Townsend Cromwell
Q:
How many archival tags did you put out on Cross Seamount? By: R. Price, SGI N.O.G., Grade 37
A:
15 archival tags were carefully placed inside tuna on Cross Seamount this last trip. David Itano JIMAR
Q:
How did the Townsend Cromwell get its name? By: David Kimball, NMFS, Grade na
A:
Townsend Cromwell was a brilliant Oceanographer who greatly
advanced our understanding of the Equatorial Pacific in the early
1950's. At the time, he worked for the Pacific Ocean Fishery
Investigation (POFI), now the Honolulu Laboratory of the National
Marine Fishery Service, South West Fishery Center. While there, he
pioneered research of the Pacific Ocean near the Equator and confirmed
that upwelling occurs there. He also disproved the existence of
upwelling at the north edge of the Equatorial Counter Current.
Realizing the significance of unexpected drifts of long lines at the
equator, he organized an expedition to measure the equatorial currents
with drogues, and discovered the equatorial undercurrent which bears
his name.
Townsend was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1958 while
enroute to an oceanographic expedition. At the time of his death, he
was senior scientist with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
and Research Associate at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. A keen
surfer and swimmer, his love of the ocean extended beyond his
professional interests.Q:
Can the scientists make an estimate of how many birds may be affected in the Pacific fishing fleet from the experiments they are doing now? By: D. Ellis, noanmfsuh, Grade 19
A:
No, the experiments are not designed to measure how many birds are
caught by the fleet. That must be determined by fishery observers
stationed on commercial longline vessels. The intent of our studies
is to determine the effectiveness of the three mitigation techniques
in our study. Q:
What is the Benthic Habitat ? By: Sandy MacDiarmid, Westwood, Grade
A:
Aloha Sandy,
According to Scientist Ray Boland, who read your question over my
shoulder; "The benthic habitat consists of those animals and plants
that live on and in the bottom of the ocean." Depending on the area,
the benthic habitat could be sand or a silty "muddy" bottom. The
animals living there often dig, such as burrowing crabs, fish and
worms. However bluegreen alga's, alga's, and bacteria are often
important members of this community also. Q:
What is being done to protect the oceans and the life in the ocean?? By: Ashley czarnecki, Esperanza, Grade ma
A:
Aloha Ashley,
A detailed answer to that question would take many pages to answer.
There are many organizations and individuals working to protect the
oceans and the life they contain. However, to ensure the proper
course of action is taken, facts and information need to be gathered
on the population you wish to protect and maintain.
The TOWNSEND CROMWELL's purpose is to collect data for scientists
with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This federal
agency is charged with passing laws that regulate fishing and protect
marine creatures. The Hawaiian Monk Seal is an example of an
endangered species that is heavily protected, as there are only 1200
of these shy animals remaining. With such a low number, a
catastrophe, such as a fast catching disease, could wipe out so many
that they would never recover. As a result, our scientist continue to
study and keep vigilance over them, ever watchful for anything that
may endanger the population. One study we're involved in centers
around derelict fish nets (see cruise TC9812) whose effect on the
population and the coral reefs they depend on, is uncertain at this
time.
NMFS also watches over and regulates the U.S.'s commercial fish
populations. Much of the world's population depends on eating fish
and the jobs surrounding fishing and processing them. The purpose of
these laws, is to protect the species from being wiped out by the
competing fishing and to maintain a population that will support as
large a fishery as possible. This requires data on the fish and NOAA
ships, similar to this one, are responsible for gathering that data.Q:
why are the ocean plants important? By: chandler hamby, Esperanza, Grade ma
A:
Aloha Chandler,
Ocean plants are extremely important to the world's oceans as they
are the only creatures capable of taking sunlight, and using it to
make complex molecules called sugars. Without the sugars created by
plants, 99% of all the ocean's animals couldn't live. Herbivorous
(plant eating) fish and other animals eat the plants and absorb the
sugars, and these in turn are eaten by larger animals. In this way,
the sugars work their way up the food chain and may eventually became
part of a whale or a shark. When the shark or whale dies, bacteria
break down the body into basic molecules of carbon dioxide and water.
These may be absorbed by a planktonic (free floating) algae cell (the
majority of the ocean's plants), which uses sunlight to convert them
into a sugar and the entire process begins again.
If you look up the term "photosynthesis" in the encyclopedia or on
the internet, I believe you'll find some handy references and maybe
some great pictures. Q:
Hi Brian I am a teacher at Punahou School and used to work at NMFS in the early 1980's I just wanted to say Hi to all of the scientist that are going out to field camps. I will be sharing your site with my students soon. (we have spring break Friday) If Thea or George or anyone that knows me is there tell them have a safe field seaon. Aloha and best Wishes. Gail Peiterson (peite@punhaou.edu) By: Gail Peiterson, Puanhou School, Grade
A:
Aloha Gail,
Thea and George Balazs both work at the lab and haven't been out on
the TC for quite some time now. Thank you for sharing this site with
your students and I appreciate any and all feedback you have to offer.
We are presently in Honolulu preparing the ship for the upcoming
Lobster Tagging cruise (TC9904) and will be back at sea on March 24. Q:
Brian & Crew, Aloha from rainy Seattle. Enjoyed tremendously your web- page. It is very informative, and easy to navigate. If I were a student or teacher in Hawaii, I would ask: Is there any opportunity for me to go to sea aboard the TC. If yes, how would I go about it? Mahalo and keep up the good work - Mel By: Melvin Asato, Waianae, Grade -
A:
Aloha Mel,
NOAA has a program called "Teacher At Sea" which enables interested
teachers to accompany any one of our research ships on a given cruise
provided berthing space is available. Through this program, teachers
request to join a ship for a cruise and assist the scientists with data
collection while experiencing life aboard ship first hand. Aboard the
TOWNSEND CROMWELL, we have had terrific success with this program. I'm
afraid I don't have the direct number to call for information, however, our
Pacific Marine Center in Seattle (206) 553-4886, should be able to assist
you.
There are presently no programs that I am aware of, for students
under the age of 18 to accompany a NOAA ship. However, we do have
occasional Open Houses where we provide tours of the ship while alongside.
I will be sure to advertise in this web site when we schedule one for TC in
Honolulu this year.Q:
Your site was included in a newsletter I received today. I had to check it out tonight and I wanted you to know how impressed I am. I am a former scientist (limnology) now an engineer and I am facinated. I imagine my kids will like this too. Do you have an archieve list of questions that we can also access (I don't want you to have to repeat yourselves). Thanks and keep up the great work! By: Judy Hayducsko, Menomonie, WI, Grade +
A:
Aloha Judy, Thank you for your comments on the website. The bulletin board contains an ever growing list of past questions and answers which are deleted after a time to keep the list with in a reasonable length. Other sites on the webpage answer many of the most frequently asked questions, such as details on the ship. So far, we haven't had any questions exactly repeated, so if you don't see it in the list, please, ask away. We very much welcome your imput and questions.
Q:
It must be cool living on a ship. What do you eat? My uncle was in the Navy and he said all he ever ate was chipped beef on toast. If I want to be a marine scientist what college is best? I have to decide pretty soon. Also, my stepmom says I need to take calculus next year for stuff like marine biology. What's up with that? By: Frank Buckland, Waget High, Grade 11
A:
Wow Frank, that's a lot of questions for one small kilobyte. :)
Ship living is quite unlike anything I've ever done on land. You
live very closely with same people you work with everyday. It has its
drawbacks in that you can't just go to movie theater to get away, but on
the other hand, I don't have to fight traffic and can be fishing 5 minutes
after getting off work. As far as the food, we have more variety than the
chip beef your Uncle received. This is a fishery research ship and our
crew consists of some outstanding fisherman who keep us in a steady supply
of fresh tuna, ono (wahoo), and occasionally marlin. We also have steaks,
chicken and pork on a regular basis along with burgers, salads as well as
Hawaiian dishes. It's not like this on every ship as much depends on the
steward (cook).
Calculus, ...oh how I remember it well. Calculus is used to
predict the change of something in relation to a variable and is an
important tool with many uses. Some examples of which are;
1) Predicting the growth rate of an algae using different concentrations
of a nutrient
2) Predicting the change in a population of fish over time using different
rates of fishing.
In Oceanography (Study of the physical oceans), calculus is used
regularly to define and predict ocean currents, movement of water, and the
physical properties of ocean water.
To answer which college is best would be nearly impossible for me to
address in this type of a format. There are many variables such as out of state
tuition, cost, and your interests. When I went to college, I was restricted by
finances to remaining in Ohio. Only 2 colleges offered the courses I wanted and
I visited both and met with the professors. These visitations made a tremendous
influence in my decision. My recommendation would be to decide what your
interests are, research what colleges have what your looking for and visit (if
possible) your top 2-3 choices. When choosing a school, try to take all of you
interests into account as many new college students alter their career goals as
they progress through college.
I hope this clears up some things and I was of help. Good luck
with your college choice. Take care.Q:
I'll be sharing this site with my students, some of whom are interested in marine biology. As I introduce you I'd like to be able to share where you are (lat. and long), and why you are tagging lobsters. Thanks By: Richard Smith, Buena HS, Ventura CA, Grade Te
A:
Aloha Richard, Thank you very much for including this site in your curriculum. We are located at 23 33N - 164 41W, capturing and tagging spiny lobsters off a tiny island in the NW Hawaiian chain called Necker Island. Tagging the lobsters makes them identifiable as individuals. The NOAA Fisheries scientists conducting this operation hope to gain a better insight as to the distance these lobsters travel by comparing release locations against the recapture locations. The tags also should provide a better understanding as to the life expectancy of individuals, their rate of growth, survivability and as a check on the estimated population (i.e.. the percentage of tagged lobsters recaptured should be comparable to the percentage of tagged lobsters calculated to make up the population). All of these characteristics will be used to improve the methods used to calculate and predict the lobster population's growth over time, enabling it to be effectively managed and fished.
Q:
What kinds of tags do you use on the lobsters since they shed their shells every once in a while? By: Todd Shiraki, UH Manoa, Grade JR
A:
Aloha Todd, Each tag is a colorful ribbon of plastic with an ID number and other information printed on it. A needle is used to insert the tag under one of the lobster's muscles located in the joint between the lobster's tail and main body. The procedure was practiced on lobsters in aquaria and proved to cause them no difficulty. The tag remains attached to the lobster as it emerges from its old shell and thus the tag is retained as the animal grows.
Q:
Are you seeing widely varying species of phytoplankton in your hauls or are the species pretty consistant over your research area? What are the domanant phytoplankton species? By: Bill Dick, Correia Jr. High School-San Diego, Grade 8
A:
Bill, we don't look at phytoplankton species specifically but through our partners at the University of Hawaii Department of Oceanography, we do obtain information on the composition of the phytoplankton classes. This is done by putting the filtered phytoplankton through a process called high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) that separates the various pigments present in the sample. These pigments in turn serve as markers and tell us the phytoplankton make up. Among the more interesting patterns that we've seen are the sharp increases in the presence of dinoflagellates (from their diagnostic pigment marker peridinin) located in the immediate location of the fronts positions and the bloom of diatoms (diagnostic pigment fucoxanthin) observed coincident with upwelled nutrients (nitrogen) occuring because of the fronts' presence. Generally, small prokaryotic phytoplankton (photosynthesizing bacteria) are big contributors to the composition. Mike Seki, NMFS
Q:
How many scientist can the ship carry? By: Cutie Pie, RCHS, Grade 9
A:
The ship can carry 11 scientists, in addition to the 17 crew members required to operate her.
Q:
What do you use to tag big eyed tunas? By: Justin Colbert, Rabun County Middle School, Grade 7
A:
Aloha Justin,
We use different tags for different studies. The simplest tag is made of
bright colored plastic and looks like a 5 inch length of the wire attached
to your computer's mouse. Printed on the plastic is an ID number which
when entered in the scientist's computer, tells them when, where and what
size the fish was when it was tagged.
The more complex tags contain computer chips, batteries, and light
sensing antennas; all embedded in resin to protect them from the salt water
and pressures they will be subjected to. These tags record depth and the
levels of sunlight through which the fish is swimming, enabling scientists
to determine what environments the fish prefer.Q:
Where does the captian live? Which three decks? By: Justin Colbert, Rabun County Middle School, Grade 7
A:
The Captain's cabin is located on the third deck, right behind the bridge.
Q:
Where does the ship usually come back to? By: Robby Baker, RCMS, Grade 7
A:
The TOWNSEND CROMWELL's home port is Honolulu, Hawaii and we berth at the University of Hawaii's pier (Pier 45). The only other pier we routinely tie up to is located on Midway Island, and we usually only go there twice a year.
Q:
What do crew members do when they are not working? By: Justin Colbert, Rabun County Middle School, Grade 7
A:
Aloha again Justin, The crew often fish off the back of the ship, or watch movies (we have a lot of video tapes aboard), or read books. Computer games are what some of the personnel prefer where as a few like to just sit around, relax and talk. When the ship is anchored in a nice area (which is often on some cruises), I love to scuba dive and explore the reefs that are rarely visited.
Q:
What attracts cruise ships to a country or an island? By: Mario Ingham, BWI Collegiate, Grade 7
A:
Aloha Mario,
I'm afraid the TOWNSEND CROMWELL is a research ship and not a cruise ship,
but I will try my best at answering your question. Cruise ship's include a
certain island or country in there list of destinations because the type of
people that ride the cruise ship would like to see that country or island.
Many people that take a cruise, normally live in areas that have winter
and/or are inland and far from the sea. These people like to spend their
vacation where its different from where they live and see sights that are
rare and beautiful. Hawaii is a popular destination as its mountains,
water falls, and blue oceans are considered beautiful by most people.
Similarly, many people take cruises from Washington state to Alaska so they
can see the memorable snow covered mountains, glaciers and ice bergs. In
Alaska, the passengers can see pods of killer whales, humpback whales, and
polar bears which aren't normally roaming the streets in their home towns.
Basically, cruise ship's include locations on their itinerary that
their customers will have a good time at.
Q:
To Robert Dollar: from your nephew: Hi! Do you see any big whales out there in the middle of the ocean? By: Robert Hunt, (home), Grade 1
A:
Aloha Robert, This is Brian Parker speaking and I was out here with your uncle. During your uncle's cruise, we saw a pod of sperm whales and also a few humpback whales that were getting ready to start their migration back up to Alaska.
Q:
Do you need State permits to land on Kure because of it being a State Wildlife refuge? By: Matt, Kaelepulu, Grade 4
A:
Aloha Matt, If our scientists require us to go to Kure, they apply to the state and obtain the necessary permits for us. The state benefits as they usually have us transport supplies and equipment to/from Kure for them, in addition to the items required by our lab.
Q:
People coming to our web site www.westpacfisheries.net really enjoy your link. we have it on our front page. By: Bob Endreson, Westpacfisheries, Grade
A:
Aloha Bob, Thank you for the feed back.
Q:
Hello Brian Thank you for replying to my previous question. I live in the Turks & Caicos Islands, about 500 miles south east of Miami. We have crawfish in our waters, they differ from lobsters. I saw a lobster in the United States, they are bigger, are red in colour and have two bigger claws. why are they different? By: Mario Ingham, British West Indies Collegiate, Grade 7
A:
Aloha Mario and great to hear from you again, It would be nearly impossible for me to answer "why" they are different, I can however explain "how" they are different. Crawfish (or Crawdads as we called them in Ohio when I was a boy) live in freshwater streams, rivers and lakes. The term Crawfish includes many different species, though there may only be one species where you live. In general, they are small (most are 3-6 inches in length), and have large claws for defense or to fend off other crawfish rivals. Lobsters also consist of many different species and most (if not all) live in saltwater. Like crawfish, they are crustaceans and have a hard exoskeleton on the outside of their body. Lobsters however have 3 general body plans which they can be subdivided into. The lobster you described is a Maine lobster and is most often seen in restaurants. It looks just like a huge crawfish and has large claws which it uses similarly as a crawfish. Spiny lobsters have no large claws for defense. They have large antennae containing sharp spines that they use to ward off would be attackers. Slipper lobsters use camouflage as their main defense. They have no big claws or big defensive antennae. In Hawaii, the only commercially caught lobsters are the species of spiny and slipper lobsters, of which you can see pictures of on this web site.
Q:
Will you be able to see and count lobsters on the floor of the ocean and find out where they are going to? By: Ruru Hall, Valdese Elementary, Grade 4
A:
Aloha Ruru,
When I scuba dive around these reefs, I occasionally see a lobster tucked
back in the coral. However, if I dive at night, I usually see a quite a
few crawling along the bottom. Lobsters are nocturnal so they usually
leave their hiding places only at night to search the reef for food.
Although I could easily count the lobsters I spotted during a dive,
I could only cover a small area of the reef. Using the lobster traps
allows us to sample a larger percentage of the population. Also, a diver
would spot spiny lobsters easier since they have long antennae that are
often sticking out of the holes they are hiding in. Slipper lobsters hide
way back in holes and overhangs and are much harder to see, even though
they are there. Thus a diver's data might show that there are a lot more
spiny than slippers, which may not be the case at all. The traps attract
all lobsters (slipper, spiny, large and small) to them and result in a much
closer estimate of the over all population.Q:
Saw your covergirl on student connection June 9--could not resist trying to send email to that person known as Lynn Miller Watts from North Carolina--have a great trip and we are proud of you!!!! Roger By: Roger Hall, Claremont Central, Grade 12
A:
Aloha Roger, Hey you found me! Having a great time Learning lots. I'll show you my pictures when I get back. Lots of info. You may be able to use on your trip! Hi to family "Your Covergirl" Lynne
Q:
to: Teacher at sea Aunt Lynne, How many lobsters have you tagged so far on this trip? We miss you! By: Addie and Lucy Miller, Startown School, Grade 3
A:
---------------------------- Forwarded with Changes --------------------------- From: Student Connection at Cromwell Date: 6/22/99 1:57PM To: web@honlab.nmfs.hawaii at RDC Subject: Re: 1999171045110 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aloha Addie and Lucy! Great to know you're following my trip. Every day we have a different job. When I was in the lab I tagged 127 lobsters. We stick a needle through the muscle and pull the tag through, then break off the needle and release the lobster back into the water. We will try to tag at least 500 on this trip. We also pull up eels, fish, sharks, hermit crabs, algae, and octopus. It's really neat. The weather is neat and the seas are calm. Hope you're having a good summer. "Sea" you soon. Love, Aunt Lynne
Q:
What does the chief scientist do? By: Ryder Lum, , Grade
A:
Aloha Ryder, The Chief Scientist is in charge of organizing and supervising the scientific staff aboard ship. I work with the Chief Scientist and the ship's Commanding Officer in planning the upcoming operations, and procedures on how to safely obtain the data that is required. The Chief Scientist is responsible to the lab that he/she works for in performing all the objectives stated in the Cruise Instructions. The Commanding Officer has the authority to alter the plan if safety of the ship or crew is in question. The Chief Scientist has the authority to modify the plan if the scientific agenda changes, such as we come across a rare event which little data has been collected or something similar.
Q:
Dear Brian,
Thanks again for a wonderful trip! My slides came out great and I will try and send some copies in a few weeks.Best always. Mike Stork Teacher at Sea PSI. I can be reached via e-mail at: jimbose4@yahoo.com
By: Mike Stork, Artondale Elem., Grade 1A:
(Reply not yet received)
Q:
do yall see the seals everyday? and do yall know where to go look for the seals or do u have to guess where they are? By: Eddie Hill, fitzgerald high school, Grade 9
A:
The Hawaiian Monk Seals are concentrated along the remote islands of the NW
Hawaiian Chain. Although seals do appear irregularly on the beaches of the
main islands (Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Lanai), the vast majority
of the seals are found on the small islands on the atolls NW of Kauai
(Necker, French Frigate Shoals, Laysan, Lisianski, Pearl and Hermes,
Midway, Kure). If we are re-supplying a field camp on one of these
islands, it is a fair bet we'll see a monk seal as they are commonly
sleeping on the beaches after multiple days of fishing along the reefs
perimeter. The young seals are curious and often come out the anchored
ship or over to the boats to investigate.
On this cruise, we had a curious seal pup follow the snorkelers as
they surveyed Kaula (SW of Niihau). His mother followed behind him as he
watched us swim down to 30-40 feet and look for cowry shells to document
for a precious shell survey. After I had dove down for the fifth time and
realized the young seal had been underwater the entire time, it really made
me envious of their breath holding ability.Q:
I was wondering if you would have any interesting objects or items for an scription. It has to be related to any maritime section. By: M van der Giessen, Hogeschool van Amsterdam (University), Grade 4
A:
I am afraid I don't understand the question. Can you try rephrasing it for me? Thanks. Brian
Q:
What kind of eingine does the ship have By: trevor, bradach, Grade 5
A:
Trevor, The TOWNSEND CROMWELL is powered by two White Superior Diesel Engines, each of which produce 400 horse power. Each engine is about the size of Volkswagen beetle.
Q:
Brian, I found the web page thanks to Scott. It is great and I'm envious you didn't have it on the 98 Teacher at Sea June lobster cruise. My students think the info so far is great. My question is how does the data from this 99 lobster cruise compare with the 98 cruise? Are the spiny lobsters still declining and the slippers "taking over"? Can you post the data? Thanks! By: Cathy Jones, McCook Sr. High , Grade 40
A:
(Reply not yet received)
Q:
Phil, Where is the boat in dry dock and are there going to be any major alterations/refurbishings in the wet lab. By: Dan Curran, University of Hawaii, Grade 36
A:
Dan
Thanks for your questions. Please forgive the delay in answering. I never
get any questions so I always forget to look. The answers are: Bellingham WA.
No.
Are you coming out on the Seki cruise? How's your back? Better I hope. Have
you been handling questions or are we not gettin' any.
Phil
____________________Reply Separator____________________
Subject: 1999341081245
Author: web@honlab.nmfs.hawaii.edu
Date: 3/1/00 4:28 PM
Phil, Where is the boat in dry dock and are there
going to be any major alterations/refurbishings
in the wet lab.Q:
What is an ocean sun-fish? By: Don Rush, Easton Area Elementary School, Grade 4
A:
(Reply not yet received)