Q: Does the ship go the same speed all the time? HOW FAST?
A: Oh no! Not hardly ever? Here is what we do.. Once we arrived out here, we had a pattern that started to follow so that we could accurately map the ocean floor. It kind of looked like someone laid a piece of graph paper on the side and made a grid. After we mapped the first site, we could use that little map to find where to try to GO GET ROCKS>
When the ship really wants to crank it all on, you know, get all 6 or so engines connected... we could probably go nearly 20 miles per hour. What? You're not impressed.. On the water, for a ship the size of a few houses, this is pretty good. The reality is that we only go about 12 nautical miles an hour, then only 9 knots or so when we are mapping, and only 1-2 knots when we put the dredge over the side. This is, at best, about the speed of a bicycle.
Actually, dolphins can swim circles around the ship! Now, they're fast..
Student Resources:
Science Challenge Questions in Hard-copy format (Word.doc)
Online Science Challenge 1 Online Science Challenge 2 Online Science Challenge 3 Online Science Challenge 4
Student Questions and Answers from Scientists:
Is it Difficult to be at Sea for Two Months?
How big is the dredge & how many rocks do we collect when we dredge?
Do Sharks Attack Your Seismic Floats?
What Are We Doing on July 4th in the Indian Ocean?
Ship Speed: How Fast are we traveling at sea?
Where are the Real-time Web-Cameras on the RV Roger Revelle?
Expedition Background Articles:
Hotspots and Ninetyeast Ridge: What’s a hotspot?, by Will Sager
Anatomy of a Seamount Survey, by Will Sager
Dredging Operations onboard the R/V Revelle, by Amy Eisin
Geochemistry of Volcanic Rocks, by Fred Frey
Cool Expedition Discoveries Already!, by Will Sager
What is Bathymetry?, by Will Sager
Acoustics: Substitute for Superman Vision?, by Will Sager
Magnetometers (“Maggie”) and Attracting Sharks, by Rory Wilson
High.Seas.HIGHTECH/ analyze!ocean@voyages, by lots of us...
How to Become a Captain, by the Captain
The Search for the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin, by Leslie Nemazi.
Rocks Rock! (or ) The Fresh Cut Surface of Beautiful Ocean Rock, by Evelyn Mervine
Exploring the Bridge of the RV Roger Revelle
Teacher Resources:
Sample Student Responses to the Navigation Challenge Question (Word.doc)
CCTM PowerPoint presentation: An Introduction to the Sea90e Expedition
The Official NER Science Cruise Report including Educational Outreach
