Chasing Whales

Posted on September 13, 2019 by Cait Goodwin

This post is part of a series chronicling the September 12-15, 2019 research cruise on board the R/V Oceanus, Oregon State University’s largest research vessel. This cruise was funded by Oregon Legislative funds through the Oceangoing Research Vessel Program. Coordination and additional support was provided by Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Follow the adventures of the students, educators, and researchers who are on board engaging in #STEMatSea.

By Ava Owens

Imagine climbing into a small, six-person boat in the middle of the ocean. The ocean is rolling you with small whitecaps licking the underside of what is deemed the ‘Red Rocket’. This isn’t a rescue, escape or recon mission, but rather a research one.

At around eleven miles off-shore, whale watching on the flying bridge was busy. Humpbacks were being spotted left and right by their fluking and breaching. Marine mammal spotting surveys were happening on the flying bridge, cataloging information such as species, numbers of animals, their distance from the boat and their activities (feeding, breaching, etc.) Something you cannot do from the flying bridge is identify individual animals, so we donned our finest waterproof gear, hardhats, a camera with a telephoto lens, GPS and a notepad to write down sightings. We carried these items over the side of the Oceanus and into the Red Rocket. What we were looking for were identifying features on a whale’s body. The pattern on a humpback whale’s flukes (the underside of their tail) is unique to itself only, just like our fingerprints are unique to each of us. This is the reason for the camera, as researchers wanted to identify and document specific animals base on these patterns.

three people in a red rigid hull inflatable boat — Launching the “Red Rocket”

The Red Rocket, once untied from the Oceanus, took off to follow some whales seen by the spotters on the flying bridge. The humpbacks we were following were about three times the size of our boat, meaning the experience was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Once we got close enough for that crucial I.D. photo, it was off to find another whale.

Lots of our time spent in the Red Rocket was waiting to spot something. After that first initial whale I.D., the flying bridge had a lull. We used this time not just to search, but to mark the whale sighting on the GPS as well as write notes about the whales behavior, number of whales and what pictures were of that specific whale.

On one of our missions further away from the boat, a pair of humpbacks dove in a feeding behavior. They dive down and stay down for three to four minutes, feeding. We hadn’t gotten a picture of those whales yet, so we stayed in what is called a fluke print. When a whale flukes, it creates this still pattern in the water that disrupts the normal ocean waves. Chances are these two whales would resurface in the same general area, meaning the fluke print is a great place to wait and watch for the pair.

female looking out to sea with binoculars — Looking for whales from the flying bridge

These I.D. photographs are extremely important for whale researchers as they can track individual whales’ migration patterns. These surveys are a great non-invasive way to catalogue individuals as well as estimate a total number of whales seen in one area. One of our researchers aboard has a permit to get closer to marine mammals, as it is illegal to approach any marine mammal without a research permit. Even with that research permit, there are still strict rules to follow to make sure no one disrupts the whales.

My time aboard the R/V Oceanus is my first experience with marine animal related hands-on research. My usual forte is marine education, giving public speeches to bridge the divide between people and the sea. I am so thrilled to be a part of this research cruise and to have more hands-on experience that I can relate to while speaking to the public. Lots of what I am passionate about has to do with microplastics in our ocean, so coming face to face with massive filter feeders that are getting plastic with their meals has given me even more insight on how we need to change our ways for the better.

four females sitting on couches, facing forward — Students relaxing in the ship’s lounge. Left to right: Ashley Brust, Genevieve Coblentz-Strong, Avarie Owens (blog post author), and Abbie Kirby.

Ava Owens is a high school student from Waldport, Oregon. She attends Baker Web Academy and is dual-enrolled at Oregon Coast Community College. Ava is also a youth volunteer at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and is a member of one of two Aquarium teams competing in the “Salmon Bowl”, Oregon’s regional National Ocean Sciences Bowl competition.

Bon Voyage, R/V Oceanus

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Cait Goodwin

Follow the adventures of the students, educators, and researchers who are on board engaging in #STEMatSea.

By Tracy Crews

Four high school students, one high school teacher, one community college student, and three graduate student will accompany OSU researchers on this cruise that will study seabird and marine mammal distribution off the Oregon Coast and correlate sightings with prey abundance and oceanographic data. On this trip, we hope to deploy drones to help quantify sightings and document marine mammal behavior, and to launch a smaller boat from the research vessel to collect fecal samples from whales. In addition, students will work with benthic ecologists to collect box core samples to learn about oceanographic sediments found in various locations and the organisms living within.

This cruise is not just an opportunity for researchers to collect valuable information about Oregon’s marine ecosystems and the diverse organisms that call these areas home, but an amazing opportunity for students to participate in hands-on, career connected learning. While serving as part of the science party, they get a unique glimpse into life at sea and the lives of the female researchers leading this expedition.

Mobilizing

Wednesday was a busy day for researchers, their graduate students, and the ship’s crew aboard the R/V Oceanus, as they worked together to “mobilize” for their four day STEM research cruise. Oceanographic equipment was loaded, tested, and tied down. Duffle bags full of boots, rain gear, gloves, cameras, and binoculars were hauled up the ship’s gangway and down multiple flights of ladders to small staterooms with bunk beds that would serve as our homes for the next five days. Packing for a research cruise is much more intense than packing for vacation. It’s not just the extra amount of gear required to live and work comfortably at sea, but the knowledge that once you leave the dock there is no way to replace what is missing or what might break. So we pack multiples of almost everything.

Getting Underway

On Thursday, students and other cruise participants spent the first hours of the morning going through safety drills, donning life jackets and immersion suits and learning how to use a fire hose.

Once safety drills were complete, the ship left the dock and headed out under Newport’s Yaquina Bridge to the open ocean!

Coming up next: Learning to conduct research at sea on the very first day of the cruise.

Tracy Crews manages Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program and is responsible for coordinating the R/V Oceanus shipboard experience for students and teachers.

Coastal Students Head Out to Sea on the R/V Oceanus

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Cait Goodwin

By Tiffany Woods from Oregon Sea Grant

NEWPORT, Ore. – High school and college students and a science teacher will learn to conduct research at sea Sept. 12-15 aboard a ship operated by Oregon State University.

The three high schoolers boarding the Oceanus are from Newport, Waldport and North Bend. The teacher, Carisa Ketchen, is from Toledo Jr/Sr High School. They will be joined by two undergraduates from OSU and Oregon Coast Community College as well as three OSU graduate students. The graduate students – two of whom have been on research cruises before – will serve as mentors for the other students.

Participants will learn about marine-related careers, what it’s like to live and work at sea, and how to work as a team to accomplish a variety of research tasks, said Tracy Crews, who manages Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program and is coordinating everyone’s participation in the cruise.

“We’re trying to get the next generation of researchers excited to join the ranks,” she added.

The lead researchers will be Leigh Torres, a marine mammals scientist with Oregon Sea Grant and the OSU Extension Service; Sarah Henkel a seafloor ecologist in OSU’s College of Science; and Jessica Porquez, a seabird researcher at OSU.

The cruise, which will depart from and return to Newport, is funded by the Oceangoing Research Vessel Program at OSU, Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

The students will learn to collect sediment and animals from the ocean floor at a future wave energy test site off the coast of Newport. The goal is to collect baseline data to see how conditions might change over time after the wave energy devices are operating.

Coastal students and teachers participating on the 2018 research cruise deploy a CTD.

The students will also learn to collect plankton and to deploy equipment that records oceanographic data at different depths. They will also identify and count seabirds and marine mammals off the Oregon coast, with the aim of correlating their distribution to oceanic conditions and the location of prey. Additionally, the students will learn how researchers use camera-equipped drones to film whales. Torres hopes to launch a small boat from the Oceanus to collect whale poop. The samples would later be analyzed in a lab to understand the whales’ diet and stress levels.

“Since blue whales are being seen in significant numbers, we are hoping to encounter them in addition to gray whales and humpbacks,” Crews said.

The crew will also launch an unmanned, 5 ½-foot sailboat built and decorated by students at the Career Tech High School in Lincoln City. It contains a GPS unit that will allow students to track the boat’s location. The aim is to for students to monitor forecasted wave and wind conditions and predict where the boat will go. A note inside with contact information will encourage anyone who might find the boat to correspond with the students at Career Tech.

The students on the cruise will write about their experiences on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub’s blog and on its Facebook page.

This will be the third year that faculty with Oregon Sea Grant have led cruises on the Oceanus for students and teachers. Crews and Torres led expeditions in 2016 and 2018.

This project, entitled “Diversifying the STEM Pipeline through Oceangoing Research and Near-Peer Mentoring”, is led by Tracy Crews of Oregon Sea Grant. Funding is provided by the Oceangoing Research Vessel Program at OSU, Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Sun and Wind in the STEM Forecast

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Cait Goodwin

By Cait Goodwin

More than 170 elementary and middle school students converged on OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center on March 5th to compete in the 7^th annual Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge hosted by Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. For weeks leading up to the event, students from Lincoln City, Newport, Waldport, and Florence researched renewable energy, explored existing and emerging technologies, and worked in teams building their own model devices. At the competition, students put their wind and solar energy devices to the test to see how their devices performed.

More than 40 teams designed wind turbines and tested them in a wind tunnel to determine which device produced the most energy. Students made their turbines from materials ranging from cardboard to 3-D printed plastic; their models varied in the number, size, shape, and angle of turbine blades. In addition, 22 teams tested solar boats in outdoors water tanks to see which model traveled the fastest. A variety of boat shapes and materials were represented, with designs using everything from plastic water bottles, duct tape and cork, to cardboard.

In all, 40 science and engineering professionals volunteered at the event, helping with judging, scoring, and operating testing stations. Each student team was interviewed by a pair of Engineering Judges. Points were awarded based on student responses to questions about how the team’s device worked and their design process. The judges were impressed with the students, their designs, and their ability to explain the reasons why their device performed as it did.

Employment in the Renewable Energy sector provides high wage jobs for those with strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills. By engaging students in hands-on STEM activities with real-world connections, the Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge aims to get young people excited about STEM and STEM careers.

Winners of this year’s Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge are listed below. Top wind teams are invited to participate in the National KidWind Challenge in Houston, Texas in May.

2019 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Winners:

WIND ENERGY

1^st Place Ms. Kilduff’s team #10 “Keelah & Sugar”, Crestview Heights School – Waldport

2^nd Place Ms. Saxton’s team #6 “Windwalkers” from Crestview Heights School – Waldport

3^rd Place Ms. Hill’s team #4 “Tornado Turbines” from Crestview Heights School – Waldport

SOLAR ENERGY

1^st Place Ms. LaMarche’s team #5 “Famous Four” from Taft Elementary – Lincoln City

2^nd Place Ms. LaMarche’s team #1 “The Monsters” from Taft Elementary – Lincoln City

3^rd Place Ms. McDermott’s team #3 “Orange Team” from Sam Case School – Newport

Cait Goodwin is the Communications Coordinator for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. If you would like to share your Oregon Coast STEM education story on this blog, contact her at cait.goodwin@oregonstate.edu.

North Bend SeaPerch Competition

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Cait Goodwin

By Guest Contributor: Darren Sinko

On Saturday December 1st, the North Bend Middle School Science Club competed at the North Bend Pool in a SeaPerch Competition against a group of science students from North Bend High School.

SeaPerch is a program in which students build and operate a simple Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) which can perform tasks underwater. At a SeaPerch Competition, students maneuver their ROVs through an obstacle course or use it to retrieve objects. In the past year, three SeaPerch competitions have been held in North Bend.

SeaPerch is one of two programs on the Oregon Coast that engage students in building and competing with underwater robots. In contrast to the MATE ROV program, SeaPerch involves simpler materials and competition requirements, which makes it an attractive option for middle school educators and students.

At Saturday’s SeaPerch competition, several middle school club members distinguished themselves by winning medals in multiple events.

RESULTS

Scavenger Hunt Event

1st Place – 7th graders Orion Sinko and Beau Parrott
2nd Place – 8^th graders Payten Henderson and Gillian Baxter
3rd Place – 6^th grader Jackson Allen

Obstacle Course

1st Place – 9th grader Johnny Flanagan and Madden Robertson
2nd Place – 7th graders Orion Sinko and Beau Parrott
3rd Place – 9th grader Sadie Wolfe

Coat Hanger Scavenger Hunt

1st Place – 7^th graders Orion Sinko and Beau Parrott
2nd Place – 8^th graders Payten Henderson and Gillian Baxter
3rd Place – 6^th grader Jackson Allen

The North Bend Science Club will be hosting another SeaPerch competition in early May at the North Bend Pool. Teachers who are interested in entering their students in this competition should contact Mr. Darren Sinko at North Bend Middle School.

Read more about the North Bend SeaPerch Competition in The World Link.

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Darren Sinko teaches science at North Bend Middle School, mentors the North Bend Science Club, and coordinates the SeaPerch competition in North Bend, OR. He can be reached at dsinko@nbend.k12.or.us

North Bend School District is a partner in the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

Students Demonstrate Power

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

How can wind, waves, and sunlight provide coastal communities with electricity? To demonstrate the answer, Oregon coast students are invited to design models of wind, wave, and solar energy devices and bring them to the 6^th annual Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge in March.

Oregon Sea Grant hosts the annual Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, and this year’s competition will be held on March 5, 2019. The event provides students in grades 3-12 opportunities to learn about renewable energy options that are currently being investigated along the Oregon Coast, and provides support and context for teachers seeking to integrate real-world science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in their classrooms.

At last year’s Challenge sponsored by the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, more than 170 students brought their renewable energy devices to the HMSC Visitor Center to test in wave tanks, a wind tunnel, or under high-powered lights to see which designs produced the greatest amount of energy. In addition, 25 volunteer judges from research and industry were on site to interact with students, assess student designs, and provide feedback.

In preparation for the Challenge, students researched renewable energy, practiced the engineering design process as they developed, built and tested their prototypes, and created a marketing poster detailing the strengths and benefits of their design. At the event, students further communicated their learning by interacting with other students and adults at the competition, as well as providing an engineering presentation to a panel of volunteer judges.

According to an engineering judge who volunteered at the 2018 competition, “One strength of the Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge is students’ involvement with the scientific, problem solving, and engineering design processes. And, seeing the enthusiasm and pride the students had in their work was fun!”

One teacher who brought students to last year’s competition reflected, “I appreciated the high interest and developing curiosity that purposely connects to this challenge. It touched my heart to hear youngsters using scientific vocabulary and investigations in their explanations about their engineer designs.”

Upper grade level student teams that win at the Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge are invited to participate in the KidWind National Challenge, providing them the opportunity to face top wind and solar energy teams from across the US.

The Oregon Coast STEM Hub will be scheduling educator workshops for teachers and mentors along the Oregon Coast who are interested in bringing students to this year’s competition. Keep an eye on the Professional Development page of the Oregon Coast STEM Hub website for announcements of these opportunities. For more information, contact tracy.crews@oregonstate.edu.

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Tracy Crews is the Marine Education Program Manager for Oregon Sea Grant, the Student STEM Experiences Coordinator for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, and the coordinator for the Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge.

Mission Earth! Summer Camp

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Cait Goodwin

By Kama Almasi and Kara Allan

What activities make middle school students excited about learning? What topics will engage their attention? What kinds of tasks will be appreciated as both fun and meaningful? For one week last summer, we were challenged to tackle these very questions for 25 middle school students from Lincoln County School District and beyond. Our answers included: A mystery involving death and our local area, lots of hands-on activities, a couple of field trips, and a few silly games thrown in. We named our camp: Mission Earth!

Our Program

We began camp with a fictional situation in which scientists discovered a massive die-off of juvenile salmon along the Yaquina River. Oh NO! The kids brainstormed possible causes and designed tests. Their hypotheses included death from warm water temperature, disease, parasites, pollution, and much more. We then embarked on a journey of investigation and exploration with the kids. They spent the week:

Learning techniques of sampling
- biosphere (living organisms)
- atmosphere
- pedosphere (soils)
- hydrosphere (water)
Using analog and digital tools
Dissecting salmonids
Collecting data from Brian Booth State Park, two sites in Toledo, and Hatfield Marine Science Center
Learning to use a GPS (geographic positioning system)
Geocaching
Listening to a guest speaker talk about parasites and invasive species
Creating art/science journals, and made
Making fish prints
Creating barometers
Conducting experiments on pH and ocean acidification

Our goals were that students would engage in science in a fun way and experience deepened learning by making local connections with the content that were relevant to their everyday experiences. With the help of our four high school/college counselors, students were able to work in small groups throughout the week allowing for lots of active learning and close interactions with instructors and peers.

In the end, students determined that both the Yaquina River and Beaver Creek are clean, but conditions during the fictional die-off were unusually warm. The students concluded that, likely due to climate change, the water became very warm too early in the season for juvenile salmon. This either would have caused their deaths outright, or weakened them and made them susceptible to disease or parasites.

The Takeaway

There’s nothing more satisfying to a teacher than seeing her students excited and engaged in learning. Thanks to support from our sponsors, we were able to do just that for our campers. We received very positive feedback from students and parents alike, and were extremely gratified to see our kids excited about working in their local environments. They had fun and learned valuable skills that will someday allow them to contribute to their communities.

Our Partners

Mission Earth! Camp was made possible through outreach, training, and supplies from Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline (NESSP) and considerable logistical aid from the Oregon Coast STEM Hub. In addition, we received generous donations from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund and Thermo Fisher Scientific. NESSP is an offshoot of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that serves communities in the Pacific Northwest. In particular, they aim to strengthen STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and interest in careers by giving educators and students access to innovative materials that will excite and engage student interest in STEM. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz created a charitable fund in 1999, and since then, has donated millions of dollars to charitable funds for education, natural resources, and much more. Thermo Fisher Scientific Corporation also has a philanthropic fund through which they help to strengthen STEM education with the goal of increasing the STEM workforce in the United States. All of this generous support enabled us to offer a free environmental camp to improve equity and access for local students and parents.

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Kama Almasi and Kara Allan are Community Curriculum Resource Liaisons (CCRLs) for Lincoln County School District, and they are also the Central Coast Coordinators for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.

What is it like to be part of a science party?

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

The R/V Oceanus is a 177-foot research vessel owned by the National Science Foundation and run by Oregon State University. She can carry a crew of 24 which consists of 11 crew members of the ship and 13 members of the science party. The science party on the recent STEM research cruise was composed of two high school students, three high school teachers, two community college students, two graduate students, and four OSU researchers. Most of these cruise participants were complete strangers to one another prior to boarding the ship.

What is it like to be part of a science party at sea?

Although we are at sea to conduct marine science, each cruise is a social science experiment in and of itself. When a group of individuals with diverse backgrounds are living and working together in a confined space, they quickly learn how to get along and what skill sets each bring to the table. During this cruise, it was amazing to see how quickly friendships formed, how everyone encouraged and supported one another, and how the team functioned like a well-oiled machine to deploy and retrieve equipment, collect data, and troubleshoot problems.

Below are a few thoughts about the relationships formed on this cruise. It was written by Oregon Coast Community College student Jason Miranda, a recent graduate of the Drone Academy at Career Tech High School in Lincoln City, and the official drone operator for this cruise.

Aboard the Oceanus is one trip I will never forget. The memories started when I first boarded the ship and met the people I would spend the next six days with. It was an awkward experience, meeting new people, but as time passed these people became close friends. We all worked, ate, and relaxed as a team.

It was an amazing experience to see all the sights I saw, like a pod of dolphins, two killer whales, countless humpbacks, and the beautiful views of downtown Portland. It would not have been the same without any of them aboard this ship. As we all started to leave I felt sad because I knew I would not be able to see many of them ever again, but I guess that’s what makes our memories together so special.

The R/V Oceanus is back in Newport, and the teachers and students who participated in the cruise are back to their normal lives on land (although at least one participant reports that it feels like the floor is still rocking). Many thanks to all who participated and to to those who made this STEM experience possible!

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Tracy Crews is the Marine Education Program Manager for Oregon Sea Grant, the Student STEM Experiences Coordinator for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, and the Principal Investigator for the STEM research cruise which took place last week on the R/V Oceanus.

This cruise was funded by Oregon Legislative funds with additional support from Oregon Sea Grant and Oregon State University.

Day three on the Oceanus: Unexpected Gifts

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Cait Goodwin

By Tracy Crews

This post is part of a series about the 2018 STEM research cruise taking place this week on board the R/V Oceanus. Other posts in this series include Tracy’s report from Day One, and a post from high school student Alishia Keller from Day Two.

Pacific white-sided dolphins

We started out our research cruise off the Oregon Coast, but as the wind increased down south impacting visibility, we tried our best to outrun it by heading north, into the waters off of Washington. We started out the day over Gray’s Canyon, surrounded by thick fog, wondering if we had traded one weather problem for another. But as the sun rose higher in the sky it burned off the fog and we were able to resume our survey tracks, zig-zagging back and forth from the shallower edge of the canyon, through the deeper water, then back to the other side again. Our quest today was to find those large, elusive whales known to prefer deep water, like sperm whales, beaked whales, and blues.

It wasn’t long before we saw a large pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins, estimated to be 230 in number by our two marine mammal researchers. Soon the dolphins surrounded the boat, darting out of wave crests, performing acrobatics and dancing in the wake of the vessel. The speed and agility they displayed was truly astounding. But as much as we enjoyed their antics, it was time to resume our search for their larger relatives.

Sperm whale fluke

Soon thereafter, as we made our way into deeper water, a solitary sperm whale was spotted. Everyone was excited to see such a rare sight but it wouldn’t last for long. Immortalized in books like Moby Dick, these large, toothed whales are impressive divers and once submerged can stay down for 45 minutes or more. Unsure when or where it would resurface, we continued along our survey transect.

As we moved back into shallower waters, we began to see more of the humpback whales that we have become so familiar with over the last few days. Most were traveling in small, close-knit groups, synchronized as they moved through the water. Others could be seen diving together then “logging” at the surface, floating to conserve energy and recover before diving once again.

More oceanographic surveying

As the day wound down and wind picked up, we shifted gears to conduct some more CTDs (oceanographic surveys) and decided to conduct another nighttime plankton tow to compare to what was caught the previous night in the Astoria Canyon, off the Columbia River. As we gathered outside on the back deck to watch the sun sink below the horizon, one of the teachers pulled out his guitar and harmonica and we were presented with one last amazing gift, something mariners often wait a lifetime to see- a green flash.

Waiting for the green flash

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This cruise is funded by Oregon Legislative funds with additional support from Oregon Sea Grant and Oregon State University. Track the R/V Oceanus at marinetraffic.com, and see more photos of this expedition on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub Facebook page.

Whales, Shrunken Cups, and Plankton Tows by Moonlight

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Cait Goodwin

By Alishia Keller
Bandon High School ’19

This post is part of a series about the 2018 STEM research cruise taking place this week on board the R/V Oceanus. For an introduction to the cruise, read yesterday’s post by the cruise’s Principal Investigator Tracy Crews. Today’s post is from a student’s perspective:

Today was the first full day at sea. Though much of the group spent yesterday in their bunks with seasickness, they all were present for today’s activities.

We woke and gathered in the dining area for breakfast before heading up to the flying bridge to observe marine mammals. There were patches of bait balls (groups of small fish) followed by flocks of gulls. Though we saw a few individual humpback whales, they were typically seen in pods of three or four.

During our whale observations, we witnessed a whale lunge feeding. This is when a whale lunges out of the water, exposing its enlarged buccal cavity which expands like an accordion to accommodate a large amount of water and the krill on which it feeds.

Seeing consistent whale activity led us to deploy the CTD to collect oceanographic data, and a plankton tow to observe the abundance of food available. Afterwards, we continued to observe the humpback whales. Though we saw many whales, not many flukes were visible, which made it difficult to photograph and identify the individual whales.

getting ready to deploy the CTD with styrofoam cups attached

Styrofoam cups ready for deployment

Right before lunch we gave up due to increasing winds which made observations difficult, so we headed North to Astoria Canyon off the Columbia River to conduct a series of CTDs. During the deepest deployment, we attached bags of Styrofoam cups decorated by our group, as well as students from some of their classrooms. The cups were sent to over 700 meters depth causing them to shrink to half their original size due to the high pressure.

Styrofoam cups after their trip to the deep ocean

After recovering the CTD and cups, our group gathered to eat ice cream and enjoy the magnificent sunset in the West, mirrored by the full red moon to the East. Our last research effort for the night was another plankton tow which yielded more krill, lantern fish, a baby octopus, and many other cool critters.

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Alishia Keller is a senior at Bandon High School in Coos County, Oregon. After high school she plans to go to college to study ecology and sustainability.

Oregon Coast STEM Hub

Fostering Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Futures on the Oregon Coast

Category Archives: Student Experiences

Chasing Whales

Bon Voyage, R/V Oceanus

By Tracy Crews

Mobilizing

Getting Underway

Coastal Students Head Out to Sea on the R/V Oceanus

Sun and Wind in the STEM Forecast

2019 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Winners:

North Bend SeaPerch Competition

RESULTS

Students Demonstrate Power

Mission Earth! Summer Camp

What is it like to be part of a science party?

Day three on the Oceanus: Unexpected Gifts

Whales, Shrunken Cups, and Plankton Tows by Moonlight