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Day 7: 4.26.06
Research continues on the Nancy Foster
Navassa multibeam
of Solmar Hydro Industries
and Dan Boles,
NOAA Survey Technician)
With over 102 km² (330 line km) of survey area, the sea-floor mapping around Navassa Island is nearly complete. Shallow water mapping has been completed, and the deeper track lines will hopefully be completed tomorrow. Mike Stetcher, Dan Boles, and the ship’s crew have been working extremely long hours, taking advantage of our good weather window to complete the survey.
The Nancy Foster’s transducer is a Simrad EM1002, a 95/98 kHz sonar sweep system that provides 100% ensonification (acoustically imaged area) of the seafloor with a ping rate of up to ten times a second. This is the first time the area around Navassa Island has been mapped to such high resolution. The data will be used for:
- habitat classification maps
- updating navigational charts
- resource managers to use for characterization of resources
Location of a shipwreck
During a multibeam survey on Tuesday, a shipwreck was located far from its previously mapped location on the navigation chart. The wreck had been searched in previous hydrographic surveys with echo sounder and range azimuth control but was not found.
Using the Automated Water Obstruction Information System (AWOIS), we were able to obtain historical information on this shipwreck. It could be the Ferngarth, which was a 380 foot, steel hull, British steamer built in 1911. In addition to a crew of 31, she carried general cargo from New York to Australian ports. On August 13, 1921, the Ferngarth sent a distress signal stating the vessel was on fire and in need of immediate assistance. Her crew was rescued by the steamer Yalza, bound for Boston.
of Solmar Hydro Industries
and Dan Boles,
NOAA Survey Technician)
This afternoon, scientists deployed a drift camera over the area and confirmed that the object in the multibeam image was a shipwreck and seemed to be mostly intact. A diverse fish community was seen over the wreckage including:
- ocean triggerfish
- barracuda
- jacks
- chubs
- snapper.
Conch surveys
Conch surveys continued around the island. Only a few adult conch have been counted during the surveys. One conch in particular stood out from the rest with a full grown sponge hitching a ride on its shell. (Photo by S. Moneysmith)
Fish and Habitat Surveys
Buoys are deployed early each morning on randomly generated GPS points around the island. Dive teams then survey each site using the buoy as their starting point and proceeding along different headings.
Buoy
set-up on deck , by C. Addison
|
Buoy
dropped by C. Addison , by P. Whitfield
|
Dive
gear set-up: W. Foust and J. VanderPluym by C. Addison | 
Boats
away , by C. Addison
|
Acropora , by R. Kelty |
Underwater landscape during an afternoon stable isotope sampling dive,
by R. Kelty
|
Black
Jack, by A. Poray
| |
SCIENTISTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Abigail Poray has worked at CCFHR for two years. She was a 5 Colleges intern at CCFHR and worked on spatial analysis of monitoring data collected in the Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve. A year after she graduated from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she returned to CCFHR as a research technician. Among many other tasks, she has significantly contributed to six research cruises and has an ongoing project focused on salt-marsh shoreline exposure in Bogue Sound, North Carolina. This fall, Abby will pursue a master’s degree in marine biology at California State University, Northridge and conduct algal research on the island of Moorea. ( Photo of Abby Poray (L) and Brian Degan (R) by S. Moneysmith.)
Brian Degan, a North Carolina native, has been a biological technician at the NOAA lab in Beaufort since 2001. During his undergraduate studies in the Fish and Wildlife Department of North Carolina State University, Brian interned with the Beaufort lab working on hook mortality of adult red drum in the Neuse River Estuary and effects of low dissolved oxygen on menhaden populations. Little did he know that he would be sent on over 30 research cruises with NOAA including projects in the Caribbean, southeastern U.S., and Alaska. ( Photo of dive team: beauty and the beast? of A. Poray (L) and B. Degan (R), by S. Moneysmith)
Brian Degan, Abigail Poray and Amy Uhrin have been on two back-to-back research cruises on the Nancy Foster. The first leg, around eastern Puerto Rico and Vieques, was dedicated to calibrating and ground-truthing seagrass growth models as well as assessing seagrass bed injury due to manatee feeding. Without skipping a beat, these scientists dove into to the Navassa Island survey. When the Navassa research cruise ends, they will have been on the ship for over a month straight!
NOAA Ship Nancy Foster Crew Spotlight
Cornell Hill, Acting Chief Boatswain
For a man who has traveled around the world three times, Cornell is a very humble man. He will celebrate his 58 birthday in June, but cannot imagine his life without working as he enjoys the feeling of accomplishment that working gives him. Cornell began working for NOAA as a Messman on the Discoverer in 1968. He has since worked as a Steward, Seaman Surveyer, Boatswain Group Leader, Chief Boatswain and now Acting Chief Boatswain. In his 30 years of working for NOAA, he has worked for NOAA on 7 different ships, dedicated either to fishing operations, submarine work, data buoy deployment, or scientific research. “I have no regrets and have truly enjoyed working for NOAA,” says Cornell about all of his experiences so far. His favorite place is Bora Bora, an island off of Tahiti, a place he remembers fondly because of a mountain climb that resulted in touching a cloud. He feels that working with the scientists has been very special due to all of the interesting people he has been able to meet.
Cornell's duties include:
- management of deck staff
- launch and retrieval of small vessels
- bridge watch
- operation and maintenance of deck machinery.
(Photo by J. VanderPluym)