not think it was a sperm whale. Rather, based on the erratic location reports, I thought we were looking at our first Bryde’s whale sighting. If so, I said we will be busy for a while as these guys are fast and erratic and are rarely above the surface. The call came in that the whale was closer. I headed to the bow.
A few minutes later, sure enough, there was the whale and it was no sperm whale. It was sleek and had a very “falcate” dorsal fin, which means sharply hooked. Johnny guessed maybe a fin whale. I said “No, it’s a Bryde’s.” It was still a hunch for me as the best proof in the number of ridges going from near its blow hole to the tip of its nose-Bryde’s have three. We could not get a clear view of the head.
We began following the whale and so began Mr. Toad’s wild ride at sea. The whale went port. We turned to port. Oh wait, the whale is now on starboard. We turned to starboard. Where is he now??? No visual. Wait. Wait. Whale blow dead ahead 1 mile away. Yep, 1 mile. Bryde’s whales have a top speed of 12 miles per hour and the Odyssey? -6 miles per hour in these conditions. We launched the dingy with Rick and Ian.
Mr. Toad’s wild ride continued for an hour and a half with both boats trying to get close enough to sample. Johnny managed one attempt, which came close, but the whale was simply too far and the arrow fell short. It was the closest we would get. Finally, having had his fun with us, the whale dove and left. Given how sleek they are and their ability to turn quickly and swim at high speeds for 20 minutes underwater; once he was bored with us, we would not find him. We had no way to know which way the whale went. We looked for an hour and never found that whale again.
We also never saw the full head. At one point Alyssa called down that in looking at Shanelle’s pictures of the whale, they had counted three ridges. But, they misunderstood what the ridges were and when I showed Shanelle later in the salon, she had no clear pictures of the top of the head and the ridges could not be counted. It will be recorded as a baleen whale uncertain species. I remained convinced and hopeful, it was a Bryde’s as there are so few.
The day ended with the best sunset of the trip, a nice Father’s Day gift on what was a peaceful and then frenetic day. I have attached a picture of Shanelle, Cathy, Nora and Rick on sunset watch. If you zoom in you can see their faces. Shanelle is on the left (brown hair) and Nora the right (blonde har) with Cathy in the middle.
I have also learned I need to clarify yesterday’s story and record. It was Cathy who spotted the 1,000th whale and earned dinner for her and Rick. Rick radioed it in so he got dinner too.
Happy Father’s Day to all you father’s out there. Nice Facebook post James- thanks for the support!
John/Dad
P.S. Our current location is somewhere off of southern Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. 28 degrees 16.5 minutes North and 85 degrees 10.5 minutes West, for those who want to track us as we go.
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/19/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Today was a special day.
It started out fairly ordinary. Sunny and hot, mild seas and crew working their various watches and jobs. I worked on some grants and some papers. Sent a few emails and reviewed the voyage path with Ian. Then we heard some whales clicking about noon. Excitement grew, but we never found them. I looked at the path and we were beyond “sperm whale country” and I wondered if we would see anymore whales the rest of the day. Rick noticed where we were and promised today the arrows would fly.
I went to catch a catnap and the boat slowed down. In the pilothouse there were lots of whale clicks and there was Ian grinning like the Cheshire cat. I told him he earned a gold star for the day for finding whales again. Even gave him one. I decided with the whales clicking it was the perfect opportunity to tune the array with Josh Jones from Scripps. I called Josh at home.
Three hours behind us and three thousand miles away in beautiful San Diego, Josh took my call. Josh is an Ocean Alliance legend having spent a lot of time on the global voyage and universally acknowledged as the best array person around. We began the process of troubleshooting the array though I warned him, with a whale clicking, I might be called away. The whale clicked. We worked the array. Then the whale stopped. That meant a whale at the surface and, sure enough, a few minutes later, Nora called out a whale ahead. A little while later, with Ian at the helm, we had sperm whale biopsy #999. Our first biopsy of the season!
The day dragged on. Four O’clock approached. We wondered whether we might get biopsy #1000. Ian spotted a whale from the pilothouse, but alas he got away. I noticed Rick and Cathy on watch on the midlevel platform. I called up to them and announced we needed one more whale or no dinner for them. Rick said “ok” and I resumed my work with Josh. Fifteen minutes later Rick spotted a whale sraight ahead. Then he asked for dinner.
Ian turned the helm over to Bob as he felt that since this whale could be biopsy #1,000, and since Bob was captain for most of those 1,000, Ian felt that Bob should have the honor of running the helm. Ian went to spot whales on the top of the pilothouse.
When Bob learned we were after number 1,000 I could see a gleam in his eye. The boat sped up. Johnny was on the whale boom and Rick in the bowsprit ready with the crossbows. Sandy was ready for the photo ID and Cathy had the data board ready. Cyndi was atop the pilot house spotting and Nora stood ready with the net. We were near the whale in no time–so quickly that Shanelle had to take pictures from halfway up the mast.
We approached the whale. Both Rick and Johnny released their arrows. Johnny’s glanced off and did not take a sample, but Ricks hit straight on and a few minutes later Nora had our #1,000 whale biopsy in the net! Cyndi processed the sample having been trained by Cathy on sample 999. It was a great moment! I have attached Sandy’s pictures of the arrow taking the #1,000 biopsy.
Indeed, the Odyssey took her 1000′th sperm whale biopsy today! In fact, we went a bit beyond and now the Ocean Alliance/University of Southern Maine sperm whale biopsy collection is at 1,002 biopsies, and for all whales is at 1,010 biopsies and counting. Pretty impressive and exciting collection.
It was a nice moment and a moment hard earned. The team is tired, but has a bounce in their step having collected the first 4 biopsies of the voyage. We all ended the day with dinner at 8 pm and a beautiful sunset to watch. Tonight, I imagine I will sleep my first good night of sleep on the boat knowing we have made a good step forward in our summer voyage. My head is already heavy.
John
P.S. Our current location is somewhere off of southern Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. 26 degrees 18.6 minutes North and 84 degrees 46.6 minutes West, for those who want to track us as we go.
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/18/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Well, we know we are on a voyage now. One of the great misconceptions about going to sea is that it is a boondoggle- always fun and relaxing. In reality it is anything but. There are indeed amazing and incredible moments, but they frame long hard days of sometimes very frustrating work. Today, began the heavy grind and frustration.
It started early. Really early. Johnny was calling out “whale” before the sun was really even up about 6:30 am. Bleary-eyed, I jumped out of bed and changed into work clothes; my eyes to bleary to even read the time. I came out on deck and made sure the team was assembled and… the whale dove… That meant at least 45 minutes until we saw the whale again. Then I heard the clicks and realized from the pattern that this whale was the same whale we had been foiled by yesterday. The one that stayed down for 70 minutes and laughed at us as the day ended. Sure enough, we spent a few hours trying to catch up, but he always surfaced a mile away and dove as we got in sight of his tail fluke. Finally, he simply disappeared–no sightings and no clicks and, of course, no sample.
That effort led to a lot of sun and heat and exhausting concentration for the team. There was little breeze and the Gulf heat was in full swing. One of the great contrasts on this voyage, like last year’s, is that we have college-age Mainers working in the Gulf. It creates a bit of a behavioral conundrum as you see in Maine we don’t get a lot of
warm sunny days. Consequently, each one is cherished and maximized by spending as much time outside in the sun as possible. So when the students wake to a sunny day like every day has been so far, they immediately migrate outside to maximize their time in the sun
However, we are not in Maine anymore and in the Gulf there are a lot of warm sunny days and they are a lot warmer and sunnier than anything we ever have in Maine. In fact, hot and muggy is a much better descriptor. That heat and sun can really pack a wallop and wear you out. So we try to monitor the sun exposure and now are requiring the
students, and ourselves, to be inside at certain times. Nevertheless, the day was littered with napping students baked by the Gulf sun.
Not much happened during the day, beyond hot frustrating whale watches that found no whales. As evening approached whales were sighted and hopes raised. We spent about 3 hours with three whales. Sometimes getting close enough, but not the right angle. Sometimes watching them dive deep from afar. By the end of the day, we had seen four sperm whales, but had not even had a chance to attempt a sample. No arrows released so far.
These outcomes are not surprising. Four whales is not very many and it takes patience and persistence to gain samples. We will get there, but on a long hot day, it is indeed frustrating. Last year’s voyage was fueled by a sense of determination in response to a national crisis. This year much of the nation feels that crisis as over and done with. Out of sight, out of mind. Consequently, this year’s voyage will be fueled by grit and determination and a concern that the crisis will have lasting effects even though one cannot see oil anymore. I think the team is up to the task and I look forward to more fruitful days to come, though they will not likely be soon as we are about to begin a
search for Bryde’s whales, which is both essential and really, really hard.
The sunset was again fabulous. Picture attached.
John
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/17/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Another gorgeous day though the sea was a bit choppier. Everyone settled into their routine and I think today was the first day they felt the beginning of the grind. The morning had a bit of excitement as Johnny spotted some marine mammals in the distance. It took a while to identify them as they did not surface much. In the end, we decided they were most likely Risso’s dolphins.
Then the routine really kicked in as there was not much to see and few sounds coming over the array. By afternoon, the adrenaline from being at sea had worn off and the grind of the work set in as there were bodies napping everywhere you looked. In the salon, in the galley, in the cabins on the aft deck benches. Anywhere there was a reasonably comfortable spot, a body was napping. The whole team is clear now–if they weren’t before–work at sea is hard.
About 5:45 pm the boat stopped. I went up figuring they were preparing for the 6 pm water sampling only to discover Ian had a tension on his fishing line. I teased him that it was only Sargasso weed. It was. I sat on the aft bench, thinking about the day and the leg ahead. You see, the plan is look for sperm whales here and then head in to look for the Bryde’s whales. Rick was on whale watch till 6 pm so the water sampling could not start for a few minutes.
I took a couple of photos figuring the water sampling would be the highlight of the day, when Cyndi yelled she had seen a whale blow. Sure enough, Cathy saw it next and I scrambled the team into position. It was a lone sperm whale and he was not far off. Johnny went out on the whale boom with one crossbow and Rick went into the bowsprit with the other one. Sandy and Cathy took positions in the bow to take a photo ID picture and record data, respectively (picture attached – Sandy is further out in the blue shirt near Rick). Shanelle went onto the midlevel platform to take video and general photos and Alyssa joined her to spot whales. Cyndi remained on top of the pilot house and did a truly excellent job of spotting whales throughout. Nora readied the net and buoys. Ian manned the helm. We let Bob sleep as Ian had the helm under control and there was only one whale, so Cyndi would be on the pilot house until the sample was collected.
We got close. But never close enough. The whale made a deep dive. That meant 45 minutes until he surfaced again. Only this proved to be a remarkable whale and he stayed down for an hour and ten minutes! Sperm whales click when they are underwater and then are usually silent at the surface. We were listening anxiously for the clicks to end meaning the whale had surfaced, particularly when 45 minutes passed. But that whale developed a pattern of 20 seconds of silence followed by more clicking. Each time it stopped, we though this is it! But he’d start clicking again. It reached a point where it was so regular Ian became convinced it was a recording. Finally, after 70 minutes, the whale surfaced about a mile up ahead.
Keeping our eye on the whale, we sped along trying to catch up. We did. Just in time to see him fluke and dive deeply again. There was not 45 minutes of sunlight left so there would not be another attempt. As the whale dove, we heard the strangest sound over the array. I kid you not it sounded like “heh, heh, heh”. As if the whale was laughing at us! I thought I was hearing things, but I asked Ian (the only other person in the pilothouse) if her heard it and indeed he heard it too.
We were disappointed at the lack of a sample. But everyone is trained now and ready for the next chance. We also got our water samples. So the day ends with another tasty meal and a beautiful sunset.
John
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/16/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Our first full day at sea. It was a beautiful day. The seas were again calm giving us a gentle rolling motion. Brilliant golden sunlight illuminated the cobalt blue water and the pure white wake created by the boat. A gentle breeze blew across the deck. Just wonderful.
The students started their first whale watches. Nora has the first two hour watch and so her first hour is alone so that watches are staggered. Johnny then joined during his second hour followed by Cathy, Shanelle, Rick and then Cyndi. Watches rotate until 6 pm when other sample collection begins.
We did not see any whales today. Not a big surprise as the water was not deep enough for sperm whales until about 2 pm. But, we did pass a group of dolphins in a feeding frenzy- too busy feeding to pay us much mind and we did pick up a bunch of trash. Rather, today was a successful day because of the environmental samples we collected.
Johnny and Ian put out fishing lines to catch lunch. Late morning as lunch was approaching, Johnny's fishing line had a bite. He jumped to the line and reeled in a small mahi (picture attached). Then about 20 minutes later another bite and another fish, this one a bonita tuna. This catch meant two things- 1) we had a tasty and fresh lunch, 2) we could use the parts we didn't eat as samples of fish to test and samples of fish to try and grow fish cell lines.
It was also a fun moment for Johnny as he spent some time with my brother in-law Karl learning about offshore fishing. Karl had worked on fishing boats in his single days and has a real passion for fishing. He filled Johnny in on all the do's and don'ts and gave Johnny some of his best lures to try. They worked first time out. As soon as Johnny landed that first fish his first comment to me was "email that picture to Karl and let him know it was the yellow squid lure". Nice moment. I did of course send the picture.
After lunch, I realized to my dismay that I had grown accustomed to too much brewed sweet tea on our travels and waiting to go to sea and since I had had no caffeine all day, caffeine withdrawl had set in. Not sure if you have ever had caffeine withdrawal but it’s a lot like a migraine headache and it takes a day or two to get over. A truly miserable feeling. So I retreated to my bunk for the day and alas haveno iphone pictures to send you of the day's sunset or other activities.
But, Johnny kept me informed as they day progressed. We had our first Sargasso weed collection and gathered krill, small fish, shrimp, crabs and Sargasso weed. Then he came in at 9 pm and told me our first attempt at collecting deep water samples was successful (it was about then the headache began to subside). Our goal for this year is collecting water samples at relatively shallow (40 meters or 121 feet) and relatively deep (3000 meters or 1000 feet). It requires a special contraption to collect and it worked! Rick and Nora are our water samplers and they collected water at the shallow depth and at 2,400 meters. Excellent news!
At 9 pm he said they were finally breaking for dinner and then squid fishing. Remarkable day for him as he started with helm watch at 4am and had no naps. All in all a good day.
Our array is in the water and tomorrow we hope for some whales! I also expect to be better in the morning.
John
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/15/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
At sea at last! At sea at last! Thank God Almighty we are at sea at last!
We sailed out of Key West today and are motoring out to 3000 feet deep where the whales are. We expect to be there some time tomorrow. The past few days in port were filled with hard work and moments that simply tried our patience. We had four issues to resolve before we could go: 1) USM needed to finalize the contract with Ocean Alliance to release us to go; 2) the weather had to clear; 3) there were some small boat repairs to finish; and 4) there were some science details to finalize. At times it felt like our job was to confirm Murphy’s law, while other issues that came up seemed simply to define absurdity. But at 4;17 pm yesterday, USM finalized the contract and, with that final piece in place, we knew today would be the day we could finally go to sea.
The team was as excited as can be. The final hours leading up to departure seemed like years. But, finally at 3 pm, we were on our way. The weather was beautiful and the seas calm. We are hopeful for a productive leg of the research expedition.
I guess my first email missed some people as I had some email glitches so I will again introduce the team: Captain Bob is at the helm. Ian Glass is first mate. Johnny is our primary biopsier and student team leader. Cathy is running the cell culture lab and Sandy is the cook/whale photo identification person. Rick is our second biopsier. Shanelle Dugan will be taking video and photos. Cynthia Browning will be processing whale samples. Nora Daley will be preparing biopsy darts and working the recovery net. Alyssa Catalano is our new deckhand.
We are set up to collect whale samples, prey, water, air, sediment and sounds. Lots of samples and lots of work.
We enjoyed a nice dinner on the aft deck with a sunset on our starboard side and a moon rise on our port side. In the attached dinner picture, Captain Bob is sitting on the rail so he looks to be standing. Deckhand Alyssa is in the sunglasses, Then there is (left to right): Nora, Cathy and Johnny. Rick is in the hat.
I look forward to telling you all about the adventure.
John
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
06/09/11 by admin | Home Page Blogs, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Hi everybody! Well, we are back on the boat and ready to go for another voyage into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a symbolic day as we launch the voyage as today has been declared “World Oceans Day” by the United Nations. Nice day to start our second foray into the Gulf of Mexico. Alas, the wind and the weather are not cooperating so our launch was short and symbolic as we wait out mother nature. The full departure will likely be Saturday as Sunday, Monday and Tuesday look fabulous.
We also enjoyed meeting with Albemarle, our new corporate sponsor, today. Albemarle is a chemical company based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and, as such, is concerned about the health of the Gulf. They have no stake in the oil crisis and have put no conditions on any of our data or plans. They are simply concerned that the health of the Gulf be understood better. We are pleased because their support allows us to remain independent of both BP and NOAA and able to talk freely about what we are doing and what we are finding. We also continue to enjoy generous support from our university, USM and some other donors who prefer to remain anonymous.
To set the stage a bit, many of last year’s team have returned. Captain Bob is again at the helm. Ian Glass is back as first mate. Johnny is our primary biopsier and student team leader. Cathy is running the cell culture lab and Sandy is the cook/whale photo identification person. Rick is our other biopsier, though he is only on board for this first leg of the expedition.
For new people, we have Shanelle Dugan, an undergraduate nursing major from USM, Cynthia Browning, a Ph.D. student from USM and Nora Daley, a Maine kid who is an undergraduate at Middlebury college. We also have Alyssa Catalano as our new deckhand and a second deckhand will be joining us on the next leg… eleven of us in all making a full boat.
There is much to fill you in on about what we are doing and what we learned from last year and I will indeed fill you in over the next couple of days as we prepare to launch. But for tonight, know that we are here again ready to enter the Gulf. The boat looks great and the team is excited. Now, we just wait on the weather.
John
(Blog by: John Wise, Science Director)
