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OMAO Sends in Postcards from the Field

As part of NOAA's 200th Celebration, OMAO personnel -- from the ships, the aircraft and various offices -- are contributing to NOAA's "Postcards from the Field." A "postcard" is a photo from a NOAA field office, science center, or any site on the globe where NOAA is conducting research or field work. Below are those submitted by OMAO personnel. You can see the postcards from all of NOAA on NOAA's 200th Celebration Web site "Postcards from the Field."

Praia, Cape Verde

Greetings from the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown off the coast of Praia, Cape Verde in the tropical North Atlantic!  Pictured are a multidisciplinary group of scientists, students and volunteers working to acquire oceanic and atmospheric data as part of the PIRATA Northeast Extension, Aerosol and Ocean Science Expedition joint field campaign.  The main PNE mission was to add four new PIRATA buoys to the moored array currently in place.  While the ship was off the coast of Africa, it encountered a major outflow of dry, dusty Saharan air, which produced a dense haze.  Among other things, these data will be used to better understand how dust events impact the oceanography, meteorology and climate dynamics of the tropical Atlantic. 

Pictured (from left):  Vernon Morris, Rick Lumpkin, and Dan Wolfe (front); Sandy Snyder, Madelyn Vazquez, Cassie Stearns, Samuel Abegaz, Isha Renta, Juanita Escalera, and Claudia Schmid (middle); Claude Lumpkin, Grant Rawson, Steve Kunze, Nick Nalli, Derrick Snowden, Jeff Harmon, Everette Joseph, and Adrian Flores (back).  Missing from photo are Malgorzata Szczodrak and Tamil Maldonado.

Seattle, Washington

The NOAA Ship Rainier docked at NOAA's Western Regional Center (WRC) in Seattle, Washington, held an Open House for the employees of the WRC campus before going out to sea. On this unusually blustery and gray Seattle day, only the courageous few braved the elements to show their NOAA pride. Though too many to name individually, the folks in the picture represent both the crew of the Rainier and NOAA's WRC employees. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Washington, the WRC houses the largest variety of NOAA programs at a single location in the United States. It also employs the largest NOAA staff outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Arctic Circle

On September 4, 2007, the scientists and crew of the NOAA Ship OSCAR DYSON entered the Arctic Circle during the Bering-Aleutian Salmon International Survey in the Chuckchi Sea and Eastern Bering Sea Shelf. To celebrate, everyone got their "Bluenose".

Pictured from (from left): back row: LF Patrick Kreigh, 2C Kurt Kier, LT Mike Levine, CB
Willie Sliney, F Nathan Thomas, SST Kathy Hough, O Drew Barth, LET Vince Welton, ENS Nathan Witherly, ENS Carl Rhodes, LT Bill Mowitt, SST Colleen Peters; front row: 1AE Kim Gwan, EET Terry Miles, Sam Laney, Sarah Mincks, Lisa Eisner, Liz Labunski, Morgan Busby, Jim Murphy, Lauren Kuehne, Jenefer Bell and AB Joel Kellogg, with CDR Mike Francisco in front.

Greetings From Puget Sound!

En route from surveying the coast of southeast Alaska to a project in the Columbia River, NOAA ship RAINIER took the rare opportunity to see her home port (and the eponymous mountain!) during the sunny summer months. The crew and officers of the ship celebrated the occasion by taking a photo opportunity with the two RAINIERs.

Manzanillo, Mexico

The NOAA Ship McArthur II watches the remnants of Hurricane Henrietta fade into the distance as it conducts research operations 250 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico in support of the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Center's Stenella Abundance Research Project Line Transect and Ecosystem (STAR-LITE) Cruise, 2007. The McArthur II is a multi-mission platform that supports a wide variety of research in the National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves of the Pacific Ocean as well as Marine Mammal abundance work throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Captain Greg Hubner is the ship's master and Dr. Eric Archer is the chief scientist for STAR-LITE cruise.

Hayes, Montana

Rear Admiral Sam De Bow, former director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Corps (center, in khaki uniform), who retired October 1, was on the annual low water inspection tour in August as the NOAA member of the Mississippi River Commission (MRC). The MRC was in the area to start the inspection of the Missouri River basin and its tributaries. At the request of Tribal Elders, the commissioners led the Grand Entry of the Powwow of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Hayes, Montana.

The Mississippi River Commission, created by an act of Congress in 1879, was charged with creating a comprehensive plan to aid navigation and prevent destructive floods along the entire Mississippi River.

Praia, Cape Verde

Greetings from the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown off the coast of Praia, Cape Verde in the tropical North Atlantic! Pictured are a multidisciplinary group of scientists, students and volunteers working to acquire oceanic and atmospheric data as part of the PIRATA Northeast Extension, Aerosol and Ocean Science Expedition joint field campaign. The main PNE mission was to add four new PIRATA buoys to the moored array currently in place. While the ship was off the coast of Africa, it encountered a major outflow of dry, dusty Saharan air, which produced a dense haze. Among other things, these data will be used to better understand how dust events impact the oceanography, meteorology and climate dynamics of the tropical Atlantic.

Pictured (from left): Vernon Morris, Rick Lumpkin and Dan Wolfe (front), Sandy Snyder, Madelyn Vazquez, Cassie Stearns, Samuel Abegaz, Isha Renta, Juanita Escalera and Claudia Schmid (middle), Claude Lumpkin, Grant Rawson, Steve Kunze, Nick Nalli, Derrick Snowden, Jeff Harmon, Everette Joseph and Adrian Flores (back). Missing from photo are Malgorzata Szczodrak and Tamil Maldonado.

Norfolk, Virginia

Greetings from OMAO’s Marine Operations Center –- Atlantic and NOS’s Atlantic Hydrographic Branch! The headquarters for NOAA’s East and Gulf coast fleet is located in Norfolk, Virginia, the heart of historic Hampton Roads. This is the proud homeport of NOAA Ships THOMAS JEFFERSON and RUDE, both of which are hydrographic survey vessels carrying out the 200-year-old traditions and mission of the Office of Coast Survey. The marine center also supports NOAA Ships RONALD H. BROWN, ALBATROSS IV, HENRY B. BIGELOW, DELAWARE II, NANCY FOSTER, GORDON GUNTER, and OREGON II.

The Office of Coast Survey’s Atlantic Hydrographic Branch is co-located with the marine center processing hydrographic survey data acquired by NOAA hydrographic vessels and Navigation Response Teams, and performing quality assurance on data from NOAA contractors. These data are then used to compile cartographic revisions to NOAA nautical charts.

Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

Celebration greetings from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts!

About 800 people toured the new NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow at Massachusetts Maritime Academy during a day-long welcoming event sponsored by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Event speakers and special guests pictured here on the Bigelow’s upper deck.

Pictured (from left): NEFSC deputy director Frank Almeida, NMFS budget chief Gary Reisner, NEFSC science & research director Nancy Thompson, NOAA budget chief Maureen Wiley, NOAA RADM Jonathan Bailey, NMFS chief scientist Steve Murawski, Rory Sheehan of Congressman William Delahunt’s office, NMFS Bigelow mission manager Mike Bancroft, NEFSC vessel coordinator Chuck Byrne, and the commander of the Bigelow, Stephen Beckwith.

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

The Officer's and Crew of NOAA Ship ALBATROSS IV wish all of NOAA a Happy 200 Years of Science and Service to our Nation. The ALBATROSS provides operational support to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center as a fisheries research platform and has been doing so for the past 45 years. Her predecessor vessels, ALBATROSS I, II & III, have done the same since 1882.

Pictured (from left): Master Stephen Wagner, ENS Cris Daniels, ENS Chad Meckley, LCDR Kurt Zegowitz, ENS Chris Skapin, ENS Jonathan Heesch, Pete Langolis, Carl Coonce, Bruce Schoon, Kevin Cruse, Robert Haverty, Edward Nyamweya, Brandon Balducci, Abe Goldberg, Steve Flavin, Mike Conway, and Rick Rozen.

Alaska

Two National Geodetic Survey field parties combined with crews from the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Aircraft Operations Center to perform Airport Obstruction Surveys this summer in support of safe navigation at 22 remote airports in Alaska.  The surveys provide the FAA accurate runway, navigational aid and obstacle data required for the development of GPS instrument approach procedures and maintain the National Airspace System. 

Top photo (from left): Lt jg. Jason Mansour (NOAA Corps), Lt. Kristie Twining (NOAA Corps), Chief of Survey Party Timothy Wilkins (NGS) and Cartographer Joseph Kordosky (NGS).

Bottom photo (from left): Lt. William Pierce (NOAA Corps), Lt. Nickie Lambert (NOAA Corps), Chief of Survey Party Ron Bailey (NGS), and Cartographer Andrew Serak (NGS).

San Clemente Island, California

200th Celebration greetings from the R/V David Starr Jordan south of San Clemente Island, California. 

The photo was taken just prior to hauling in the final set of the annual juvenile pelagic shark survey. The “2” and buoys represent "200" to commemorate NOAA's 200th celebration.  Personnel include scientists from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, crew of the R/V David Starr Jordan, a NOAA Teacher-at-Sea, and a number of volunteers. 

Shown (from left): Top - Eric Lynn, Ann Coleman, Lyndsay Field, Anne Allen, Noah Ben-Aderet, Kena Romo-Curiel, Jose Coito, Elizabeth Eubanks, Chico Gomez, Victor Pinones, and Jeff Graham; Bottom - Leanne Laughlin, Heather Marshall, Dovi Kacev and Russ Vetter.

Unalaska Island

Frozen spray coats OSCAR DYSON, shown here preparing to anchor in Makushin Bay upon completion of the Bogoslof fisheries survey in the Aleutian archipelago. The ship is working in concert with NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN, which is anchored nearby. The two vessels entered the bay in order to “break ice” off the superstructure and calibrate their scientific echosounders. Enabling scientists to correlate data acquired by the old and new ships, the calibration is necessary before the 40-year-old MILLER FREEMAN goes out of service. Shown (from left): Rick Saladin, Patrick Kriegh, Travis Long, Nathan Thomas, and Bruce Knoepke.

Anderson Bay, Unalaska, Alaska

While conducting echo integration-trawl surveys of the abundance and distribution of walleye pollock in one of the world's largest fisheries near the Aleutian Islands of Umnak and Unalaska, NOAA Ships MILLER FREEMAN and OSCAR DYSON experienced heavy icing conditions. A low pressure system centered in northern Gulf of Alaska and a high pressure system in the eastern Bering Sea created bitterly cold northerly winds. Both ships headed for Unalaska to escape freezing sea spray and brief relief from the pounding seas. Braving the cold for a 200th celebration photo are (from left): Mark Boland, Jesse Duncan, Taina Honkalehto, Kevin Veitch, Jennifer King, David Strausz, Kirk Perry, Laura Gallant, Steve Bus, Lindsey Waller, Phil White, Matt Faber, Kris Mackie, Kathy Hough, Don Jones, Matt Davis, and Russell Van Dyke.

Florida Coast

Scientists and crew aboard NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER recently finished a successful multibeam mapping cruise in several Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern along the Florida coast. In true “One NOAA” fashion, the mission capitalized on the talents of many personnel and organizations to provide data to address research priorities of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The Southeast Region of the National Marine Sanctuary Program donated 10 days of ship time; the National Undersea Research Program’s Center at UNC-Wilmington provided the use of its National Institute of Undersea Science and Technology’s Autonomous Undersea Vehicle; and the very capable personnel from the NANCY FOSTER provided a safe platform. Other contributors to the mission’s success include: NOS’s Office of Coast Survey; NOAA’s Fisheries Habitat Conservation Division; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish & Wildlife Research Institute; South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources Marine Resources Research Institute; and the College of Charleston.

San Francisco, California

It’s a beautiful spring day off San Francisco (with no fog!) as scientists and crew aboard the NOAA R/V DAVID STARR JORDAN say hello from the Farallon Islands, 25 miles offshore of the Golden Gate Bridge. In the midst of conducting the Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s 25th annual midwater trawl survey, these Fisheries Ecology Division researchers collect physical and biological data that is designed to gauge the reproductive success of exploited groundfish stocks and to monitor the overall state of the California Current ecosystem, including observations on krill, squid, coastal pelagic species, marine mammals, and seabirds.

Shown standing (from left): Ken Baltz, Joao Alves, Keith Sakuma, Kevin Stierhoff, and Jose “Chico” Gomez. Kneeling (from left): Lisa Sheffield, Cathy Preston, and Sophie Webb.

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Greetings from the NOAA Fisheries' Ecosystem Survey Branch in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where the branch has been conducting fishery-independent surveys for over 40 years! The branch surveys include bottom trawl surveys, scallop, shrimp, clam, and acoustic research. While out at sea the group collects data on abundance, distribution, feeding ecology, size, and age composition of stocks that are economically and ecologically important species. Traveling as far south as Cape Hatteras and north to the Scotian shelf, we have seen a wide range of species and have experienced every type of weather condition! Picture taken aboard the NOAA Ship DELAWARE II, front row (from left): Robert Gamble, Stacy Rowe, Melanie Underwood, Lara Jarvis, Jonathan Duquette, Alicia Long, Heath Cook, Peter Chase, and Kevin McIntosh. Back row (from left): Linda Despres, William Kramer, Nikolai Klibansky, Capt. Andrew Hall, Larry Brady, Yvonna Rowinski, and Sean Lucey.

Central California Coast

Greetings from NOAA Ship DAVID STARR JORDAN, off the coast of California!  During the ship’s Winter California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations cruise, Fisherman Joao Alves looks on as scientists Sue Manion and Ron Dotson from NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center pause before deploying a Bongo plankton net.  CalCOFI is one of the longest ongoing fisheries/oceanographic investigations conducted by NOAA in support of NOAA’s goal to protect, restore, and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management. The picture was taken during operations off the central California coast on one of the historic CalCOFI research stations.

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Greetings from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii! The crews of NOAA ships OSCAR ELTON SETTE (pictured) and HI’IALAKAI join Rear Admiral Samuel P. De Bow Jr. (mid-right), Director, NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and NOAA Corps, on Pier F-10. The picture was taken shortly after the two Hawaii-based ships arrived at their new home port at historic Ford Island, with a third ship to follow later this year. The three NOAA ships acquire data that primarily support fisheries, coral reef, and oceanographic research. Additional historic building renovations are to be completed this September, allowing all NOAA ship operations to move out of Snug Harbor to Ford Island. The U.S. Navy has authorized NOAA’s exclusive use of a portion of Ford Island for its ship operations function as part of an upcoming larger NOAA presence -- the Pacific Regional Center. The NOAA Pacific Regional Center is a multi-year, multi-phase construction project to consolidate NOAA programs and operations on the island of Oahu into a single facility on Ford Island.

Honolulu Hawaii

Greetings from Honolulu, Hawaii from the crew of the NOAA Gulfstream IV jet and NOAA’s Teacher in the Air! During its recent Winter Storms Reconnaissance project for the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction, the G-IV acquired atmospheric data from severe winter storms originating over the Pacific Ocean that will affect the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska. The data will help improve forecasts released 24 to 96 hours before a winter storm in support of NOAA’s goal to serve society’s needs for weather and water information. Joining the G-IV crew on its February 24 mission was Jessica Schwarz, a seventh grade science and math teacher from West Hawaii Explorations Middle School in Kona, Hawaii.  As a participant in the NOAA Teacher in the Air (TIA) Program, an offshoot of the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program, she wrote logs and lessons that correspond with the G-IV's research.  Her work is posted on the NOAA Teacher at Sea Web site at www.teacheratsea.noaa.gov.

The top photo shows the G-IV crew with TIA Jessica Schwarz and two University of Hawaii meteorology students. Pictured (from left): Gordon Kitson, Martin Mayeaux, LCDR John Longenecker, Paul Flaherty, Mark Rogers, Cindy Dettmer, Chuck Rasco, Paul Fuentes, Jessica Schwarz, David Brogan, CDR Jeff Hagan, and LCDR Gregg Glover.

Bottom photos (pictured from left): LCDR Gregg Glover, Jessica Schwarz, and LCDR John Longenecker in the cockpit; G-IV in flight over Honolulu; and Jessica Schwarz and Chuck Rasco preparing a dropsonde for launch during a G-IV mission.

South Sawyer Glacier, Alaska

Greetings from the NOAA Ship JOHN N. COBB, during a cruise in March to Tracy Arm in Southeast Alaska waters!  Research needed to be conducted while it was cold enough for the ice to remain solid but just warm enough to allow diving operations. The ship was supporting NOAA Fisheries’ Auke Bay Laboratory's research into shallow water coral and sponge populations. 

The researchers used SCUBA diving, ROV operations and CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) data to examine the life history and distribution of red tree corals. Good times and hot chocolate were had by all aboard!

The ship is in front of the South Sawyer Glacier.  (From left) Kris Cieciel, Robert Stone, Jennifer Mondragon, LT Chad Cary, David Taylor, Bill Lamoureux, LCDR Peter Fischel, and Sam Hardy.

Bering Sea, Alaska

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory conducted research on four species of arctic ice breeding seals in the northeastern Bering Sea. The NMML Polar Ecosystem Program was aboard the U.S. Coast Guard ice-breaker Healy from April 10 to June 18, 2007 and the NOAA Ship OSCAR DYSON from May 3 to May 31, 2007.  Using aerial abundance surveys and seal-borne satellite transmitters, researchers are collecting data useful for estimating the population sizes, distributions, and habitat use of these species.

Pictured (from left): John Jansen, Heather Zeil, John Goodwin, Shannon Fitzgerald, Dan Savetilik, Josh London, and Peter Boveng.

International Date Line

Greetings from the International Dateline! NOAA Ship HI’IALAKAI made her first voyage across the International Dateline as she transited from Honolulu to Wake Island. Commanding Officer LCDR Jon Swallow served as master of ceremonies during the festive merrymaking marking this sailing milestone.

Pictured are the crew and scientists, who all earned Golden Dragon Dateline Crossing certificates.  Photo is courtesy of Benjamin Richards, Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Hawaii, who will chronicle fish and reefs with underwater photography and videography during this 2007 research cruise.

Seattle, Washington

Wishing NOAA a great 200th celebration is this banner-raising team of employees from NOAA Research and NOAA's Marine and Aviation Operations Office, who gathered in a drydock in Seattle beneath the bow of OKEANOS EXPLORER. The former Navy vessel CAPABLE is being refitted as the only ship in the Federal fleet to be dedicated to ocean exploration when it joins NOAA's fleet in 2008.

In the photo (from left): Cdr. Doug Schleiger, Officer in Charge, Okeanos Explorer; Reagan Errera, Sea Grant Fellow; Brenda Loignon, Oak Management, Inc.; Anne Readel, Sea Grant Fellow; Tim Trembley, Civil Engineer/COTR; Felipe Arzayus, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research; Ken Long, Electronics Engineer/Assistant COTR; Jim Hallock, Marine Surveyor; Craig McLean, Dep. A.A. (Admin and Programs), for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Harriet Longuet, guest; Karen Kohanowich, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research; Sandra Knight, Director of PPE, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research;and Jana Goldman, Public Affairs Officer.

Riviera Beach, Florida

In April, a regional NOAA day at Riviera Beach Maritime Academy was developed by Joe Shewmaker, Einstein Fellow in NOAA Office of Education and faculty member at the academy. Joe coordinated a team of NOAA staff to speak with members of the local community on the full range of NOAA issues. Topics included NOAA's overall mission; severe weather including hurricane awareness; habitat restoration and career opportunities. This event was important because it helped to create a community that is better informed on the importance of storm preparedness as well as NOAA's overall mission. This was one of the first regional approaches to presenting the scope of NOAA's suite of services in this area. NOAA staff commented on the value of regional collaboration and plans are being developed to continue this format on an annual basis in connection with Earth Day.

Pictured aboard the Riviera Beach Maritime Academy's R/V Triton (from left): LCDR Carl Newman, Joe Shewmaker, LTJG Rebecca Waddington, Jocelyn Karazsia, Hugh Cobb, Robert Molleda, and LTJG Jennifer Pralgo.

Daytona Beach, Florida

Crew members of NOAA's WP-3D Orion Hurricane Hunter Aircraft join members of WFO Melbourne at Daytona Beach, FL, the final stop of the 2007 Hurricane Awareness Tour.  The annual tour travels to five cities, alternating between the Gulf Coast and East Coast each year, to promote hurricane awareness and preparation as the hurricane season approaches. This year's tour attracted more than 10,000 visitors from Rhode Island to Florida.

Miami, Florida

In mid-March to mid-April, the crew of the R/V Ronald H. Brown and researchers from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory surveyed the western North Atlantic Ocean and celebrated the twenty fifth anniversary of observations for the Florida Current and the meridional overturning circulation. 

NOAA was one of the first agencies to recognize the importance of long-term observations and beginning in 1982 NOAA OAR started a time series program to measure flow of the near surface part of the flow in the Straits of Florida and soon expanded the program offshore as well. NOAA’s program has become a corner stone for the international Rapid Climate Change program funded by the National Science Foundation and the United Kingdom’s Rapid Climate Change Program as part to study the ocean overturning circulation and the oceans impact on long-term climate change.

This photo collage shows many of the personnel involved with this project.

Key West, Florida

Several members of the Office of Coast Survey ad hoc SPOT (Special Projects Operations Team) team are shown aboard the NOAA Survey Vessel S3004 during an Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping project in Key West, Florida. The project was a joint effort between Office of Coast Survey, National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science, and National Marine Sanctuaries. Sonar bathymetry and imagery data from the project will be used to update the area’s nautical charts and to develop benthic habitat maps of the Western Sambos Ecological Reserve to ensure safe navigation in the area and to assist Sanctuary managers in making informed decisions with regards to appropriate use of the area.

Shown (from left): Mike Davidson, Dave Elliott, Paul Turner, and Caleb Gostnell from Office of Coast Survey. 

Newport, Rhode Island

Greetings from Newport, Rhode Island! The crew from NOAA Ship HENRY B. BIGELOW recently led the Naval Station Newport annual Shoreline Cleanup on May 21. Their efforts helped to keep over a half mile of beach free from debris, trash and plastic.

Pictured (from left): Pete Gamache, ENS Patrick Sweeney, Mike Murray, Ava Dent, CDR Stephen Beckwith, and LCDR Scott Sirois.

Oregon Coast

Several NOAA representatives and other guests recently participated in a NOAA-funded marine debris removal project off the north Oregon Coast. Derelict trawl nets have been lost in close proximity to undersea fiber-optic cables that carry vast amounts of digital data from North America across the Pacific. A partnership between Oregon's commercial fishing industry, Tyco Telecommunications, Oregon Sea Grant, and the U.S. Coast Guard worked collaboratively to retrieve the nets, using precise recovery methods in order to avoid damaging the very expensive undersea cables. The 215-foot Coast Guard Cutter FIR transported personnel to rendezvous with the F/V Seeker (a 98' Alaska class trawler), which carried out the recovery operations.

Pictured (from left): David Crouse (NOAA), LT Jessica Daum (NOAA), Patty Burke (Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife), Michael Bendixon (Oregon Public Broadcasting), Terry Thompson (Lincoln County Commissioner), Mike Crouse (NOAA), LCDR Tim Brown (USCG), LT Johnny Backus (USCG), Steve Theberge (Oregon Sea Grant), Jill Smith (Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife), Barry Thom (NOAA), LCDR Andy Raiha (USCG), and Megan Callahan Grant (NOAA).

Kings Point, New York

Before heading back to sea later this year, NOAA CORPS officers took part in refresher training classes in advanced fire fighting. The nearly month-long course at the Merchant Marine Academy strengthens leadership skills, reviews ship operations, and leads to renewal of Coast Guard certification. Shown (rear, from left): LT Hector Casanova, CDR Don Haines, CDR Tod Schattgen, LCDR Rick Brennan, LT Jake Yoos, LT Monty Spencer, LT Bryan Wagonseller, LCDR Joe Pica, and LCDR Cecile Daniels. Shown (front, from left): LT Dan Simon, LCDR Rick Fletcher, LT Stephanie Koes, LT Sarah Mrozek, LT Natasha Davis, and LTJG Kelley Stroud.

Boulder, Colorado

In Boulder, LT(jg) Andrew P. Seaman (seated), of NOAA Research's Earth System Research Laboratory, and CDR John J. Adler  look at how aerosol particle detecting Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) works at the Global Monitoring Division atop the NOAA facility. To provide a greater understanding of the Earth's composition, and therefore of climatic conditions, a green laser is directed 50km into the sky where it reflects off pollutants in the atmosphere and reveals the pollutants' concentration at different altitudes. To accurately record the seasonal fluctuation of particles, this measurement is done year-round for one hour every 5-10 days. In addition to operating LIDAR, the Global Monitoring Division records atmospheric conditions at stations at the Galapagos Islands and South Pole and in Brazil, Algeria, and Indonesia, among other sites.

Seattle, Washington

Taking a break at a management meeting held at NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Pacific, NOAA Corps officers and civilians from NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations toured the Treasures of NOAA’s Ark exhibit at Seattle's Pacific Science Center. Shown (from left): Doug Smith, Mitch Luxenberg, Captain Jon Rix, Rear Admiral Richard Behn, Captain Emily Christman, Doug Friske, and Captain Jack McAdam.

North Florida Coast - "Postcard From Living On The Edge!" 

Pictured is a magnificent female tiger shark (3 meters length) captured 80 miles off the Atlantic Ocean coast of northern Florida during the NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC/Mississippi Laboratories 2006 pelagic longline survey aboard the NOAA Ship OREGON II. The healthy tiger shark was measured, weighed, tagged, and released. The objective of the NMFS pelagic longline survey is to assess the relative abundance of pelagic sharks and pelagic finfish in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, and to collect associated environmental and gear technology data. A variety of NMFS, university, state and international scientists participate in the project and contribute to its success.

The photo of the tiger shark being measured was taken from the wheel house by former OREGON II Jerry Adams (NOAA Corps, LCDR). Pictured handling the shark are (from top down): Skilled Fisherman Tim Martin, Chief Scientist Mark Grace and Shark Specialist Trey Driggers.

Kings Point, New York

Greetings from Basic Officer Training Class (BOTC) 111 currently stationed at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. All NOAA Corps officers go through a 4-month training program before beginning their work for NOAA. BOTC focuses on the development of maritime and nautical skills, with emphasis on shipboard operations, organization and management, marine navigation, ship handling, and seamanship.  This photo was taken on the bow of Kings Pointer Training Vessel just before getting underway on a training cruise.  After graduation the officers in this photo will be reporting to NOAA vessels shortly thereafter.
 
Pictured (from left): ENS Russell Quintero, ENS Jonathan Heesch, ENS Nathan Parker, ENS Mark Andrews, ENS Nathan Witherly, ENS Glen Rice, ENS Brian Player, ENS Megan O’Brien, ENS Ronald Moyers, ENS Matthew Griffin, ENS Patrick Redmond, ENS Bennie Johnson, ENS Christine Schultz, ENS Claire Surrey, ENS Megan Guberski, ENS Faith Opatrny, and CDR Anne Lynch.

Gulf of Mexico

The scientists and crew aboard the NOAA Ship GORDON GUNTER completed an intensive SEAMAP winter survey of ichthyoplankton in the eastern Gulf of Mexico from the De Soto Canyon to the Straits of Florida. Survey objectives were to assess and measure the occurrence, abundance, vertical distribution and pelagic habitat of the early life stages of winter spawning fishes (especially the groupers) from mid-continental shelf to deep Gulf waters. Among the non-standard collecting gear used during this cruise were a Methot juvenile fish trawl (lower left panel) and a 1 m MOCNESS (upper right panel) which was loaned to the SEFSC/Mississippi Laboratories by the NEFSC/Narragansett Laboratory.  Sampling with the MOCNESS resulted in the most extensive set of discrete depth plankton samples ever collected in the region and a rare expedition into the Gulf of Mexico during winter months. A diverse array of organisms were captured such as a young Dealfish, Trachipterus arcticus (middle left panel); neustonic fishes and invertebrates (center panel); and the pelagic blue nudibranch, Glaucus atlanticus (middle right panel). 

Scientific party pictured in upper left panel include: Front row - Pam Bond, Kim Williams, Denice Drass, Christina Schobernd and Joanne Lyczkowski-Shultz; Back row - Glenn Zapfe and Alonzo Hamilton.

Caribbean

For the past four years, researchers from NOAA's Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research have conducted an annual research cruise aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to Puerto Rico and Isla Vieques with the help of participants from other NOAA Line Offices and academic institutions. The purpose of this cruise is an ongoing investigation of the response of seagrass beds to physical disturbances including boat groundings, storms, wave energy and foraging areas. This year's cruise included participants from NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (ORR), and the North Carolina State University.

Pictured in the bow of Nancy Foster are (from left):  Tracy Hamburger, Chris Taylor, Jud Kenworthy (seated), Sean Meehan, Todd Kellison, Giuseppe Di Carlo, Jenny Vander Pluym, John Burke, Erika Hansen, Brian Degan, Missy Partyka, Paula Whitfield, Kevin Kirsch, Warren Mitchell, Amy Uhrin, Brooke Landry and John Hackney (seated).

Seattle, Washington

After months of planning Seattle's NOAA 200th celebration event, the "Get to Know NOAA Weekend" was held in June in conjunction with the "Treasures of NOAA's Ark" exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle featuring activities, exhibits and talks by NOAA scientists. Hundreds of visitors, stopped by the "Meet a NOAA Scientist" area where booths from a variety of NOAA offices (NWS/Seattle Forecasting Office, NOS/OCS and ORR, OAR/PMEL, NOAA Corps, NMFS/AFSC and NWFSC plus NMFS/AFSC/NMML and NOS/Olympic Coast NMS) were set up to answer questions and inform the visitors about their role within NOAA.

Pictured in the "Meet a NOAA Scientist" exhibit, are (front row, from left): LCDR Mike Hopkins, Helen Bottcher, and Lisa Hiruki-Raring. (Back row, from left): Rebecca Reuter, Liz Clarke, Jeff Napp, and Ted Buehner.

Virgin Islands

NOAA scientists with AOML’s Physical Oceanography Division and the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center partnered in a joint research cruise aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster this past March-April 2007 to gather biological and physical oceanographic data from the coastal waters of the Virgin Islands and surrounding region. Students and faculty from the University of the Virgin Islands also participated on the cruise. The collaborative research cruise was part of a new three-year interdisciplinary research project aimed at examining how recruitment of larval reef fish in the VI and the surrounding area is affected by local oceanographic processes, and how the different shallow banks found in the northeastern Caribbean are ecologically linked via dispersal of these larvae.

Pictured (top photo, from left): Dave Leaphart, Grant Rawson, Ashly Beebe, Natasha Davis, and Estrella Malca; (bottom photo, from left): Natasha Davis and Estrella Malca.

Port Angeles, Washington

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center Marine Biotoxin program and University of Washington scientists together with UCAR SOARS and Hollings Summer Internship students were aboard the NOAA Ship McArthur II for a 2-week research cruise to study the distribution and intensity of harmful algal blooms due to the toxic diatom, Pseudo-nitzschia. Together they monitored for the toxin, domoic acid, enumerate toxic cells, and deploy ocean drifters and moorings to monitor physical oceanographic parameters.

Pictured (from left): Stuart Hyde, Alisha Fernandez, Nicolaus Adams, Jim Johnson, Tom Conneley, Keri Baugh, Natalie Tsui, Shelly Nance, and Anthony Odell.

Rear Admiral De Bow and Lt. Hemmick with NOAA staff and volunteers at the Great Hawaiian Folk Life Festival

The NOAA Small Boat Safety Board (SBSB) after completing NMFS/PIFSC’s Surf Boat Training in Kaneohe Bay, HI. Other participants included officers and crew from the NOAAS OSCAR ELTON SETTE.
The SBSB is developing policies, training curriculum and the Small Boat Safety Program to support all 410 NOAA Small Boats and 800 Operators. These boats operate from American Samoa to the Chesapeake Bay and range in size from a jet ski to an 80’ research vessel.
Surf Boat Training: PIFSC scientists and ships’ crews operate boats at remote field locations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and throughout the south Pacific for the Marine Debris Program and to conduct fisheries, coral reef, and protected species research. Many of these locations are uninhabited islands and atolls without aids to navigation systems in place. These scientists must be able to identify and navigate surf zones, shallow reef, and unmarked channels to access their study sites, and recognize when conditions become too hazardous to continue boating operations.

Members from left to right: Wayne Hoggard (NMFS), Jack Burks (NMAO/Fleet Inspection), LT G. Mark Miller (Small Boat Safety Program Coordinator), CAPT John Humphrey (NMAO), Dennis Thaute (Law Enforcement), Dennis Donahue (OAR/GLERL), Chad Yoshinaga (NMFS/PIFSC and course instructor). Not in photo: Dana Wilkes (NOS), Craig Gillis (SECO)

Greetings from the bridge of NOAA ship GORDON GUNTER in Majahaul, Mexico, where the ship was conducting surveys to determine the types and abundance of larval fish, or ichthyoplankton, found off the eastern Yukatan (Mexico) and Belize coasts. By helping NOAA scientists better understand regional fish populations, the surveys lead to better fishery management.

Shown (from left) 3M Judah Ropiak, ENS Ryan Wattam, CDR James Meigs, ENS Victoria Zaleweski, LT(jg) Tony Perry III, LT(jg) Natasha Davis and LT Michael Ellis.

Greetings from the Marine Operations Center-Pacific, on Lake Union in Seattle!  MOC-P civilians and NOAA Corps officers are responsible for the day-to-day operations, management, and maintenance of NOAA research and survey ships operating from ports along the West Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska.