Science Blog- Student Guided Reading Worksheet
Purpose: This blog guided reading worksheet is to help
introduce students to how scientists may go about research collecting samples and data while out on a cruise at sea. This particular cruise employed a high school science
teacher to go along to help out, learn
about the processes and blog about her experiences. Go to: http://cce.lternet.edu/blogs/2012/2012/08/01/day-1/
introduce students to how scientists may go about research collecting samples and data while out on a cruise at sea. This particular cruise employed a high school science
teacher to go along to help out, learn
about the processes and blog about her experiences. Go to: http://cce.lternet.edu/blogs/2012/2012/08/01/day-1/
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 1, I’m on a boat!
1: Click on the California Current Ecosystem link- read about about the research site. Why are
scientists particularly interested in this specific site? Why is it special?
The scientist are working together to find how climate change has effect the ocean
2: What is the name of the research vessel that they are
on? The name of the vessel is Melville
Which educational institution is the vessel a part of?
The vessel is a part of Scripps Oceanographic fleet.
3: How much does the ship weigh when it is fully
loaded?
The ship fully loaded weighs 3,026,000 lbs
Day 3, Releasing the MOCNESS
4: On day #3, read about zooplankton are captured by the MOCNESS- summarize the process
below: MOCNESS is a system where there are multiple nets are lowered 1500 feet into the ocean and captures plankton. Once captured scientist can determine witch plankton are found at that depth.
5: Explain the “vertical migration” of many zooplankton species. Why do
they do this?
The plankton go to the bottom of the sea at day to avoid predators but go back up when its night time.
6: What are phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton are single celled plankton that can make their own food
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 6, SeaSoaring Away….
7: What information is collected by the SeaSoar? What are they
trying to find specifically?
The SeaSoar shows the location of where the California Current meet more denser coastal water.
8: What is CTD stand for?
CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature and Depth.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 10, Ahoy E- Front
9: What is the “E- Front”?
The E-Front is the front where the California Current meets the inshore currents.
10: Why does the sampling need to be conducted at night?
The sampling needs to be conducted at night because they wanted to be sure that the zooplankton was present at the depth.
11: What is the epipelagic zone?
The epipelagic zone is the light zone of the ocean.
Draw an arrow where you see the sample changes.
13: Explain how the chlorophyll samples are preserved.
There are 4 bottles of water. They fill the different water samples into different bottles and then filter them using different size filter paper, and then preserve the filter paper in acetone and freezing
it.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 12, Team Oozkeki
14: Where is the mesopelagic zone? Why are the critters
found here so special?
This is the deepest part in the ocean. The critters are special because they aren't common to see.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 14, Shrunken Cups
15: Explain why styrofoam cups that were attached to the CTD shrunk when they were lowered
to the depths.
Since the pressure underwater is greater than the pressure on land, the cups shrunk.
Research Cruise Blog WorksheetCCE LTER Cruise: Day 19, Trace Metal Group
16: Why is iron so important to phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton use iron as a nutrient.
17: What kind of precautions are taken by the scientists on board
to make sure that the water samples are not contaminated by
metals on or around the ship?
They get covered in plastic to help protect contamination.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 21,Twinkle little Scat
17: How can scientists use “poop” to determine the biomass of an ecosystem? Explain.
The scientist can determinate the amount of matter flowing through the ecosystem
18: What is “marine snow”?
Marine snow is phytoplankton that fall through the water column.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 24, Marine Birds
19: Explain how long-lining is dangerous to marine birds.
Long-lining threatens the existence of albatrosses because when
the birds see a fish on the line, they'll eat it and become stuck to the bait,
and then they can drown.
20: Describe Fin Whales- what do they look like, what do they eat, why are they not hunted as
much as other whales?
You can identify fin whales by the position of their dorsal fin. They eat plankton. They are not hunted as much like other whales because they far off shore.
Research Cruise Blog WorksheetCCE LTER Cruise:Day 26, Copepods…
21: What are copepods? What are they related to?
Copepods are plankton that are found in the Pacific Ocean and are related to crabs and lobsters.
22: Explain the two ways that copepods are studied on this ship.
1st way: All the copepods are captured with the nets or bongos . The females collected will be placed and a different dish and is observed every hour to see if she puts an egg , then if she does they take the eggs out the mother , so then she cannot egg them . They then watch the eggs to she how many were hatched.
2nd way: When CTD is under the water it takes pictures every second , so then we can see them . When the CTD comes back to the surface they sort the images from marine snow to copepods , so they can calculate how many copepods are found in this area.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 29, Last Day…
23: What is the bow dome? Where is it located?
The bow dome is a place were you can watch marine animals and is located at the bottom of the front of the boat.
24: Would you be interested in spending a month at sea? No I get sea sick.
Does a career in oceanography seem interesting? No.
25: Which part of this blog was most interesting to you? Why?
I thought the bow dome was interesting because you can watch the marine animals.
1: Click on the California Current Ecosystem link- read about about the research site. Why are
scientists particularly interested in this specific site? Why is it special?
The scientist are working together to find how climate change has effect the ocean
2: What is the name of the research vessel that they are
on? The name of the vessel is Melville
Which educational institution is the vessel a part of?
The vessel is a part of Scripps Oceanographic fleet.
3: How much does the ship weigh when it is fully
loaded?
The ship fully loaded weighs 3,026,000 lbs
Day 3, Releasing the MOCNESS
4: On day #3, read about zooplankton are captured by the MOCNESS- summarize the process
below: MOCNESS is a system where there are multiple nets are lowered 1500 feet into the ocean and captures plankton. Once captured scientist can determine witch plankton are found at that depth.
5: Explain the “vertical migration” of many zooplankton species. Why do
they do this?
The plankton go to the bottom of the sea at day to avoid predators but go back up when its night time.
6: What are phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton are single celled plankton that can make their own food
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 6, SeaSoaring Away….
7: What information is collected by the SeaSoar? What are they
trying to find specifically?
The SeaSoar shows the location of where the California Current meet more denser coastal water.
8: What is CTD stand for?
CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature and Depth.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 10, Ahoy E- Front
9: What is the “E- Front”?
The E-Front is the front where the California Current meets the inshore currents.
10: Why does the sampling need to be conducted at night?
The sampling needs to be conducted at night because they wanted to be sure that the zooplankton was present at the depth.
11: What is the epipelagic zone?
The epipelagic zone is the light zone of the ocean.
Draw an arrow where you see the sample changes.
13: Explain how the chlorophyll samples are preserved.
There are 4 bottles of water. They fill the different water samples into different bottles and then filter them using different size filter paper, and then preserve the filter paper in acetone and freezing
it.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 12, Team Oozkeki
14: Where is the mesopelagic zone? Why are the critters
found here so special?
This is the deepest part in the ocean. The critters are special because they aren't common to see.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 14, Shrunken Cups
15: Explain why styrofoam cups that were attached to the CTD shrunk when they were lowered
to the depths.
Since the pressure underwater is greater than the pressure on land, the cups shrunk.
Research Cruise Blog WorksheetCCE LTER Cruise: Day 19, Trace Metal Group
16: Why is iron so important to phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton use iron as a nutrient.
17: What kind of precautions are taken by the scientists on board
to make sure that the water samples are not contaminated by
metals on or around the ship?
They get covered in plastic to help protect contamination.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 21,Twinkle little Scat
17: How can scientists use “poop” to determine the biomass of an ecosystem? Explain.
The scientist can determinate the amount of matter flowing through the ecosystem
18: What is “marine snow”?
Marine snow is phytoplankton that fall through the water column.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 24, Marine Birds
19: Explain how long-lining is dangerous to marine birds.
Long-lining threatens the existence of albatrosses because when
the birds see a fish on the line, they'll eat it and become stuck to the bait,
and then they can drown.
20: Describe Fin Whales- what do they look like, what do they eat, why are they not hunted as
much as other whales?
You can identify fin whales by the position of their dorsal fin. They eat plankton. They are not hunted as much like other whales because they far off shore.
Research Cruise Blog WorksheetCCE LTER Cruise:Day 26, Copepods…
21: What are copepods? What are they related to?
Copepods are plankton that are found in the Pacific Ocean and are related to crabs and lobsters.
22: Explain the two ways that copepods are studied on this ship.
1st way: All the copepods are captured with the nets or bongos . The females collected will be placed and a different dish and is observed every hour to see if she puts an egg , then if she does they take the eggs out the mother , so then she cannot egg them . They then watch the eggs to she how many were hatched.
2nd way: When CTD is under the water it takes pictures every second , so then we can see them . When the CTD comes back to the surface they sort the images from marine snow to copepods , so they can calculate how many copepods are found in this area.
CCE LTER Cruise: Day 29, Last Day…
23: What is the bow dome? Where is it located?
The bow dome is a place were you can watch marine animals and is located at the bottom of the front of the boat.
24: Would you be interested in spending a month at sea? No I get sea sick.
Does a career in oceanography seem interesting? No.
25: Which part of this blog was most interesting to you? Why?
I thought the bow dome was interesting because you can watch the marine animals.