Spring Plankton and Changing Ice Cover
Update
Meet the Team
Teacher - Simone Welch
Simone Welch can't imagine living life without science. Growing up with a father who was a coral reef ecologist, she has traveled to many islands and coasts while he conducted his research. After graduating from George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Ms. Welch worked in journalism for National Public Radio and National Geographic. After returning to school for a master’s degree in education, Ms. Welch taught for the Peace Corps in West Africa before becoming an elementary school science teacher at Oyster Bilingual Elementary in Washington, D.C. She hopes that her students leave her classroom each day with science not only in their heads but on their clothes and hands too! Ms. Welch is an amateur photographer, and her other personal interests include snowboarding, rock climbing, yoga, and most of all, traveling. She hopes to someday become a limnologist, but to never stop teaching.
Journals
Washington, D.C. June 10, 2009
5/12/09 Dutch Harbor, Land Ho!
5/10/09 Bering Sea, Heading towards Dutch Harbor
5/8/09 Bering Sea, Surrounded by water flat as glass…
5/7/09 Bering Sea, On the 70 meter line
Project Information
Where are They?
The team will be travelling on the USCGC Healy in the Bering Sea. The Bering Sea lies to the west of Alaska and to the east of Russia. The team will depart from and return to the port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the most productive fishing port in the United States.
What are they Doing?
A diverse research team aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Healy will conduct sampling along a series of transects over the eastern Bering Sea. Research on the ship is multidisciplinary, with scientists using a variety of techniques to document ocean conditions and the productivity of the Bering Sea ecosystem. Research teams measure the temperature, salinity, and nutrient content of the sea water, changes in sea ice cover, and the concentration of nutrients used and released by phytoplankton. They also conduct surveys of zooplankton, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals such as walrus and seal to assess the health of these populations. A major focus of this cruise is characterizing the phytoplankton bloom associated with the edge of the melting sea ice.
These measurements will give scientists an indication of the current status of the Bering Sea ecosystem and any changes that might affect the use of its resources, and the economic, social, and cultural sustainability of the people who depend on it. This is the second 2009 cruise in support of the Bering Sea Ecosystem Study (BEST) and the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (BSIERP).
Vocabulary
- Limnologist
- Phytoplankton
- Zooplankton
A scientist who studies the life and phenomena of fresh water, especially lakes and ponds.
Small or microscopic aquatic plants that float or drift in fresh or salt water.
Small or microscopic aquatic animals that float or drift in fresh or salt water.