Educational Activities

E-mail Responses
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8-29-03

Jon, Kendra, Josh, Clarence, Will, and Chris.
Mr. Sacket
Enid High School, Enid, Oklahoma
Question 1:
We had several questions about our internet connection, and how it works.

Answer:
We are too far from any land for a cell phone type of system that you usually see with towers to work (we could only use this system when we were close to Hawaii). Out at sea we have to use a satellite connection. The ship has a satellite dish that beams our signal up to orbiting satellites and then, it gets directed to the SCRIPPS internet provider. We do not really have a full internet connection like you do at home. We download outgoing email to the ship’s server, which sends batches out periodically. We cannot access web pages, only send and receive emails. We can send or receive about 1 kilobyte of e-mail or text for free, but after that, it gets quite expensive. We are charged a rate of seven cents per kilobyte for email, and eight dollars and ninety five cents per minute for satellite time. During this cruise, we have not had any bad weather (so far!) and have never been out of communication. The captain has the ability to reach emergency services at all times through the satellite telephone system. At nearly nine dollars per minute, you can see why it is for emergency use only.

Anthony, Brittany, Scott, and Taylor
Ms. Carmona, 5th
Mission, Tx. Brian Elementary
Question 2:
Can you explain how your samples of phytoplankton are collected?

Answer:
The rhizolsolenia colonies or mats are so small and fragile, collecting them in any kind of net would break them apart. The largest mats collected so far have been about 5 cm in length and about 3 cm in width. Some are as small as a square cm. Because of this, we actually put SCUBA divers in the water to collect the mats in plastic containers or jars. The divers dive at about 15 to 30 feet under the surface to collect the rhizosolenia mats. The mats are transported from the collecting jars by sucking them into pipettes. Here is a picture of a mat collected on this trip.

Mollie
Mr. Sacket’s class.
Enid High School, Enid Oklahoma
Question 3:
How old is the ship that you are using?

Answer:
The R/V New Horizon was dedicated on January 25, 1979, so she was built in 1978. For a ship, she is middle aged. She does not look very old because the AB seamen take very good care of her. This week they have been removing some rust from the surface of her bow and painting it. It’s a little noisy, but taking care of the ship is just as important as taking care of your car or house. For more information about our ship, you can go to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography homepage, and look under ships. You can find this link on the STEAMER website.

Brandon
Mr Sacket’s class
Enid High School, Enid Oklahoma
Question 4:
How long does it take for the crew and the ship to get where they need to be?

Answer:
I guess there are several ways to look at this question. The R/V New Horizon’s home port is San Diego, CA and it took a little under eight days to reach Hawaii where the research crew boarded her. One way of looking at our destination during the research cruise is how long it takes to get to the testing sites, known as stations. We test all day while we are stationary and travel all night at about 10 knots per hour to reach our next testing station by the next morning to begin testing all over again. Our current location is 28N 172W. We are traveling due west towards Midway Island. On Saturday, August 30th, we will cross the international date line.

Brian
Mr. Sacket’s 12th grade
Enid High School, Enid Oklahoma.
Question 5:
What do you do in your spare time, you know, things to pass the time?

Answer:
Actually, we are fairly busy, so there isn’t a whole lot of spare time. The ship has a nice library with a lot of recent DVD’s and tapes, plus a lot of books. But many of us spend quite a bit of our free time outside enjoying the breeze and the scenery. You can see videos anytime, but how often do you get to watch a tropical sea bird chase flying fish or see the sunset over the open ocean?

Janie
Mr. Sacket’s 10th grade
Enid High School, Enid Oklahoma.
Question 6:
What have you learned about the Earth’s aquatic things?

Answer:
Most of the information we have gathered on this trip will require months of evaluation and study before we really understand all that it can tell us about the ocean. Previous voyages have given us a lot of information about how nutrients are cycled in the ocean.

Paul
Mr. Sacket’s Class
Enid High School, Enid Oklahomal
Question 7:
What are the requirements to become a steamer crew? Is there any training involved?

Answer:
STEAMER crew of science teachers and educators. To become part of this team you must have a college degree in education and be a licensed teacher. Other requirements were necessary to prepare the teachers for being at sea for a month. Which included pre-cruise planning meetings, interviews, and studying about phytoplankton research. To be a ship’s crew member, such as Captain Murray Stein, you should have a college degree and must attend special training and pass an exam to become a sea captain. All members of the ship’s crew have some type of license to do their jobs and receive their maritime ranking. Crew members of the RoMp research team have college degrees. Three of them are scientists and have a doctorate in the field they study. Three other members are graduate students studying for their master’s or doctorate degrees. Two of the SCUBA divers on the RoMP research team are just beginning their studies in Marine Biology.

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