Updates from sea
Teacher-to-student blog
Postings by: Carolyn Sheild from the R/V Atlantis
January 16–21, 2007
View January 24–30, 2007 blog entries
View January 11–14, 2007 blog entries
21 January 2007 - Mussels Here and There
Deep-sea mussels just collected.
Photo © 2007 E. Simms
"Is that related to Modiolus?" I asked as a mussel was being removed from a biobox in front of the Alvin. "Actually it's Bathymodiolus," said Kate Buckman, a graduate student in Tim Shank's lab. Modiolus modiolus is the scientific name for the shallow-water brown mussel that I was familiar with; however, I had never seen a real deep-water mussel. Although some species of shallow and deep-water mussels may look similar, there are some striking internal differences apparent upon dissection.
Inside anatomy.
Photo © 2007 E. Simms
Dissecting organisms in the classroom can be a great experience. The opportunity to get a "look inside" allows students to examine aspects of the organism they wouldn't be able to with just a picture. When my students did the Classroom to Sea Mussel lab and dissected mussels in the classroom, I once again saw the benefits of "hands-on" learning. Do you know what anatomy and physiology are? Finding the internal parts of the mussel (anatomy) and then specifically finding the gills and studying what they do (physiology) makes this dissection lab a worthwhile endeavor. Another part of the lab involves removing the gills and determining their volume using volume displacement. The total body volume is also determined (again using volume displacement), and then the ratio of gill tissue to total body volume is calculated. This is where a little math comes in!
In my classes, my students predicted what they thought the ratio would be for the mussels they dissected and if there would be a difference for shallow-water mussels versus deep-sea mussels. What do you think? To answer this, you will need to look at the SEAS Deep-Sea Mussel Data. I don't want to give too much away since all participating classes are invited to submit reports in the Spring Report Fair. I will tell you that I had the opportunity to see a deep-sea mussel dissection the other day, and WOW, it sure looks like a BIG difference inside!
So when you have the opportunity to look at something more closely, take time to do so. You never know what you might find! Stay tuned, Ms. Sheild
19 January 2007 - Women At Sea
First Mate Mitzi Crane enjoys being on the bridge. What a view!
Photo © 2007 C. Sheild
"You can be anything you want to be!" Hopefully you've heard this message. Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? For many of the woman here on the Atlantis, they are glad to be at sea.
Mitzi Crane is the First Mate on the Atlantis. She also has her Captain's license. At 14 she was in love with Jacques Cousteau, but at that time women didn't go to sea; it wasn't even thought of as a career for women. "When I was in college, that was before woman's lib," Mitzi says. "It took time to open doors." While she was a Branch Manager of a bank, she attended a seminar. "Make a 3-5 yr plan for your life," she was told. "If you could do anything, what would you do?" "I don't want to be here," she thought, "I want to be outdoors, travel, and see more of the world." "This opened up the possibility for something else to creep in," she states. Then while she was vacationing in Maine and visiting an art gallery, Mitzi saw an ocean scene painting that she liked. The artist suggested she go to sea. "The Maine Maritime Academy is now accepting woman," he said. Mitzi went home, excitedly applied, and was accepted. She's been going to sea since 1983. "I never looked back. Doors open as long as you see them," Mitzi states. "Life happens. There are many avenues that women can pursue."
Heather Nees said she was always good at math and science. Growing up, she enjoyed SCUBA diving with her family and read books about Bob Ballard and Jacques Cousteau. "You're from Ohio [midwest], you can't do marine science," was the message Heather heard. "That just made me work harder. I always wanted my PhD because I like the challenge of figuring something out (like a math or science problem) and I like to learn." Heather pursued her dream and got internships on the coast, and is now in graduate school at the University of Delaware studying water chemistry. Yesterday she had her first dive in the Alvin!
Besides these life stories, there are many others that could be told of how women have overcome some adversity to pursue their goals. So the next time you hear someone say, "you can't do that" or "you'll never be good at that", just go out and prove them wrong. That's what some of the women here on the Atlantis have done and they are happy they did. I am too! Ms. Sheild
P.S. There are quite a few women on the cruise. Click here to see other women at work.
18 January 2007 - Have Food! Need Exercise!!
Working off all the good food!
Photo © 2007 E. Simms
How many of you like ice cream? Well, have you ever tried rich Mexican ice cream? With chocolate sauce and a brownie? That's what I had for dessert last night aboard the Atlantis. One thing's for sure - there's no shortage of good food at every meal. "I'm going to need the A-frame to get me off the boat," said Eric Simms, the Education Outreach Coordinator, after dinner. How does one not gain too much weight out here? After being here for one week, I went to the crew to get some answers to this question.
You need discipline out here," said Patrick Neumann, an Ordinary Seaman. "You need discipline to not eat too much, and discipline to work out." Patrick tries to work out every day, with exercise such as Thai boxing one day (there's a punching bag on board) and a kung fu and weight workout another day. Other sports equipment on the Atlantis includes a rowing machine, stationary bikes, a stepper and a treadmill.
Crew member, Patrick Neumann, keeps fit by practicing martial arts during a workout.
Photo © 2007 C. Sheild
Mike McCarthy, a Pilot in Training, says once you get into a routine, it's easier to stick to it. "A lot of life out here is routine," he says. It's just that some days you're so tired, that working out is difficult. Bruce Strickrott, the Chief Alvin pilot, is another crew member who tries to exercise regularly. Today he was pacing around the deck wearing a backpack containing weights. He's training for a ski trip he plans to take when he gets off the ship.
Exercise is an important "mental health" aspect for many people out here. Since some people "live" on the Atlantis for up to four months at a stretch, with up to eight months a year. The small space and constant interaction with people can be a bit confining. Exercise provides an escape.
Grad student Heather Nees takes a run on the treadmill.
Photo © 2007 C. Sheild
As youth, many of you can relate to how exercise just makes you feel better. Playing sports after school gives you a break from school, time with your friends and helps to keep you physically fit.
Before I came to sea, I made it a goal to exercise every other day. I started off well, as you can see by the picture of me on the rowing machine, but the busy work schedule and the fatigue are hampering my efforts. You would think discipline would be easy for me being a former athlete and a coach. But, the food is so good! And there are so many food choices! (I'll be writing a log entry later about the food on board.) I guess all I can do is keep on trying to exercise out here. That's all any of us can do...keep trying to do our best. I think I'll go work out on the bike now! How are all of you doing with your goals back there?
16 January 2007 - The "Floating City" Atlantis
Ear protection is a must in Engine Room
Photo © 2007 E. Simms
Have you ever stopped to think about what it takes to run a city? Electricity, fresh water, a way to remove sewage, fire equipment, and people. Out here on the open ocean, we need all the same things, and Atlantis' crew works hard to make sure our "city" operates without a glitch. Today I took a tour of the engine room led by Andy Gillen, one of the engineers known as an Oiler. It was amazing to see all the generators, machines, gauges and pumps that are needed to keep the 'city of Atlantis' running smoothly.
The tour started in the control room. As the name suggests, everything on the ship can be controlled from this room. All valves, engines, fire pumps, and even the ship itself can be run from here. There are temperature gauges, alarm lights and controls for systems throughout the ship. Next on the tour were the generators; six big generators make electricity for the entire ship AND power the thrusters that move the Atlantis. I learned from Chris Morgan, Chief Engineer, that you could power a small city with the amount of electricity our generators produce. This sure is a noisy place - hence the need for ear protection!
Click here for a slideshow of the Engine Room
Chris Morgan, Andy Gillen and Mark Thorwick give a tour of the Engine Room
Photo © 2007 C. Sheild
Next, I got to see how the ship gets its fresh water. One machine, called the Evaporator, boils salt water and collects the fresh water that evaporates off, leaving the salt behind. Two additional machines, called "watermakers", use a process called reverse osmosis to purify a saline (salty) solution into fresh water. All of this takes power and of course there is only so much power available. So here on our "floating city", it is all the more important to conserve water and save energy. And what about sewage? There is even a machine to treat that, just as there is in any other city.
As you can imagine, the possibility of fire is a primary concern on any ship. There are numerous types of fire fighting equipment on board since you can't rely on your neighborhood fire company to come rescue you. In the engine room, they use a CO2-based fire fighting system which works by displacing oxygen and starving the fire. They also have fireproof doors separating the control room from the generators and other parts of the engine room, allowing control room personnel to remotely operate any equipment needed to put out a fire.
The next stop featured Atlantis' specialized propulsion system. I was fascinated by how the main propulsion motors power the aft port and starboard thrusters, allowing the ship to move in many directions. A third thruster, or the bow thruster, helps keep the ship in one place, which is extremely important when you are deploying and retrieving science gear over the side. This thruster system is also useful when moving away from the dock, because it can even move the ship sideways!
On our last stop of the tour, I saw the huge hydraulic system that moves the A-frame on the fantail, launching and recovering Alvin on a daily basis. Raising and lowering such a heavy (and precious) load, requires some pretty specialized equipment - which is absolutely critical for the scientists to accomplish their mission.
What is the message for today? Sometimes we take things for granted in life. When we turn on the faucet, we expect healthy drinking water. When we turn on a switch, we expect the light to come on. Today I realized that there are a lot of people and specialized equipment working behind the scenes to keep this exciting city operating smoothly. As I go throughout my day aboard the Atlantis, I have a better appreciation of all that is involved in providing for our needs, allowing science to happen, and keeping this vessel going! What are some of the things that keep your school or home or town running smoothly?
