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Two Factoring Games
February 18, 2011
Over at mersenneforum.org, a small community of people interested in factoring large integers talk about their craft, share tips and accomplishments, and sometimes play factoring games. Today’s exercise is about two of those games.
The home prime of a number n is computed by factoring the number into its prime factors, concatenating the digits of the prime factors (which have been sorted into ascending order), and repeating until the result is prime; this prime number is known as the home prime. For instance, 99 factors as 3 · 3 · 11; 3311 factors as 7 · 11 · 43, and 71143 is prime, so HP(99) = 71143, computed in three steps. Sloane has the list of home primes at A037274. Note that the home prime of a prime number is the number itself. Many numbers resolve to their home prime in just a few steps, as above, but others take longer, and it not known if all numbers eventually resolve to a home prime. At mersenneforum, and at the World of Numbers, Alex Gruppa, Paul Leyland, and Nicolas Daminelli have been working on the calculation of HP49 for ten years, and are currently stalled, after 105 steps, by a 210-digit composite.
Another factoring game involves the Euclid-Mullin sequence, which starts with a1 = 2 and continues ; the first few terms are 2, 3, 7, 43, 13, 53, 5, 6221671, 38709183810571, 139, … (A000945). Currently, only the first 47 terms are known, with calculations stalled by a 256-digit composite; the 43rd term was only found last year after a lengthy effort. It is conjectured but not known that the sequence includes all the prime numbers, as it is closely related to Euclid’s original proof of the infinitude of primes.
Your task is to write two functions to compute the home prime of a given number and to compute the Euclid-Mullin sequence. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.
Pages: 1 2
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Dr. Alison completed 3 years of additional training beyond dental school to acquire the expertise to provide orthodontic care. In addition, Dr. Alison completed the process of Board Certification in December 2012 by the American Board of Orthodontics. Board Certification requires many additional hours of preparation to test judgment, skill and knowledge to demonstrate the highest quality of work.
Early Care or Interceptive Treatment can begin as early as 6 years of age where the appropriate spacing for permanent teeth to erupt in the upper or lower arch can be regained or held as needed until the time of eruption.
Limited Early Treatment or Phase I Treatment may begin at age 8-10 years old. Treatment at this age allows problems, such as a posterior crossbite, that are more reliably and effectively treated at younger ages, to be addressed.
Adolescent or Phase II Treatment entails placing braces on all permanent teeth and addressing all orthodontic problems.
Adult Treatments are provided to adults of all ages and varying levels of treatment. Braces limited to one arch or limited in time or scope to address only particular orthodontic problems may be a good option for some adults. Comprehensive treatment, or braces on all the teeth, in order to address all orthodontic problems is a valuable option for any adult. In addition, some adults can benefit from braces in conjunction with dental work to fully enhance their smile and correct their bite.
Limited Treatment with Aligners is offered to patients with an adult dentition. Aligners or clear removable appliances can gradually move teeth and are good options for some patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is an orthodontist? An orthodontist is a dentist that has completed an additional 2-3 years of training to specialize in the diagnosis, management, and correction of problems related to the development and eruption of the permanent teeth, the bite relationship, the jaw relationship, and the tooth alignment.
2. What age should my child have an orthodontic evaluation? The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that a child have an evaluation by an orthodontist by the age of 7 or earlier if the parents or dentist have a concern.
3. Why is it important to have orthodontic treatment at a young age? Orthodontic treatment is more efficiently accomplished while the patient is still growing. In addition, some orthodontic problems are much more effectively treated before all the permanent teeth have erupted and jaw growth is complete (i.e., upper jaw expansion and the correction of minor jaw imbalances).
4. What causes crooked teeth and/ or bite problems? Crooked teeth and/ or bite problems are caused by a number of factors. These factors include but are not limited to: discrepancy between tooth size and jaw size (ie, large teeth in a small jaw), missing teeth, blocked out permanent teeth from early loss of baby teeth, habits (i.e., thumb sucking), and heredity.
5. How do teeth move? Brackets are attached on the teeth and then can be moved along the archwire into more ideal positions. The archwire has an ideal arch form and once deformed into each bracket will apply a force to each tooth in the attempt to return to its ideal arch form. From the biological perspective, when a force is applied to a tooth, the bone that supports or holds the root of the tooth in place is gradually removed on one side and replaced on another side to allow the tooth to move within the bone.
6. Will it hurt? The placement of the brackets and bands on the teeth does not hurt but is a time-consuming process. Once the wire is placed into the brackets, the teeth will feel a pressure and may be sore for 3-5 days. In addition, there is an initial adjustment of the lips, cheeks, and gums to the presence of the braces such that soreness may occur for 10-14 days.
7. What are my options as an adult? Orthodontic treatment can be accomplished at any age. Some adults may wish to only address some of the orthodontic problems with a removable appliance or braces limited to one jaw. Full appliances or comprehensive treatment is designed to address all orthodontic problems and is a valuable option for any adult. Adult’s teeth tend to move slower than children’s teeth, such that the treatment may take longer; however, wonderful orthodontic results can be achieved.
8. Should I see my general dentist while I have braces? YES!!! It is very important to maintain oral exams and cleanings while undergoing orthodontic treatment to ensure that the teeth and gums are healthy during and following orthodontic treatment. Dr. Alison is happy to remove the wire for all her patients. Dr. Richard’s patients have the added convenience of getting their teeth cleaned just down the hall from Dr. Alison.
9. Will braces interfere with playing a musical instrument? No, but there usually is a period of initial adjustment. Sometimes a “comfort sleeve” can be applied to the braces to make playing the instrument more comfortable.
10. Will braces interfere with playing sports? Any sport can be played with braces. Patients participating in contact sports should be wearing a mouth guard to protect their teeth and lips from injury.
• Appliance Care – check your appliance daily and alert Dr. Alison if something is broken or missing.
• Elastics & Headgear – always wear as directed. They are critical components in ensuring efficient and successful tooth movement. Remember, not all types of successful tooth movements can be accomplished by routine orthodontic adjustments alone.
• Braces and Dental Care – brush well with a soft toothbrush in order to prevent white spots, cavities and swollen gums. It also ensures your appliance is working efficiently.
• Foods to enjoy – soft foods in bite-sized portions such as soups and stews, pastas, meatloaf, hummus, scrambled eggs, hot cereals, tuna, chicken and egg salads. Avoid sticky, hard and crunchy foods such as popcorn, ice, nuts, hard candy and hard pretzels.
Knowing when and how to handle some problems at home and when to call Dr. Alison are important in making your orthodontic treatment seamless and efficient.
• Loose or Poking Wires: attempt to reinsert the wire with tweezers and/or push down with a pencil eraser or other blunt object. Cover with wax to avoid soreness and call Dr. Alison to alert the office that there is something bothering you.
• Loose Expander: call the office ASAP. If you’ve been turning the expander, stop turning.
• Loose Bracket or Band: if intact, leave in place and use wax to avoid soreness. If not intact, save all parts and call Dr. Alison. Re-bonding may be delayed until the next business day.
• Broken Retainer: call Dr. Alison the next business day to make an appointment for an evaluation.
• General Discomfort or Soreness: rinse with warm salt water and take Ibuprofen for pain (if no medical contraindications).
In all cases, if pain or discomfort persists, call Dr. Alison immediately.
Before & After treatment
Limited Early Treatment or Phase I Treatment may begin at age 8-10 years old. Treatment at this age allows orthodontic problems, such as a posterior crossbite or the protrusion of front teeth, to be efficiently and reliably treated. This early treatment reduces the risk of trauma or damage to the teeth as well as prevents future more complicated orthodontic problems.Before / After
Adolescent or Phase II Treatment includes placing braces on all permanent teeth and addressing all orthodontic problems.Before / After
Adult Treatments are provided to adults of all ages and varying levels of treatment. Braces limited to one arch or limited in time or scope to address only particular orthodontic problems may be a good option for some adults. Comprehensive treatment, or braces on all the teeth, in order to address all orthodontic problems is a valuable option for any adult. In addition, some adults can benefit from braces in conjunction with dental work to fully enhance their smile and correct their bite.Before / After
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The ‘Germanic’ barbarian tribe, the Heruli, comes up regularly when discussing the famous sites of Classical Athens. The Heruli sacked much of Athens sometime around 267-9 CE, an event which was in no way an isolated incident at the time. It was part of what historians call the ‘Crisis of the Third century’ when they discuss the gradual decline of the might of the Roman Empire. Whether due to climate change in Gaul or the destruction of their culture by the Romans, by the middle of third century, the tribes of northern Europe (Carpians, Goths, Vandals, Alamanni ) were on the move, looking for food, land and perhaps revenge. Called the ‘Gothic Invasions’, various tribal armies headed down to the Black Sea to begin their movement into the wealthy areas of Greece, Macedonia and the islands of the Mediterranean. They even managed to settle down for a while in Sicily.
The Heruli tribe were not ‘the biggest dog in the fight’ but apparently they supplied the fleet that carried the huge armies down along the Black Sea coast where they ravaged the coastal cities without too much local resistance. It seemed that this barbarian fleet broke into separate groups and chose different targets around the Aegean sea. The map below gives a good idea of the different directions the tribes took. The history of the period provides little solid information about this era but it seems that the Heruli kept Athens for themselves. After they left, Athens kept the rubble scattered around their city for the next 1800 years.
When the Roman Armies got their act together, they eventually defeated the Gothic invasion at Naissus in modern day Croatia.
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Financial Literacy for Women
Financial literacy empowers an individual to make independent racial financial decisions. With adequate financial awareness, one can tackle unforeseen situations in life. In today’s unprecedented times such as the global pandemic, it is essential for both men and women to become financially literate so that they are able to make important financial decisions for themselves and their families. But it is often seen that women have scarce access to financial products and lesser exposure to financial literacy than men; making it an important direction of focus.
Women play a vital role in the primary responsibilities of child-rearing, running the households, and ensuring a happy life for herself and her family. This makes financial literacy for women an indispensable part of their lives today.
What are the barriers to a woman’s financial freedom?
In a family, a woman doesn’t actively participate in financial planning like a man. This is usually due to less confidence, lower financial awareness, and existing socio-economic differences. Furthermore, it is also seen that women choose safer options like debt investments in FDs, RDs, and Savings. Their apprehensions towards strategic investment planning with the market trends are deeply rooted in their limited financial knowledge.
How can a woman be the epicenter of economic importance and keep her family happy?
There are some other statistical backing to the fact that women’s participation is very vital to our nation’s economic progress.
There may be differences in income but the population ratio (urban- 1000/949 and rural-1000/929) and the average life expectancy( men-64.16 and women- 68.48) make women’s contribution to economic progress very crucial.
To inculcate a habit of strategic financial planning even with minimum wages, small steps at a time can make a big difference.
What are the products that women can look at to create financial planning?
There are a number of investment options for a woman to cater to all her financial needs and accomplish the financial goals for her family’s greater future.
Term Plans: It protects your family’s future from uncertainties. Every earning woman should have a term insurance plan as per their financial capabilities. It offers the highest risk cover with a minimum premium. Ideal risk cover of minimum 10 times of annual income. It also helps in availing the tax benefit U/S 80C
Mediclaim: A sound mediclaim policy protects your loved ones during any medical emergencies. Having an adequate mediclaim insurance policy will secure your investments to break in a medical emergency. To Keep investments intact one must have a mediclaim policy. Mediclam policies will also help to save taxes u/s 80D.
Contingency funds: Every woman protects her family at all times. A contingency fund is merely a catalyst to do so hassle-free. It is always better to build a contingency fund up to 6 months’ expense in a liquid fund.
These are only a few of the numerous investment options available for a woman to be ready to take on any unforeseen financial emergencies and keep her family burden-free. Investing without setting clear goals, is just like playing a football ball without having a goalpost. You shall run and kick a lot but shall not score anything. Financial goal setting is a crucial step to strategic planning and achieving one’s goals.
And to inculcate the financial discipline that aligns with Market trends and one’s financial goals –
Mutual Funds SIP (Systematic Investment Planning)
is the mantra. Mutual fund SIP can be helpful in many ways. Like RD’s Mutual fund sip has debt fund sip, if you are planning to invest for the long term say more than 5 years then you should invest in equity-oriented schemes if you have any specific goals in mind like child education fund creation or retirement-oriented goal then there is an option of thematic mutual fund schemes like child gift funds, retirement saving funds, etc, which will help to achieve financial goals.
Benefits of SIP
- Brings financial Discipline
- Rupee cost averaging
- Market timing risk minimized
- Power of compounding
- Can start with a small amount
- Helps to achieve financial goals.
Estate planning is about wealth structuring so that one could enjoy it and then pass it to the next generation in a smooth manner, avoiding any kind of family disputes on inheritance.
It is seen that and as per data, Women generally live longer than men and are increasingly finding themselves divorced, never married, or widowed. All these circumstances further make estate planning for women a must.
At Khasnis Prime Wealth we handhold you at every phase of your life so that you as a woman can truly accomplish your financial goals well within your financial capabilities.
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Milvus aegyptius parasitus
The Yellow-billed Kite is regarded by many scientists as a sub-species of the Black Kite Milvus migrans.
Yellow-billed Kites breed in South Africa during summer but migrate north during winter. They start arriving back during August.
In many areas they are a common sight during summer. In fact they are the 'hawk' that many people are familiar with. They have a slow flight and swivel their tails a lot.
Those that regard them as 'hawks' want to lock up their pets when they are around for fear that they will be carried off. In reality they eat insects and small mammals. Road kill is a favourite of theirs.
The Yellow-billed Kite is found in most areas, apart from those that are really arid.
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Another definition of acceptance has to do with positive welcome and belonging; favor and endorsement. For instance, a person could like someone and have acceptance for them due to their approval of that person.
The third description of acceptance is that it can be an act of believing or assenting.
Acceptance – "An express act or implication by conduct that manifests assent to the terms of an offer in a manner invited or required by the offer so that a binding contract is formed. The exercise of power conferred by an offer by performance of some act. The act of a person to whom something is offered of tendered by another, whereby the offered demonstrates through an act invited by the offer an intention of retaining the subject of the offer." (Chirelstein, 2001)
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Pandemics are major threats to world health, security, and economics. Most experts agree it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” the next pandemic will occur. But even with that admonishment, few nations are adequately prepared for such an occurrence — even though the cost of unpreparedness is much higher than the cost preparation. What does this global threat mean for those in the traveling health care industry, especially those providing nursing services?
When a viral or bacterial contagion is introduced into a new environment, there is little immunity in human and animal populations to stem its spread. And because of the ease and popularity of global travel, diseases can spread quickly among countries and continents, so those that don’t take adequate measures to protect themselves are threats to the rest of the world.
Being prepared for a pandemic is much more than a written plan of action and a few simulation exercises. It means having the infrastructure, resources, and finances to prevent, detect, respond to, and control disease outbreaks. It also means heaving the ability to perform critical public health functions such as vaccination programs and disease surveillance as well as provide secure treatment facilities. It requires diagnostic laboratories and emergency operations centers, the ability to mobilize quickly, and skilled medical personnel. Lots of them.
To assess the state of global pandemic preparedness, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) researchers conducted a study. The subsequent report found that the world is woefully unprepared. Only three wealthier countries — Finland, Saudi Arabia, and United States — and three poorer countries — Eritrea, Pakistan and Tanzania — have undergone the required evaluations to determine their preparedness to withstand a global outbreak. Many countries are reluctant to spend money on impending threats when they have so many current, pressing needs. Unfortunately, this is very short-sighted, given the low cost of preparedness relative to the devastating health, social, political, and economic impacts a pandemic can bring.
Even though the United States is relatively prepared for a pandemic, it doesn’t mean every health care facility is also ready. This was effectively demonstrated during the 2014 Ebola outbreak when only a few hospitals in the country had adequate facilities and trained personnel to safely and effectively treat infected individuals. It’s important that facility leaders across the U.S. continue to take steps to prepare. Disease outbreaks know no boundaries, and no country, including the U.S., is safe. And because it’s only one of few prepared countries, the U.S. could see an influx of infected individuals in the case of a pandemic, making further preparedness essential.
SARS, H1N1, and Ebola outbreaks opened the world’s eyes to the seriousness of biothreats as well as the disparities in nations’ public health and health care infrastructures. Possible future outbreaks include repeats of the SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and Zika viruses as well as flu viruses, drug resistant bacterial infections, unknown or re-emerging viruses, and biowarfare agents.
Individual health care providers are a key component of pandemic preparedness plans. In addition to obvious good hygienic habits, it’s important for nurses to be on the lookout for gaps and inefficiencies in their facilities’ safety and operation plans. Stay up-to-date with your skills, take continuing education classes relevant to epidemiology, stay current on vaccinations for potential exposures, be a voice for the importance of pandemic preparedness — and be ready to move out quickly to wherever you might be needed most.
There’s no way to predict when the next pandemic will strike or what could cause it, but we can prepare. Preventing and stopping pandemics requires a multifaceted approach with cooperation among leaders of world governments. But never underestimate the vital role you as a skilled and informed traveling health care provider play in our country’s pandemic preparedness planning.
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Evolutionary psychology has been called the "new black" of science fashion, though at its most controversial, it more resembles the emperor's new clothes.
Geoffrey Miller is one of the Young Turks trying to give the phenomenon a better spin.
In The Mating Mind, he takes Darwin's "other" evolutionary theory--of sexual rather than natural selection--and uses it to build a theory about how the human mind has developed the sophistication of a peacock's tail to encourage sexual choice and the refining of art, morality, music, and literature.
Where many evolutionary psychologists see the mind as a Swiss army knife, and cognitive science sees it as a computer, Miller compares it to an entertainment system, evolved to stimulate other brains.
Taking up the baton from studies such as Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, it's a dizzyingly ambitious project, which would be impossibly vague without the ingenuity and irreverence that Miller brings to bear on it.
Steeped in popular culture, the book mixes theories of runaway selection, fitness indicators, and sensory bias with explanations of why men tip more than women and how female choice shaped (quite literally) the penis.
It also extols the sagacity of Mary Poppins.
For more information about the title The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature, read the full description at Amazon.com, or see the following related books:
Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
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Cleveland Fed Contest Asks Students to Choose Most Significant Advancement in Last 100 Years, Explain its Economic Impact
December 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Federal Reserve Act, which created our nation's central bank. During that 100-year span, life has changed dramatically.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is offering high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to win prizes by choosing the most significant advancement in the last century and explaining its impact on the economy.
For the Bank's 2014 Creative Writing Contest, "100 Years of Change: Once Upon a Time Before TV," students can submit an essay, poem, play, or short story. As they think about the advancement or invention they have chosen, they are being asked to consider its costs and benefits and whether it has created unintended consequences.
The deadline for submissions is February 28, 2014. The top prize is a $500 cash gift card.
Each qualifying entry will be evaluated on comprehension, organization, conclusions, creativity, and clarity. The contest is open to 11th and 12th grade students attending schools in the Fourth Federal Reserve District, which includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Submission requirements, a complete list of prizes, and an entry form can be found on the Bank's website.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.
The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.
Doug Campbell, email@example.com, 513.455.4479
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EGG DONATION IN GREECE: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
Assisted reproduction techniques help thousands of couples with infertility to circumvent their problem and become parents. Nevertheless, when it is not possible for a woman to conceive due to poor egg quality or from having no eggs at all, she may still become pregnant by using eggs from a donor.
The first pregnancy with egg donation was reported in 1983, and ever since, more and more women are choosing this procedure to achieve their dream of having children. The main reason for this trend is that women are increasingly postponing childbearing until later on in life, when their fertility is often reduced; another reason is that over the years, the process has become highly successful due to recent technologies advances and improved freezing techniques.
What is egg donation?
Egg donation is a form of assisted reproduction by which a woman donates her ova to enable another woman to conceive. These oocytes are fertilized by the recipient’s husband sperm, or alternatively by a donor sperm.
The resulting embryos are transferred into the recipient uterus, which has been adequately prepared to receive them. The difference with routine in vitro fertilization (IVF) is that the egg donor is not the recipient; that is, they are two different women.
If pregnancy occurs, the recipient will have a biological but not a genetic relationship to the child, and her partner (if he provided the sperm) will be both biologically and genetically related.
Read more here
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Backstory in motion:
Drama, opera, and ballet
for learning environments.
Operas, ballets, plays: Besides being really fun for students and museum visitors (really, they are) – they can be powerfully effective learning objects. Students can study performance pieces for their lessons in language arts, social studies – even math. Visitors can gain from them a new way of experiencing a gallery or landmark.
Creating a successful opera, ballet, or play for an educational setting is a complicated process. It begins with coming to a consensus on goals, audience, and style. What are the options? Then there’s managing the commissioning process, contracting performers and technicians, building out a rehearsal schedule, securing venues, and holding workshops to help teachers and interpreters convey meaning to students or museum visitors.
At backstory know the ins and outs of mounting performances for schools, museums, and aesthetic education programs. Click on each name below to learn about some of our projects.
"Phil Ratliff has one of the finest minds I know. He is diligent and curious; he has an innovative wit. These qualities have always made him an exciting collaborative educator and a thoughtful writer. "
- Glenny Brock
Outreach Coordinator, Alabama Landmarks
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Technology providers are trying to sell biometrics schemes, and some organisations are buying them, without regard for the security and privacy of the people the schemes are being imposed upon. Now even school-children are being trained to submit to biometric measurement, and to accept physical intrusions and continual techno-surveillance as part of their lives.
This document expresses the APF's policy in relation to biometrics.
The APF's policy is that all biometric schemes must be the subject of a moratorium.
No new biometric schemes should be implemented until and unless comprehensive laws have been brought into effect to regulate them.
Each proposal must be demonstrated to be justified, must be subject to a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), including consultation with the affected people and their representatives and advocates, and must include appropriate safeguards. It will then be essential to review existing applications of biometrics, to ensure that they also measure up against the standards.
A biometric is a measure of some physical or behavioural attribute of a person, which is intended to be unique, or at least sufficiently distinctive to assist in recognising who the person is.
Few if any biometrics are actually unique; but technology providers promote the myth that they are, and user organisations happily believe it. A great many biometric schemes have been invented, and many have failed and disappeared. Those currently in the market include fingerprints and iris scans (which under ideal conditions can produce some degree of reliability), hand geometry and voice scans (which under ideal conditions can be of some use in authenticating whether the person is who they purport to be), and so-called 'face recognition' technologies (which not only do not 'recognise faces', but are not even based on any attribute that could give rise to reliable distinctions between different people).
The most common form of biometric scheme involves a 'reference measure' being acquired for each person, together with an identifier such as their name, and stored somewhere. Subsequently, 'test-measures' can be compared against one particular reference measure, or against multiple reference measures.
For a great many reasons, the measurements are always inaccurate, and the matching is always 'fuzzy'; so results ought to be expressed as probabilities. But that is administratively inconvenient, so most biometric systems just determine a Yes/No result, based on some arbitrary threshold. The thresholds are set and adjusted pragmatically, in order to achieve a compromise between generating large numbers of 'false positives' (unjustified suspicions), on the one hand, and large numbers of 'false negatives' (failures to find what should have been matches), on the other.
Biometrics can be used for authentication. In this case, a test-measure is compared against a reference-measure for a particular person, and the decision is either that the person is accepted as being the right one, or rejected. Alternatively, biometrics can be used for identification, in which case the test-measure is compared against the reference-measures of large numbers of people. Authentication uses are error-prone, and in some cases such as 'face recognition', highly error-prone. Identification uses are highly error-prone, in some cases such as 'face recognition', hugely error-prone.
Biometrics have been implemented or proposed as a basis for forensic evidence in law enforcement and some civil cases, for identifying people at border-crossings, for controlling access to secure areas, for checking that a token (such as a passport or credit-card) is being presented by the person it was issued to, and for recording attendance (e.g. by people on parole, or on remand, but also for employees and even school-students).
Biometrics invade the privacy of the physical person, because they require people to submit to measurement of some part of themselves. In many circumstances, people are required to degrade themselves, and submit to an act of power by a government agency or corporation, e.g. by presenting their face, eye, thumb, fingers or hand, or having body tissue or fluids extracted, in whatever manner the agency or corporation demands. This may conflict with personal beliefs and customs.
Biometrics invade the privacy of personal behaviour, because they are a key part of schemes that provide government agencies and corporations with power over the individual. That not only acts as a deterrent against specific undesirable behaviours, but also chills people's behaviour generally.Biometrics invade the privacy of personal data, because biometric measurements produce highly sensitive personal data, and that data is then used, and in many cases stored and re-used, and is available for disclosure, e.g. by the Australian government to other governments, including U.S. immigration and national security agencies.
Biometric schemes try to impose rigid technology on soft human biology, and in enormously varying contexts. Among many other challenges, the nominally unique features are mostly three-dimensional, and vary over time, and hence it is simply not feasible to 'capture' a representation of the features into digital form in a consistent manner. The equipment has to cope with many different environmental conditions (such as the strength and angle of light, the humidity, the temperature, and the dust-content in the air). In addition, it is impossible to ensure that manual procedures are performed in standard, invariant ways by lowly-paid security staff.
The comparisons performed between measures ignore all of the subtleties and reach a decision that is more or less arbitrary. A proportion of people (somewhere between 2% and 5%, or between 400,000 and 1 million Australians) are 'outliers' whose measures will always be highly problematical (e.g. because their fingerprints are faint, or worn down). A further serious problem is that many people accept the imposition nervously, sullenly or uncooperatively, and some actively resist it and seek to subvert it – some of them with serious criminal intent, but others without it.
As a consequence of these problems, there are a great many sources of error. That in turn means that tolerance-ranges have to be set quite high. Errors that are 'false-negatives' mean that the system doesn't achieve its primary objective. False-positives, on the other hand, give rise to wrongful suspicions, create considerable anxiety for the people concerned, and deflect organisational focus and resources away from more effective security measures.
An individual or organisation that acquires a person's biometric can use it to commit identity fraud or outright identity theft, and to 'plant ' false evidence.
Biometric technologies are commonly able to be subverted in order to produce an 'artefact'. That enables a person to masquerade as someone else.
If a person's biometrics are compromised by someone else, they cannot be revoked. So the risk of 'biometric theft', which exists for everyone, lasts their whole life long. Hence, even if it makes sense to use biometrics for a very small number of really important purposes, it doesn't make sense to undermine such reliability as it has by using it for trivial applications.
Far from solving masquerade and identity theft, biometrics are actually part of the problem.
Biometrics technologies are opaque. Organisations don't understand them, but instead just assume that they work, without conducting continual tests to ensure that they are still functioning as they were intended to, and haven't been neutralised. So masquerades that subvert biometric technologies are highly unlikely to be detected.
Added to that, many biometric schemes involve reference-measures and test-measures being exposed in the data-gathering equipment, networks, intermediate storage and long-term storage. Particularly in long-term storage, the data is highly attractive, and it is impossible to prevent unauthorised uses, and 'function creep' to new purposes.
Biometric schemes are imposed on people by powerful organisations. In most cases, no meaningful consent is involved. Yet the large numbers of failures to capture a usable measure and the many false-positives impact the affected individuals much more than they do the scheme's sponsor. Everyone who is subject to such errors suffers at least inconvenience and embarrassment. Much more serious problems are created for some people, who may be falsely accused of misbehaviour or crime, unjustifiably detained by authorities, denied access to premises, or miss their flight.
Many biometric schemes effectively declare the individual to be guilty of something, and place the onus on the individual to prosecute their innocence. That is repugnant to traditional concepts of justice. In addition, very few people understand how biometric systems work, and hence very few people are capable of dealing with such situations. Even for those individuals who do understand the technology, it's very difficult to find anyone administering the system who is capable of carrying on a sensible conversation about the errors involved.
Because biometrics technologies are so highly privacy-invasive, it is totally inappropriate for organisations to implement schemes without conducting very careful design, demonstrating the effectiveness of the scheme and the ineffectiveness of alternatives, performing privacy impact assessments (PIAs), conducting consultation with affected parties and their representatives and advocates, and preparing cost-benefit analyses that show conclusively that the benefits justify the costs and disbenefits to all parties involved, including and especially the people it is imposed upon.
All schemes have substantial downsides that impact on the people involved. Most potential biometric schemes fail the test, and should not be implemented. Those that have already been implemented should be subjected to critical assessment. This would result in the abandonment of many existing schemes, and the refinement of other schemes in order to ensure that they include appropriate safeguards.
Proponents of biometrics spread misinformation, suggesting that biometric schemes are necessary to combat terrorism. This is simply false (e.g. Schneier 2001, Ackerman 2003, Clarke 2003). Terrorists are defined by the acts that they perform, not by their biometric. Virtually no terrorist act, ever, anywhere, would have been prevented had a biometrics scheme been in operation.
Biometrics lays the foundation for corporations and the State to extend their power over individuals. People are cowed by the knowledge that their actions are monitored and recorded. That substantially reduces their capacity to exercise the rights and freedoms that they are supposed to have.
Organisations are in a position to deny access to services, premises and transport to people whose identity they are unable to authenticate, or who they (rightly or wrongly) deem to be a particular person whom they have (justifiably or otherwise) blacklisted. Widespread application of biometrics could see these powers extended to something so far only seen in sci-fi novels and films – outright identity denial.
The protections that are needed against the ravages of biometrics include:
There is an almost complete absence of such protections. There are virtually no statutory protections in place.
A Biometrics Privacy Code has been published, and accepted by the Privacy Commissioner. The Code was produced by the so-called 'Biometrics 'Institute'. But that organisation is merely an industry association, and one that grossly compromises accepted principles by including both sellers and buyers inside a single lobby-group. And the purpose of the 'Institute' in publishing its Code was to forestall formal regulation. The public interest has been relegated to the role of an onlooker.
That Code has been almost completely ignored by technology providers and user organisations, and has had no impact at all on industry practices. Self-regulation in this, as in so many other areas, has been an abject failure. Yet if organisations had complied with even that weak and ineffectual Code, some of the gross excesses that companies and government agencies seek to impose would have been prevented.
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Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution and nitrogen dioxide has been found to be associated with total mortality and mortality from respiratory diseases and lung cancer in the Netherlands. This was the key finding of a recent study by RIVMNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment and Utrecht University in which a new method was used to analyse data on 7 million adults living in the Netherlands. The study was published in the Environmental Health Perspectives Journal.
Large study population
This study in the Netherlands is the largest cohort study ever carried out on the association between mortality and air quality at residential address. Deaths in the seven million study population over a seven-year period up to the end of 2010 were obtained from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), and linked anonymously to other CBS data, such as age, gender, marital status and address. On the basis of encrypted residential addresses, data on fine particulates and nitrogen dioxide in 2001 were linked to the residential addresses of the seven million study participants.
Up until recently, only levels of fine particulates have been used in calculations of premature deaths associated with air pollution in general. The RIVM study found that, in addition to the effect of fine particulates, nitrogen dioxide is also associated with premature deaths linked to air pollution. The study also found an increased mortality risk in people under the age of 65 while previously, it was thought that premature death due to the effects of air pollution occurred mainly in older people.
Expanding the research
RIVMNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment is cooperating with the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences in Utrecht University and using the same method to investigate the health effects of environmental factors other than air pollution, such as noise and green in the living environment. In addition, the same method can be used to study other long-term health effects, such as medicine use.
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Reaching New Heights For Women & X-ray Astronomy
PART 1: #womeninstem
Shortly after midnight on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission – dubbed STS-93 in NASA shorthand – had several purposes to achieve and scientific experiments to perform.
The primary objective of the STS-93 mission was to deploy NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the largest payload ever to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. Chandra was also the most sophisticated telescope ever built to study the Universe in X-ray light.
But there was additional significance for the STS-93 mission. At the helm of Shuttle Columbia that night was Commander Eileen Collins, the first woman ever to lead a Space Shuttle flight. The lead mission specialist – the person responsible for actually deploying the giant Chandra spacecraft – was Cady Coleman. Just seven hours after Collins navigated the Space Shuttle Columbia safely into Earth orbit, Coleman successfully maneuvered Chandra out of the payload bay and into space.
Eileen M. Collins
Journeys to the Sky
For Eileen Collins, her journey toward the skies and beyond started in the public library of her hometown Elmira, NY. As a young child and teenager, Eileen consumed books of all types about flying, drawn to the airplanes and missions themselves as well as the engineering of aviation. When Eileen was nine years old, she read an article in Junior Scholastic magazine that profiled the Gemini program and its astronauts.
“I stumbled into the space program by reading magazines, and the flying part by reading books,” said Collins.
Coming from a family of modest means, Collins needed to secure funding for college. After attending a community college to help keep costs down, she then moved on to Syracuse. To help pay for her schooling, Collins joined the Air Force Reserve Office Training Corp (ROTC).
Her decision to join the ROTC Air Force didn’t necessarily get her closer to being a pilot. That’s because when she first joined ROTC, women were not allowed to be pilots. Fortuitously, that changed in 1976 while Collins was still working on her undergraduate degree in math and economics. This meant that after graduation, Collins could go directly from Syracuse to pilot training.
After spending over a decade at the Air Force, Collins pursued and went through the process of living the dream first hatched by reading that Junior Scholastic article. She applied and was accepted to NASA. In 1990, Collins was named a member of the astronaut corps.
Three years after becoming an astronaut, Collins became the first female pilot of the Space Shuttle when she flew Discovery on a mission that included a rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir. After piloting another Space Shuttle mission in 1997, Collins was selected to be the commander of STS-93, the first time a woman would ever lead a mission into space.
For Cady Coleman, having interactions with teachers and colleagues throughout her academic career, as well as having an instilled “can do” attitude, was extremely important. She remembers a particular chemistry teacher from her high school in Virginia who had a passion for the subject and inspired Coleman to pursue it herself.
As an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Coleman attended a lecture by Sally Ride, the first woman in space. Listening to Ride and being able to shake her hand after the lecture left Coleman with a broader idea of who could be an astronaut.
“When I thought about what astronauts looked like, I had in my mind a picture of the Mercury 7 standing in front of an airplane and they were all a bunch of old guys with no hair,” said Coleman. “And it certainly didn’t say to me, this could be you.”
“It wasn’t until I went to college and Sally Ride came to talk, it just opened up that possibility of if she could do it then I could aspire to do it too,” said Coleman. “I remember thinking that it counted that she was well educated and smart, and at the same time she had this job that had adventure and some thrills to it.”
After MIT, Coleman went to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to pursue graduate work in chemistry. Another critical encounter for Coleman happened later after graduate school when she was in the Air Force and applying for the astronaut program. She was participating in a science day for the community, and Kathy Sullivan, a crewmember of three Space Shuttle missions and the first American woman to walk in space, was the main speaker. The people who organized the event knew that Coleman was interested in becoming an astronaut and arranged for Coleman to meet Sullivan. Sullivan then went on to spend more than an hour speaking with Coleman, discussing the application process, what the job was like, and giving her advice.
“The fact that this woman who was on this huge pedestal for me was willing to take almost an hour out of her day was really meaningful to me,” said Coleman. “I kept saying, ‘I think we should get back to the symposium,’ and she would say, ‘no, this is part of my job and this is really important because we need more astronauts who are qualified.’”
Coleman joined the NASA astronaut core in 1992. She flew her first mission into space in 1995 as a member of the STS-73 crew that included experiments on biotechnology, combustion science, and the physics of fluid. On just her second flight, Coleman was selected to be the mission specialist on STS-93 in 1999 that deployed Chandra out of the Shuttle’s payload bay using its robotic arm.
A full length article resulting from the 2014 interviews with Eileen Collins and Cady Coleman will appear in a forthcoming chapter of the non-profit "Women in STEM Anthology" celebrating Ada Lovelace Day, an international day celebrating the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and math.
Please note this is a moderated blog. No pornography, spam, profanity or discriminatory remarks are allowed. No personal attacks are allowed. Users should stay on topic to keep it relevant for the readers.
Read the privacy statement
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Tidal power could become a vital portion of the UK’s energy mix and help provide energy security if given appropriate government priority and backing, according to experts. Earlier this month the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), a group of cross-party MPs, published a report into the government’s 2022 British Energy Security Strategy following on from collection of evidence from experts and stakeholders in the country’s energy sector. While the EAC was praiseful of the government for putting together an energy security strategy swiftly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it also said that its lack of attention on tidal power was a hole in the strategy. It challenged the government to include targets for electricity generation via tidal energy sources in its upcoming refresh of the UK net zero policy. Unlike other forms of renewable energy, tidal power is predictable, making it a more reliable source of power for the national grid. There are three types of tidal energy: tidal streams, which extract energy from moving masses of water; tidal barrages, akin to dams across rivers but with turbines; and tidal lagoons, which are almost a combination of the two, with a wall around a body of water affixed with turbines to capture the energy from water moving in and out with the tides. All three forms of tidal energy are relatively expensive currently, but use technology that is already well-established and understood. Implementation of more tidal energy facilities will see the prices go down as economies of scale kick in. Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit head of analysis Simon Cran-McGreehin told NCE that setting a target for tidal energy generation in the UK is crucial for wider deployment of these technologies. “A target is very important at a high level,” he said. “It tells the industry and the world that the government and the country are serious about it.” To back up the targets there has to be a financing mechanism, Cran-McGreehin stressed. This is in place in the form of Contracts for Difference (CfD), the government’s method for providing financial support to low-carbon energy electricity generation projects. CfDs incentivise investment in renewable energy by providing developers with high upfront costs and long lifetimes with direct protection from volatile wholesale prices, in turn protecting consumers from paying increased support costs when electricity prices are high.
The Winners of the Fourth Round of CfD Was Announced in July 2022.
and for the first time it included tidal energy projects. There were four tidal stream projects among the winners, with a total expected capacity of 40.82MW, and Cran-McGreehin said this is a “very good start for tidal”. With CfD awards now expected to happen annually, he hopes that the government will afford bigger pots for tidal projects to bid into each round. “It would give [tidal energy] price stability while their costs remain comparatively high, and would help to cover those extra costs above market costs,” he said. If this were to happen, tidal energy costs could follow in the footsteps of offshore wind and gradually see the costs fall until they become neutral, according to Cran-McGreehin. “Building supply chains, infrastructure, general coordination between industry and government, these things are very helpful,” he said. “With offshore wind having been so successful, we now have a lot of the infrastructure – whether that be physical or institutional – that can quite easily be transferred and applied to other offshore technologies, including obviously tidal.” He continued: “Tidal is a fairly new technology for the UK, but the things we need to deploy it are not so new. It’s a lot of familiar approaches that we can apply, so it wouldn’t really be starting from scratch.” According to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Renewable Energy Planning Database there are currently four tidal energy sources in the UK creating a mere 10.5MW of power. However, there are a further 14 schemes currently in various stages of planning, most of them being under 100MW in expected capacity. If all of these schemes are constructed, it will bring the total energy generated from tidal sources to 1.07GW although there is considerable doubt over the biggest one – the 320MW Swansea Bay tidal lagoon – which has seen its planning permission lapse. Cran-McGreehin believes that this is just the beginning, with smaller projects being unrolled first to build confidence in the sector. “Tidal doesn’t always have to be a big bang project,” he said. “There’s definitely merit to starting at smaller scales to build up supply chains and expertise and to learn any lessons around current impacts and unintended consequences before the big ones.” The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult – a company that helps take offshore renewable projects from concept to fruition – is also counting on increased economies of scale to help it deploy more and more tidal stream projects. In its recent report Cost Reduction Pathway of Tidal Stream Energy in the UK and France, it asserts that the 877MW of tidal stream energy could be deployed in the UK by 2035. It also believes that the UK is the “most attractive global market for tidal stream energy” and has the potential to reach over 10GW in the long-term.
Commenting on Those Targets, European Marine Energy Centre Technical Manager.
Caroline Lourie said: “However, to drive down costs so that tidal energy is competitive with other renewables, a huge ramp up of installed capacity will be needed over the next decade. For this to happen, we need long-term policy support and continued ring-fenced funding.” The CfDs will function to help grow the size of the projects and bring costs down. Compared to other renewable energy schemes, the tidal schemes awarded funds through CfD in 2022 have a much higher strike price – the fixed price at which the owner can buy or sell the energy. This will drop if confidence in the technology is shown. “They’re very small scale projects, so they’ve got low economies of scale and industry, so the cost will be higher – but also the overall cost to consumers will be tiny because they are generating a comparatively small amount of power each year,” Cran-McGreehin explained. “In the next round of CfD I would expect there will be more tidal projects that are slightly larger and at a lower price because they’ve managed to reduce that cost through learning and economies of scale from this first round of projects.
“It’s all an iterative process; we saw the same with offshore wind when it cam in originally at Higher prices.”
Even with the potential for tidal energy sources to increase, there is also the matter of connecting them to the grid. National Grid is currently working on a holistic network design to ensure new energy sources are efficiently connected, Cran-McGreehin explained. “Its holistic network design would guide upgrades in a coordinated and flexible manner,” he said. “Tidal power would be considered within this framework – and some of the likely tidal power locations, such as south west England and north east Scotland, are already the subject of planned upgrades for renewables, so extra capacity for tidal power could well be incremental extras as opposed to a new ask.”
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GorgiasGorgias (c. 483-375 BC), Greek sophist and rhetorician, was a native of Leontini in Sicily.
In 427 he was sent by his fellow-citizens at the head of an embassy to ask Athenian protection against the aggression of the Syracusans. He subsequently settled in Athens, and supported himself by the practice of oratory and by teaching rhetoric. He died at Larissa in Thessaly.
His chief claim to recognition consists in the fact that he transplanted rhetoric to Greece, and contributed to the diffusion of the Attic dialect as the language of literary prose. He was the author of a lost work On Nature or the Non-existent, the substance of which may be gathered from the writings of Sextus Empiricus, and also from the treatise (ascribed to Theophrastus) De Melisso, Xenophane, Gorgia.
Gorgias is the central figure in the Platonic dialogue Gorgias. The genuineness of two rhetorical exercises (The Encomium of Helen and The Defence of Palamedes (edited with Antiphon by F. Blass in the Teubner series, 1881)), which have come down under his name, is disputed.
This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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Small Business Administration Background
by: Michael Saunders
The Small Business Administration was established in 1953. Since that time the agency has dispensed millions of dollars in loans and loan guarantees, contracts, consulting assistance and other programs for small business across the United States.
If you're looking for a way to help your business grow, now would be a good time to understand how the government can help you with your small business needs.
The seeds of the formation of the Small Business Administration were sown in the challenges of the Great Depression and World War I and grew out of a number of predecessor organizations.
Earlier Small Business Administration Agencies
In 1932 Herbert Hoover instituted the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The agency sought to ameliorate the effects of the Great Depression.It sought to accomplish this through the establishment of a loan program to assist both large and small businesses adversely effected by the Great Depression. It was adopted as the personal project of Hoover's successor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
The need to assist small business intensified with the onset of World War II, when they were placed at a competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis larger concerns. The Smaller War Plants Corporation was formed in 1942 to support small businesses, improve their financial strength and help them to more fully participate in the was effort. The Smaller War Plants Corporation accomplished this by providing loans directly to private entrepreneurs, providing incentives to large financial institutions to increase lending to small businesses and acting as an advocate for small business in the federal procurement process.
After the war the SWPC was absorbed into the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. In addition to the services provided by the RFC the Commerce Department also had an Office of Small Business. The charter of the Office of Small Business was primarily educational, predicated on the stance that the lack of success of many small business was insufficient access to information of running a business and business skills. The Office focused its offerings on pamphlets and management consulting to individual business owners.
Small Business Administration Background
Additional Government Grants ResourcesExploratory Clinical Trials for Small Business Grant Program
The National Institutes of Health has formed a partnership with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in order to establish the Exploratory Clinical Trials for Small Business Grant Program wherein they aim to establish a vehicle for Small Business Concerns (SBCs) in the process of submitting Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications for exploratory clinical trials directly to the NIND
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Career Transition Award
In keeping with this mission, the National Institutes of Health has collaborated with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to establish the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Career Transition Award Program.
National Science Foundation's Smart Health and Wellbeing Program
The National Science Foundation has constituted the development of the Smart Health and Wellbeing (SHB) Program wherein they intend to address scientific and technical issues that would pave the way towards the transformation of the healthcare process from being rather reactive and hospital centered into becoming preventive, proactive, evidence-based, patient-centered and focused on the wellbeing of the person rather than his/her disease.
Keystone Government Loan Program for Homebuyers in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has been running the Keystone Government Loan Program in which it intends to provide first mortgage financing on loans that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, the Rural Development, and the Department of the Veterans' Affairs.
Types of Financial Assistance From The Department of Education
The US Department of Education was initially created to encourage the promotion of student achievement and their preparation for global competitiveness by way of fostering academic excellence and ensuring equal access to quality education.
Frequently Asked Questions about Buying Your First Home
The idea of buying a new home for the first time can be overwhelming for most people. It is probably the largest investment they have ever made, and the process itself seems downright intimidating. ...
Scalable Nanomanufacturing Grants Program
The National Science Foundation has announced the constitution of the Scalable Nanomanufacturing Grants Program wherein it intends to deepen and encourage research and education in the area of scalable nanomanufacturing, including the long-term societal implications of the largescale implementation of nanomanufacturing innovations.
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Microsoft Office/Creating a Custom Design Template
While PowerPoint offers a nice variety of design templates, it is also useful at times to create your own. A design template, once created, can be used over and over again. For instance, if your department wanted all presentations to include your company's logo in one corner, with its colors as the background, you could create a design template with these features and reuse it again and again.
A master slide is one that is a part of every presentation that controls certain text characteristics such as font type, size, and color, as well as background color and style. Masters can affect all the slides in a presentation. There are masters that control the title slide, notes pages, and handout pages. When you apply a template to a presentation, you apply a new set of masters that control the presentation's look and format. There are four types of masters used in PowerPoint, as described below.
|Type of Master||Description|
|Slide Master||The Slide Master is an element of the design template that stores information about the template, such as font styles, placeholder sizes and locations, background design, and color schemes.|
|Title Master||The Title Master is used to make changes to slides in your presentation that use a Title Slide layout. This enables you to give a title slide a different look from the rest of your presentation.|
|Notes Master||The Notes Master is used to set the formatting for your notes pages. You can set headers, footers, and the Notes Body area.|
|Handout Master||The Handout Master is used to set the formatting of your handouts pages. You can set headers, footers, and the size and positioning of the number of handouts per page.|
A slide background is a design element that appears behind the contents of the slide. The slide background is made up gradient, texture, patterns, or a picture. To change the slide background:
- Select the slide you want to change:
- Select a slide in Normal view.
- Select the Slide Master.
- Choose Format/Background.
- In the Background Fill section, click on the drop-down arrow and choose Fill Effects.
- On the Fill Effects dialog box, select the tab that contains all the options you want to set and click OK.
- Click Apply to All.
The following table describes the options you can set in the Fill Effects dialog box.
|Gradient||Enables you to set the color, transparency, shading style, and variants.|
|Texture||Enables you to select a texture for the background.|
|Pattern||Enables you to set a pattern, as well as the foreground and background color for the pattern.|
|Picture||Enables you to select a picture as a fill for the background.|
One element you can add to every slide is a graphic of some sort. To add a graphic to one or all slides:
- Display an individual slide or the Slide Master for all slides.
- Choose Insert > Picture > From File.
- Navigate to the folder that contains the picture that you wish to insert.
- Select the picture file.
- Click Insert.
PowerPoint allows you to insert most popular graphic formats into your presentation.
Footers serve many uses in PowerPoint presentations. You can use them to provide information like slide numbers, footer text, and date. All of the information goes at the bottom of each slide in your design template.
A footer in PowerPoint is text that you create once, but it appears on the bottom of each slide. It can consist of text, slide numbers, and a date. To add a footer:
- Display the Slide Master.
- Choose View > Header and Footer.
- In the Date and Time section, select the options that you want.
- Check the Slide Number box to add a number to each slide.
- Under the checked Footer check box, click in the text box and enter the footer text.
- Click Apply To All.
You can change the way a footer looks at any time. On the Slide Master, select the placeholder that contains the information you want to change and format the text as you would any normal text. You can also drag the placeholder around if you wish to change its location.
Modify the Slide Master FontEdit
PowerPoint allows you to change the way that the text in each individual part of your presentation looks. If you have a very long presentation, for example, but decide that you no longer like the font for each title, PowerPoint makes it easy to change the font for each title at once. To change the appearance of the Slide Master text:
- View the Slide Master.
- Select the text you want to change.
- Change the font to a different font.
- Change the font size.
- Apply a text effect, such as bold.
- Return to Normal view.
Some Tips for Effective Slide ShowsEdit
Here are a few tips that will help your PowerPoint slide shows look professional and promote effective visual clues to help you get your points across:
- Limit animation.
- Stay with one slide transition.
- Use sans-serif fonts.
- No tiny font sizes; remember the folks in the back row.
- Keep your slides simple and uncluttered
- If you are presenting in a light room, use a light slide background.
- If you are presenting in a dark room, use a dark slide background.
- Make sure to use high-contrast text and slide backgrounds.
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“These Indians made repeated signs for hatchets, which they called paaco-paaco, and although they had stolen two or three on their first appearance, it was considered desirable to gain their goodwill by giving them more, and three were accordingly presented to individuals among them who appeared to be in authority. They were of course much pleased, but the next day several axes, knives, and sickles were taken by force from men employed outside the settlement, upon which they were made to understand that until these articles were restored no more would be given. This arrangement being persevered in by us, they determined upon seizing these implements on every occasion that presented itself; so that it was found necessary to protect our working parties in the woods by a guard; the result of which was that the natives threw their spears whenever resistance was offered, and the guard was obliged to fire upon the aggressors.
“Open acts of hostility having now been committed, and the natives increasing daily in numbers to upwards of one hundred round the settlement, a good lookout was kept upon them; but not sufficiently to prevent about sixty of them surprising five of the marines in a swamp cutting rushes, and throwing their spears amongst them: their salute was immediately returned, and they disappeared without any damage having been done on either side; at the same minute however reports of musketry were heard at our watering-place and garden and proved to be in repelling an attack that about forty natives had made upon our jolly-boat watering and two men cutting grass. One of the natives was shot dead at ten yards’ distance while in the act of throwing his spear; and our people thought that several others were wounded as they disappeared making most strange noises, and have not been near us since. One of the spears thrown upon the last occasion had sixteen barbs to it but, in general, they were merely scraped to a sharp point without even one barb, and were not thrown with anything like precision or good aim, which accounts for none of their weapons having taken effect, although discharged at our people at the distance only of a few yards.”
Soon after this the Tamar left Fort Dundas for the India station and despatched the Countess of Harcourt upon her ulterior destination. The settlement was left in a very forward state and consisted altogether of one hundred and twenty-six individuals of whom there were 3 or 4 women and forty-five convicts; the remainder were composed of detachments of the 3rd regiment (the Buffs) and of the marines, the latter under the command of Lieutenant Williamson. The Lady Nelson was left with Commandant Barlow.
Such is the state of the settlement of Fort Dundas, which at some future time must become a place of considerable consequence in the eastern world. The soil and climate of Melville and Bathurst Islands are capable of growing all the valuable productions of the East, particularly spices, and many other equally important articles of trade: it is conveniently placed for the protection of ships passing to our Indian possessions from Port Jackson, and admirably situated for the purposes of mercantile speculation.
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“The devil rescues people from chastity by saying; 'You have become a puritan'” (C.S. Lewis, The Screw Tape Letters, p. 55).
Anyone acquainted with the history of philosophy would be baffled by Christopher West’s presentation of stoicism. He writes: “The stoic tries to avoid the pain of desiring more than this life has to offer by choosing not to want so much, by shutting desire down” (Fill These Hearts, p. 33).
His views sway considerably from the traditional understanding of stoic philosophy. For the authentic stoic fights against all affections, all emotions, not because he fears that their “promise” may not be fulfilled, but because he views them as enemies of his sovereign freedom that can be achieved only by being above the ups and downs of our emotional life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, should disturb his “peace.”
This philosophy finds its most powerful expression in the words of Horace: Si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinae – “If the round sky should crack and fall upon him, the wreck will strike him fearless still” (Ode VII, 3-7).
West is free to “re-baptize” the word “stoicism,” but he should warn his readers that he is considerably swaying from its historical meaning.
One could refer to stoicism as the pitiful victory of pride over concupiscence. St. John tells us clearly that both vices threaten fallen man. They are his fearful enemies, but pride – that we share with Lucifer (Non serviam) – is the worse of the two. This fact should not make us overlook the daily threat of concupiscence that brings millions of us to committing grave sins. Alas, in man both vices are often happily “married.”
According to West, there are three types of people:
The already alluded to Stoic, the addict, and the mystic.
The addict, who yields constantly to his cravings, will one day discover that he has become a slave, having lost his moral freedom. Tragically, he can also be enslaved by purely artificial cravings. No one is born with a desire to puff on a cigarette, but once a person has started smoking, and found it to be “fashionable” or “relaxing,” he can soon become so dependent on tobacco that without it, he is “paralyzed” and incapable of doing any work. I was told of a parish priest who never delivered a homily: after reading the Gospel, his craving for cigarette was such that he asked the deacon to step into the pulpit. He hurriedly left the church, and to put his body at peace went into the yard for the duration of the sermon to smoke. He then completed the Holy sacrifice of the Mass.
The third category is the mystics. “ … for the mystic the true pleasures of this world are a welcome but only dim foreshadowing of the ecstasy that awaits us in the world to come.” … “When properly understood, these true pleasures sharpen our longing for the delights of the eternal banquet that will be ours in eternity” (Fill These Hearts, p. 32).
Clearly, the author is taking the same liberty with the word “mystics” that he has taken with the word “stoic.”
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, mysticism is a “direct union of the human soul with the Divinity” – an extraordinary privilege which is a foretaste of the beatific vision.
For a brief, ecstatic moment, the veil of faith is lifted. These extraordinary graces are granted to very few people, and they are in no way required for holiness. In his Confessions, (Book IX, Chapter X) St. Augustine relates that, shortly after his conversion when he was still at the foot of the mountain he was granted,together with his beloved mother, taste of the sublime sweetness of beatitude. This overwhelming delight granted to both simultaneously (an exceptional case, I believe) gave them a foretaste of the beatific union, radically transcending the most overwhelming human experience.
Indeed, “no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2-9). St. Paul could not be clearer; no human satisfaction, however overwhelming, can give us a faint idea of what the beatific vision will be. Once we have had a taste of beatitude, all human joys lose their savor. Why does St. Paul exclaim:“Who will deliver me of this body of death?”
We find similar expressions in St. Teresa of Avila’s biography. Once she had a brief taste of heavenly joys, human life as we know it on this earth became inevitably a sort of spiritual torture. To have a mystical experience is therefore a “croce e delizia” – an overwhelming joy linked to the grief of being still in this vale of tears.
Not only are mystical experiences (which need in no way be essentially linked to phenomena like levitation) granted to very few people, but they are in no way necessary for holiness. Whereas, and this should be underlined, all of us are called to holiness, very few are given mystical graces. To claim that “we all called to be mystics,” is, once again, to deviate from the traditional meaning of the word. That we are all called to holiness is clearly stated in Christ’s words: “be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.”
West justifies this claim by telling us that “…the deliciousness of a meal and the sadness that it is over does its job: to awake my hope in and what my appetite for the life to which I’m destined…where the banquet never ends.” (p.32)
He writes that he is referring to “true joys.” But the problem is that this word is loaded with equivocations. This becomes clear whenhe refers to the satisfaction that our palate experiences while eating a delicious meal.
Following the teaching of St. Thomas, let us makedistinctions. It might be worthwhile to compare his approach with the one of St. Francis of Sales.
This great saint, being philosophically trained, distinguishes between pleasures that attract us because of the satisfaction they give us, and those (should they be called “pleasures”?) that fill us with joy and give us a taste of happiness because they possess an inner value and beauty that motivates our response. Unless this distinction is clearly made, we open the door to innumerable equivocations.
Moreover, St. Francis of Sales tells us that what he calls “carnal” pleasures (plaisirs charnels) always entail a certain danger for fallen man. Even though God Himself has chosen to link certain bodily activities to pleasurable sensations, but because of original sin (rarely mentioned by West) they are potentially linked to venial sins. (Introduction to the Devout Life, chapter XXXIX). The Bishop of Geneva is alluding to the fact that the intensity of carnal pleasures caneasily take precedence upon its essential theme: in the case of marriage, the loving self donation to one’s spouse.
This is why he wrote: “There is no union so precious and so fruitful between husband and wife as that of holy devotion in which they should mutually lead and sustain each other” (Chapter XXXVIII) The same great saint also wrote: that “marriage is honorable in all its parts” (Ibid). These are not the words of a "puritan" who looks down upon the flesh. They flow from the pen of a profoundly humble person who never loses sight of the fact that, as long as live in this vale of tears, we should always be spiritually alert, and realize that our enemy the Devil who never sleeps, can hijack every situation and make us trip and fall. Any confessor will tell us that sins against the sixth commandment are rarely unmentioned in the Confessional, for “sin lies at the door of pleasure.”
What a difference between the pleasure we experience while eating a delicious meal, and “our sadness” that it is over, and our being moved to tears by a magnificent sunset, perceived through our eyes, while the latter do not “feel” any pleasure at all.
The joy that chaste spouses experience in their self-donation to the other is to be distinguished from the carnal pleasure felt in this union. The first is a faint foretaste of eternal joys. The second strikes mystics as “ordure” (dung) and slime to those who have had a brief foretaste ofeternal joys. (Treatise of the Love of God, V; 8). His teaching is luminous; they are legitimate carnal pleasures, but because of original sin, they are connected with the potential danger of gaining precedence over the joy of being united to the beloved.
St. Francis refers to the crucial distinction that St.Augustine makes between things that should be used and those that should be enjoyed. Carnal pleasures should not be isolated. St. Francis makes this clearby telling us that marriage is holy in all its parts is one thing; that it is not easy for fallen man to truly live it in all its perfections is another.
Speaking about the pleasure of the palate, (and subtly referring to all carnal pleasures) St. Francis writes, “Persons of honor never think of eating, but when they sit down at table and after dinner wash their hands and their mouth that they may neither keep the taste nor the scent of what they have been eating.”
This is definitely a different approach from the one telling us that a person is sad that a good meal is over.
The teaching of St. Francis is luminous: all carnal joys should be baptized by gratitude; their enjoyment should never be our main concern. This king of spiritual directors hints at the fact that it is not easy for fallen man to taste carnal pleasures and avoid pitfalls which are linked to them. In his Introduction to the Devout Life addressed to Philothea (a woman), he advises married women (many of his spiritual daughters were grandes dames, inevitably leading a social life), to take the discipline twice a week.
The message is clear: being married, and enjoying the legitimate delights of the great sacrament they received, they should never lose sight of the fact that the enjoyment of carnal pleasure, because of our wounded nature, needs to be constantly purified. It might be more difficult to do so than to abstain from these pleasures altogether, as is the case of people who consecrated their virginity to God.
Let us think of great saints who were married. I choose two example among very many. St. Thomas More, married twice, was the father of four children. He wore a hair shirt, and took the discipline. The same is true of St. Frances of Rome, married for forty years.
In their humility, these great saints remained keenly aware that as long as we live, pleasure needs to be “baptized” and “re-baptized.” Let us not forget that the forbidden fruit was a delight to the eye and promised to be good to the taste.
Are carnal pleasures evil? No. But, St. Francis tells us that they call for a “caveat.” The devil like a roaring lion is always on the look out to devour us. How easily can one convince oneself that self-donation is one’s main motivation, while in fact “omnis homo mendax” (every man is a liar).
A test can make this clear: when abstinence is called for because of circumstances. How does a spouse respond to such situations? With ill grace, or joyfully embracing this sacrifice, with the realization that common sacrifices joyfully accepted are the cement of great human love. In fact, routine is the great enemy of beautiful marital exchanges.
It is deeply meaningful that Luther ridicules ascetic practices which he abolished with the consequences that we know. After Vatican II, several religious orders followed his advice; alas how many of their members today betray the wisdom of their founder. I have been told that in some Jesuit houses, there is a cocktail hour before dinner. On the other hand, new and flourishing religious orders (and thank God there are several) reintroduced discipline, hair shirts, and severe fasting.
Simone de Beauvoir refers to such practices as “masochism.” Indeed, there is such a thing as perverse masochism which aims at sexual satisfaction. Satan always aims at aping God.
Right as West is in claiming that ascetic practices can be abused (see The Heart of the Gospel, p. 256) this should not blind us to the fact that no saint has ever reached holiness without asceticism. The Little Flower tells us that the practice of the “discipline” often brought tears to her eyes.
It is always recommended that these practices are done with the approval of wise spiritual direction. St. Francis of Sales can truly be proclaimed king of the spiritual directors. One of the marks of French spirituality is the talent to communicate a sensitive message with such noble subtlety that while luminously clear, it avoids the pitfall of using coarse and vulgar language to make sure that “one’s message is properly communicated.”
St. Francis - animated by his profound faith, appeals to what is best and deepest in the human soul, and by his loving trust that as long as we live, the image of God, while badly stained, is still there, he awakened innumerable human souls to their calling to grow wings.
He ends the chapter on married love with the words:
“I have now said all that I wish to say, and have sufficiently implied, without saying it, that which I was unwilling to say” (Chapter XXXIX).
What a precious advice for us “modern” folk. What a spiritual wake-up call to make us realize that we should re-learn to speak the languages of angels.
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The Fw-190A-6 was the last version of the “mid-range” Fw-190A series. As with the A-2, A-3, A-4 and A-5 sub-types, it had two 7.62mm machine guns mounted in the fuselage, for primary use as “sighting weapons.” Unlike the earlier versions, it dropped the outer-wing 20mm MG-FF drum-fed cannon – which had presented problems from the outset with its slower rate of fire and differing range and trajectory from the excellent 20mm MG 151 mounted in the wing roots – and provided an all-MG 151 armament. Still comparatively light weight, the Fw-190A-6 was the “last of the dog fighters,” and would be used on the Eastern Front in the air superiority role till the end of the war.
However, the main use of the Fw-190A-6 – and the reason for its existence with its heavy armament – was on the Western Front, where the USAAF’s 8th Air Force was gathering strength and reaching out across Western Europe and into Germany in the spring and summer of 1943 when the A-6 made its appearance.
While the Fw-190A was always the German fighter with the best armament for opposing heavy bombers, it was at a disadvantage against the Americans, since the Wurger’s best altitude performance was at approximately 23,000 feet, and the American bombers were coming in at 25,000-27,000 feet. Thus, by the time the Fw-190-equipped units struggled up to 28,000 to 29,000 feet to make their famous “twelve o’clock high” head-on attacks against the bombers, they were at a serious disadvantage if they ran across any opposing P-47s – which would be operating at their best height at that altitude.
Thus, the Jagdgeschwadern opposing the Americans – JG 2 over the Cotentin Peninsula in western France, JG 26 in northern France and southern Belgium, and JG 1 in northern Belgium and Holland – were forced in the spring of 1943 to change from being solely equipped with Fw-190s in all Gruppen to having two Gruppen on the Fw-190 and the third flying the Bf-109G-2 and later Bf-109G-4, which could fly and fight at altitudes above 30,000 feet. The responsibility of the 109s was to cover the 190s and keep the fighters away while the 190s concentrated on the bombers. Unfortunately, the Germans were about as successful with this tactic as the RAF had been assigning Spitfires to cover Hurricanes and take on the Luftwaffe’s 109s while the Hurricanes took on the Heinkels and Dorniers during the Battle of Britain. As the summer of 1943 wore on and the P-47s of the 8th Air Force acquired the ability to reach out further from England to the west German border, the Fw-190s found themselves more and more frequently fighting off Thunderbolts while trying to set up for a “company front” attack on the bomber screen. It was in these early battles that the Luftwaffe began hemorrhaging the one commodity they couldn’t afford to lose: experienced pilots. Within six months of the first Schweinfurt mission in August 1943, the Jagdwaffe would be a shadow of its former self after fighting off the deep-penetration missions in February and March 1944.
But so long as the Americans lacked the ability to escort the bombers all the way to their distant targets and back, the Luftwaffe exacted such a toll on the bombers than a B-17 or B-24 crewman on his sixth mission was statistically flying another man’s time, since the life expectancy of a bomber crewman in 1943 was five missions – with 25 required to complete a tour. Anyone today who has ever been inside “9-0-9″ or “Aluminum Overcast” or “Sentimental Journey” or “All American” and seen how small they are, how vulnerable they are, can only come away with a sense of awe at the thought of facing a German fighter with four 20mm cannons, each capable of firing 600 rounds a minute, at a frigid 25,000 feet over Europe.
For the Germans, fighting the Americans was unlike anything they had done before on the Channel Front. Previously, the incoming formations were relatively small, and could be opposed by individual Staffeln. But going up against 200 or 300 heavy bombers, with their escorts, meant sending up units in full Gruppe strength, if not the entire Geschwader. Aerial recognition of friend and foe became as important for the Germans as it was for the Americans, since the Fw-190 and the P-47 looked so much alike at a distance. While the 8th Air Force was painting white recognition bands on the nose and tail of their P-47s, the German units were experimenting with markings that were even more obvious. Psychologically, the Germans in 1943 considered themselves to have the upper hand over the Americans (which was quite often the case) and so they could decide that more radical markings, more obvious markings, could be used since they were also a morale factor for everyone – German and American – involved. For I/JG 1 in 1943 and early 1944, this resulted in what were probably the most spectacular markings carried by any German fighters in the war – a checker board on the cowlings – with the individual Staffeln in the Gruppe identified by different colors in the field – white for the 1st Staffel, yellow for the 2nd, and red for the 3rd – each with black checkers. The result was that I Gruppe could easily identify each other, and psychologically the enemy knew who they were up against.
These markings lasted through the winter of 1943-44, while losses were comparatively low. In fact, after “Black Thursday,” the second Schweinfurt mission of October 14, 1943, when the Jagdwaffe brought down 60 of 290 American bombers and damaged another 100, 70 of them so badly they never flew after regaining their bases, the 8th Air Force was unable to mount an offensive mission. The Luftwaffe had won almost as decisively as had the RAF on September 15, 1940. The Americans were able to hide this defeat by the luck of the weather – the skies over Western Europe closed in the week following the Schweinfurt disaster and didn’t clear sufficiently for another deep-penetration mission until early December. By then the P-47s were carrying two drop tanks on underwing pylons and a third under the fuselage, there were now two long range P-38 units and the first P-51 unit was about to go operational. Within two months, the shoe was on the other foot.
With the losses in pilots and planes sustained in the missions of February and March 1944, the Germans no longer had the time to spend painting an airplane with elaborate markings, not to mention the Luftwaffe now needed to hide from their hunters. Bright markings became a thing of the past among the Jagdwaffe, with pilots even ceasing to paint victory markings on their rudders.
Americans remembered these Fw-190s for their spectacular “Twelve O’Clock High” head-on attacks against the bombers. In 1984, German ace Walter Krupinski, who commanded III/JG 26 against the 8th Air Force, told me that just before he would order his pilots to advance their throttles to make such an attack, “My entire life would flash before me, because one knew that at least five or six of us would likely score our victory by a fatal collision.” Several years earlier, I had heard from an 8th AF veteran the story of the mission he could never forget: his second mission, flying as co-pilot. As the formation crossed the coast, the warning “Twelve O’Clock High” came over the radio. He looked out at the plane on their wing, in which his childhood friend was the co-pilot, just as an Fw-190 collided nose-to-nose with the B-17. The engine then separated from the fighter and continued through the bomber, “coring it” until it fell out the tail. “No one got out,” he said, before telling me that at least two or three times a week in the 30 years since, he would awake from the nightmare of re-living that moment.
The air war over Germany was far tougher and more terrible than most histories recount.
The Dragon Fw-190s were, when they first appeared in 1990, the best Fw-190s ever, and set a new standard for plastic kits. Today, the kits still stand up and with care one can make a very presentable model. Over the years, the plastic has been licensed by other model companies and released in many versions. This is Italerei’s “German Aces” release of the Fw-190A-5, with markings for five aircraft. The kit decals are acceptable, but any set of aftermarket decals is superior.
In the box, the kit is not really an Fw-190A-5, since it has the later wheel well without inner gear doors over the wheels. It does, however, have the proper lower gun bay cover for an Fw-190A armed with MG151 cannon in the outer position. Thus, it is a good candidate for becoming an Fw-190A-6 of the sub-type used over western Europe carrying a drop tank. Since I had the Aeromaster JG1 Butcher Birds sheet for Fw-190s with the spectacular black-white cowling, I decided to put that to use with this kit.
The main thing to be sure of with the Dragon kit is that the fuselage sub-assembly is going to fit to the wing sub-assembly without a gap where the upper wing attaches to the fuselage. It seems to depend on the molding of each individual kit as to whether this will happen without help. I always test-fit, and when I find the fuselage needs to be widened so all surfaces touch properly, I cut a piece of sprue and wedge it in below the cockpit to spread the fuselage sufficiently to get proper fit. If you do this, the kit will always be problem-free assembly.
The other “gotcha” to worry about with the Dragon kit is the alignment of the main gear. Fw-190s do not have gear that sticks straight down! This is the single most common mistake modelers make with their Fw-190s. The proper position of the Fw-190s gear is aligned forward so that, when you stare straight down at the model, the axle of the main gear is just ahead of the leading edge of the wing. I usually glue the main gear with Tamiya Extra-Thin cement, then align it, then apply a drop of C-A glue to fix it in position.
With this kit, I also used the “extra’ set of elevators from the new Eduard kit, and cut the elevators off the kit horizontal stabilizer, so that I could droop the elevators. I also used the centerline rack and drop tank from the Eduard kit, since the Italerei kit did not include a drop tank.
I airbrushed Tamiya “Flat White” on the cowling, then masked that off and airbrushed the yellow ID panel on the lower cowling. I also painted the armored ring with Tamiya Gloss Black. The cowling was masked off and a traditional camouflage of RLM 74/75/76 was applied freehand, using my mix of Tamiya paints for RLM 74/75/76. When all that was dry, I unmasked the cowling and gave the model a coat of clear gloss.
The Aeromaster sheet was a bit old, and I was very happy that there were two sets of markings for “checkerboard” airplanes, since it took both sets of decals to get the cowling marked. I used national markings and stencils from an Eduard Fw-190 sheet for the rest. I chose “White 11″ for the fact that the pilot’s personal insignia was a black cat. Those who know me and my cats will understand.
I applied a coat of clear flat to the airframe and clear satin to the cowling, then attached the landing gear, drop tank, and prop. I attached the canopy in the open position.
The Dragon kits have been completely superceded by the new Eduard kits for fidelity of detail and overall ease of assembly. However, if you take you time they still make up into a very nice model that can “hold its own” sitting next to a new Eduard kit. The Wurger is my favorite German fighter (even if 109s beat it for the variety of markings). Nowadays these kits can be found for very reasonable prices.
10 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Get Your Eduard Fw 190 From Amazon
1:48 Eduard Kits Profipack Fw 190a-5 Model Kit.
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What does privilege mean? A quick dictionary search will give you a definition something like this: a special right or advantage available to only a particular person or group of people. Being in DC, privilege surrounds me and it manifests itself in many forms; namely, white privilege, gender privilege, heterosexual privilege, socio-economic privilege, etc. It can sometimes feel overwhelming when you do a quick mental survey of the privilege of those at the top of this city. I’m not blind though—I recognize my own socio-economic privilege helped me to be here this summer.
But I want to talk about a different type of privilege, one that’s not often brought up, which is the privilege of knowledge. Duke’s motto is “Eruditio et Religio” which translates to “Knowledge and Faith.” Every student at Duke has this privilege of knowledge—the advantage to learn and seek truth in our academic studies. The ability to learn the complex workings of the human genome, the ability to seek truth in climate science, and the ability to understand history and government are all manifestations of this privilege. In my two years at Duke, I can see that as students, we can sometimes abuse this privilege. We do this by believing that our knowledge is superior to others or by becoming quickly agitated when others do not hold the same knowledge as us. In doing so, we revert the flow of knowledge. Perhaps the person who holds different or “less superior” (as we think it to be) knowledge could help us to understand different perspectives and thus inspire us to share our knowledge with them.
Part of the DukeEngage DC program involves group discussion after our 9-5 workday where we sit roundtable and discuss various topics in science policy. As we were discussing something last week, someone mentioned that they do not believe institutional racism exists. The whole room, myself included, was in shock. My guess as to the high level of our collective shock is that we often don’t hear students saying something like that because the knowledge we learn in our classes clashes with this person’s statement. Naturally, after this comment, many people started raising their voice and spewing statistics at this person. As I sat in both contemplation and disbelief for a minute, I too found it difficult to not speak to this person as if I were attacking them for what I felt to be true, that institutional racism is in fact real.
However, what happened can be a learning point for next time. Instead of attacking someone for not holding the same knowledge, we must attempt to learn more about their point of view. For example, before citing statistics or studies, we could ask them what has led them to come to that conclusion and what medium they have confirmed that through—what it through life experiences, literature, classes? By using our privilege to remain calm and learn more about what went into that person’s beliefs and knowledge that is different from our own, an opportunity for us to share our knowledge emerges. As Einstein said, “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.”
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Country of Origin
The German Wirehaired Pointer (also known as the ‘Deutsch Drahthaar’) is a versatile German breed which developed in the late 1800’s when bird hunting grew in popularity with the middle class. Hunters sought to develop a breed that could point, track, retrieve, guard, and fearlessly hunt potential fighters such as foxes. The German Wirehaired Pointer, bred from the Pointer, Griffon, and Polish Water Dog, met these goals amply. Its rough coat allowed it to push through the brush with ease and swim through cold waters. The German Wirehaired Pointer was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1959. Today it is the most popular hunting dog in Germany but enjoys only modest success in the U.S.
The German Wirehaired Pointer has a shoulder height of 56-66 cm (22-26 in) and weighs 27-32 kg (60-70 lbs). It has straight-haired eyebrows, oval eyes, and a visible stop (depression where the muzzle meets the forehead). The German Wirehaired Pointer has a tucked in belly, webbed feet, and tail docked to two fifths the natural length. It is a sturdy, muscular, medium-sized dog.
The German Wirehaired Pointer’s coarse, wiry, flat, weather-resistant coat is its defining feature. It is liver and white with liver head and ears, white muzzle and possible white blaze (vertical line between the eyes). The German Wirehaired Pointer has a dense undercoat which lightens in summer to keep it prepared for all seasons. The coat is shorter on the legs and face, but with medium length beard and whiskers. Puppy German Wirehaired Pointers have shorter coats which grow to their adult length. The German Wirehaired Pointer is an average shedder.
The German Wirehaired Pointer is loyal to its family, intelligent, adventurous, and friendly. It is very affectionate. The German Wirehaired Pointer may become hyperactive and destructive if not properly exercised. German Wirehaired Pointers live to please their owner. They make great hunting companions and watchdogs. The German Wirehaired Pointer is happiest if it can spend substantial time with its human family.
The German Wirehaired Pointer is not fond of strangers. It is good with children but can grow jealous of its master’s affections; it should spend as much time with its owner as possible when young to establish trust. The German Wirehaired pointer is good with dogs and other pets but may try to dominate; socialize when young for best results.
The German Wirehaired Pointer should be brushed weekly and bathed only when necessary. Ears should be checked periodically for infection. Stripping may be required occasionally for show dogs. German Wirehaired Pointers have a life expectancy of 12-14 years. German Wirehaired Pointers are generally healthy, but some are susceptible to common canine ailments such as hip dysplasia (malformed hip joint which can cause lameness or arthritis), ear infections, and eye problems.
The German Wirehaired Pointer has a good reputation for training as it strongly desires to please its master. A consistent training approach is required as it can sometimes be willful.
The German Wirehaired Pointer was bred to hunt. It is a tireless breed requiring at least an hour a day of serious exercise. It enjoys long walks, swimming, and retrieving. The German Wirehaired Pointer is most suited to outdoor activities and fits best with a sporty family.
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One of UCF's most prolific inventors has solved a stubborn problem: How to keep the electronic displays in your car working, whether you're driving in the frigid depths of winter or under the broiling desert sun.
LCD screens are everywhere—our smartphones, televisions, laptops and more. Increasingly, they're now popping up in automobiles, where it's now common to find liquid crystal displays showing speed, distance, fuel consumption and other information, as well as GPS mapping, rearview cameras and audio systems.
But current technology has an Achilles heel: The displays grow blurry and sluggish in extreme temperatures.
"Liquid crystals exist only in a certain temperature range. In order to work in extreme environments, we need to widen that temperature range," said researcher Shin-Tson Wu of the University of Central Florida.
That's what Wu and his team have done in his lab in UCF's College of Optics & Photonics.
As reported recently in the scholarly journal Optical Materials Express, Wu and his collaborators formulated several new liquid crystal mixtures that don't have the temperature limitations of those now in use. The liquid crystals should maintain their speed and viscosity in temperatures as high as 212 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition, the pixels are able to change their brightness level about 20 times faster than required by European automotive standards.
The breakthrough has applications in the automotive industry and with any other manufacturer of devices with LCD screens.
Wu, who holds UCF's highest faculty honor as a Pegasus Professor, is no stranger to new discoveries with practical uses in the real world. He previously played a key role in developing LCDs for smartphones and other devices that are readable in sunlight.
Through his work with advanced LCDs, adaptive optics, laser- beam steering, biophotonics and new materials, Wu has registered about 84 patents. In 2014, he was one of the first inductees to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.
Wu worked with a team of doctoral students from his research group—Fenglin Peng, Yuge "Esther" Huang and Fangwang "Grace" Gou—as well as collaborators from Xi'an Modern Chemistry Research Institute in Xi'an, China, and DIC Corp. in Japan.
"Our team is always trying to find new recipes for materials," Huang said.
Wu is currently working on a smart brightness control film that has applications for automobiles, planes, eyewear, windows and more.
Explore further: New liquid crystals prevent automobile touch screens from freezing
Fenglin Peng et al. High performance liquid crystals for vehicle displays, Optical Materials Express (2016). DOI: 10.1364/OME.6.000717
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In 2015, a report by the United States Department of Commerce found that women fill only 24 percent of jobs in the STEM field. The STEM field is made up of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math. And although women are graduating with more degrees than men, they aren’t pursuing the STEM field at the same rate.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s EnQuest engineering camp for high school girls is encouraging teenagers to spark a change in the gender gap. Listen to the audio story below to learn more.
Twenty girls from high schools across Milwaukee and suburban-Wisconsin spent a week on-campus at UW-Milwaukee to learn what a college major and career in engineering feels like.
Together, they stayed at UWM dorms where they worked closely with instructors at UWM and students who are part of UWM’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB). The program, which started eight years ago, works on a specific project every summer in tandem with the students from EWB. This summer, they worked to improve a prototype created from the EnQuest girls last summer.
The girls are taught in an educational and laboratory setting. This week they learned electric basics, which helped them to solder cables together. They used a 3D printer to create parts for their design. They even visited UWM’s foundry to melt and mold metal.
By the end of this experience, they created and presented a new prototype for a USB solar panel phone charging station. In January of 2019, students from EWB will deliver these chargers to a village in Guatemala.
UWM’s EWB program has worked with Guatemala for a few years now to come up with solutions for the needs of the village. The people were used to traveling far distances to be able to plug in their phone chargers as their village lacks electricity. Together, EnQuest and EWB gave them a solution—a USB charging station.
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Pipe Piles describes steel pipe that is used to reinforce and support foundations when soil and ground conditions are not suitable to support structures. Pipe Piles are normally used for deep foundations to transfer the structural load to underground rock or stronger soil conditions. Pipe Piles may be used to form concrete piles.
Pipe Piles Information
A252 Gr 1, 2, 3
- Specified Lengths Upon Request
- Drive Shoes
- Bare / Black
- External Fusion Bond Epoxy Coating
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| 0.807894 | 101 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The Importance of Joint Mobility
Joint mobility is the degree at which a conjunction of two bones can move before being restricted by the surrounding tissues. This is perhaps the most important and yet underappreciated aspect to enhancing athletic performance, and even one of the most important aspects to living a long healthy life. The rest of the article will illustrate why proper joint mobility allows for injury prevention and even more speed and power. I will also mention how to increase joint mobility, and why it is so important to continue this training as a lifelong pursuit.
To begin with, numerous studies have illustrated that athletes with proper joint mobility have a reduced risk of injuries. Athletes with tighter hips tend to have a higher instance of pulled hamstrings and hip flexors when competing in sports. This is because as the hip joint moves through its range of motion to run faster, it is impeded more by the tighter antagonist muscles around it and they break down before the full stride has been achieved. I have experienced this first hand as I have had tight hip flexors during track and would constantly pull them in races.
Another area where we see immobility leading to injuries is tight front deltoids. Athletes in tennis, baseball and swimming use their shoulders--this tends to be quite a common occurrence. Many times they will have to limit their play during the season to work on alleviating some of the tension and the tendonitis that develops from it, and in severe cases can also lead to a rotator cuff tear. All this pain discomfort could easily be reduced by proper stretching and ensuring the shoulder joint has the correct mobility.
However, proper mobility must be carefully defined, as both hyper or hypo mobility. You've seen instances in which hypo mobility has been detrimental, but there are many instances where hypermobility is also detrimental. Female athletes, especially in soccer, tend to have higher degrees of mobility in their hamstrings than they do in their quadriceps. This imbalance creates a hypermobility in the hamstring which stresses the ACL, MCL, and meniscus tendons leading to a 10 times higher likelihood of knee injury in college female soccer players than their male counterparts!
Ensuring proper joint mobility is crucial for increasing speed and power during competition as well. Athletes who have sufficient joint mobility are able to travel through their motion with less resistance from the muscles around it. Since they're not fighting against their own muscles in order to go through the full range of motion, their movement is more fluid and all of the force is being used for the task at hand--not to fight against yourself. For example, once I began to really focus on stretching my hip flexors, not only did I pull them less, but I also increased my stride length and decreased my times!
Another great example of the science behind Andy Roddick’s and his serve. Andy roddick has a high degree of external rotation in his shoulder as he winds up for the serve; whereas other players do not have as much. Because they're not going to the full range of motion and they are fighting against their own muscles, they have both less time to develop force and more force necessary to complete the range of motion, and in turn, reducing the power of their serve. It is noted in this episode that for every degree of external rotation you can achieve easily you gain at least a mile per hour on your serve or pitch.
So how do we train proper joint mobility. There are many ways to do this and the most common one is stretching or yoga. Stretching and yoga work on lengthening the muscles freeing up the resistance those muscles provide against the joint movement. These ways give the added benefit of enhancing recovery as these supply blood flow to the muscles that have been worked. (It is best for joint mobility and injury prevention to do stretching or yoga after the workout)
Another way to enhance joint mobility is when doing your strength training, do not stop your range of motion to increase weight but instead, go through the full range even if the weight needs to be dropped. This will make you stronger and more effective when it comes to playing sports and make the joint used to going through its full range of motion. Lastly, diversifying your sports (i.e., being a multi-sport athlete) and workout activities have been shown to have a positive effect on joint mobility.
Now I know that most of you are athletes, but regardless, I'm sure there's people you know who are not sporting enthusiasts and say something along the lines of “well I don't need these things as I don't play sports.” But joint mobility transcends the sports world and is central to the proper function of the human body. Joint mobility allows us to do activities without resistance. If you do not maintain joint mobility throughout your life, the body naturally loses its elasticity and you will have a tough time doing activities of daily living like changing a light bulb or picking items up off the ground. Being immobile can also lead to an injury or a fall that could be detrimental to your well-being.
Joint mobility should be a main focus of any athlete or person who values their ability to move. It keeps you injury-free and moving smoothly and training it can be easy, fun and freeing… literally!
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What is Stochastics?
The term stochastics (originally Greek στωχαστίκή derived from στωχωξ - “assumption, anticipation, goal”) means "the art of assuming". It was first used by Jacob Bernoulli in his 1773 book "Ars conjectandi", in which he proved the first law of large numbers. Modern-day stochastics is a domain of applied mathematics. It comprises (among others) probability theory, stochastic processes and statistics. These are used to examine random events, temporal developments and spatial structures, trying to find possible regularities. As most natural phenomena exhibit a behaviour that is at least partly random, stochastical methods are applicable to almost every scientific discipline. By taking advantage of the performance of modern computers, stochastics is becoming an invaluable tool for natural science, technological development and economics.
The current Institute of Stochastics was founded in 1987 as the Department of Stochastics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Economics of Ulm University. At the same time Professor Hans Wolff was appointed department head, a job he fulfilled until he was elected president of the university in 1995. Subsequently, this position was occupied by Professor Volker Schmidt from 1995 to 2007, when Professor Evgeny Spodarev took over this job. Currently, the institute consists of two professors (Volker Schmidt, Evgeny Spodarev), the secretary Renate Jäger and several PhD students, who perform a part of the teaching and research tasks at the institute and prepare their doctoral dissertation. After obtaining their doctorate, they usually continue their career outside Ulm University. Moreover, numerous students work at the institute, either as student assistant workers or preparing their graduation theses, and are supervised and mentored intensely by both professors and staff.
Professor Spodarev studied mathematics at the Lomonossov University in Moscow. After obtaining his PhD at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and a post-doc position at Ulm University he was appointed junior professor. In 2007 he accepted a tenure as professor for applied statistics in Ulm after having declined two offers by other universities.
Professor Schmidt studied mathematics at Wroclaw University. Afterwards he became an assistant scientist at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, where he obtained his PhD and his habilitation in mathematics. Since 1992 he works as a professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Economics of Ulm University.
The domain of stochastics forms an important part of the (econo-)mathematics teaching program at Ulm University. After the switchover from the Diploma system to a bachelor and master program, the concept of the stochastics lectures has been adapted to the needs of those new study programs. Students are first introduced to stochastics within the scope of the bachelor program, where they attend lectures to learn the theoretical concepts (Elementary Probability and Statistics and Stochastics I) as well as computer lab courses to apply those concepts to real-world problems using software packages like SAS and R. This fundamental knowledge is built upon in the more advanced lectures of the master program, where it is also possible to attend special lectures that further explore statistical problems and introduce stochastic processes and spatial stochastic models. A possible concept for organizing the bachelor and master studies with a focus on stochastics is shown here and here. Moreover, the institute is involved in the DAV actuarial program of the faculty (specifically in the field of Risk Theory) and teaches the stochastics part of several different study programs at Ulm University. There are for example periodic stochastics lectures for biologists, chemists, engineers, computer scientists, physicists and economists.
We try to encourage a close relationship between research and teaching by integrating interested students into our numerous research activities. Many students participate early on in our undergraduate seminars as well as in the research seminar about stochastic geometry and spatial statistics of our institute, which regularly attracts internationally renowned scientists. Moreover, students are integrated into our interdisciplinary research projects by means of internships and graduation theses. Often this happens in close cooperation with fellow scientists from different research fields as well as with numerous industry partners, e.g. France Telecom, Generali, Müncher Rück etc., leading to many new and interesting applications of stochastic models and methods. During their project work, the students are directly involved in the continued development of the GeoStoch software library, which has been an ongoing research effort in our institute for the last 10 years and is constantly growing. By now, it offers extensive functionality in the fields of stochastic geometry and spatial statistics. Finally, our institute encourages and supports students who want to take part in international exchange programs, either in the scope of ERASMUS programs or via other cooperation agreements with scientific institutions in many countries, e.g. the Lomonossov University in Moscow, the University of Fribourg and the TU Eindhoven.
The Institute of Stochastics is regularly involved in the organization of international conferences, workshops and summer schools, which do not only attract top research scientists, but also offer interesting possibilities to junior researchers as well as PhD and undergraduate students. On the other hand, the professors and research assistants of the institute are often invited to present their results on an international level, reflecting the high level of appreciation of those results by the research community. These achievements also led to the decoration of our research activities with the Merckle Research Prize in 2005 and the Science - Industry Cooperation Prize of Ulm University in 2007. Finally, many publications of our institute have appeared in renowned journals from a broad range of different research areas over the last few years, demonstrating that it is not only interesting to develop modern stochastical methods, but also to apply them innovatively to problems from other scientific domains.
- Predictive Policing: Wunder sind nicht zu erwarten, Zeitschrift für die
Sicherheit der Wirtschaft; Ausgabe 1/2015; SecuMedia Verlag
- Was ist Stochastik?
- Themendossier Risiko
- Matrix - Computer und neue Medien (Radio Österreich 1, February 16, 2014)(mp3)
- "Kommissar Computer" (Deutsche Welle, January 1, 2014)
- "Mehr Einbrüche, weniger Polizisten" (MDR, Umschau, November 26, 2013)
- Verbrecherjagd 2.0 (E-Media 11/13)
- Verbrechen (WDR, Quarks, April 30, 2013)
- Polizisten als Hellseher (Berliner Morgenpost, November 7, 2011)
- Mathematik des Verbrechens (Die Welt, November 7, 2011, online version)
- Articles about the Summer Academy "Stochastic geometry, spatial statistics and random fields"
- Bernoulli News, 2010, Vol. 17, No. 1, p. 18
- Probability Theory and its Applications, 2009, Vol. 54, No. 3, p. 621 (english translation)
- Article about the MNU-Herbsttagung (Südwest-Presse, October 1, 2008)
- Schwäbisch für Stochastiker (Südwest-Presse, July 9, 2008)
- Workshop "Stochastic Geometry, Spatial Statistics and their Applications", February 2007
- Members of the Institute of Stochastics, July 2007
- Institute's party to celebrate Prof. Spodarev's tenure, October 2007
- Award for the cooperation with France Télécom, February 2008
- Zoom Into Science, April 2008
- 15th Workshop on Stochastic Geometry, Stereology and Image Analysis, March 2009
- Summer Academy "Stochastic geometry, spatial statistics and random fields", September 2009
- Hiking on July 18th, 2015
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What are Cataracts?
Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in the world. Studies have shown that about 10% of all Americans suffer from cataracts. The number drastically rises with age, 70% of Americans over the age of 75 suffer from cataracts. Despite the high number of people with cataracts, advances in technology have made cataract surgery one of the most successful surgical procedures in the world. Cataract surgery restores vision to patients and allows them to return to activities that may have been put on hold. With over one million cataract surgeries performed each year in the United States, cataract surgery has become the most common surgical procedure in the world.
The eye normally has a clear lens that is located just behind the pupil. A cataract occurs when the natural lens in the eye becomes cloudy. This usually occurs with age and becomes visually significant around age 60.
The lens is responsible for focusing light on the retina. When a cataract is present the amount of light that reaches the retina is diminished. As the cataract worsens, less and less light reaches the retina which causes the vision to become worse. Depending on the size of the cataract, the clouding effect may have either a small or great impact on the vision.
What is the cause of Cataracts?
Cataracts are usually age related and often affect people’s vision. A patient may have a cataract in each eye but the cataracts may develop at different paces. A cataract often is very slow in developing and the brain has time to process the reduction in vision. Thus, some patients may not even be aware that they suffer from a cataracts. On the other hand, some patients have a noticeable cataract and cannot see well enough to perform activities of daily living such as driving, golfing, or reading.
Cataracts are typically related to aging but there are also other kinds of cataracts. Congenital cataracts are present at birth. An injury to the head or the eye may cause a traumatic cataract. Secondary cataracts may be the result of systemic problems such as diabetes, another eye disease, or medications such as steroids.
What is the treatment for Cataracts?
The only treatment option available for a cataract is surgery. Surgery becomes necessary once the cataract starts to interfere with normal daily activities. There is no way to eliminate a cataract once it has developed in the eye. Once the cataract has become developed enough to be visually significant, it will require surgery. Your eye doctor will determine when surgery is best for you. The surgery is performed as an outpatient procedure, and is generally completed in about 15 minutes. The vast majority of patients will notice immediate results following their cataract removal.
What is the Recovery Process?
Patients are typically concerned about the cataract surgery recovery process. Dr. Gregg Feinerman provides the best quality care and thoroughly explains what you can expect after cataract surgery. Recovery from cataract surgery is generally very quick. Most patients obtain better vision within the first 24 hours of the procedure. Although people generally experience little to no discomfort, itching and mild discomfort can occur and are also normal after cataract surgery. Some tearing is also common. Your eye may be a little sensitive to light and touch for a few days after surgery. If you have any significant discomfort, you should notify your doctor. After one or two days, any moderate discomfort should disappear.
For a few days after surgery, your doctor may ask you to use eye drops to help healing and decrease the risk of infection. Ask your cataract eye doctor about how to use your eye drops, how often to use them, and what effects they can have. You will need to wear an eye shield or eyeglasses to help protect your eye. Avoid rubbing or pressing on your eye.
Choosing Your Cataract Surgeon
Selecting an Orange cataract surgeon can be difficult if you are not properly educated about cataracts, cataract surgery and advancements in the new technology. We hope that our educational ophthalmology website has provided an easy to understand outlook on the state of cataract surgery. Although cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed medical procedures it is highly suggested that you carefully select an Orange County cataract surgeon with a high level of experience who is using the latest techniques and technologies.
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The role of nanomaterials as effective adsorbents and their applications in wastewater treatment. Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry, March 2017, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp 1–14.
Nanomaterials have been extensively studied for heavy metal ions and dye removals from wastewater. This article reviews the role of nanomaterials as effective adsorbents for wastewater purification.
In recent years, numerous novel nanomaterial adsorbents have been developed for enhancing the efficiency and adsorption capacities of removing contaminants from wastewater.
The innovation, forthcoming development, and challenges of cost-effective and environmentally acceptable nanomaterials for water purification are discussed and reviewed in this article.
This review concludes that nanomaterials have many unique morphological and structural properties that qualify them to be used as effective adsorbents to solve several environmental problems.
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Hand embroidery is a traditional craft that has been practiced for hundreds of years and is used to decorate a wide range of items from handkerchiefs and throw pillows to tablecloths and clothing. There are numerous different embroidery stitches, the most common of which are outline, daisy, French knot, satin, cross and running stitch. The simplest of these is the running stitch, and mastery of this basic technique will enable a beginner to get started with hand embroidery.
Use an undecorated handkerchief or throw pillow in a white or light-colored, durable fabric such as cotton canvas or linen. Print your design onto paper to make a pattern. Trace the outline of your pattern using a heat transfer pencil on the reverse side of the paper. Place the pattern on top of the fabric and apply a hot iron to transfer the design.
Hold the fabric at an even tension by using an adjustable embroidery hoop. Separate the two concentric circles that make up the hoop. Place the fabric over the smaller of the two rings. Push the outer ring over the top of the fabric and inner ring and tighten with the screw.
Cut a length of embroidery thread (floss). Separate the strands of the embroidery thread which should come apart easily. Embroidery skeins typically consist of six strands. Three strands of thread is an ideal thickness for beginning hand embroidery. Thread the needle and secure the long end with a double knot.
Pull the threaded needle up through the fabric at the start of your design. Continue to pull the thread until it is secured by the knot on the underside of the material. You are ready to begin the running stitch.
Push the needle back through the material at a distance no greater than 1/4 inch to make the first stitch. Pull the needle in and out of the fabric, following the outline design, making stitches equal in length. Leave a gap in between the stitches of half the size of the original stitch.
Pull the last thread through to the underside of the material and secure with a knot. You can do this when you have covered the outline of your design in running stitch or when you wish to change colors. Cut off any leftover thread.
Work on a simple design with a continuous outline (such as a heart) to begin with. Move on to more complicated designs (such as flowers with details), when you have mastered the basic embroidery skills.
Most retial yarn/craft shops sell iron-on transfers that you can use instead of creating your own designs.
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en
| 0.920481 | 529 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The Shanghai Badlands: Wartime Terrorism and Urban Crime, 1937-1941
by Frederic Wakeman Jr.
Cambridge University Press, 227 pp., $49.95
Just over two thousand years ago, China’s first great historian, Sima Qian, decided to include a chapter on assassins in his long history of his newly united homeland. He chose five men as representative examples of those who had tried to kill Chinese leaders, and he explained the reasoning behind this decision in a brief note appended to the end of the chapter. In Burton Watson’s excellent translation, it reads: “Of these five men, from Ts’ao Mei to Ching K’o, some succeeded in carrying out their duty and some did not. But it is perfectly clear that they had all determined upon the deed. They were not false to their intentions. Is it not right, then, that their names should be handed down to later ages?”
The success or failure of the individual assassins was less important to Sima Qian than their sincerity. He understood that an assassin worth remembering had to be spurred on to his deed both by his inner determination and by the moral pressure of a minister or ruler whom he respected. As a sister of the assassin Nieh Cheng explained to the local townsmen, after viewing her brother’s defaced and mangled corpse exposed in the public marketplace for all to see, he had really had no choice in his reckless venture. He owed a debt to chief minister Yen Chung-tzu, at whose behest he had undertaken the assassination, for Yen had shown him generosity and trust that had to be reciprocated. As she put it to the listeners who crowded around her, “Yen Chung-tzu, recognizing my brother’s worth, lifted him up from hardship and disgrace and became his friend, treating him with kindness and generosity. So there was nothing he could do. A gentleman will always be willing to die for someone who recognizes his full worth.”
Nieh’s sister was here reflecting the hierarchical code of value and honor prevalent in China’s period of “the Warring States” in which these events took place. The Chinese term used by Sima Qian which we here translate as “assassin” is ci ke, where ci has the meaning of “to stab” and ke carries a sense of being a valued guest or retainer. But apart from this shared core of moral obligation, the five men depicted by Sima Qian undertook their ventures in very different ways, with different kinds of success.
The first, Ts’ao Mei, was a general who drew his dagger at a meeting attended by his own ruler and their main rival, threatening the rival with death unless he relinquished the land he had seized. The rival ruler grudgingly acquiesced. In this case, Ts’ao Mei’s goal was attained and no one was killed. In the second case, the assassin concealed a dagger in the belly of a fish that had been roasted for a banquet, and thus eluded the watchful guards of the ruler he sought to kill; as he came into the king’s …
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<urn:uuid:fe5b70c1-8990-4fdd-a271-b9c31704891d>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1998/may/28/goodfellas-in-shanghai/
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en
| 0.985371 | 665 | 2.75 | 3 |
In June 2001, a study was published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicating a stark racial disparity in the median life spans of people with Down syndrome. The study, based on an analysis of 34,000 multiple-cause mortality files from 1968 to 1997, indicated that the median age at death for white people with Down syndrome is 50 years, while it is 25 years for black people and 11 years for people of other races.
Although NDSS has operated on the assumption that a level of socio-economic disparity exists (due to poor health care, access to information and other factors), and has worked in a variety of ways to address it, NDSS was dismayed to learn that the racial disparity is so stark.
NDSS reinforces the study's assertion that there is no evidence indicating that people with Down syndrome who are black or of other races are more likely to develop life-threatening conditions associated with Down syndrome.
By working through a national network of parent support groups and a new health care professional program, NDSS has tried to address the larger issues of education (both professional and parental), community support and access to quality medical care. It is clear that more needs to be done that is specifically targeted to those who are black and of other races.
This issue is of utmost importance to NDSS and we are working on ways to address it. Further study to determine the causes of this disparity are critical. By determining the causes, NDSS can then be better equipped to address them and reduce this tragic disparity.
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http://www1.ndss.org/en/About-NDSS/Media-Kit/Position-Papers/Racial-Disparity/
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en
| 0.967852 | 313 | 3.3125 | 3 |
To improve advice and support for young people when moving between schools/colleges and into work, creating inspiring opportunities and exciting futures.
What is the issue?
The proportion of all pupils in sustained education, employment or training after key stage 4 is lower than the national average, for all pupils and for disadvantaged pupils. The Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) rate amongst sixteen to
eighteen year olds is high, despite work targeted at those of risk of becoming NEET.
Too many pupils leave school without English and maths GCSEs. The further education providers do excellent work to address this (with greater than average numbers achieving their GCSEs between the ages of sixteen and nineteen). However, by the age of nineteen the proportion of young people who are qualified to level two (GCSE or equivalent) in English and maths remains much lower than the national average.
Despite the strength of Blackpool Sixth Form and Blackpool and the Fylde College, and the diverse academic and vocational offer they provide, the proportion of nineteen year olds qualified to level three remains lower than the national average. For disadvantaged
nineteen years olds, the proportion is close to national average. A recent employer survey undertaken by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) found that many youngsters, particularly those leaving school at sixteen, are ill-prepared for the world of work and more needs to be done to equip them with the skills and confidence to succeed.
What are we doing?
- The careers and enterprise provision, funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company on behalf of each school and college, has commenced activity and an Enterprise Adviser has been appointed for each school. Cornerstone employers are offering support in Blackpool schools and colleges as part of the Employer Commitment.
- The Opportunity Area partnership board is currently assessing proposals to reduce NEET levels in Blackpool. Drawing on the experience of local partners who already work with the most vulnerable people in the area, evidence based, effective interventions will be taken forward.
- The National Citizen Service will identify one member of staff within each of the Blackpool secondary schools to participate in its School Coordinator Programme.
- By July 2018, young people in Blackpool aged 11 to 18 will have had over 14,000 meaningful encounters with employers.
- The proportion of young people who are in education, employment or training six months after leaving secondary school will place Blackpool in the top half of the country.
- The proportion of disadvantaged pupils undertaking a Higher and Degree Apprenticeship or going to university will put Blackpool in the top half of the country.
- Young people in Blackpool aged eleven to eighteen will have had over 46,000 meaningful encounters with employers.
- 540 young people will participate in the National Citizen Service.
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CC-MAIN-2020-05
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https://blackpoolopportunityarea.co.uk/priority-3/
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en
| 0.959899 | 564 | 2.53125 | 3 |
A filling, or what we call a restoration, is the clinical process of replacing or restoring the cavity or hole produced by tooth decay. Tooth decay is the result of bacteria entering through the hard enamel surface of the tooth and then disolving the softer dentine causing pain and discomfort.
There are basically four stages to producing a filling:
- To anaesthetise the tooth so that you feel no pain.
- To prepare the tooth to remove all traces of disease (decay).
- To line the cavity to protect the nerve in the tooth and to kill off any remaining bacteria.
- To replace the lost tooth tissue with a restorative material (filling).
We can now offer you a choice of restorative material (filling).
Old fashioned grey amalgam fillings are a basic restoration where a silver mercury amalgam is physically packed into the cavity. This is a cheap, easy and reliable restoration, but will often require more sound tooth to be removed during preparation as well as weakening the tooth further.
The alternative is to consider one of the newer bonded restorations, which in most cases provide a better long term filling. From a clinical point of view, bonded fillings require the destruction of less sound tooth tissue, and because of the bonding system, will make the tooth stronger, as well as sealing the tooth and therefore reducing sensitivity and preventing the bacteria ‘getting under’ the filling to cause further disease. Not only that, but many bonded fillings actively release fluoride which will combat further decay.
Bonded restorations can be either of low mercury amalgam, or modern tooth coloured composite resin. The advantage of composite is that only you know you have a filling!
We will always recommend the most clinically appropriate restoration for each case.
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CC-MAIN-2023-50
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https://www.churchfielddental.co.uk/our-services/fillings
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en
| 0.926485 | 363 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Welcome to Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge
Fern Cave NWR is one of eleven National Wildlife Refuges located in the State of Alabama.
- Established: Fern Cave NWR was purchased in 1981 “... to conserve (A) fish or wildlife which are listed as endangered species or threatened species... or (B) plants... U.S.C. 1534 (Endangered Species Act of 1973).”
- Acres: 199
- Location: Fern Cave NWR is located on the western slope of Nat Mountain. From Huntsville, take U.S. Highway 72 north to Gurley. North of Gurley, turn left on Jackson County road 500 just after U.S. Highway 72 crosses the Paint Rock River. CR 500 is closed at a gate but access by foot traffic is still allowed. Road access is extremely difficult. Follow the old road as it winds along the Paint Rock River along the southwest base of Nat Mountain and look for National Wildlife Refuge signs.
- Administered by: Fern Cave is a satellite Refuge of Wheeler NWR in nearby Decatur, AL. Fern Cave NWR is currently unstaffed and all management activities are carried out by Wheeler NWR staff.
- Wildlife: Fern Cave contains the largest wintering colony of gray bats in the United States with over one million bats hibernating there in the winter. Bat experts also think that as many as one million Indiana bats may be using the cave. The endangered American Hart's-tongue fern also occurs on the Refuge and many species of resident wildlife such as deer, squirrels, and turkey are common.
- Habitats: Fern Cave NWR consists of 199 acres of forested hillside underlain by a massive cave with many stalactite and stalagmite-filled rooms. The cave has five hidden entrances with four occurring on the Refuge. Access is extremely difficult and has been described as a vertical and horizontal maze by expert cavers. Horizontal sections of the cave are known to be more than 15 miles long and vertical drops of 450 feet are found within. Spectacular features including unrivaled formations, important paleological and archaeological finds, and a diverse cave fauna have contributed to Fern Cave as being described as the most spectacular cave in the U.S. and has fame both nationally and internationally.
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<urn:uuid:1c04379b-eaed-4a01-a4da-31e79d47a74f>
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CC-MAIN-2014-15
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http://www.fws.gov/ferncave/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609539705.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005219-00186-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.963567 | 474 | 3.046875 | 3 |
2011 Canadian Computing Competition, Stage 1
Problem S3: Alice Through the Looking Glass
Alice is looking at a crystal through a microscope. Alice’s microscope has the interesting feature that it can superimpose grid lines over the image that she is looking at.
At level 1 of magnification, Alice sees the image as follows:
Notice that at level 1, there is a 5 × 5 grid superimposed over the image.
However, as Alice increases the magnification, the leaf pattern becomes more intricate.
At level 2 of the magnification, Alice sees the image with a 25 × 25 grid, and notices that three of the four larger squares in the original image have the small four square pattern on top. In fact, for this particular crystal, this self-similarity repeats for each magnification level.
Given that Alice's microscope has up to 13 levels of magnification, she would like to try to quantify the detail of each grid cell at every one of these magnification levels.
Specifically, since there is a 5m × 5m grid at magnification level m, Alice will call the bottom-left corner grid cell (0, 0), the bottom-right grid cell (5m − 1, 0), the top-left grid cell (0, 5m − 1), and the top-right grid cell (5m − 1, 5m − 1).
Given an integer magnification level and a grid position, Alice would like to know if her crystal will fill that grid cell, or if that grid cell will be empty space.
The first line of input will be T (0 < T ≤ 10), the number of test cases. On each of the next T lines there will be three integers: m (1 ≤ m ≤ 13), followed by x and y (0 ≤ x, y < 5m), the position of the grid cell that Alice wishes to examine.
The output will be T lines. Each line of output will either be
empty, if the specified grid cell is empty, or
crystal if that grid cell contains crystal.
4 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 1 2 8 5
empty crystal crystal crystal
Note: At least 40% of the test cases will have m < 4.
Point Value: 10 (partial)
Time Limit: 2.00s
Memory Limit: 16M
Added: Mar 01, 2011
C++03, PAS, C, HASK, ASM, RUBY, PYTH2, JAVA, PHP, SCM, CAML, PERL, C#, C++11, PYTH3
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https://wcipeg.com/problem/ccc11s3#comment7772
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en
| 0.853103 | 554 | 2.96875 | 3 |
There are different ways you can be a good neighbor, so here are five tips based on common animals in the San Diego region.
Trim Trees in Fall
When trees are dormant, that’s the best time for trimming. As the weather warms, local wildlife begin building their nests in trees, so trimming in spring and summer can lead to the destruction of bird’s nests and wildlife habitats. If a nest is actively in use, the US Fish & Game’s Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits disturbing nests and can levy fines if the regulation is disregarded.
Don’t Use Rat Poison
Young raptors will often eat dead mice and other rodents and will become ill from the poison. Appreciate raptors for their natural ability to control rodents.
Cover Reflective Windows
Use non-reflective cellophane, a screen or a similar material to prevent birds from crashing into them.
Watch Your Pets
Accompany small pets outdoors, especially during the winter raptor migration months of September through April. Keep your pet cat indoors if you have finches in your yard. Due to their tiny size, finches are easy prey to an agile cat.
Feeding Birds Naturally
Most people enjoy watching songbirds. But when it comes to caring for wild birds, what’s better than bird feeders? Native plants! Adding native plants like alder, chamise or California lilac to your yard or garden is a great way to attract birds while encouraging them to feed on natural resources. These plants also protect songbirds from predators and prevent the spread of diseases.
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CC-MAIN-2023-40
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https://resources.sdhumane.org/Resource_Center/Educational_Materials/Coexisting_with_Wildlife/Five_Ways_to_Be_a_Friend_to_Wild_Animals
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en
| 0.904115 | 333 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The facts, though, seem impressive enough. The total world population in 1900 was 1.6 billion; Muslims numbered just below 200 million, and Christians 558 million. In 1970, the total world population was 3.7 billion with a Muslim population of 549 million and Christians at 1.2 billion. In 2006, Muslims numbered 1.3 billion and Christians 2.15 billion, including 1.3 billion Catholics. In less than forty years, the number of Christians in the world had nearly doubled, and Muslims had more than doubled (World Christian Encyclopedia 2001, vol. 1, 12ff).
The statistics for one twelve-month period at the early phase of the recent return of religion showed that twenty-five million people changed their religious affiliation, of whom eighteen million were converts to Christianity, and seven million defectors from Christianity to other religions, making Christianity the most active and most diverse religious frontier in the world (Encyclopedia Britannica World Data, 1992; on diversity, see Sanneh and Carpenter 2005).
Religious expansion in Africa entered its most vigorous phase following the end of colonial and missionary hegemony. In 1900, the Muslim population of Africa was 34.5 million, compared to roughly 8.7 million Christians, a ratio of 4:1. By 1985, Christians outnumbered Muslims in Africa. Of the continent’s total population of 520 million, Christians numbered 270.5 million, compared to about 216 million Muslims. By 2000, Christians in Africa had grown to 346 million, and Africa’s 315 million Muslims were concentrated mostly in the Arabic speaking regions of Egypt and in north and west Africa. Projections for 2025 are for 600 million Christians and 519 million Muslims in Africa. The Christian figures represent a continental shift of historic proportions.
Europe (including Russia) and North America in 1900 had a combined Christian population of 423 million—82 percent of the world’s Christians— compared to 94 million for the rest of the world. By 2005, Europe and North America accounted for only 35 percent of the world’s Christians; their 758 million Christians were far fewer than the 1.4 billion in the rest of the world. Thus, 65 percent of the world’s Christians now live in the southern hemisphere and in East Asia, areas that have become Christianity’s new stronghold. Increasingly, Europe is a new Christian margin.
Charismatic Christianity has been the driving engine of this expansion and is largely responsible for the dramatic shift in the religion’s center of gravity. In 1900 there were 981,000 Pentecostals; in 1970, over seventy-two million; and in 2005, nearly 590 million. The projections are that by 2025, Pentecostals/ Charismatics will number nearly eight hundred million. Now exploding in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and China, Pentecostal Christianity may become the most widespread form of Christianity, with as yet unquantifiable effects on mainline churches and on global politics (Bays 1995).
As David Martin has shown, in Latin America the prominence of women Pentecostals has affected the machismo culture of the traditional military establishment (Martin 1990; see also Freston 2001). Female politicians draw on the energy of the Pentecostal movement to effect social change. Pentecostalism is also riding a wave of Latin American demographic changes, including immigration into the United States. Of the thirty-seven million Latino immigrants in the United States, the vast majority are Pentecostals, in both Catholic and Protestant denominations (see World Christian Encyclopedia 2001, vol. 1, 191–198; Burgess and Van Der Maas 2003, 286ff). The convergence of these immigrant Pentecostals with native US evangelical groups, such as the Christian Coalition, health-and-wealth gospelites, and the burgeoning mega-church phenomenon, has raised the political stakes in mainstream America and impacted the evangelical missionary agenda (See The Economist, “In the World of Good and Evil,” 14 September 2006; On US evangelical missions abroad see Brouwer, Gifford, and Rose 1996, Gifford 1995, 1998, and 2004).
While Latino Pentecostals have some things in common with US evangelicals, other branches of post-Western Christianity find themselves at odds with Christians in the West. Splits in the Anglican Communion over appointing gay clergy have turned into confessional shrapnel with global range. The historic GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) meeting in Jerusalem in June 2008 brought together at very short notice more than 1,200 conservative bishops and others leaders, many of whom were from “Global South” Anglican provinces in Africa and South America. The Jerusalem agenda was dominated by pilgrimage trips to holy sites: the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, the Temple Mount, and Galilee. In plenary sessions the participants were led in devotions, hymn singing, Bible study, prayer and supplication. The leaders spoke with respect and regret about the rupture of faith and order in the church, and asked for prayer for the impending Lambeth Conference of July 2008. A spirit of joy and thanksgiving suffused the conference as participants reflected on what it meant to visit the holy sites and to walk where Jesus walked and to see where he was tried, arrested, and crucified. Pilgrimage assumed a potent force for these post-Western Christians, loosening Christianity in their minds from its captivity in the West. The fact that they were on holy ground gave them the confidence to disavow spiritual tutelage under the West. That confidence manifested itself in charismatic prayer and devotion, suggesting that charismatic influence is probably as much of a concern for American Episcopalians as the homosexuality issue.
The Christian resurgence has coincided with the emergence of radical Islam to upset calculations on a different front, creating uncertainty and instability with the outbreak of new cultural tensions and conflicts. Philip Jenkins, for example, sees a double jeopardy in the potential for the onset of new Crusades and a cultural clash with liberal Christianity (Jenkins 2002). The West is at a crucial crossroad in its relations with Islam, and it has been weighing its options, as shown by Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg comments about the role of forced conversions in Islam. The issue is not new, even though the consequences of misunderstanding are today far more serious. When in the 1740s Frederick the Great of Prussia formed the first lancer unit from Tartar Muslim deserters from the Russian army, he did so out of his commitment to Enlightenment ideals of religious toleration. Frederick allocated a prayer room for the use of Muslim troops, but only on Sundays! Less clumsily, he later had a Muslim cemetery built in Berlin. Through ups and downs, the Muslim community survived in Germany. Recently, a more radical form of Islam has spread across national boundaries. Perhaps even more disconcerting is the fact that this new, more threatening form of Islam has become implanted in areas of economic prosperity and mobility in the West, defying arguments focused on deprivation, geographical alienation, and lack of access as reasons for its emergence. Max Weber observed that Islam is not a religion of salvation, and so he dropped it from his theory of modernization (Weber 1978 vol. i, 625, and vol. ii, 1076, 1096-7, 1183). Yet he did not on that account predict that Islam would have no future, which suggests that Islam’s future will diverge from the secularization scenario.
Religion in China: Repression and Reemergence
The religious awakening appears to have spread to China—a surprising vector given the country’s thoroughgoing program to eradicate religion. In 1949, the year of the triumph of Mao Tse-Tung’s Marxist-Leninist revolution—the church’s 9/11, you might say—there were about four million Christians in China, divided between three million Catholics and one million Protestants. Mao’s antagonism to foreign agents did not spare Christianity, except briefly in the Hundred Flowers Period which opened in May 1956. But a year later, in June 1957, that leniency was abruptly revoked as the Great Leap Forward campaign was launched. Buddhist, Christian, and other religious institutions were hit by new restrictions, with religious leaders becoming ever more entangled in the overweening thicket of official decrees directed at them. In the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution starting in 1966, seventeen million urban youths known as the Red Guards were deployed to stalk the countryside. They wreaked widespread havoc, sacking ancient Buddhist temples and Christian churches. Alarmed by the excesses of the Red Guards, Mao tried in vain in 1968 to rein them in. Their uprising was not quelled until 1976; by then religions in China had retreated to the netherworld of secret meetings, house worship, home Bible study, and nocturnal assemblies.
Meanwhile, Western observers predicted the end of religion, saying that nothing was more apt for China than for Christianity’s God to be the one “who knew the way of the grave” (Pro Mundi Vita Society 1975, 11).1 China’s Marxist success achieved the goals for which missionaries had striven in vain. Joseph Needham of Cambridge, a magisterial authority on Chinese civilization, declared that China had accepted the spirit of Christ from another source, namely, from Marxism, and that “China is the only truly Christian country in the world in the present day, in spite of its absolute rejection of all religion” (Pro Mundi Vita 1975, 16–17). Weaned from faith in false absolutes and fortified with the aura of proletarian liberation, true believers must henceforth march to the chant of “What a comrade we have in Jesus!”
It did not occur to most observers that religion might have a future in China. Official Chinese policies about religion, however, began to vacillate and show cracks through which the wind of change was blowing. Party cadres, now less starry-eyed about Mao and less doom-and-gloom laden about religion, had come up for air. Beholding a mesmerizing world of material affluence beckoning on their horizon, they began to relent. At the beginning of the government’s liberalization program in 1978, Deng Xiaoping announced an easing of restrictions on religion. The following year, to universal astonishment, Deng roused the Chinese Communist Party to “seek truth from facts”—code for deserting Mao’s legacy. This initiative opened the way for the return of religion. Religious institutions felt vindicated for not having hauled down their colors, and piped to the new generation in the airs of Marxist-Leninist liberation, in the hope that communists would dance.
As the flood receded, the rock reappeared. Churches bounced back as the government made good on promises of restitution for properties seized and wrongs committed. In the revised constitution of 1982, religious rights were reaffirmed under Article Thirty-Six, followed by the publication of Document Nineteen concerning religious policy in China. The document essentially repudiated the excesses of the Great Cultural Revolution against religion as a “leftist mistake.” Churches must be rebuilt, clergy educated, and believers protected, the declaration said. Some 4,000 Protestant and 2,000 Catholic churches were reopened or rebuilt (Pro Mundi Vita Studies 1990). It did not take long for high-ranking officials to declare open sympathy for religion, and by 1986 the thaw had created a stream of official endorsements, including subsidies for church reconstruction projects. According to a report in 2003, in addition to the 45,000 registered churches in existence, between 30,000 and 40,000 groups affiliated with the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement were still waiting for their turn to register (Burklin 2003, 8–9). In Global Catholicism: Portrait of a World Church (Froehle and Gautier 2003, 178–80), the number of Catholics in mainland China is estimated at 7.5 million.
The return of religion to China was complicated by external pressure on the church combined with internal struggles between the “open,” officially sanctioned, registered church and the unregistered, “underground” church under papal jurisdiction. There was expansion, but it carried the double challenges of secret believers who had to assemble in unauthorized places and of officially co-opted members in the licensed churches.
By the turn of the century, the ongoing expansion pointed to the strategic role religion was poised to play in China and to the qualitative shifts underway (Bays 2003, 491). The government had been sending mixed messages. On one hand, it banned the Falungong spiritual discipline in 1999 and published “Office 610,” designed to combat what the government called “evil cults.” On the other hand, this religious clampdown was accompanied by measured Western-style economic liberalization. Reports in 2005 spoke of some 90,000 people being baptized in the Catholic Church in 2003, but the reports also noted the caution of the bishops about the numbers (China Church Quarterly, Winter 2005). The underlying question remains: What does the return of religion might mean for China’s future? Hardcore Marxism-Leninism no longer seemed a plausible option, as is evident in the new Chinese textbooks being produced that are suddenly coy about Mao and Marxism.2 That widens the crack for a substantial reemergence of religion in China.
Although available statistics are not conclusive, they do show momentum and direction for Christianity in China, with particular energy and dynamism in the underground church movement. Some sources estimate that there are between thirty and fifty million believers in China, while others, such as the World Christian Encyclopedia, put the figure at eighty-nine million.3 The official Public Security Bureau gives the figure of twenty-five million Christians in China, but that figure excludes unofficial so-called “house churches.”
In China, both sympathy for religion and official unease about it run deep, all of which makes historical prediction a hazardous business. “Registered” religious life is easier to document, but it is also less reliable. Uninhibited forms of religion are a more reliable barometer of local reality, but they are far less accessible. The revival flame fuels the state repression on which it feeds, making religious practice disorganized, state control uneven, and record-keeping uncertain.
The underlying trend, however, is steadily toward a reconfiguring of the Chinese intellectual landscape. A generation of educated Chinese have grown up under the “open door” policy of Deng and have been influenced by works such as R. H. Tawney’s Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, resulting in revisionist changes in the dominant ideology favoring a command economy. Similarly, the one-child policy of the government has altered the basic family structure and is fueling a culture of individualism, which resonates with the message of individual salvation. Jiang Zeming, the Communist Party leader, is reported to have responded to a question in early 2002 about the kind of legacy he would like to leave in China, saying that he would propose to make Christianity the official religion of China and suggesting, perhaps in jest, replacing the official ideology with a faith based order.4
In the post-9/11 world, China’s religious transformation in which “the Chinese dragon [will be] tamed by the power of the Christian Lamb,” according to Aikman and others, would predispose it to join an international community of shared public values (Aikman “Chinese Christianity”; also Aikman Jesus in Beijing).5 For his part, Huo Shui, a former Chinese government political analyst, contends that “Christianity has finally taken root in Shenzhou—in China, the land of God” (2003, 10).
In an age of globalization, with its post-9/11 nervousness, the reality of the return of religion has superseded the center-periphery historiography of post-colonial discourse and even the secularization theory of development. One can explain away or even quibble with the resurgence, but one can scarcely deny that the ground has shifted, and with it the scope and direction of religious faith.
Postlude: New World Horizons
America’s conception of itself as a virtuous nation is constantly challenged by the burdensome sense of the power it wields and is severely tested when the exercise of power ends in disaster, as happened in Vietnam, or when power fails to deter, as happened on 9/11. A period of soul-searching follows in which commentators agonize openly about the spiritual costs to America’s virtuous heritage.
Conor Cruise O’Brien pointed out that no European writer would be likely to claim innocence as a characteristic of his or her country, whereas in America, innocence is more than a mawkish conceit; it represents a powerful and active ferment of meaning that has worked throughout American history. American innocence is not about being free from sin, guilt, or moral wrong, which is the dictionary meaning, but about being chosen for a moral end. That idea of innocence first came to America with the English Puritans for whom Milton spoke when he wrote about England as a new Zion out of which “should be proclaimed and sounded the first tidings and trumpet to all Europe.” The idea of innocence had gone sour in England as a result of the experience of the Commonwealth under Cromwell, but in his “Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America,” Bishop Berkeley indicated that America was the inheritor of the idea. It is an arresting thought that ideas are hard to kill, and so the “idea of America” as a New World ideal may be considered imperishable.
In any case, America’s peculiar notion of innocence is that it is something yet to be realized and achieved after a process of trial and refinement made necessary by Old World corruption. American innocence is not determined by the historical record; it is something mortgaged to the future and is a function of the American character. G. K. Chesterton’s remark about how people become miserable not when their circumstances are miserable but when their hearts are miserable captures this character trait in Americans. It is no accident that while the Oxford English Dictionary defines innocence in terms of exemption from moral wrong and being free of sin, and alternatively as naïve, Webster defines innocence in terms of “purity of the heart,” without guile or cunning. For the OED innocence is a function of being; for Webster it is a question of character and attitude: one can be innocent by virtue of one’s goals, intentions, and good-will. The American Heritage Dictionary, which takes a prescriptive view of language, is even more explicit when it explains that innocence is a condition that is uncorrupted by malice or wrong-doing and consists in being candid and straightforward. In a world of good and evil, American innocence is on the side of good against evil. America’s role in history is to define that fundamental polarity and to prove that good will overcome evil, that good-will will trump hate, and that being candid and straightforward is morally superior to prevarication and disingenuousness. American enterprise is built—and in the present economic crisis, is risked—on that foundation. As James Fallows put it in his evaluation of Sino-American relations, Americans lack tragic imagination (2008), the imagination that things can go horribly wrong. This idea was echoed by Marilynne Robinson when she wrote, “Americans never think of themselves as sharing fully in the human condition, and therefore as beset as all humankind is beset” (quoted in Wood 2008).
That distinction is crucial to our understanding of America’s place in the current world Christian awakening. O’Brien argues that the sense of American innocence, and the liberal cause that championed it since FDR, suffered a setback in the debacle of Vietnam, only to be resuscitated in the wake of the taking of American hostages in Iran in 1979. The trauma of 9/11 became the event that compelled Americans once more to confront their faith in their innocence. What makes the myth of American innocence so unique and resilient is that if Americans are forced to look at something ugly in themselves, they are more likely than any other people to do something about it because of their faith that the best is yet to be. O’Brien says that when Europeans look to the United States, they feel they are looking at themselves in the process of becoming (1980). When put in the context of World Christianity, America is the harbinger of the shape of things to come. The very diversity that immigration has sustained makes America fertile ground for the forces driving the world Christian resurgence and gives that resurgence a solid basis in the possibility of the good. The European connection that has for so long identified America with its Old World origins now has global resonance. The changing face of America reveals a recognizable world Christian profile, and, to that extent, world Christianity has a built-in affinity with New World ideas of individual and collective optimism. Captives will be set free, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, risks rewarded, and the poor replenished. The American dream is tailor-made for the shape of things to come.
The wave of the post-Western awakening has, accordingly, washed up on America’s shores. A growing number of US-born Christians, for example, are being swept up in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, and one study estimates that 54 percent of Pentecostals are US-born, of which 24 percent are white, 29 percent Hispanic, and 35 percent black. There are said to be fifty-nine million Pentecostals in North America. In New York City alone, over 4,000 churches with a membership of some 800,000 are counted in this number. Mainline churches have responded to the awakening by embracing Pentecostalism’s intimate and earnest worship style (David Gonzalez, New York Times, 14 January 2007).
Americans are not afraid of change, which makes them faithful heirs to the Founding Fathers for whom, to cite Thomas Paine, America is the Adam of the New World. In similar fashion, the early Americans had an unshakable faith in the popular will as the source of legitimate power and authority. In response to the challenge of a British officer to the legitimacy of his authority, George Washington responded that while it is the case that class and pedigree determined rank and status in British society, that was not so in America. “I cannot conceive a rank more honorable,” he wrote, “than that which flows from the uncorrupted Choice of a brave and free People—the purest Source and original Fountain of all Power.” Washington upheld that dictum by making the war he was engaged in serve its cause. As I explained in Abolitionists Abroad (2000), this American view of politics, society, and religion, when crossed with the corresponding evangelical awakening, had an immediate and irreversible impact on the trans-Atlantic history of missions in Africa and elsewhere. Thus was laid the infrastructure of missions to oppressed and destitute sections of society at home and abroad, people whose souls are every bit as precious as the souls of kings and princes who dominated earlier mission efforts. The “idea of America” proved impossible to contain; it haunts us in history as well as from all directions, including from China, the next frontier of the post-Western awakening.
Lamin Sanneh is the D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity and Professor of History at Yale University. This essay is based on a lecture presented to the Valparaiso University Inaugural Symposium on 15 October 2008.
Aikman, David. “Chinese Christianity: Turning the Nation Around.” ChinaSource, vol. 5, no. 1 (Spring 2003).
_____. Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2003.
Bays, Daniel H. “Chinese Protestant Christianity Today.” The China Quarterly, vol. 174 (June 2003), 488–504.
_____. “Indigenous Protestant Churches in China, 1900-1937: A Pentecostal Case Study.” In Indigenous Responses to Western Christianity. Steven Kaplan ed. New York: New York University, 1995.
Brouwer, Steve, Paul Gifford and Susan D. Rose, eds. Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Burgess, Stanley M. and Eduard M. Van Der Maas, eds. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised and expanded. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Burklin, Erik. “The Greatest Need in the Chinese Church: The China Christian Council Confronts the Task of Theological Education.” ChinaSource, vol. 5, no. 1, (Spring 2003), 8–9.
Chesterton, G. K. The Everlasting Man. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1953. China Church Quarterly. “[Chinese] Bishops Visit Europe,” No. 61 (Winter 2005).
Fallows, James “The $1.4 Trillion Question.” The Atlantic, January/February 2008, 36-48.
Freston, Paul. Evangelicals and Politics in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University, 2001.
Froehle, Bryan T. and Mary L. Gautier. Global Catholicism: Portrait of a World Church. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 2003.
Gifford, Paul, ed. Christian Churches and the Democratization of Africa. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995.
_____. African Christianity: Its Public Role. London: Hurst & Company, 1998.
_____. Ghana’s New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalizing African Economy. London: Hurst & Company, 2004.
Huo Shui, “View from the Wall: China, the Greatest Christian Nation in the World?” ChinaSource, vol. 5, no. 4 (Winter 2003).
Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. New York: Oxford University, 2002.
Martin, David. Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America. Oxford: Blackwell, 1990.
O’Brien, Conor Cruise. “Purely American: Innocent Nation, Wicked World.” Harper’s Magazine, April 1980.
Pro Mundi Vita Society. China and the Churches in the Making of One World. Brussels, International Research and Information Center, 1975.
Pro Mundi Vita Studies, “The Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China,” no. 15, (June 1990), 13-14.
Sanneh, Lamin. Abolitionists Abroad: American Blacks and the Making of Modern West Africa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University 2001.
Sanneh, Lamin and Joel A. Carpenter, eds. The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World. New York: Oxford University, 2005.
Song, Choan-Seng, Jesus, the Crucified People. New York: Crossroad, 1990.
Weber, Max. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich, eds. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California, 1978.
Wood, James. “The Homecoming.” The New Yorker, 8 September 2008.
1. The phrase is adapted from G.K. Chesterton who meant something entirely different by it. Christianity had had five deaths by his time, he said, and “risen again” because “it had a god who knew the way out of the grave” (1953, chapter vi).
2. New history textbooks in China skimp on any mention of the communist revolution, including socialism. Only a single sentence is devoted to the Communist Revolution in China before the 1979 reforms. As for Mao, he is mentioned only once, and that in a chapter on etiquette. “Nearly overnight the country’s most prosperous schools have shelved the Marxist template that had dominated standard history texts since the 1950s.” The changes are part of a broader effort to present a more stable and less violent view of Chinese history, a view that serves the country’s economic and political goals. “Where’s Mao? Chinese Revise History Books,” New York Times, 1 September 2006.
3. For the sake of comparison, the same source gives 19 million Christians in South Korea, 62.3 million in India and 27.8 million in Indonesia (World Christian Encyclopedia, second edition, 2001).
4. Jiang formally relinquished power at the Party Congress convened from 7–15 November 2002, when he was succeeded by Hu Jintao.
5. The Christian outcome in China may be more complex, according to Choan-Seng Song (1990), who speaks of “the cross in the lotus world,” indicating thereby the importance of the perennial Buddhist tradition.
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Natchez was visited by La Salle and party in 1682, but did not receive its first white settlers until 1698, when Pere Davion, who shortly after located where Port Adams now is,-and Pere St. Cosme, who remained among the Indians at that point and remained until the year 1707 arrived. The latter was killed by the Chittimaches near Donaldsonville, La., while en route to that Indian town. On February 11, 1700, Lemoyne d’Iberville and Lemoyne Bienville, accompanied by Henri de Tonti, who visited them at Biloxi, arrived at Natchez and were welcomed by Pere St. Cosme. The proposition to establish a post there was well received and the name La Ville de Rosalie aux Natchez was bestowed upon the site. The cabin of the chief and the temple of the sun were soon given neighbors in the shape of stately log huts and the foundations of a city were made. In 1716 a fort was constructed at that point, and in 1718 the plantation of M. de la Houssaye, on St. Catherine’ s creek, was opened, and a house for the owner erected in the village. The farms of Pellerin and Bellecourt were opened close by in 1819, and in 1820 the great plantation of Hubert was cleared on that creek, the gristmill, the forge, the armory and the machine-shop were erected and equipped, and the Montplaisir tobacco farm, within a half-myriameter, or about three miles of the village, established. No sooner was this settlement made than British intrigue introduced trouble, and the disagreements between the colonists and Indians, leading up to the massacre of 1729, were commenced. The history of this terrible affair is given in the second chapter of the general history of the state. Enough here to state that the French colony at Natchez was exterminated and in turn, the Natchez themselves were blotted off the face of the earth by the French colonial troops and Choctaws in 1732. In 1745 there were eight white males (soldiers), two Negro families, and fifteen Negro slaves at Natchez. In 1751 there were fifty soldiers in garrison there. In 1772 the British ventured in, and their leader, Col. Anthony Hutchins, located lands on St. Catherine’s creek. Five years later the British purchased the Natchez district from the Choctaws for a few presents, although they had parceled it out to favorites in 1772, Hutchins being given a large tract, including the White Apple village and twenty-five thousand acres to Amos Ogden. In 1772 Richard and Samuel Swayze of New Jersey purchased nineteen thousand acres from Captain Ogden at twenty cents per acre, and in the fall settled where is now Kingston, in Adams County. Samuel was a Congregational preacher, and as his own and other families who came with them to settle here were members of this society, he had little trouble in organizing the first protestant religious association in the Natchez country, or even in the whole South. In 1780 fears of Indian attack drove those settlers to Natchez post, where Samuel took up lands on the east bank of St. Catherine’s bayou. They selected lands on the Homochitto. Four years later (1776) the new town of Natchez boasted of twenty houses, log and frame, located under the bluff. The merchants were James Willing, an American; Captain Bloomart, a British pensioner; Thomas Barber and Hanchett & Newman. The planters in the neighborhood had almost reached that stage of prosperity which the French planters were enjoying when the massacre of 1729 wiped them out. The new British colonists of Natchez were not to be exempt, their unreasonable exhibition of tory proclivities, their professed preference for British rule and the opportunities to aid the British soldiery attracted the attention of the fathers of the republic, and James Willing, who resided among and knew them, was commissioned to win them over to the Revolution or crush their power to help the enemy. How well he succeeded is part of the national history as it is of that of the state. In 1779-80 the Spanish troops drove the British from west Florida and placed Colonel Grand Pre in charge of a small garrison at Natchez. In April, 1782, colonists made a demonstration against the Spanish, and by the use of a forged letter urged the Spanish officer to surrender Fort Panmure (named so by the British in.1764), then the name of the post. The Britishers took possession and sent the garrison under guard to Loftus Hights. Arrived at that point a Spanish force was observed ascending the river. The captors released the captives and fled. The commander of the Spaniards was Major Mulligan, and he, without delay, went in pursuit, came up with the fugitives, killed fourteen, and captured many. The colonists fled in mortal fear, among the first to go being the Hutchins, Dwights, and Lymans, leaders of the opposition; but the Spaniards exercised the greatest moderation and there was little or no loss inflicted upon the miserable sectionalists.
On March 29, 1798, the Spanish garrison evacuated Natchez, and Captain Gruion installed a garrison of United States troops.
The population of Natchez in 1785 was one thousand five hundred and fifty, and in 1788, two thousand six hundred and seventy-nine; in 1812, one thousand and twenty-one whites, four hundred and fifty-nine slaves, and thirty-one others, numbering one thousand five hundred and eleven; in 1820, one thousand four hundred and forty-eight whites, and seven hundred and thirty-six Negroes; in 1837, three thousand seven hundred and thirty-one; in 1870, nine thousand and fifty-seven; in 1880, seven thousand and fifty-eight; and in 1890, ten thousand one hundred and forty-nine.
An act to incorporate the city of Natchez was passed by the territorial legislature March 10, 1803. The first meeting of the common council was held April 9, 1803, with Samuel Brooks, mayor; Lewis Kerr, recorder; and Samuel Neil, an alderman. Samuel Brooks was mayor a long time; but as the record books were destroyed nothing is certain regarding his immediate successors. The mayors and presidents of the council from 1815 to the present time are named as follows: Edward Turner, 1815; William McComas, 1818; Robert W. Wood, 1855; John Hunter, 1859-63; William Dix, 1866; John W. Weldon, 1869; Robert H. Wood, 1871-4; Henry C. Griffin, 1874-83; I. Lowenberg, 1883-7; William H. Mallery, 1887-9, and W. G. Benbrook, 1889-91.
The first postmaster appointed for Natchez by the United States was Abijah Hunt, commissioned July 1, 1800. This was the first post office established in Mississippi by the United States that at the Chickasaw agency, in charge of James McIntosh, being the second, January 1, 1802, and that at Greenville, established September 10, 1803, with John Shaw master, the third.
Natchez in 1812 was no unimportant place. There was nothing to interfere with the prosperity, save the threatened invasion and subjection of the United States by the British. Marchalk’s almanac of that year paints the town in words and figures thus:
“Four tailor shops, three blacksmiths, four saddlers, six carpenters, five cabinetmakers, one coach and sign painter, three hatters, two tinners, four boot and shoemakers, one trunk maker, one bookbinder, one wagon maker, one chair maker, one nail factory, three barbers, four brickyards, one butcher, four bakers, one brush maker, three gold and silver-smiths, one confectioner and distiller, four bricklayers, one horse mill (corn), one plasterer, twelve water carts, eight physicians, seven lawyers, three English schools, one incorporated mechanics’ society, one Free Mason lodge, four magistrates, three printing offices, with weekly papers, two porterhouses, six public inns, five warehouses, one reading room and coffee-house, twenty-four drygoods stores, four groceries, two wholesale stores, seventeen catalenes, one commission store, one bank of Mississippi, capital $500,000, managed by thirteen directors, with Stephen Minor president. Under the ‘ Hill ‘ were two blacksmith shops, one tavern and thirteen catalenes.”
Among the giants of the old Natchez bar were: Wm. B. Griffith; Robert Walker, United States senator from Mississippi, and secretary of the treasury under Polk; Felix and Eli Houston; John A. Quitman, governor of state and member to congress, and a distinguished general in the Mexican war; Thomas B. Reed; George Winchester; John T. McMurrain; S. S. Boyd; William Vannerson, who died in 187], and is spoken of as the Nestor of the Mississippi bar; Alexander Montgomery; G. M. Davis; Grafton Baker; Aylett Baker; Ralph North, ex-circuit judge, and Gen. Wm. T. Martin. Among these might be mentioned Hon. S. S. Prentiss, though he practiced here but a short time.
Church societies of nearly all denominations are represented in Natchez. The Catholic Church dates its foundation here to 1698, when Father John B. Buisson de St. Cosme, Father Davion, and other priests established missions among the Natchez. In 1885 St. Mary’s cathedral was dedicated. The erection of this magnificent church edifice was begun in 1841 and completed in 1885 at a total cost of $78,241. St. Mary’s cathedral is a handsome Gothic structure of brick, the most graceful building in the state. It has a beautiful and well proportioned spire, one hundred and ninety-six feet high, surmounted with a cross. In this steeple there was placed in 1881, the result of a provision in the will of P. H. McGraw, a fine clock with four large dials, one of which is illuminated. The Protestant churches date to a period early in the eighteenth century; indeed, the Methodists had missionaries or itinerants here in 1799. A Presbyterian church was organized at Pine Ridge February 25, 1807, by Rev. J. Smylie. This church is still in existence, and is the oldest Presbyterian Church in Adams County.
The organization of the Presbyterian Church at Natchez was practically effected in 1817 by the enrollment of eight persons as members. The Rev. Daniel Smith, a clergyman from New England, who had been laboring as a domestic missionary in the community for more than a year, was invited to minister to it as a stated supply; and John Henderson, Joseph Forman, Richard Pearce and William B. Noyes were ordained as its bench of ruling elders. To this body Samuel S. Spencer was added in 1818. Steps had been taken as early as 1810 for the erection of a Presbyterian house of worship, and in 1812 the corner-stone of the building was laid. It was a brick structure, located on the spot where the present church stands. It was dedicated in February, 1815. The engagement with the Rev. Mr. Smith having terminated in 1819, the Rev. William Weir, a native of Ireland, was elected pastor, and on the 31st of March, 1820, was installed by the Mississippi presbytery. This gentleman, therefore, was the first regular pastor of this church. He is remembered by some few aged citizens, and is spoken of as a man of learning, of great purity of character, and eminently zealous in his work. His period of labor, however, was a short one, his death having occurred on the 25th of November, 1822. The square marble tomb which marks the spot of his sepulture may still be found in a neglected lot which belongs to the church in the city cemetery.
The second pastor of the church was the Rev. George Potts, who first visited Natchez as a licentiate of the presbytery of Philadelphia. Having been subsequently ordained by the presbytery, he was installed pastor by the presbytery of Mississippi in December, 1823. The number of communicants at this time was forty-nine. The first donations reported to have been made by this congregation were in the year 1825, -and consisted of $20 to the missionary fund, and $30 to the educational society. In the beginning of 1825 Samuel Postlethwaite was ordained as a ruling elder, a man distinguished for his urbanity as a gentleman and for his integrity as a Christian, and a fine type of that band of merchants who, in the earlier times of Natchez, made their class noble. In 1828, the church edifice originally erected being found inconvenient, the trustees resolved to erect a new one, which work was in the course of the next two years successfully effected. This second building was the original of the one now occupied, a large and handsome brick edifice, and was dedicated on the first Sabbath of January, 1830. The pastorate of Mr. Potts terminated in November, 1835, having continued thirteen years. His removal from Natchez was occasioned by his acceptance of a call from the Duane Street church. New York. He left a communion list of one hundred and thirty-five persons. During his incumbency another addition had been made to the ruling eldership in the person of Dr. Andrew Macrery.
The successor of Mr. Potts was the Rev. Samuel G. Winchester, a native of Baltimore, and previously pastor of a church in Philadelphia. His installation took place on December 24, 1837. The bench of elders having been reduced by deaths and removals to two members, the venerable John Henderson and Dr. Macrery, the congregation elected to that office Thomas Henderson, William Pearce and Franklin Beaumont, who were ordained February 25, 1838. In the year following the church building was repaired, and its means of accommodation enlarged by the introduction of the galleries which are at present standing. About the same time the very neat and commodious parsonage belonging to the church was purchased for the use of the pastor. Mr, Winchester’s labors were brought to a close unexpectedly by his death, in August, 1841, while he was absent at the North, whither he had gone as commissioner of the general assembly, which met that year in Philadelphia. He was succeeded by Rev. Joseph B. Stratton, whose pastorate has been a successful one.
The Baptist church was organized in Natchez in January, 1837. Rev. Ashley Vaughn was the first pastor. This society never erected a church and soon after the society became extinct.
The Wall Street Baptist church was organized in 1850, by Rev. T. J. Freeman. A tasty and commodious brick church was erected at once at a cost of about $15,000 and was dedicated April 6, 1851.
The introduction of Methodism into Natchez occurred in 1798, and Tobias Gibson, of South Carolina, was the first minister. Their large and handsome church, corner Jefferson and Union streets, is supplemented by Wesley chapel for the benefit of the factory operatives and citizens of the north part of the city, and also a commodious brick structure on Pine Street, occupied by the colored Methodists.
The conception of the English Protestant Episcopal church of Natchez dates back to 1821, and on May 10, 1822, Rev. James Pilmore was installed as the first rector. A church was erected in 1823; alterations and improvements were instituted later, and now they have an elegant house of worship which cost some $35,000.
The Temple B’Nai Israel is a brick house presenting some architectural features and good interior decoration. The one Methodist and two Baptist churches of the Negro societies are commonplace structures.
Of benevolent institutions there are the following: St. Mary’s Orphan home, for girls, and D’Evereaux Hall, an orphan asylum for boys, both of them being conducted under the auspices of the Catholic Church. A Protestant orphan home, for boys and girls, is also well sustained.
D’Evereaux Hall, the Catholic home for orphan boys, is possessed of a line property, including many acres of valuable land, thirty-four of which are cultivated by the boys, producing a handsome income. In the midst of this, and surrounded by lawn, grove and flower garden, stands D’Evereaux Hall, a substantial brick structure of two floors, handsome in design and well adapted to the purpose for which it is employed. This institution is under the immediate management of the Christian Brotherhood, and is presided over by Brother Gontran, whose fine executive ability, experience, economic management, energy and devotion to the undertaking, have rendered the establishment partially independent of outside support. This institution was chartered January 25, 1858, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Elder, then bishop of Natchez, and a number of Catholic gentlemen. From limited operations in a small wooden building, the institution has been enlarged until it Las called into requisition a fine and valuable estate. From fifty to sixty orphans form the average charge of the establishment, whose maintenance costs some $4,500 per year. Its income is derived from the following sources: One half proceeds annual orphans’ fair, $1,400; proceeds market garden, 11,800; from guardians and friends of orphans, $600; Christmas collections in church, $250; a total of $4,050 per annum. This is the reliable income of the establishment, the difference between this and the expenditure being met by various means. The Hall is a perfect model of domestic economy. The garden, of between thirty- four and thirty-five acres, is worked by the boys, one hour per day being all of this description of labor required from each individual.
St. Mary’s orphan asylum has been in existence a great number of years and is under the excellent management of the Sisters of Charity, an order whose glorious services amid the horrors of the battlefield and among the sickening scenes of the dreadful epidemic are indelibly inscribed upon the heart of hearts of the people of the South. This establishment maintains at present sixty-six orphan girls at a yearly cost of about $4,500. The income of the asylum is derived in part from the following: From proceeds annual Catholic fair, $2,000; from bequest late Dr. O’Riley, of Canton, Miss., $250; from Christmas and other collections, $608; total, $2,858.
The needles of the girls assist somewhat toward their maintenance. The receipts from this source, however, consequent on the extensive and increasing employment of the sewing-machine, lessen every year. The asylum occupies a substantial and commodious brick building on the corner of Rankin and Jefferson streets, with vegetable and flower gardens attached, the former of which, worked by the orphans, supplies the table with excellent vegetables the year round. The children are comfortably clothed, receive a good English education, and in all the domestic duties are thoroughly qualified, and so excellently trained they are eagerly sought for adoption and service, and many a girl whose career has started in the chilling shadows of the most distressing auspices has, thanks to the beneficence of St. Mary’s, been ushered into a womanhood surrounded with all the comforts and refinement of independence. The house is presided over by Sister Tatiana, who is assisted by a community of sisters and a board of trustees composed of Catholic gentlemen. After looking over the books of both these Catholic orphan asylums it is found that fully one-third of the children for whom they provide are either of Protestant or non-Catholic parentage.
The Protestant orphan asylum dates back to March 12, 1816, when a few ladies of Natchez met together and organized an association for providing a home for the friendless children of the state, the result of which was the establishment of the Protestant orphan asylum, an institution which, through all these years, a period marked with the calamities of plague, bankruptcy, devastations by storm and ravage of war, has offered a roof for the roofless, meat for the hungry and friendship for the friendless. The history of this establishment is a relation of everything pleasant to remember of the former and present genera-tion of amiable Protestant ladies of Natchez, a recital of which, I regret, is not within the province of the present undertaking. The asylum occupies a substantial and roomy building on “Union Street, in the northern outskirts of the city and in the midst of a delightful grove. At present there are some forty inmates, principally female, though the asylum admits children of both sexes, the support of which cost last year $2,559.95. The receipts from various sources, principally from voluntary subscription of the citizens of Natchez, and a donation by the grand lodge of Masons amounted to $3,055. 35, leaving a balance in the treasury of $445. For some time past the citizens of Natchez have experienced a burden in the chief support of this institution, and one too, unfairly imposed upon them, when it is considered that the city furnishes but one-tenth of the children here provided for, while nine tenths are waifs from all quarters of the state. Considering it the duty of the state at large to contribute to the support of the establishment the lady managers a short time ago called in the advice of a committee composed of members of all the Protestant churches and Hebrews, the latter of whom, though they have derived no benefit from the asylum, have both by their purse and influence done much in assisting it. They called in the aid of this committee, as I have stated, to advise as to the most effective means to arouse the Protestants of the state to a sense of their duty in the premises. The result of this was the issuing of an appeal to the churches. Masonic and other bodies, Protestant, Christian and Hebrew, for contributions. The response exceeded expectation.
Harmony lodge No. 33 (now Harmony lodge No. 1), A. F. & A. M. was chartered by the grand lodge of Kentucky in 1801. On August 25, 1818, it was re-chartered by the grand lodge of Mississippi as Harmony No. 1. The first officers were: Seth Lewis, W. M.; James Farrell, S. W.; William Brooks, J. W.; David Lattermer, treasurer; John Girault, secretary; St. James Beauvis, S. D.; Israel E. Trask, J. D.. Joseph Newman, S.; William Mitchell, Tyler. This lodge is now in a flourishing condition, with E. G. De Lap, W. M.
Jackson lodge No. 15 (now Andrew Jackson lodge No. 2), was chartered under the grand lodge of Tennessee, October 8, 1816. This lodge was re-chartered by the grand lodge of Mississippi in 1818. It now has a large membership, and J. Peoples is W. M.
The grand lodge of Mississippi, A. P. & A. M., was organized at Natchez July 27, 1818, when Henry Tooley was elected M. W. grand master.
Lock lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 52, of Natchez, was chartered by the grand lodge of Mississippi February 9, 1842, with John M. Duffield, W. M. The charter of this lodge was surrendered November 29, 1849, the members joining other lodges in Natchez.
Natchez E. A. chapter No. 1 is in flourishing existence here, with Dr. J. C. French high priest.
Rosalie Commandery No. 5, K. T. of Natchez, is at present presided over by W. G. Benbrook, E. C. The other officers of the commandery are: J. C. French, M. D. , general; J. Peebles, C. G.; E. G. De Lap, prelate; C. T. Chamberlin, S. W.; F. S. Shaw, J. W.; Geo. W. Kuntz, treasurer; John E. Bledsoe, recorder; E. J. Guice, standard-bearer; W. B. Irwin, sword-bearer; C. H. Keirn, warder; C. M, Sawyer, captain-general.
The cornerstone of the old Masonic temple was laid June 25, 1827. It was quite an imposing stone edifice, and was used till 1889, when it was torn down and its site utilized for the erection of a new Masonic temple and opera house now in course of erection. It will be a most imposing structure, five stories in height, built with brick and stone trimmings. The ground plan is 119×60 feet, with a sixteen-foot L architectural design, modern and stately; interior decorations artistic. The building would be a pride to any city.
Mississippi lodge No. 1, Odd Fellows, was established in Natchez in 1836. Marion Ruffner was the first noble grand.
The grand lodge of Odd Fellows was established here in 1838, and Marion Ruffner was the first grand master. Thomas Reed, of Natchez, is now the oldest surviving grand master.
Natchez lodge No. 3, Knights of Pythias, was organized October 7, 1873, with Allison H. Foster past commander.
Knights of Honor lodge No. 1145, was organized a few years ago and won to its ban-ner a large membership.
The Catholic Knights is a new and widespread order, similar in its plan to the Knights of Honor. Though not a secret order, it is well established here, in St. Martin’s branch No. 88, and includes in its membership many of the influential and prominent Catholic citizens.
Ezra lodge No. 134, I. O. B. B., includes in its membership the majority of the Hebrews of Natchez.
St. Joseph’s Total Abstinence and Benevolent society and many literary and benevolent associations are doing effective work.
In the thirties, Natchez, Vicksburg and Woodville began railroad building. The first two towns reached out to connect with Jackson, the state capital, the town of Woodville desiring to reach the Mississippi at Bayou Sara. The financial crisis of 1836-40 put a damper upon railroad interests and checked operations in that line almost entirely. After building only thirty-five miles of their road the Natchez Company sold out to parties who, in turn, abandoned the project and disposed of the locomotives, iron, etc. Unfortunate mistake was this, and one that cost the town a large portion of the traffic that had hitherto been her own, but which now went to Vicksburg and Jackson. Again, the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern (now the Illinois Central) might have been induced by proper efforts to run their line through Natchez, and much valuable business territory might have thus been saved to her merchants. Yet a third time Natchez slept upon her opportunity and permitted the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas road to pass to the east of her when it was in her power to secure the important connections offered by this great railway.
But, these mistakes aside, Natchez is to-day one of the most promising cities of the South. Always conservative, her merchants are doing business with their own capital and upon a solid financial basis. The railroad to Jackson has been constructed by her own means and its final completion to Columbus is one of the certainties of the near future. Another improvement in this road will be the broadening of the gauge to the standard width. At last awakened to the importance of railroads and finally realizing their great value, the business men of the town are working with energy and perseverance to secure the New Orleans, Natchez & Fort Scott railroad, which will doubtless prove one of the most important rail-ways ever built upon American soil. From present indications the running of this line through Natchez seems a matter of fact.
The Natchez, Jackson & Columbus railroad, or the Little J, as it is called, has done a world of good to the town of Natchez, and its value is appreciated. General Martin, the brainy and energetic president of this line, is indefatigable in his efforts to secure the extension and broadening of his road and its equipment as a first-class highway. A recent visit to New York in the interest of the road was highly satisfactory and the General was able to say to the directory upon his return that the future of the road would be all that could be wished. The management of the Little J road has been exceptionally good. The officers of the company are capable, courteous officials, and take pleasure in consulting the public weal while faithfully performing the duties of their several departments. Major Williams, the general superintendent (a New Orleans gentleman), is an official whose fitness for the important office he holds is a matter of record, while his urbanity is known to all business men, rendering him a general favorite both in railroad and business circles. In l882-3 the growth of the business interests of the city was so great that it became necessary to connect the wharves, the railroad depots and the mills by rail; so the Bluff City railway was organized for the purpose. Right of way was obtained from the city, the track was laid and an incline was constructed from the general level of the town to the water’s edge. This railway has proved a valuable institution and more than justifies the expenditure necessary to its construction. The street railway was built in 1885-6 to connect the business part of the city with the ferryboat that plies between the city and Vidalia, La. The city is supplied with an excellent quality of gas from the city gas works, located in the northern part of the town. As the demand for extra supply is created it is promptly met by the company.
The cotton exchange was commenced early in 1886, and on the 20th of May, 1886, a charter was obtained from the legislature. The organization started out under the most auspicious conditions and has been steadily maintained, while daily growing in popular favor. The objects and purposes of the exchange, as set forth in the charter, are the same as those of similar institutions in the cities throughout the country. Cotton has met with a ready sale here at remunerative prices, which have been satisfactory to all parties concerned. There is a large and efficient corps of buyers in the town, who will compare favorably in all respects with those of any town in the South. A large portion of the cotton bought in Natchez has been bought for export. The river or bend cotton is not surpassed by any section on the Mississippi, and has always been in excellent demand at good prices. The sales of staple cotton have also been large at prices equal to the best markets in the South. As a cotton market Natchez has taken a prominent stand and it is confidently predicted by those competent to judge that she will handle about fifty thousand bales per annum.
A new cotton compress was erected in 1886 at a cost of about 175,000. With improved machinery and in the hands of live, go-ahead business men, this important adjunct to the business of the town has proved a valuable factor in the increase of trade. Perhaps no single institution of the city speaks more unerringly of her future.
No city of its size in the Southwest has built as many manufacturing establishments as Natchez. The first of these was the Natchez cotton mills, a factory occupying a space of fifty feet front by a depth running the entire square, three stories high and fitted with the most improved machinery for the manufacture of cotton in the various grades of yarn, bat-ting, cloth, etc. This mill employs over three hundred looms, ten thousand spindles and three hundred people, whose wages aggregate about $4,000 monthly. Between three and four thousand bales of cotton are consumed annually in producing the sheeting, shirting, drills and brown cottons that the factory turns out.
Another important institution of the kind is the Rosalie mills, the products of which are similar to the other, and the capacity of which is almost as great. Both of these mills are being operated profitably, and find markets for all the goods they can manufacture.
Two cottonseed oilmills, the Carpenter-Dickens company (Lee oil works) and the Adams manufacturing company, are engaged in the manufacture of cottonseed oil, cake, meal, cot-ton batting and fertilizers. These companies employ a number of operatives and are import-ant institutions of the town. They were under the control of the Oil Trust Company, as are most of the similar institutions in the South. An iron and brass foundry meets an important demand in this direction and employs skilled workmen. The work executed at these foundries is said to be very superior, while the charges are very reasonable. The ice factory, public cotton gins and lumber mills are all large industrial concerns.
The press of the city has played an important part in the whole drama of progress. The Daily Democrat and The Banner have always inculcated the opinions and ideas of progressists.
In the northern portion of the city is the National cemetery, under the sod of which are interred the remains of the Federal dead who fell in the conflicts in which they were engaged on the soil of Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as those who died in the service at the various hospitals and upon the tented fields. The number of graves in this beautiful cemetery is very large. From a central mound, all carpeted with greensward, a tall flagstaff rises heavenward. This spot, sacred to the memory of the Union soldiers, is one of the loveliest in the state, which abounds in attractive locations. The National cemetery is justly a favorite resort for equestrians and drivers in equipages.
The City cemetery is likewise a most attractive spot of this unusually attractive city on the bluff. Massive structures of marble and granite commemorate the virtues of many of the honored dead of the town, while the graves of others are traced by less pretentious tombs and slabs all combining to indicate in one solemnly beautiful segregation, within the city of the living, this sacred and honored city of the dead.
The churches, public buildings and residences of Natchez point out the spirit of the Renaissance, which took possession of her people long before it dawned on the inhabitants of the North Atlantic states. The Doric and Ionic orders, with entablatures in Greek and Roman form, prevail here. The Gothic cathedral speaks of thirteenth century glories and the colonial style is not wanting in the architectural panorama. The streets of Natchez are well drained and kept clean. The residences in the city and throughout its suburbs are many of them palatial. The drives about the town are among the most delightful to be found in the county. Fragrant blossoms greet the senses at every turn, while in many gar-dens is seen a wealth of floral productions that is simply intoxicating. Natchez is especially noted for its picturesque landscapes, its luxurious homes and its delightful climate. Here the Northerner may find health and comfort in the winter months, and almost perfect freedom from the severity and harsh frigidity of his ice-clad home. The grand old hill selected first by the Roman missioners and secondly by the French officer, Bienville, commands a view of the Mississippi. While wanting in the primitive grandeur of 1698, it has raised up a beautiful civilization which breathes harmony around and renders it what Maryland was in early years. It is a typical Southern city, where much of the old manners and social forms still obtain and one where the educated citizen of the Republic finds much to admire and little to condemn.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memories of Mississippi, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891
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Trails should be designed for a low-impact human presence
By Ross Coleman
Published in the Albuquerque Journal — Monday, September 16, 2013
I am concerned that we have entered a political arena where sides seem to be drawn along the lines of Rio Grande bosque “improvements” – or enhancements – on one side and bosque ecological restoration on the other.
This need not be the case.
There is no better way to protect the Rio Grande and the bosque than to have residents visit this special place and appreciate all that it has to offer.
We have a rare treasure with this relatively wild river running through our city. There are very few similar urban river reaches remaining in this country.
Our neighbors in Phoenix, El Paso, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc. have river reaches that have been far more compromised ecologically than the Rio Grande in Albuquerque – if they have a river at all.
Considering the substantial budget proposed for bosque improvements and restoration in the vision plan, I believe the weight of that funding should focus on the restoration component.
The most significant ecological component missing from the bosque in Albuquerque are wetlands. This is also true both upstream and downstream of Albuquerque.
Most of the floodplain that contained the historic oxbow marshes, wet meadows and wooded wetland areas have become farmland or been developed for residential use.
Two of the areas of highest wildlife and human use within the Albuquerque bosque are the Nature Center and the Tingley wetlands. Wetlands in general tend to have the highest species diversity and abundance when compared to other ecosystems.
If I were to make a single suggestion regarding the Rio Grande vision it would be this: Take a significant portion of the funding (half or more) for ecological restoration. Focus that effort to create groundwater infusion wetlands (mimicking oxbow marshes), wet meadows, wooded wetlands and overbank wetland areas.
The benefits for wildlife and the people who will be visiting the bosque will be tremendous.
I think there is a place for improvements, such as trails that will bring pedestrians into the bosque and along the river. They should be designed with an emphasis on a low-impact human presence.
Interpretive signage in select places that can educate the public about the nature of this local ecosystem and the efforts to restore it should be encouraged. These signs should also indicate the crisis the Rio Grande faces in light of climate change and a very likely drier and warmer future. The signage need not be enormous or intrusive to get the message across.
The value of the bosque to Albuquerque’s residents and wildlife is immeasurable. In the summer it provides a shady and cooler environment, as it has to wildlife and human residents for millennia.
A canoe trip through the Albuquerque reach in the winter displays an incredible abundance of waterfowl and spectacular views of the Sandia Mountains through the trees.
The gilded beauty of the bosque in the fall can be breathtaking. The thousands of birds of so many species that migrate through in the spring and fall lift the spirit of those who notice.
Improvements in the bosque? Yes, with more wetlands and low-impact human use.
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By now, Judith Butler’s idea of “gender performativity” is well established in feminist parlance and the idea that gender is constructed by repetitive acting–as opposed to being predetermined by biological sex–seems almost intuitive. But we are far from ending the conversation about how various kinds of performance can operate, and feminist and queer theorists and activists continually strive to find language to better express the diversity of gender identities that we claim.
These conversations about gender performativity have long found a home in the theatre, which functions as a literal stage for exploring aspects of gender performance. Sometimes, these issues are taken head-on, like in the rousing revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Trask/Mitchell) that won the Tony for Best Musical Revival in 2014. On stage, the audience watches and listens as Hedwig tells her life story (including her love affair with a soldier, her botched sex change operation, and her killer rock band). They also meet her husband, Yitzhak, a Jewish drag queen who is also Hedwig’s much-abused assistant and back-up singer. To further reiterate the theme of gender performativity, Yitzhak is always played by a female actor.
So a woman plays a man, who then plays a woman? If you read that and thought “that sounds oddly Shakespearean,” give yourself a point.
Shakespearean drama has been especially amenable to gender play, in part because cross-playing is often written into the scripts themselves: Twelfth Night and As You Like it both have cross-dressing protagonists, and many of the Bard’s plays take up questions about performing masculinity and kingship. Furthermore, historical staging practices added an extra level of gender-bending to the mix. As any introduction to Shakespeare’s stage will note, all of the female roles were originally played by young boys because women did not appear on stage in Elizabethan England. Over the next couple hundred years it became acceptable (and more common) for women to be seen on stage and some fiesty lady actors began to take on some of Shakespeare’s most famous–and most stereotypically masculine– roles. For example, observe Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet in the late 1800s:
Today, cross-gender casting remains a huge component of Shakespeare in performance. There are many explanations for why this may be. Perhaps the fact that Shakespeare is open-source and free to perform licenses gender-playfulness–no one is holding directors and actors accountable to performing the play exactly as Shakespeare wrote it (as is the case with modern plays that you must purchase rights to perform). Furthermore, historical distance has not dulled the performative content of the plays. Whatever the reason, recent productions of Shakespearean drama provide a window into how gender-bending functions on stage, and what kind of work it can perform.
Gender-bending usually happens in one of two ways: 1. a role that has been labeled “male” or “female” is changed to suit the gender of the actor that is cast or 2. An actor plays the opposite gender. Both choices have potential strengths and contributions to the discourse surrounding gender performativity.
The first way—changing a character’s gender to match that of the casted actor—relies on the fact that women can hold power in modern governmental and societal institutions as justification for having female actors play roles typically designated as “male.” Female actors can believably play the various Scottish lords in Macbeth, Hamlet’s compatriots Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, or the various grumpy dukes and wayward sons scattered throughout the Shakespearean canon. Casting women in roles traditionally written for men can redistribute authority in the world of the play and work towards normalizing a vision of society that includes women as powerful agents of political action.
A recent example of this kind of gender-play occurs in the lively film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon that features Riki Lindholme as the typically male role “Conrade”, one of Don John’s cronies. In this instance, Whedon does not ask Lindholme to cross-play; instead he reimagines the character as a woman without changing her words or motivations.
When practitioners like Whedon change a character’s gender without also changing his/her intentions or language, they contend that there is no essential difference between the genders.
The second way—when the actors are asked to cross-play a different gender—is a fairly common practice across the board in theatre because often you don’t have corresponding numbers of male and female actors and male and female roles. One fascinating iteration of this kind of gender play is the occasional return to the Elizabethan practice of the all-male production, where men play both the male and female roles in a given play.
Though all-male productions, much less all-male companies, are still relatively rare, the few that do exist are touted as paragons of Shakespearean virtue. For example, Mark Rylance (of Royal Shakespeare Company fame) recently earned huge critical acclaim for his all-male productions of Twelfth Night (where he played Olivia) and Richard III (where he played the title role). Of Rylance and company, theatre critic Ben Brantely writes that “This is how Shakespeare was meant to be done.” Most likely, his compliment was intended to simply applaud the performances of Rylance and company. However, putting his praise in those terms opens the possibility of reading Brantley’s comment as a suggestion Shakespeare is ideally performed without female actors.
Propeller, an all-male company based in England, has gotten a lot of attention for its well- reviewed productions of Shakespeare; however, the way director Edward Hall describes his artistic decision to cast only men is worrisome. In an interview by Mark Ravenhill (“Surely this is a bit poofy?’) Hall claims his interest in all male casting “started because I directed a production of Othello with a mixed cast and I couldn’t help them to get to the level of metaphor that a poetic play like that demanded. So when the opportunity came to direct Henry V, I was looking around for some new way of really being true to the text, but also giving it our contemporary response. The all-male cast unlocked that for me.”
Thus, for Hall, excluding women from the cast apparently allowed him to unlock some kind of deeper hermeneutic level of the play. The poetry of Shakespeare is better left to men—according to him, that’s being “true to the text”. From my vantage point as a director, I would diagnose “Not being able to get them to the level of of metaphor” as a problem with the director’s ability to communicate with his actors rather than a problem rooted in those actors’ genders. Thus to me, the reasons behind Hall’s all-male methodology read as a cop out, meant to hide his weaknesses as a director under the blanket of textual fidelity.
On the other hand, all-female productions of Shakespeare have not been given the same critical acclaim as their male counterparts.One recent attempt was a production of Julius Caesar staged directed by Phyllida Lloyd who reimagined the play as taking place in a women’s prison. In one of the more heinous reviews in the Telegraph , Charles Spencer described the production like this:
“This is an all female production of Julius Caesar, one of the most masculine of Shakespeare’s plays, with just two small parts for women. I was rather hoping that the wives of Brutus and Caesar would be played by men in drag but this is a feminist closed shop and chaps aren’t allowed…This is a production that is resolutely determined to be as edgy and uncomfortable as possible, including noisy outbreaks of live punk rock that are evidently meant to remind us of Russia’s Pussy Riot….Having given so much uncomplicated pleasure with her production of Mamma Mia! Lloyd now appears hell-bent on making the audience suffer for their art.”
The tone of Spencer’s critique suggests that he finds art which does not strive to be beautiful as stuck in a sophomoric paradigm of the avant-garde, raging against the hegemonic machine, so completely caught up its own desire to be edgy that it makes itself completely unpalatable to any sensible audience. Though, I would bet that a reviewer who above all admires “uncomplicated pleasure” was doomed to dislike an all-female, punk rock rendition of a canonical tragedy from the start. Also, just to be clear: any comparison to Pussy Riot is a compliment in my book.
However, even the most troubling voices cited here cannot deny the powerful way that cross-gender casting accentuates the way that the gender of a particular character in a certain script doesn’t have to matter. Edward Hall goes on to say that “on the whole, it’s amazing how little the gender of these characters matter. You just play them as people.” Even though he concludes that the all-female Julius Caesar suffered from “crass, attention-seeking staging,” that makes one begin “to feel that its not just Caesar who has been murdered but the play itself” Spencer admits that “Watching this pair [of female actors] at their best, you genuinely forget their gender and simply admire their acting, and the truth of their response to Shakespeare’s richly drawn characters”. So hidden within otherwise troubling reviews, we can find evidence of what I find to be the most important quality of cross-gender casting: it reminds us that playing a gender, is really playing a role.
“So wait, I get to play a woman, but my name is still Malcolm”, uttered one of my female actors, mostly in relief, upon learning that though we weren’t changing her character’s name in our production of Macbeth, we saw no need for her to pretend to be male. This moment is emblematic of my experience directing Shakespeare at a small, self-funded college theater group.
For us, cross-gender or gender-blind casting wasn’t a luxurious artistic choice meant to foreground issues of gender performativity; it was the best way to address the sheer fact that we just had more women than men who wanted to be on stage. This speaks to perhaps the most important hidden power of cross-gender casting: we can use it to reclaim rich, diverse roles for female actors.
As a company, we (and I say we, because these discoveries resulted from the communion of director, designer, actor and audience) found that so many of our most beloved plays are written by and about white, heterosexual males and that if we were to give women a place to play on stage, we had to find a way around that. I refused to not cast talented female actors just because the role in question was technically a male one. In order to work around the lack of female roles in the we made choices about whether or not the women playing “male” roles were going to play men (and thus cross-dress) or whether or not we were going to be willfully blind to the intended gender of the character, and just let the actor play the character however s/he wished.
These practices leads to whole host of complications: How do we costume cross-played characters in a way that makes them believable, not farcical? How do we protect homosocial or homosexual dynamics within the text when we cast the play? When is it necessary to cast certain characters as the script dictates?
Though I have some ideas on how to address these important questions, I prefer to keep them open and unresolved because the discussion of gender performativity in general is still very much alive. That theatrical practice intersects with discussions of gender and sexuality in meaningful ways proves that the stage is still a relevant site for transgression and experimentation. I have learned to never underestimate the power of (a) play.
2 thoughts on “Gender-Bending on Stage: The Power of Play”
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Since the first marches to revolution, Americans have been putting new words to old tunes, inventing genres, and blurring the lines between loyalty and liberty, between cries of faith and calls to action. Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music that Made a Nation, the first collaboration between Pulitzer Prize-winning Nashville author Jon Meacham and Grammy Award-winning Nashville musician Tim McGraw, is structured chronologically. Meacham’s narrative details the major movements of American history. McGraw’s contributions are set apart in text boxes, like liner notes, that capture the country’s emotions as the drama unfolds.
Meacham is a measured historian, careful with his conclusions and facts. He draws a wide narrative arc even as he foreshadows each twist and turn in the story. McGraw is the artist, writing from emotion and expressing his opinions in simple verse. In a comment about the World War I-era song “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier,” McGraw writes, “It’s as though we’re all in an ongoing conversation about the country, about its greatness and its faults, and music is a vital part of that conversation.”
In this song, as in many others, what strikes McGraw is the tension between melody and lyrics, the paradox of anti-war sentiments sung to a marching tune’s call to battle. Does music temper or inflame our conflicts? Does it help or hurt a nation coming to terms with the failure to live up to its principles?
Along the way, England’s songs celebrating royalty are rewritten into national anthems and then revised into abolitionist tunes. The reverse happens, too, when voices on the margins become clarions to the nation. An 1831 riff on the classic “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” turns the hymn into an anthem of abolition. Often “Slave songs were code songs,” Mahalia Jackson once told Chicago radio host Studs Terkel. Harriet Tubman used songs to signal stops on the Underground Railroad. To sing “Sweet Low, Sweet Chariot” was not to resign oneself to be a suffering servant for a reward in heaven but to keep the vision of freedom alive, to imagine escaping north.
As early as 1871, Nashville’s Fisk Jubilee Singers elevated African Americans in the country’s imagination through nationwide music tours, singing the songs of the formerly enslaved. From tiny churches to large concert halls and even an overseas audience with Queen Victoria, such performances spread the pathos of the oppressed through transcendent artistry and demonstrated the power of musical performance to change hearts. Marian Anderson’s 1939 performance on Easter Sunday to 85,000 people outside the Lincoln Memorial proved that genius knows no color line and set the stage for a movement toward equal rights.
As America matured, so did her songs. Ambivalence, pragmatism, and loving rebuke replaced the earlier eras’ insistence on a policy that “united we stand, divided we fall.” By World War II, folk and rock music were suggesting that Americans loved their country but with a commitment that often felt unrequited.
First called “God Bless America,” Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” contains now-forgotten verses that speak to this dynamic. Such stanzas ask if this land is really made for you and me when people stand hungry at the relief office or sleep in the shadow of a “Private Property” sign. Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen sang the G.I. blues with “Ragged Old Flag” and “Born in the USA,” protesting our disregard for the veterans who defend freedom around the world.
“History is an argument without an end,” Meacham writes, underscoring his point through examples of multiple refrains on the theme of liberty. When a great war is won, a new deal struck, or the civil rights of our brothers and mothers liberated, our country can feel like a masterpiece. “An uneven symphony” is what Meacham called our democratic experiment in his previous bestseller, The Soul of America. Songs of America retraces much of the same territory as that book but through different sources.
Our musical heritage is one of passion and relative simplicity. Over the years, we keep rewriting the battle songs and ballads of our ancestors, revisiting the same themes as though we are singing in rounds. Perhaps our most sophisticated form is still the hymn, a form that’s capable of harmony but designed to highlight the lyrics. We still sing out of adoration, a deep need to reinforce the words we use to describe ourselves, but we haven’t yet addressed those words with communal action. And yet the song of freedom still requires a congregation; we cannot sing alone.
Beth Waltemath graduated with a degree in English from the University of Virginia and worked at both Random House and Hearst magazines before leaving publishing to attend Union Theological Seminary in New York City. A Nashville native, she now lives in Decatur, Georgia.
Tagged: Book Reviews
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- 1 English
- 1.1 Pronunciation
- 1.2 Etymology 1
- 1.3 Etymology 2
- 1.4 Etymology 3
- 1.5 Etymology 4
- 1.6 Anagrams
- 2 Basque
- 3 French
- 4 Middle French
- 5 Welsh
From Middle English gayn, gein, geyn (“straight, direct, short, fit, good”), from Old Norse gegn (“straight, direct, short, ready, serviceable, kindly”), from gegn (“opposite, against”, adverb) (whence gagna (“to go against, meet, suit, be meet”)); see below at gain. Adverb from Middle English gayne (“fitly, quickly”), from the adjective.
- (obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.
- the gainest way
- (obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.
- (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
- (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
- (obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
- (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
- (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.
- gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)
From Middle English gain, gein (“profit, advantage”), from Old Norse gagn (“benefit, advantage, use”), from Proto-Germanic *gagną, *gaganą (“gain, profit", literally "return”), from Proto-Germanic *gagana (“back, against, in return”), a reduplication of Proto-Germanic *ga- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *kom (“next to, at, with, along”). Cognate with Icelandic gagn (“gain, advantage, use”), Swedish gagn (“benefit, profit”), Danish gavn (“gain, profit, success”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (gageigan, “to gain, profit”), Old Norse gegn (“ready”), Swedish dialectal gen (“useful, noteful”), Latin cum (“with”); see gain-, again, against. Compare also Middle English gainen (“to be of use, profit, avail”), Icelandic and Swedish gagna (“to avail, help”), Danish gavne (“to benefit”).
The Middle English word was reinforced by Middle French gain (“gain, profit, advancement, cultivation”), from Old French gaaing, gaaigne, gaigne, a noun derivative of gaaignier (“to till, earn, win”), from Frankish *waidanjan (“to pasture, graze, hunt for food”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waiþiz, *waiþī, *waiþō, *waiþijō (“pasture, field, hunting ground”); compare Old High German weidōn, weidanōn (“to hunt, forage for food”) (Modern German Weide (“pasture”)), Old Norse veiða (“to catch, hunt”), Old English wǣþan (“to hunt, chase, pursue”). Related to wathe, wide.
- The act of gaining; acquisition.
- the lust of gain
- What is gained.
- No pain, no gain.
- Everyone shall share in the gains.
- (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
- (transitive) To acquire possession of.
- Looks like you've gained a new friend.
- Bible, Matthew xvi. 26
- What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
- Alexander Pope
- For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease.
- (intransitive) To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.
- The sick man gains daily.
- Bible, Ezekiel xxii. 12
- Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion.
- (transitive, dated) To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition.
- to gain a battle; to gain a case at law
- (transitive) To increase.
- (intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
- I'm gaining (on you).
- gain ground
- (transitive) To reach.
- to gain the top of a mountain
- 1907, Jack London, The Iron Heel:
- Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.
- To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.
- Bible, Matthew xviii. 15
- If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
- to gratify the queen, and gain the court
- Bible, Matthew xviii. 15
- (intransitive) To put on weight.
- I've been gaining.
- (of a clock or watch) To run fast.
gain (plural gains)
- (architecture) A square or bevelled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.
From Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from the verb gaaignier (“to earn, gain, seize, conquer by force”), from Old Frankish *waidanjan (“to graze, forage, hunt”), from Proto-Germanic *waiþō (“a hunt, pasture, food”), from Proto-Indo-European *weye- (“to go, seek, crave, hunt, desire, drive”). Cognate with Old High German weidanōn (“to hunt, chase”), German Weide (“pasture, pasturage”). Compare also related Old French gain (“harvest time, revival”), from Old Frankish *waida (“income, food, fodder”) (whence French regain), from the same Germanic source.
gain m (plural gains)
- “gain” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
gain m (plural gains)
- income (financial)
- French: gain
- gain on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330-1500) (in French)
- Soft mutation of cain.
|Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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Authors: Aditya Singh
Certificate: View Certificate
This research paper critically evaluates the theme of patriarchy in select works of three renowned Indian playwrights: Mahesh Dattani, Vijay Tendulkar, and Girish Karnad. Patriarchy, as a pervasive social system, influences power dynamics, gender roles, and relationships within societies. The objective of this study is to analyze how these playwrights explore the manifestations and consequences of patriarchy through their dramatic works. Through a comparative analysis of these playwrights\' works, this study aims to highlight the diversity of approaches and perspectives in portraying patriarchy within Indian theatre. By evaluating patriarchy through the lens of these eminent playwrights, this research provides a deeper understanding of the social, cultural, and political factors that shape gender dynamics in contemporary Indian society.
A. Meaning & Definition of Patriarchy
Men hold a dominant position of control in patriarchal societal structures, which systematically treat and denigrate women. It is an enduring framework that has an impact on the social, cultural, political, and economic aspects of society. Gender inequality, violence against women, unequal access to resources, and unequal opportunity for men and women are only a few of the numerous manifestations of patriarchy's negative repercussions. Fundamentally, patriarchy is a power and privilege structure based on gender. It operates on the basis of a complex network of social customs, laws, and traditions that perpetuate male dominance and female subordination. Gender roles and expectations are imposed by patriarchal norms, which limit the agency and autonomy of women while elevating men's social status. In these gender roles, men are generally expected to be the provider and the decision-maker, whilst women are typically expected to be the caretakers, submissive, and dependent. Furthermore, patriarchy promotes the idea that men are superior to women, which develops bias towards women. Various situations, such as the workplace, politics, education, and religion, can all be shown to exhibit this. Women are underrepresented in leadership positions and typically face discrimination in terms of employment, promotion, and pay. Additionally, individuals encounter discrimination when trying to acquire housing, healthcare, and education. Furthermore, gender-based violence, which disproportionately targets women and maintains their subordination, is supported by patriarchal standards. Domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment are all examples of this violence. Research on patriarchy in the Indian context has shed light on several key aspects: Gender-based discrimination: Patriarchy in India perpetuates discriminatory practices against women and people of other genders. This includes practices such as female infanticide, dowry system, child marriage, gender-based violence, and honour killings, which are rooted in patriarchal beliefs and reinforce gender-based discrimination, Patriarchy in India prescribes rigid gender roles and responsibilities, where men are expected to be the breadwinners and women are expected to be homemakers. These gender roles are deeply embedded in societal norms and are reinforced by cultural, religious, and social practices, limiting opportunities for women and people of other genders to access education, employment, and leadership positions, Patriarchy in India perpetuates gender-based inequalities in access to resources and opportunities. Women and people of other genders often face discrimination in areas such as education, healthcare, property ownership, inheritance, and employment. This limits their economic empowerment and perpetuates their dependence on men. Patriarchy in India contributes to widespread violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, and trafficking. These forms of violence are often tolerated, justified, or ignored by society, and survivors of violence often face stigma, discrimination, and lack of support. Research on patriarchy in the Indian context has highlighted how patriarchal oppression intersects with other forms of oppression, such as caste, class, religion, and sexuality. Indian English literature often sheds light on the role of women in patriarchal structures, depicting how they grapple with societal expectations, cultural norms, and discrimination that restrict their agency and freedom. These female characters face gender-based discrimination, violence, and unequal access to resources and opportunities.
Moreover, Indian English literature explores how patriarchy intersects with other forms of oppression, such as caste, class, religion, and sexuality. It highlights how patriarchal norms intersect with these systems of oppression, resulting in multiple layers of discrimination for women and other marginalized genders. In addition to portraying the challenges of patriarchy, Indian English literature also portrays the resilience, resistance, and agency of women in challenging and navigating patriarchal norms. Patriarchy, regardless of its varying degrees of dominance, remains the foremost barrier to the progress and empowerment of women. This system upholds male authority and power, and it is imperative to recognize and expose the methods through which women are kept subjugated and under control. Within a male-dominated household, patriarchy refers to the "rule of the father," a societal and cultural construct that places men (the patriarchs) above women in terms of value and status. The concept of Patriarchy did not originate from feminist theories alone, as many social scientists in the 19th century wrote about it as a more advanced form of societal organization compared to primitive matriarchies. Engels even referred to it as the earliest system of domination, viewing Patriarchy as a historical defeat for women. The Royal Academy of the Spanish Language Dictionary defines Patriarchy as a primitive social organization where authority is held by a male head of the family, extending this power to distant relatives of the same lineage. However, feminist theories in the latter half of the 20th century updated and expanded the understanding of Patriarchy. It was no longer limited to ancient civilizations, but viewed as a present-day unjust social system that subordinates, discriminates, and oppresses women. According to feminist perspectives, Patriarchy encompasses socio-political mechanisms, which the author refers to as Patriarchal Institutions that reproduce and enforce male dominance over women. Feminist theory sees Patriarchy as a social construct that can be challenged and overcome through critical analysis of its manifestations and institutions.
II. VIJAY TENDULKAR
As a Playwright: Vijay Tendulkar, born in 1928 into a Marathi Brahmin family, initially pursued a career as a journalist in 'Marathi Weekly' for several years. In 1948, he became the assistant editor of Navbharat Times, while also starting to write short stories. He later transitioned to writing one-act plays, and it was a natural progression for him to eventually write full-length plays, spanning from his first play Grihastha in 1957 to Safar in 1992. Tendulkar's works were driven by his desire to reform society, and he often chose to depict the lives of middle-class individuals, exploring their social conditions, behaviours, and attitudes towards society, particularly focusing on issues related to men and women. In many of his plays, Tendulkar aimed to highlight the problems faced by both genders in society, exposing issues that he found to be illegal, improper, imbalanced, or deformed, using a satirical approach to address these burning problems and contribute to their resolution. His plays are valuable for both reading and stage performances, showcasing his skill in shaping and achieving dramatic excellence.
Vijay Tendulkar has made a significant impact on post-independence drama by portraying the harsh realities of life, relationships, and existence. He presents modern society in its true form, with all its challenges, difficulties, and complexities, without moralizing his characters. Tendulkar's plays are written in a naturalistic style, rejecting idealistic portrayals of life in favour of realistic depictions. He touches upon every aspect of human life and can be seen as a silent social activist, aiming to change people's ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. His plays raise questions rather than providing solutions, leaving possibilities open for change. Tendulkar's works reflect the predicaments, challenges, and complexities faced by modern humans, while also shedding light on the tendencies of male dominance and feminine frailty in Indian society. Tendulkar's plays offer a unique perspective on human character and the complexities of human relationships. Through works like Kamala, Canadian, Ghashiram Kotwal, and Gidhade, he delves into the intricacies of blood relationships on various levels. In The Vultures, for instance, Tendulkar portrays how greed for money can drive family members to madness. Kamala depicts the emptiness in husband-wife relationships, while Ghashiram Kotwal exposes a father who bargains his own daughter's chastity for personal ambition. One of Tendulkar's notable works, Silence! The Court is in Session (1967), originally written in Marathi and later translated into English by Priya Adarkar, showcases his artistic ingenuity and resourcefulness. The play combines social criticism with the tragedy of an individual victimized by society, as it is based on a real-life incident Tendulkar overheard of a group staging a mock-trial in his Mumbai suburb of Vile Parle, where he lived. The play takes the form of a "play within a play" or a "rehearsal." In Silence! The Court is in Session, Tendulkar depicts the struggles of a young woman who is a victim of a male-dominated society, critiquing the flaws that exist in such a society. The play captures the realities of contemporary life, focusing on the human mind and revealing its ugliness. Tendulkar's plays are the result of his keen observation of life, society, and his own experiences, addressing issues such as unmarried motherhood. Tendulkar, a skilled writer with a keen sense of perception, delves into the theme of alienation of modern individuals in contemporary politics. He also sheds light on issues of gender inequality, depicting the overt and covert violence experienced by human beings, and the vulnerable position of women in the Indian social hierarchy.
Tendulkar's plays revolve around the relationship between the individual and society, showcasing the latent violence and lust that exist in middle-class life, resulting in devastation and profound loneliness. His plays are grounded in reality, portraying the omnipresent yet invisible violence in people's lives. Tendulkar's works often highlight the conflicts between the individual and society, with a prismatic quality that reflects a myriad of potentials and colours in his creativity.
Controversy often surrounded Tendulkar's works due to their taboo nature in Indian society. For instance, "Ghashiram Kotwal" scrutinized abuse of power and corruption, "Sakharam Binder" challenged traditional gender roles and sexuality, and "Canadian" addressed the social evil of dowry. Tendulkar's frank and bold approach to these topics sparked controversy but also initiated crucial conversations and raised awareness about pressing social issues. Despite the controversy, Tendulkar's impact on Indian theatre was significant. His groundbreaking plays redefined the landscape of Indian theatre by breaking away from conventional forms and pushing the boundaries of storytelling. Tendulkar's plays received critical acclaim for their powerful narratives, compelling characters, and thought-provoking themes, inspiring a new generation of playwrights and theatre practitioners to explore socially relevant and politically charged subjects in their works, leaving a lasting impression on Indian theatre.
The play Kanyadaan, published in 1983, is a complex portrayal of cultural and emotional upheavals and the dynamics of man-woman relationships within a family. It delves into a sensitive conflict between the upper class and Dalit caste that still persists in some parts of the country, despite 70 years of Independence. Vijay Tendulkar, a genuine dramatist, sheds light on a social problem that lacks easy solutions. The title itself, Kanyadaan, revolves around the theme of marriage. The play depicts the story of a girl from a politically progressive family who chooses to marry a Dalit man due to her attraction towards his poetry. Raised with lofty ideals by her father, she has a spirit that seeks goodness in people. However, after marrying the Dalit man, she realizes that the poet-lover and the devil within him are one and the same.
He cannot be separated from the vices of drinking and wife-beating that is part of him. In fact, he harbours a malicious desire to punish her for the suffering his ancestors have endured over the ages.
The play features five characters, including Nath Devlalikar, an MLA, and his wife Seva, a social worker. Jayprakash, a M.Sc. student, and his intelligent sister Jyoti, who decides to marry Arun Athavale, a poor but talented Dalit youth from a village she has known for only two months. Nath and Seva, being socialists and advocates for Dalit rights, initially appear pleased with Jyoti's decision. However, Nath expresses his concerns about her marrying into a high caste, considering the boy's background and occupation irrelevant. In the second scene of Act 1, Arun visits Jyoti's house. Despite her grief, Arun continues to express his discontent, even mentioning the idea of marrying Jyoti, dismissing the notion of a socialist service-oriented life together. He sees life as a hellish existence filled with suffering, causing Jyoti to shed tears. Arun realizes his harsh words have hurt Jyoti deeply and apologizes for his callousness, acknowledging his own feelings of injustice, anger, and helplessness. At this point, Jyoti takes on the role of a savior, while Arun becomes the victim. Eventually, Arun leaves without even touching the tea that Jyoti has made for him, lost in thought. Seva and Jayaprakash criticize Arun's behavior, but Nath defends him, ignoring their accusations and protecting him. Nath humbly requests for understanding and compassion, as he grapples with the complex and inconsistent behaviour of Arun. Despite Arun's questionable actions, Nath tries to see it from the perspective of social justice. Nath, like Jyoti, attempts to play the role of a savior and bring about a change in Arun's behaviour by intervening and rescuing him. However, the final decision on Arun's actions is left to Jyoti, who is influenced by her father's liberal principles and marries Arun, expecting a union of cultures rather than individuals. But soon after the marriage, Arun and Jyoti's relationship takes a dark turn, with Jyoti returning home subdued and battered.
When Seva questions Arun about his violence towards Jyoti, Arun responds with a shocking revelation about his upbringing as the son of scavengers, where violence against wives is considered normal. Nath, who had hoped for his daughter's happy married life with Arun, is now plagued by confusion and uncertainty the behaviour towards his pregnant wife described in these pages is appalling. Despite his ability to write a sensitive autobiography and beautiful poems, this Dalit son-in-law wants to remain idle and have his wife work to support him while he indulges in alcohol and revelry with his friends. In the final scene, Jyoti, who initially felt helpless, realizes she can handle the situation by accepting Arun in her life, setting aside her preconceived liberalistic opinions. She acknowledges how Arun is better than Nath, and despite his flaws, she has to accept him as he is because she cannot reject him. As a married daughter, Jyoti asserts her independence and disassociates herself from her family, forbidding them from visiting her through aid organizations. This is Jyoti's affirmation of her rights as a woman and a wife, smashing the barriers of nonconformity and establishing Arun's individuality amidst the deceitfulness of caste discrimination.
A. Patriarchy in the Context
"Kanyadaan," originally written in Marathi by Vijay Tendulkar, is a powerful depiction of patriarchy that has been translated into English for a wider audience. The play, first performed in 1983, delves into the complexities of gender roles and societal expectations in Indian culture. The theme of patriarchy is evident in various aspects of the play, including its characters, plot, and dialogue. The female characters, in particular, struggle with societal norms that dictate their behaviour and choices, exemplified by Jyoti, the female protagonist, who faces conflict between her desire for independence and her duty towards her family and society. The play also addresses the issue of control and ownership of women's bodies by men. Jyoti's father-in-law treats her as a commodity to be exchanged through marriage, and her husband tries to assert control over her decisions. Patriarchal traditions and rituals, such as dowry and the concept of "kanyadaan," where women are considered as property, are also portrayed. The play sheds light on the double standards and hypocrisy in a patriarchal society, where men have more freedom and choices than women. It also explores societal attitudes towards women's sexuality and the importance of female empowerment and resistance in challenging oppressive norms. Despite the prevalent patriarchy, "Kanyadaan" also portrays female empowerment and resistance. The female characters, especially Jyoti, challenge societal expectations and assert their agency. The play emphasizes the need for female solidarity in the face of patriarchal oppression. Overall, the theme of patriarchy in the English translated play "Kanyadaan" critically examines gender roles, societal expectations, and oppressive traditions that limit women's agency in Indian society. It raises important questions about gender inequality, control over women's bodies, and the necessity for empowerment and resistance against patriarchal norms.
IV. GIRISH KARNAD
Girish Raghunath Karnad, born on May 19, 1938, is a prominent contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor, and movie director in the Kannada language. His emergence as a playwright in the 1960s marked a significant milestone in modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, akin to the contributions of Badal Sarkar in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. Karnad has been recognized with the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 1998, which is the highest literary honor in India. Over the span of four decades, Karnad has crafted plays that often draw upon history and mythology to address contemporary issues. He has also translated his plays into English, receiving acclaim for his work. His plays have been translated into various Indian languages and have been directed by renowned directors in the theater world. In addition to his accomplishments in theater, Karnad has also made significant contributions to Indian cinema as an actor, director, and screenwriter in both Hindi and Kannada films, earning awards for his work Influenced by the renaissance in Western literature, Karnad was deeply impacted by C. Rajagopalachari's version of the Mahabharata, which led to a rush of dialogues spoken by characters from the epic in Kannada. His first play, Yayati, based on the story of King Yayati from the Mahabharata, was published in 1961 when he was 23 years old Karnad was also recognized for his cultural activism, actively advocating for the use of regional languages in literature and theater, promoting communal harmony, and raising awareness about environmental issues. He received numerous awards and honors during his career, including the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 1998 and the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan, among the highest civilian awards in India, for his contributions to arts, literature, and cinema.
Overall, Girish Karnad's contributions to Indian literature, theatre, and cinema were profound and continue to inspire and influence artists and audiences in India and beyond with his thought-provoking plays, impactful performances, and cultural activism.
Rani, whose name means "queen" to her parents, marries a wealthy villager named Appanna, who is known by a common name. However, Appanna is a male-chauvinist who ignores Rani's desires and feelings, keeping her hidden and spending his nights with a concubine. Rani, desperate for Appanna's love, receives a love potion from a blind woman named Kurudavva. She plans to mix it with Appanna's food, but fearing its red color, she pours it on an anthill instead. Unexpectedly, a Cobra (Naga) drinks the potion and falls in love with Rani. The Cobra disguises itself as Appanna and sleeps with Rani at night, while Appanna remains unaware. Rani is unable to distinguish between Appanna's rude behavior during the day and the Cobra's caressing at night. Rani becomes pregnant, and Appanna is furious. He takes Rani to the village elders, who remain silent and do not protest Appanna's extramarital affair. The elders force Rani to prove her innocence by catching a hot red iron bar or a cobra from the anthill. Following the advice of the Cobra, Rani chooses to catch the cobra as her trial. To everyone's surprise, the cobra slides over Rani's shoulders and spreads its hood like an umbrella over her head. The village elders declare Rani a goddess, and Appanna is filled with emotion, realizing he has never slept with Rani. He begins to doubt his own sanity, feeling as though the whole world is conspiring against him. The story has three endings, and the author narrator considers the first ending, where Appanna begins to love Rani and forgets his concubine, to be a loose or unresolved conclusion.
In Girish Karnad's play "Nagamandala," a plethora of profound themes are intricately explored, creating a rich and multi-layered storyline. One prominent theme that stands out is the examination of rigid gender roles and societal norms that prevail in rural Indian society. The play depicts how women are often confined and oppressed by traditional expectations and limitations imposed upon them by societal norms, shedding light on the struggles faced by women in a patriarchal society where their desires and ambitions are stifled, and they are expected to conform to societal expectations. Another significant theme that runs throughout the play is the complexities of love and desire. It vividly portrays the fulfillment and consequences of pursuing forbidden love, and the profound impact it can have on individuals and their surroundings. The play also delves into the consequences of unrequited love, jealousy, and greed, vividly showcasing the multifaceted nature of human emotions and the complexities of human relationships. Supernatural and magical elements are interwoven into the play, adding an air of mysticism and fantasy to the narrative.
In "Nagamandala," the concept of patriarchy refers to a societal system where men dominate and control the lives of women, which is depicted through the experiences of female characters in the play. Rani, a central female character, is portrayed as a victim of patriarchal oppression. As a young woman married to an older man, Appanna, Rani is confined to household duties and lacks personal freedom or agency. She is expected to conform to societal expectations of being a submissive wife, and her desires and aspirations are suppressed. The play also illustrates how patriarchy influences Rani's mother-in-law, Gowri, who upholds patriarchal norms and perpetuates the male-dominated system. Gowri, being an older woman, has internalized patriarchal values and enforces them upon Rani, further perpetuating the cycle of oppression. Additionally, the play explores how patriarchal beliefs impact the character of Appanna, who values societal norms and conventions over individual freedoms. Appanna's actions and decisions are guided by societal expectations of masculinity, and he exercises control over Rani in accordance with patriarchal norms. Through the interactions of these characters, "Nagamandala" portrays how patriarchal beliefs, practices, and power dynamics limit women's agency and autonomy, perpetuate gender inequality, and restrict their personal freedoms and choices. The play sheds light on the harmful effects of patriarchy on women's lives, relationships, and overall well-being.
VI. MAHESH DATTANI
Mahesh Dattani, a renowned playwright and filmmaker from India, is celebrated for his influential contributions to contemporary Indian theatre. Born on August 7, 1958, in Bangalore, Dattani's plays delve into social issues such as gender, sexuality, class, and religious intolerance, offering incisive explorations of human relationships and societal norms. Dattani's plays are characterized by nuanced characterizations, realistic dialogues, and compelling narratives. He fearlessly challenges societal norms and prejudices through his thought-provoking and socially relevant themes, often delving into the complexities of human emotions. His works are known for their boldness in addressing taboo topics and presenting diverse perspectives. Among Dattani's notable plays is "Final Solutions," first performed in 1993, which explores the themes of communalism and religious intolerance in India. It is considered a landmark in Indian theatre for its unflinching portrayal of the aftermath of the 1992-93 Bombay riots. "Tara," another notable play by Dattani, deals with homosexuality and societal prejudice. He has also written other prominent works such as "Dance like a Man," "Bravely Fought the Queen," "On a Muggy Night in Mumbai," and "Thirty Days in September."
Dattani's plays have been widely performed in India and internationally, earning him numerous awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award for English Drama, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and the Dina Nath Nadim Award. His work has been translated into multiple languages and has been lauded for its powerful portrayal of human emotions and societal issues. In addition to his work in theatre, Dattani has made a name for himself as a filmmaker. His films, such as "Mango Soufflé" and "Morning Raga," have been critically acclaimed for their unique storytelling and portrayal of complex human relationships. In summary, Mahesh Dattani is a highly acclaimed playwright and filmmaker known for his impactful contributions to Indian theatre. His plays are recognized for their exploration of social issues, bold themes, and realistic characterizations, and he has received widespread recognition for his significant contributions to contemporary Indian theatre. In summary, Mahesh Dattani is a highly acclaimed playwright and filmmaker who have made notable contributions to the field of contemporary Indian theatre. His plays are recognized for their incisive exploration of social issues, realistic portrayal of characters, and courageous themes, earning him numerous awards. Dattani's plays have been performed both in India and abroad, and his films have been praised for their distinctive storytelling. His work continues to leave a profound impact on the world of Indian theatre and cinema. Mahesh Dattani, a renowned Indian playwright, is known for his socially relevant plays that address sensitive topics like gender, sexuality, caste, religion, and social norms. Major themes found in Dattani's plays include identity and self-discovery, social injustice and oppression, family and relationships, sexuality and gender, tradition vs. modernity, communication and miscommunication, and human rights and freedom. Dattani's works often depict characters who struggle with questions of self-identity and societal expectations, challenging traditional notions of identity such as gender roles and sexual orientation.
His plays shed light on social injustice and oppression, critiquing oppressive societal structures and advocating for equality and justice, particularly for marginalized groups. Family and relationships are recurring themes in Dattani's plays, exploring the complexities of familial dynamics and the conflicts between personal desires and societal norms. Sexuality and gender are important themes in Dattani's works, addressing issues like homosexuality, gender identity, and the challenges faced by individuals who don't conform to traditional gender roles. He also delves into the tension between tradition and modernity, questioning and challenging traditional beliefs and practices, and advocating for individuals to reconcile their cultural heritage with their personal values. Communication and miscommunication are prominent themes in Dattani's plays, depicting how misunderstandings can lead to conflicts and complications in relationships. Human rights and freedom are also significant themes in Dattani's works, portraying characters that fight for their rights and challenge oppressive systems or societal norms. His plays emphasize the need for individuals to assert their rights and freedom, and to stand up against injustice and oppression. Overall, Mahesh Dattani's plays are known for their thought-provoking and socially relevant content, challenging traditional beliefs and societal norms, and urging readers and audiences to critically examine and question the world around them.
VII. DANCE LIKE A MEN
Throughout history, men have sought to exert their dominance over women, children, and other family members. This gender inequality persists today, as seen in Mahesh Dattani's play "Dance like a Man." In the play, Amritlal Parekh, the head of an Indian family, holds unquestionable power over his son Jairaj and daughter Ratna. He declares himself responsible for making important decisions for the family and upholds traditional gender roles, where men are the breadwinners and women are inferior. He forbids Jairaj from pursuing his passion for Bharatnatyam dance, equating it to prostitution and reinforcing the notion that femininity is synonymous with grace and beauty. Meanwhile, he allows Ratna to dance, perpetuating the idea that women are only good for certain roles. This demonstrates the unequal power and status of men and women in Indian society. The play also explores the consequences of gender conflict, as Jairaj is left feeling empty, spineless, and worthless due to societal expectations and his father's rigid beliefs. He blames his wife for taking away his self-esteem, revealing how gender inequality affects not just women but men as well. In "Tara," another play by Dattani, the discrimination against girl children is depicted, highlighting how the patriarchal mindset prioritizes male children over female children. This discrimination starts even before birth, with incidents of female feticide being common in society.
Dattani highlights the irony in how Amritlal Parekh equates dance with prostitution and prohibits Jairaj from dancing, while allowing Ratna to dance in his play. This suggests that men and women do not have equal power and status in Indian society. The play "Dance like a Man" portrays the perpetual clash between an individual's personal motives and the expectations of family, societal prejudice, and cultural norms. It successfully highlights the plight of marginalized women and depicts how discrimination against women starts even before birth, with incidents of female foeticide being common in society. Amritlal also manipulates Ratna into believing that Jairaj could never be as good at dancing as she is, reinforcing the idea that femininity is associated with grace and beauty while masculinity is associated with strength and dominance. This unequal power dynamic between men and women is highlighted in the play, as Jairaj blames Ratna for his lack of self-esteem and confidence, further emphasizing gender inequality. Dattani also explores the marginalization of women in society in his play "Tara," which depicts discrimination against girl children.
Overall, "Dance Like a Man" sheds light on the harsh reality of gender conflict and how societal expectations, cultural norms, and familial pressures can prevent individuals from pursuing their passions and achieving success. The play challenges the notion that men who are passionate about dance are considered inferior and emphasizes the importance of changing societal support for gender inequality. Through its portrayal of the struggles of the family members, the play highlights the importance of individuality and self-expression, and it encourages audiences to challenge patriarchal norms and support gender equality.
Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. The plays Naagmandala, Dance Like a Man, and Kanyadaan explore the theme of patriarchy in different ways. Naagmandala, written by Girish Karnad, is a play set in rural Karnataka, India. The play portrays the subjugation of women in a patriarchal society, where they are expected to fulfill their duties as wives and mothers, and are denied the freedom to make choices about their own lives. The protagonist Rani is forced to marry a man she does not love, and is later abandoned by her husband. She finds solace in a serpent, which transforms into a man and becomes her lover. The play highlights the oppression faced by women in a society that values male dominance and denies women the right to make choices about their own lives. Dance Like a Man, written by Mahesh Dattani, is a play that explores the theme of patriarchy through the lens of the performing arts. The play tells the story of a family of Bharatanatyam dancers, where the father, Jairaj, is a traditionalist who believes that women should not perform in public. He forces his daughter Lata to give up her dreams of becoming a professional dancer, and instead marries her off to a man who is not supportive of her passion. The play highlights the struggle faced by women who are denied the opportunity to pursue their passions and dreams, and the role that patriarchy plays in perpetuating these inequalities. Kanyadaan, written by Vijay Tendulkar, is a play that explores the theme of patriarchy through the institution of marriage. The play tells the story of a father who is determined to get his daughter married. The father in the play sees his daughter as a commodity that can be traded for a higher social status. In conclusion, \"Naagmandala,\" \"Dance Like a Man,\" and \"Kanyadaan\" all explore the themes of patriarchy, tradition, and gender roles in Indian society. These plays portray patriarchy as a force that controls women\'s lives and denies them agency, often leading to violence and oppression. Through their depictions of these themes, these plays offer a powerful critique of patriarchy and its impact on women\'s lives.
Research by Preeti S Rawat on Patriarchal Beliefs, Women\'s Empowerment, and General Well-being : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0256090920140206 . web. VIKALPA • VOLUME 39 • NO 2 • APRIL - JUNE 2014 Doble, N. and Supriya, M. V. (2010), “Gender differences in the perception of worklife balance”, Management, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 331-342. Lerner, G. (1989), The Creation of Patriarchy. Oxford University Press: New York. Sorensen, S. O. (2017), “The performativity of choice: Postfeminist perspective on work-life balance”, Gender, Work & Organisation, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 297-313. Dodiya, Jaydipsinh, ed. The Plays of Girish Karnad : Critical Perspectives. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1999 Karnad, Girish . Nagamandala. Delhi: Oxford University Press,1990. Print. Roy, Janardana. \"Girish Karnad\'s \'Naga-Mandala\' -A Challenge to the Patriarchal Moral Code\", International Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities. 4 (5), pp. -641-647, May 2016 Mandalapu, Ravichand, and Sunitha G. “Feminism in Girish Karnad\'s ‘Nagamandala.’” Academia,www.academia.edu/4425082/Feminism_in_Girish_Karnad_s_Nagamandala_. Dattani, Mahesh. 2006. Dance Like a Man: A Stage Play in Two Acts. Penguin Books India Agarwal, Deepti. The Plays of Mahesh Dattani. Discovery Publishing House Pvt Ltd, 2013. Dattani’s Mahesh, 2015, Dance like a man, The Golden Line: A Magazine of English LiteratureVolume 1, Number 2, Paschim Mednipur
Copyright © 2023 Aditya Singh. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Mō ngā uri a muri ake nei: Supporting Te Tai o Araiteuru inter-generational decision-making through sea-rise visualisation
Sea level rise resulting from climate change poses significant threats to coastal resources, including mahinga kai, culturally significant sites like wāhi tapu or marae, and projects like wetland habitat restoration. Threats include not just rising sea levels, but also increased frequency and intensity of storm-related effects like storm surge and flooding (e.g., Cyclone Gabrielle). These threats are complex to model, and to fully understand or interpret the outputs of such models often requires technical knowledge beyond the grasp of most people. Additionally, many models are large scale, so they do not offer more fine-grained or local pictures, nor do they incorporate culturally significant areas. Dynamic visualisation at the local community or hapū level can support such understanding.
Many marae communities, including those of Te Tai o Araiteuru (East Coast of Otago), are at risk. Building on the relationship with Aukaha, the environmental consultancy arm of 5 rūnaka, the project will develop a pilot model to visualise possible effects of sea level rise by superimposing them onto a 3D model of the Otago coastline, focusing particularly on areas significant to Ōtakou rūnaka. This will support marae decision-making in terms of mitigation or adaptation strategies as they develop their inter-generational climate change strategies.
The project team have undertaken preliminary phases to test and co-design the approach and model with their partner, Aukaha. The project will further build on this research to create an interactive and dynamic visualisation (i.e., showing change over time) of potential sea level rise, combined with storm surge and flooding. This model will be a first for Araiteuru rūnaka, combining local cultural data from Kāi Tahu’s GIS-based cultural mapping website Kā Huru Manu (https://www.kahurumanu.co.nz/) with publicly available geophysical data (also see data sovereignty statement). The usefulness of the model to support decision-making for rūnaka will be assessed by Aukaha.
Research Lead(s) and Team
Associate Professor Katharina Ruckstuhl
Dr. Nigel Stanger
Dr Brendon Woodford
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How British are we? Figures show half of us have migrant blood in our families
For those who consider themselves as British as a cup of tea or Christmas turkey, it may come as a surprise.
For, just like these traditions, many of us can trace our origins abroad.
In fact, those who investigated at least four generations of their family tree revealed just over half had recent immigrant ancestors.
The majority came from our European neighbours, including a quarter from Ireland, one in ten from France and a similar number from Germany.
Helen Mirren, of Russian descent, was born Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov. This world map shows some of the countries where today's Britons trace their ancestors (click to enlarge)
But distant countries which featured high on the list included Canada, where one in 20 of us can trace a family member - a reminder of our close links with the Commonwealth country.
Around one in 30 have American blood in their veins - the country which gave us Christmas turkey.
India and the West Indies also feature strongly, following the migrations in the 1950s and 1960s, while China - which gave us tea - is also in the top 20.
The Balkans are well represented in our national make-up, with one in 50 Britons having a relative from the region - a reminder that links were well-established in past centuries and are not merely a result of the expanded European Union.
Britain's wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill was half American
A generation is taken to be around 25 years, meaning the people who have investigated four generations of their family have gone back at least 100 years on average. Before that time the population was a great deal less mixed.
In fact, a quick check of iconic Britons is a reminder that this country has always been hugely inclusive. Winston Churchill was half American, from his mother's side of the family, while Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Queen, is from a long line of Russian nobility and was born Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov.
Actor Christopher Lee is of Italian descent on his mother's side, while Victoria Beckham is descended from German immigrants who came to Britain in the 19th century.
Yet most of us remain unaware of the rich mixture of nationalities in our families. In all, 84 per cent of us know nothing about our foreign background, says ancestry.co.uk which commissioned a poll of 2,500 individuals, including 500 who had investigated their family trees.
The website has an index of more than 820million names from sources including Birth, Death and Marriage Indexes and army service and pension records.
Spokesman Dan Jones said: 'So much of Britain's cultural and political history stems from its immigrant heritage, which makes it even more staggering when we learn how few of us are actually aware of our foreign ancestry.'
The website said the diversity of our ancestry was clearly illustrated in the number of religious festivals that are celebrated this month. There are 12 in addition to Christmas, including the Jewish 'festival of lights', Hanukkah.
Other 'British' traditions that have been imported include decorating the Christmas tree, which came from Germany, and kissing under mistletoe, which originated in Scandinavia.
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Warmest months (with highest average high temperature) are June and July (104°F).
Month with lowest average high temperature is January (73°F).
Month with highest average low temperature is July (82°F).
Coldest month (with lowest average low temperature) is January (52°F).
Wettest month (with highest rainfall) is February (1.4").
Driest months (with lowest rainfall) are June, July, August and September (0").
Month with highest number of rainy days is March (4 days).
Months with lowest number of rainy days are May, June, July, August, September, October and November (0 days).
Best months for swimming (with highest average sea temperature) are July and August (91°F).
Coldest month (with lowest average sea temperature) is February (73°F).
Months with longest days are June and July (Average daylight: 14).
Months with shortest days are January, February, November and December (Average daylight: 11).
Months with most sunshine are May and June (Average sunshine: 11).
Months with least sunshine are January, February, March and December (Average sunshine: 8).
Months with highest UV index are April, May, June, July and August (UV index 12).
Month with lowest UV index is December (UV index 5).
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| 0.985136 | 290 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The Enormous Turnip Activities Bundles
Less planning, more learning! Save time preparing super fun ESL lessons with The Enormous Turnip.
♦ 13 fun, dynamic activities that you can use with The Enormous Turnip and teach language for family/people/pets, familiarise your ESL learners with present simple and learn useful expressions.
♦ Flexible materials and activities for 6-10 lessons.
♦ Perfect for mixed age groups or to use across a range of levels.
♦ Pick and choose the activities you want. All the activities are great value at around €1 - €2, with bigger and bigger discounts the more you buy.
♦ Get ALL the activities for just €12.20!
Ready to get ALL of the Enormous Turnip activities?
Don't want everything? Pick and choose what you like!
Just add what you like to the cart. If you add 3 or more products, you’ll automatically get 20% off everything in your basket.
Flashcards and game cards
Perfect for a whole host of whole class, small group and pair practice of your target language.
♦ Help your young learners learn key story expressions and vocabulary in a fun, dynamic way.
♦ Try out the included game ideas for interactive practise and easy learning.
♦ A choice of three card types provide plenty of learning opportunities so your esl kids never get bored.
♦ Perfect for helping you plan engaging and effective lessons so you have structure to your Enormous Turnip story lessons.
Interactive storytelling and retelling
While you can incorporate retelling with any of the resources on this page, these resources are more specifically designed for retelling and manipulating the story.
Your ESL young learners will acquire more language from the story with multiple retellings. The resources below are super helpful for allowing you to do this in dynamic and fun ways. Empower your young learners to tell the story for themselves (or even add their own unique twist on it!)
Perfect for ESL learners, this version of the story is super easy for your children to understand and learn.
♦ Helps you tell the story in an alternative way. Use as well as or instead of the book to incorporate multiple retellings without your kids ever getting bored.
♦ Great for big groups or online. Everyone can see. No peering or jostling to see the pages!
♦ Print in small cards and use in sequencing and story retelling.
♦ Play vocabulary games with the key language in the engaging images.
♦ Works on ANY device. Great for getting your young learners listening to the story at home as well as in your classroom.
♦ Listen and read, read then listen or both!
♦ Great for memorable practice of people/family vocabulary, useful expressions and to assimilate the present simple.
♦ Includes 29 different task cards, hosted on Boomlearning. Easy to set up a FREE account and send to your kids or use in class.
Try the Playable Preview to get a better idea of how it works.
♦ Includes 15 cards organised into 3 sets.
♦ Listen then choose from a choice of 4 images.
♦ Works on ANY digital device.
♦ Use for independent practise or in the classroom.
Try the Playable Preview to get a better idea of how it works.
Make your Enormous Turnip storytelling sessions more exciting and accessible to your ESL young learners.
♦ Especially adapted, simplified text so it’s super easy for you to tell the story in a way that your kids can understand and engage with.
♦ Useful prompts on the back tell you exactly what to say AND provide comprehension checks and ways to promote interaction.
♦ Super adaptable! Use them in storytelling, games, sequencing activities and more.
♦ Perfect for switching up the dynamics and keeping your kids engaged.
♦ Choose the picture templates or text templates or BOTH to practise a range of skills in an interactive way.
♦ Includes all key story events, so you can activate the story language easily and effectively.
♦ Useful activity suggestions give you plenty of ideas to increase interaction, engagement and learning.
♦ Ideal for mixed ages groups and differentiating for different skills practice, including listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Have fun with these Enormous Turnip roleplay masks and puppets. Act out the story or use in interactive roleplays.
♦ A dynamic and engaging craft to practise story language and use in story retelling.
♦ Practise useful expressions and people/animal vocabulary in a dynamic and memorable way.
♦ Includes useful activity suggestions to give you plenty of ideas for how to use them in engaging practice activities.
A super interactive way to learn and retell the Enormous Turnip story both during and after the craft.
♦ Includes cut and paste templates too! Great for sequencing skills.
♦ Follow the activity suggestions for lots of ways to integrate exciting English practice.
♦ Easy to plan with the included story phrases.
♦ ESL kids are super engaged and motivated to play games and tell the story with their very own story wheel.
Worksheets with a twist
Printables that are perfect for introducing and practising key story language and vocabulary. Follow the activity suggestions for dynamic ways to work on receptive and productive skills or even introduce some creativity.
Engaging Enormous Turnip colouring sheets that are perfect for fun practice of numbers, colours, people and animals vocabulary.
♦ Choose from 5 different sheets to easily differentiate according to ability, age group, and vocabulary focus.
♦ Great for pattern recognition skills too.
♦ Useful activity suggestions give you plenty of ideas to increase interaction, engagement and learning AND give you ideas for incorporating story retelling.
People/family, animals, counting, description – These super simple counting sheets have them all! A fun activity to do with your ESL kids alongside The Enormous Turnip.
♦ Easy to differentiate for mixed age groups and abilities.
♦ Practise useful story character vocabulary and phrases while practising numbers and counting.
♦ Includes lots of easy to follow activity suggestions for maximum interaction, engagement and FUN!
Use as a fun collaborative class project or as individual mini-displays to use in engaging revision games, story telling and to review story language.
♦ Excellent for using in interactive games and revision activities during and after making it. Ideas in accompanying activity suggestions.
♦ Involve everyone in the class to create something they can be proud of.
♦ Includes useful people and animal vocabulary from the story: man/dad, woman/mum, boy/brother, girl/sister, dog, cat, mouse.
Attractive Enormous Turnip write and draw templates to really get your ESL kids excited about writing, drawing and making connections between the story and their own personal experiences.
♦ Ideal for following up on an Enormous Turnip unit/session in a personal way.
♦ Get creative while activating useful language.
♦ Choose from a variety of templates to suit every age and ability.
Games to make and play
These can be made to play before your class, but they are also fantastic for integrating even more language practice because the kids can make their own copies. Super useful for bringing English outside the classroom – your young learners will be so excited to play these at home with their families.
Engaging game and craft fun with Enormous Turnip jigsaws that help your ESL kids learn useful numbers, people and animal vocabulary.
♦ Easy to differentiate for age and ability with 3 different templates.
♦ Use as a game AND a craft activity!
♦ Follow the tips and suggestions for fun ways to incorporate full sentences and story language in an interactive and dynamic way.
♦ Facilitates natural classroom language to talk about ordering, poisition and place.
Save yourself tons of time and get ALL of these Enormous Turnip Activities.
Not sure how many resources you need?
Of course it depends on your particular context, but I’d like to give you an idea of how I’ve used them across multiple levels, lessons and age groups. Below is a sample lesson map with the resources.
Sample lesson resource map
Lesson 1: Flashcards and game cards (introduce characters); Storytelling with picture book, Simplified PowerPoint story or video; Counting sheets
Lesson 2: Flashcards and game cards, Storytelling with picture book, Simplified PowerPoint story or video, Jigsaw craft (game + colouring dictation with story retelling)
Lesson 3: Storytelling cards; Story wheel craft (with story retelling)
Lesson 4: Storytelling with Storytelling cards, Simplified PowerPoint or picture book, Digital listen and choose, Sequencing fans
Lesson 5: Flashcards and game cards, retelling in groups with story wheels or sequencing fans, Roleplay masks and puppets + acting out the story
Lesson 6: Learning stations with games and crafts used, digital story and listen and choose.Optional display craft. Acting out the story in small groups or with display puppets.
What’s more, each resource includes different templates so you can differentiate for different levels or repeat the story across year groups but using different templates.
For incredible value, get the complete set:
What do teachers say about these Enormous Turnip Activities?
How about opinions on the other Kids Club English resources?
Frequently asked questions
Yes, of course! Maybe you have the time and enjoy creating things, but it has to be said that being a young learner teacher can involve a HUGE amount of extra work making materials. Give yourself a break!
All my materials have been tried and tested in the classroom. As well as having almost 20 years of teaching experience, I am also a qualified trainer for the Trinity TYLEC (Teaching Young Learners Extension Certificate), so you can rely on the quality.
Yes! There are a range of templates to choose from within each resource so it’s super-easy to differentiate. The included Activity Suggestions will also give you ideas about how you can conduct the activity so each child can work (play!) to their full potential.
Definitely! (You knew I would say that!) No, but seriously speaking, I started making these resources for just one class but I’ve now used them several times over. I’ve even used them with the same groups in subsequent years, because the different templates allow me to vary the activity and language focus.
It’s also easily possible to use many of the resources for other topics throughout the year, e.g., family, pets, autumn
Once you’ve had a chance to use your materials, don’t forget to come back to leave a review. As a thank you, you’ll receive a 20% discount on any other resource : )
Great story for beginners with the repetitions. Fiona always adds something extra to her bundles. This time, I really appreciate the bigger templates for the illustration, it looks great! Lots of practice opportunities and fun games for my students. Thank you.
4 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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A Dog can be a wonder friend of human and an amazing addition to our family. Dogs are very friendly and loving in nature. They are very loyal to their masters. But Dog health care is important to keep your dog healthy and happy. Keep in mind when you bring a dog into your home, take good care of his health. Dogs have almost 400 plus breeds in this world, according to their style, sense and body shape. And every breed of dog requires different health care guide. For this purpose we post this article, this article helps you to understand the health of your dog and below are the few essential tips for your dog to keep him healthy and active.
Dog Health Care Tip No 1- Feeding
First of all, we discuss the feeding according to dog’s age. Puppies or young age dogs which are 8 to 13-week old need to consume three to four meals a day. Puppies with the age of 3 to 6 months old need to feed on almost three meals daily. Six to 1 Year age of Puppies needs 2 meals daily. However, when your dog reaches this 1st birthday, then 1 meal a day commonly enough. But some dogs, including larger dogs, need to feed on 2 small meals daily. Always feed them on dry food and mineral balance food like fruits and veggies.
Dog Health Care Tip No 2- Grooming
Always, keep your neat and clean and frequent brushing on dog’s fur keep to reduce shedding. Check ticks and fleas on a daily basis in warm season or hot weather. Most of the dogs don’t take a bath more than few in one year. This is not good, take your dog a bath once in a week or twice or thrice in a month. Right before the bathing, comb your dog’s fur and cut out all mats from their fur or coat. Rinse off all soap out of your dog’s coat and after bath dry their coat with a soft towel and comb your dog’s coat to reduce shedding of hairs.
Dog Health Care Tip No 3- Teeth and Dental Health
Bad Dental health and Bad breath are the common problems in dogs. When you notice these indications, your dog need to a dental check up. Plaque in dog’s teeth causes bad breath and the plaque is caused by several bacteria. After a dental vet cleaning your dog’s teeth and their gums, you must need to maintain his dental care and brushing your dog’s teeth regularly. You will also clean your dog’s teeth with toothpaste and baking soda.
Dog Health Care Tip No 4- Poisons and Medicines
For the good dog health care, Never ever give your dog those medicines which are not prescribed by a vet. For example, if your dog eats the wrong tablet and you give him regular ibuprofen without consult with a veterinarian. It may cause stomach issues, and stomach ulcers. Keep poisons like rat poisons away from your dog and by mistake your dog eat rat poisons, immediately call animal health care center or call your vet to examine your dog and clean out his stomach.
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Environment: Air Pollution Makes Scents
Are industrial pollutants and farm chemicals interfering with the ability of bees to find food?
LIKE KIDS LURED TO THE KITCHEN by fresh-baked cookies, bees will be following their noses to nectar-laden blooms this spring. Modern air pollutants, however, may work like room deodorizers, wiping out the odor trails and leaving the insects to follow dead-end paths.
That’s one of the hypotheses under investigation by Pennsylvania scientists, who are researching the problem from two different perspectives: Muhlenberg College neuroethologist Jordanna Sprayberry is studying whether the sharp smell of agricultural chemicals baffles hungry bees, and Pennsylvania State University meteorologist Jose Fuentes is examining the impacts of airborne industrial pollutants on the insects.
“I’d heard stories of farms in California where bees brought in to pollinate a crop would end up five or six miles away,” Sprayberry says. “And a colleague working on what we call colony-collapse disorder in honeybees mentioned that beekeepers found that almond orchards recently treated with fungicide were aversive to bees.” Experts know that certain pesticides can kill bees outright, but Sprayberry wondered whether farm chemicals can harm bees simply by changing the insects’ behavior.
To test whether certain smells interfere with a bee’s ability to find food, Sprayberry’s lab team conducted a behavioral experiment by training bumblebees to locate a sugar-water feeder inside a four-chambered maze. The lure was linalool, an alcohollike compound found in many flowers. Then the researchers masked that sweet smell with an “agriculturally relevant” quantity of either fertilizer or fungicide.
The results? “The fertilizer had no impact,” Sprayberry says. Bees found the feeders just fine. But when the aroma of fungicide filled the air, bees sniffed their way to the food source much more slowly. The next step is field studies. “I’m monitoring novel patches of flowers—some containing agricultural chemicals, some not—to see whether wild bees find them, or if it takes longer for bees to find chemical patches,” she says.
While Sprayberry specializes in insect behavior, Fuentes is an atmospheric scientist who studies the movement of volatile chemicals that trees release into the air. So why investigate bees?
“A few years back while I was teaching at the University of Virginia, an entomology grad student signed up for one of my classes,” Fuentes says. That student, Quinn McFrederick, was studying the ecology of bees. “Meanwhile, I had just read a report saying that air pollution in rural America is increasing.” Comparing notes, the pair decided to investigate how far the smell of a flower travels in clean air as opposed to polluted air.
Plugging in data from other studies to build a mathematical model, the researchers concluded that typical flower smells might have traveled three-quarters of a mile in preindustrial United States. The same floral scent, wafting out into 21st-century air polluted by ozone and other industrial gases, would likely combine with the pollutants. As a result, the researchers estimate that the original smell probably would persist for only a quarter-mile—just one-third as far.
With support from the National Science Foundation, Fuentes is now testing this model with real-world measurements. His first step is to measure exactly how much scent certain flowers give off. He is focusing on alfalfa and canola—two major bee-pollinated crop plants.
His second step is to figure out what happens after a molecule of floral scent collides with a molecule of a pollutant such as ozone. “We know that the two molecules can combine, making a different molecule,” Fuentes says. “So the original scent is gone. But this new molecule—it still has some of the same characteristics. Do the bees recognize that? We don’t know yet.”
These studies have broad implications. “Honeybees worldwide are in trouble, declining because of colony-collapse disorder,” Fuentes says. Despite years of study, scientists still do not know exactly what causes entire hives of bees to die, though they think the problem could be a combination of stresses, including pesticides and parasites.
“Perhaps part of the problem is simply that the insects are having a harder time finding food,” Fuentes says. More research may help lead to some scent-sible solutions.
Pennsylvania journalist Cynthia Berger is a frequent contributor to this magazine.
NWF Priority: Protecting Native Pollinators
Through its Certified Wildlife Habitat® program, NWF encourages homeowners to create habitats suitable for bees, birds, butterflies and other pollinators, and it educates gardeners about appropriate host plants to cultivate and the risks of using pesticides.
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Acne + Bacteria
Hey guys! Time for another post. We’ve been hitting all the topics lately but with back to school just around the corner, one topic comes to mind… acne! We’ve talked about acne, what causes it etc. But with the back to school theme I decided to jump into Biology and talk about bacteria.
Acne is caused by many things but the main one being P. acne bacteria. P. acne bacteria is also known as Cutibacterium acnes are a bacterium that live on your skin. They are part of your skins microbiome. Before you are a teenager this type of bacteria is barely visible on your skin. It feeds on oils and things on your skin. They will also live in your pores and hair follicles where there is an abundance of that. These bacteria also trigger inflammation in the skin. So not only causing breakouts but also causing the redness that comes with acne.
Your skin’s microbiome is so important! It protects our skin from pathogens that can affect your skin of course, but it can also affect one’s health. When this ecosystem is balanced, it shows as a healthy skin. So how can we keep our skins microbiome nice and healthy? Well I always refer to skin care. Cleansing is important to keep your sebum balanced. Toners and moisturizers also help balance the pH of your skin. Also, look for ingredients that fight p. acne bacteria such as salicylic acid, alpha hydroxyl acids and tea tree oil.
Here are some other ways to keep your skin healthy:
Take a probiotic!
Not all bacteria are bad! Studies suggest that taking a probiotic or applying one topically can help with many skin concerns such as dryness, eczema and yes, acne. It can also help your skins structure by producing more collagen.
Take a prebiotic!
Probiotics need food too you know! A prebiotic are a fiber. They can be found in many foods but mostly fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Foods with the highest are garlic, onions, bananas, barley and oats!
For everything else there is Eccotique. Here are some of my fave products to use to combat that acne bacteria:
Dermalogica Active Clearing Clearing Skin Wash
Foaming cleanser helps clear skin and reduce visible skin aging. Salicylic Acid, a Beta Hydroxy Acid, stimulates natural exfoliation to help clear clogged follicles and smooth away dullness that contributes to visible skin aging. Menthol and Camphor help cool the skin. Contains extracts of Balm Mint, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree. Skin is left clean and prepped for optimal absorption of Active Clearing treatment ingredients.
Dermalogica Age Bright Clearing Serum
This active two-in-one serum clears and helps prevent breakouts while reducing visible skin aging. Salicylic Acid reduces breakouts to clear skin. This highly-concentrated serum exfoliates to help prevent breakouts and accelerates cell turnover to reduce signs of skin aging
Dime Beauty Power Patch
Your new best friend. The power patch is a magic patch that you put on a blemish that helps reduce pimple size and draw out impurities from the breakout. It contains hydrocolloid, vitamin A, clove oil and salicylic acid.
When a blemish is oncoming, clean the affected area with a DIME facial cleanser. Dry to ensure skin is prepped for placement. Place the Power Patch directly on top of the affected area before bed. Allow to sit through the duration of the night. Apply as often as needed. If desired the Power Patch is designed to be worn under makeup throughout the day.
- Hydrocolloid protects your skin but also draws out excess fluids such as oil and pus out of your skin.
- Vitamin A protects against free radical damage and acne.
- Clove oil contains a compound called eugenol that helps in treating acne. It fights the acne bacteria and helps in reducing swelling and redness.
- Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxyl acid that exfoliates but specifically targets oil as well.
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the COLORADO Climate Center (CCC) is part of the Department of Atmospheric Science in the College of Engineering at Colorado State University. The aim of the center is to assist the state of Colorado in monitoring climate change over time, ranging from weeks to years. The CCC provides climate-related services to business, government, industry, researchers, educators, and the general public. The center tries to understand the complex interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, continental glaciers, land, and vegetation processes. The CCC has stressed the importance of observation and data collection for climate monitoring, research, and service. It is involved in snow measurement research in collaboration with the National Weather Service.
The services provided by the center aim to reduce the state's vulnerability to climate variability and change. The CCC provides links to regional climate centers, and to the National Climate Data Center, where detailed climate information is provided. It also provides access to other important databases. The CCC website is the primary means with which information is supplied; it also center publishes its own magazine, Colorado Climate.
The CCC is recognized by the American Association of State Climatologists, and was established in 1974 by the state-funded Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station. Its primary aim was to provide information and expertise on Colorado's complex climate.
The CCC has a threefold program of Climate Monitoring (data acquisition, analysis, and archiving), Climate Research, and Climate Services that focus on climate-related questions and problems affecting the state of Colorado. The CCC is also home to State Cli-matologist Nolan J. Doesken. He has been with the center since 1977, and is also director of the historic Fort Collins Weather Station on the campus of Colorado State University.
The CCC is responsible for monitoring of daily weather conditions and the interpretations of seasonal and annual weather patterns and variations. The National Weather Service's Cooperative (COOP) Network has over 200 stations in the state, and reports daily on temperature and precipitations. These data provide the oldest continuous records to describe climate change, dating back to the 1880s.
The CCC also monitors weather through data from other organizations, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service's snow survey, and Remote Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) stations. SNOTEL is particularly useful to study drought and monitor water supply. The CCC also provides assistance to Colorado State University and to federal groups to maintain an automated network for weather observations to serve agriculture users. The Colorado Agricultural Meteorological Network provides hourly weather data from 60 stations throughout the state that represent different agricultural areas.
The CCC has also been involved in climate research since its foundation. Thomas McKee pioneered drought research and devised the Standardized Precipitation System, an index to monitor drought that has been adopted internationally. The CCC also closely collaborates with the National Weather Service to develop more accurate ways to observe weather from stations. The CCC is leading a national survey of automated snow measurement systems, and is involved in research on energy, crop production, and engineering applications of climate information.
In April 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration named Doesken one of 10 environmental heroes for the creation of an amateur precipitation-monitoring network that gathers 4,000 volunteers nationally. This network is part of the CCC's commitment to involve citizens in climate monitoring. Through the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network (CoCoRaHS), thousands of citizens of all ages take part in measuring and mapping precipitation patterns in Colorado and several other states.
SEE ALSO: Climatic Data, Atmospheric Observations; Colorado; University of Colorado.
BIBLIOGRApHY. Colorado Climate Center, www.ccc. atmos.colostate.edu (cited September 2007); Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group 1 to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Luca Prono University of Nottingham
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New methods create superior solar-energy technology
Linda Brus has developed and tested new methods of making solar-energy plants more competitive.
Because of the effects that use of fossil fuels has on climate, interest in alternative types of energy has increased. Use of solar energy to produce heating or cooling can be part of the solution when types of fossil energy that generate carbon dioxide are to be replaced by environmentally sustainable alternatives.
In her thesis Linda Brus has developed methods of simulating and controlling solar-heating and -cooling plants. Such plants can be used for heating or air-conditioning of both small houses and office buildings. The aim of the development of these methods is to make it possible to use the available solar energy as efficiently as possible to produce heating or cooling, despite the variations in solar radiation that result from weather involving a changing cloud cover.
"Efficient use of solar energy is a prerequisite for the capacity of this type of energy solution to compete with more conventional types of energy," says Linda Brus.
The methods can be used both at the plant-development phase and to control existing systems. Several of the methods, however, are general, and can thus also be used to resolve problems in technical areas other than solar energy.
"The thesis contributes both towards expanding the 'toolbox' for other researchers and hopefully also towards continued development of solar energy as a real alternative to fossil fuels," says Linda Brus.
The work has in part been in collaboration with researchers at the University of Seville – the location of the solar-heating and -cooling plant being examined.
Read the thesis at http://publications.uu.se/theses/abstract.xsql?dbid=8594
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The Poles of Titan
Titan is Saturn's largest moon, and the second largest moon in our Solar System. It is the only moon with a thick atmosphere. Titan's poles are interesting places. Scientists have discovered lakes at both poles, and even small seas near the North Pole. They have also spotted clouds, some of which are huge, at each of the moon's poles.
Astronomers have long hypothesized that there might be lakes or even oceans of liquid methane and/or ethane on Titan. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s and data from the Cassini spacecraft starting in 2004 confirmed these suspicions. So far, however, these lakes and seas have only been seen near Titan's poles. There are many lakes of various sizes, and even a couple of seas, near the North Pole. The region around the South Pole does not have any seas; and though fewer in number than in the North, it does have several lakes.
Titan is very cold; the surface temperature is around -179° C (-290° F). At those temperatures water ice is as hard as rock, and methane (natural gas, like the stuff that fuels many home furnaces) and ethane turn from gases into liquids. Titan's lakes and seas may contain ethane, methane, or both. They are the first stable bodies of surface liquid found beyond Earth.
The area around the North Pole is dotted with hundreds of small lakes. It also has some very large ones which astronomers are now calling seas. One (named Ligeia Mare) is about the size of North America's Lake Superior, the largest of the five Great Lakes. Another (dubbed Kraken Mare) may be even larger, about as big as the Caspian Sea - though it hasn't yet been completely mapped. One lake appears to be fed by a river that is over 200 km (124 miles) long and up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) wide. Ontario Lacus, similar in size and shape to Lake Ontario (the smallest of the Great Lakes) on Earth, is one of the larger lakes near Titan's South Pole. So far, only a handful of lakes have been spotted in the vicinity of the South Pole. A sea on Titan is called a "mare" (plural "maria"), while a lake is called a lacus (plural "laci").
So where did the liquid ethane and/or methane in the lakes and seas come from? Astronomers have spotted clouds over both of Titan's poles. Some scientists hypothesize that methane and/or ethane rain or snow may fall from those clouds to Titan's surface, filling the lakes. One idea claims that methane/ethane evaporates at the warmer summertime pole (the South Pole at the time of the early Cassini observations), is transported by the atmosphere to the other pole, and then falls as rain or snow at the winter pole - filling the lakes. This hypothesis would explain why lakes are more abundant near the North (the wintertime pole as of this writing in 2008) Pole and scarcer near the South (summertime) Pole. One of the clouds seen over the North Pole in 2007 was gigantic, covering an area half the size of the United States!
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Integrative Evolutionary Biology - Ralf J. Sommer
We take an integrative approach and try to link evo-devo with population genetics and evolutionary ecology by studying the nematode Pristionchus pacifius, which lives in a defined scarab beetle ecosystem.
How do developmental processes change during evolution? We take an integrative approach and try to link evo-devo with population genetics and evolutionary ecology by studying the nematode Pristionchus pacifius, which lives in a defined scarab beetle ecosystem.
We link development, ecology, and population genetics in a highly integrative approach to study how novel and complex traits evolve as a result of historical processes. We focus on developmental (phenotypic) plasticity as a facilitator for the evolution of novelty, complex traits, and phenotypic divergence. Despite the modern synthesis neglect of developmental plasticity and lack of sufficient insight into the evolution of novel structures, a theoretical framework has been built in the last two decades that highlights plasticity as a key concept in evolutionary biology (West-Eberhard 2003, Sommer 2020).
The Role of Plasticity in Evolution
However, a complete appreciation of plasticity and its role in evolution requires the identification of associated molecular mechanisms; in the last decade, my laboratory has arguably provided the most detailed molecular understanding of any plastic trait. First, we identified developmental switches that can sense the environment and reprogram development, thereby confirming long-standing theoretical predictions. Second, we have determined the downstream gene regulatory network (GRN) that guides phenotypic execution of alternative phenotypes. These findings, for the first time, demonstrate that plasticity is indeed consistent with the modern synthesis. More importantly, they provide a molecular framework to elucidate the mechanisms of plasticity-associated evolution from the i) origin of plasticity, through ii) genetic accommodation, to iii) final assimilation (canalization). These three steps will be the foundation of our research in the coming decade.
The Model System Pristionchus pacificus
Using the free-living nematode Pristionchus pacificus as a model system, we combine laboratory studies of plasticity (forward and reverse genetics, genomics, transgenesis, experimental evolution) with field work (ecology and natural variation). In addition, we couple our model system approach with macro-evolutionary comparisons, utilizing more than 1,500 strains of P. pacificus and around 50 culturable Pristionchus species that have been collected globally (www.pristionchus.org). Our established field station on La Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean that harbors the complete worldwide genetic diversity of P. pacificus, serves as a microcosm to investigate developmental plasticity and its role in the environment and the nematode ecosystem.
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(NaturalNews) As fast food giant McDonald's gets ready to open its largest restaurant in the world at Olympic Park in London (http://www.huffingtonpost.com), the London Assembly, an elected government body that holds the London Mayor accountable to his promises, has voted in favor of calling for an official ban on both McDonald's and Coca-Cola from the 2012 Olympic Games.
Because many of the products offered by both McDonald's and Coca-Cola are filled with processed sugar, artificial chemicals, and unhealthy fats, and are linked to causing childhood obesity and other illnesses, the London Assembly believes the International Olympic Committee has a responsibility to nix these companies from sponsoring the Games. Hosting a lineup of the world's most talented athletes while peddling junk food to the masses, in other words, is a hypocritical position to take, according to the Assembly.
"London won the right to host the 2012 Games with the promise to deliver a legacy of more active, healthier children across the world," said Jenny Jones, the London Assembly member who initially proposed the motion to ban the two food giants from participating in the Games. "Yet the same International Olympic Committee (IOC) that awarded the Games to London persists in maintaining sponsorship deals with the purveyors of high calorie junk that contribute to the threat of an obesity epidemic."
Jones' proposal makes plenty of logical sense. But the biggest problem with it; however, is that McDonald's and Coca-Cola happen to be two of the largest sponsors of the Olympic Games -- and they have been involved with the Olympic Games for quite some time. Without McDonald's and Coca-Cola, the Olympic Games would be in some serious financial trouble, which says a lot about the absurd amount of influence these corporations and many others have over the world's institutions.
McDonald's, Coca-Cola have long been top-tier Olympic Games sponsors
According to the Huffington Post, Coca-Cola is the Olympic Games' longest-running sponsor, having contributed to its perpetuity since 1928. McDonald's has a long legacy with the Olympic Games as well, having contributed large sums of sponsorship dollars since the mid-1970s. As contradictory as this truly is, two of the world's largest junk food purveyors play a major role in maintaining the existence of the world's largest demonstration of athleticism and vibrant physical health.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) seems to agree that the partnership between the Olympic Games and both McDonald's and Coca-Cola is disconcerting, as this particular group continues to be one of the most outspoken critics of IOC's conflicting alliance with McDonald's and Coca-Cola. According to AMRC, allowing these two fast food companies to be the official face of food at the Olympic Games "sends out the wrong message (to children)."
In defense of their presence at the Games, both Coca-Cola and McDonald's have tried to highlight their many "healthy" food and drink offerings while reiterating the importance of individuals making their own food choices without resorting to censorship. But the latter recommendation will be somewhat difficult for attendees of the Games to follow; however, both McDonald's and Coca-Cola have reportedly been given exclusive rights to sell their food and beverage offerings at the Games.
As far as Olympic athletes are concerned, many will not be partaking in the junk food fest, according to Marco Cardinale, Head of Sports Science and Research of the British Olympic Association. During a recent interview with Telegraph Sport, Cardinale said he would be "very surprised" if any Olympic athletes decided to feast on a McDonald's hamburger and a Coke during the Games, despite both companies' insinuations in advertising campaigns that they would be "feeding" the Games, including its athletes. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk)
Meanwhile, the IOC seems unfazed by all the controversy, and has no immediate or apparent plans to ditch either McDonald's or Coca-Cola. So you can expect to see plenty of tantalizing images filled with "refreshing" Coca-Cola sodas and McDonald's Big Macs featured on your television screens during the Games. And as intended, this propaganda campaign will give millions, if not billions, of children the false impression that eating these foods will help them one day become strong Olympic athletes.
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About The System
Throughout the book you are going to see references to Pos.1 2 3 4 5. The word “Pos.” is short for position and the numbers relate to the permutations of each rudiment.
In the book permutation means starting the rudiment from a different position.
This can be simply illustrated by permutation of a word.Let’s use the word apple.
Pos. 1 APPLEWe can permutate the word by taking the first letter “A” and moving it to the back of the word meaning the new versions are as follows.
Pos. 2 PPLEA
Pos. 3 PLEAP
Pos. 4 LEAPP
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In the past 15 years, 700 veterans were diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called cholangiocarcinoma. Common in Southeast Asia, this bile duct cancer is caused by parasites present in river fish, which is often consumed raw in Vietnamese cuisine.
In the US, except for the recent epidemic among Vietnam veterans, cholangiocarcinoma remains rare, most often seen in travelers coming from Asia.
Eating Vietnam River Fish Can Cause Cancer – Decades Later: VA Disability Benefits
During the Vietnam war, when US soldiers were encouraged to accept the local food offered by villagers. Brochures were even distributed advising them to enjoy all the exotic dishes available.
As a result, many servicemen ate fish containing the parasites on a regular basis. A fish paste that was very popular among them was in fact made of raw fish.
It is easy to get rid of the parasites, known as liver flukes, by taking a pill shortly after intake. But if no remedy is taken rapidly, they can live on inside the body, dormant for many years, without causing any symptoms. Bile duct cancer can manifest itself decades later, often killing patients within months.
Less than half of the veterans who have suffered from the condition have submitted benefit claims to the VA. 75% of those claims were rejected.
On the one hand, many veterans are unaware of the connection between the raw/undercooked river fish they ate during service in Vietnam, liver flukes, and cancer. On the other hand, the VA has had trouble both understanding and acknowledging the problem.
Veterans (and their widows!) Fight for Vietnam Service Related Cancer Benefits
“When [veterans] go to regional VA offices, [doctors] might not recognize it... Often, the veterans have to make the link,” an AP journalist investigating the case told NPR. In many cases, veterans have spent their last months of life fighting to obtain benefits from the VA.
In the majority of cases, it is left to widows to continue the fight. Typically, they have to go through several rounds of appeals and maybe wait as long as 10 years in order to succeed, if they are lucky.
Servicemen stationed in Vietnam would often run out of rations while on a mission in the depth of the jungle. On many occasions, they would fish for food, and cook whatever they caught as best they could, often not enough to kill the parasites.
Now, claims for benefits are being either approved or denied rather randomly. Regulations establish that it takes a 50/50 chance that a health problem is connected with service in order for veterans to be eligible for benefits.
While VA spokespeople and independent experts alike have already acknowledged that is the case, valid claims are routinely being denied.
VA Fails to Test for Cholangiocarcinoma: Caused by Vietnam River Fish
For veterans who have been diagnosed, one of the most pressing issues is the need for tests to detect the cancer at earlier stages. Because of the nature of the disease, unless someone is looking for it specifically, cholangiocarcinoma can only be diagnosed through symptoms at a very advanced stage.
If the VA tested all veterans who might have been exposed, many lives might be spared. If regional VA offices received information about the link between service in Southeast Asia and bile duct cancer, they might also be able to diagnose it earlier.
Veterans who served in the region and are suffering from bile duct cancer are, by law, entitled to receive benefits. Science has backed up the link with river fish consumption, and it is now too late for the VA to try to obscure the sun.
With more and more claims being filed every year, advocating for the recognition of this rampant problem can truly save lives.
IMAGE: Attribution: Alpha, Location: commons.wikimedia.org
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Definition of Transverse myelitis
Transverse myelitis: A disease of the spinal cord in which there is demyelination (erosion of the myelin sheath that normally protects nerve fibers). The onset of the disorder is typically sudden. Symptoms include back pain followed by ascending weakness in the legs. There is no cure. Many patients are left with permanent disabilities or paralysis. Transverse myelitis occurs alone and in combination with demyelination of other parts of the nervous system. It may be associated with multiple sclerosis.
Transverse myelitis can cause low back pain, spinal cord dysfunction, muscle spasms, a general feeling of discomfort, headache, loss of appetite, and numbness or tingling in the legs. Almost all patients develop leg weakness. The arms are involved in a minority of cases. (This depends upon the level of spinal cord involvement.) Sensation, pain and temperature sensation are typically diminished below the level of spinal cord involvement. Appreciation of vibration and joint position sense may also be decreased. Bladder and bowel sphincter control is disturbed in the majority of cases. Many patients with transverse myelitis report a tight banding or girdle-like sensation around the trunk and that area may be very sensitive to touch.
Transverse myelitis may be caused by viral infections, spinal cord injuries, immune disorders (including systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, sarcoidosis and multiple sclerosis) or insufficient blood flow through the blood vessels in the spinal cord. It may occur as a complication of such disorders as optic neuromyelitis, multiple sclerosis, smallpox, and measles, or as a complication of chickenpox or rabies vaccinations.
The infectious agents associated with transverse myelitis include viruses and bacteria: herpes simplex, herpes zoster, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, enteroviruses (poliomyelitis, Coxsackie virus, echovirus), human T-cell leukemia virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza, measles, and rabies, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Lyme borreliosis, syphilis, and tuberculosis.
There is no specific treatment for transverse myelitis. The prognosis for complete recovery from transverse myelitis is generally not good. Although recovery usually begins between 2 and 12 weeks after onset and may continue for up to 2 years, most individuals are left with considerable disability. Some individuals may have minor or no deficits, while others may have significant motor, sensory, and sphincter (bowel) deficits or no recovery at all.
Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012
Back to MedTerms online medical dictionary A-Z List
Need help identifying pills and medications?
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COOPER CITY, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida teacher is helping students get ready for school with a unique lesson plan involving YouTube.
Sandra Lopez Gallardo, a language arts teacher, has been making videos before each school day for a few years now.
“Don’t forget today you got a pop quiz. Check your notes!” said Lopez Gallardo in one of her videos. “Remember: ‘If you’re always ready, you’ll never have to get ready.’ James Brown.”
Lopez Gallardo uses this technique for her sixth-grade students at Pioneer Middle School in Cooper City.
“I call it ‘edu-tainment.’ I educate, and I entertain,” said Lopez Gallardo.
The idea behind the videos is to give students and parents a quick rundown of what they can expect every school day.
The videos are helpful in that students can watch them however many times they need, which is especially important for children in Exceptional Student Education programs.
Repetition and one-on-one attention is very important for ESE students.
“They can watch it again and again until they get it without being embarrassed,” said Lopez Gallardo. “They’re like, ‘Ms. Lopez, I watched it. I got it. I’m good,’ and I’m like, ‘Yes!'”
The videos can also be helpful for students who miss a day of school, so they aren’t in the dark when it’s time to catch up.
Lopez Gallardo said parents can also benefit from the videos.
In fact, it was a conversation with a mother having trouble talking to her son about his day that sparked this idea.
“So I said, ‘How can I help this mom and this child connect a little better?’ How can I get him to say, ‘This is what happened in class,'” said Lopez Gallardo, “and I’m like, ‘I’m going to make her a video.'”
Lopez Gallardo’s unique idea earned her an Innovative Teacher Award in 2017.
She has been teaching for 15 years and said she’ll keep going until the day she stops loving it.
Lopez Gallardo’s students can get ready to click, watch and learn when they return to class on Aug. 14.
Copyright 2020 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Resources for Students
Did you know that one in ten young people may have a mental health problem at any given time? But unfortunately, of those, only one in five will get help through mental health services. And without help, these problems can lead to bigger problems: poor school performance; conflicts with friends, peers or family; and sometimes even substance-abuse problems. Remember that your mental health is just as important as your physical health!
So, pay attention to the "Warning Signs." Someone who is currently going through a mental health problem may be . . .
Troubled by feeling:
- really sad and hopeless without good reason, and the feelings don’t go away;
- extremely fearful – has unexplained fears or more fears than most children;
- angry most of the time, overreacts to things;
- anxious or worried a lot more than other kids your own age.
- poor concentration;
- difficulty making decisions, sitting still or focusing;
- need to perform certain routines dozens of times a day;
- regular nightmares.
Experiencing big changes:
- does much worse in school;
- loses interest in things usually enjoyed;
- avoids friends and family;
- talks about suicide;
- hears voices that cannot be explained;
- has changes in sleeping or eating patterns.
Behaving in ways that cause problems:
- uses alcohol or other drugs;
- does things that can be life threatening;
- hurts other people;
- destroys property or breaks the law.
How to Get Help:
In general, these warning signs may point to a mental health problem. If you or a friend displays any of these behaviors often, for long periods of time, or for unexplained reasons, you should seek help. Talk to a counselor at your school, or ask a teacher or counselor at your school to get you in touch with mental health services.
If you are not near a teacher, counselor, or other responsible adult, or if you just want someone else to talk to about your problems, then call the 24-hour National Youth Crisis Hotline:
National Youth Crisis Hotline
Call 1-800-448-4663, the National Youth Crisis Hotline, to find help in your community or to talk about your problems! (If your problem is really urgent and dangerous, you also can dial 911 and ask for help.)
If you live in Maryland, you can also call the Mental Hygiene Administration’s 24-hour Youth Crisis Hotline, 1-800-422-0009.
You also might find the following resources helpful. They are easy to view online or print out.
A Call To Stop Bullying (Voice Nation Live) -Voice Nation Live provides helpful information on the signs and effects of bullying, resources, and advice for kids involved in a bullying at school. This website also offers access to a live answering service and call center for those seeking help and comfort in a traumatic situation.
Be Your Own Best Advocate (PACER)
Excellent fact sheet, especially for teens, with clear tips on how to advocate successfully
Flipswitch (Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundar) - Information and a weekly podcast for teens and young adults with mood disorders
If you didn't find what you were looking for on this page, and would like to ask a question or make a suggestion about this website, please fill out a comment form. Remember, your feedback is what helps us make this site more useful in the future!
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It is believed that the cherry is a fruit native to Mesopotamia. He was held in high esteem and by doctors of ancient Greece for its cleansing properties.
It is considered a good source of vitamin C and bioflavonoids, which makes already in an excellent antioxidant. But what really distinguishes it as a protective food against cancer is ellagic acid content, a substance that inhibits the replication of cancer cells.
Black cherries contain more iron, magnesium and potassium than other varieties clearer, but all are a good source of silicon and provitamin A (beta-carotene).
Daily consumption of cherries helps reduce blood levels of uric acid, which can avoid the drop.
Eating the pulp or the juice of small fruit belonging to the family of peaches can be of great benefit to the health of people, especially those who are affected by arthritis. Through specific treatments may be an important antioxidant and can be used to delay aging
With a tasty pulp, juicy and refreshing, Cherry is a fruit that originated in Asia Minor and is the youngest of a family relative (Prunus) of tasty fruit and fleshy large bone, such as peach, apricot and plum.
Like many other fruits that offers the wisdom of nature for its inhabitants, cherry also contains important healing properties, including analgesic effect is the most characteristic.
But not everyone will cause the same effects or have the same answer. Some appreciate a relief in a few days, whereas others do not notice anything until it’s been three or four weeks consuming them regularly.
Patients who can benefit most from the cherries are experiencing excessive uric acid swollen and deformed joints. This type of arthritis, affects mainly older people whose livers, in certain circumstances (excess meat in the diet, for example), generating too much uric acid and are unable to eliminate it.
That cherries help eliminate uric acid has been known for centuries by nutritionists, or gave you a reputation as a tonic food. The great Swedish botanist Linnaeus treated his uric acid attacks with cherries.
The resulting effective dose was recorded in a study of 1950: Eat 15 to 25 cherries or drinking the juice daily reduces uric acid levels in the blood and prevent attacks effectively. Since then many studies have been published that confirm the effectiveness of treatment.
Fiber and potassium (210 mg per 100 g) of the cherry promote circulation and removing intestinal fluids, which ensures drainage of the urinary and digestive system. For the same reason prevent the formation of kidney stones and gallstones.
The purification capacity of cherries used to justify detoxifying effect cures. These may be more or less stringent: from a breakfast consisting minicura only cherries (starts with 100 gr., And daily ration is increased to 500 gr, into three doses throughout the morning) to a unique cure , which involves eating only cherries for three or four days, at the rate of two or more kilos daily.
The deep red cherries gives them an attractive appearance and is also responsible for some of its many health benefits.
This colorful intensity is due to anthocyanins, a high antioxidant flavonoids, which in them is more concentration than any other fruit, with 25 mg per 100 g.
Cherries anthocyanins are able to inhibit cyclooxygenase-action defining its antioxidant, more effective than vitamin E.
Cherry juice also contains powerful antioxidants and anti-aging virtues, because it has 10 times more melatonin than whole fruit.
Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland at night, which is involved in the regulation of sleep and body temperature. It is also a potent antioxidant and some experts believe that, taken in supplement form, is the most effective substance that exists to delay aging.
Eating cherries may be a way to get an extra dose of melatonin, safe, particularly in the juice.
Variety of uses
As we have seen, cherries prevent and relieve the symptoms of arthritis and rheumatism in general, because they reduce uric acid levels in the blood, but its health benefits do not end there. The fruit also beneficial for many other ailments.
As low calorie (59 per 100g), satiating fiber and diuretic agents are recommended for people who want to lose weight.
Arteriosclerosis sufferers benefit from its antioxidant and cleansing.
The diuretic and laxative virtues of cherries favor people with constipation or tendency to retain fluids.
His iron (0.4 mg/100 g) makes them effective for people with anemia.
Consumption is also recommended in case of hypertension and cardiac and renal patients. For kidney colic teas can be made with cherry stalks taken before each meal.
Spinach salad with fresh cherries
12 large leaves 400g baby spinach. 350g cherry. cottage cheese 2 red apples 200g. Cooked sweet corn 50 grams. alfalfa sprouts chopped chives 2 tablespoons sesame oil.
Wash the spinach leaves and cut into thick strips. In apples, hearts were removed without peeling, crazing to medium pieces are. With the help of a boning bones are extracted cherries ensuring that these remain whole. Mix all these ingredients together with alfalfa and corn. They put in a bowl wide. It is flavored with a dash of sesame oil.
Finally, crumble the cheese with your fingers, add to the salad and sprinkle with chopped chives.
In the kitchen is useful and decorative
For its juiciness and striking color, cherries are excellent for all types of preparations, because they bring freshness and joy to any dish in which they are present and also a decorative and useful in the kitchen.
The sweeter varieties are ideal for taking it to natural as desktop fruit, because they lose much of their flavor if cooked. This variety is also very appropriate for summer salads or for the preparation of colorful salads. With the most neutral, can be made cakes, sorbets mausses and soft and refreshing flavors.
The more acidic, such as cherries, are suitable for cooking, sauces and canning and jams.
This fruit goes well with sweet spices, such as cinnamon, vanilla or cloves, and also with citrus in general.
Combined with chocolate is a treat, as demonstrated in the classic German black forest cake. In the kitchen can also be prepared vegetarian delicious recipes, with a unique touch bittersweet, just stewing with onions, cherries, raisins and good vinegar.
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Do you know the words to The National Anthem?
I’ll give you a hint: It starts with, “O! Say, can you see ...?”
Francis Scott Key’s poetic response to America’s victory at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 is officially known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was officially designated as our national anthem by congressional resolution signed by President Herbert Hoover in 1931.
In my youth, learning the lyrics to this iconic bit of history was akin to learning the Pledge of Allegiance.
I thought that was the case nationwide.
Apparently not. At least, not nowadays.
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The Sigri Lighthouse is located on the island of Nisiopi, also known as Megalonisi. It is located at an altitude of 53 meters above sea level and is visible from a distance of 20 nautical miles. The height of its tower is 20 meters, and its focal height is 55 meters.The lantern was made in 1861 by the French company Faron.
After the liberation of Lesvos (1912), it was handed over to the Greek Lighthouse Service on January 12, 1916. The existing equipment was repaired and the lighthouse was manned by lighthouse keepers. In 1930, new lighting equipment was ordered from the English company Chance, which operated with an 85mm diameter oil lamp. The optical, which rotated with the help of a manual clock mechanism, consisted of 16 lenses. In 1931 the building facilities were overhauled.
After World War II the lighthouse was badly damaged, and provisionally repaired. In 1957 the lighting equipment was dismantled, and transferred to the Lighthouse Service for general repair.
Since 1991 the lighthouse has been operating with the old optical rotation mechanism and with the old optical, in which an electric lamp has been placed.
It is listed in the Hellenic Lighthouse with the number AEF 7130. It is placed in a position of 39°12.8′ N, 25°50.0′ E, and has a characteristic 7” light and 23” darkness, i.e. a period of 30 seconds.
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Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony and Aquitaine during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides.
Some of the first ones were built under Raymond VII of Toulouse to replace villages destroyed in the Albigensian Crusade. He encouraged the construction of others to colonize the wilderness, especially of southwest France. Almost 700 bastides were built between 1222 (Cordes-sur-Ciel, Tarn) and 1372 (La Bastide d'Anjou, Tarn).
Bastides were developed in number under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1229), which permitted Raymond VII of Toulouse to build new towns in his shattered domains, though not to fortify them. When the Capetian Alphonse of Poitiers inherited, under a marriage stipulated by the treaty, this "bastide founder of unparalleled energy" consolidated his regional control in part through the founding of bastides. Landowners supported development of the bastides in order to generate revenues from taxes on trade rather than tithes (taxes on production). Farmers who elected to move their families to bastides were no longer vassals of the local lord — they became free men; thus the development of bastides contributed to the waning of feudalism. The new inhabitants were encouraged to cultivate the land around the bastide, which in turn attracted trade in the form of merchants and markets. The lord taxed dwellings in the bastides and all trade in the market. The legal footing on which the bastides were set was that of paréage with the local ruling power, based on a formal written contractual agreement between the landholder and a count of Toulouse, a king of France, or a king of England. The landholder might be a cartel of local lords or the abbot of a local monastery.
Responsibilities and benefits were carefully framed in a charter, which delineated the franchises ("liberties") and coutumes ("customs") of the bastide. Feudal rights were invested in the sovereign, with the local lord retaining some duties as enforcer of local justice and intermediary between the new inhabitants— required to build houses within a specified time, often a year— and the representatives of the sovereign. Residents were granted a houselot, a kitchen garden lot (casale), and a cultivable lot (arpent) on the periphery of the bastide's lands. The bastide hall and the church were often first constructed of wood. After the bastide was established, they were replaced by structures of stone.
Structure and location
Scholarly debate has taken place over the exact definition of a bastide. They are now generally described as any town planned and built as a single unit, by a single founder. The majority of bastides were developed with a grid layout of intersecting streets, with wide thoroughfares that divide the town plan into insulae, or blocks, through which a narrow lane often runs. They included a central market square surrounded by arcades (couverts) through which the axes of thoroughfares pass, with a covered weighing and measuring area. The market square often provides the module into which the bastide is subdivided. The Roman model, the castrum with its grid plan and central forum, was inescapable in a region where Roman planning precedents survived in medieval cities such as Béziers, Narbonne, Toulouse, Orange and Arles. The region of the bastides had been one of the last outposts of Late Antiquity in the West.
Ease of tax collection was another reason for the grid layout, as the village was taxable module by module, and the organized central area. The bastides' forms resulted from "the friction engendered by interaction, expedience, pragmatism, legal compromise, and profit," Adrian Randolph observed in 1995. More rarely, such planned cities were developed according to a circular plan. Some bastides were not so geometrically planned: "The block geometry of the bastides was not a rigid framework into which a town was squeezed; it resembles more closely a net, thrown upon the site and adapting to its nuances," Randolph remarks.
Most bastides were built in the Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Gers and Haute-Garonne départements of France, because of the altitude and quality of the soil. Some were constructed in important defensive positions. The best-known today is probably Andorra la Vella, but the most populated is Villeneuve-sur-Lot, the "new town on the River Lot".
- This heritage has been emphasized in the tourism in the southern regions.
- Bastide emphasises the "built" nature of the enterprise; in spite of the fortified connotations of Bastille, most of the present town walls were not built initially, though their strategic location was a consideration from the start, in part through contractual promises of future military support from the new occupants. (Adrian Randolph, "The Bastides of southwest France" The Art Bulletin 77.2 (June 1995, pp. 290-307) pp 291 note 11 and 303.
- There is little consensus on whether Montauban should be counted as a bastide (Randolph 1995:291 note 11).
- Bastide in the French Wikipedia, retrieved March 8, 2007.
- Randolph 1995:290f.
- Randolph 1995:303f.
- Randolph 1995:292.
- historians have classified other planned new towns of Languedoc-Roussillon, built on a circular plan, as circulades.
- Randolph 1995:297
- C. Goudineau, P.A. Février and M. Fixot, "Le réseau urbain," in Georges Duby, ed. Histoire de la France urbaine Paris 1980, pp 71-137.
- Randolph 1995:291.
- K. Pawloski, "Villes et villages circulaire du Languedoc" Annales du Midi 9 (1987) pp 407-28.
- Randolph 1995:301.
- Randolph, Adrian, "The Bastides of southwest France" The Art Bulletin 77.2 (June 1995), pp. 290–307.
- Bentley, James (1994). Fort Towns of France: The Bastides of the Dordogne and Aquitaine. Tauris Parke. ISBN 1-85043-608-8.
- Beresford, Maurice. (1967) New Towns of the Middle Ages. Town Plantation in England, Wales and Gascony. London.
- Boerefijn, Wim (2010) ‘’The foundation, planning and building of new towns in the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe. An architectural-historical research into urban form and its creation’’. Phd. thesis Universiteit van Amsterdam. Esp. chapter 2.ISBN 978-90-9025157-8 ().
- Lauret, Alain, Raymond Malebranche & Gilles Séraphin (1988) ‘’Bastides, villes nouvelles du moyen-age’’. Toulouse.
|Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bastide.|
- History of the Bastide Towns
- Bastides - mediaeval planned towns Where, when and why they were built.
- (French) Musée des bastides, in Monflanquin, France
- (French) Site du Centre d'études des bastides
- What is a bastide? - Short history in English centered around Cordes sur Ciel.
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3D printing used as a tool to explain theoretical physics
9 December 2013 | Source: EPL
Students may soon be able to reach out and touch some of the theoretical concepts they are taught in their physics classes thanks to a novel idea devised by a group of researchers from Imperial College London.
In a new study published today, 9 December, in the journal EPL, the researchers have successfully demonstrated how complex theoretical physics can be transformed into a physical object using a 3D printer.
In just eight hours and at the cost of around 15 euros, they were able to use a commercially available 3D printer to create their own 8 cm3 object based on a mathematical model that described how forest fires can be started and how they eventually spread over time.
The researchers have labelled the approach “Sculplexity”—standing for sculptures of complexity—and believe it could also be used to produce works of art based on science, or transform the way that ideas and concepts are presented and discussed within the scientific community.
Co-author of the study Dr Tim Evans, a theoretical physicist at Imperial, said: “The work was inspired by a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London where I came across the first ever 3D printed object the museum had acquired.
“The object was a table inspired by the tree-like structures found in nature, which is an example of a branching process that is commonly encountered in complex systems in theoretical physics. This led me to think, what other processes familiar to physics could be turned into a 3D printed object?”
Complex systems are made up of many parts that interact on many time and length scales and which show coherent behaviour and certain patterns on a large scale. A living organism is the best example of a complex system, whereby the individual parts—in this case the molecular processes in the cell — interact with each other and contribute to much larger processes on a macroscopic scale.
The interactions at play in many complex systems can be mapped out onto a two-dimensional grid which is divided into identical squares, or “cells”. Each of the cells can exist in a certain state and evolve over time, which is governed by a certain set of rules.
In their study, the researchers used a forest fire as an example, in which each cell represented a tree which could either be alive, dead or burning. The exact state that each cell occupied over time depended on a set of rules, which took into account the cell’s proximity to other cells that may be burning or if it was struck by lightning.
“The basic idea is simple,” continued Dr Evans. “A 3D printer builds up its object in layers. So the height of the object can be thought of as time. Suppose you have a mathematical model which defines a flat, two-dimensional picture that evolves in time — typically this will be a grid with some squares full and some empty.
“The mathematical model will define at each point in time what the printer should print at one height. The next step in the model will then define what to print on top of the first layer, and so forth. The result is a 3D object which shows how the mathematical model has evolved over time.”
The resulting model the researchers created was not without glitches; however, Dr Evans believes the experience has allowed them to identify the obstacles, formulate solutions and inspire the physics community to “get creative”.
“In our own group at Imperial we are trying to explain heartbeat anomalies by looking at simple models for the behaviour of individual cells in heart muscle — it’s possible that this could be visualised using 3D printing. Most models that represent the spread of disease could also be visualised.
“There may be many other examples and we just hope our rather literal translation from theoretical model to 3D printer output stimulates others to get creative,” Dr Evans concluded.
From Monday 9 December the paper can be downloaded from http://iopscience.iop.org/0295-5075//104/4/48001/article
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1. Using word flash cards, students will create compound words by combining two words chosen from the board.
2. By completing the given worksheet, students will match words to create compound words.
3. After listening to the read-aloud of the book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, students will respond to the story by drawing a picture.
4. After completing the picture, each student will list his or her three favorite foods.
1. Book: Barrett, J. (1982). Cloudy with a chance of meatballs.
Ill. By Ron Barrett. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.
2. Word flash cards (waxed)
3. Paper, pencil, and crayons
4. Compound word worksheet
Students will be introduced to this lesson with the reading of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, written by Judi Barrett. Prior to the reading, it will be pointed out that the word "meatballs" is actually a compound word. Students will be asked to listen for any other compound words during the reading. Students will also be asked to make and confirm predictions about the story.
1. Following the read-aloud, a more comprehensive minilesson
on compound words will be given. It will be explained that compound words are actually two words that are put together to make a new word. Students will be given examples and then asked to share examples. Compound words used in the book will be noted.
2. Several word cards will be placed on the board in two
separate columns. The words will be read aloud as a whole group. Students will be called on individually to come forward and create a compound word by combining a word chosen from the left with a word from the right.
3. Each will be given a compound word worksheet (attached). Students will match words to create compound words by drawing a line from the word on the left to the word on the right. The first few items will be completed as a whole group to insure student understanding. Teachers will circulate the classroom to provide student assistance.
4. In response to the read-aloud, students will be given a blank sheet of paper to draw a picture of their home with their favorite foods raining down. Students will be given time to color their picture.
5. Students will be asked to write their three favorite foods on their pictures.
Assessment will include:
1. Observation of students and their oral responses during the matching compound word activity.
2. Student completion of the compound word worksheet.
3. Student completion of the picture drawn in response to the story.
4. Student completion of listing their three favorite foods.
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This article was translated from Arabic.
Israel employs the “law of return,” which not only enables Jews from all over the world to live in regions under Israeli control but also grants them citizenship immediately. Israel has counted on this law since its inception to legalize attracting and settling Jewish immigrants, a policy that has resulted in a gradual shift in demographic balances following Israel’s declaration as a state in 1948. Thus, Israel has relied on such immigrations to bolster the proportion of its Jewish settlers compared to the Palestinian population and preserve the state’s Jewish identity.
Organized Jewish immigration: A crucial part of Israel’s history
Israel tends to take advantage of severe military and security crises in places where Jews reside outside Israel by relocating members of the community to its territory and ultimately settling them for the long term. Moreover, successive Israeli governments have organized, either officially or through the Jewish Agency for Israel, numerous waves of the mass immigration of Jews to Israel without there being any military or security crises justifying such relocations.
Operation Bisat al-Rih, which saw the movement of 49,000 Yemeni Jews to Israel between 1949 and 1950, is one instance of a relocation scheme orchestrated by the Jewish Agency for Israel. Similar to Operation Yachin, which began in 1964 and involved the relocation of Moroccan Jews, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah saw the removal and relocation of almost 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel. Operation Joshua relocated Jews from Ethiopia in 1985.
In Israel’s history, such waves of mass immigration orchestrated by the government or by Jewish organizations have grown frequent and have even shaped its identity, which the government explicitly defends as a permanent national policy. Thus, it was not unexpected that Israel would view the conflict in Ukraine as just another opportunity to import people from Russia and Ukraine.
Israel needs such immigration now for a variety of reasons, including guaranteeing its labor requirements across the board and ensuring complete Jewish control over its land. Furthermore, Israel requires these immigrants to increase its illegal settlement activity, which is directly planned and carried out by the state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel has orchestrated waves of immigration from Russia and Ukraine at various points throughout history. This experience makes it easier for them to operate there due to the historical lines of communication with the Jewish populations in these two countries.
The Jews of Russia and the partial mobilization
In 2021, 23,000 Russian Jews immigrated to Israel, accounting for 47% of all Jews who immigrated to the Jewish State in that one year. In defiance of court orders to cease activities, the Jewish Agency expanded its efforts in Russia, which helped to drive a substantial portion of Russian Jews to Israel. The fact that this organization specializes in connecting with Jews all around the world and organizing their official state-sponsored immigration to Israel must not be overlooked.
Israel was making significant attempts to entice immigrants from the Jewish community in Russia even prior to the start of the conflict in Ukraine. The partial mobilization announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, which involved sending over 300,000 Russians to the front lines in Ukraine, provided Israel with an opportunity. By offering an alternative for Russian Jews seeking to avoid the battlefield, Israel may increase the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid contacted Am Shalom, acting director of the Israeli airline El Al, as soon as this partial mobilization was announced and requested that he increase the number of direct flights between Moscow and Tel Aviv in order to transport Russian Jews who sought to immigrate to Israel. This coincided with statements by Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, who indicated that some 40,000 Russian Jews who met the conditions for immigration to Israel went to the Israeli Embassy in Moscow to submit applications.
The Israeli Ministry of Finance and Immigration prepared aid packages to support Russian Jews who were just arriving in the nation while working to entice additional Russian Jews to relocate to Israel. Given the economic strains Russia is under and the widespread concern that its residents would be forced to join in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, Israel has stepped up its attempts to encourage more Jews to move to Israel. Currently, there are over 165,000 Jews in Russia.
Recent days have seen an extraordinary surge in the cost of plane tickets from Russia to Israel, reaching an all-time high of $6,700. This is due to the strong demand from sizable groups of Russian Jews attempting to relocate to Israel, causing a shortage of seats on flights to Tel Aviv. As a result, a number of Russian Jews have flown to neighboring nations in an effort to book flights to Tel Aviv, raising the cost of plane tickets in those nations as well.
The Jews of Ukraine and the Russian invasion
Israel welcomed between 3,000 and 4,000 Jewish immigrants from Ukraine a year between 2011 and 2021 as a consequence of the Jewish Agency’s intensive efforts throughout the nation to draw Ukrainian Jews to Israel. Thus, even before the war started, Israel had strong channels of contact with the Ukrainian Jewish community and saw it as a key source of Jewish immigration to Israel. Jews in Ukraine on whom the “Law of Return” would apply number between 200,000 and 250,000.
Israel stepped up its efforts and started planning organized excursions to move Ukrainian Jews to Israel at the onset of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The Jewish Agency, the army, and the National Security Council in Tel Aviv participated in a government “contingency plan” that was employed to carry out these activities. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Israel has established highly ambitious objectives for this project, including examining the local capacity to eventually absorb all of Ukraine’s Jewish population, or more than 200,000 immigrants.
Israel has not yet released official numbers estimating the entire number of Jews from Ukraine who moved to Israel and are now eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return. However, in an effort to increase the presence of Jewish communities there at the expense of Palestinian towns and cities, the extreme right has started creating plans to house all these immigrants in West Bank illegal settlements.
The West Bank Settlements Council has begun assembling specialized teams to accompany Jewish families from Ukraine and support their reintegration. The council has also stated its willingness to build many prefabricated homes in various West Bank regions in order to accommodate the imminent influx of Ukrainian Jews. It is crucial to emphasize that, as part of a deliberate Israeli policy to maximize the demographic effect, a number of newly arrived Russian and Ukrainian Jews have already made their way to the illegal West Bank settlements.
The law of return versus the right of return
Israel exploits its authority as a state to entice and settle a sizeable number of Jews from Russia and Ukraine by capitalizing on the conflict’s impacts. The Jewish State provides tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Jews the right to citizenship and resettlement under the guise of the “Law of Return,” but does not show the same courtesy to the millions of Palestinians who were forced to leave their lands during the Nakba of 1948.
The fact that Israel is exploiting Jewish immigrants impacted by the conflict by relocating them to illegal West Bank settlements, which will exacerbate the suffering of the indigenous Palestinian population, is of paramount importance.
In this respect, Israel would have turned Ukrainian war victims fleeing their homes into a weapon to oppress another population. While the Ukrainians today are struggling to repel Russia’s invasion of their country, Israel has turned this occasion into an opportunity to perpetuate another occupation by expanding its settlements in the West Bank.
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There are various techniques for Project Evaluation, and the most popular of these techniques are:
- GAP Analysis
- SWOT Analysis
- PEST Analysis
SWOT is one of the most effective techniques to evaluate projects. The SWOT technique is split into 2 sections.
Internal Factors: Consists of all the factors which affect the project internally.
Strengths: Are all the positive attributes and variables within the project. Such factors will increase the chance of project success.
Weakness:This is opposite of the strength factors. These are internal attributes that affect the project outcomes. To many weaknesses will make the project a failure
External Factors: Opposite of Internal these factors are not created by the project itself. External Factors consist of factors that affect the project from outsources such as government, people using the system... etc.
Opportunities: These are factors that will benefit greater the college. Factors such ease of use will increase the amount of student applying for courses.
Threats: These factors will badly affect the project. Threats are not controlled by the college. If college funding is reduce this will affect the product outcome.
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| 0.928082 | 234 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Can you believe that in 1928 vitamin D was discovered to prevent cavities, stop the spread of cavities and halt the growth of tooth decay (caries)? In 2017, a study found that vitamin D was BETTER than fluoride in preventing tooth decay. So why don’t we diagnose and treat vitamin D deficiency (VDD) which is a global pandemic affecting at least 1 billion people? =>Lack of education ignorance. Ignorance of already published research–even when a century old. Research shows Vitamin D can prevent decay, gum inflammation (gingivitis), periodontal disease, bone loss, tooth loss, implant failure, oral cancer, and more painful and worse healing after oral surgery for up to ONE year. Research found that Maternal and Early VDD can result in Severe Early Childhood Caries. It is time to diagnose and treat VDD around the world and get most peoples blood levels over 30 ng/ml and even to a better level of 40 to 60ng/ml ASAP,
- July 4, 2020 Begins Our Return-to-Normal…Soon. A New Swine Flu Threat Brings 1918 and 2009 Pandemic Deja Vu.
- Healthcare Workers Need More Vitamin D3 In Their High-Risk Jobs [And Most People Need More D3 Too] Onset of COVID-19 Makes the Need Even More Urgent
- Dental Workers Need More Vitamin D3 Before Returning to High-Risk Jobs [And Most People Need More D3 Too] Onset of COVID-19 Makes the Need Even More Urgent
- What If $10 Billion of Vitamin D3 & Sunshine Could Restart the U.S. Economy in 30-45 Days, Reduce Disparities and Safely Fight COVID-19 for ONE Year?
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Needs More Prevention. Vitamin D3 Can Boost Immune Systems and Mental Health, and Save Money.
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| 0.887775 | 397 | 3.34375 | 3 |
By Scarlett Andes – Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Public History Program, Fall 2019.
Agnes Nestor, a prominent labor leader and educator, stands out as an unusual contributor to the fight for women’s suffrage in Illinois, which she saw as directly tied to working women’s interests. Born in 1876 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Agnes Nestor soon saw her fortunes shift. In search of work, her father moved the family to Chicago but fell ill, and Nestor’s childhood was swept away as she left the eighth grade and began factory work to support her family. Struggling under the sixty-hour work week at the Eisendrath Glove Company, Nestor took inspiration from her male coworkers’ unionization. She raised her voice and led a women’s strike in 1898, which saw its demands met in only ten days, and in 1902 she formed a female glove workers’ local. She soon took part in forming the International Glove Workers Union (IGWU), for which she first served as a vice president, and then was elected to a paid full-time position as IGWU secretary-treasurer. Her career eventually included organizing women in a wide variety of occupations, ranging from milliners to stockyard workers and giving speeches .
This work easily aligned with the suffrage cause. In a pamphlet titled “The Working Girl’s Need of Suffrage,” Nestor stated that “to us, it is not a question of equal rights, but a question of equal needs.” She noted that working women were just as likely as men to be harmed by working conditions or jailed for striking, and thus, like men, they needed the vote to strengthen their fight for safe conditions and fair treatment under the law .
Through her activism, Nestor befriended leading Chicago reformers, such as Jane Addams, Mary McDowell, and Margaret Dreier Robins, with whom she lobbied for legal protections for working women . In 1907, Addams spoke at Nestor’s IGWU chapter meeting, and in 1909 Addams invited Nestor to Hull House for an exhibit of sculpture, some depicting laborers, by the noted sculptor Charles Haag and “labor songs by pupils of the music school” . When, on March 29, 1909, a letter arrived from Hull House inviting Nestor on a lobbying trip to Springfield with Addams, Nestor agreed .
The Chicago Municipal Suffrage bill was going to the Illinois House of Representatives. This bill allowed women to vote in municipal elections under a new Chicago city charter, which would deliver a blow against national suffrage restrictions . Addams and other leaders of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association (IESA) organized a special train with discounted fare on the Chicago & Alton Railroad to leave Chicago at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, April 13th, 1909. They made stops for speakers, including Nestor, to give three-minute speeches along the way at the Illinois towns of Joliet, Dwight, Pontiac and Lexington, Bloomington, Atlanta, and Lincoln. The train, decorated with banners emblazoned with suffrage slogans such as “Women’s Vote, Chicago’s Welfare,” drew hundreds at every stop . Nestor was assigned to speak at Joliet on a topic aligned with her work for the IGWU: “The Lack of the Ballot the Handicap of the Working Girls.” . Finally, they arrived in Springfield to prepare for the House hearing the next day .
While many of the suffrage movement’s leaders were white, middle-class women, Nestor was not alone in speaking for underrepresented groups. Other suffragist speakers for minorities and disadvantaged groups included Mrs. Raymond Robins, President of the Women’s Trade Union League of Illinois; Flora Witowsky, President of Jewish Women’s Aid; and Mrs. Thomas, Field Secretary of the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago, which Addams had founded to advocate on issues related to child labor, racism, and prostitution .
The Municipal Suffrage bill did not pass, but the IESA’s lobbying led to a broader, more inclusive women’s coalition. The defeat did not discourage Nestor; in 1910, she wrote that “[a] new spirit for work and an added sense of power to bring about justice will come to every woman through full enfranchisement” . After years of effort by the IESA and activists like Nestor, in 1913 Illinois women gained a step towards full suffrage, which Nestor and others made clear would benefit women of all classes . Nestor lived until 1948 and saw the suffrage movement succeed with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, after which she became even more involved in government. Besides running (unsuccessfully) for the Illinois legislature in 1929, Nestor served on several federal committees and continued to work devotedly for women’s labor issues through the Great Depression until the end of her life to make her vision of justice and self-advocacy a reality at all levels of society .
Opdycke, Sandra, “Nestor, Agnes.” American National Biography, Oxford University Press, February 2000. https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1500506; Agnes Nestor, Women’s Labor Leader: An Autobiography Of Agnes Nestor (Rockford, IL: Bellevue Books Pub. Co., 1954).
(2) Agnes Nestor. The Working Girl’s Need of Suffrage (pamphlet). [1910?]. Nineteenth Century Collections Online.
Opdycke, “Nestor, Agnes.”
Elsie M. Smith Lucas and Jane Addams, “Elsie M. Smith Lucas to Agnes Nestor, December 1, 1906,” Jane Addams Digital Edition. https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/544 (accessed Oct. 25, 2019); Jane Addams and Hull House Residents to Agnes Nestor (invitation to a reception on January 27), 1909. Box 1, Folder 4, Agnes Nestor Papers, Chicago History Museum Archives and Manuscripts, Chicago History Museum.
Jane Addams to Agnes Nestor, 29 March 1909, Box 1, Folder 4, Agnes Nestor Papers, Chicago History Museum Archives and Manuscripts, Chicago History Museum.
Ella S. Steward and Catharine W. McCullough, “Special Train to Springfield for the Woman Suffrage Hearing,” 1909, Box 1, Folder 4, Agnes Nestor Papers, Chicago History Museum Archives and Manuscripts, Chicago History Museum; Maureen A. Flanagan, Seeing With Their Hearts: Chicago Women And The Vision Of The Good City 1871-1933. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2003.), 82-84.
Ella S. Steward and Catharine W. McCullough, “Special Train to Springfield for the Woman Suffrage Hearing”; “Record Broken in Illinois,” Woman’s Journal, April 24, 1909, Nineteenth Century Collections Online.
Jane Addams to Agnes Nestor, 9 April 1909. Box 1, Folder 4, Agnes Nestor Papers, Chicago History Museum Archives and Manuscripts, Chicago History Museum; Catharine McCulloch to Agnes Nestor about speaking at Joliet and sending a synopsis of her speech, 1909. Box 1, Folder 4, Agnes Nestor Papers, Chicago History Museum Archives and Manuscripts, Chicago History Museum; List of speakers and topics for the Springfield lobbying train, 1909, Box 1, Folder 4, Agnes Nestor Papers, Chicago History Museum Archives and Manuscripts, Chicago History Museum; Opdycke, “Nestor, Agnes.”
“Record Broken in Illinois.” Woman’s Journal, April 24, 1909, +. Nineteenth Century Collections Online.
List of speakers and topics for the Springfield lobbying train, 1909; “Get To Know JPA,” 2018. Juvenile Protective Association (website). Accessed Oct. 25, 2019, https://www.jpachicago.org/about.
Flanagan, Seeing With Their Hearts: Chicago Women And The Vision Of The Good City 1871-1933.
Agnes Nestor, The Working Girl’s Need of Suffrage (pamphlet).
Nestor. Women’s Labor Leader: An Autobiography Of Agnes Nestor; Flanagan, Seeing With Their Hearts: Chicago Women And The Vision Of The Good City 1871-1933.
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“Too many organizations---not just companies, but governments and nonprofits as well---still operate from assumptions about human potential and individual performance that are outdated, unexamined, and rooted more in folklore than in science.” Daniel Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates UsIt’s not just businesses that are still caught in outdated assumptions about performance and motivation. Schools are caught in that same time warp too. Much of how our classrooms and schools are structured and operate are designed to take advantage of extrinsic motivation, and we are finding that in the 21st century, this structure and way of operating no longer works.
But the question is, how can we transform our schools so that they no longer operate under these outdated assumptions about student potential, student performance, and student motivation? If one were to make a list of how our schools still operate and what these faulty and obsolete assumptions about education and schooling are, that list would look somewhat like this.
- Students are motivated by grades.
- Students are incapable of directing their own learning.
- Classrooms (and schools) must operate under strict control with specific rules and consequences governing student behavior.
- Teachers are the primary dispensers of learning in the classroom.
- Education is something “done to students” rather than something in which they engage.
In ROLE Reversal, Barnes describes what he terms a Results Only Learning Environment or ROLE. As the name implies, in a ROLE the focus is entirely on results, or student work. Also, in this environment, the principles of fostering intrinsic motivation described by Pink are implemented fully. According to Barnes, a ROLE basically upends many of the traditional assumptions about education and learning. Here’s some of ways these traditional assumptions are upended.
In a ROLE, or Results Only Learning Environment:
- Grades and grading systems are replaced with a “narrative feedback system” that focuses specifically on student work and improving that work. In Barnes’ result-only classroom, teachers do not use numerical grades to provide feedback because numerical feedback systems fail to provide feedback students need to improve their performance. Instead, students are given extensive, comprehensive, and ongoing narrative feedback on their work. This feedback is specific and can be used by the student for work improvement. In ROLE Reversal, Barnes shows teachers how to provide this kind of feedback.
- Instead of teacher-directed learning activities, students are given broad, long-term projects to complete, and they make the daily decisions on how to complete those projects. The intrinsic motivation model described by Pink demands that autonomy be employed to engage people in the tasks at hand. Under Barnes’ results-only classroom model, students engage in six-week long projects that provide a great deal of choice, or autonomy, on how and what is learned and when. Autonomy is a built-in component of his results-only classroom practice.
- Classroom rules and consequences are jettisoned and the use of opportunities to engage in meaningful work, collaborating with peers, and trust/respect are used instead to manage classroom behavior. Too often, classrooms become more about focusing on the enforcement of rules rather than the learning students are being asked to do. In Barnes’ results-only classroom, behavior is managed through well-designed, engaging, and collaborative learning projects that leave students little time to engage in problem behaviors. Also, the results-only classroom described by Barnes fosters a high-level of respect and trust that makes having rules and consequences less necessary.
- Teachers are no longer the “dispensers of information/learning.” According to Barnes, in a ROLE, teachers become coaches and facilitators of student learning. In the results-only classroom, teachers step away from the front of the classroom and spend more time facilitating student learning and coaching students on their work. Teacher-centered activities like worksheets, quizzes, and homework are jettisoned. Instead, students engage in long-term, meaningful activities that challenge them.
- Education and learning moves from being something done to students to something in which students actively engage in on a daily basis. The 20th century traditional model of education is very much still with us. The heart of that educational philosophy and model sees education as a process by which we subject students to, in order to add value determined by test scores. Under Barnes’ result-only model, education and learning is something students actively engage in every day. They are active participants in their learning.
Mark Barnes, Role Reversal
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The First Russian Naval Voyage, Taken for the Resolution of the Geographical Question: Are Asia and America Connected? Completed in 1727, '28 and '29 under the Leadership of Navy Captain of the First Rank, Vitus Bering. Includes Short Biographies of Captain Bering and the Officers Accompanying Him
In the summer of 1728, Vitus Jonassen Bering (1681‒1741) sailed in his first Pacific voyage along the Russian coast from Kamchatka to the Arctic Ocean through the waterway that subsequently became known as the Bering Strait. In his last major official act as tsar, in 1725 Peter the Great had commissioned this journey to determine if Asia and North America were connected by land. This book, the title of which includes the tsar’s basic question about a land bridge, summarized the history and results of this expedition. The journey was onerous, as Bering first had to cross overland through Siberia and then build and provision his ship, the Saint Gabriel, in Kamchatka. The endeavor thus became known as the First Kamchatka Expedition (1725‒30). This volume provides the records of daily weather reports from the expedition, as well as readings of latitude and longitude and the recording of geographical location as the Saint Gabriel sailed north. Bering’s findings were inconclusive, as ice and bad weather prevented him from proving the presence or absence of a land connection between Asia and America. To Bering’s chagrin, Peter’s tsarist successors insisted that he return for a second voyage more than ten years later with an expanded mission. On this Second Kamchatka Expedition, part of the Great Northern Expedition (1733‒43), Bering finally sighted Mount Saint Elias in southern Alaska in July 1741. Bering claimed the entire region for Russia from this location, far to the south and east of the Bering Strait. The expedition also finally resulted in confirmation that Siberia and Alaska were indeed separated by water. Bering became famous in both Russia and throughout the world for these two voyages. Perhaps as a result, this book also contains brief biographical sketches of Bering and his senior officers from the first voyage. Bering was a Lutheran captain from Denmark who spent nearly his entire career in service to the Russian state and reached high rank in the Imperial Russian Navy.
Academy of Sciences of the USSR, St. Petersburg
Title in Original Language
Первое морское путешествiе россiянъ, предпринятое для рѣшенiя географической задачи: соединяется ли Азiя съ Америкою? и совершенное въ 1727, 28 и 29 годахъ подъ начальствомъ флота Капитана 1-го ранга Витуса Беринга. Съ присовокупленiемъ краткaго бiографическаго свѣденiя о Капитанѣ Берингѣ и бывшихъ съ нимъ Офицерахъ
Type of Item
126 pages : tables, maps
Last updated: August 17, 2016
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Created by Barry Thompson © 2011-2017 Aston on Trent on Trent Local History Group, all rights reserved
Aston on Trent - The Big Houses - Part 2 - The Rectories
Coincidental with the death of Thomas Holden in 1726 we learn of the building of a new
Rectory. The evidence so far obtained regarding this building is an artistic impression, dated
1839, of the west of the parish church, this view showing a substantial Georgian-like dwelling
to the north of the church. There is also a large scale map, drawn sometime between 1796 and
1830, which also shows a large rectangular building clearly marked as the Rectory.
It is not yet known how long the Georgian Rectory survived, but during the reign of Queen
Victoria a replacement Rectory was built on the same site. From the examination of
photographs of the Victorian Rectory there is a suggestion that the Georgian building may have
been extended by adding wings to the north and south sides. Whether or not this is a
reasonable assumption, the house in question was of substantial proportions, befitting a
clergyman who was a member of the Holden family who towards the end of the Victorian era
owned approximately two thirds of the parish of Aston on Trent.
The life style of the Victorian Rectors can be imagined by a glance at the 1881 Census Return which shows that the Reverend James Shuttleworth
Holden was employing seven household servants in addition to other employees engaged in looking after his horses, stables, carriages and
During the twentieth century the Rectory gradually became more accessible to the people of Aston on Trent and was made available for village
events and meetings of various village organisations. Its commodious facilities were put to good use during the Second World War as
accommodation for members of the Woman’s Land Army and the grounds were occupied by Aston’s Home Guard Platoon for drill and weapons
training. Its cellars were used as an air raid shelter for villagers.
In 1969 it was considered that the Rectory was no longer fit for purpose. Its general condition had deteriorated beyond cost effective repair and
the decision was made to demolish and make way for the building of the Rectory we see today.
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Airbus has set a world record for the longest continuously-flying aircraft, thanks to their new solar-powered drone. That drone recently spent just three minutes shy of 26 days in the air without taking a single break for refueling. Airbus wants its solar drones to eventually be used as a cheaper replacement for satellites.
Airbus has been working on its Zephyr S drone since at least 2015, with the goal of providing a cheaper and more versatile replacement for satellites. The drone weighs only 165 pounds, about as much as a single person, and is powered by an 80-foot wingspan covered in solar panels. At high altitudes, Zephyr is uninterrupted by cloud cover or other air traffic, and can fly for months at a time.
Zephyr launched on its maiden voyage on July 11 and only recently touched down again, and Airbus says this long-duration flight is only the beginning. In the future, Airbus hopes to run much longer missions, starting later this year.
With this technology, plenty of governments, companies, and organizations have a cheaper option than satellites. Airbus envisions Zephyr used for airborne monitoring of disaster zones, long-term environmental studies, and even bringing wireless internet to underserved areas. The company is also developing a more advanced version of the Zephyr that’s twice the size and capable of carrying larger payloads.
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How does the zoo environment affect the behaviour of captive primates?
It is important for us to be able to understand the behaviour of primates in zoos for at least three reasons: firstly as a means towards ensuring their welfare, secondly to use that understanding to ensure a positive zoo experience for zoo visitors, and thirdly so that results of basic research undertaken on zoo primates can be properly evaluated. Often, however, the results of studies of how the zoo environment affects primate behaviour are not easy to interpret. We should recognize that the zoo environment is only one of a number of environments in which primates live, and should identify in which ways the zoo environment is different from those other environments. Here, it is suggested that the zoo environment may be defined in terms of three dimensions: regular presence of large numbers of unfamiliar humans, restricted space, and being managed. Individually all three of these can also be found in other, non-zoo environments, but all three together are characteristic of zoo environments. This paper is an initial attempt to compare studies of primate responses to the variables associated with each of these three dimensions across different primate environments. It is concluded that there is a need for at least two different types of study in future: comparisons across a range of primate environments using the same species and measures, and studies of the interactions between the three dimensions identified for zoo environments. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
A royal ordinance under the Merovingian dynasty.
- ‘But of the seven remaining curtes, only Marengo seems to have had any particular structure, which made it possible, as in Corteolona, to host the royal assembly that issued the capitulary in 825.’
- ‘Charlemagne's numerous capitularies (law codes, relating particularly to landholding) contain instructions to his officials to plant vines.’
- ‘One of Charlemagne's capitularies is entitled ‘On Scribes - That They Should Not Write Corruptly’.’
- ‘An abridgement of the Carolingian capitularies of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious by Ansegisus, possibly acting in an official capacity, was made in the 820s.’
- ‘But the capitularies could and did range widely, and Charles issued decrees even concerning the conduct of the clergy.’
- ‘Codes were seen as rights of the people, capitularies as royal legislation.’
Mid 17th century: from late Latin capitularius, from Latin capitulum in the sense ‘section of a law’.
Top tips for CV writingRead more
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.
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Ulnar Nerve Compression
(Also known as Funny Bone Syndrome)
What is ulnar nerve compression?
Ulnar nerve compression is a condition characterized by pressure being placed on the ulnar nerve as it passes along the inner aspect of the elbow (funny bone).
The ulna nerve originates from several spinal nerves in the neck and travels through the upper arm, into the forearm, hand and fingers. It passes the elbow in a shallow groove situated at the inner aspect of the elbow between the medial epicondyle and olecranon (figure 1). The ulna nerve is responsible for supplying sensation to the inner aspect of the forearm, the palm of the hand on the little finger side, the little finger and half of the ring finger. It is also responsible for supplying some muscles of the forearm and hand.
Following a direct impact to the inner aspect of the elbow, the ulnar nerve may be compressed. In addition, damage and inflammation of tissue adjacent to the ulnar nerve may also place pressure on the nerve. When this occurs the condition is known as ulnar nerve compression.
Ulnar nerve compression can occur at any age and is more common in the dominant arm especially in the case of overuse injuries. Occasionally, it may affect both arms.
Causes of ulnar nerve compression
Ulnar nerve compression most commonly occurs due to a direct impact to the nerve as it passes the inner aspect of the elbow. This is particularly common during a fall onto the elbow or due to a direct impact from an object or person. This may injure and compress the nerve directly or damage adjacent tissue causing inflammation, swelling and subsequent secondary compression of the nerve. Adjacent tissue may also be damaged due to overuse (such as excessive gripping activities) again placing pressure on the ulnar nerve due to inflammation, swelling and scar tissue formation.
Ulnar nerve compression may also occur due to excessive traction to the nerve. This is particularly common in the throwing athlete whereby their elbow is subject to excessive valgus forces in the cocking phase of throwing.
The nerve may also be compressed as is passes through one of the muscles of the forearm (flexor carpi ulnaris) typically due to muscle overdevelopment (associated with weight training) or overuse and subsequent inflammation and scar tissue formation.
Bony irregularities (such as spurs) within the groove between the olecranon and medial epicondyle may also contribute to ulnar nerve compression and is typically associated with overuse injuries in the throwing athlete.
A history of wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck or upper back injury may also increase the likelihood of a patient developing this condition.
The above factors alone or in combination with each other may contribute to the development of ulnar nerve compression.
Signs and symptoms of ulnar nerve compression
The symptoms associated with ulnar nerve compression may develop suddenly or gradually over a period of time. Symptoms may include an ache or pain at the back or inner aspect of the elbow and forearm, pins and needles, numbness or a burning sensation may also be present in a similar area or into the palm on the little finger side of the hand, the little finger and half of the ring finger. Tenderness and an increase in symptoms may be experienced when firmly pressing or tapping the nerve at the inner aspect of the elbow. Occasionally, in more severe cases, weakness of the hand and fingers may also be present.
In patients with inflammation contributing to the condition, symptoms may be worse at night or first thing in the morning. Occasionally, ulnar nerve compression may be associated with neck or upper back pain on the same side. In severe cases of ulnar nerve compression, obvious wasting of the muscles of the hand and forearm may be detected.
Diagnosis of ulnar nerve compression
A thorough subjective and objective examination from a physiotherapist may be sufficient to diagnose ulnar nerve compression. Nerve conduction studies may also be required to confirm diagnosis.
Treatment for ulnar nerve compression
Many cases of ulnar nerve compression settle well with appropriate physiotherapy. This includes careful assessment by the physiotherapist to determine which factors have contributed to the development of the condition, with subsequent correction of these factors.
The success rate of treatment for patients with this condition is largely dictated by patient compliance. One of the key components of treatment is that the patient rests sufficiently from any activity that increases their symptoms until they are symptom free. Activities which place large amounts of stress through the elbow and forearm should be minimized, these include: throwing, racquet sports, gripping activities, opening jars, cans or doors, carrying or lifting. Resting from aggravating activities ensures that the body can begin the healing process in the absence of further tissue damage. Once the patient can perform these activities pain free, a gradual return to these activities is indicated provided there is no increase in symptoms.
Ignoring symptoms or adopting a 'no pain, no gain' attitude is likely to lead to the problem becoming chronic. Immediate, appropriate treatment in patients with ulnar nerve compression is essential to ensure a speedy recovery. Once the condition is chronic, healing slows significantly resulting in markedly increased recovery times.
Patients with ulnar nerve compression will usually benefit from following the R.I.C.E regime. The R.I.C.E regime is beneficial in the initial phase of the injury (first 72 hours) or when inflammatory signs are present (i.e. morning pain or pain with rest). This involves resting from aggravating activities, regular icing, the use of a compression bandage and keeping the arm elevated. Anti-inflammatory medication may also significantly hasten the healing process by reducing the pain and swelling associated with inflammation.
Manual "Hands-on" Therapy from the treating physiotherapist such as massage, mobilization, dry needling, neural stretches and electrotherapy are important to break down adhesions and reduce muscle tension that may be compressing the nerve and restricting its movement.
Patients with ulnar nerve compression should perform pain-free flexibility, neural mobilization, and strengthening exercises as part of their rehabilitation to ensure an optimal outcome. The treating physiotherapist can advise which exercises are most appropriate for the patient and when they should be commenced.
In patients who are non responsive to conservative measures, surgical intervention may be indicated to relocate the nerve or reduce local compression.
Prognosis of ulnar nerve compression
With appropriate management and physiotherapy, most minor cases of ulnar nerve compression that have not been present for long can usually recover within a few weeks. In more severe and chronic cases recovery can be a lengthy process and may take many months in those who have had their condition for a long period of time. Early physiotherapy intervention is therefore vital to hasten recovery.
Contributing factors to the development of ulnar nerve compression
There are several factors which can predispose patients to developing ulnar nerve compression. These need to be assessed and corrected with direction from a physiotherapist. Some of these factors include:
- excessive training or activity (e.g. throwing sports)
- excessive muscle hypertrophy (particularly of the flexor carpi ulnaris)
- muscle weakness
- muscle tightness
- joint tightness
- poor sporting technique (e.g. throwing)
- inadequate warm-up
- Injury to the neck, upper back and nerves, upper arm, elbow or forearm
Physiotherapy for ulnar nerve compression
Physiotherapy treatment for ulnar nerve compression is vital to hasten the healing process, ensure an optimal outcome and decrease the likelihood of future recurrence. Treatment may comprise:
- soft tissue massage
- dry needling
- bracing or splinting
- joint mobilization
- neural mobilization
- ice or heat treatment
- progressive exercises to improve flexibility and strength
- training and activity modification advice
- technique correction
- anti-inflammatory advice
- devising an appropriate return to activity plan
Other intervention for ulnar nerve compression
Despite appropriate physiotherapy management, some patients with ulnar nerve compression do not improve. When this occurs the treating physiotherapist or doctor can advise on the best course of management. This may include nerve conduction studies, X-rays, ultrasound or MRI investigations, pharmaceutical intervention, corticosteroid injection, or referral to appropriate medical authorities (such as an orthopedic specialist) who can advise on any intervention that may be appropriate to improve the condition.
Surgery for ulnar nerve compression
Occasionally, surgical intervention may be required to decompress the ulnar nerve in patients with this condition. Surgery typically involves relocation of the nerve and increasing the space around the nerve to reduce compression and scar tissue adhesions. Rehabilitation under specialist and physiotherapy guidance is required following the procedure to ensure an optimal outcome.
Exercises for ulnar nerve compression
The following exercises are commonly prescribed to patients with ulnar nerve compression. You should discuss the suitability of these exercises with your physiotherapist prior to beginning them. Generally, they should be performed 3 times daily and only provided they do not cause or increase symptoms.
Wrist Flexor Stretch
Keeping your elbow straight, take your wrist and fingers backwards using your other hand until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free (figure 2). Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 4 times provided there is no increase in symptoms.
Figure 2 – Wrist Flexor Stretch (right side)
Wrist and Finger Extensor Stretch
Keeping your elbow straight, curl your wrist and fingers up using your other hand until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free (figure 3). Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 4 times provided there is no increase in symptoms.
Figure 3 – Wrist and Finger Extensor Stretch (right side)
Physiotherapy products for ulnar nerve compression
Some of the most commonly recommended products by physiotherapists to hasten healing and speed recovery in patients with this condition include:
- Ice Packs or Heat Packs
- Resistance Band (for strengthening exercises)
- Golfers Elbow Braces
- TENS Machines (for pain relief)
To purchase physiotherapy products for ulnar nerve compression click on one of the above links or visit the PhysioAdvisor Shop.
Find a Physio for ulnar nerve compression
Find a Physiotherapist in your local area who can treat ulnar nerve compression.
Return to the top of Ulnar Nerve Compression.
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Editors Note: Spring has finally arrived after a very long winter on Delmarva. While this article was originally posted in 2013, it is a timely reminder for horse owners eager to turn horses out on spring pasture.
Introduction: What is laminitis?
Laminitis is an important health concern, especially during spring months when horses are given access to or are turned out on pasture. Laminitis is an inflammation of the laminae in the hooves, which is the tissue connecting the coffin bone with the hoof wall. When the laminae become inflamed, depending on the severity of the case, the coffin bone can rotate downwards. Complete downward rotation of the coffin bone is known as “founder.” Even if the case of laminitis is not so severe as to cause the rotation of the coffin bone, it may lead to lameness and other hoof health issues.
Pasture associated laminitis can be prevented by implementing pasture management strategies and the condition, if caught early, is somewhat treatable. Unfortunately once a horse has had severe inflammation of the laminae, the damage is never completely reversed and that horse will be more likely to develop the disease in the future.
Figure 1. Source: http://www.thehorse.com/images/content/hoof_anatomy.html
What causes pasture associated laminitis?
When horses consume excessive amounts of sugars, fructan and starch, they pass though the small intestine (where they are normally digested with the help of enzymes) and spill over into the hindgut where they are rapidly fermented. Horses do not posses enzymes capable of breaking down fructans so they pass through to the hindgut where they are rapidly fermented. Rapid fermentation in the hindgut results in the proliferation of lactic acid producing amylolytic and saccharolytic bacteria. This may result in reduced hindgut pH, which in addition to hindgut acidosis, may lead to a cascade of events culminating in compromised blood flow (and thereby reduced nutrient supply) to the foot resulting in laminitis.
Laminitis is also associated with insulin resistance in equines, whereby the uptake of circulating glucose by tissue cells normally potentiated via insulin is reduced, leading to impoverished glucose supply to cells (or its metabolism within them), including those of the foot. Insulin resistance is often seen in very fat horses and ponies, and may be exacerbated by high intakes of sugars and or starch. While research has shown both digestive and metabolic forms of laminitis, the exact nutritional and physiological mechanisms are not completely understood. In either case, there is a clear link between the high levels of sugars in spring grasses and the resulting laminitis.
The following are a few management tips that may help reduce the risk of pasture laminitis in horses.
- When the time comes to reintroduce horses to pasture in the spring, do so gradually. By turning a horse out for small increments of time (15-30 minutes at first) and gradually working them up to full day turn out, they will be able to acclimate to the change in nutrients and will be less likely to experience grass founder.
- If a horse is pre-disposed to laminitis (from previous occurrences or equine metabolic disease), then it may be a good idea to turn them out in the early morning or at night, especially during the spring months. One study found that sugar content is highest in the grass in the early evening and that it decreases to its lowest point in the early morning. This pattern was most prominent in April when compared to data from other months.3
- Be sure to graze grass that is at an appropriate height. Overgrazing can result in horses eating the re-growth of the pasture. The new growth of grass usually has higher sugar content. On the other hand, if the grass stand in a pasture is overgrown or too mature, a horse may consume seed heads, which can also have high sugar levels.
- Graze a horse with a muzzle on in order to reduce the amount of grass it is able to eat while allowing for exercise.
If a horse is pre-disposed to laminitis, for instance due to genetics (breed) or obesity, there are further steps that may need to be taken in order to reduce the possibility that the horse will experience laminitis. A webinar by Dr. Bridgett McIntosh, available through My Horse University, has several tips on managing a horse that may be more likely to develop laminitis.3
Pasture associated laminitis can be a serious problem and it is more commonly seen when pastures are lush and horses are transitioning back to grazing pasture after being inside or housed in a sacrifice lot and maintained primarily on hay. Some horses are especially sensitive to the sugar levels in lush pastures while others may not have a problem making the transition. By being aware of the management techniques that help prevent laminitis, horse owners can take the steps necessary to help avoid the disease.
Article prepared by: Sarah Thorne, Pre-veterinary and Animal Biosciences Honors Student,
Susan Garey, Animal Science Agent, and Carissa Wickens, Assistant Professor and Equine Extension Specialist, University of Delaware
Article reviewed by: Bridgett McIntosh, Assistant Professor and Horse Extension Specialist, University of Tennessee
References and Further Reading
- Wickens, Carissa and Stephanie Fraze. Equine Laminitis. September 2011. Accessed 12 April 2013: http://extension.udel.edu/equine/files/2010/07/EquineLaminitisFactSheet.pdf
- Valberg, Stephanie, Peterson, Paul and Krishona Martinson. Founder and Spring Pastures. Accessed 12 April 2013: http://www.extension.umn.edu/forages/pdfs/Founder_and_spring_pastures.pdf
- The Role of Nutrition in Horse Colic and Lameness. October 2011. Accessed 12 April, 2013: http://www.extension.org/pages/12213/the-role-of-nutrition-in-horse-colic-and-laminitis
- My Horse University. (21 April 2009). Countermeasure for Equine Laminitis [Webinar]. Accessed 11 April 2013: http://www.myhorseuniversity.com/resources/webcasts/equine_laminitis_april09
- Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation RIRDC Newsletter. Pasture fructan concentration as a cause of equine laminitis. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. December 2004. 24 (12): 542.
- Normal and Chronically Foundered Hoof Anatomy. Accessed 10 April 2013 : http://www.thehorse.com/images/content/hoof_anatomy.html
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TOPICS: Editor’s Perspective, Historiography
by William M. Ferraro, Senior Associate Editor
February 9, 2018
The seemingly endless flow of books on George Washington easily submerges notable past treatments. Bringing these forgotten gems to the surface is a worthwhile endeavor. This contribution to “Washington’s Quill” highlights Henry Cabot Lodge’s George Washington, a two-volume biography published in 1890.
Lodge is best known among historians as the isolationist senator from Massachusetts who frustrated President Woodrow Wilson’s plans for the League of Nations. Decades prior, however, he had gained a reputation as a historical writer and political journalist. He undertook his study of Washington in the mid-1880s for Houghton, Mifflin, and Company’s American Statesmen series after completing volumes on Alexander Hamilton and Daniel Webster.
Lodge received encouragement from his close friend Theodore Roosevelt, the eventual 26th president of the United States, who urged him to not let writing for magazines and newspapers “distract . . . from the work that will have real and lasting value.”1 Though Lodge had graduated from Harvard nine years before Roosevelt, the two men were nevertheless confidantes as young leaders within the national Republican Party, and they corresponded regularly until Roosevelt’s death in 1919. Lodge’s edition of their correspondence tracks progress on his Washington biography as well as both Lodge’s and Roosevelt’s sensitivity toward the public reception of their writings. (The wielder of a prolific pen, Roosevelt published multiple books during the 1880s, including volumes on Thomas Hart Benton and Gouverneur Morris in the American Statesmen series.)
After an initial prod in February 1886, Roosevelt poked Lodge with regularity over the next two years. In late summer 1886, Roosevelt queried from the Dakota Territory: “When do you begin at [the] Washington?”2 Another inquiry came the next winter from Paris: “When will the Washington be ready?”3 The following spring brought from Long Island, N.Y.: “How goes it with the Washington?” To facilitate Lodge’s progress, Roosevelt offered his Sagamore Hill home as a suitable place for composition.4 Less than a month later, he wrote with rising impatience: “Let me know how the Washington gets on.”5 A specific question then followed: “When will the Washington be published?”6 Lodge’s duties as a congressman from Massachusetts undoubtedly impeded his efforts and worried Roosevelt, who wrote in late summer 1887: “Won’t you find it very difficult to get the Washington through now before Congressional work begins?”7
Lodge shared draft with Roosevelt, ending the latter’s badgering. Three extracts drew Roosevelt’s praise from New York City in early February 1888: “I think you have been more than successful. It looked to me as if it was going to be the best thing you had done yet.”8 Upon reading the entire book in summer 1889, Roosevelt gushed: “It is head and shoulders above what you have already done, and it is the life of Washington. . . . It is a great work.”9 Soon after, upon the book’s publication, Roosevelt congratulated Lodge on brisk sales.10
Attention now turned to reviews. Roosevelt was wary that political leanings might unfairly influence assessments. It pleased him when the anonymous reviewer in The Nation, a publication strongly inclined toward the Democrats, “acknowledged the importance of the book.”11 The review chided Lodge for a lack of familiarity with Virginia colonial history but applauded his presentation of “Washington’s military and political career.”12 William Dean Howells, the eminent man of letters who then pronounced his verdicts in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, delighted Roosevelt with a favorable review of Lodge’s work that showed he “really grasped what it meant.”13 The praise Howells bestowed on Lodge’s interpretation also contained a prescient view of the future. Lodge’s book, Howells observed, was unsurpassed in the American Statesmen series but only “the latest word concerning a man about whom the words are not likely ever to have an end.” Howells especially liked Lodge’s “portrayal of Washington as an American” that rescued him from both “Fable-land” and England.14 Unlike Howells, according to Roosevelt, the reviewer in The Atlantic Monthly “utterly failed to do justice” to Lodge’s study.15 That reviewer, among other criticisms, faulted Lodge for preparing a full life in two volumes when a strict focus on Washington as a statesman should have only required one.16
John A. Garraty, a prominent biographer of Lodge, dismissed his subject’s two-volume Washington, along with most other books in the American Statesmen series, as leaving “much to be desired when judged by modern standards.” Lodge’s work warranted the awkward “compliment” of “probably a little above the average” but “in no way exceptional.”17 Such a stance unduly elevates scholarly principles over new insights. Unlike so many of Washington’s numerous contemporaries, biographers, and historians, Lodge recognized and stressed Washington’s innate intelligence and fine mental qualities.18 Brilliance as well as character and a tireless capacity for labor brought about the great achievements that marked his life. Lodge’s appreciation for Washington’s intellect animates his entire study and offers current readers a compelling reason to take a look at a book from the late 19th century.19
All images from James Grant Wilson and John Fiske, eds., Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, 7 vols (New York, 1888–1900).
- Theodore Roosevelt (TR) to Henry Cabot Lodge (HCL), Feb. 7, 1886, in Henry Cabot Lodge, ed. Selections from the Correspondence of Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, 1884-1918, 2 vols. (New York, 1925), 1:37-38.
- TR to HCL, Aug. 20, 1886, in Selections, 1:45-46.
- TR to HCL, Feb. 15, 1887, in Selections, 1:51-52.
- TR to HCL, May 20, 1887, in Selections, 1:55.
- TR to HCL, June 11, 1887, in Selections, 1:56.
- TR to HCL, June 23, 1887, in Selections, 1:56-57.
- TR to HCL, Sept. 5, 1887, in Selections, 1:59.
- TR to HCL, Feb. 2, 1888, in Selections, 1:65-66.
- TR to HCL, July 1, 1889, in Selections, 1:80-81.
- TR to HCL, July 11, 1889, in Selections, 1:83-85.
- TR to HCL, Aug. 28, 1889, in Selections, 1:89-90.
- The Nation 49 (Aug. 1, 1889): 96-98.
- TR to HCL, Sept. 27 and Oct. 27, 1889, in Selections, 1, 92, 96-97.
- Harpers’s New Monthly Magazine 79 (Oct. 1889): 800-802.
- TR to HCL, Oct. 27, 1889, in Selections, 1:96-97.
- “Franklin, Washington, Lincoln,” in The Atlantic Monthly 64 (Nov. 1889): 707-14.
- John A. Garraty, Henry Cabot Lodge: A Biography (New York, 1953), 56-57.
- For further development of this point, see William M. Ferraro, “George Washington’s Mind,” in Edward G. Lengel, ed., A Companion to George Washington (Malden, Mass., 2012), 542-45.
- The first published bibliography of Washington biographies concludes with this entry: “LODGE (HENRY CABOT). A Life of Washington by this writer, in course of preparation for the ‘American Statesmen’ series, is expected to be issued during the present year.” W. S. Baker, Bibliotheca Washingtoniana: A Descriptive List of the Biographies and Biographical Sketches of George Washington (Philadelphia, 1889), 165.
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4 weeks pregnant
During week four of your pregnancy you still may not know you are pregnant. When you are four weeks along your baby’s gestational age is two weeks. Your body will alert you to your pregnancy. You will have missed your menstrual cycle, you will have a bad habit of frequent urination, and your breasts will be tender, and of course we must not forget morning sickness.
During week four your fertilized egg will head to the uterus to find a place to call home for the next nine months. At this time your baby will burrow into your uterine wall and set up house; this is called implantation.
The blastocyst (the early fertilized egg) has implanted. The cells will divide into two groups. One group will form the placenta and the other group will form your baby.
The tissues that will eventually become the placenta will begin to form a link with your body and use your blood supply so that it can get on with the job of development. The placenta provides nutrients, oxygen, and fluids for the baby. That same placenta will make a hormone, which will travel into your womb, through your blood, and then be expelled into the urine, called hCG. It may already be detectable by many early pregnancy tests.
At this point in time your baby is still a jumble of cells that are located between a yolk sac and the amniotic sac. The amniotic sac is what will eventually surround your baby for his or her forty-week stay. Once your baby forms this link with your body, the yolk sac and the amniotic sac, will begin to make blood. This is how your baby will have blood until he or she develops his or her liver, spleen, and bone marrow.
The baby in her embryo stage comes in three parts. One part (mesoderm) will make, for the most part, the hard stuff of your baby: bones, muscles, heart, for example. The soft parts are made by the endoderm (lungs for example). The ectoderm will mostly make things you see on the outside, like her skin, eyes, hair, but also some inside things, like nerves.
Also during week 4 of your pregnancy your baby has already developed what is called a notochord. The notochord is a column of cells that indicate the development of the vertebrae of your baby’s spinal column. The notochord cells are an important part of your baby’s development because these cells also send signals to other cells to help them become other body parts. During this week it will fold over and bulge at one end to form the brain. Even by this time your baby’s brain is divided into three segments: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain; with the remaining narrow portion of the notochord forming your baby’s spinal cord and other nerves that spread out through his or her small body.
Your baby will be about 0.014 inch to about 0.04 inch (0.36 mm to about 1 mm) in length. No wonder you still are not sure you are pregnant!
You might not even know you’re pregnant yet. You could feel some fatigue, or feel under the weather. Maybe your husband has told you that you’re more moody these days. You may notice that you have morning sickness.Perhaps your breasts have become tender. It’s the fourth week, if you’re pregnant, you won’t see your period!
Even if you don’t know you’re pregnant, if you’re trying to get pregnant, prepare a clean place for your baby. That is, make your body free of any toxins, starting with smoking. Stop now; it’s a good idea for your personal health too. Smoking will rob your baby of the oxygen she needs in this critical time of growth, in addition to supplying her with a whole load of toxins that her tiny cells will have to clear out all by themselves: a job that too hard for that tiny baby.
During your prenatal visit with your doctor he may prescribe vitamin supplements that may contain folic acid. It has become increasingly well known that folic acid helps in your baby’s development. Folic acid can help protect an unborn baby from developing spina bifida, an abnormal development of the spinal cord. Folic acid is an essential B vitamin that cannot be produced by the body and must be consumed daily through diet.
If you’ve been doing the low-carb diets, then you might be skimping on bread. Breads have been fortified with folic acid to help prevent birth defects, miscarriages and preterm deliveries. So get your body back to speed. Folic acid is in breads, peas, beans, fruits, leafy vegetables, liver, and cereals.
- Eat raw fruits and vegetables if you can. Try them with dip.
- If you cook your vegetables, try steaming them. But if you must boil them, use the juices in your cooking. Some of the remaining vitamins are still in that water!
Your Healthcare Provider
As you can see week four of your pregnancy is a very crucial time in your baby’s development. That is why if you suspect you may be pregnant you should contact your healthcare provider. Don’t wait: there are a lot of things you and your doctor have to accomplish. We’ll talk about that in upcoming weeks.
Remember, your baby goes from a jumble of cells that are totally dependant on you and your body for life to a baby that can sustain life outside the womb, with your help, in a total of forty weeks time.
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When considering Civil War spectacles, it is perhaps ironic that the man who did more than any other American entrepreneur to create the immense popularity of pince nez glasses and their successors, Oxfords – John Jacob Bausch, an immigrant from Germany who arrived in the United States with the superior manufacturing techniques of the Old World in his brain – and his company – Bausch & Lomb – should also be largely responsible for the most significant advances in spectacle design of the mid-19th century.
A massive disconnect with the styles and engineering of spectacles of the immediately preceding period is clear to even a casual glance. The spectacles of Benjamin Franklin's and George Washington's times featured round lenses to the exclusion of nearly any other shape, and the double-hinged flat strap temples that tied around the head or secured to the powdered wigs of 18th century “fashion plates”. Antique eyeglasses from the Civil war era have a very different arrangement.
The lenses of Civil War spectacles were almost all either oval or an elongated octagon (a horizontally stretched rectangle with the corners cut off). Round lenses from the time of Gettysburg and Bull Run are very rare indeed. The temples also have a very different look. Most of these changes can be traced by inference to Bausch & Lomb, who owned a large market share in spectacle sales as well as being the undisputed kings of pince nez, soaring in popularity thanks to wartime conditions.
Unusual battlefield designs for vintage eye glasses
Among the rarest and most intriguing of Civil War spectacles are the strange vintage glasses known as “sharpshooter's glasses”. These were not made for vision correction but for clear-sighted snipers. Their lenses are tinted yellow or amber, which was believed at the time to make the vision sharper in cloudy or foggy conditions.
Furthermore, each lens is frosted to the point of near opacity except right at the center, where a clear area of glass has been left like a pupil in the midst of a frosted iris. The “pupil” is also tinted amber. The idea was that the sniper using sharpshooter's glasses would be able to focus on the small area visible through the central clear areas. There would be no peripheral distractions, and the narrow field of view might have also amplified contrast, especially when viewed through yellow tinting.
At the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Union Major General John Sedgwick was outraged at his men ducking in a “cowardly” manner from sniper bullets and stood out in the open, declaring “They couldn't hit an elephant at this range”, a split second before being killed instantly by a shot that penetrated his left eye socket. It is interesting to speculate on whether the Confederate sniper who killed the bombastic general was assisted in making such a precise shot by wearing sharpshooter's glasses.
Civil War spectacles and the vagaries of the chic
The temporary victory of oval and octagonal frames is an intriguing feature of Civil War spectacles such as those made by Bausch & Lomb. Pince nez at the time usually had round lenses, and round lenses made a reappearance as the most popular design for spectacles several decades later. Today, ovals predominate, but it is interesting to wonder if the pendulum of fashion will swing back in the next generation or two and round spectacles will once again come to dominate the market.
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This week a group of scientists from the University of Missouri have decided it's time to make public their work on creating and controlling plasma. The system that they're making public has, they say, the potential to transform the way America - and the rest of the world, for that matter - store and create energy. The team has developed a way to make plasma create its own self-containing self-magnetic field, effectively allowing it to launch into open air.
Professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering Randy Curry spoke up about the system this week. He and his team made clear their successful creation of a device able to launch a ring of plasma distances of up to two feet. Their creation, it seems, has them excited enough to make some rather bold claims.
"Launching plasma in open air is the ‘Holy Grail’ in the field of physics. Creating plasma in a vacuum tube surrounded by powerful electromagnets is no big deal; dozens of labs can do that. Our innovation allows the plasma to hold itself together while it travels through regular air without any need for containment." - Curry
The fourth state of matter - not liquid, gas, or solid - is plasma. Lightening and fire are plasma, and as you might recall, the ability to summon fire was a rather important turning point in the history of humanity. The device that University of Missouri scientists have created can launch self-contained plasma.
In the first iteration of this reportedly completely functional plasma-launching device, Curry and his team have used parts and technology that's by no means optimized for size. Part of their continued work will be to create a reasonably sized device - this being possible in three to five years, Curry suggests.
Curry has also been vocal about the fact that without continued funding, the University of Missouri's Center for Physical & Power Electronics will be unable to continue development. So all you large cash sum-holding lovers of science: make with the push!
[via University of Missouri]
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Many people don’t understand the difference between a president and a prime minister, with both roles having great amounts of power. But knowing the distinction between them is important to provide an in-depth understanding of how governance works. In this blog post, we will explore these two leadership positions in detail and examine their responsibilities, qualifications, election process, legislative authority and make comparisons of them to help you comprehend better which role applies to which country.
Who is President?
President of the United States is one of the most influential positions in the world. The President holds immense powers, both domestically and abroad. He or she is responsible for leading the government and representing its citizens to other nations around the world. It can be an incredibly complex role that requires careful attention in order to juggle these responsibilities successfully.
Presidents must have excellent communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills to ensure they are able to serve their constituents efficiently while navigating a wide range of issues at home and abroad. To hold the office of President, individuals must possess a strong combination of ambition, knowledge, charisma, and ability.
Who is Prime Minister?
Prime Minister is the title given to the leader of a government in a parliamentary system. They act as both a head of state and head of government, usually controlling domestic policy while also representing their nation externally with other heads of state. Prime Ministers differ among nations, with some Prime Ministers elected directly by citizens while others are appointed by another governing authority. The Prime Minister holds ultimate power within their nation’s government and politics, making them an influential figure on the world stage.
Difference between President and Prime Minister
President and Prime Minister are two offices in the government that serve distinct, but important roles.
- A President is typically the figurehead of a country and serves as the major public face and representative to foreign governments within a country’s government.
- Presidential elections often involve national campaigning on those running for office, whereas Prime Ministers are usually appointed within a country’s ruling party or coalition of parties.
- All procedures related to President must be observed according to the particular nation’s constitution or set laws, while Prime Ministers may have broader leeway depending on their standing within said lawmaking body.
President often serves ceremonial duties and has little direct control over policy-making when compared with a Prime Minister who is directly responsible for managing policy; President may have some influence on policy decisions through appointment powers of officials in government offices, yet even this differs from one country to another making it unique from prime ministerial influence over government operations.
In a presidential system, the executive branch is independent of the legislature, and its powers are expressly delineated in the Constitution. By contrast, in parliamentary systems, such as Canada’s Westminster system, executive authority derives from and is accountable to Parliament. In conclusion, we see that there are pros and cons to both types of government leaders. hopefully, this article has helped clear up some confusion surrounding the terms “president” and “prime minister”!
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From our ed: Lengthen the Runway so Black Mothers Can Take Flight
Recently, I’ve become enthralled with aviation science and the role aircraft runways have in a plane’s ability to take off or land. As an avid traveler, I love the mind-boggling science behind how a 400 ton plane speeds down the runway at 150+ miles an hour and up into the air, using wind and what pilots call “the angle of attack,” the upward tilt planes take to push more air under its wings and into the sky.
And when it’s time to land, a different set of laws of physics and engineering bring the plane back to earth, back to the runway apparatus where the flight once began.
This got me thinking about the importance of the runway itself. Usually made of asphalt, the runway is an essential part of how and if a plane is able to take off or land. The conditions of the runway, whether asphalt, gravel, or even sand, the weight of the plane and the load its carrying, and the length of the runway, whether too short or just the right length, all plays a role in a plane’s capacity to fly.
Read more at Medium.com.
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NASA’s engineers recently started a new series of tests for their J2-X engine, slated to power the shuttle-replacing Space Launch System.
Following the retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA announced its replacement in the form of the Space Launch System. Not having had a need for new rocket engines in a long time, NASA started designing new engines from scratch, basing the new design J2-X on the J2 engines originally designed for the Saturn rockets that first flew in the 1960s.
Each of the new J2-X engines is nearly 5 meters tall, almost 3 meters wide and is designed to produced around 130 metric tonnes of thrust. It is planned that there will be three of these beautifully monstrous engines attached to the earth departure stage of the SLS.
A new series of tests on the J2-X engine started on February 15th at NASA’s Stennis test facility in Mississippi, aimed at determining the effects of altering different fuel/oxidiser inlet pressures and raised engine temperatures on performance. Once these tests are completed it will be attached to a different test ring and a new series will be started testing gimballing (steering) the engine for the first time.
The engine is being designed and built in a partnership between NASA and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Image Credit: NASA Stennis Space Center
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Local students share their impressions of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech three years before Amy Stokes was even born, but the message isn’t lost on the first-grade teacher.
Test your knowledge
1. Where was Martin Luther King Jr. born?
a. Atlanta, Georgia
b. Birmingham, Alabama
c. Marietta, Georgia
d. Mobile, Alabama
2. What historic campaign did King lead in Montgomery, Alabama?
a. a march to Washington, D.C., for civil rights
b. a sit-in at city diners
c. a boycott of the city buses
d. a demonstration outside a county jail
3. What did the Supreme Court declare to be unconstitutional in 1956?
a. segregation of schools
b. inequality based on race
c. jail terms for civil-rights demonstrators
d. segregation of buses
4. Whose teachings inspired King’s philosophy of nonviolence?
a. Indian spiritual and political leader Mohandas Gandhi
b. American philosopher Henry David Thoreau
c. German journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Carl von Ossietzky
d. American scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Linus Pauling
5. King was awarded __________ in 1964.
a. a Bronze Star
b. the Nobel Peace Prize
c. the Pulitzer Prize
d. a Medal of Honor
“Schools were integrated when I attended Overton Elementary, so I didn’t live this either,” she said. “But I didn’t have to live it to appreciate what it must have been like for other children and I think we should never forget the sacrifices of American heroes.”
Stokes, who teaches at Granite Quarry Elementary, spent part of last week teaching her students about the civil rights activist, reading them books and explaining how King’s work impacted society. “They can understand that he was a kid just like them who went to the playground and there were unfair rules that hurt him so much that he grew up and wanted to do something about it,” she said. “A 6-year-old is completely capable of understanding that.
“We build on what they already know and understand and then we try to extend that into more divergent thinking about how they may want to take action and improve something around them as they get older.”
Stokes said it’s important to explain to children why they have holidays like Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“They love knowing why you do things,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything more important than for children to realize the sacrifices that have been made in history, so that they can all go to school together and have not only the ability to have a rich education with lots of opportunities, but exposure diversity that improves your life.”
A Post reporter interviewed students at Granite Quarry and Overton elementary schools last week about their impressions of King.
Here are the responses in their own words:
• “Dr. King was a real hero, he changed the rules.”
— Dameon Hill, first-grader at Granite Quarry
• “He loved everybody and wanted all the children to be friends even if they were different.”
— Cindy Peterson, first-grader at Granite Quarry
• “He was a nice person because he did something for everyone and he believed skin color did not matter.”
— Deshaun Kluttz. first-grader at Granite Quarry
• “He made sure no one felt left out. He didn’t care if people’s skin was different, he wanted them to be together.”
— Jaiden White, first-grader at Granite Quarry
•“He did nice things for everyone because he said skin color doesn’t matter, no matter color what it is.”
— Frankie Pleitez, first-grader at Granite Quarry
•“He didn’t care if everybody didn’t have the same color skin. He said they shouldn’t be separated, they should always be together.”
– Logan Storms, first-grader at Granite Quarry
•“I like him because he loved all children no matter what.”
— Jaila Baker. first-grader at Granite Quarry
•“I think that he was a good man because the laws were unfair back then because white people and African-Americans couldn’t go to school together or anything. I’m glad he helped change things.
— Zachary Garner, third-grader at Overton
•“He had a dream to make things fair.”
— Catrina Kirkley, third-grader at Overton
• “I am so thankful that I had a leader like Martin Luther King Jr. because he fought for what most people didn’t. He stood up for people who were being mistreated and I admire that because color really doesn’t matter. If it wasn’t for what he said and fought for, I wouldn’t be able to have the same life I have and love today.”
— Quinnlan Watson, fifth-grader at Overton who won second place in the annual essay contest sponsored by the Hefner VA Medical Center
•“I wouldn’t have as many friends as I have now if there was still segregation, so he kind of made it where we can have friends and we can all just be happy and live together. It’s character that matters.”
— Dwayne Bivins, fifth-grader at Overton who won second place the contest
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Most of the 700 nationwide jobs Boral is planning to shed in the next two months are part of the company’s massive restructure. The Read more
L is for Lava
K is for Potassium
Victoria’s mountains growing taller
Victoria’s alps are rising each year, according to an 18-month survey conducted by the Eastern Victoria Geoscience Initiative.
The 629km stretch of mountains from Benalla, Victoria to Eden, New South Wales is being pushed up by 0.1mm a year, the survey revealed. This is believed to be a side effect of New Zealand’s ongoing tectonic plate boundary collision, which moves its mountain regions up by 12mm every year. The 18-month survey went from the surface to 60km deep into the Earth’s crust.
While Victoria’s growth spurt may seem small, it has provided geoscientists with a number of practical insights. Ross Cayley, of the Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV), told connection.vic.gov.au it will now be easier for earthquake threats to be detected in Victoria due to the survey’s findings. It is also expected to help with infrastructure planning and management plans.
“The research can work out which regions of Eastern Victoria lie above and below major tilted faults, and so better estimate potential earthquake risk from these structures should they reactivate,” Cayley said.
Earthquakes reaching near magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale have hit Victoria in the past, with regions in the state’s east lying above and below major tilted faults.
Mineral exploration will also receive a potential boost, with the survey expected to help locate geological deposits connected between NSW and Victoria. Despite the data being unable to pinpoint the specific location of a mineral deposit, it will be able to help geologists locate the correct district for mineral exploration.
Farming productivity and environmental management is also expected to be improved with the survey’s geological information.
The Eastern Victoria Geoscience Initiative began mapping the Victorian component of the Southeast Lachlan Crustal Transect in 2018. The project aims to improve understanding of southeast Australia’s underlying geological “architecture” from the surface to 60km deep within the Earth’s crust and includes the acquisition of fundamental geoscience datasets and applied geoscientific research. The findings will assist government to make better informed land management decisions to benefit the community, identify natural geological hazards, protect state infrastructure and manage earth resources.
The scientific results of the Initiative will be married up with results from a similar project in southeast New South Wales, providing a key geological reference for southeast Australia in terms of its geology and evolution over the past 500 million years.
Particle size outweighs chemical properties in aggregate strength
Geophysicists and fluids mechanics experts have provided new insight into how tiny ‘bridges’ help particles form aggregates, in a discovery that could have applications in cement production and construction. Read more
UK leaders back UNESCO bid for Welsh slate landscape
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrown his support behind a bid for a series of slate quarries in northwest Wales to receive UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Read more
Melting rock models predict mechanical origins of earthquakes
Engineering academics have devised a model that can predict the early mechanical behaviours and origins of earthquakes in multiple types of rock. Read more
The elements of surprise
As we close out the year, Bill Langer acknowledges some of the elements on the Periodic Table, which was first formulated 150 years ago.
Steel: A global product for the US market
In 2018 the USA imposed steel tariffs on all but four countries outside North America (including Australia). Bill Langer explains the importance of the ingredients that make up US steel production – and why tariffs on imported resources don’t perhaps promise the jobs boom that the Trump administration is hoping for … Read more
Celebrating a golden anniversary
This month my wife Pam and I celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary – our golden anniversary. Read more
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by Kent Peterson
Educators and policymakers are paying close attention to the quality of schools for children in urban settings. Indeed, their concern with reshaping urban schools is increasing as areas such as Dade County (Florida), Chicago, and San Diego attempt major transformations in urban school systems. Transforming urban schools entails many issues and possible approaches. One approach that stands out is the attempt by teachers and administrators to develop a more collaborative culture in the urban school. The intended result is a supportive, professional culture that promotes the continuous renewal of instructional methods and curricular offerings in an atmosphere of collegiality, trust, and shared mission, serving all of the students in the school. This type of school culture may not be a panacea for urban schools, but it can be a foundation for change, improvement, and renewal.
This monograph concentrates on two questions: (1) What are the components of collaborative cultures? and (2) How do schools develop collaborative cultures? In seeking to answer these questions, the monograph first details the importance of collaboration, paying special attention to the ways in which collaborative school cultures serve quality teaching and learning. It then examines the variety of cultures that exist among schools. The monograph goes on to discuss how collegial relationships function in successful collaborative school cultures, how these relationships develop, and how they can be nurtured. As part of this discussion, the monograph looks at how the teachers' sense of efficacy (their ability to affect student learning) affects collaboration. The next section of the monograph suggests ways to read, shape, and reinforce collegiality, teachers' sense of efficacy, and collaboration. The final section addresses the need to use effective teamwork and teacher leadership to support collaborative cultures.
Schools in urban settings face unique challenges. Often, they are part of a large, centralized bureaucracy that may be slow to respond to the needs of the schools. Resources are scarce, and many buildings are in disrepair. The external context may include gang activity, widespread availability and use of drugs, and a breakdown of the local community structure. Students come to school carrying the burdens of poverty, hunger, and poor housing. These conditions are the realities of urban classrooms. Nonetheless, research and experience show that it is possible to nurture successful urban schools in which collaboration and improvement can occur (Levine and Lezotte, 1990).
Effectively serving students in urban settings is critically important. For many of these students, schools provide the strongest, most enduring, and most systematic part of their educational world. When their schools are effective, urban children can develop the skills, knowledge, and capacities needed to be successful in work and adulthood (Levine and Lezotte, 1990). When their schools are not effective, children in urban settings must find learning outside of the schools, in hostile, often unsupportive environments. Making urban schools serve all students is key to giving these children the chance for a meaningful education.
What Is School Culture?
Parents, teachers, principals, and students always sense something special and undefined about the schools they attend. Most schools have their own tone, climate, or "ethos" that seems to permeate all activity in the school. This unique quality of each school, the school culture, affects the way people act, how they dress, what they talk about or never speak of, and whether or not they seek out colleagues for help. The school culture is a complex web of norms, values, beliefs and assumptions, and traditions and rituals that have been built up over time as teachers, students, parents, and administrators work together, deal with crises, and develop unstated expectations for interacting and working together (Schein, 1983; Deal and Peterson, 1990). This moving stream of feelings, folkways, and activities flows constantly within schools (see Deal and Peterson, 1990).
This invisible, taken-for-granted flow of beliefs and assumptions gives meaning to what people say and do. It shapes how they interpret hundreds of daily transactions. This deeper structure of life in organizations is reflected and transmitted through symbolic language and expressive action. Culture consists of the stable, underlying social meanings that shape beliefs and behavior over time (Deal and Peterson, 1990, p. 7).
What Are Collaborative School Cultures?
Though all schools are different, many schools exist as isolated workplaces where teachers work largely alone in their rooms, interacting little with their colleagues and keeping problems of practice to themselves. In these schools, teachers feel separated from one another, seldom engaging their peers in conversation, professional sharing, or problem-solving (see Lortie, 1975 and Little, 1982). In other schools, however, teachers regularly engage in professional dialogue with colleagues; share ideas, knowledge, and techniques; and participate in collaborative problem-solving around classroom issues. Teachers work together to develop shared technical knowledge and discover common solutions to challenging problems (Little, 1982; Rosenholtz, 1989).
In collaborative school cultures, the underlying norms, values, beliefs, and assumptions reinforce and support high levels of collegiality, team work, and dialogue about problems of practice. In short, collaboration can affect the quality of teaching in urban settings by enriching the work of teachers.
What Is the Importance of Collaboration in Schools?
Successful schools share characteristics such as strong instructional leadership, a clear and focused mission, high expectations for students, a climate conducive to learning, opportunities to learn, regular monitoring of students and classrooms, and positive home-school relations (Levine and Lezotte, 1990). New research also ties collegiality and collaboration to positive school outcomes. Ongoing research into school culture, change, and improvement is finding that success is more likely when teachers are collegial and work collaboratively on improvement activities (Levine and Lezotte, 1990; Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991). When teachers and administrators work together, the level of commitment, energy, and motivation is likely to be higher and change efforts are more easily implemented.
Schools with professional collaboration exhibit relationships and behaviors that support quality work and effective instruction, including the following:
These schools feature helpful, trusting, and open staff relationships (Nias, Southworth, and Yeomans, 1989, in Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991). They also may have "a commitment to valuing people as individuals" and valuing the groups to which individuals belong (Nias, Southworth, and Yeomans, 1989 in Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991). "Within these schools the individual and the group are inherently and simultaneously valued." (Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991, p.49, emphasis in original)
These settings also foster practices that support success, such as the following:
In these schools, teachers and others lead and work together:
Collaboration is not simply a group of congenial, happy teachers. As Fullan and Hargreaves point out (1991), "contentment should not be mistaken for excellence" (p. 47). In collaborative schools, the natural give-and-take of professionals means that conflict, disagreement, and discord will sometimes occur. But, these situations can be worked out for the good of students.
Thus, collaborative schools may be a way to build a professional capacity for change, improvement, and success even in the most difficult urban school.
What Types of School Cultures Exist?
School cultures vary considerably. Lortie (1975) described the culture of many schools as being oriented toward individualism, conservatism, and presentism. In these schools, teachers view themselves as working alone (individualism), they employ educational approaches that follow long traditions (conservatism), and they focus on immediate issues, not the long-term development of the school (presentism). Little interaction, collegiality, or collaboration takes place in this type of school. In urban schools, which have a combination of complex student learning needs, external demands, and ongoing pressure to improve instruction, this type of isolated and noncollegial orientation often does not produce successful learning.
Fullan and Hargreaves (1991) described three noncollaborative cultures: (1) balkanization, (2) comfortable collaboration, and (3) contrived collegiality. These noncollaborative cultures do not encourage the level of professional interaction, collegiality, and pressure to improve that supports the needs of urban schools.
Balkanization of the teacher culture is often found in high schools and large elementary schools where separate and competing groups seek power and influence for their own ends. Competition, poor communication, and poor integration of curriculum and instructional ends characterize these schools. This isolation of competing groups discourages the rich interplay of ideas, solutions, and networking of practical knowledge that is characteristic of more collaborative settings. Neither vertical nor horizontal coordination is very successful. Consequently, the program and the students suffer. In urban schools, this competitive atmosphere takes time and energy away from serving students, when students desperately need a challenging and positive collaborative school climate.
In schools with a culture of comfortable collaboration, the culture carefully restricts collaboration; teachers stay out of deeper, more extended relationships that could foster problem-solving, exchange of craft knowledge, and professional support. This form of collaboration can be thin and superficial, with teachers sharing some materials, some instructional techniques, or bits of wisdom but avoiding deeper discussions of teaching, curriculum, long-range planning, and the shared purpose of schooling. Collegial interchanges, when they occur, focus on comfortable, immediate, short-term issues that are not likely to solve thornier problems facing teachers. In these schools, comfortable collaboration may seem pleasant, but it does not help teachers discover and share deeper knowledge and solve more vexing problems found in urban schools.
Cultures of contrived collegiality are characterized by "a set of formal, specific, bureaucratic procedures to increase the attention being given to joint teacher planning, consultation, and other forms of working together" (Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991). But formal structures are not necessarily collaborative cultures. Examples of these structures include site-based management councils, school improvement teams, or peer coaching arrangements. While these structures may bring teachers together and foster the implementation of new programs, structures alone will not necessarily foster the deeper, more substantial, and more productive informal linkages, norms, and shared commitment found in collaborative settings.
Collaborative cultures are not balkanized, simply congenial, or only structures of shared work. Rather, they are cultures that support deeper, richer professional interchange.
In contrast to these less potent cultures, collaborative cultures support a shared sense of purpose, focus on long-term improvement, and support networks of professionals who share problems, ideas, materials, and solutions. These cultures are not easy to develop, but they provide substantial and meaningful settings in which teachers develop craft knowledge, a powerful sense of efficacy, and a deep connection to fellow educators, parents, and students.
These cultures contain the following features:
Collaborative schools are exciting, professionally rewarding places for teachers. They are places where instruction and curriculum are regularly being refined, changed, and developed. Collegial relationships among and between staff are another important feature of these schools. School norms and structures provide the purpose and the opportunity for deeper involvement and interaction on professional issues of importance to teachers.
Collegial relationships are important in collaborative schools. Collegial relationships exist when teachers discuss problems and difficulties, share ideas and knowledge, exchange techniques and approaches, observe one another's work, and collaborate on instructional projects (Little, 1982; Rosenholtz, 1989; Smylie, 1988). In schools where collegiality is the norm, these professional, interactive, supportive relationships are accepted, enhanced, and socially encouraged (Little, 1982). Such relationships have a key impact on schools and provide the opportunity for teachers to work together on improvement activities.
Effects of Collegiality. Strong collegial relationships enhance productivity, staff development, and school improvement efforts. Several researchers have found that collegial systems generate greater productivity in school improvement efforts (Oja and Pine, 1984; Rosenholtz, 1989; Smylie, 1988). Collegiality increases the capacity for change and improvement, because collegial relationships provide powerful sources of stimulation, motivation, and new ideas (Lieberman and Miller, 1984; McLaughlin and Yee, 1988; Rosenholtz, 1989; Stallings, 1987).
Little (1982) and Rosenholtz (1989) discovered key behaviors in schools with strong collegial orientations. In these schools, teachers value professional relationships, share ideas, and readily exchange new techniques. Teachers and administrators spend time observing each other, and they instruct each other in the craft of teaching through formal and informal demonstrations. These interactions can build a powerful and shared technical language about teaching and learning that is precise and concrete. Collegial environments favor in-depth problem solving and planning. Interactions among staff and administrators foster more successful staff development, ongoing refinement of instruction, and improved teaching.
It is important to understand that collegial relationships vary in quality and strength and that these variations affect collaboration, the exchange of ideas, and school improvement.
Types of Collegial Relationships. Little (1990) identifies four types of collegial relationships found in schools: (1) storytelling and scanning for ideas, (2) aid and assistance, (3) sharing, and (4) joint work. The first three types are relatively weak in shaping deeper, more productive professional relationships, although they involve some interaction, while the fourth type, joint work, provides ample support and complex connections to improve staff relationships and collaboration:
Teachers share incomplete anecdotes about practice, complain, and gripe. Interchange is neither deep nor focused on problem solving.
Teachers help only when asked, offer little evaluation, and do not interfere with the other teacher's work. Deep relationships of exchange are seldom established.
Teachers share much about themselves, use an expanded pool of resources and knowledge, and frequently share ideas and suggestions that can lead to change in the other teacher's practice. But teachers undertake little or no actual work together.
In contrast to the first three types of collegiality, joint work provides the opportunity for teachers to develop deeper and richer ties to fellow staff and to build more productive working relationships. Joint work is the highest and most extended form of collegiality. Teachers pursue a course of action together involving such things as team teaching, collaborative planning, peer coaching, mentoring, and, at times, action research. Fullan and Hargreaves (1991) note that joint work "implies and creates stronger interdependence, shared responsibility, collective commitment and improvement, and greater readiness to participate in the difficult business of review and critique" of their colleagues' work.
Joint work identified by Little (1982, p. 330) includes the following:
Other examples of joint work include working together on school improvement planning, engaging in peer coaching and mentoring, working on interdisciplinary units, and meeting to talk about professional topics of interest, such as self-esteem or Whole Language (Johnson, 1990; Peterson and Martin, 1990). These forms of joint work shape and reinforce collaborative cultures by affording teachers the time to interact around problems of practice, fostering relationships characterized by openness and trust, developing a shared technical language, and making educational philosophies more congruent. In urban schools, joint work can cement strong collegial ties and help overcome the isolation of work.
As Susan Johnson (1990) found in her study of teachers and their work:
The teachers made it clear that continuing collegial interaction benefits both them and their students. It sustains them through difficult times. It deepens their understanding of subject matter and pedagogy, supplies them with novel approaches, and allows them to test and compare practices. It encourages cooperative approaches to school change. It promotes high professional standards and a more coherent instructional experience for children. (p. 178)
Joint work and other opportunities to interact can foster collegiality. Collegial working relationships also increase teachers' sense of efficacy - the belief that they can affect student learning.
Collegial relationships do not develop quickly in urban schools. The structures and norms of most urban schools discourage strong, enduring collegial relationships. Johnson (1990) and others point to important ways to foster collegial relationships. Johnson suggests that several factors seem most critical to developing these relationships including "good teachers, supportive organizational norms, reference groups for identification and action, sufficient time, and administrators who provided encouragement and accommodation" (p. 167).
First, for collegiality to take hold, the school needs "good teachers" who cooperate in making it work. Staff in schools with norms of collegiality credited teachers who "are committed and generous, who are open to change and eager to learn, and who see beyond their own private successes and failures" (p. 167). In these schools, a critical mass of teachers who are sharing, cooperative, and congenial has formed; "interpersonal harmony" is the norm; and teachers have time to develop respect and trust (p. 167).
Second, schools that foster collegiality often have organizational norms that overcome the uncertainties and isolation of teaching by supporting collegial dialogue, the exchange of ideas, debate over issues and techniques, and experimentation (Johnson, 1990). Teachers in these schools show a tendency to cooperate rather than compete, and they work in a "safe environment . . . free of criticism" (p. 170). Collegiality is nurtured, as honest debate and open disagreement combine with supportive, trusting relationships.
Third, collegiality is fostered when reference groups that support dialogue, growth, and experimentation are available to teachers (Johnson, 1990). While the entire staff of a small school could serve as a successful professional unit - supporting, encouraging, and debating - in larger schools reference groups are more likely to be grade-level teams, interdisciplinary units, or departments. When these groups support collaborative practice and professional dialogue, collegiality can grow.
Fourth, collegiality seems to wither or die when teachers are given insufficient time to engage in the kinds of joint tasks that build collegial relations and collaborative successes (Johnson, 1990). Teachers need time to meet, talk, think, and interact. When time is scarce, the dialogue and exchanges of information are more often superficial and focused on immediate problems, issues, or obligations. More substantial time is needed for opportunities that foster greater collegiality, such as peer coaching, curriculum planning, or collaborative school improvement planning.
Finally, collegiality is nurtured when administrators provide encouragement and accommodation (Johnson, 1990). While most research points to the ways in which principals have provided leadership and support for improvement efforts (Deal and Peterson, 1990; Fullan, 1991), principals also can get in the way of collegiality and collaboration. Administrators can foster collegiality by promoting teacher leadership and encouraging teachers to exchange ideas and work together. This goal may require the principal to set agendas for meetings and to work on issues close to the classroom. Principals - and department chairs, in secondary schools - can create a time and place for professional dialogue and team work, provide substitute teachers and cover classes for teachers who wish to participate in collaboration activities, and make similar accommodations for groups of teachers who wish to work together on a project. Above all, fostering collegial relationships requires both time and structured opportunities for joint work.
Another key aspect of collaborative cultures is the teachers' sense of efficacy - "the extent to which a teacher believes that he or she has the capacity to affect student learning" (Ashton, Burr and Crocker, 1984, p. 29). Teachers with a high sense of efficacy believe that their efforts and expertise will have more impact on student learning than such external variables as parental support, class size, student motivation, and student socioeconomic background (Smylie, 1988; Rosenholtz, 1989). These teachers (1) believe that student learning can be influenced by effective teaching, (2) exhibit greater confidence in their own teaching abilities, (3) tend to persist longer, (4) provide greater academic focus in the classroom, and (5) use different types of feedback than teachers with a low sense of efficacy (Smylie, 1988; Rosenholtz, 1989).
Teachers with a high sense of efficacy are more likely to adopt new classroom behaviors (Rosenholtz, 1989; Smylie, 1988); have higher student achievement (Ashton, Burr, and Crocker, 1984); engage in rich and meaningful collaborative activities and collegial interactions; and persist in providing intensive instruction even with students most difficult to reach (Ashton et al, 1982; Gibson and Dembo, 1984). In urban schools, the teachers' sense of efficacy could support continued work to help all students learn.
The teachers' sense of efficacy is closely related to the degree of teacher collaboration and may be a factor in fostering collaborative cultures. Teachers who believe that they can affect their students' learning are more likely to ask for and receive technical assistance from colleagues (Little, 1982; Rosenholtz, 1989; Smylie, 1988). They seem more comfortable asking for and giving advice and sharing techniques that can be used by others, which increases the degree of collegiality and collaborative norms in the school. In short, the research suggests that these teachers are more likely to work to improve their practice (Guskey, 1988; Rosenholtz, 1989; Smylie, 1988).
In urban schools that foster a high sense of efficacy, teachers are more likely to work together for the improvement of learning. Without some strong sense of efficacy, it is easy to "blame the victim," blame the central office, or, worse, give up trying new ways to serve all students.
Studies have not closely monitored the relationships between collegiality, sense of efficacy, and collaboration in urban schools. But as McLaughlin (1993) points out, schools serving students with limited English proficiency or low academic skills can promote coherent and positive professional communities when they contain "school level structures for solving problems" and "sharing information" and provide "opportunities for rethinking practices." (pp. 90-91). In these schools, teachers feel that they are part of a cohesive professional community; they also report "high levels of energy and enthusiasm" and feel more "support for personal growth and learning" (p. 94).
Norms of collegiality support regular and continuous dialogue among teachers about problems, ideas, techniques, and instructional approaches. These collegial exchanges can be enhanced and deepened when teachers have a high sense of efficacy, since teachers who believe that they can affect student learning will want to seek new ways to improve their teaching and the quality of their work. Collegiality and sense of efficacy may combine and reinforce each other in collaborative cultures in which broad-based, extensive projects and shared work provide the opportunities to develop new ways to improve classroom instruction and schoolwide programs. In short, urban schools that reinforce collegiality, build up teachers' sense of efficacy, and support collaborative work are more likely to be successful and to build an ongoing culture of renewal.
School cultures vary considerably from one setting to the next. As noted above, they can be fragmented and individualized, comfortable but not collaborative. They also can be highly collaborative cultures where teachers, administrators, and others share problems, ideas, and craft knowledge - where educators work together on jointly selected programs or issues to serve students better.
Collaborative school cultures do not develop overnight, but are shaped by the ways principals, teachers, and key people reinforce and support underlying norms, values, beliefs, and assumptions. As Schein (1985) notes, an organizational culture is:
a pattern of basic assumptions - invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with problems . . . - that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.
The process of shaping a collaborative school culture is neither easy nor quick. It requires close attention to what is going on in the school and to educational values and daily activity. Few longitudinal studies are available on the ways in which urban teachers and administrators have shaped collaborative cultures. Nonetheless, a number of early lessons can be learned from existing research, theory, and practice (Deal and Peterson, 1990; Leiberman, 1988).
The process of shaping a collaborative school culture involves (1) reading the existing culture, (2) identifying aspects of the underlying norms and assumptions that serve the core mission of the school and the needs of students, and (3) reinforcing and celebrating those aspects that support development of a collaborative culture and changing those folkways and norms that destroy collegiality and collaboration (Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Deal and Peterson, 1990; Schein, 1985). Additionally, structures, actions, and relationships that support collaboration and the development of a professional community can be developed to reinforce collaborative cultures. As we look at the ways in which school cultures are shaped, we should remember that each school and staff must adjust, reshape, and apply these ideas to fit the special features of their school, their students, and their community.
Knowing what members of the school define as success is a way to know what is valued (Schein, 1985). Success in schools can be defined in many ways - giving students basic skills and knowledge, providing a safe and secure environment, "surviving" until the next day, preparing students for the world of work or college (Rossman, Corbett, and Firestone, 1988), and so forth. What teachers, administrators, and others view as the measures of success often shapes how they spend their time, what problems they try to solve together, and what gets their attention. Several questions can be asked to understand these definitions:
The cultures of organizations often are supported by a network of cultural players who keep communication flowing, ideas spreading, and information transmitted (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). This cultural network sometimes includes gossips, storytellers, "priests and priestesses," and heroes and heroines (Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Deal and Peterson, 1990).
Gossips share important news - sometimes rumors and sometimes key information - that is of interest in the school.
Storytellers keep the history of the school alive by telling and retelling the stories, myths, and sagas of the past. If the stories they select reinforce beliefs and norms that are negative, noncollegial, or noncollaborative, they communicate the message that new staff should act in those ways. In contrast, when the stories tell of hard work, collegial sharing, and collaborative work, new staff are more likely to understand that the informal expectations are for collegiality and collaboration.
Questions to ask:
"Priests and priestesses" are staff who remember and reinforce the core traditions and folkways of the school. They are the staff who socialize and "train" the new principal or new staff in how to think and interact and what to believe about student success. Often they are the first to talk to new staff members, filling them in on "how things really work around here." In collaborative cultures, these purveyors of the culture let new people know that collegiality is valued, that collaboration is the norm, and that teachers work together for the good of students.
Questions to ask:
Heroes and Heroines. Most organizations have heroes and heroines about whom stories are told. These staff members are people whose values, work, and actions exemplify the best hopes of the school. In many schools, stories are told of teachers, principals, custodians, and others who worked hard, helped others, and were committed to students. They are the heroes or heroines who have dedicated themselves to students and colleagues and to doing what is best.
Heroes and heroines are exemplars of the core values of the culture. Honors and accolades are given to them because they represent the best that one can achieve. Sometimes highly visible and sometimes quiet and dedicated, these people demonstrate that, even in the most difficult situations, one can serve the best values and expectations of the culture. These people are teachers who spend the time and effort to reach students and see that their best ideas and techniques are shared and that the needs of other staff are supported. They are staff, parents, and community members who make a special effort to shape a culture of support and caring. And they are administrators who support the professional, collaborative needs of staff. In collaborative cultures, members who have dedicated themselves to being collegial - sharing problems, ideas, and support - can become the heroes and heroines of the school. Their commitment and special efforts are recounted to new staff and at important ceremonies and traditions.
Questions to ask:
Stories that communicate cultural values and norms. Research on organizations suggests that leaders often share stories of past success, special effort, and unique accomplishments to communicate the core values of the organization (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). Telling stories that exemplify the importance and quality of collegiality can reinforce collaborative cultures. When school principals and teachers tell stories to parents and new staff about staff who worked together on projects, shared ideas, materials, and support, it communicates in a dramatic way schoolwide expectations and what is important for collegial working relationships.
During interviews and initial visits, potential staff members are listening closely to learn what the school values highly and how the school works. These situations provide important times to tell stories of hard work, collaboration, and serving all students as a way of reinforcing collegiality and collaboration in the school. These stories should be concrete, engaging, and richly textured to capture the imagination of the storyteller and the listener. Staff new to a school have a heightened sense of awareness as they join the group.
Questions to ask:
Symbolic information comes in many forms, from the logo over the door to the mission statement displayed in the front hall. This information signals values and assumptions about the school culture, reinforces key values for existing members of the school, and advertises these values to those who are new.
Symbolic information comes in many forms that reinforce collaboration. In one school, the school logo shows staff and students hand-in-hand to symbolize their work together. In another school, the motto is "We care, We share, We Dare" - directly communicating the importance of sharing across the school. In a third school, staff begin each meeting by sharing ideas, techniques, and materials that work with their students.
Questions to ask:
Most schools have some formal ceremonies that mark transitions in the school year, rituals that bind people to each other and shape the unwritten culture, and meaningful traditions that shape and mold new recruits and seasoned staff. These activities can reinforce collegiality and collaboration.
Ceremonies are complex and organized activities within the culture that celebrate successes, communicate cultural values, and recognize special contributions of school staff and students. Each transition of the year can provide time to communicate the collaborative nature of the school. For example, in one urban school, staff gather together before classes start in the fall to share their hopes, ideas, and plans for the coming year. This practice helps bind staff together in a shared experience.
In another urban school, the staff holds a special art night during which a piece of art work by each student is matted and displayed. Parents and community members are invited and special awards are given for their cooperation and help. The collaborative work of teachers is described in the carefully designed brochure for the evening.
In still another urban school, staff hold an end of the year ceremony to recognize the individual and group contributions of teachers. Sometimes funny and sometimes serious, the school communicates how it values the ways in which teachers work together.
Rituals are routines infused with deeper values. In one large urban school, staff meet for coffee and donuts once a week to share stories and recharge batteries with colleagues whom they see only occasionally. In other schools, decision-making councils begin meetings with ritual sharing of personal and professional activities before planning and decision-making begin.
Traditions are significant annual events that have a special history and meaning. Many of the routine activities of schools become traditions in which the history of the event and its importance communicate and reinforce core values and norms.
Examples of these yearly traditions are (1) a collaboratively developed, school-sponsored professional development conference for local teachers; (2) retreats for collaborative planning; and (3) regular shared development of school improvement plans and budgets.
Questions to ask:
While these aspects of culture building can reinforce, mold, and shape the school culture, a number of structures and programs also may foster greater collaboration. When staff have more opportunities to collaborate in activities that are positive, self- directed, and important to them, a culture of collaboration is more likely to develop (see Little, 1982; Fullan and Hargreaves, 1989).
Structures that support collaboration in urban schools include the following:
In these organized ways, teachers have the chance to work together, get to know each other, and build on collegial relationships.
Summary. Developing collaborative cultures is not easy. It requires attention to the relationships, structures, and norms of the school. And, as Johnson (1990) notes, teachers also have a role in developing collaborative cultures:
Whatever support administrators provide, teachers themselves must ultimately take responsibility for collaboration. Teachers both constitute and create the context for collegiality. Removing the structural barriers to exchange will not alone ensure that teachers eagerly and confidently cooperate and critique each others' practice. Strong norms of autonomy and privacy prevail among teachers. Creeping fears of competition, exposure to shortcomings, and discomfiting criticism often discourage open exchange, cooperation, and growth. Until teachers overcome such fears and actively take charge of their own professional relations, teaching will likely remain isolating work. The initiative is theirs, but the responsibility for creating more collegial schools cannot be theirs alone. (p. 178-179)
Collaborative cultures, as the name suggests, involve professionals working together. Collaborative schools devote considerable time to working together in groups on various task forces, projects, and programs. Working alone is easy; working together is hard. In many settings, the skills and knowledge of effective teamwork is limited. The research on teamwork (see Maeroff, 1993) suggests that teams need skills and knowledge in the following areas:
Without skills in these areas, group planning, decision-making, and work can easily get bogged down in trivialities, conflict, and administrivia. In many urban schools, staff and administrators alike have had few opportunities to collaborate due to time constraints and pressing needs in the school. Collaborative decision-making and planning may be uncommon practices and will need added support and time. Nonetheless, in many urban schools the opportunity to talk about practice and make decisions about the school has fostered a shared sense of direction and belief in improvement. To build collaboration, developing skills in the areas listed above may be helpful.
In collaborative cultures, leadership is more widely dispersed, regularly enacted, and important to change and improvement. Every teacher can be a leader in collaborative schools (Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991). Collaboration requires shared leadership. But leadership is no longer associated only with the position that one holds. Myths and resistance from individuals keep leadership from flourishing throughout schools.
The five myths of leadership noted by Bennis and Nanus (1985) need to be overcome in collaborative cultures:
Myth 1. Leadership is a rare skill.
Myth 2. Leaders are born, not made.
Myth 3. Leaders are charismatic.
Myth 4. Leadership exists only at the top.
Myth 5. The leader controls, prods, directs, and manipulates.
Leadership can be developed. Leaders are nurtured, supported, and developed in collaborative urban cultures in a number of ways. For collaboration to work, teacher leadership needs to develop, grow, and flourish. Developing teacher leadership does not mean that teachers take on the hierarchical, authoritarian leadership styles of traditional schools. Rather it requires that teachers engage in the type of collaborative, facilitative modes of leadership necessary in successful organizations. Nurturing quality leadership is not easy, but it can be achieved. New cultures are developing at schools in every urban area. Principals are important throughout the process of supporting expanded leadership roles for teachers. As a collaborative culture becomes stronger, teacher leaders then nurture the ongoing development of the school.
In a study of teacher leaders, Leiberman, Saxl, and Miles (1988) identified key skills of leaders: (1) building trust and rapport, (2) diagnosing the organization, (3) dealing with the collaborative process, (4) using resources, (5) managing work, and (6) building skill and confidence in others. These skills support the interactions of colleagues and staff as they engage in joint work, collaborative projects, and collegial problem solving. Teachers can develop these skills in urban schools through training, informal learning, and practice. These six aspects of leadership may be necessary for teachers to reinforce collaborative cultures.
Building trust and rapport. All leaders find ways to increase the trust in the group and rapport in working together. Especially in the difficult and demanding situations facing urban educators, trust building requires considerable attention. Leaders learn to address resistance in the group and find ways to overcome it without coercion. Leaders also engage in open and supportive communication as the work progresses. And leaders develop "shared influence" in the process, encouraging the active participation of everyone. In urban schools, building trust and rapport are key to creating the motivation needed for school improvement.
Diagnosing the organization. Teacher leaders in collaborative cultures support the problem finding and problem solving work of colleagues. They know how to collect and analyze student performance data. They are able to make a diagnosis of the educational situation and to share it in a clear and helpful way. They sometimes place their diagnosis within some conceptual framework to aid in understanding the nature of the instructional or curricular issue. Diagnosis of educational problems models for others the kind of deeper analysis that supports rich collaborative problem solving and improvement efforts.
Dealing with the collaborative process. Collaboration is a complex and demanding activity. It requires developing trusting, collegial relationships; dealing with conflict; and maintaining clear focus. In urban schools, teacher leaders help this process to succeed by knowing how to build collaborative relationships, how to mediate conflict as it develops, how to deal with confrontation in a productive way, and how to maintain the focus on students.
Using resources and managing the work. Any form of joint work needs resources and some coordination. Effective urban teacher leaders know how to tap into the resource network to gain materials, ideas, time, and people to help. Resources, personal and financial, are often at a premium in urban schools, so teacher leaders will need to know how to seek resources, find time, and connect to key sources outside of the school. Learning to "work the bureaucracy" can bring needed resources to the school.
Collaborative work also requires more planning, organizing, and scheduling. It requires coordination. Teacher leaders maintain the flow of collaborative activities by helping manage this work, smoothing the work flow, and facilitating the direction and progress of work. Given the demands in urban schools, leaders who help plan and organize joint work are very important.
Building skill and confidence in others. Leaders also take on the key task of building greater skills and deeper confidence in their coworkers. As leaders, teachers in collaborative cultures help others develop leadership skills, planning skills, and problem solving skills. They see their role as increasing the skills and knowledge of others through examples, ideas, and support. Additionally, teacher leaders in collaborative cultures help increase the confidence that others have in themselves and in the group as a whole. These efforts should also pay off in increased teacher sense of efficacy - the belief that they can have a substantial impact on student learning. With increased confidence and a sense of efficacy, urban teachers are more likely to engage in school improvement efforts.
Principals and teachers face special challenges in urban settings, but it is possible and important to transform their schools into settings in which all students are successful and all teachers continually improve. In schools that have collaborative cultures, teachers work together continuously to fine tune and improve their instructional methods and curricular offerings. All students can benefit from this approach. The kinds of professional communities that can support change and improvement might develop when teachers share ideas and problems, take on leadership and followership, increase their sense of efficacy, and have traditions and ceremonies that celebrate successes. As Johnson (1990) has noted, principals are important, but teachers also must motivate and lead. Developing strong, trusting collaborative cultures in urban schools may help build a foundation for continued growth for students, teachers, and principals.
This monograph was written by Kent D. Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, with Richard Brietzke, Purdy Elementary School, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. It was published in 1994 by NCREL's Urban Education Program as part of its Urban Education Monograph Series.
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With tens of millions of dollars being sunk into construction for water projects in Oxnard, it might be easy to forget that the city has embraced meeting water demand for its growing population with current supplies instead of tapping more sources.
In a presentation to the Oxnard City Council on Tuesday, Anthony Emmert, the city's water resource manager, outlined the city's Water Conservation Master Plan. Essentially, the city recognizes that with cuts in water deliveries from the state and limitations on what it can take from the Santa Clara River and local groundwater, the most cost effective way to find "new water supply" is through conservation.
"We've got a major crisis in our state," said City Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez, who asked for the presentation.
With dwindling supplies because of the drought and cuts in deliveries to protect endangered species, communities must do a better job planning for the future. Ramirez said the plan was a "great beginning," and hopes the city also encourages residents to use drought-tolerant gardens as a way to save water.
Councilman Bryan MacDonald noted there is a common misperception that we're not still in a drought because it's rained a lot in California over that last few months.
"We're no where near out of the woods yet," MacDonald said.
The city's conservation plan is part of a broader citywide effort, the ambitious Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment (GREAT) Program. It is expected to augment the city's supply by recycling water and blending desalinated hard-groundwater.
A $60 million water recycling plant is now under construction in south Oxnard, with plans to inject the water from the plant into the aquifer to provide a barrier to salt water intrusion into groundwater. In addition, the city hopes to sell recycled water to agricultural and industrial customers. Every gallon of recycled water used by such customers would free up a gallon of traditional surface and groundwater for residential customers.
However, the project has required a lot of road work to install new pipelines throughout the city, which has generated much public outcry that has somewhat eclipsed the big picture.
Even with the estimated $250 million cost of the GREAT program, city officials have argued that the cost of water ultimately would be cheaper than paying top dollar for more state water, which is imported through the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).
Although Oxnard has been working on decreasing water use for years, Emmert said there remains a lot of "low hanging fruit" — easy to implement and relatively low-cost ways to conserve water.
Under the program outlined by Emmert, the city would encourage homeowners, industrial property owners and commercial property owners to install more water-efficient devices. Some of that could be accomplished through a rebate system instituted by MWD for customers who buy low-flow toilets, energy-saving washing machines and highly efficient irrigation systems. Emmert said the city is considering augmenting those programs, while increasing the amount of money spent on conservation efforts to close to $1 million over the next decade.
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A California company is planning on building the largest solar power plant in the world. The power plant, which is planned to be built in Nevada, will cost $5 billion and will be able to generate between 1,500 and 2,000 MW of power. That is enough energy to power 1 million homes.
This project should create about 3,000 jobs for almost a decade! With demand growing for clean, renewable energy, this is a perfect outlet for California’s job market. Along with creating thousands of jobs, the plant that is planned to be built is completely emission free.
For more information on this project, please visit: ecowatch.com
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Treatment reverses blood disorder in mice, study finds
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An experimental treatment in mice showed promise in reversing a rare blood disease that can cause leukemia, U.S. researchers said on Monday, offering a glimpse of how the drug may work as it begins testing in humans.
In experiments at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the University of California, San Diego, researchers found the compound blocked a genetic mutation that causes three kinds of leukemias.
The studies tested a compound supplied by privately held biotechnology company TargeGen in San Francisco, which has just begun early testing in humans.
It targets a genetic mutation in the JAK2 gene that causes most cases of the leukemias polycythemia vera, essential thrombocytosis and primary myelofibrosis, which affect up to 100,000 people in the United States.
The mutation in the JAK2 gene causes an overproduction of blood cells. The TargeGen compound TG101348 is designed to block the JAK2 mutation that causes this.
The idea is to set errant cells back on the right path, said Dr. Catriona Jamieson of the University of California, San Diego, whose paper appears in the journal Cancer Cell.
"By using how stem cells work and how they can go awry, we can redirect them using very targeted inhibitors that get these cells back on track," Jamieson said in a telephone interview.
Her experiments showed the compound reversed the disease in cell cultures. Her team also found the drug reversed disease in mice that had an engineered version of the mutant gene and those injected with stem cells from humans with the disorder polycythemia vera.
In a separate study in the same journal, Dr. Gary Gilliland and colleagues induced polycythemia in 168 mice. They gave high and low doses of the compound TG101348 daily for seven weeks to 112 mice. All the mice that got the higher dose survived, six in the placebo group died and one in the low dose group died.
"We saw that the compound alleviates and reverses the symptoms in mice," said researcher Gerlinde Wernig, who worked on the study.
"These are completely complimentary results," Jamieson said of the two studies, which helped lay the foundation for the human clinical trials which began last month.
Researchers at a half dozen prestigious medical centers will participate in the human studies, which will test a small dose of the drug in a few patients to see if it causes toxic side effects.
"Our goal is to get an efficacious drug into use for humans," said Gilliland, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher.
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Oaks: Biology and significance
By Steve Barnhart
February 2, 2009
Oak trees and shrubs are found in many different environments and climatic zones around the world. Some 500 species exist, primarily in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of North America, South America (Columbia), Europe, North Africa, the near east and Asia, dropping below the equator into Indonesia. Many local populations of oak species exhibit unique characteristics, yet as a group they are able to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions.
Oaks have been a very important resource for humans over thousands of years. Acorns have been a dietary staple for millennia, most recently for the acorn-gathering and oak-cultivating Native Americans of California. Oaks have also been important for cultural and religious reasons.
All oaks are members of the genus Quercus, in the plant family Fagaceae, which includes beeches, chestnuts, chinquapins and tanbark oak. Tanbark oak is not a true oak (Quercus) due to a number of significant biological differences, including flower structure and pollination. Other species which bear the term “oak” in their common names are not related at all, e.g. poison oak. Oak trees and shrubs can be deciduous, losing all their leaves seasonally, or evergreen (live oaks). Oaks are mainly identified by their bark, foliage and fruit (acorns).
Approximately 80 native oak species are found in the United States, with 21 of these in California. These species are classified in three evolutionary lineages or sections: White oaks, red oaks and intermediate oaks. In Sonoma County, we are graced with five white oak, four red oak and one intermediate oak species.
Hybridization, or crossing between species, occurs within evolutionary lineages or sections. White oak hybrids are fertile and thus can reproduce with other hybrids or their parental species. A common example in Sonoma County are the hybrids between blue oak and Oregon oak, which exhibit a full range of characters between the two parent species.
In red oaks, the hybrids are typically sterile, like mules. Thus, the only evidences of hybridization among red oaks are plants exhibiting intermediate characteristics between the two parental species, such as the oracle oak, a hybrid between California black oak and the interior live oak.
Oaks perform a very important ecological role in many landscapes. Because of the food resource (acorns) as well as shelter and nesting places, oak-dominated communities have the highest diversity of wildlife species of any California landscape. Here, oaks play a central role in the community food webs, thus filling the niche of an important “keystone” species. Oaks also provide important amenities with regard to watershed integrity, local carbon balance and natural fire fuel breaks.
Unfortunately, the loss of oaks and oak habitat in Sonoma County and throughout California is occurring at an alarming rate. This loss is primarily due to urbanization and the agricultural conversion of wild land habitat. In the growing exurban areas, the ecological integrity of oak woodlands is being severely compromised because of the impact of patchy development upon wildlife species. Added to these factors are the direct impacts of construction and landscaping upon individual specimen trees as well as the increased spread of pathogens and disease. Finally, Sudden Oak Death is having a pronounced impact upon coast live oak, Shreve oak, California black oak and tanbark oak in our local wild lands.
Native oaks are a natural legacy that we all should desire to preserve. Their beauty and landscape utility are obvious, but their evolutionary and ecological significance are even more important to the long-term integrity of our natural landscapes.
Steve Barnhart has developed research projects and published about north coast oaks for over 30 years. He is currently the Education Director for the Pepperwood Foundation which owns and manages the 3100 acre Pepperwood Preserve in NE Sonoma County.
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If you seem like you need professional aid with psychological health troubles, you might wish to look for therapy solutions. These services are developed to assist you resolve one of the most common symptoms of distress. Counselors can give aid to those that are fighting with chemical abuse, clinical depression, or various other psychological illnesses. The counselor’s function is to lead you in functioning out an option. Mental wellness counseling might be provided by your health insurance firm or with a federal government plan. You might need to pay for the solution yourself unless the signs are also serious.
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Behavior modification is a kind of emotional treatment. The specialist will function with you to assist you recognize what activates your ailment. They will certainly likewise instruct you just how to establish healthy thought patterns that will certainly reduce your threat of self-harm and also isolation. Some individuals additionally take recommended medicine to treat their signs. A number of resources are available online to aid individuals discover the right treatment for their particular requirements. You may require to look for a psychiatrist in your area.
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Suicide is one of one of the most common causes of fatality for both women and males in the U.S. It is additionally the second most typical cause of fatality among adults age fifteen to 24. In men, schizophrenia starts establishing throughout the very early twenties or late teens, while ladies often establish it by their early 30s. As a whole, nonetheless, self-destruction is normally a symptom of a mental disease, not a condition. It is necessary to seek therapy for mental ailments, as the problem can bring about various other health troubles.
Mental health counseling might be supplied by your health and wellness insurance company or with a government scheme. Mental health specialists make use of a selection of preventative actions to minimize the threat of psychological disorders. If you require assistance with your pal or enjoyed one, take into consideration looking for professional aid for mental health and wellness problems. A mental health and wellness specialist may recommend medication along with psychotherapy to deal with the signs and symptoms. A wellness care provider might additionally suggest treatment for household participants or children experiencing from psychological health problems.
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Mission: Northern Gulf of Alaska Long-Term Ecological Research project
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northern Gulf of Alaska – currently
sheltering in Kodiak harbor again
Date: September 23, 2019
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Time: 13:30 Latitude: 57º47.214’ N Longitude: 152º24.150’ E Wind: Northwest 8 knots Air Temperature: 11ºC (51ºF) Air Pressure: 993 millibars Overcast, light rain
Science and Technology Log
As we near the end of our trip, I want to focus on a topic that it is the heart of the LTER study: zooplankton. Zooplankton are probably the most underappreciated part of the ocean, always taking second stage to the conspicuous vertebrates that capture people’s attention. I would argue however, that these animals deserve our highest recognition. These small ocean drifters many of which take part in the world’s largest animal migration each day. This migration is a vertical migration from the ocean depths, where they spend their days in the darkness avoiding predators, to the surface at night, where they feed on phytoplankton (plant plankton). Among the zooplankton, the humble copepod, the “oar-footed,” “insect of the sea,” makes up 80% of the animal mass in the water column. These copepods act as a conduit of energy in the food chain, from primary producers all the way up to the seabirds and marine mammals.
Aboard the R/V Tiglax, zooplankton and copepods are collected in a variety of manners. During the day, a CalVet plankton net is used to collect plankton in the top 100 meters of the water column.
On the night shift, we alternated between a Bongo net and a Multinet depending on our sampling location. The Bongo net is lowered to 200 meters of depth (or 5 meters above the bottom depending on depth) and is towed back to the surface at a constant rate. This allows us to capture the vertical migrators during the night. How do we know where it is in the water column and its flow rate you may ask? Each net is attached to the winch via a smart cable. This cable communicates with the onboard computer and allows the scientists to monitor the tow in real time from the lab.
The Multinet is a much higher tech piece of equipment. It contains five different nets each with a cod end. It too is dropped to the same depth as the Bongo, however each net is fired open and closed from the computer at specific depths to allow for a snapshot of the community at different vertical depths.
Copepod research is the focus of the two chief scientists, Russ Hopcroft and Jennifer Questel aboard R/V Tiglax. Much of the research must occur back in the laboratories of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For example, Jenn’s research focuses on analyzing the biodiversity of copepods in the NGA at the molecular level, using DNA barcoding to identify species and assess population genetics. A DNA barcode is analogous to a barcode you would find on merchandise like a box of cereal. The DNA barcode can be read and this gives a species level identification of the zooplankton. This methodology provides a better resolution of the diversity of planktonic communities because there are many cryptic species (morphologically identical) and early life stages that lack characteristics for positive identification. Her samples collected onboard are carefully stored in ethanol and frozen for transport back to her lab. Her winter will involve countless hours of DNA extraction, sequencing and analysis of the data.
One aspect of the LTER study that Russ is
exploring is how successful certain copepod species are at finding and storing
food. Neocalanus copepods, a dominate species in our collections, are
arthropods that have a life cycle similar to insects. They have two major life forms, they start as
a nauplius, or larval stage, and then metamorphisize into the copepodite form,
in which they take on the more familiar arthropod appearance as they transition
to adulthood. Neocalanus then spends the spring and summer in the NGA feasting on
the rich phytoplankton blooms. They accumulate fat stores, similar to our
Alaska grizzlies. In June, these lipid-rich
animals will settle down into the deep dark depths of the ocean, presumably
where there is less turbulence and predation.
The males die shortly after mating, but the females will overwinter in a
state called diapause, similar to hibernation.
The females do not feed during this period of diapause and thus must
have stock-piled enough lipids to not only survive the next six months, but
also for the critical next step of egg production. Egg production begins in December to January
and after egg release, these females – like salmon – will die as the cycle
Part of Russ’s assessment of the Neocalanus is to photograph them in the lab aboard the ship as they are collected. The size of the lipid sac is measured relative to their body size and recorded. If females do not store enough lipids, then the population could be dramatically altered the following season. These organisms that are live sorted on the ship will then be further studied back in the laboratory using another type of molecular analysis to look at their gene expression to understand if they are food-stressed as they come out of diapause.
Back in the UAF laboratory, countless hours must be spent on a microscope by technicians and students analyzing the samples collected onboard. To give an idea of the scope of this work, it takes approximately 4 hours to process one sample. A typical cruise generates 250 samples for morphological analysis to community description, which includes abundance, biomass, life stage, gender, size and body weight information. There are three cruises in a season, and thus the work extends well into the spring. To save time, computers are also used to analyze a subset of the samples which are then checked by a technician. However, at this stage, the computer output does not yet meet the accuracy of a human technician. All of these approaches serve to better understand the health of the zooplankton community in the NGA. Knowing how much zooplankton there is, who is there and how fatty they are, will tell us both the quantity and quality of food available to the fish, seabirds and marine mammals that prey upon them. Significant changes both inter-annually and long-term of zooplankton community composition and abundance could have transformative effects through the food chain. This research provides critical baseline data as stressors, such as a changing climate, continue to impact the NGA ecosystem.
After sheltering in Kodiak harbor overnight Friday, we once again were able to head back out during a break in the weather. We departed Kodiak in blue skies and brisk winds on Saturday.
We made it to the start of the Kodiak line by
sundown and began our night of sampling with the goal of getting through six
stations. The swells left over from the
last gale were quite challenging, with safety a top priority this evening. Waves were crashing over the top rale as we
worked and the boat pitched side to side.
Walking the corridor from the stern to the bow required precise timing,
lest you get soaked by a breaking wave, as poor Heidi did at least three times.
Despite having to pull the Methot early on one station and skip it all together on another due to the rough seas, we had an amazingly efficient and successful evening. Our team was amazing to work with and Dan captured one last photo of us as we wrapped up our shift at 6am.
The day crew worked fast and furious on the
return to station one as once again, another gale was forecast. This gale was the worst yet, dipping down to
956 millibars in pressure with the word STORM written across the forecast
screen for the entire Gulf of Alaska.
Luckily we were able to make it back into Kodiak harbor by Sunday
evening just as winds and waves began to build.
After riding out the storm overnight we are still waiting for the 4pm
forecast to reassess our final days two days.
The crew grows weary of sitting idle as the precious window for sampling
closes. Stay tuned for a follow up blog
as I return to solid ground on Wednesday!
Did You Know?
Copepods are the most biologically diverse zooplankton and even outnumber the biodiversity of terrestrial insects!
Mission: Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northern Gulf of Alaska
Date: July 3, 2019
Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 58° 54.647’ N Longitude: 146° 00.022’ W Wave Height: 4-5 ft. Wind Speed: 1.9 knots Wind Direction: roughly 90 degrees, but variable Visibility: 1 nm Air Temperature: 13.2 °C Barometric Pressure: 1014.4 mb Sky: Clear, then foggy
We have been fortunate so far to have very calm conditions. Winds have been variable or light and are expected to continue to be so through the weekend at least. Wave heights have generally been about 3 feet, although they’re up to 4-5 feet today, and are expected to drop tomorrow. The calm weather is critical for some of the testing being done, and thus is allowing more to happen.
Science and Technology Log
The focus of all of testing on board is
plankton. As the base of the food web,
all species depend on their health and abundance for survival. There are multiple
teams who are focused on various aspects of plankton and their reaction to
environmental conditions. Kira Monell is
a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who is working under
the direction of Dr. Russ Hopcroft while on board. She is studying zooplankton, or the animal
version of plankton. She is specifically
focusing on Neocalanus flemingeri, a
type of sub-arctic copepod. It is
important to study zooplankton because they provide a link between
phytoplankton (the plant version of plankton) and larger fish on the food
web. Copepods are extremely abundant and
varietal, found just about everywhere in the world. They are an important food source for most aquatic
species (they exist in both salt and fresh water). They are a trophic link – a connection in the
food web. Her target species is special
because they mostly eat phytoplankton during the seasonal plankton blooms. They convert their food into a lot of lipids
(fats) and thus are great sources of food and energy for larger fish. After fattening up, they go deep into the
ocean to hibernate around mid-summer.
Kira is specifically focused on the termination
of their hibernation (technically called diapause). She is doing genetic testing to see which
genes are activated or deactivated during this phase of their lives. Messenger ribonucleic acid (or mRNA) coded by
these genes is required to construct the enzymes that cause changes in body
functions, so she is looking at levels of different mRNA in the copepods. She
is expecting to see an increase in genes relating to oogenesis (egg formation). Her female copepods go into diapause ready to
start making eggs, so she expects to see changes in genes relating to egg
growth as they come wake up from diapause.
Kira is examining copepods through three
different experiments. With some
samples, she adds a stain called EDU (a dye that labels cells that are just
about to divide) into her samples and then checks them at 24 hours to see which
cells have divided. Because the copepods
are still alive, she can check back to see what further cell division have
happened over longer periods of time. A
fluorescent microscope is required to see the EDU. Scientists still struggle to understand what
actually triggers emergence from diapause since deep water copepods don’t
experience seasonal light changes, or other potential triggers that might exist
on the surface.
Another thing she is looking at is in-situ
hybridization. She makes a tag that is very
specific for the gene she wants to examine.
When the probe gene is introduced, it attaches to the gene she wants to
look at only if it is being actively copied.
Kira then attaches a colored or fluorescent dye to the probe and in that
way she can track which genes are being expressed in specific areas of the
The third project that she is working on is
trancriptum analysis, which requires building a complete “catalog” that shows all
the RNA used by a species. She can then look at which gene transcripts are
present, and in how abundant they are, so as to compare them to the “average”
version of a transcriptum to see which genes are being turned off and on under
To obtain samples of copepods, the zooplankton
team, including Kira, uses Calvet nets.
These are four long nets that terminate in collection tubes. Weight is
added to the bottom of the nets and they are submerged off the stern to 100
meters of depth and then pulled back up (a process that takes roughly five
minutes). The nets are then rinsed to
collect the samples in the tubes, which are transferred into jars and brought
to the lab for more detailed sorting and examination.
As the Calvet rises you can see the full net. (This video has no dialogue.)
Getting prepared to go out on deck safely!
All of the sample collection happens on the working deck at the stern of the R/V Sikuliaq or in the adjacent Baltic Room. The back deck is equipped with a variety of cranes and winches that are designed to handle heavy weights and lines under tension. As such, it is critical to wear the proper protective gear when you’re out there: boots (preferably steel-toed), a hard hat and a flotation vest of coat. If there’s a potential to get wet or dirty, rain gear or waterproof bibs are essential to stay dry and relatively clean. Being properly dressed is a process that took getting used to, but now it’s habit. Again, we’re lucky to have had good weather, so the deck is usually warm enough to wear a t-shirt and jeans. I find it calming to be outside, so I am enjoying learning about the sampling methods of other teams by watching and sometimes assisting them. There are also observation decks at the bow that do not require safety gear. A few of us have discovered that the forward decks are much quieter and are good spaces to decompress and look for sea life.
Animals Seen in the Last 24 Hours:
We’ve seen a few species of birds including
black turnstones, glaucous-winged gulls, Black-winged kittiwakes, as well as
deeper water birds such as storm petrels and shearwaters. In addition, there have been small pods of
dolphins in the distance and one humpback whale (all we saw was the tail).
Mission: Northern Gulf of Alaska Long-Term Ecological Research project
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northern Gulf of Alaska – currently in transit from ‘Seward Line’ to ‘Kodiak Line’
Date: May 5, 2019
Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 57o 34.6915’
Longitude: 150o 06.9789’
Wind: 18 knots, South
Seas: 4-6 feet
Air Temperature: 46oF (8oC)
Air pressure: 1004 millibars
Cloudy, light rain
Science and Technology Log
I was going to just fold the information about mixotrophs into the phytoplankton blog, but this is so interesting it deserves its own separate blog!
On land, there are plants that photosynthesize to make their own food. These are called autotrophs – self-feeding. And there are animals that feed on other organisms for food – these are called heterotrophs – other-feeding. In the ocean, the same is generally assumed. Phytoplankton, algae, and sea grasses are considered autotrophs because they photosynthesize. Zooplankton, fish, birds, marine mammals, and benthic invertebrates are considered heterotrophs because they feed on photosynthetic organisms or other heterotrophs. They cannot make their own food. But it turns out that the line between phytoplankton and zooplankton is blurry and porous. It is in this nebulous area that mixotrophs take the stage!
Mixotrophs are organisms that can both photosynthesize and feed on other organisms. There are two main strategies that lead to mixotrophy. Some organisms, such as species of dinoflagellate called Ceratium, are inherently photosynthetic. They have their own chloroplasts and use them to make sugars. But, when conditions make photosynthesis less favorable or feeding more advantageous, these Ceratium will prey on ciliates and/or bacteria. Bacteria are phosphorous, nitrogen, and iron rich so it is beneficial for Ceratium to feed on them at least occasionally. Microscopy work makes it possible to see the vacuole filled with food inside the photosynthetic Ceratium.
Other organisms, including many ciliates, were long known to be heterotrophic. They feed on other organisms, and it is particularly common for them to eat phytoplankton and especially cryptophyte algae. Recent research has revealed, however, that many ciliates will retain rather than digest the chloroplasts from the phytoplankton they’ve eaten and use them to photosynthesize for their own benefit. Viewing these mixotrophs under blue light with a microscope causes the retained chloroplasts to fluoresce. I saw photos of them and they are just packed with chloroplasts!
Mixotrophs are an important part of the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. They may even help to explain how a modestly productive ecosystem (in terms of phytoplankton) can support highly productive upper trophic levels. Mixotrophy can increase the efficiency of energy transfer through the trophic levels, so more of the energy from primary productivity supports the growth and reproduction of upper trophic levels. They also may increase the resiliency of the ecosystem, since these organisms can adjust to variability in light, nutrients, and phytoplankton availability by focusing more on photosynthesis or more on finding prey. Yet little is known about mixotrophs. Only about one quarter of the important mixotroph species in the Gulf of Alaska have been studied in any way, shape or form!
Researchers are trying to determine what kinds of phytoplankton the mixotrophic ciliates and dinoflagellates are retaining chloroplasts from. They are also curious whether this varies by location, season or year. Understanding the conditions in which mixotrophic organisms derive energy from photosynthesis and the conditions in which they choose to feed is another area of research focus, especially because it has important ramifications for carbon and nutrient cycling and productivity across trophic levels. And it is all very fascinating!
Did you know?
Well over half of the oxygen on earth comes from photosynthetic organisms in the ocean. So next time you take a breath, remember to thank phytoplankton, algae, and marine plants!
Tonight was likely our last full night of work, as we expect rough seas and high winds will roll in around midnight tomorrow and persist until the afternoon before we head back to Seward. We were able to get bongo net sampling completed at 6 stations along the Kodiak Line, and hope that in the next two nights we can get 2-4 stations done before the weather closes in on us and 2-4 nets on the last evening as we head back to Seward.
Despite our push to get 6 stations finished tonight, we took time to look more closely at one of the samples we pulled up. It contained a squid as well as a really cool parasitic amphipod called Phronima that lives inside of a gelatinous type of zooplankton called doliolids. Check out the photos and videos below for a glimpse of these awesome creatures (I couldn’t figure out how to mute the audio, but I would recommend doing that for a less distracting video experience).
Mission: Northern Gulf of Alaska Long-Term Ecological Research project
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northern Gulf of Alaska – currently on the ‘Middleton [Island] Line’
Date: April 28, 2019
Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 59o 39.0964’ N
Longitude: 146o05.9254’ W
Wind: Southeast, 15 knots
Air Temperature: 10oC (49oF)
Air pressure: 1034 millibars
Cloudy, no precipitation
Science and Technology Log
Yesterday was my first full day at sea, and it was a special one! Because each station needs to be sampled both at night and during the day, coordinating the schedule in the most efficient way requires a lot of adjustments. We arrived on the Middleton Line early yesterday afternoon, but in order to best synchronize the sampling, the decision was made that we would wait until that night to begin sampling on the line. We anchored near Middleton Island and the crew of R/V Tiglax ferried some of us to shore on the zodiac (rubber skiff).
This R&R trip turned out to be incredibly interesting and relevant to the research taking place in the LTER. An old radio tower on the island has been slowly taken over by seabirds… and seabird scientists. The bird biologists from the Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation have made modifications to the tower so that they can easily observe, study, and band the black-legged kittiwakes and cormorants that choose to nest on the shelfboards they’ve augmented the tower with. We were allowed to climb up into the tower, where removable plexi-glass windows look out onto each individual pair’s nesting area. This early in the season, the black-legged kittiwakes are making claims on nesting areas but have not yet built nests. Notes written above each window identified the birds that nested there last season, and we were keen to discern that many of the pairs had returned to their spot.
The lead researcher on the Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation (ISRC) project was curious about what the LTER researchers were finding along the Middleton Line stations. He explained that the birds “aren’t happy” this spring and are traveling unusually long distances and staying away for multiple days, which might indicate that these black-legged kittiwakes are having trouble finding high-quality, accessible food. In particular, he noted that he hasn’t seen any evidence they’ve been consuming the small lantern fish (myctophids) that generally are an important and consistent food source from them in the spring. These myctophids tend to live offshore from Middleton Island and migrate to the surface at night. We’ll be sampling some of that area tonight, and I am eager to see if we might catch any in the 0.5 mm mesh ‘bongo’ nets that we use to sample zooplankton at each station.
The kittiwakes feed on myctophids. The myctophids feed on various species of zooplankton. The zooplankton feed on phytoplankton, or sometimes microzooplankton that in turn feeds on phytoplankton. The phytoplankton productivity is driven by complex interactions of environmental conditions, impacted by factors such as light availability, water temperature and salinity as well as the presence of nutrients and trace metals. And these water conditions are driven by abiotic factors – such as currents, tides, weather, wind, and freshwater input from terrestrial ecosystems – as well as the biotic processes that drive the movement of carbon, nutrients, and metals through the ecosystem.
Part of the work of the LTER is to understand the way that these complex factors and processes influence primary productivity, phytoplankton, and the zooplankton community structure. In turn, inter-annual or long-term changes in phytoplankton and zooplankton community structure likely have consequences for vertebrates in and around the Gulf of Alaska, like seabirds, fish, marine mammals, and people. In other words, zooplankton community structure is one piece of understanding why the kittiwakes are or are not happy this spring. It seems that research on zooplankton communities requires, at least sometimes, to consider the perspective of a hungry bird.
Peering at a jar of copepods and euphausiids (two important types of zooplankton) we pulled up in the bongo nets last night, I was fascinated by the way they look and impressed by the amount of swimming, squirming life in the jar. My most common question about the plankton is usually some variation of “Is this …” or “What is this?” But the questions the LTER seeks to ask are a little more complex.
Considering the copepods and euphausiids, these researchers might ask, “How much zooplankton is present for food?” or “How high of quality is this food compared to what’s normal, and what does that mean for a list of potential predators?” or “How accessible and easy to find is this food compared to what’s normal, and what does that mean for a list of potential predators?” They might also ask “What oceanographic conditions are driving the presence and abundance of these particular zooplankton in this particular place at this particular time?” or “What factors are influencing the life stage and condition of these zooplankton?”
As we get ready for another night of sampling with the bongo nets, I am excited to look more closely at the fascinating morphology (body-shape) and movements of the unique and amazing zooplankton species. But I will also keep in mind some of the bigger picture questions of how these zooplankton communities simultaneously shape, and are shaped by, the dynamic Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. Over the course of the next 3 blogs, I plan to focus first on zooplankton, then zoom in to primary production and phytoplankton, and finally dive more into nutrients and oceanographic characteristics that drive much of the dynamics in the Gulf of Alaska.
Life on the night shift requires a pretty abrupt change in sleep patterns. Last night, we started sampling around 10 pm and finished close to 4 am. To get our bodies more aligned with the night schedule, the four of us working night shift tried to stay up for another hour or so. It was just starting to get light outside when I headed to my bunk. Happily, I had no problem sleeping until 2:30 this afternoon! I’m hoping that means I’m ready for a longer night tonight, since we’ll be deploying the bongo nets in deeper water as we head offshore along the Middleton Line.
Did You Know?
Imagine you have a copepod that is 0.5 mm long and a copepod that is 1.0 mm long. Because the smaller copepod is half as big in length, height, and width, overall that smaller copepod at best offers only about 1/8th as much food for a hungry animal. And that assumes that it is as calorie-dense as the larger copepod.
Question of the Day:
Are PCBs biomagnifying in top marine predators in the Gulf of Alaska? Are there resident orca populations in Alaska that are impacted in similar ways to the Southern Resident Orca Whale population [in Puget Sound] (by things like toxins, noise pollution, and decreasing salmon populations? Is it possible for Southern Resident Orca Whales to migrate and successfully live in the more remote areas of Alaska?Questions from Lake Washington Girl’s Middle School 6th grade science class.
These are great questions! No one on board has specific knowledge of this, but they have offered to put me in contact with researchers that focus on marine mammals, and orcas specifically, in the Gulf of Alaska. I’ll keep you posted when I know more!
Mostly cloudy, winds southerly 20 knots, waves to eight feet
57.56 N, 147.56 W (in transit from Gulf of Alaska Line to Kodiak Line)
What Makes Up an Ecosystem? Part III Zooplankton
The North Gulf of Alaska Long-term Ecological Research Project collects zooplankton in several different ways. The CalVET Net is dropped vertically over the side of the boat to a depth of 100 meters and then retrieved. This net gives researchers a vertical profile of what is going on in the water column. The net has very fine mesh in order to collect very small plankton. Some of these samples are kept alive for later experiments. Others are preserved in ethanol for later genetic analysis. One of the scientists aboard is interested in the physiological details of what makes copepods thrive or not. Copepods are so important to the food webs of the Gulf of Alaska, that their success or failure can ultimately determines the success or failure of many other species in the ecosystem. When “the blob” hit the Gulf of Alaska in 2014-2016, thousands and thousands of sea birds died. During those same years, copepods were shown to be less successful in their growth and egg production.
The second net used to collect zooplankton is the Multi-net. We actually use two different Multi-nets. The first is set up to do a vertical profile. In the morning, it’s dropped vertically behind the boat. Four or five times a night, we tow the second Multi-net horizontally while the boat moves slowly forward at two knots. This allows us to collect a horizontal profile of plankton at specific depths. If the water depth is beyond 200 meters, we will lower the net to that depth and open the first net. The first net samples between 200 and 100 meters, above 100 meters we open the second net. As we go up each net is opened in decreasing depth increments, the last one being very close to the surface. Once the net is retrieved, we wash organisms down into the cod end, remove the cod end, and preserve the samples in glass jars with formalin. In a busy night, we may put away twenty-five pint-sized samples of preserved zooplankton. When those samples go back to Fairbanks they have to be hand-sorted by a technician to determine the numbers and relative mass of each species. We are talking hours and hours of time spend looking through a microscope. One night of work on the Tiglax may produce one month of work for technicians in the lab.
Underwater footage of a Multi-net triggering.
The last type of net we use is a Bongo net. Its steel frame looks like the frame of large bongo drums. Hanging down behind the frame is two fine mesh nets, approximately seven feet long terminating in a hard plastic sieve or cod end. Different lines use different nets based on the specific questions researchers have for that transect line or the technique used on previous years transects. To maintain a proper time series comparison from year to year, techniques and tools have to stay consistent.
I’ve spent a little bit of time under the microscope looking at some of the zooplankton samples we have brought in. They are amazingly diverse. The North Gulf of Alaska has two groups of zooplankton that can be found in the greatest abundance: copepods and euphausiids (krill.) These are food for most other animals in the North Gulf of Alaska. Fish, seabirds, and baleen whales all eat them. Beyond these two, I was able to observe the beating cilia of ctenophores and the graceful flight of pteropods or sea angels, the ghost-like arrow worms, giant-eyed amphipods, and dozens of others.
By far my favorite zooplankton to watch under the microscope was the larvae of the goose neck barnacle. Most sessile marine organisms spend the early, larval stage of their lives swimming amongst the throngs of migrating zooplankton. Barnacles are arthropods, which are defined by their exoskeletons and segmented appendages. Most people would recognize barnacles encrusting the rocks of their favorite coastline, but when I show my students videos of barnacles feeding most are surprised to see the delicate feeding structures and graceful movements of this most durable intertidal creature. When submerged, barnacles open their shells and scratch at particles in the water with elongated combs that are really analogous to legs. The larva of the goose neck barnacle has profusely long feeding appendages and a particularly beautiful motion as it feeds.
We have to “fish” for zooplankton at night for two reasons. The first is logistical. Some work needs to get done at night when the winch is not being used by the CTD team. The second is biological. Most of the zooplankton in this system are vertical migrators. They rise each night to feed on phytoplankton near the surface and then descend back down to depth to avoid being seen in the daylight by their predators. This vertical migration was first discovered by sonar operators in World War II. While looking for German U-boats, it was observed that the ocean floor itself seemed to “rise up” each night. After the war, better techniques were developed to sample zooplankton, and scientists realized that the largest animal migration on Earth takes place each night and each morning over the entirety of the ocean basins.
One of my favorite videos on plankton.
The color of water
This far offshore, the water we are traveling through is almost perfectly clear, yet the color of the ocean seems continuously in flux. Today the sky turned gray and so did the ocean. As the waves come up, the texture of the ocean thickens and the diversity of reflection and refraction increases. Look three times in three directions, and you will see three hundred different shades of grey or blue. If the sun or clouds change slightly, so does the ocean.
The sea is anything but consistent. Rips or streaks of current can periodically be seen separating the ocean into distinct bodies. So far in our trip, calm afternoons have turned into windy and choppy evenings. Still, the crew tells me that by Gulf of Alaska standards, we are having amazing weather.
Did You Know?
The bodies of puffins are much better adapted to diving than flying. A puffin with a full belly doesn’t fly to get out of the way of the boat so much as butterfly across the surface of the water. Michael Phelps has nothing on a puffin flapping its way across the surface of the water.
Animals Seen Today
Fin and sperm whales in the distance
Storm Petrels, tufted puffins, Laysan and black-footed and short-tailed albatross, flesh footed shearwaters
At each sampling site, we take two types of samples. First, we dip what are called bongo nets into the water off of the side of the boat. These nets are designed to collect plankton. Plankton are tiny organisms that float in the water. Then, we release long nets off of the back of the boat to take a fish sample. There is a variety of fish that get collected. However, the study targets five species, one of which is juvenile walleye pollock, Gadus chalcogrammus. These fish are one of the most commercially fished species in this area. I will go into more detail about how the fish samples are collected in a future post. For now, I am going to focus on how plankton samples are collected and why they are important to this survey.
As you can see in the photos below, the bongo nets get their name because the rings that hold the nets in place resemble a set of bongo drums. The width of the nets tapers from the ring opening to the other end. This shape helps funnel plankton down the nets and into the collection pieces found at the end of the nets. These collection devices are called cod ends.
This study uses two different size bongo nets. The larger ones are attached to rings that are 60 centimeters in diameter. These nets have a larger mesh size at 500 micrometers. The smaller ones are attached to rings that are 20 centimeters in diameter and have a smaller mesh size at 150 micrometers. The different size nets help us take samples of plankton of different sizes. While the bongo nets will capture some phytoplankton (plant-like plankton) they are designed to mainly capture zooplankton (animal-like plankton). Juvenile pollock eat zooplankton. In order to get a better understanding of juvenile pollock populations, it is important to also study their food sources.
Once the bongo nets have been brought back on board, there are two different techniques used to assess which species of zooplankton are present. The plankton in nets #1 of both the small and large bongo are placed in labeled jars with preservatives. These samples will be shipped to a lab in Poland once the boat is docked. Here, a team will work to identify all the zooplankton in each jar. We will probably make it to at least sixty sampling sites on the first leg of this survey. That’s a lot of zooplankton!
The other method takes place right on the ship and is called rapid zooplankton assessment (RZA). In this method, a scientist will take a small sample of what was collected in nets #2 of both the small and large bongos. The samples are viewed under a microscope and the scientist keeps a tally of which species are present. This number gives the scientific team some immediate feedback and helps them get a general idea about which species of zooplankton are present. Many of the zooplankton collected are krill, or euphausiids, and copepods. One of the most interesting zooplankton we have sampled are naked pteropods, or sea angels. This creature has structures that look very much like a bird’s wings! We also saw bioluminescent zooplankton flash a bright blue as we process the samples. Even though phytoplankton is not a part of this study, we also noticed the many different geometric shapes of phytoplankton called diatoms.
Both the scientific crew and the ship crew work one of two shifts. Everyone works either midnight to noon or noon to midnight. I have been lucky enough to work from 6am – 6pm. This means I get the chance to work with everyone on board at different times of the day. It has been really interesting to learn more about the different ship crew roles necessary for a survey like this to run smoothly. One of the more fascinating roles is that of the survey crew. Survey crew members act as the main point of communication between the science team and the ship crew. They keep everyone informed about important information throughout the day as well as helping out the science team when we are working on a sample. They are responsible for radioing my favorite catchphrase to the bridge and crew, “bongos in the water.”
Did You know?
You brush your teeth with diatoms! The next time you brush your teeth, take a look at the ingredients on your tube of toothpaste. You will see “diatomaceous earth” listed. Diatomaceous earth is a substance that contains the silica from ancient diatoms. Silica gives diatoms their rigid outer casings, allowing them to have such interesting geometric shapes. This same silica also helps you scrub plaque off of your teeth!
Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean from Newport, OR to Port Angeles, WA
Latitude: 48.59 N
Longitude: 126.59 W
Wind Speed: 15 knots
Barometric Pressure: 1024.05 mBars
Air Temperature: 59 F
Weather Observations: Sunny
Science and Technology Log:
You wouldn’t expect us to find tropical sea creatures up here in Canadian waters, but we are! We have a couple scientists on board who are super interested in a strange phenomenon that’s been observed lately. Pyrosomes (usually found in tropical waters) are showing up in mass quantities in the areas we are studying. No one is positive why pyrosomes are up here or how their presence might eventually affect the marine ecosystems, so scientists are researching them to figure it out. One of the scientists, Olivia Blondheim, explains a bit about this: “Pyrosomes eat phytoplankton, and we’re not sure yet how such a large bloom may impact the ecosystem overall. We’ve already seen that it’s affecting fishing communities because their catches have consisted more of pyrosomes than their target species, such as in the shrimp industry.”
Pyrosomes are a type of tunicate, which means they’re made up of a bunch of individual organisms. The individual organisms are called zooids. These animals feed on phytoplankton, and it’s very difficult to keep them alive once they’re out of the water. We have one alive in the wet lab right now, though, so these scientists are great at their jobs.
We’ve found lots of pyrosomes in our hake trawls, and two of our scientists have been collecting a lot of data on them. The pyrosomes are pinkish in color and feel bumpy. Honestly, they feel like the consistency of my favorite candy (Sour Patch Kids). Now I won’t be able to eat Sour Patch Kids without thinking about them. Under the right conditions, a pyrosome will bioluminesce. That would be really cool to see, but the conditions have to be perfect. Hilarie (one of the scientists studying them) is trying to get that to work somehow before the trip is over, but so far we haven’t been able to see it. I’ll be sure to include it in the blog if she gets it to work!
One of the things that’s been interesting is that in some trawls we don’t find a single pyrosome, and in other trawls we see hundreds. It really all depends on where we are and what we’re picking up. A lot of research still needs to be done on these organisms and their migration patterns, and it’s exciting to be a small part of that.
The science crew continues to work well together and have a lot of fun! Last night we had an ice cream sundae party after dinner, and I was very excited about the peanut butter cookie dough ice cream. My friends said I acted more excited about that than I did about seeing whales (which is probably not true. But peanut butter cookie dough ice cream?! That’s genius!). After our ice cream sundaes, we went and watched the sunset up on the flying bridge. It was gorgeous, and we even saw some porpoises jumping in the distance.
It was the end to another exciting day. My favorite part of the day was probably the marine mammal watch where we saw all sorts of things, but I felt bad because I know that our chief scientist was hoping to fish on that spot. Still, it was so exciting to see whales all around our ship, and some sea lions even came and swam right up next to us. It was even more exciting than peanut butter cookie dough ice cream, I promise. Sometimes I use this wheel to help me identify the whales:
Now we’re gearing up for zooplankton day. We’re working in conjunction with the Nordic Pearl, a Canadian vessel, and they’ll be fishing on the transects for the next couple days. That means we’ll be dropping vertical nets and doing some zooplankton studies. I’m not exactly sure what that will entail, but I’m excited to learn about it! So far the only zooplankton I’ve seen is when I was observing my friend Tracie. She was looking at phytoplankton on some slides and warned me that sometimes zooplankton dart across the phytoplankton. Even though she warned me, it totally startled me to see this giant blob suddenly “run” by all the phytoplankton! Eeeeep! Hopefully I’ll get to learn a lot more about these creatures in the days coming up.
The CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) array is another important tool. It goes down at each station, which means data is captured ten-twelve times a day. It drops 50 m/min so it only takes minutes to reach the bottom where other winch/device systems can take an hour to do the same. This array scans eight times per second for the following environmental factors:
Conductivity (converts to salinity in ppt)
Dissolved oxygen (mg/mL)
Descent rate (m/sec)
Sound velocity (m/sec)
There are two sensors for most readings and the difference between them is shown in real time and recorded. For example, the dissolved oxygen sensor is most apt to have calibration issues. If the two sensors are off each other by 0.1 mg/L then something needs to be done.
Software programs filter the data to cut out superfluous numbers such as when the CTD is acclimating in the water for three minutes prior to diving. Another program aligns the readings when the water is working through the sensors. Since a portion of water will reach one sensor first, then another, then another, and so on, the data from each exact portion of water is aligned with each environmental factor. There are many other sophisticated software programs that clean up the data for use besides these two.
These readings are uploaded to the Navy every twelve hours, which provides almost real-time data of the Gulf. The military uses this environmental data to determine how sound will travel through sound channels by locating thermoclines as well as identifying submarines. NOAA describes a thermocline as, “the transition layer between warmer mixed water at the ocean’s surface and cooler deep water below.” Sound channels are how whales are able to communicate over long distances.
The transmissometer measures the optical properties of the water, which allows scientists to track particulates in the water. Many of these are clay particles suspended in the water column. Atmospheric scientists are interested in particulates in the air and measure 400 m. In the water, 0.5 m is recorded since too many particulate affects visibility very quickly. This affects the cameras since light reflecting off the clay can further reduce visibility.
Fluorescence allows scientists to measure chlorophyll A in the water. The chlorophyll molecule is what absorbs energy in photosynthetic plants, algae, and bacteria. Therefore, it is an indicator of the concentration of organisms that make up the base of food chains. In an ecosystem, it’s all about the little things! Oxygen, salinity, clay particles, photosynthetic organisms, and more (most we can not actually see), create a foundation that affects the fish we catch more than those fish affect the little things.
The relationship between abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) factors is fascinating. Oxygen is a great example. When nitrates and phosphates wash down the Mississippi River from the breadbasket of America, it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. These nutrients can make algae go crazy and lead to algae blooms. The algae then use up the oxygen, creating dead zones. Fish can move higher up the water column or away from the area, but organisms fixed to the substrate (of which there are many in a reef system) can not. Over time, too many algae blooms can affect the productivity of an area.
Salt domes were created millions of years ago when an ancient sea dried up prior to reflooding into what we have today. Some salt domes melted and pressurized into super saline water, which sinks and pools. These areas create unique microclimates suitable to species like some mussels. A microclimate is a small or restricted area with a climate unique to what surrounds it.
Another great example is how geology affects biology. Some of these salt domes collapsed leaving granite spires 30-35 meters tall and 10 meters across. These solid substrates create a magical biological trickle down effect. The algae and coral attach to the hard rock, and soon bigger and bigger organisms populate this microclimate. Similar microclimates are created in the Gulf of Mexico from oil rigs and other hard surfaces humans add to the water.
Jillian’s net also takes a ride with the CTD. She is a PhD student at Texas A&M University studying the abundance and distribution of zooplankton in the northern Gulf of Mexico because it is the primary food source of some commercially important larval fish species. Her net is sized to capture the hundreds of different zooplankton species that may be populating the area. The term zooplankton comes from the Greek zoo (animal) and planktos (wanderer/drifter). Many are microscopic, but Jillian’s samples reveal some translucent critters you can see with the naked eye. Her work and the work of others like her ensures we will have a deeper understanding of the ocean.
Prior to this I had never been to the Gulf of Mexico other than on a cruise ship (not exactly the place to learn a lot of science). It has been unexpected to see differences and parallels between the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of Maine, which I am more familiar. NOAA scientist, John, described the Gulf to me as, “a big bathtub.” In both, the geology of the area, which was formed millions of years ago, affects that way these ecosystems run.
Quote of the Day: Jillian: “Joey, are we fishing at this station?” Joey: “I dunno. I haven’t had my coffee yet.” Jillian: “It’s 3:30 in the afternoon!”
Did You Know?
Zooplankton in the Gulf of Mexico are smaller than zooplankton in the Gulf of Maine. Larger species are found in colder water.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Aboard R/V Fulmar
July 17 – 25, 2015
Mission: 2015 July ACCESS Cruise Geographical Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean west of Bodega Bay, California Date: July 22, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: Northwest wind 15-25 knots, wind waves 3’-5’, northwest swell 4’ – 6’ at eight seconds, overcast.
Science and Technology Log
UC Davis graduate student and Point Blue Conservation Science intern Kate Davis took some plankton we collected to the Bodega Marine lab in Bodega Bay. She said she is seeing “tropical” species of plankton. A fellow graduate student who is from Brazil peeked into the microscope and said the plankton looked like what she sees at home in Brazil. The flying fish we saw is also anomalous, as is the number of molas (ocean sunfish) we are seeing. Plankton can’t swim, so some of our water must have come from a warm place south or west of us.
The surface water is several degrees warmer than it normally is this time of year. NOAA maintains a weather buoy near Bodega Bay, California that shows this really dramatically. Click on this link – it shows the average temperature in blue, one standard deviation in gray (that represents a “normal” variation in temperatures) and the actual daily temperature in red.
As you can see, the daily temperatures were warm last winter and basically normal in the spring. Then in late June they shot up several degrees, in a few days and have stayed there throughout this month. El Niño? Climate change? The scientists I am with say it’s complicated, but at least part of what is going on is due to El Niño.
So what exactly is El Niño?
My students from last year know that the trade winds normally push the surface waters of the world’s tropical oceans downwind. In the Pacific, that means towards Asia. Water wells up from the depths to take its place on the west coasts of the continents, which means that places like Peru have cold water, lots of fog, and good fishing. The fishing is good because that deep water has lots of nutrients for phytoplankton growth like nitrate and phosphate (fertilizer, basically) and when it hits the sunlight lots of plankton grow. Zooplankton eat the phytoplankton; fish eat the zooplankton, big fish eat little fish and so on.
During an El Niño event, the trade winds off the coast of Peru start to weaken and that surface water bounces back towards South America. This is called a Kelvin wave. Instead of flowing towards Asia, the surface water in the ocean sits there in the sunlight and it gets warmer. There must be some sort of feedback mechanism that keeps the trade winds weak, but the truth is that nobody really understands how El Niño gets started. We just know the signs, which are (1) trade winds in the South Pacific get weak (2) surface water temperatures in the eastern tropical pacific rise, (3) the eastern Pacific Ocean and its associated lands get wet and rainy, (4) the western Pacific and places like Australia, Indonesia, and the Indian Ocean get sunny and dry.
This happens every two to seven years, but most of the time the effect is weak. The last time we had a really strong El Niño was 1997-1998, which is when our current cohort of high school seniors was born. That year it rained 100 inches in my yard, and averaged over an inch a day in February! So, even though California is not in the tropics we feel its effects too.
We are in an El Niño event now and NOAA is currently forecasting an excellent chance of a very strong El Niño this winter.
What about climate change and global warming? How is that related to El Niño? There is no consensus on that; we’ve always had El Niño events and we’ll continue to have them in a warmer world but it is possible they might be stronger or more frequent.
So, is El Niño a good thing? That’s not a useful question. It’s a part of our climate. It does make life hard for the seabirds and whales because that layer of warm water at the surface separates the nutrients like nitrate and phosphate, which are down deep, from the sunlight. Fewer phytoplankton grow, fewer zooplankton eat them, there’s less krill and fish for the birds and whales to eat. However, it might help us out on land. California’s drought, which has lasted for several years now, may end this winter if the 2015 El Niño is as strong as expected.
Did You Know? El Niño means “the boy” in Spanish. It refers to the Christ child; the first signs of El Niño usually become evident in Peru around Christmas, which is summer in the southern hemisphere. The Spanish in colonial times were very fond of naming things after religious holidays. You can see that in our local place names. For instance, Marin County’s Point Reyes is named after the Feast of the Three Kings, an ecclesiastical holy day that coincided with its discovery by the Spanish. There are many other examples, from Año Nuevo on the San Mateo County coast to Easter Island in Chile.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Aboard R/V Fulmar
July 17 – 25, 2015
Mission: 2015 July ACCESS Cruise Geographical Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean west of Marin County, California Date: July 20, 2015
Weather Data from the Bridge: 15 knot winds gusting to 20 knots, wind waves 3-5’ and a northwest swell 3-4’ four seconds apart.
Science and Technology Log
On the even-numbered “lines” we don’t just survey birds and mammals. We do a lot of sampling of the water and plankton.
We use a CTD (Conductivity – Temperature – Depth profiler) at every place we stop. We hook it to a cable, turn it on, and lower to down until it comes within 5-10 meters of the bottom. When we pull it back up, it has a continuous and digital record of water conductivity (a proxy for salinity, since salty water conducts electricity better), temperature, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence (a proxy for chlorophyll, basically phytoplankton), all as a function of depth.
We also have a Niskin bottle attached to the CTD cable. This is a sturdy plastic tube with stoppers at both ends. The tube is lowered into the water with both ends cocked open. When it is at the depth you want, you clip a “messenger” to the cable. The messenger is basically a heavy metal bead. You let go, it slides down the cable, and when it strikes a trigger on the Niskin bottle the stoppers on both ends snap shut. You can feel a slight twitch on the ship’s cable when this happens. You pull it back up and decant the seawater that was trapped at that depth into sample bottles to measure nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, and other chemical parameters back in the lab.
When we want surface water, we just use a bucket on a rope of course.
We use a hoop net to collect krill and other zooplankton. We tow it behind the boat at a depth of about 50 meters, haul it back in, and wash the contents into a sieve, then put them in sample bottles with a little preservative for later study. We also have a couple of smaller plankton nets for special projects, like the University of California at Davis graduate student Kate Davis’s project on ocean acidification, and the plankton samples we send to the California Department of Health. They are checking for red tides.
We use a Tucker Trawl once a day on even numbered lines. This is a heavy and complicated rig that has three plankton nets, each towed at a different depth. It takes about an hour to deploy and retrieve this one; that’s why we don’t use it each time we stop. The Tucker trawl is to catch krill; which are like very small shrimp. During the day they are down deep; they come up at night.
What happens to these samples? The plankton from the hoop net gets sent to a lab where a subsample is taken and each species in the subsample is counted very precisely. The CTD casts are shared by all the groups here – NOAA, Point Blue Conservation Science, the University of California at Davis, San Francisco State University. The state health department gets its sample. San Francisco State student Ryan Hartnett has some water samples he will analyze for nitrate, phosphate and silicate. All the data, including the bird and mammal sightings, goes into a big database that’s been kept since 2004. That’s how we know what’s going on in the California Current. When things change, we’ll recognize the changes.
They told me “wear waterproof pants and rubber boots on the back deck, you’ll get wet.” I thought, how wet could it be? Now I understand. It’s not that some water drips on you when you lift a net up over the stern of the boat – although it does. It’s not that waves splash you, although that happens too. It’s that you use a salt water hose to help wash all of the plankton from the net into a sieve, and then into a container, and to fill wash bottles and to wash off the net, sieve, basins, funnel, etc. before you arrive at the next station and do it all again. It takes time, because you have to wash ALL of the plankton from the end of the net into the bottle, not just some of it. You spend a lot of time hosing things down. It’s like working at a car wash except with salty water and the deck is pitching like a continuous earthquake.
The weather has gone back to “normal”, which today means 15 knot winds gusting to 20 knots, wind waves 3-5’ and a northwest swell 3-4’ only four seconds apart. Do the math, and you’ll see that occasionally a wind wave adds to a swell and you get slapped by something eight feet high. We were going to go to Bodega Bay today; we had to return to Sausalito instead because it’s downwind.
We saw a lot of humpback whales breaching again and again, and slapping the water with their tails. No, we don’t know why they do it although it just looks like fun. No, I didn’t get pictures. They do it too fast.
Did You Know? No biologist or birder uses the word “seagull.” They are “gulls”, and there are a lot of different species such as Western gulls, California gulls, Sabine’s gulls and others. Yes, it is possible to tell them apart.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Dieuwertje “DJ” Kast Aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow May 19 – June 3, 2015
Mission: Ecosystem Monitoring Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Maine Date: May 28, 2015, Day 11 of Voyage
Interview with Student Megan Switzer
Megan Switzer is a Masters student at the University of Maine in Orono. She works in Dave Townsend’s lab in the oceanography department. Her research focuses on interannual nutrient dynamics in the Gulf of Maine. On this research cruise, she is collecting water samples from Gulf of Maine, as well as from Georges Bank, Southern New England (SNE), and the Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB). She is examining the relationship between dissolved nutrients (like nitrate and silicate) and phytoplankton blooms. This is Megan’s first research cruise!
In the generic ocean food chain, phytoplankton are the primary producers because they photosynthesize. They equate to plants on land. Zooplankton are the primary consumers because they eat the phytoplankton. There are so many of both kinds in the ocean. Megan is focusing on a particular phytoplankton called a diatom; it is the most common type of phytoplankton found in our oceans and is estimated to contribute up to 45% of the total oceanic primary production (Yool & Tyrrel 2003). Diatoms are unicellular for the most part, and a unique feature of diatom cells is that they are enclosed within a cell wall made of silica called a frustule.
The frustules are almost bilaterally symmetrical which is why they are called di (2)-atoms. Diatoms are microscopic and they are approximately 2 microns to about 500 microns (0.5 mm) in length, or about the width of a human hair. The most common species of diatoms are: Pseudonitzchia, Chaetocerous, Rhizosolenia, Thalassiosira, Coschinodiscus and Navicula.
Diatoms also have ranges and tolerances for environmental variables, including nutrient concentration, suspended sediment, and flow regime. As a result, diatoms are used extensively in environmental assessment and monitoring. Furthermore, because the silica cell walls are inorganic substances that take a long time to dissolve, diatoms in marine and lake sediments can be used to interpret conditions in the past.
In the Gulf of Maine, the seafloor sediment is constantly being re-suspended by tidal currents, bottom trawling, and storm events, and throughout most of the region there is a layer of re-suspended sediment at the bottom called the Bottom Nepheloid Layer. This layer is approximately 5-30 meters thick, and this can be identified with light attenuation and turbidity data. Megan uses a transmissometer, which is an instrument that tells her how clear the water is by measuring how much light can pass through it. Light attenuation, or the degree to which a beam of light is absorbed by stuff in the water, sharply increases within the bottom nepheloid layer since there are a lot more particles there to block the path of the light. She also takes a water sample from the Benthic Nepheloid Layer to take back to the lab.
Megan also uses a fluorometer to measure the turbidity at various depths. Turbidity is a measure of how cloudy the water is. The water gets cloudy when sediment gets stirred up into it. A fluorometer measures the degree to which light is reflected and scattered by suspended particles in the water. Taken together, the data from the fluorometer and the transmissometer will help Megan determine the amount of suspended particulate material at each station. She also takes a water sample from the Benthic Nepheloid layer to take back to the lab. There, she can analyze the suspended particles and determine how many of them are made out of the silica based frustules of sinking diatoms.
She collects water at depth on each of the CTD/ Rosette casts.
CTD, Rosette, and Niskin Bottle basics.
The CTD or (conductivity, temperature, and depth) is an instrument that contains a cluster of sensors, which measure conductivity, temperature, and pressure/ depth.
Here is a video of a CTD being retrieved.
Depth measurements are derived from measurement of hydrostatic pressure, and salinity is measured from electrical conductivity. Sensors are arranged inside a metal housing, the metal used for the housing determining the depth to which the CTD can be lowered. Other sensors may be added to the cluster, including some that measure chemical or biological parameters, such as dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll fluorescence. Chlorophyll fluorescence measures how many microscopic photosynthetic organisms (phytoplankton) are in the water. The most commonly used water sampler is known as a rosette. It is a framework with 12 to 36 sampling Niskin bottles (typically ranging from 1.7- to 30-liter capacity) clustered around a central cylinder, where a CTD or other sensor package can be attached. The Niskin bottle is actually a tube, which is usually plastic to minimize contamination of the sample, and open to the water at both ends. It has a vent knob that can be opened to drain the water sample from a spigot on the bottom of the tube to remove the water sample. The scientists all rinse their bottles three times and wear nitrile or nitrogen free gloves to prevent contamination to the samples.
On NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow the rosette is deployed from the starboard deck, from a section called the side sampling station of this research vessel.
The instrument is lowered into the water with a winch operated by either Adrian (Chief Boatswain- in charge of deck department) or John (Lead Fishermen- second in command of deck department). When the CTD/Rosette is lowered into the water it is called the downcast and it will travel to a determined depth or to a few meters above the ocean floor. There is a conducting wire cable is attached to the CTD frame connecting the CTD to an on board computer in the dry lab, and it allows instantaneous uploading and real time visualization of the collected data on the computer screen.
The water column profile of the downcast is used to determine the depths at which the rosette will be stopped on its way back to the surface (the upcast) to collect the water samples using the attached bottles.
Messenger- The manual way to trigger the bottle is with a weight called a messenger. This is sent down a wire to a bottle at depth and hits a trigger button. The trigger is connected to two lanyards attached to caps on both ends of the bottle. When the messenger hits the trigger, elastic tubing inside the bottle closes it at the specified depth.
Here is a video of how the manual niskin bottle closes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrqXWtbUc74
The other way to trigger Niskin bottles is electronically. The same mechanism is in place but an electronic signal is sent down the wire through insulated and conductive sea cables (to prevent salt from interfering with conductivity) to trigger the mechanism.
Here is a video of how it closes electronically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJF1QVe6AK8
Using the Niskin bottles, Megan collects water samples at various depths. She then filters water samples for her small bottles with a syringe and a filter and the filter takes out the phytoplankton, zooplankton and any particulate matter. She does this so that there is nothing living in the water sample, because if there is there will be respiration and it will change the nutrient content of the water sample.
This is part of the reason why we freeze the sample in the -80 C fridge right after they have been processed so that bacteria decomposing can’t change the nutrient content either.
Diatoms dominate the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Maine. They take up nitrate and silicate in roughly equal proportions, but both nutrients vary in concentrations from year to year. Silicate is almost always the limiting nutrient for diatom production in this region (Townsend et. al., 2010). Diatoms cannot grow without silicate, so when this nutrient is used up, diatom production comes to a halt. The deep offshore waters that supply the greatest source of dissolved nutrients to the Gulf of Maine are richer in nitrate than silicate, which means that silicate will be used up first by the diatoms with some nitrate left over. The amount of nitrate left over each year will affect the species composition of the other kinds of phytoplankton in the area (Townsend et. al., 2010).
The silica in the frustules of the diatom are hard to breakdown and consequently these structures are likely to sink out of the euphotic zone and down to the seafloor before dissolving. If they get buried on the seafloor, then the silicate is taken out of the system. If they dissolve, then the dissolved silicate here might be a source of silicate to new production if it fluxes back to the top of the water column where the phytoplankton grow.
Below are five images called depth slices. These indicate the silicate concentration (rainbow gradient) over a geographical area (Gulf of Maine) with depth (in meters) latitude and longitude on the x and y axis.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Dieuwertje “DJ” Kast Aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow May 19 – June 3, 2015
Mission: Ecosystem Monitoring Survey
Geographical area of cruise: East Coast Date: May 22, 2015, Day 4 of Voyage
Interview with Jessica Lueders-Dumont
Who are you as a scientist?
Jessica Lueders-Dumont is a graduate student at Princeton University and has two primary components of her PhD — nitrogen biogeochemistry and historical ecology of the Gulf of Maine.
What research are you doing?
Her two projects are, respectively,
A) Nitrogen cycling in the North Atlantic (specifically focused on the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank but interested in gradients along the entire eastern seaboard)
B) Changes in trophic level of Atlantic cod in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank over the history of fishing in the region. The surprising way in which these two seemingly disparate projects are related is that part A effectively sets the baseline for understanding part B!
She is co-advised by Danny Sigman and Bess Ward. Danny’s research group focuses on investigating climate change through deep time, primarily by assessing changes in the global nitrogen cycle which are inextricably tied to the strength of the biological pump (i.e. biological-mediated carbon export and storage in the ocean). Bess’s lab focuses on the functional diversity of marine phytoplankton and bacteria and the contributions of these groups to various nitrogen cycling processes in the modern ocean, specifically as pertains to oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). She is also advised by a Olaf Jensen, a fisheries scientist at Rutgers University.
In both of these biogeochemistry labs, nitrogen isotopes (referred to as d15N, the ratio of the heavy 15N nuclide to the lighter 14N nuclide in a sample compared to that of a known standard) are used to track nitrogen cycling processes. The d15N of a water mass is a result of the relative proportions of different nitrogen cycling processes — nitrogen fixation, nitrogen assimilation, the rate of supply, the extent of nutrient utilization, etc. These can either be constrained directly via 15N tracer studies or can be inferred from “natural abundance” nitrogen isotopic composition, the latter of which will be used as a tool for this project.
On this cruise she has 3 sample types — phytoplankton, zooplankton, and seawater nitrate — and two overarching questions that these samples will address: How variable is “baseline d15N” along the entire eastern seaboard, and does this isotopic signal propagate to higher trophic levels? Each sample type gives us a different “timescale” of N cycling on the U.S. continental shelf. She will be filtering phytoplankton from various depths onto filters, she will be collecting seawater for subsequent analysis in the lab, and she will be collecting zooplankton samples — all of which will be analyzed for nitrogen isotopic composition (d15N).
Biogeochemists look at everything on an integrated scale. We like to look at the box model, which looks at the surface ocean and the deep ocean and the things that exchange between the two.
The surface layer of the ocean: euphotic zone (approximately 0-150 m-but this range depends on depth and location and is essentially the sunlit layer); nutrients are scarce here.
When the top zone animals die they sink below the euphotic zone and into the aphotic zone (150 m-4000m), and the bacteria break down the organic matter into inorganic matter (nitrate (NO3), phosphate (PO4) and silicate (Si(OH)3.). In terms of climate, an important nutrient that gets cycled is carbon dioxide.We look at the nitrate, phosphate, and silicate as limiting factors for biological activity for carbon dioxide, we are essentially calculating these three nutrients to see how much carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere and “pumped” into the deep sea. This is called the biological pump. Additionally, the particulate matter that falls to the deep sea is called Marine Snow, which is tiny organic matter from the euphotic zone that fuels the deep sea environments; it is orders of magnitude less at the bottom compared to the top.
Did you know that the “Deep sea is really acidic, holds a lot of CO2 and is the biggest reservoir of C02 in the world?” – From Jessica Lueders- Demont, graduate student at Princeton.
One of the most important limiting factors for phytoplankton is nitrogen, which is not readily available in many parts of the global ocean. “A limiting nutrient is a chemical necessary for plant growth, but available in quantities smaller than needed for algae and other primary producers to increase their abundance. Organisms can grow and reproduce only when they have sufficient nutrients. For algae, the carbon source is CO2and this, at least in the surface water, has a constant value and is not limiting their growth. The limiting nutrients are minerals (such as Fe+2), nitrogen, and phosphorus compounds” (Patricia Sharpley 2010).
Conversely, phosphorus is the limiting factor on land. The most common nitrogen is molecular nitrogen or N2, which has a strong bond to break and biologically it is very expensive to fix from the atmosphere.
Biological, chemical, and physical oceanography all work together in this biogeochemistry world and are needed to have a productive ocean. For example, we need the physical oceanography to upwell them to the surface so that the life in the euphotic zone can use them.
Activities on the ship that I am assisting Jessica with:
Zooplankton collected using mini bongos with a 165 micron mesh and then further filtered at meshes: 1000, 500, and ends with 250 microns, this takes out all of the big plankton that she is not studying and leaves only her own in her size range which is 165-200 microns.
She is collecting zooplankton water samples because it puts the phytoplankton that she is focusing on into perspective.
Aspirator pump sucks out all of the water so that the zooplankton are left on a glass fiber filter (GFFs) on the filtration rack.
Video of this happening:
May 21, 14:00 hours: Phytoplankton filtering with Jessica.
In addition to the small bottles Jessica needs, we filled 4 L bottles with water at the 6 different depths (100, 50, 30, 20, 10, 3 m) as well.
We then brought all the 4 L jugs into the chemistry lab to process them. The setup includes water draining through the tubing coming from the 4 L jugs into the filters with the GFFs in it. Each 4 L jug is filtered by 2 of these filter setups preferably at an equal rate. The deepest depth 100 m was finished the quickest because it had the least amount of phytoplankton that would block the GFF and then a second jug was collected to try and increase the concentration of phytoplankton on the GFF.
There are 2 filters for each depth, and since she has 12 filtration bottles total, then she would be collecting data from 6 depths. She collects 2 filters so that she has replicates for each depth.
Here they are all laid out to show the differences in phytoplankton concentration.
She will fold the GFF in half in aluminum foil and store it at -80C until back in the lab at Princeton. There, the GFF’s are combusted in an elemental analyzer and the resulting gases run through a mass spectrometer looking for concentrations of N2 and CO2. The 30 m GFF was the most concentrated and that was because of a chlorophyll maximum at this depth.
Chlorophyll maximum layers are common features of vertically stratified water columns. There is a subsurface maximum or layer of chlorophyll concentration. These are found throughout oceans, lakes, and estuaries around the world at varying depths, thicknesses, intensities, composition, and time of year.
Date: 3/31/2015; Time 2000; clouds 25%, cumulus and cirrus; Wind 205° (SSW), 15 knots; waves 1-2 ft; swells 1-2 ft; sea temp 23°C; air temp 23°C
Science and Technology Log
You’re not going to believe what we caught in our neuston net yesterday – a giant squid! We were able to get it on board and it was 23 feet long! Here’s a picture from after we released it:
April Fools! (sorry, couldn’t resist) The biggest squid we’ve caught are about a half inch long. Image from http://www.factzoo.com/.
Let’s talk about something just as exciting – navigation. I visit the bridge often and find it all very interesting, so I got a 30 minute crash course on navigation. We joked that with 30 minutes of training, yes, we would be crashing!
From the bridge, you can see a long way in any direction. The visible range of a human eye in good conditions is 10 miles. Because the earth is curved, we can’t see that far. There is a cool little formula to figure out how far you can see. You take the square root of your “height of eye” above sea level, and multiply that by 1.17. That gives you the nautical miles that you can see.
So the bridge is 36 feet up. “Really?” I asked Dave. He said, “Here, I’ll show you,” and took out a tape measure.
OK, 36 feet it is, to the rail. Add a couple of feet to get to eye level. 38 feet. Square root of 38 x 1.17, and there we have it: 7.2 nautical miles. That is 8.3 statute miles (the “mile” we are used to using). That’s assuming you are looking at something right at sea level – say, a giant squid at the surface. If something is sticking up from sea level, like a boat, that changes everything. And believe me, there are tables and charts to figure all that out. Last night the bridge watch saw a ship’s light that was 26 miles away! The light on our ship is at 76 feet, so they might have been able to see us as well.
If you can see 7.2 nautical miles in any direction, what is the total area of the field of view? It’s a really amazing number!
Back to navigation
Below are some photos of the navigation charts. They can be zoomed in or out, and the officers use the computer to chart the course. You can see us on the chart – the little green boat.
In the chart above, you’ll see that we seem to be off course. Why? Most likely because of that other ship that is headed our direction. We talk to them over the radio to get their intentions, and reroute our course accordingly.
When we get close to a station, as in the first picture above, the bridge watch team sets up a circle with a one mile radius around the location of the station. See the circle, upper center? We need to stay within that circle the whole time we are collecting our samples. With the bongos and the neuston net, the ship is moving slowly, and with the CTD the ship tries maintain a stationary position. However, wind and current can affect the position. These factors are taken into account before we start the station. The officer on the bridge plans out where to start so that we stay within the circle, and our gear that is deployed doesn’t get pushed into or under the boat. It’s really a matter of lining up vectors to figure it all out – math and physics at work. But what is physics but an extension of common sense? Here’s a close-up:
How do those other ships appear on the chart? This is through input from the AIS (Automated Information System), through which we can know all about other ships. It broadcasts their information over VHF radio waves. We know their name, purpose, size, direction, speed, etc. Using this and the radar system, we can plan which heading to take to give the one-mile distance that is required according to ship rules.
As a backup to the computer navigation system, every half hour, our coordinates are written on the (real paper) navigation chart, by hand.
There are drawers full of charts for everywhere the Gunter travels!
Below is our radar screen. There are 3 other ships on the screen right now. The radar computer tells us the other vessels’ bearing and speed, and how close they will get to us if we both maintain our course and speed.
If the radar goes down, the officers know how to plot all this on paper.
Below is Dave showing me the rudder controls. The rudder is set to correct course automatically. It has a weather adjustment knob on it. If the weather is rough (wind, waves, current), the knob can allow for more rudder correction to stay on course. So when do they touch the wheel? To make big adjustments when at station, or doing course changes.
These are the propulsion control throttles – one for each propeller. They control the propeller speed (in other words, the ship’s speed).
And below is the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). It prints out any nautical distress signal that is happening anywhere in the world!
And then, of course, there is a regular computer, which is usually showing the ships stats, and is connected to the network of computers throughout the ship.
In my post of March 17, I described the gyrocompass. That is what we use to determine direction, and here is a rather non-exciting picture of this very important tool.
As you can see, we have two gyrocompasses, but since knowing our heading is probably the most important thing on the ship, there are backup plans in place. With every watch (every 4 hours), the gyro compass is aligned the magnetic compass to determine our declination from true north. Also, once per trip, the “gyro error” is calculated, using this nifty device:
The reading off of the alidade, combined with the exact time, coordinates, and some fancy math, will determine the gyro error. (Click on a picture to see full captions and full size pictures.)
The math for calculating gyro error isn’t hard; it just takes many steps and careful following of instructions!
Numbers need to be taken from charts in these books…
Knowing how to read charts and tables is important!
You can see that we have manual backups for everything having to do with navigation. We won’t get lost, and we’ll always know where we are!
Back to Plankton!
These past two days, we have been in transit, so no sampling has been done. But here are a couple more cool micrographs of plankton that Pam shared with me.
Interesting Fish Facts
Our main fish of interest in the winter plankton sampling are the groupers. There are two main species: gag groupers and red groupers. You can learn all about them on the NOAA FishWatch Website. Groupers grow slowly and live a long time. Interestingly, some change from female to male after about seven years – they are protogynous hermaphrodites.
In the spring plankton research cruise, which goes out for all of May, the main species of interest is the Atlantic bluefin tuna. This species can reach 13 feet long and 2000 lbs, and females produce 10 million eggs a year!
The fall plankton research focuses on red snapper. These grow up to about 50 pounds and live a long time. You can see from the map of their habitat that it is right along the continental shelf where the sampling stations are.
The NOAA FishWatch website is a fantastic resource, not only to learn about the biology, but about how they are managed and the history of each fishery. I encourage you to look around. You can see that all three of these fish groups have been overfished, and because of careful management, and research such as what we are doing, the stocks are recovering – still a long way from what they were 50 years ago, but improving.
I had a good question come in: how long before the fish larvae are adults? Well, fish are interesting creatures; they are dependent on the conditions of their environment to grow. Unlike us, fish will grow throughout their life! Have you ever kept goldfish in an aquarium or goldfish bowl? They only grow an inch or two long, right? If you put them in an outdoor pond, you’ll see that they will grow much larger, about six inches! It all depends on the environment (combined with genetics).
“Adult” generally means that they are old enough to reproduce. That will vary by species, but with groupers, it is around 4 years. They spawn in the winter, and will remain larvae for much longer than other fish, because of the cooler water.
I’ve used up my space in this post, and didn’t even get to tell you about our scientists! I will save that for next time. For now, I want to share just a few more pictures of the ship. (Again, click on one to get a slide show.)
This is the bridge deck – inside those windows are where most of the pictures on this post were taken. The flying bridge is above.
This is looking forward (and very far down) from the flying bridge toward the bow.
This is the Gunter, looking aft from the flying bridge
My favorite part of the ship – the flying bridge. It’s the highest and a wonderful place for an afternoon nap or to read a book.
We have a small gym on board with an elliptical, treadmill, bike, free weights, a rowing machine, and other goodies. I use it often – I like to do the hill climb on the treadmill or ride the bike.
This is the lounge where people sometimes watch movies
Terms to Learn
What is the difference between a nautical mile and a statute mile? How about a knot?
Do you know what I mean when I say “invertebrate?” It is an animal without a backbone. Shrimp and crabs, are invertebrates; we are vertebrates!
Time 1600; clouds 35%, cumulus; wind 170 (S), 18 knots; waves 5-6 ft; sea temp 24°C; air temp 23°C
Science and Technology Log
We have completed our stations in the western Gulf! Now we are steaming back to the east to pick up some stations they had to skip in the last leg of the research cruise, because of bad weather. It’s going to be a rough couple of days back, with a strong south wind, hence the odd course we’re taking (dotted line). Here’s the updated map:
I had a question come up: How many types of plankton are there? Well, that depends what you call a “type.” This brings up a discussion on taxonomy and Latin (scientific) names. The scientists on board, especially the invertebrate scientists, often don’t even know the common name for an organism. Scientific names are a common language used everywhere in the world. A brief look into taxonomic categories will help explain. When we are talking about numbers, are we talking the number of families? Genera? Species? Sometimes all that is of interest are the family names, and we don’t need to get more detailed for the purposes of this research. Sometimes specific species are of interest; this is true for fish and invertebrates (shrimp and crabs) that we eat. Suffice it to say, there are many, many types of plankton!
Another question asks what the plankton do at night, without sunlight. Phytoplankton (algae, diatoms, dinoflagellates – think of them like the plants of the sea) are the organisms that need sunlight to grow, and they don’t migrate much. The larval fish are visual feeders. In a previous post I explained that they haven’t developed their lateral line system yet, so they need to see to eat. They will stay where they can see their food. Many zooplankton migrate vertically to feed during the night when it is safer, to avoid predators. There are other reasons for vertical migration, such as metabolic reasons, potential UV light damage, etc.
Vertical migration plays a really important role in nutrient cycling. Zooplankton come up and eat large amounts of food at night, and return to the depths during the day, where they defecate “fecal pellets.” These fecal pellets wouldn’t get to the deep ocean nearly as fast if they weren’t transported by migrating zooplankton. Thus, migration is a very important process in the transport of nutrients to the deep ocean. In fact, one of the most voracious plankton feeders are salps, and we just happened to catch one! Salps will sink 800 meters after feeding at night!
Now it’s time to go back into the dry lab and talk about what happens in there. I’ll start with the chlorophyll analysis. In the last post I described fluorescence as being an indicator of chlorophyll content. What exactly isfluorescence? It is the absorption and subsequent emission of light (usually of a different wavelength) by living or nonliving things. You may have heard the term phosphorescence, or better yet, seen the waves light up with a beautiful mysterious light at night. Fluorescence and phosphorescence are similar, but fluorescence happens simultaneously with the light absorption. If it happens after there is no light input (like at night), it’s called phosphorescence.
Well, it is not just phytoplankton that fluoresce – other things do also, so to get a more accurate assessment of the amount of phytoplankton, we measure the chlorophyll-a in our niskin bottle samples. Chlorophyll-a is the most abundant type of chlorophyll.
We put the samples in dark bottles. Light allows photosynthesis, and when phytoplankton (or plants) can photosynthesize, they can grow. We don’t want our samples to change after we collect them. For this same reason, we also process the samples in a dark room. I won’t be able to get pictures of the work in action, but here are some photos of where we do this.
We filter the chlorophyll out of the samples using this vacuum filter:
The filter papers are placed in test tubes with methanol, and refrigerated for 24 hours or so. Then the test tubes are put in a centrifuge to separate the chlorophyll from the filter paper.
The chlorophyll values are read in this fancy machine. Hopefully the values will be similar to those values obtained during the CTD scan. I’ll describe that next.
While the nets and CTD are being deployed and recovered, one person in the team is monitoring and controlling the whole event on the computer. I got to be this person a few times, and while you are learning, it is stressful! You don’t want to forget a step. Telling the winch operator to stop the bongos or CTD just above the bottom (and not hit bottom) is challenging, as is capturing the “chlorophyll max” by stopping the CTD at just the right place in the water column.
Here’s another micrograph of larval fish. Notice the tongue fish, the big one on the right. It is a flatfish, related to flounder. See the two eyes on one side of its head? Flatfish lie on the bottom, and have no need for an eye facing the bottom. When they are juveniles, they have an eye on each side, and one of the eyes migrates to the other side, so they have two eyes on one side! Be sure to take the challenge in the caption!
It’s time to introduce our intrepid leader, Commanding Officer Donn Pratt, known as CO around here. CO lives (when not aboard the Gunter) in Bellingham, WA. He got his start in boats as a kid, starting early working on crab boats. He spent 9 years with the US Coast Guard, where he had a variety of assignments. In 2001, CO transferred to NOAA, while simultaneously serving in the US Navy Reserve. CO is not a commissioned NOAA officer; he went about his training in a different way, and is one of two US Merchant Marine Officers in the NOAA fleet. He worked as XO for about seven years on various ships, and last year he became CO of the Gordon Gunter.
CO is well known on the Gunter for having strong opinions, especially about food and music. He loves being captain for fish research, but will not eat fish (nor sweet potatoes for that matter). A common theme of meal conversations is music; CO plays drums and guitar and is a self-described “music snob.” We have fun talking about various bands, new and old.
One of the most experienced and highly respected of our crew is Jerome Taylor, our Chief Boatswain (pronounced “bosun”). Jerome is the leader of the deck crew. He keeps things running smoothly. As I watch Jerome walk around in his cheerful and hardworking manner, he is always looking, always checking every little thing. Each nut and bolt, each patch of rust that needs attention – Jerome doesn’t miss a thing. He knows this ship inside and out. He is a master of safety. As he teaches the newer guys how to run the winch, his mannerism is one of mutual respect, fun and serious at the same time.
Jerome has been with NOAA for 30 years now, and on the Gunter since NOAA acquired the ship in 1998. He lives right in Pascagoula, MS. I’ve only been here less than two weeks, but I can see what a great leader he is. When I grow up, I want to be like Jerome!
OK, y’all (yes, I’m in the south), I have a math problem for you! Remember, in the post where I described the bongos, I showed the flowmeter, and described how the volume of water filtered can be calculated? Let’s practice. The volume of water filtered is the area of the opening x the “length” of the stream of water flowing through the bongo.
V = area x length.
Remember how to calculate the area of a circle? I’ll let you review that on your own. The diameter (not radius) of a bongo net is 60 cm. We need the area in square meters, not cm. Can you make the conversion? (Hint: convert the radius to meters before you calculate.)
Now, that flow meter is just a counter that ticks off numbers as it spins. In order to make that a usable number, we need to know how much distance each “click” is. So we have R, the rotor constant. It is .02687m.
R = .02687m
Here’s the formula:
Volume(m3) = Area(m2) x R(Fe – Fs) m
Fe = Ending flowmeter value; Fs = Starting flowmeter value
The right bongo net on one of the stations this morning had a starting flowmeter value of 031002. The ending flowmeter value was 068242.
You take it from here! What is the volume of water that went through the right bongo net this morning? If you get it right, I’ll buy you an ice cream cone next time I see you! 🙂
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temp: 14.1 degrees Celsius
Wind Speed:32 knots
Water Temp: 5.7 degrees Celsius Water Depth: 24.5 meters
Science and Technology Log
Today’s blog is about a piece of equipment called a Video Plankton Recorder or VPR for short. The VPR is attached to the bottom of a yellow V-fin that helps it stay under water when it is being towed. Scientists would want to use a VPR instead of a Bongo Net because the Bongo Net is very rough on the creatures that are captured in it as it is towed through the water, especially the very, very soft and fragile ones. The VPR allows the scientists to capture pictures of the creatures in their natural habitat. It also allows them to get close-ups of these creatures so they can really see what their body structures look like. The VPR also allows the scientist to collect data on many creatures are found in a given area in the body of water they are looking at. The VPR has two arms, one on each side about 2 feet apart. One arm has a camera and the other arm has a strobe or flash. The camera and strobe focus on taking pictures between the arms at a rate of 20 pictures a second. The VPR captures all the images as it goes through the water and stores them on a disk drive that the scientists can then upload to their computers. The VPR is generally towed at a speed of around 2-3 knots , or 3-4 miles per hour.
Science Spot Light
The scientist in charge of running the VPR here on the Gordon Gunter is Betsy Broughton. Betsy is an Oceanographer who works on the night crew here on our ship. Betsy has been working on ships for 31 years and has been to sea for close to 1300 days on 18 ships including 3 international ships! When she isn’t on a ship she works at National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Betsy primarily studies baby Cod and Haddock. She is trying to understand how they survive when they are really little, before they look like a fish, what they eat, where they live and what eats them. If you want to learn more you can visit the Fish Facts on the NMFS webpage. Betsy also works on designing the sampling gear that will work faster and give scientists more accurate information. In her spare time, Betsy is an International Challenge Master for Challenge A with Destination Imagination.
We have been on the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter now for 8 days. It’s really hard to believe how much I have learned in a little over a week. It’s been a crash course in a whole bunch of cool science, as well as life on ship. It’s been a little crazy with the weather, it has not been very cooperative, especially the wind. Even though the weather has forced us to make changes in our original plans, the scientists have been very flexible and have done what they can to get their jobs done. Today we have come back from Georges Banks and we are going to be passing through the Cape Cod Canal and spending some time in Cape Cod Bay. Luckily there are a lot of Right Whales known to be there. It’s been really fun getting to know all the scientists, NOAA Corps folks and the crew. Everyone is very nice and it’s amazing how quickly I feel like I have known these people for a long time in just over a week. It is nice to be around like-minded folks who also love science. Yesterday was one of the nicest days, it was warm enough that we didn’t have to wear the mustang suits. I was also able to decorate and deploy a drifter buoy, but more on that later!
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temp: 5.5 Degrees Celsius
Wind Speed: 9.0 Knots
Water Temp: 4.6 Degrees Celsius ater Depth: 41.2 Meters
Science and Technology Log
If Science at Sea is what I wanted, this is the ship for it! The evening of our departure from Newport, R.I. on Monday, April 7th, the group of scientists met in the staff lounge for a meeting of the minds. I soon found out that there was an array of scientist on the ship all with different goals and science they wanted to conduct. On this ship we have two teams of Oceanographers, a day team and a night team. The Oceanographers are generally taking underwater tests and samples using a variety of equipment. We also have the Marine Mammal Observer Team who are on the look out for any sort of mammals that may poke head out of the water such as whales and dolphins.
There is also a group of Birders collecting data on any bird sightings. And lastly we have our Acoustics, or sound team, that is listening for the sounds of marine mammals. I also learned at that meeting that it would take a lot of teamwork and collaboration on the part of each of the Scientist crews, as well as the NOAA Corps and crew to make it all happen.
Every day the representatives from each team have to get together to coordinate the timing of each of the events that will happen throughout the day. The Mammal and Birding Observer teams are on the same schedule and can collect sighting data throughout the day from 7 AM to 7 PM, only stopping for lunch, as they need daylight to conduct their work. The daytime Oceanographers plan their work of collecting samples around the observer teams, sending off their collection equipment before 7AM, at lunch, and then again at 7PM when the observers teams are done. The nighttime Oceanographers are not working during the same time as other scientists so this gives them the opportunity to to do as many test and collections as they can without interrupting anyone else’s work. The Acoustic team can work anytime of day or during any kind of weather without conflicting with anyone as long as the water is deep enough to drop their equipment. It sounds like an easy schedule but there are many things, like weather, technology and location, that could disrupt this carefully orchestrated schedule of science. When that happens, and it has, everyone must be flexible and work together to make sure everyone can conduct the science they need.
Since there is so much science happening on the ship that I am doing every day, I am going to have to share just one thing at a time or I would be writing for hours! Today’s science spotlight is about scientist Jerry Prezioso and the Bongo nets. Jerry is an Oceanographer who works at the NOAA Lab in Narragansett, R.I. Jerry primarily studies plankton distribution. He has been on many trips on NOAA ships since he was 18!
Today Jerry taught me how to do a Bongo net sample that is used to collect plankton from the various water columns. At the top of the net there is a piece of equipment called a CTD (Conductivity Temperature & Depth Unit) that communicates with the computers in the lab on the ship. The scientists in the lab use that piece of equipment to detect how far down the net is going and when it is close to the bottom, as well as collect data on the water temperature and salinity.
Once the CTD is set and turned on, the Bongo net can be lowered into the water. The nets have weights on them to sink them close to the bottom. Once the nets are close a scientist at the computer has the cable operator pull the nets up and out of the water. Once they are on deck they have to be washed down so all the organisms that were caught in the netting go to the cod end of the nets. The cod ends of the nets are opened up and the organisms are rinsed into a sieve where they will carefully be transferred into glass bottles, treated with formaldehyde and sent to a lab for sorting. There were lots of organisms that were caught in the net. Some that we saw today were: Copepods, Comb Jellies or Ctenophora, Herring Larva, aquatic Arrow Worms or Chaetognaths and tons of Phytoplankton and Zooplankton. The Bongo nets are towed several times a day and night to collect samples of plankton.
The start to the trip has been a little rough. It feels like this is the first day we have been able to do anything. Monday we had to sit in port and wait for a scientist to calibrate some equipment before we left so we didn’t get underway until bed time. When we awoke, the weather was bad and the seas were very rough. Several people were very sick and some still are. We were only able to drop one piece of acoustic equipment all day (more on that in another blog). We also had to change the plans on where we were going and move closer to shore due to the weather.
On a ship you need to be very flexible as things are changing all the time! Today was the the first day we were able to do any real science for a sustained amount of time and there were definitely lots of bugs and kinks that needed to be worked out. On top of dropping the BONGO nets with Jerry, I was also able to spend some time and fill in some shifts on the the decks with the Marine Mammal team watching for whales and dolphins. We had a few cool sighting of Humpbacks, Minke, and a Right Whales! (More on them and what they do in another blog too.) On another note, the state rooms are huge and I am sharing a room with one of the acoustic scientists, Genevieve. She is very nice and helpful. The food on the ship is spectacular! I am very surprised how good it is and how many choices there are every meal. All and all things are off to a good start and there is so much more I have to share with everyone about what all these scientist do and it is only our first “real” day!
Did You Know?
Did you know that North Atlantic Right Whales have a V- shaped blow. Their blow holes (two) are separated which gives them the characteristic blow shape.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Britta Culbertson Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson September 4-19, 2013
Mission: Juvenile Walley Pollock and Forage Fish Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: Wednesday, September 12th, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge (for Sept 12th, 2013 at 9:57 PM UTC):
Wind Speed: 23.05 kts
Air Temperature: 11.10 degrees C
Relative Humidity: 93%
Barometric Pressure: 1012.30 mb
Latitude: 58.73 N Longitude: 151.13 W
Science and Technology Log
We have been seeing a lot of humpback whales lately on the cruise. Humpback whales can weigh anywhere from 25-40 tons, are up to 60 feet in length, and consume tiny crustaceans, plankton, and small fish. They can consume up to 3,000 pounds of these tiny creatures per day (Source: NOAA Fisheries). Humpback whales are filter feeders and they filter these small organisms through baleen. Baleen is made out of hard, flexible material and is rooted in the whale’s upper jaw. The baleen is like a comb and allows the whale to filter plankton and small fish out of the water.
I’ve always wondered how whales can eat that much plankton! Three thousand pounds is a lot of plankton. I guess I felt that way because I had never seen plankton in real-life and I didn’t have a concept of how abundant plankton is in the ocean. Now that I’m exposed to zooplankton every day, I’m beginning to get a sense of the diversity and abundance of zooplantkon.
In my last blog entry I explained how we use the bongo nets to capture zooplankton. In this entry, I’ll describe some of the species that we find when clean out the codends of the net. As you will see, there are a wide variety of zooplankton and though the actual abundance of zooplankton will not be measured until later, it is interesting to see how much we capture with nets that have 20 cm and 60 cm mouths and are towed for only 5-10 minutes at each location. Whales have much larger mouths and feed for much longer than 10 minutes a day!
Cleaning the codends is fairly simple; we spray them down with a saltwater hose in the wet lab and dump the contents through a sieve with the same mesh size as the bongo net where the codend was attached. The only time that this proves challenging is if there is a lot of algae, which clogs up the mesh and makes it hard to rinse the sample. Also, the crab larvae that we find tend to hook their little legs into the sieve and resist being washed out. Below are two images of 500 micrometer sieves with zooplankton in them.
Some of the species of zooplankton we are finding include different types of:
Megalopae (crab larvae)
Pteropods (shelled: Limasina and shell-less: Clione)
Copepods (Calanus spp., Neocalanus spp., and Metridea spp.)
The other day we had a sieve full of ctenophores, which are sometimes known as comb jellies because they possess rows of cilia down their sides. The cilia are used to propel the ctenophores through the water. Some ctenophores are bioluminescent. Ctenophores are voracious predators, but lack stinging cells like jellyfish and corals. Instead they possess sticky cells that they use to trap predators (Source: UC Berkeley). Below is a picture of our 500 micrometer sieve full of ctenophores and below that is a close-up photo of a ctenophore.
It’s fun to compare what we find in the bongo nets to the type of organisms we find in the trawl at the same station. We were curious about what some of the fish we were eating, so we dissected two of the Silver Salmon that we had found and in one of them, the stomach contents were entirely crab larvae! In another salmon that we dissected from a later haul, the stomach contents included a whole capelin fish.
Juvenile pollock are indiscriminate zooplanktivores. That means that they will eat anything, but they prefer copepods and euphausiids, which have a high lipid (fat) content. Once the pollock get to be about 100 mm or greater in size, they switch from being zooplanktivores to being piscivorous. Piscivorous means “fish eater.” I was surprised to hear that pollock sometimes eat each other. Older pollock still eat zooplankton, but they are cannibalistic as well. Age one pollock will eat age zero pollock (those that haven’t had a first birthday yet), but the bigger threat to age zero pollock is the 2 year old and older cohorts of pollock. Age zeros will eat small pollock larvae if they can find them. Age zero pollock are also food for adult Pacific Cod and adult Arrowtooth Flounder. Older pollock, Pacific Cod, and Arrowtooth Flounder are the most voracious predators of age 0 pollock. Recently, in the Gulf of Alaska, Arrowtooth Flounder have increased in biomass (amount of biological material) and this has put a lot of pressure on the pollock population. Scientists are not yet sure why the biomass of Arrowtooth Flounder is increasing. (Source: Janet Duffy-Anderson – Chief Scientist aboard the Dyson and Alaska Fisheries Science Center).
The magnified images below, which I found online, are the same or similar to some of the species of zooplankton we have been catching in our bongo nets. Click on the images for more details.
A chaetognath found in the Bering Sea. (Photo credit: Dave Forcucci, NOAA)
A type of euphausiid called Thysanoessa raschii. (Photo credit: WoRMS Database)
A type of naked or shell-less pteropod called an “ice snail”. (Photo credit: Kevin Raskoff, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration)
A type of copepod called Calanus. (Photocredit: Russ Hopcroft, University of Alaska, Fairbanks)
Limacina helicina, a type of shelled pteropod. (Photo credit: Russ Hopcroft, University of Alaska, Fairbanks)
Neocalanus critatus – a type of copepod found in the Gulf of Alaska. (Photocredit: Russ Hopcroft, University of Alaska, Fairbanks)
A type of amphipod found in the cold waters around Alaska. (Photo credit: Russ Hopcroft, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration)
Metridia pacifica – a type of copepod found the Gulf of Alaska. (Photo credit: Russ Hopcroft, University of Alaska, Fairbanks)
Personal Log (morning of September 14, 2013)
I’m thankful that last night we had calm seas and I was able to get a full eight hours of sleep without feeling like I was going to be thrown from my bed. This morning we are headed toward the Kenai Peninsula, so I’m excited that we might get to see some amazing views of the Alaskan landscape. The weather looks like it will improve and the winds have died down to about 14 knots this morning. Last night’s shift caught an octopus in their trawl net; so hopefully, we will find something more interesting than just kelp and jellyfish in our trawls today.
Did You Know?
I mentioned that we had found some different types of pteropods in our bongo nets. Pteropods are a main food source for North Pacific juvenile salmon and are eaten by many marine organisms from krill to whales. There are two main varieties of pteropods; there are those with shells and those without. Pteropods are sometimes called sea butterflies.
Unfortunately, shelled pteropods are very susceptible to ocean acidification. Scientists conducted an experiment in which they placed shelled pteropods in seawater with pH and carbonate levels that are projected for the year 2100. In the image below, you can see that the shell dissolved slowly after 45 days. If pteropods are at the bottom of the food chain, think of the implications of the loss of pteropods for the organisms that eat them!
In my last blog entry on the bongo, I talked about using the “frying pan” or clinometer to measure wire angle. If you’re interested in other applications of clinometers, there are instructions for making homemade clinometers here and there’s also a lesson plan from National Ocean Services Education about geographic positioning and the use of clinometers this website.
If you are interested in having your students learn more about ocean acidification, there is a great ocean acidification module developed for the NOAA Ocean Data Education Project on the Data in the Classroom website.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Britta Culbertson Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson September 4-19, 2013
Mission: Juvenile Walley Pollock and Forage Fish Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: Wednesday, September 11th, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge (for Sept 11th, 2013 at 10:57 PM UTC):
Wind Speed: 4.54 kts
Air Temperature: 10.50 degrees C
Relative Humidity: 83%
Barometric Pressure: 1009.60 mb
Latitude: 58.01 N Longitude: 151.18 W
Science and Technology Log
What is a bongo net and why do we use it?
As I mentioned in a previous entry, one of the aspects of this cruise is a zooplankton survey, which happens at the same stations where we trawl for juvenile pollock. The zooplankton are prey for the juvenile pollock. There are many types of zooplankton including those that just float in the water, those that can swim a little bit on their own, and those that are actually the larval or young stage of much larger organisms like crab and shrimp. We are interested in collecting the zooplankton at each station because because we are interested in several aspects of juvenile pollock ecology, including feeding ecology. In order to catch zooplankton, we use a device called a bongo net. The net gets its name because the frame resembles bongo drums.
The bongo net design we are using includes 2 small nets on a 20 cm frames with 153 micrometer nets attached to them and 2 large nets on 60 cm frames with 500 micrometer nets. The 500 micrometer nets catch larger zooplankton and the 153 micrometer nets catch smaller zooplankton. In the picture above, there are just two nets, but our device has 4 total nets. At the top of the bongo net setup is a device called the Fastcat, which records information from the tow including the depth that bongo reaches and the salinity, conductivity, and temperature of the water.
What happens during a bongo net tow?
The process of collecting zooplankton involves many people with a variety of roles. It usually takes three scientists, one survey tech, and a winch operator who will lower the bongo net into the water. In addition, the officers on the bridge need to control the speed and direction of the boat. All crew members are in radio contact with each other to assure that the operation runs smoothly. Two scientists and a survey tech stand on the “hero deck” and work on getting the nets overboard safely. Another scientist works in a data room at a computer which monitors the depth and angle of the bongo as it is lowered into the water. It is important to maintain a 45 degree angle on the wire that tows the bongo to make sure that water is flowing directly into the mouth opening of the net. One of the scientists on the hero deck will use a device that we lovingly call the “frying pan,” but more accurately it is called a clinometer or inclinometer. The flat side of the device gets lined up with the wire and an arrow dangles down on the plate and marks the angle. The scientist calls out the angle every few seconds so that the bridge knows whether or not to increase or decrease the speed of the ship in order to maintain the 45 degree angle necessary.
Meanwhile, back at the computer, we monitor how close the bongo gets to the bottom of the ocean. We already know how deep the ocean is at our location because of the ship’s sonar. The bongo operation involves a bit of simple triangle geometry. We know the depth and we know the angles, so we just have to calculate the hypotenuse of the triangle that will be created when the bongo is pulled through the water to figure out how much wire to let out. The survey tech uses a chart that helps him determine this quickly so he knows what to tell the winch operator in terms of wire to let out. In the images below, you can see what we are watching as the bongo completes its tow. The black line indicates the depth of the bongo, and the red, purple, and blue lines indicate temperature, conductivity, and salinity.
When the bongo is within in 10 meters of the bottom, the survey tech radios the winch operator to start bringing the bongo back up. It usually takes longer for it to come up as it does for it to go out, nevertheless, the 45 degree wire angle needs to be maintained. When the survey tech sees the bongo at the surface of the water, the two scientists on the hero deck get ready to grab it. This operation can be quite difficult when it’s windy and the seas are rough. If you look at the sequence of the photos below, pay attention to the horizon line where the water meets the sky and you can get a sense of the size of the swells that day.
When the bongo is safely back on deck, the person in the data room records the time of the net deployment, how long it takes to go down and up, how much wire gets let out, and the total depth at the station. If anything goes wrong, this is also noted in the data sheet.
As the bongo reaches the surface, the scientists grab the net keep it from banging into the side of the ship. When the net is on board, the next step is to read the flowmeters on the nets that indicate how much water has flowed through them. Then we rinse the nets and wash all of the material down the nets and into the “codends” at the very end of the net. These are little containers that can be detached and emptied to collect the samples.
Vince, the survey tech, and Peter the scientist prepare to read the flowmeters on the bongo.
Britta and Peter washing the bongo nets.
Once the codends are detached, they are taken to the wet lab and rinsed. Each of the four parts of the net has a codend where the zooplankton are caught. The zooplankton are rinsed out of the codends into a sieve and then collected in a jar and preserved with formalin. The purpose of having two of each of the 20 cm and 60 cm bongo nets is to ensure that if one sample is bad or accidentally dumped, there is always a backup. I have had to use the backup once or twice when there was a big jellyfish in the codend that kept me from getting all of the zooplankton out of the sample.
After we collect the zooplankton the samples are shipped to Seattle when we return to port. Back in the labs, the samples are sorted, the zooplankton are identified to species, and the catch is expressed at number per unit area. This gives a quantitative estimate of the density of plankton in the water. A high density of the right types of food means a good feeding spot for the juvenile walleye pollock! This sorting process can take approximately one year. I think it’s pretty amazing how much work goes into collecting the small samples we get at each station. Just to think of all of the person hours and ship hours involved makes me realize how costly it is to study the ocean.
It is hard to believe that I’ve been on the ship a week now. It feels strange that just 7 days ago I had never heard of a bongo net or an anchovy net. Now I see them every day and I know how to identify several types of fish, jellyfish, and zooplankton. I love working with the scientists and learning about the surveys we are doing. Nearly every trawl reveals a special, new organism, like the Spiny Lumpsucker – go look that one up, I dare you! We don’t have much down time and I’m trying to blog in between stations, but sometimes the time between stations after we finish our work can be 45 minutes and sometimes just 15 minutes. So we are pretty much on the go for the whole 12-hour shift. That’s where the fortitude part of Teacher at Sea comes in. You definitely need to have fortitude to endure the long hours, occasional seasickness (I like to think of it as “sea discomfort”), and periodic bad weather.
By now though, it all seems routine and I’d like to think I’ve gotten used to being thrown around in my sleep a little now and again when we hit some rough seas. This experience has been so worthwhile and even though I look forward to the comforts of home, I don’t really want it to end. When I graduated from college, I worked with a herpetologist studying lizards in the desert south of Carlsbad, New Mexico. I have fond memories of living in a tent for four months and collecting lizards all day to bring back to camp to measure and check for parasites. I often miss doing scientific work, so Teacher at Sea has given me the opportunity to be a scientist again and to learn about a whole new world in the ocean. What a treat! One of the reasons I chose to be a teacher was to be able to share my excitement about science with students and I feel so lucky that I get to share this experience too.
Did you know?
There are two species of Metridia, a type of copepod (zooplankton), that are found in the Gulf of Alaska/Bering Sea. One of them is called Metridia lucens and the other one is Metridia oketensis. These copepods are bioluminescent, which means that they glow when they are disturbed. They sometimes glow when they are in the wake of the ship or on the crest of a wave. Tonight when I was draining a codend into a sieve, my sieve looked like it had blue sparkles in it, but just for a second! I asked our resident zooplankton expert, Colleen Harpold what they might be and she thought that my blue sparkles likely belonged to the genus Metridia.
Thanks for reading! Please leave me some comments or ask questions about any of the blog posts and feel free to ask other questions about the work we are doing or what it’s like at sea! I would love to be able to answer real-time while I am at sea.
Mission:Ecosystem Monitoring Survey Date: 6/19/2013 Geographical area of cruise: The continental shelf from north of Cape Hatteras, NC, including Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine, to the Nova Scotia Shelf
Weather Data from the Bridge: Latitude/longitude: 3853.256 N, 7356.669W
Barometer: 1014.67 mb
Speed: 9.7 knots
Science and Technology Log:
Even before the plankton samples are brought onboard, scientists start recording many types of data when the equipment is launched. The bongos are fitted with an electronic CTD (conductivity, temperature and density) and as they are lowered into the ocean the temperature, density and salinity (salt content) are recorded on a computer. This helps scientists with habitat modeling and determining the causes for changes in the zooplankton communities. Each bongo net also has a flow-through meter which records how much water is moving through the net during the launch and can is used to estimate the number of plankton found in one cubic meter of water.
The plankton collected from the two bongo nets are separated into two main samples that will be tested for zooplankton and icthyoplankton (fish larvae and eggs). These get stored in a glass jars with either ethanol or formalin to preserve them. The formalin samples are sent to a lab in Poland for counting and identification. Formalin is good for preserving the shape of the organism, makes for easy identification, and is not flammable, so it can be sent abroad. However, formalin destroys the genetics (DNA) of the organisms, which is why ethanol is used with some of the samples and these are tested at the NOAA lab in Narragansett, Rhode Island.
When the samples are returned from Poland, the icthyoplankton samples are used by scientists to determine changes in the abundance of the different fish species. Whereas, the zooplankton samples are often used in studies on climate change. Scientists have found from current and historic research (over a span of about 40 years) that there are changes in the distribution of different species and increases in temperature of the ocean water.
At the Rosette stations we take nutrient samples from the different water depths. They are testing for nitrates, phosphates and silicates. Nutrient samples are an important indicator of zooplankton productivity. These nutrients get used up quickly near the surface by phytoplankton during the process of photosynthesis (remember phytoplankton are at the base of the food chain and are producers). As the nutrients pass through the food chain (zooplankton eating phytoplankton and then on up the chain) they are returned to the deeper areas by the oxidation of the sinking organic matter. Therefore, as you go deeper into the ocean these nutrients tend to build up. The Rosettes also have a CTD attached to record conductivity, temperature and density at the different depths.
Another test that is conducted on the Rosettes is for the amount of dissolved inorganic carbon. This test is an indicator of the amount of carbon dioxide that the ocean uptakes from outside sources (such as cars, factories or other man-made sources). Scientists want to know how atmospheric carbon is affecting ocean chemistry and marine ecosystems and changing the PH (acids and bases) of the ocean water. One thing they are interested in is how this may be affecting the formation of calcium in marine organisms such as clams, oysters, and coral.
New word: oxidation – the chemical combination of a substance with oxygen.
This week we headed back south and went through the Cape Cod canal outside of Plymouth, Massachusetts. I had to get up a little earlier to see it, but it was well worth it. The area is beautiful and there were many small boats and people enjoying the great weather.
We also did a small boat transfer to bring five new people onboard, while three others left at the same time. It was hard to say goodbye, but it will be nice to get to know all the new faces.
So now that we are heading south the weather is warming up. I have been told that we may start seeing Loggerhead turtles as the waters warm up – that would be so cool. We had a visit by another group of Common Dolphins the other day. They were swimming along the side of the ship and then went up to the bow. They are just so fun to watch and photograph.
We have been seeing a lot of balloons (mylar and rubber) on the ocean surface. These are released into the air by people, often on cruise ships, and then land on the surface. Sea turtles, dolphins, whales and sea birds often mistake these for jelly fish and eat them. They can choke on the balloons or get tangled in the string, frequently leading to death. Today, we actually saw more balloons than sea birds!!! A good rule is to never release balloons into the air no matter where you live!
Did you know? A humpback whale will eat about 5000 pounds of krill in a day. While a blue whale eats about 8000 pounds of krill daily.
Question of the day? If 1000 krill = 2 pounds, then together how many krill does a humpback and blue whale consume on a daily basis.
NOAA Teacher at sea Bhavna Rawal On Board the R/V Walton Smith Aug 6 – 10, 2012
Mission: Bimonthly Regional Survey, South Florida Geographic area: Gulf of Mexico Date: August 8, 2012
. Weather Data from the Bridge:
Time: 1.43 GMT
Longitude: 21 23 933
Latitude: 24 29 057
Wind direction: East of South east
Wind speed: 18 knots
Sea wave height: 2-3 ft
Science and Technology Log:
Yesterday, I learned about the CTD and the vast ocean life. Today I learned about a new testing called net tow, and how it is necessary to do, and how it is done.
What is Net Tow? The scientist team in the ship uses a net to collect sargassum (a type of sea weed) which is towed alongside the ship at the surface of the predetermined station.
How did we perform the task? We dropped the net which is made of nylon mess, 335 microns which collects zooplanktons in the ocean. We left this net in the ocean for 30 minutes to float on the surface of the ocean and collects samples. During this time the ship drives in large circles. After 30 minutes, we (the science team) took the net out of the ocean. We separated sargassum species, sea weeds and other animals from the net. We washed them with water, then classified and measured the volume of it by water displacement. Once we measure the volume, we threw them back into the ocean.
Types of Sargassum and Plankton: There are two types of sargassum; ones that float, and the other ones that attach themselves to the bottom of the ocean. There are two types of floating sargassum and many types attached to bottom of the ocean.
Also there are two types of plankton; Zooplankton and phytoplankton. As you all know phytoplankton are single celled organisms, or plants that make their own food (photosynthesis). They are the main pillar of the food chain. It can be collected in a coastal area where there is shallow and cloudy water along the coastal side. The phytoplankton net is small compared to the zooplankton and is about 64 microns (small mess).
Zooplanktons are more complex than phytoplankton, one level higher in their food chain. They are larva, fish, crabs etc. they eat the phytoplankton. The net that is made to catch zooplankton, is about 335 microns. Today, we used the net to collect zooplankton.
Why Net Tow is necessary: Net tow provides information about habitats because tons of animals live in the sargassum. It is a free floating ecosystem. Scientists are interested in the abundance of sargassum and the different kinds of animals, such as larva, fishes, crabs, etc. Many scientists are interested in the zooplankton community structures too.
Dive, Buoy and other data collection equipments: Two science team members prepared for diving; which means that they wore scuba masks, oxygen tanks and other equipment. They took a little boat out from the ship and went to the buoy station. They took the whole buoyancy and other data collection instruments with them. The two instruments were the Acoustic Doppler (ADCP) and the micro cat which was attached to the buoy. The micro cat measures salinity and temperature on profile of currents, and the ADCP measures currents of the ocean. Both instruments collect many data over the period. The reason for bringing them back, is to recover data in a Miami lab and the maintenance of the buoy.
My first day on the ship was very exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. I had to take medicine to prevent me from being seasick. This medicine made me drowsy, which helped me to go to sleep throughout the night. The small bunk bed and the noise from the moving ship did not matter to me. I woke up in the morning, and got ready with my favorite ‘I love science’ t-shirt on. I took breakfast and immediately went to meet with my science team to help them out for the CTD and net tow stations. Today, I felt like a pro compared to yesterday. It was a bit confusing during the first day, but it was very easy today.
I started helping lowering the CTD in the ocean. Now I know when to use the lines for the CTD, water sampling for different kinds of testing, how to net tow and do the sargassum classification. I even know how to record the data.
When we have a station call from the bridge, then we work as a team and perform our daily CTD, water testing or net tow. But during the free time, we play card games and talk. Today was fun and definitely action packed. Two science team members dove into the ocean and brought the buoy back. I also saw a fire drill.
Nelson (the chief scientist) took me to see TGF or called the flow through station which is attached inside the bottom of the ship. This instrument measures temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, CDOM etc. Nelson explained the importance of this machine. I was very surprised by the precise measurements of this machine. Several hours later, I went to the captain’s chamber, also called the bridge. I learned how to steer the boat, and I was very excited and more than happy to sit on the captain’s chair and steer.
We have also seen groups of dolphins chasing our ship and making a show for us. We also saw flying fishes. In the evening, around 8 o’clock after dinner, I saw the beautiful colorful sunset from the ship. I took many videos and pictures and I can’t wait to process it and see my pictures.
Around 10 o’clock in the night, it was net tow time again. We caught about 65 moon jelly fishes in the net and measured their volumes. Nelson also deployed a drifter in the ocean.
Today was very fun and a great learning opportunity for me, and don’t forget the dolphins, they really made my day too!
Question of the Day:
How do you measure volume of solid (sea grass)?
Something to Think About:
Why scientists use different instruments such as CTD as well as TFG to measuretemperature, salinity, chlorophyll, CDOM etc?
Why abundance of sargassum, types of animals and data collection is important in ocean?
Did you Know?
The two instruments were the Acoustic Doppler (ADCP) and the micro cat which was attached to the buoy. The micro cat measures salinity and temperature on profile of currents, which means it measures at surface of the ocean, middle of the ocean and bottom layer of the ocean too.
Animals Seen Today:
Five groups of dolphins
Seven flying fishes
Sixty five big moon jelly fishes
Two big crabs
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Aboard NOAA ship Oregon II
June 7 – 20, 2012
Mission: Southeast Fisheries Science Center Summer Groundfish (SEAMAP) Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: Tuesday June 12, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge: Sea temperature 28 degrees celsius, Air temperature 26.4 degrees celsius, building seas.
Science and Technology Log
Today I want to discuss the neuston net. This is a very large net made out of finely woven mesh which is deployed (shoved off the side of the boat) in order to catch plankton. There are three types of plankton: phytoplankton (plants and algae), zooplankton (animals), and ichytoplankton (baby fish). The neuston net rides along the surface of the water for ten minutes scooping up any organisms which are near the surface. After the ten minutes are up, the deck crew uses a crane to pull the net out of the water and bring it up to the point where someone can wash it down with a hose. This is necessary because not all of the plankton ends up in the cod end (the place where the collection jar is located) so we have to use a hose to get all of the loose stuff washed into the end of the net. After the net is washed down, the cod end is carefully removed, placed in a bucket and taken to the stern (back) of the ship where it is processed.
To process the sample you must first empty the contents of the cod end into a filter which will allow the water to run out but will keep the sample. Then you transfer (move) the sample from the filter into a glass sample jar. Sometimes the sample smoothly slides into the jar and other times you have to wash down the filter with some ethanol. Once all of the sample is in the jar it is topped off with ethanol, a tag is placed inside the jar, and another tag is put on top of the jar. This sample is stored on the boat and taken back to the NOAA lab where it will be cataloged.
Today is our fifth day at sea and I’m feeling fairly comfortable with my duties on the ship. I was assigned to the night watch which runs from midnight till noon the next day. I’ll admit I didn’t make it the entire time the first day. We got done early and despite my intentions to stay up until my shift, I would have ended I falling asleep. The second night was better. I was beyond exhausted at the end, but I did manage to make it through the entire shift. At this point my mind and body have adjusted to the shift and I can easily drift to sleep at 3 pm and get up at 11:15 pm. Students, this is a great example of what it means to be responsible. If I was given the choice, do you think I would have chosen these crazy hours or to work twelve hours straight? No of course not but I really wanted to come on this expedition and this work assignment is part of the trip. So I’m doing the same thing I would expect you to do in a situation like this: accept it and get the work done.
Now I don’t want you to think that the trip is just about hard work. It’s also about seeing new places and getting to know some interesting people. I started out this trip in Pascagoula Mississippi, a city and state I never planned on visiting before this assignment. However, the people there were so helpful and friendly that I would gladly go back to see more of this region. All of you from the Kokomo area know that the major employers are automobile companies. Well, Pascagoula also has a major industry: ship building. So despite the distance between Kokomo and Pascagoula–about 900 miles–each town depends on an industry for their survival and both towns are incredibly proud of their contribution to society.
I have been introducing you to parts of the ship, and today I’m going to tell you about the bridge. Now this is not the type of bridge that crosses a river, but rather the command center of the ship. The crew on the bridge is responsible for the safety of all personal on board and for the ship itself. There is a vast array of technology on the bridge which the crew uses to plot our course, check the weather, and to do hundreds of other things which are necessary for the ship to function.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Alexandra Keenan (Almost) Onboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow June 18 – June 29
Mission: Cetacean biology Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Maine Date: June 16, 2012
Saludos! My name is Alexandra Keenan, and I teach Astronomy and Physics at Rio Grande City High School. Rio Grande City is a rural town located at the arid edge of the Rio Grande Valley. Because of our unique position on the Texas-Mexico border, our community is characterized by a rich melding of language and culture. Life in a border town is not always easy, but my talented and dedicated colleagues at RGC High School passionately advocate for our students, and our outstanding students gracefully rise to and surmount the many challenges presented to them.
I applied to the NOAA Teacher at Sea program because making careers in science seem real and attainable to students is a priority in my classroom. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, provides a wonderful opportunity for teachers to have an interdisciplinary research experience aboard one of their research or survey ships. I believe that through this extraordinary opportunity, I can make our units in scientific inquiry and sound come alive while increasing students’ interest in and enthusiasm for protecting our ocean planet. I will also be able to provide my students firsthand knowledge on careers at NOAA. I hope to show my students that there is a big, beautiful world out there worth protecting and that they too can have an adventure.
The adventure begins on June 18th when the NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow departs from Newport, RI. I’ll be on the vessel as a member of the scientific research party. We will be monitoring populations of the school-bus-sized North Atlantic right whale by:
using photo-identification techniques
obtaining biopsies from live whales (wow!)
recovering specials buoys that have been monitoring the whales’ acoustic behavior (the sounds they make)
Why would we do all of this? Because North Atlantic Right Whales are among the most endangered whales in the world. Historically, they were heavily hunted during the whaling era. Now, they are endangered by shipping vessels and commercial fishing equipment. The data we gather and analyze will help governing bodies make management decisions to protect these majestic animals.
The next time you hear from me, it’ll be from the waters of the Gulf of Maine!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Aboard NOAA ship Oregon II
June 7 – 20, 2012
Mission: Southeast Fisheries Science Center Summer Groundfish (SEAMAP) Survey
Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: Friday June 15, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Sea temperature 28 degrees celsius, Air temperature 26.4 degrees celsius, calm seas.
Science and Technology Log
The scientific device for this blog entry is called the Bongo net. This apparatus is actually two nets which are mounted on a metal frame. Each net has a diameter of 60 cm and is 305 cm long with a cod end which is the narrowest part of the net to catch the plankton (both plants and animals). At the opening of each net is a flow meter which records the amount of water that passes through the net in liters. This allows the scientists to calculate the total population of each type of plankton without having to collect all the plankton in the area. This is done by first finding out how many individuals there are of each species in the sample. Then you calculate the number of liters in the transect (sample area) by multiplying the length of the transect by the width of the transect to find the area in square meters. To find the volume, you multiply the area by the depth which will give you the amount of water in cubic meters. Lastly you have to take the volume in cubic meters and convert it to cubic liters. Now that you have found the amount of water in the transect you are ready to find the number of each species of plankton in that amount of water. To do this you take the number of individuals in the entire sample and divide it by the amount of liters which flowed through the net during sampling to find the number of the species per liter. Then you multiply that number by the total amount of liters in the transect which gives you an estimate of how many of that species exist in that part of the Gulf of Mexico.
NOAA personnel aren’t the only scientists on board. There is also a volunteer named Marshall Johnson, who just finished his master’s degree at the University of South Alabama where he was working on a project involving larval fish and what they eat. He chose to come on this cruise in order to help a fellow student collect samples for her Master’s degree. Thus far he has been amazed by the vast array of sea life that have shown up in our nets and have been seen swimming around our ship. He has almost finished his Master’s degree and his dream job would be to captain a charter boat so he can share his love of sea life and fishing with other people. His advice for middle school students, “Dream big and follow your goals”.
We also have a NOAA intern on board named Francis Tran who is going into his junior year at Mississippi State University where he is studying electrical engineering. He found out about the internship through his university and applied by submitting an essay and references to the coordinator of the program. His advice for middle school students, “do something you love, don’t settle”.
We have been at sea for one whole week and honestly it is going better than I expected. I was uncertain if I could live on a ship for this amount of time due to my intense independence. I’m not used to giving up control of where I am and what I am doing so I feared I would be tempted to jump overboard and start swimming to shore by now. However I have found that I’m quite content to stay on the ship and am enjoying my time at sea immensely. However, I do miss my workouts. There is some exercise equipment on board but finding the time to use it is impossible. I also miss my daily yoga practices but with the ship pitching from side to side unpredictably I’m afraid of giving it a try because it is quite possible I would be doing downward facing dog pose and the ship would pitch me head first into a wall.
In order for a ship to stay at sea for an extended time it must have a well-stocked galley (kitchen) and serve excellent food. As I have mentioned before, the shifts are long and don’t exactly match up with normal meal times so it is important for the crew to be able to grab a little something in between meals. For example since my shift starts at midnight I’m hungry for breakfast at about 2 a.m., not the normal breakfast time, but I’m able to pour myself some cereal so that I am working with a full stomach and am able to concentrate on my work. However, we do have three wonderful meals prepared for us each day. Paul and Walter are the men who work to make sure the crew and scientists are well taken care of when it comes to mealtimes.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Jennifer Fry
Onboard NOAA Ship, Oscar Elton Sette March 12 – March 26, 2012
Mission: Fisheries Study Geographical area of cruise: American Samoa
Date: March 15, 2012
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Science and Technology Log:
Nighttime Cobb Trawling : Day 4
We began the trawling around 8:30 p.m. The data we collect tonight will replace the previous trawl on day 2 which was flawed in the method by which the experiment was collected. The Day 2 experiment was when the winch became stuck and the trawl net was left in the water well over 2 ½ hours, long past the 1 hour protocol.
Here’s is what the science team found.
Tonight the trawl nets went into the ocean and were timed as all the other times.
During the sorting we found some very interesting species of fish which included:
Two Juvenile cow fish (we placed them into a small saltwater tank to observe interesting species caught in the net.)
This is a great place to make further observations of these unique animals.
The data collected included:
Name of fish:
The Cobb trawl net was washed, rinsed and the fish strained through the net. They were then brought inside the web lab for further sorting.
We were close to finishing the sorting, counting, and weighing when suddenly we heard something at the back door of the lab. Fale, the scientist from American Samoa went to the door and proceeded to turn the latch, and slowly opened the door. There huddled next to the wall, near some containers was a beautiful black and white Tropic bird, a common bird of this area. Its distinctive feature was the single white tail feather that jutted out about 1 foot in length. He looked just as surprised to see us and we were of him. He did not make a move at all for about 10-15 minutes . We took pictures and videos to mark the occasion, yet he still didn’t budge or act alarmed.
With a bit more time passing, he began to walk, or more like waddle like a duck. His ebony webbed feet made it difficult to maneuver over the open slats in the deck. He attempted flight but appeared to get confused with the overhanging roof.
I quickly found a small towel and placing it over his head, gently carried him to a safe spot on the aft deck where he would have no trouble flying away.
The time was about 2:00 a.m. when we were distracted by the ship’s fire alarm, and we quickly reported to our muster stations. Luckily, there was no fire and we returned resuming our trawl data collection. Upon reaching the wet lab, we noticed at the stern of the ship, our newly found feathered friend had flown off into the dark night.
It was a great way to end our night with research and early hour bird watching. How lucky we all are to be in the South Pacific.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Dave Grant Aboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown February 15 – March 5, 2012
Mission: Western Boundary Time Series Geographical Area: Sub-Tropical Atlantic, off the Coast of the Bahamas Date: March 3, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge
Position:30 deg 37 min North Latitude & 79 deg 29 min West Longitude
Windspeed: 30 knots
Wind Direction: North
Air Temperature: 14.1 deg C / 57.4 deg F
Water Temperature: 25.6 deg C / 78.4 deg F
Atm Pressure: 1007.2 mb
Water Depth:740 meters / 2428 feet
Cloud Cover: 85%
Cloud Type: Cumulonimbus and Stratus
Entering the Gulf Stream and Straits of Florida
“There is in the world no other such majestic flow of waters.
Its current is more rapid than the Mississippi or the Amazon.
Its waters, as far out from the Gulf as the Carolina coasts, are of an indigo blue.
They are so distinctly marked that their line of junction with the common sea-water
may be traced by the eye.”
Matthew Maury – The Physical Geography of the Sea
While our cruise could hardly be called leisurely, most sampling has been spread out between sites, sometimes involving day-long periods on station while the CTD and moorings are recovered from great depths (5,000 meters). However, Chief Scientist Dr. Baringer regularly reminds us that west of the Bahamas in the Gulf Stream transect, our stations are in much shallower water (≤800 meters) and close together (The Florida Straits are only about 50 miles wide), so we should anticipate increased activity on deck and in the lab. In addition to the hydrology measurements, we will deploy a specialized net to sample those minute creatures that live at the surface film of the water – the neuston.
Now that we have crossed the Bahama Banks and are on-station, the routine is, as expected, very condensed, and there is little time to rest. What I did not anticipate was the great flow of the Gulf Stream and the challenge to the crew to keep the Brown on our East-West transect line as the current forces us north. Additionally, as Wordsworth wrote, “with ships the sea was sprinkled far and wide” and we had to avoid many other craft, including another research ship sampling in the same area.
Ben Franklin is famous for having produced the first chart of this great Western Boundary Current, but naval officer Matthew Maury – America’s Scientist of the Sea – and author of what is recognized as the first oceanography text, best described it. Remarkably, in The Physical Geography of the Sea, first published in 1855, he anticipates the significance of this major climate study project and summarizes it in a short and often-quoted paragraph:
“There is a river in the ocean. In the severest of droughts it never fails,
and in the mightiest floods it never overflows.
Its banks and its bottom are of cold water, while its current is of warm.
The Gulf of Mexico is its fountain, and its mouth is the Arctic seas.
It is the Gulf Stream.”
Gulf Stream water
CTD data from the Straits of Florida 1. Note that temperature (Red) decreases steadily with depth from about 26-degrees C at the surface, to less than 10-degrees C at 700 meters. (Most of the ocean’s waters are cool where not warmed by sunlight). 2. Dissolved Oxygen (Green) varies considerably from a maximum at the surface, with a sharp decline at about 100 meters, and a more gradual decline to about 700 meters. (Phytoplankton in surface water produce excess oxygen through photosynthesis during daylight hours. At night and below about 100 meters, respiration predominates and organisms reduce the level of dissolved oxygen.) 3. Salinity (Blue) is related to atmospheric processes (Precipitation and Evaporation) and also varies according to depth, being saltiest at about 150 meters.
At Midnight, just within sight of the beam of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse (And to the relief of the home-sick sailors on board – “Finally – after more than two weeks, we are within the range of cell phone towers!”) we began our studies of the Straits of Florida and the Gulf Stream. Nine stations in rapid order – standing-by for a CTD cast, and then turning into the current to set the neuston net for a ten-minute tow.
The purpose of the net is to sample creatures that live on or visit the interface between air and water, so the mouth of the net is only half submerged. Neuston comes from the Greek for swimming and in warm waters a variety of invertebrates and even some young mesopelagic fishes rise within a few centimeters of the surface at night to filter phytoplankton and bacteria, and feed upon other zooplankton and even drowned terrestrial insects that have been blown out to sea.
On the upper side of this water/atmosphere interface, a smaller variety of floating invertebrates, notably Physalia and Velella (Portuguese man-of-war and By-the-wind-sailor) use gas-filled buoyancy chambers or surface tension to ride the winds and currents. This much smaller group of seafarers is further classified by oceanographers as Pleuston.
Prior to this cruise, my experience with such a sampling device was limited – Years ago, spending miserable nights sailing in choppy seas off of Sandy Hook, NJ searching for fishes eggs and larva rising to the surface after dark; and later, much more enjoyable times studying water striders – peculiar insects that spend their lives utilizing surface tension to skate along the surface of Cape Cod ponds.
Our CTD and net casts are complicated by rising winds and chop, but some great samples were retrieved. Once the net is recovered, we rinse it down with the seawater hose, collect everything from the bottle at the codend, rinse off and separate the great mass of weed (Sargassum) and pickle the neuston in bottles of alcohol for analysis back at the lab.
Since much of the zooplankton community rises closer to the surface at night where phytoplankton is more concentrated and the chances of being preyed upon are slimmer, there are some noticeable differences in the samples taken then and during daylight hours. Unavoidably, both samples contain great quantities of Sargassum but the weed-colored carapaces of the different crustaceans are a clue to which specimens are from the Sargassum community and which are not.
We hit the jackpot early; snaring a variety of invertebrates and fishes, including the extraordinarily well-camouflaged Sargassum fish – a piscatorial phenomenon I’ve hoped to see ever since I was a kid reading William Beebe’s classic The Arcturus Adventure. What a tenuous existence for such a vulnerable and weak swimmer, hugging the Sargassum as it is dashed about in the waves. Even with its weed-like disguise and ability to blend in with the plants, it must lead a challenging life.
A unique member of the otherwise bottom-dwelling frogfishes, the Histriohistrio has smooth skin, and spends its life hitch-hiking along in the gulf-weed forest. Like other members of the family Antennariidae, it is an ambush predator, luring other creatures to their doom by angling with its fleshy fins.
Another highlight for me is the water striders we found in several samples. These “true bugs” (Hemiptera) are remarkable for several reasons. Most varieties of these “pond-skaters” (Or Jesus Bugs if you are from Texas) are found on calm freshwater lakes and streams, but a few members of this family (Gerridae) are the only true marine insects – representing a tentative Arthropod reinvasion of the sea after their splendid foray onto land hundreds of millions of years ago.
Using surface tension to their advantage, they “skate” along by flicking their middle and hind legs, and can even “communicate” with each other by vibrating the surface of the water with the hair-like setae on their feet. On lakes their prey is other insects like mosquito larvae, confined to the surface. How they manage to find food and communicate at the surface of the raging sea is a mystery, but whatever the means, they are adept at it, and we recovered them in half of the samples.
The scientists who provided the net are generally more interested in ichthyoplankton to monitor fish eggs and larvae to predict population trends, and monitor impacts like oil spills; so this is why samples are preserved to return to the lab in Miami.
Before packing up things after our marathon sampling spree I was able to examine our catch and observed a few things:
1. I am the “High-Hook” on the cruise – catching far more fishes (albeit tiny ones) than the rest of the crew with their fishing poles. (Needlefish, sargassum fish, pipe fish, filefish and several larval species)
2. Depending on the time of day the samples were taken, there is a marked difference in the quantity and composition of organisms that have separated from the Sargassum and settled in the sample jars – (Noticeably more at night than during daylight hours).
3. There appears to be a greater variety of sea grasses present (Turtle grass, etc.) on the eastern (Bahamas side) of the Straits. We observed one seabean – drift seeds and fruits (or disseminules) from terrestrial plants.
4. Plastic bits are present in all samples – particularly plastic ties (Table 1.)
Sargassum fauna: Portunid crab – with eggs on her belly. (Portunus was a Roman god – Protector of harbors and gates,
who supposedly also invented navigation)
8 Day 17:48
Weed, Grasses(3 spp)
7 Day 16:10
6 Day 14:30
Grasses(2 spp) Fish eggs and larva
5 Day 12:45
Water striders, Grass (1 spp)
4 Day 10:13
Crustacean larva, shrimp (large),
3 Dawn 07:53
Crustacean larva, shrimp (large), water striders
2 Night 05:10
Crustacean larva, shrimp (small), Pipefish, water striders
*Plastic bits and Sargassum weed and its endemic epibionts are present in all samples.
Table 1. Contents in sample jars.
With sampling completed we steer north to ride the Gulf Stream towards the Brown’s home-port, and turn away from the bright lights of Florida …
“Where the spent lights quiver and gleam;
Where the salt weed sways in the stream;
Where the sea-beasts rang’d all around
Feed in the ooze of their pasture ground:”
A storm battering the Midwest will impede our progress back north to Charleston and threatens to bring us the only foul weather of the cruise. Note the location of the cold front over the Florida Straits.
“Now the great winds shoreward blow; Now the salt tides seaward flow; Now the wild white horses play, Champ and chafe and toss the spray.”
NOAA Teacher at Sea Dave Grant Aboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown February 15 – March 5, 2012
Mission: Western Boundary Time Series Geographical Area: Sub-Tropical Atlantic, off the Coast of the Bahamas Date: March 2, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge
Position: 26 degrees 19 minutes North Latitude & 79 degrees 55 minutes West Longitude
Windspeed: 14 knots
Wind Direction: South
Air Temperature: 25.4 deg C / 77.7 deg F
Water Temperature: 26.1 deg C / 79 deg F
Atm Pressure: 1014.7 mb
Water Depth: 242 m / 794 feet
Cloud Cover: none
Cloud Type: NA
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass,
it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.”
My evenings looking through the microscope are a short course in invertebrate zoology. Every drop of water filtered through the plankton net reveals new and mystifying creatures. Perhaps 90% of marine invertebrates, like newly hatched mollusks and crustaceans, spend part of their life in a drifting stage – meroplankton; as opposed to holoplankton – organisms that are planktonic throughout their life cycle.
The lucky individuals that escape being eaten, and are near a suitable substrate at the right moment, settle out into a sedentary life far from their place of origin. For the long distance travelers swept up in the Gulf Stream, the most fortunate waifs of the sea that survive long enough might make it all the way to Bermuda. The only hope for the remainder is to attach to a piece of flotsam or jetsam, or an unnatural and unlikely refuge like the electronic picket fence of moorings the Ron Brown is servicing east of the Bahamas.
“The gaudy, babbling, and remorseful day, Is crept into the bosom of the sea.” Shakespeare
A league and a half* of cable, sensors and a ton of anchor chain are wrestled on deck during a day-long operation in the tropical heat. (*A mariner’s league equals three nautical miles or 3041 fathoms [18,246 feet])
It is easy to be humbled by the immensity of the sea and the scope of the mooring project while observing miles of cable and buoys stretched towards the horizon, about to be set in place with a ton of anchor chain gingerly swung off the stern for its half-hour trip to the bosom of the sea.
Thanks to the hard labor and alert eyes of our British and French (“And Irish”) colleagues retrieving and deploying the attached temperature and salinity sensors, I am regularly directed to investigate “something crawling out of the gear” or to photograph bite marks from deep sea denizens on very expensive, but sturdy equipment.
To my surprise, other than teeth marks, very little evidence of marine life is present on the miles of lines and devices strung deeper than about 200 meters. This may be due in part to the materials of which they are constructed and protective coatings to prevent bio-fouling, but sunlight or more precisely, the attenuation of it as one goes deeper, is probably the most important factor.
The first discovery I was directed to was a striking red bristle worm wiggling out of the crevice in a buoy. It appears to be one of the reef-dwelling Amphinomids – the aptly-named fireworms that SCUBA divers in the Caribbean avoid because of their venomous spines; so I was cautious when handling it. This proved to be the deepest-dwelling organism we found, along with some minute growths of stony and soft corals.
“Five o’clock shadow” on a buoy – A year’s growth of fouling organisms – only an inch tall.
On shallower buoys and equipment, there are sparse growths of brown and blue-green algae, small numbers of goose barnacles, tiny coiled limey tubes of Serpulid worms like the Spirobis found on the floating gulfweed, some non-descript bivalves (Anomia?) covered with other fouling growth, skeleton shrimp creeping like inch-worms, and of course the ubiquitous Bryozoans. Searching through this depauperate community not as challenging as the plankton samples, but not surprising since our distance from land, reefs or upwelling areas – and especially clear water and lack of seabirds and fishes; are all indicators that this is a nutrient-deficient, less productive part of the ocean.
Bio-fouling – “on the half-shell.” Skeleton shrimp (Caprellidae)
The Ron Brown is the largest workhorse in the NOAA fleet and its labs and decks are intentionally cleared of equipment between cruises so that visiting scientists can bring aboard their own gear that is best suited to their specific project needs. NOAA’s physical oceanographers from Miami arrived with a truckload of crates holding Niskin water sampling bottles for the CTD and their chemistry equipment for DO (Dissolved Oxygen) and salinity measurements; and in a large shipping container (“Ship-tainer”) from England, the British and French (“and Irish”) scientists transported their own remote sensing gear, buoys, and (quite literally) tons of massive chain and cables to anchor their moorings. (I am surprised to learn from the “Brits” that the heavy chain is shipped all the way from England because it is increasingly hard to acquire. )
This is how most science is facilitated on the Brown and it requires many months of planning and pre-positioning of materials. I am lucky and can travel light – and with little advanced preparation. I am using simple methods to obtain plankton samples and images via a small portable microscope, digital camera and plankton net which I can cram into my backpack for any trips that involve large bodies of water. The little Swift* scope has three lens (4x, 10x, 40x) with a 10x ocular, and I get great resolution at 40x, and can get decent resolution to 100x. Using tips from Dave Bulloch (Handbook for the Marine Naturalist) I am able to push that somewhat with a simple Nikon Coolpix* point-and-shoot camera – but lose some of the sharpness with digital zoom. As you might suspect, the ship’s movement and engine vibration can be a challenge when peering through the scope, but is satisfactory for some preliminary identification. (*These are not commercial endorsements, but I can be bought if either company is willing to fund my next cruise!)
Dinoflagellates – Different Ceratium species
A Plankton précis
Collecting specimens would be much more difficult without the cooperation of the Brown’s crew and visiting scientists, and their assistance is always reliable and appreciated. The least effective method of collection has been by filtering the deep, cold bottom water brought up in the Niskin bottles. As mentioned earlier, no live specimens were recovered; only fragments of diatom and Silicoflagellate skeletons surviving the slow drift to the bottom, which I have been able to identify through deep sea core images posted at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership website.
Needless to say, the most indiscriminate method of collection and the most material collected is through the large neuston net. The greatest biomass observed on the trip is the millions of tons of Sargassum weed, which covers the surface in great slacks around us that are even visible in satellite images.
Although the continuous flow of ocean water pumped into the wet lab and through my plankton net is effective and the most convenient collection method, the most surprising finds are from the saltwater intake screens that the engineer directed me to. This includes bizarre crystal-clear, inch-long, and paper-thin Phylosoma – larvae of tropical lobsters – that I initially mistook for pieces of plastic.
“All the ingenious men, and all the scientific men, and all the fanciful men in the world …
…could never invent anything so curious and so ridiculous, as a lobster.”
Charles Kingsley -The Water-Babies
Plankton communities are noticeably different between the Gulf Stream, inshore, and offshore in the pelagic waters east of the Bahamas. Near the coast, either the shallower Bahama Banks or the neritic waters over the continental shelf closer to Charleston, the plankton is larger, more familiar to me and less challenging to sort, including: copepods, mollusk larvae and diatoms. Steaming over the shelf waters at night, the ship’s wake is often phosphorescent, and dinoflagellates, including the “night-light” Noctiluca are common in those samples.
The waters east of the Bahamas along the transect line are notable for their zooplankton, including great numbers and varieties of Foraminifera, and some striking amphipod shrimp. Compared to cooler waters I am familiar with, subtropical waters here have over a dozen species of Forams, and some astonishingly colorful shrimp that come up nightly from deeper water.
It’s not all work and no play on the Ron Brown, and there are entertaining moments like decorating foam cups with school logos to send down with the CTD to document the extreme pressure at the bottom. Brought back to class, these graphically illustrate to younger students the challenges of deep sea research.
Navigating by Dead-reckoning
On calm days while we are being held on-station by the Brown’s powerful thrusters, I can measure current speeds using Sargassum clumps as Dutchman’s logs as they drift by. Long before modern navigation devices, sailors would have to use dead-reckoning techniques to estimate their progress. One method used a float attached to a measured spool of knotted line (A log-line), trailing behind the moving vessel. The navigator counted the number of knots that passed through his hands as the line played out behind the ship to estimate the vessel’s speed (in knots). Since nothing is to be tossed off the Brown, I rely on a simpler method by following the progress of the Sargassum as it drifts by stem-to-stern while we are stationary at our sampling site. Since I know the length of the Brown at the waterline (~100-meters), I can estimate current speed by observing drifting Sargassum.
Watching sargassum, I wonder if a swimmer could keep pace with the currents in these waters. When in college
my brothers and would strive to cover a 100-meter race by swimming it in under a minute. Here is the data from east of the Bahamas. See if you can determine the current speed there and if a good swimmer could keep pace.
ESTIMATING CURRENT SPEED
Data on currents:
Average of three measurements of Sargassum drifting the length of the Ron Brown = 245 seconds.
Length of the Ron Brown – 100-meters.
1. How many meters per second is the current east of the Bahamas?
2. As a swimmer in college – with my best time in the 100-meters freestyle of one minute – could I have kept up with the Ron Brown… or been swept away towards the Bahamas?
Other navigational exercises I try to include determining Latitude and Longitude. Latitude is easy as long as you can shoot the sun at midday or find the altitude of Polaris in the night sky; and sailors have done that for centuries. The ship’s navigator will get out the sextant for this, or, since the width of one’s fist is about 10-degrees of sky, I can estimate the height of both of these navigational beacons by counting the number of fists between the star and the horizon.
Night observation (Shooting the North Star) – Number of Fists from the Northern horizon to Polaris = 3
Day observation (Shooting the Sun) – Number of Fists from the Southern horizon to the Sun = 5.5
If the width of a fist is equal to about 10-degrees of horizon, our estimate of Latitude using Polaris is 30-degrees (3 x 10).
Not too bad an estimate on a rocking ship at night, compared to our actual location (See Data from the Bridge at the top.).
Shooting the Sun at its Zenith at 12:30 that day gives us its altitude as 55-degrees – which seems too high unless we consider the earth’s tilt (23.5-degrees). So if we deduct that (55 – 23.5) we get 31.5, which is closer to our actual position. And if we consult an Almanac, we know that the sun is still about six degrees below the Equator on its seasonal trip North; so by deducting that (31.5 – 6) we end up with an estimate of 25.5-degrees. This is an even better estimate of our Latitude.
Here is the dreaded word problem:
By shooting the Sun, our best estimate of Latitude is 25.5 degrees (25 degrees/30 minutes)
The actual Latitude of the ship using GPS is 26-degrees/19 minutes.
If there are 60 minutes to a degree of Latitude – each of those minutes representing a Nautical Mile – how many Nautical Miles off course does our estimate place us on the featureless sea?
Longitude is much harder to determine if you don’t have an accurate timepiece to compare local time with universal time (The time at Greenwich, England), and an accurate ship’s chronometer wasn’t in use until the mid-1700’s.
To understand the challenge of designing a precise timepiece that reliably will function at sea, I used two crucial clock mechanisms: a pendulum and a spring. Finding a spring was easy, since “Doc” had a scale at Sick Bay. For the pendulum I fashioned a small weight swinging on a string)
Standing on the scale and swinging the pendulum even in calm weather quickly demonstrated three things:
First: I have developed my sea legs, and no longer notice the regular motion of the ship. Second: Even when the sea feels calm, the scale’s spring mechanism swings back and forth under my weight; adding and deducting 20 pounds to my real weight and reflecting the ship’s rocking that I no longer notice. Three: On rough days, even if I can hold still, the ship’s heaving, pitching and rolling alters my pendulum’s reliable swing – its movements reflecting the ship’s indicator in the lab. Experimenting helps me appreciate clock-maker John Harrison, and his massive, 65-pound No. 1 Ship’s Chronometer he presented to the Royal Navy in 1728.
Besides having very well-provisioned Sick Bays, NOAA ships have experienced and very competent medical officers. Our “Doc” received his training at Yale, and served as a medic during the Gulf War.
Especially alert to anyone who exhibits even the mildest symptoms of sea-sickness, Christian is available 24-hours for emergencies – and in spite of the crew constantly wrestling with heavy equipment on a rocking deck, we’ve only experienced a few minor bumps and bruises. He has regular office hours every day, and is constantly on the move around the ship when not on duty there.
Besides keeping us healthy, he helps keep the ship humming by testing the drinking water supply (The Brown desalinates seawater when underway, but takes on local water while in port); surveys all departments for safety issues; and with the Captain, has the final word if-or-when a cruise is to be terminated if there is a medical emergency.
Since a stormpounding the Midwest will head out to sea and cross our path when we head north to Charleston, he is reminding everyone that remedies for sea sickness are always available at his office door, and thanks to NASA and the space program, if the motion sickness pills don’t work, he has available stronger medicine. So far we have been blessed with relatively calm weather and a resilient crew.
Birdwatching on the Ron Brown
For the time being I take advantage of the calm seas to scrutinize what’s under the microscope, and when on break, look for seabirds. East of the Bahamas, as anticipated after consulting ornithologist Poul Jespersen’s map of Atlantic bird sightings, I only spotted two birds over a two-week stretch at sea (storm petrels). This is very much in contrast to the dozens of species and hundreds of seabirds spotted in the rich waters of the Humboldt Current off of Chile , where I joined the Brown in 2008.
Passing through Bahamian waters was no more rewarding, but now that we are west and in the Florida Straits there are several species of gulls during the day, and at night more storm petrels startled by the ship’s lights. One windy night a large disoriented bird (Shearwater?) suddenly fluttered out of the dark and brushed my head before bumping a deck light and careening back out into the darkness. Throughout the day a cohort of terns has taken up watch on the forward mast of the Brown and noisily, they juggle for the best positions at the bow – resting until the ship flushes a school of flying fishes, and then swooping down across the water trying and snatch one in mid-air. Like most fishermen, they are successful only about 10% of the time.
Despite the dreary forecast from the Captain, Wes and I are enthusiastic about all we have done on the cruise and formulated a list of why NOAA’s Teacher At Sea program is so rewarding.
Top Ten Reasons:
Why be a Teacher At Sea?
10. Fun and excitement exploring the oceans!
9. Meeting dedicated and diligent scientists and crew from around the world!
8. Bragging rights in the Teachers’ Room – and endless anecdotes!
7. Cool NOAA t-shirts, pins and hats from the Ship’s Store!
6. Great meals, three times a day…and FREE laundry!
5. Amazing sunsets, sunrises and star-watches!
4. Reporting on BIG science to students…and in real-time!
3. Outstanding and relevant knowledge brought back to students and colleagues!
2. First-hand experience that relates to your students’ career objectives!
1. Rewarding hours in the lab and field…remembering why you love science and sharing it with students!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Dave Grant Aboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown February 15 – March 5, 2012
Mission: Western Boundary Time Series Geographical Area: Sub-Tropical Atlantic, off the Coast of the Bahamas Date: February 22, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge
Position:26.30 N – 75.42 W
Wind Direction: Calm
Air Temperature: 29 C
Water Temperature: 24 C
Atm Pressure: 1025
Water Depth: 4,410 meters
Cloud Cover: 0
Cloud Type: Slight haze
We are becalmed and even the veteran sailors onboard are remarking on how flat the sea has become. At about 30 degrees North and South Latitude, moist, low pressure air that was heated and lifted from the surface at the Equator has cooled and is now plunging back down to Earth, forming a line of light winds in a band across the sea. This dry, high pressure air becomes the Trade winds as it is drawn back towards the Equator along the sea surface in what is called a Hadley Cell (After its discoverer). We seem to be on the edge of this meteorological milepost, which was more than a nuisance in the days of sail. If stranded in its pattern too long, food and especially drinking water became an issue, and the first to suffer would be animals being transported from the Old World to the New. Legend has it that subsequent voyagers would come across their carcasses…hence the name Horse Latitudes.
While observing ships returning to port near his home, sixteen year-old future rock star Jim Morrison (The DOORS) composed what is perhaps his most eerie ballot – Horse Latitudes.
“When the still sea conspires an armor And her sullen and aborted Currents breed tiny monsters True sailing is dead Awkward instant And the first animal is jettisoned Legs furiously pumping”
However, the stable ship makes deck work easier and I am catching up on samples under the microscope, including some of my own tiny “monsters” that the currents have bred.
“It is the astonishing variety of life that makes the sea such a fascinating
hunting ground. Get a tow-net, dredge and simple microscope,
and a new world is yours – a world of endless surprises.”
(Sir Alister Hardy)
The chief survey technician set me up with his flow-through seawater system and I can leave a net under it to continuously gather plankton. I have noticed some patterns already. One: Phytoplankton is scarce compared to temperate waters off of New Jersey, and this helps account for the clarity and
brilliant blue color of the water. The absence of large rivers here adding nutrients to the system, and little coastal
upwelling, means that there is little to fertilize plantlife. Two: More accumulates in the nets at night, confirming that Zooplankton rises to the surface at in the dark. This diurnal
pattern of the plankton community has been well documented ever since biologists and fishermen went to sea. Three: Also, there is much more plankton at the surface than in deeper water. This is no surprise since sunlight is the
key ingredient at the surface of this ocean ecosystem. Four: Creatures from offshore tend to have a more feathery look about them than inshore species. This added surface
area may use the turbulence to help support them near the surface and increase their buoyancy.
It is said: “Turn off the sun, and the oceans will starve to death in a week.” It is assumed that among other stresses on the Biosphere that accompany disastrous impacts of large asteroids, dust and ash from these rare collisions block out enough sunlight to stifle photosynthesis, causing Phytoplankton (The “Pasture of the Sea”) to waste away, and setting the stage for the collapse of the Food Chain and mass extinction events. Fortunately we have plenty of brilliant sunshine here and no celestial catastrophes on the horizon.
Some of the most interesting Zooplankton are the Pteropods, the Sea Butterflies.
Empty shell and live pteropod specimen
(Images on the Ron Brown by Dave Grant)
The renowned oceanographer Alister Hardy used them as indicators of different water masses flowing around the British Isles; and New England’s great oceanographer, Alfred Redfield correlated their drifting with the anti-clockwise circulation of water in the Gulf of Maine. Although most are small and less than an inch long, they feed on a variety of creatures and in turn become food for many others. In surface waters they gather phytoplankton, some utilizing cilia and mucus to sweep food to the mouth; but in deeper waters, others are carnivorous.
I am informed by our English colleagues that on Europe’s fishing grounds, they are sometimes fed upon by herring, cod and haddock; which is bad news for British fishermen, whose catch rapidly decays and is not marketable. Such fish are referred to as “black gut” or “stinkers.”
How concentrated are pteropods? Whales and seabirds that we hope to encounter later in the cruise are sustained by them, and in the warmer waters of the Atlantic, at relatively shallow depths and on the tops of submerged peaks at around 2,000 meters, R.S. Wimpenny reports considerable deposits of “pteropod ooze” from their descending shells, covering an estimated 1,500,000 square kilometers of the bottom of the Atlantic (An area the size of the Gulf of Mexico.). Like the Foraminifera, in deeper waters the aragonite in their shells (a more soluble form of calcium carbonate) dissolves, and other sediments like silicates from diatoms accumulate instead. Check out any oceanography text and you are likely to find a picture of this biogenic pteropod mud, as well as other types of deposits.
At least 90% of the animals in the ocean are meroplankton – spending time in this itinerant stage before becoming adults. This phase may vary from a few days to over a year, depending on the creature. (European eels larva are the long distance champions; for over a year, drifting from below us in their Sargasso Sea breeding grounds, all the way to rivers in Britain and France.)
Drifting larvae are cheap insurance for a species, filling the surrounding habitat with individuals of your own kind, settling in new areas and expanding ranges, and particularly, not lingering around their birthplace and competing with the parent stock. However, most individuals simply end up as food for other creatures that are higher on the food chain.
Not surprising, there are copepods, the “cattle of the sea” grazing on smaller organisms.
(Images on the Ron Brown by Dave Grant)
Calanus finmarchicus is sometimes called the most abundant animal in the world and is found throughout the oceans, sustaining many types of marinelife; even right whales and basking sharks off the coast of New England.
Other sea soup and children of the sea that author David Bulloch likes to call them, drift by me and swim circuits trapped by surface tension in the water drop under the microscope.
Radiolaria are single cell Protozoa that not only ensnare food with mucous, but harbor mutualistic algae
among their spines. (100 x’s)
More live pelagic snails. (Pteropod means winged foot.)
An empty shell with copepod sheltered inside. Other skeletons filled with Paramecia, and a mixed sample of shells
and dust particles. (Images on the Ron Brown by Dave Grant)
Now that is calm, everyone seems to have their sea legs and are comfortable talking about their bouts of mal de mer.
Here is the worst story about sea sickness I have come across:
From Dave Grant’s collection of sea stories: The world’s worst tale of seasickness. As told by Ulysses S. Grant in his Memoirs
One amusing circumstance occurred while we were lying at anchor in Panama Bay. In the regiment there was a Lieutenant Slaughter who was very liable to seasickness. It almost made him sick to see the wave of a table-cloth when the servants were spreading it. Soon after his graduation [from West Point] Slaughter was ordered to California and took passage by a sailing vessel going around Cape Horn. The vessel was seven months making the voyage, and Slaughter was sick every moment of the time, never more so than while lying at anchor after reaching his place of destination. On landing in California he found orders that had come by way of the Isthmus [Panama], notifying him of a mistake in his assignment; he should have been ordered to the northern lakes. He started back by the Isthmus route and was sick all the way. But when he arrived back East he was again ordered to California, this time definitely, and at this date was making his third trip. He was sick as ever, and had been so for more than a month while lying at anchor in the bay. I remember him well, seated with his elbows on the table in front of him, his chin between his hands, and looking the picture of despair. At last he broke out, “I wish I had taken my father’s advice; he wanted me to go into the navy; if I had done so, I should not have had to go to sea so much.”
Poor Slaughter! It was his last sea voyage. He was killed by Indians in Oregon.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Dave Grant Aboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown February 15 – March 5, 2012
Mission: Western Boundary Time Series Geographical Area: Sub-Tropical Atlantic, off the Coast of the Bahamas Date: February 17, 2012
Weather Data from the Bridge
Position: Windspeed: 15 knots
Wind Direction: South/Southeast
Air Temperature: 23.9 deg C/75 deg F
Water Temperature: 24.5 deg C/76 deg F
Atm Pressure: 1016.23 mb
Water Depth: 4625 meters/15,174 feet
Cloud Cover: less than 20%
Cloud Type: Cumulus
Sailors used to describe their trips as short-haul or coastal, or “long seas” which also was described as going “Blue Water”
We are off to a great start after passing the harbor lighthouse and breakwater, and the seas are calm and winds gentle. The Low Country and barrier islands of South Carolina disappear quickly over the horizon, and the most striking change for me is the color of the water. As we have transited from the sediment rich waters upriver, to the estuary, and out to the ocean, its color has gone from grayish, to green to blue.
Bay/Estuary water in Charleston
As a rapid indicator of what’s going on within it biologically, oceanographers use the color of the water. To quantify their observations for other scientist to compare results, a white secchi disc is lowered just below the surface and the observer compares the ocean’s color with tinted water in a series of small vials – the Forel-Ule Scale. (Francois Forel was an oceanographer and his end of the scale is the bluest; and Willi Ule was a limnologist and his end of the scale is darker, reflecting the fresh waters he studied.) The 21 colors run the gambit of colors found in natural waters and modified by the plankton community and range from brownish-to-green-to-blue. This gives you a quick measure of productivity of the waters and the types of phytoplankton predominating. For example: Diatom blooms are brownish and Dinoflagellate blooms form the notorious red tides. Clear, less productive waters look blue, and we are sailing into waters that are a deeper blue with every league we sail.
I lack a secchi disk and we can’t stop the ship to lower one anyway, so I am using instead a scupper on the side as a photographic frame to document this well-studied and interesting phenomenon.
“Being on a boat that’s moving through the water, it’s so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what’s important, and what’s not.”
Before departing on the trip I came across Richard Pough’s bird map of the Atlantic. On it he divides the ocean into 10-degree quadrants and indicates the average water temperature and number of birds he sighted daily. The good news is we are heading southeast into warmer waters. The bad news is, he does not indicate a very productive hunting ground for bird watching. For example, Cape Hatteras, NC, where the Gulf Stream skirts North Carolina, shows 40 birds. Off the highly productive sub-polar regions like Iceland where there are great breeding colonies of seabirds like gannets, he indicates scores of birds. Regardless, I am hopeful we will find some true seabirds to photograph on our voyage; and perhaps have some migrating songbirds drop in for a rest.
Today, as our colleague Wes Struble discusses on his blog, we retrieved our first samples with the CTD rosette. Water is retrieved from predetermined levels between the surface and 4,500 meters sealed in bottles for salinity and dissolved oxygen analysis. These two physical features, along with temperature, are the benchmarks physical oceanographers rely upon to track the ocean circulation.
For an understanding of this process and an overview of the project, I met with Molly Baringer in her office – a large bench that the ship’s carpenter built on deck. It seats three and is similar to a lifeguard stand, so it can give a view of the water and fit over the [dis]array of equipment constantly being shifted around the fantail by various scientists and deck hands. With the calm seas and sunny weather, it is the perfect spot on the ship to sit with a laptop to outline daily assignments for all of us, review the mass of data streaming in, and relax to watch the sunset.
“When I am playful, I use the meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude for a seine,
and drag the Atlantic Ocean for whales!”
Scientists and crew prepare to retrieve a mooring before the next big wave!
Chief scientist Dr. Baringer is a physical oceanographer and so is interested less in the creatures moving around in the ocean and more about the water currents that are moving them around, and particularly the vast amount of heat that is transferred from the Equator to the Polar Regions by “rivers in the sea” like the Gulf Stream.
Currents and storms in our atmosphere produce our daily weather patterns, which of course change seasonally too. Ocean currents work on a much longer time scale and the text book example of the turnover time of warm water moving Pole-ward, cooling and returning to the Tropics as “centuries.” This timeframe infers that dramatic fluctuations in climate do not occur.
However, by analyzing ice cores from Greenland, scientists recently have detected evidence of abrupt changes in climate – particularly a significant cooling event 8,200 years ago – that could be associated with vacillations in the Gulf Stream. Although lacking a blackboard at her impromptu lecture hall on deck, a patient Dr. Baringer was artful in walking me through a semester of climatology and modeling to highlight the implications of an oscillating Gulf Stream and its deepwater return waters – the Deep Western Boundary Current.
Surface water is driven from the southern latitudes towards the Poles along the western side of the Atlantic, constantly deflected in a clockwise pattern by the Earth’s rotation. Bathing Iceland with warm and saltier water and keeping it unusually mild for its sub-polar latitude, the Gulf Stream divides here with some water flowing into the Arctic Sea and the rest swirling down the Eastern Atlantic moderating the climate in Great Britain, France and Portugal. (This explains the presence of a rugged little palm tree that I once saw growing in a Scottish garden.)
Perturbations in the northward flow of heat by meanderings of the Gulf Stream or the smothering of it of it by lighter fresh waters from melting ice in Greenland and Canada appears play a significant role in occasionally upsetting Europe’s relatively mild and stable climate – which is bad enough. What is more alarming is new evidence that these changes don’t necessarily occur gradually over centuries as once assumed, but can take place rapidly, perhaps over decades.
There is more bad news. The surface of the sea is dynamic and even without wind and waves, there are gentle hills and valleys between areas. I remember my surprise when our physical oceanography teacher, Richard Hires, pointed out that because of warmer water and displacement by the Earth’s rotation, Gulf Stream waters are about a meter higher than the surrounding ocean…that to sail East into it from New Jersey, we are actually going uphill. If these giant boundary currents are suppressed in their movements, it will exasperate an ongoing coastal problem as those hills and valleys of water flatten, resulting in rising sea levels and erosion along northern coastlines.
This explains why we are “line sailing” at 26.5 North, sampling water and monitoring sensors arrayed on the parallel of latitude between Africa and the Bahamas. To measure change, it is necessary to have baseline data, and the stretch of the Atlantic is the best place to collect it.
Snap shots of the water column are taken using the CTD apparatus as we sail an East-West transect, but at $30-50,000. Per day for vessel time, this is not practical or affordable. Here is where moorings, data recorders and long-life Lithium batteries come into play. By anchoring a line of sensors in strategic locations and at critical depths to take hourly readings, year-long data sets can be recorded and retrieved periodically. Not only does this save time and money, it is the only way to generate the ocean of data for researchers to analyze and create a model of what is happening over such a vast region – and what may occur in the future.
For more specific details, check out the project overview.
Deep Western Boundary Current Transport Time Series to study:
-the dynamics and variability of ocean currents;
-the redistribution of heat, salt and momentum through the oceans;
-the interactions between oceans, climate, and coastal environments; and
-the influence of climate changes and of the ocean on extreme weather events.
Information at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/wbts/ies/index.php
We hear that “The package is on deck” and it is time to collect water samples from the 24 different depths the Niskin bottles were fired (Remotely closed). As any aquarist will assure you, as soon as seawater is contained it begins to change, so we always start with the bottom water and work around to the top water since dissolved oxygen levels can drop with rising temperatures and biological activity from planktonic creatures trapped along with the water samples.
Although as oceanography students we read that most ocean water is quite cold (~3.5C) because only the top 100 meters soaks up the warmth from sunlight, it is still an awakening for me to fill the sample bottles with even colder bottom water. After a half hour of rinsing and filling bottles, my hands are reminded of the times I worked in an ice cream parlor restocking containers from the freezer and filling soft-serve cones. It is a delight to get to the last several bottles of warm (25C) surface water.
Once the DO and salinity bottles are filled, they are removed to the chemistry lab and the Niskins are all mine. By holding a small plankton net under them as they drain excess water, I try my luck at catching whatever has almost settled to the bottom. There is an extra bonus too. A patch of floating Sargassum weed that tangled in the rosette was retrieved by the technician and set aside for me to inspect.
Windrows of Sargassum weed drift past the Ron Brown
Here is what I found under the microscope so far:
The bottom water is absolutely clear with no obvious life forms swimming around. However a magnification of 50x’s and the extra zoom of my handy digital camera set-up reveals a number of things of interest I am sorting into AB&C’s: Abiotic: Specks of clear mineral crystals. Are these minute sediments washed from the mainland or nearby Caribbean islands? Or is it possible they are quartz grains carried from much greater distances, like the Saharan dust that satellite images have proven are swept up by desert winds and carried all the way across the Atlantic?
Biotic: Although I can not find anything living, the silica dioxide skeletons (frustules) of at least two species of diatoms are present. These fragile fragments of glass accumulate in deep sediments below highly productive zones in the sea and different species are useful to paleontologists for determining the age of those deposits. On land, fossil diatom deposits are mined for diatomaceous earth – used as an abrasive and cleaner, pool filter material, and even in nanotechnologyresearch applications. There is other detrital material in the samples, but nothing identifiable.
Celestial(?): One tiny round particle caught my attention under the microscope. It looks like the images I’ve seen of microtektites – glassy and metallic meteor particles that have been molded by the heat of entry into the atmosphere. The Draxler brothers, two science students in Massachusetts, collect them and I hope they will confirm my identification when I see them again.
From the surface:
The warm, sunlit surface water here is covered with Sargassum weed, a curious algae that sustains an entire ecosystem in the waters mariners named the Sargasso Sea. On board the Brown it is simply called “weed” in part because it can be a minor nuisance when entangled with equipment. The Sargassum’s air bladders that support it at the surface reminded Portuguese sailors of their sargazagrapes and they named the gulfweed after them.
Floating Sargassum weed harbors a great variety of other creatures including baby sea turtles, crustaceans and especially bryozoan colonies. The film of life encrusting the weed is sometimes called aufwuchs by scientists and is a combined garden and zoo.
A quick rinse in a plastic bag revealed two species of bryozoan and numerous tiny crustaceans. The Phylum Bryozoa is the “moss animals” a puzzling colonial creature to early biologists. Bryozoans are an ancient group with a long fossil record and are used by paleontologists as an “index” species to date sediments.
To my delight there were also some foraminifera in the samples. “Forams” as they are called by researchers, are single celled protozoa with calcium carbonate skeletons. They are abundant and widespread in the sea; having had 330 million years to adjust to different habitats – drifting on the surface in the plankton community and on benthic habitats on the bottom.
It is not necessary for you to go to sea with a microscope to find them. I have seen their skeletons imbedded in the exterior walls of government buildings in Washington, DC; and our own lab building at Sandy Hook, NJ has window sills cut from Indiana limestone – formed at the bottom of the warm Mesozoic seas that once covered the Midwest. In the stone, a magnifying glass reveals pin-head sized forams cemented among a sea of Bryozoan fragments. Some living forams from tropical lagoons are large enough to be seen without a magnifier, and are among the largest single-celled creatures on the planet. With a drop of acid (The acid test!) our Geology students confirm that our window sills are indeed made of limestone as the drops fizzing reaction releases carbon dioxide sequestered when the animal shell formed.
Living foraminifera eat algae, bacteria and detritus and are fed upon by fishes, crustaceans and mollusks. Dead forams make contributions to us by carrying the carbon in their skeletons to the bottom where it is sequestered for long geological periods.
Geologists also use different species of forams as “index” species to fix the date of strata in sediment cores and rocks. The appearance and demise of their different fossil assemblages leave a systematic record of stability and change in the environment; and paleoclimatologists use the ratios of Carbon and Oxygen isotopes in their skeletons document past temperature ranges.
Our first plankton samples extracted from the deepest samples retrieved from the Niskin bottles at 4,000 meters (2.5C) did not produce any forams. This may be because in deep, cold water, calcium carbonate is more soluble and the skeletons dissolve. Presumably why we identified only the glassy tests of diatoms.
Foraminifera shell at 100x’s
Tiny Paramecia swarm over the detritus in my slide and taking a closer look at that and the growth associated with the weed I am reminded of Jonathon Swifts jingle:
Big fleas have little fleas Upon their backs to bite ’em And little fleas have lesser fleas And so, ad infinitum
Sunset over the Sargassum Sea
The Chief Scientist:
A day in the life of our chief scientist involves: checking with her staff to evaluate the previous day’s collections, consulting with visiting scientists on their needs and any problems that might arise, checking with the deck hands and technicians about equipment needs and repairs, advising the ship’s officers of any issues, and making certain we are on course and schedule for the next station.
And then rest? Hardly!
Even when off duty there are inquiries to field from staff, scientists and crew; equipment repairs to be made; and software that needs to be tweaked to keep the data flowing.
How does one prepare for a career like this? Physically: the capacity to function on little sleep so you can work 12-hour shifts and be on-call the other twelve. (And there is little escape at mealtimes either, where the conversation never stays far from the progress of the cruise.)Mentally: the capability to multi-task with a variety of very different chores. Emotionally: the flexibility to accommodate people with many different personalities and needs, while staying focused on your own work.
Also, excellent organizational skills, since months of planning and preparation are crucial.
And perhaps most importantly, a sense of humor!
Chief Scientist Dr. Molly Baringer prepares to fire the XBT
off the stern for an 800 meter profile of temperature and pressure.
What will we be studying? The scientists on this survey are very interested in knowing about the strength and health of the ecosystem. They can judge how strong it is by looking at various indicators such as water clarity, salinity, and temperature. They can also record information about the phytoplankton and zooplankton that live in the water.
Question for students: Why do you think it is important to learn about the phytoplankton and zooplankton? What can they tell us about the ecosystem? Please leave a reply with your answers below by clicking on “Comments.”
Here is a map of the route the R/V Walton Smith will be taking.
I am so excited and I hope you will follow along with me on this journey of a lifetime!
Leg 1 has concluded. Oscar Dyson is currently at port in Dutch Harbor. Please use link (NOAA Ship locator) to follow ship in future research cruises and current location/conditions.
Science and Technology Log
I am back home and my expedition aboard the Oscar Dyson has come to a conclusion. My travels home had me leaving Dutch Harbor at 7:30 PM and arriving into Newark, NJ the following day at 2:30 pm EST, an incredibly long, red-eye flight back home. Although my involvement aboard the ship has come and gone, the ship is currently in port at Dutch Harbor taking on more fuel and supplies and readying to do a “turnaround trip”. For Leg II they will be heading back out into the Bering Sea to obtain further data. The following is a map that depicts the stations for Leg 1 and 2. For Leg 1, all of the green stations (40#) represents the areas where we conducted our research. For Leg II, they will be focusing on the black circle stations. When all of this field work is complete, and the numbers are “crunched” they can be extrapolated out to get a better idea of the overall health of the Bering Sea ecosystem as detailed in prior blogs.
So, before I left Alaska, I was discussing a bloom and readying the blog platform for a discussion of zooplankton and other higher-ordered interactions of the Bering. Ok, so moving on…the next feeding level in the marine world would be the primary consumers….the zooplankton. Zooplankton, although a very simplified explanation, are essentially animals that drift (planktonic) while consuming phytoplankton (for the most part). These zooplankton in turn, are a resource for consumers on higher trophic levels such as the Pacific Cod, salmon, and Walleye Pollock (which are a primary focus on this survey). Zooplankton are typically small and in order to obtain samples from the sea, we have been utilizing specialized nets (information and pictures to follow) to extract, analyze and collect them for further investigations back at the lab.
The following picture is a good visual to represent this flow of energy that we have been discussing since the first Blog Entry. An important observation is that the sun is the “engine” that initiates all of these interactions. The exchange of carbon dioxide compliments of Photosynthesis and respiration, the abundance of phytoplankton in the photic zone (see last blog entry), which are food for the zooplankton, which in turn, become food for higher-order carnivores.
Marine Food Chain
One of the more important zooplankton species out in the Bering are the euphasiids. These are small invertebrates found in all of worlds oceans. The common name is Krill. These species are considered a huge part of the trophic level connection, feeding on the phytoplankton and converting this energy into a form suitable for the larger animals. In the last blog, I put in some pictures of euphasiids that we caught. These euphasiids have a very high lipid content (fat) and in turn, are what is responsible for getting salmon their richness in oily flesh, the Omega Fatty acids, and there natural, pink-fleshed color. I have read before about the differences between farm-raised vs. wild salmon from a nutritional standpoint. Farm-raised salmon often lack the abundant Omega oils that are found in the wild species. Also, it is true that in order for the farm-raised salmon to get their pinkish color to the flesh, they are fed a nutritional supplement to give the color….essentially, like adding a food dye. So, in class this year, we will have to be very careful when analyzing the pros and cons of aquaculture/fish-farming.
Although my official involvement with the Oscar Dyson has come to an end, I will take with me the experiences and knowledge for a lifetime. It was everything I was hoping it would be and then so much more. These blogs, the pictures, the video…… all do the expedition no justice. However, I have pledged to make every effort possible to spread the word about NOAA and its mission and this is exactly what I will do. I have several more decades of career in front of me and I know that between now and that date, I will use this recent expedition countless times and will hopefully convince the general public about the overall importance of government agencies like NOAA and how common resources must be valued and protected to ensure the health of all of Earth’s inhabitants.
There are so many people who I would like to thank for providing and delivering such an extraordinary experience. All of the crew aboard the Oscar Dyson, from the engineers, to the chef, and captain……Thank You. Your professionalism and ability were truly inspiring.
To the Scientists, You were really the “teachers at sea”. May you always continue your motivated path to revealing the beautiful secrets this planet has to offer. Also, my hope that it continues to be done in a fashion that I saw while during my time on the water…..In a professional, unbiased, non-political fashion. You have reassured my passion for the sciences and have given me fuel to disprove any “non-believers” who claim that the sciences have become corrupted. In the end, you have shown me the most universal and balanced approach at reaching the truth.
Weather Data from the Bridge
Longitude: 162.93 W
Wind Speed: 10 Knots
Surface Water Temperature: 10.5 C
Air Temperature: 55F
Relative Humidity: 97%
Science and Technology Log:
Well, at this time tomorrow, the Oscar Dyson will be tied up in port at Dutch Harbor. This is our end destination for Leg I of the BASIS survey. I will write-up a summary/conclusion either at that time or shortly after getting back into town. For now, I will fill you in on some material that I promised. As noted in earlier blogs…I have been intentionally writing in a trophic bottom up approach. That is, I started my first blog entries with descriptions of the primary producers, the Phytoplankton. I covered this extensively and correlated it to the oceanographic work that has been going on aboard this ship. It seemed logical to work from the base of the food chain and work my way up the trophic levels to the more complex consumers.
However, before I close the chapter on Phytoplankton take a look at the picture I took below. When I stepped outside and saw this, I thought I had been transported to the Caribbean. Clear skies, calm seas, tropical blue waters are not typical descriptions for the Bering Sea. If you look closely enough, you can even see the shadow of the clouds on the surface of the sea. Science is the field of making observations, forming hypothesis, designing and conducting experiments and drawing conclusions about the natural world we live in. So…what would you make of this observation? What has caused this temporary “mirage” of tropics? Clearly something is going on here.
Well, although not 100% certain, the most likely explanation is what would be called a Coccolithophore bloom. These are single-celled algae which are characterised by special calcium carbonate plates as seen in photo below under magnification.
Under certain conditions, (some speculate that wind pattern changes fail to mix the water column favoring cocolithophore blooms as opposed to other plankton) coccolithophores can create large blooms turning the water brilliant shades of blue pending on the species of coccolithophore blooming at the time. Ed (Chief Scientist) was telling me of a major bloom that had occurred back in the late 90’s. I researched it a bit and the following picture is of this bloom in the same general vicinity where we are now. Amazing to think of how microscopic plants can influence a region on the scale of an entire sea and be seen from space. *Note: this is not a false colored Image
There is also some speculation that these types of blooms may be linked to sub-average runs of salmon (and even impact seabirds negatively in the area). Some hypothesize that this may be due to the idea that salmon prey heavily upon euphausiids (see picture I took below on 08-28-11 and the one centered beneath for a closer look taken from NOAA) and the euphausiids have difficulty subsiding on the extremely small coccolithophores. Remember what I was saying about visualizing the flow of energy as a pyramid and the effects of taking out a few or many blocks that make up the base of the food chain.
Ok, to make this easier for the reader, I am going to stop this blog here and start a new one dedicated to the zooplankton…..I got a little sidetracked with the whole coccolithophore bloom event…….
Earlier this morning we were greeted with some higher winds and consequently some larger seas. As my friend back East says conditions got “Sporty.” Here is a picture from where we launch the CTD. Winds were out of the SW gusting to 30 knots and seas were in the 10′ range with some larger swells thrown into the mix to keep things interesting.
NOAA TEACHER AT SEA CATHRINE PRENOT FOX ONBOARD NOAA SHIP OSCAR DYSON JULY 24 – AUGUST 14, 2011
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey
Location: Kodiak, Alaska
Date: August 11, 2011
Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 57deg 22.630N, Longitude: 152.02° W
Air Temperature: 13.6° C
Water temperature: 9.0° C
Wind Speed/Direction: 12kn/240°
Barometric Pressure: 1020.1
Partly cloudy (5%) and sun
Somewhere back in my family history there must have been a fishmonger, because I’ve been channeling something or someone. The entire process of watching the acoustic footprint of the ocean under the ship, deciding where to physically sample (trawl) populations, and then seeing and processing the fish that live 100 meters or more below us? Fascinating. Add to this camera drops to get snapshots of the ocean floor (more amazing footage this morning), and interesting ‘Methot’ plankton tows to sample what is available for the fish to eat and give a more accurate and complete picture? How many adjectives can I use?
Before we dive too far into the depths, let me explain/refresh what plankton are. Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the water columns of bodies of water. In fact, their name derives from the Greek for “wanderer,” and it would be helpful if you thought of them as drifters in the current…from deep in the ocean to up on the surface. They are generally broken down into plant-like-photosynthesizing plankton (phytoplankton) and animal-like plankton (zooplankton).
Phytoplankton are “photosynthesizing microscopic organisms that inhabit the upper sunlit layer of almost alloceans and bodies of water” (wikipedia). If you have taken biology or forensics with me, I have described some of them ad nauseam: diatoms? Those organisms that are in every body of water on the planet? Ah, yes. I can see it all coming back to you.
Zooplankton encompass a diverse range of macro and microscopic animals. They generally eat the phytoplankton or one another. Examples include krill, copepods, jellyfish, and amphipods.
In the great food web of life, other organisms eat the zooplankton. Among them was a pod of 50+ Humpback whales in the Barnabas Trough off of Kodiak Island. They were exciting enough that I went from being sound asleep to dressed and on the bridge in less than five minutes. Issue 12, Humpback Whales: Better than any alarm clock I have ever known delves into these organisms (Cartoon citations 1, 2, 3 and 4).
Our chief survey technician, Kathy Hough, took a lot of photos the following day as we traveled from Barnabas Trough to Alitak Bay. The three photos that follow and descriptions are courtesy of Kathy.
Our team of scientists sample plankton using a Methot net, which is fine mesh and captures macroscopic organisms. We sample plankton for the same reason that we physically trawl for fish: we need to make certain what we are “hearing” is what is down there, with a focus on the types and sizes of the plankton. Additionally, knowledge about what and where plankton populations are will help with modeling the entire ecosystem. If you know where the food lives, its abundance and composition, by extension you have a much greater understanding of the predators, both pollock and whale.
(If you get a chance, check out this video about how whales hunt with bubble nets; fascinating!)
I try to spend time on the bridge every morning before breakfast. I bring up a cup of tea and watch the horizon lighten until the sun pushes its way up above the lingering clouds. This morning, I saw the green flash for the first time. The green flash is not a superhero. It is not a myth. It is not a sailor’s fish tail. It is real. Furthermore, if you still don’t believe me, the green flash is in the “bible” of maritime studies, The American Practical Navigator (Bowditch, if you are on a first name basis). I was told by Ensign David Rodziewiczthat “if it is in Bowditch, it must be true.” So there.
The green flash appears on the horizon just after the sun sets or just before it rises. For one moment on that spot the sky looks as if someone broke a green glow stick and smeared a distant florescent mark. As fast as it was there, it is gone. The name is appropriate: green flash. It occurs because light is bent slightly as it passes through the atmosphere (refraction); this bending is greatest on the horizon. Since light is made up of different colors with different wavelengths, the bending causes the colors to be seen separately. Bowditch says it is like offset color printing (nice metaphor, eh?). The red end of the spectrum is first to rise. The blue end of the spectrum is scattered the most by the atmosphere, leaving behind the momentary and memorable second of green.
Evidently, to see the green flash is considered very good luck. I already feel very lucky. I am in one of the most beautiful places in the world, on a ship with interesting and intelligent people, driving around the Gulf of Alaska learning about science and occasionally checking out whales. If I can get luckier than this… well… wow.
Tomorrow is the last day of our cruise, but I have a few more cartoons up my sleeves, so keep checking back. In the meantime, thank you to the incredible staff of the Oscar Dyson, the scientists of MACE, my rockin’ cohort Staci, and the NOAA Teacher at Sea program.
Until our next adventure,
p.s. Whales have the worst morning breath I have ever smelled. I know it isn’t really their fault–imagine having 270-400 baleen sheets on either side of your mouth that you could get krill stuck in…
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Caitlin Thompson Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada August 1 — 14, 2011
Mission: Pacific Hake Survey Geographical Area: Pacific Ocean off the Oregon and Washington Coasts Date: August 7, 2011
Weather Data from the Bridge Lat. 47 degrees, 00.8N
Long. 124 degrees, 29.8W
Present weather: Cldy 8/8
Visibility: 10 n.m.
Wind direction: 323
Wind speed: 08 kts
Sea wave height: 1 feet
Swell waves – direction: —
Swell waves – height: —
Sea water temperature: 13.7 degrees C
Sea level pressure: 1018.8 mb
Temperature – dry bulb: 15.8 degrees C
Temperature – wet bulb: 14.7 degrees C
Science and Technology Log
The Shimada conducts research around the clock, with crew members working twelve-hour shifts. So far, I have worked with the acoustics team studying hake during the day, when the hake school together and are easy to fish. Last night I branched out, staying up with Steve Pierce, the oceanographer studying ocean currents, Jennifer Fisher, a faculty assistant at Oregon State University (OSU) who is studying zooplankton, and her intern, Angie Johnson, a graduate student at OSU. All the different research on this trip complements each other, and I learned more about the acoustic team’s work from the night people.
The map at right shows the transects we follow and the stations that the night team takes samples, which Steve chooses. Just like the acoustics team, he only chooses sites on the east-west transects. The night team usually works one transect ahead of the day team, and must have the ship back where they started by sun-up. Steve is mapping small currents because, he says, surprisingly little is known about ocean currents, even though they have a tremendous impact on ocean life.
He is especially interested in the polar undercurrent that brings nutrient-rich water from the south up along the west coast. A small current, it is nonetheless important because of the nutrients it carries, which come to the surface through upwelling. He uses an acoustic device, the Acoustic Doppler Current Profile (ADCP), to find the velocity of the water at various depths. The data from the ADCP is skewed by many factors, especially the velocity of the ship. Later, Steve will use trigonometry to calculate the true velocity. He also uses the Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) meter, lowered into the water at every station during the night. The CTD gives much more information than its name would suggest, including salinity, density, and oxygen. It is deployed with a high-speed camera and holds bottles to capture water samples. I was impressed by the amount of work – and math! – that Steve does in between cruises. When he has down time on this cruise, he told me, he is calculating work from two years ago.
Jennifer and Angie are studying plankton, the organisms at the very bottom of the food web. Immediately, I recognized euphausiids, or krill, from the contents of hake stomachs. Actually I recognized their small black eyes, which always reminded me of poppy seeds when I saw them in hake stomachs. Jennifer is conducting this work through her group Northwest Fisheries Science Center, which, as she describes it, gives her a wonderful freedom to research different projects related to ocean conditions, especially salmon returns. In this project, they measuring phytoplankton, tiny, photosynthetic organisms, by measuring chlorophyll and nutrients. They are also looking at zooplankton, like euphausiids, salps, and crab larvae, which we examined other the microscope. To help the acoustics team refine their ability to use sonar to identify zooplankton, Jennifer and Angie record certain species. The acoustics team will match up the acoustics data that is continuously generated on this ship with the samples.
Today, the second catch of the day was aborted because of whales too close to the ship. However, the NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), had asked the Shimada to investigate its waveglider. A waveglider is type of robot called an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Programmed to travel and record data, it does not need an operator. The PMEL folks were concerned, however, that its AUV might have a problem.The bridge set the course for the AUV, described as a yellow surfboard, and I headed up to the flying deck, the highest deck and an ideal spot for observation, to watch for it. Immediately we saw a humpback whale, just starboard of the ship, spout and roll through the water, its tail raised in the air. Soon the AUV appeared. We saw nothing wrong with it but communicated our observations, photographs, and video tape of it to PMEL. The PMEL’s system of wavegliders monitor carbon dioxide levels and use the kinetic energy of ocean waves to recharge the batteries. The acoustics team hopes to get their own waveglider next year to collect acoustic data in between transects. As I was peering over the edge of the boat, examining the surfboard-like robot below, I heard a loud splash. A bout ten Dall’s porpoises were playing around the bow of our boat, rippling in and out of the water. Dall’s porpoises are tremendously playful creatures, and will often play around ships. But our ship was barely moving, and the porpoises soon lost interest and swam away.
I’m getting a little of everything on this cruise. I would have stayed up two nights ago for the deploymentof the CTD and zooplankton samples, but the propeller developed a loud enough whamming sound to suspend all operations indefinitely. I woke up at 4:00 AM yesterday because the boat was swaying back and forth violently. (Violently by my standards, that is; more experienced mariners insist the swell is nothing.) Since our bunks go port to starboard, I could feel my weight sliding from hip to head to hip to head as I was rocked back and forth in bed. Meanwhile a discarded lightbulb in a metal shelf was rolling back and forth steadily – rattle-rattle-WACK! rattle-rattle-WACK! – until Shelby Herber, a student at Western University and my roommate, got up, found the culprit, and wrapped it in a shirt. When I woke again, it was eleven hours after the discovery of the problem with the prop and well past breakfast, and I started to get up until Shelby told me we were off transect, headed to shore because of the propeller.
So we took our time getting up. But when I finally arrived in the acoustics lab, Rebecca was running up the hall, saying, “Caitlin, I was looking for you! There’s a great big shark outside, and we’re pulling up the ROV!” The ROV is the remotely controlled vehicle, a robot like the AUV, but one that requires an operator to make it move. Unfortunately, out on the fish deck, the ROV was being put away and the shark gone off on his fishy business. To console me, John had the videotaped footage from the ROV and the dorsal fin of the shark, and showed me both. The ROV revealed no damage and I was invited down to the winch room, where the bang-bang-bang coming from the propeller was unnerving.
Everyone was in an uproar trying to decide what to do, an uproar made all the more dramatic by the steady lurching and swaying of the ship, which throughout the day has sent most of the scientists to their room for at least a few hours and most of the deck hands to tell stories of unhappy tourists who couldn’t find their sea legs. Finally, the engine guys decided the warped propeller would not prevent us from getting to Port Angeles, and Rebecca decided it would not interfere with the acoustics, and we got back on transect.
I’m getting a little bit of everything on this cruise. I’ve seen sharks and marines mammals, calm seas and rockier seas, an impressively well-functioning ship and a number of technological problems. I’ve interviewed scientists, NOAA Corps officers who command the ship, and crew members who recount endless adventures at sea. I’m even signed up for the cribbage tournament, which I’m not entirely thrilled about since I don’t know how to play bridge. I’ve been impressed by how much time and information everyone seems to have for me. I am constantly thinking how I can bring this experience back to my students. Some ideas are to have a science and math career day, collect weather data like the data the bridge collects, dissect hake, and examine zooplankton under a microscope. Various people on board have volunteered to help with all my ideas.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Caitlin Fine Aboard University of Miami Ship R/V Walton Smith August 2 – 7, 2011
Mission: South Florida Bimonthly Regional Survey Geographical Area: South Florida Coast and Gulf of Mexico Date: August 6, 2011
Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 31.6°C
Water Temperature: 32.6°C
Wind Direction: Southwest
Wind Speed: 4 knots
Seawave Height: calm
Clouds: partially cloudy (cumulous and cirrus clouds)
Relative Humidity: 62%
Science and Technology Log
Many of you have written comments asking about the marine biology (animals and plants) that I have seen while on this cruise. Thank you for your posts – I love your questions! In today’s log, I will talk about the biology component of the research and about the animals that we have been finding and documenting.
We have another graduate student aboard, Lorin, who is collecting samples of sargassum (a type of seaweed).
There are two types of sargassum. One of those types usually floats at the top of the water and the other has root-like structures that help it attach to the bottom of the ocean.
We are using a net, called a Neuston net, to collect samples of sargassum that float. The Neuston net is towed alongside the ship at the surface at specific stations. This means that the ship drives in large circles for 30 minutes which can make for a rocky/dizzy ride – some of the chairs in the dry lab have wheels and they roll around the floor during the tow!
Lorin and other researchers are interested in studying sargassum because it provides a rich habitat for zooplankton, small fish, crabs, worms, baby sea turtles, and marine birds. It is also a feeding ground for larger fish that many of you may have eaten, such as billfish, tuna, and mahi mahi.
The net not only collects sargassum, but also small fish, small crabs, jellyfish, other types of seaweed, and small plankton.
Plankton can be divided into two main categories: zooplankton and phytoplankton. As I said in my last post, phytoplankton are mostly very small plants or single-celled organisms that photosynthesize (they make their own food) and are the base of the food chain. Zooplankton are one level up on the food chain from phytoplankton and most of them eat phytoplankton. Zooplankton include larva (babies) of starfish, lobster, crabs, and fish.
We also use a Plankton net to collect samples of plankton. This has a smaller mesh, so it collects organisms that are so small they would fall through the Neuston net. Scientists are interested in studying the zooplankton that we catch in the Plankton net to understand what larger organisms might one day grow-up and live in the habitats we are surveying. They study the phytoplankton from the Plankton net to see what types of phytoplankton are present in the water and in what quantities.
Today we collected so many diatoms (which are a type of phytoplankton) in the Neuston net that we could not lift it out of the water! This tells us that there are a lot of nutrients in the water (a diatom bloom) – maybe even harmful levels. I am bringing some samples of the diatoms and zooplankton home with me so we can look at them under the microscopes at school!
The marine biologists on this cruise are mainly interested in looking at phytoplankton and zooplankton, but we also have seen some larger animals. I have seen many flying fish skim across the surface of the water as the boat moves along. I have also seen seagulls, dolphins, sea turtles, cormorants (skinny black seabirds with long necks), and lots of small fish.
Working as an oceanographer definitely demands flexibility. I have already mentioned that we chased the Mississippi River water during our second day. After collecting samples, we had to find blue water (open ocean water) to have a control to compare our samples against. We traveled south through the night until we were about 15 miles away from Cuba before finding blue water. All of this travel was in the opposite direction from our initial cruise plan, so we have had to extend our cruise by one day in order to visit all of the stations that we need to visit inside the Gulf of Mexico. This has meant waking-up the night shift so we can all change their airplane tickets and looking at maps to edit our cruise plan!
Many of you are writing comments about sharks – I have not seen any sharks and I will probably not see any. The chief scientist, Nelson, has worked on the ocean for about 33 years and he has sailed for more than 1,500 hours and he has only seen 3 sharks. They mostly live in the open ocean, not on the continental shelf where we are doing our survey. If there were a shark nearby, our ship is so big and loud that it would be scared away.
Today I saw a group of about 4 dolphins off the side of the ship. They were pretty far away, so I could not take pictures. Their dorsal fins all seemed to exit the water at the same time – it was very beautiful. A member of the crew spotted a sea turtle off the bow (front) of the ship and I saw several different types of sea birds, especially seagulls.
Yesterday afternoon we passed through the Gulf of Mexico near the Everglades and there were storm clouds covering the coastline. The crew says that it rains a lot in this part of the Florida coast and that Florida receives more thunderstorms than any other state. It is strange to me because I always think of Florida as “the sunshine state.”
The color of the ocean has changed quite a lot during the cruise. The water is clear and light blue near Miami, clear and dark blue farther away from the coast in the Atlantic Ocean, cloudy and yellow-green in coastal Gulf of Mexico, and cloudy and turquoise in the Florida Bay. Scientists say that the cloudiness in coastal Gulf of Mexico is caused by chlorophyll and the cloudiness in the Florida Bay is caused by sediment.
It has been hot and sunny every day, but the wet lab (where we process the water samples and marine samples), the dry lab (where we work on our computers), the galley and the staterooms are nice and cool thanks to air conditioning! I can tell that I am getting used to being at sea because now when we are moving, I feel as though we are stopped. And when we do stop to take measurements, it feels strange.
Did you know?
NOAA does not own the R/V Walton Smith. It is University of Miami ship that costs NOAA from $12,000 to $15,000 a day to use!
Organisms seen today…
– Many sea birds (especially seagulls)
– 2 cormorants (an elegant black sea bird)
– 10-12 dolphins
– 1 sea turtle
– Lots of small fish
– Lots of zooplankton and phytoplankton (especially diatoms)
NOAA Teacher at Sea Caitlin Fine Aboard University of Miami Ship R/V Walton Smith August 2 – 6, 2011
Mission: South Florida Bimonthly Regional Survey Geographical Area: South Florida Coast and Gulf of Mexico Date: August 4, 2011
Weather Data from the Bridge Time: 10:32pm
Air Temperature: 30°C
Water Temperature: 30.8°C
Wind Direction: Southeast
Wind Speed: 7.7knots
Seawave Height: calm
Barometer: 1012 nb
Relative Humidity: 65%
Science and Technology Log
As I said yesterday, the oceanographic work on the boat basically falls into three categories: physical, chemical and biological. Today I will talk a bit more about the chemistry component of the work on the R/V Walton Smith. The information that the scientists are gathering from the ocean water is related to everything that we learn in science at Key – water, weather, ecosystems, habitats, the age of the water on Earth, erosion, pollution, etc.
First of all, we are using a CTD (a special oceanographic instrument) to measure salinity, temperature, light, chlorophyll, and depth of the water. The instrument on this boat is very large (it weights about 1,000 lbs!) so we use a hydraulic system to raise it, place it in the water, and lower it down into the water.
The CTD is surrounded by special niskin bottles that we can close at different depths in the water in order to get a pure sample of water from different specific depths. Nelson usually closes several bottles at the bottom of the ocean and at the surface and sometimes he closes others in the middle of the ocean if he is interested in getting specific information. For each layer, he closes at least 2 bottles in case one of them does not work properly. The Capitan lowers the CTD from a control booth on 01deck (the top deck of the boat), and two people wearing a hard hat and a life vest have to help guide the CTD into and out of the water. Safety first!
Once the CTD is back on the boat, the chemistry team (on the day shift, Lindsey and I are the chemistry team!) fills plastic bottles with water from each depth and takes them to the wet lab for processing. Throughout the entire process, it is very important to keep good records of the longitude and latitude, station #, depth of each sample, time, etc, and most importantly, which sample corresponds to which depth and station.
We are taking samples for 6 different types of analyses on this cruise: nutrient analysis, chlorophyll analysis, carbon analysis, microbiology analysis, water mass tracers analysis and CDOM analysis.
The nutrient analysis is to understand how much of each nutrient is in the water. This tells us about the availability of nutrients for phytoplankton. Phytoplankton need water, CO2, light and nutrients in order to live. The more nutrients there are in the water, the more phytoplankton can live in the water. This is important, because as I wrote yesterday – phytoplankton are the base of the food chain – they turn the sun’s energy into food.
That said, too many nutrients can cause a sudden rise in phytoplankton. If this occurs, two things can happen: one is called a harmful algal bloom. Too much phytoplankton (algae) can release toxins into the water, harming fish and shellfish, and sometimes humans who are swimming when this occurs. Another consequence is that this large amount of plankton die and fall to the seafloor where bacteria decompose the dead phytoplankton. Bacteria need oxygen to survive so they use up all of the available oxygen in the water. Lack of oxygen causes the fish and other animals to either die or move to a different area. The zone then becomes a “dead zone” that cannot support life. There is a very large dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River. So we want to find a good balance of nutrients – not too many and not too few.
The chlorophyll analysis serves a similar purpose. In the wet lab, we filter the phytoplankton onto a filter.
Each phytoplankton has chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll. Do you remember from 4th grade science that plants use chlorophyll in order to undergo photosynthesis to make their own food? If scientists know the amount of chlorophyll in the ocean, they can estimate the amount of phytoplankton in the ocean.
Carbon can be found in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) or in the cells of organisms. Do you remember from 2nd and 4th grade science that plants use CO2 in order to grow? Phytoplankton also need CO2 in order to grow. The carbon dioxide analysis is useful because it tells us the amount of CO2 in the ocean so we can understand if there is enough CO2 to support phytoplankton, algae and other plant life. The carbon analysis can tell us about the carbon cycle – the circulation of CO2 between the ocean and the air and this has an impact on climate change.
The microbiology analysis looks for DNA (the building-blocks of all living organisms – kind of like a recipe or a blueprint). All living things are created with different patterns or codes of DNA. This analysis tells us whose DNA is present in the ocean water – which specific types of fish, bacteria, zooplankton, etc.
The water mass tracers analysis (on this boat we are testing N15 – an isotope of Nitrogen, and also Tritium – a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen) helps scientists understand where the water here came from. These analyses will help us verify if the Mississippi River water is running through the Florida Coast right now. From a global viewpoint, this type of test is important because it helps us understand about the circulation of ocean water around the world. If the ocean water drastically changes its current “conveyor belt” circulation patterns, there could be real impact on the global climate. (Remember from 2nd and 3rd grade that the water cycle and oceans control the climate of Earth.) For example, Europe could become a lot colder and parts of the United States could become much hotter.
The last type of analysis we prepared for was the CDOM (colored dissolved organic matter) analysis. This is important because like the water mass tracers, it tells us where this water came from. For example, did the water come from the Caribbean Sea, or did it come from freshwater rivers?
I am coming to understand that the main mission of this NOAA bimonthly survey cruise on the R/V Walton Smith is to monitor the waters of the Florida Coast and Florida Bay for changes in water chemistry. The Florida Bay has been receiving less fresh water runoff from the Everglades because many new housing developments have been built and fresh water is being sent along pipes to peoples’ houses. Because of this, the salinity of the Bay is getting higher and sea grass, fish, and other organisms are dying or leaving because they cannot live in such salty water. The Bay is very important for the marine ecosystem here because it provides a safe place for small fish and sea turtles to have babies and grow-up before heading out to the open ocean.
This cruise has provided me great opportunities to see real science in action. It really reinforces everything I tell my students about being a scientist: teamwork, flexibility, patience, listening and critical thinking skills are all very important. It is also important to always keep your lab space clean and organized. It is important to keep accurate records of everything that you do on the correct data sheet. It can be easy to get excited about a fish or algae discovery and forget to keep a record of it, but that is not practicing good science.
It is also important to stay safe – every time we are outside on the deck with the safety lines down, we must wear a life vest and if we are working with something that is overhead, we must wear a helmet.
I have been interviewing the scientists and crew aboard the ship and I cannot wait to return to Arlington and begin to edit the video clips. I really want to help my students understand the variety of science/engineering and technology jobs and skills that are related to marine science, oceanography, and ships. I have also been capturing videos of the ship and scientists in action so students can take a virtual fieldtrip on the R/V Walton Smith. I have been taking so many photos and videos, that the scientists and crew almost run away from me when they see me pick up my cameras!
The food continues to be wonderful, the sunsets spectacular, and my fellow shipmates entertaining. Tomorrow I hope to see dolphins swimming alongside the ship at sunrise! I will keep you posted!!
Did you know?
The scientists and crew are working 12-hour shifts. I am lucky to have the “day shift” which is from 8am to 8pm. But some unlucky people are working the “night shift” from 8pm to 8am. They wake-up just as the sun is setting and go to sleep right when it rises again.
Animals seen today…
– Many jellyfish
– Two small crabs
– Lots of plankton
– Flying fish flying across the ocean at sunset
– A very small larval sportfish (some sort of bluerunner or jack fish)
NOAA Teacher at Sea Caitlin Fine Onboard University of Miami Ship R/V Walton Smith August 2 – 6, 2011
Mission: South Florida Bimonthly Regional Survey Geographical Area: South Florida Coast and Gulf of Mexico Date: August 3, 2011
Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 29.5°C
Water Temperature: 31.59°C
Wind Direction: North
Wind Speed: 3 knots
Seawave Height: calm
Clouds: Partially cloudy (cumulos and cirrus)
Relative Humidity: 72%
Science and Technology Log
The oceanographic work on the boat can be divided into three categories: physical, chemical, and biological. In this log, I will explain a little bit about the part of the research related to the physics of light. Upcoming 5th graders – pay attention! We will be learning a lot about light in January/February and it all relates to this research project.
Brian and Maria are two PhD students who are working with the physical components. They are using several optical instruments: the SPECTRIX, the GER 1500, the Profiling Reflectance Radiometer (PRR), and the Profiling Ultraviolet Radiometer (PUV).
The SPECTRIX is a type of spectroradiometer that measures the light coming out of the water in order to understand what is in the water. For example, we can measure the amount of green light that is reflected and red and blue light that is absorbed in order to get an idea about the amount of chlorophyll in the water. This is important because chlorophyll is the biggest part of phytoplankton and phytoplankton are tiny plant-like algae that form the base of the food chain on Earth.
The PRR and the PUV measure light at different depths to also understand what is in the water and at what depth you will find each thing in the water. The light becomes less bright the further down you go in the water. Most of light is between 0-200 meters of depth. The light that hits the water also becomes less bright based upon what is in the water. For example, you might find that chlorophyll live at 10 meters below the surface. It is important to understand at what depth each thing is in the water because that tells you where the life is within the ocean. Most of the ocean is pitch-black because it is so deep that light cannot penetrate it. Anything that lives below the light level has to be able to either swim up to get food, or survive on “extras” that fall below to them.
These few days have been very fun and action-packed! I arrived on the ship on Sunday afternoon and helped Nelson and the crew get organized and set-up the stations for the cruise. Several other people had also arrived early – two graduate students who are studying the optics of the water as part of their PhD program, one college student and one observer from the Dominican Republic who are like me – trying to learn about what NOAA does and how scientists conduct experiments related to oceanography.
On Monday morning, we gathered for a team meeting to discuss the mission of the cruise, introduce ourselves, and get an updated report on the status of the Mississippi River water. It turns out that the water is going in a bit of a different direction than previously projected, so we will be changing the cruise path of the ship in order to try to intersect it and collect water samples.
Monday we all learned how to use the CTD (a machine that we use to collect samples of water from different depths of the ocean) and other stations at the first several stops. It was a bit confusing at the beginning because there is so much to learn and so many things to keep in mind in order to stay safe! We then ate lunch (delicious!) and had a long 4-hour ride to the next section of stops. When we arrived, it was low tide (only 2 ft. of water in some places) so we could not do the sampling that we wanted to do. We continued on to the next section of stops (another 3 hour ride away!), watched a safety presentation and ate another delicious meal. By this time, it was time for the night shift to start working and for the day shift to go to bed. Since I am in the day shift, I was able to sleep while the night shift worked all night long.
Today I woke up, took a shower in the very small shower and ate breakfast just as we arrived at another section of stops. I immediately started working with the CTD and on the water chemistry sampling. We drove through some sea grass and the optics team was excited to take optical measurements of the sea grass because it has a very similar optical profile to oil. The satellites from space see either oil or sea grass and report it as being the same thing. So scientists are working to better differentiate between the two so that we can tell sea grass from oil on the satellite images. The images that Maria and Brian took today are maybe some of the first images to be recorded! Everyone on the ship is very excited!
Several hours later, we came to a part of the open ocean within the Florida Current near Key West where we believe water from the Mississippi River has reached. Nelson and the scientific team believe this because the salinity (the amount of dissolved salt) of the surface water is much lower than it normally is at this time of year in these waters. Normally the salinity is about 36-36.5 PSUs in the first 20 meters and today we found it at 35.7 PSUs in the first 20 meters. This may not seem like a big difference, but it is.
The water from the Mississippi River is fresh water and the water in the Florida Keys is salt water. There is always a bit of fresh water mixing with the salt water, but usually it is not enough to really cause a change in the salinity. This time, there is enough fresh water entering the ocean to really change the salinity. This change can have an impact on the animals and other organisms that live in the Florida Keys.
Additionally, the water from the Mississippi River contains a lot of nutrients – for example, fertilizers that run off from farms and lawns into gutters and streams and rivers – and those nutrients also impact the sea life and the water in the area. Nelson says that this type of activity (fresh water from the Mississippi River entering the Florida Current) occurs so infrequently (only about ever 6 years), scientists are interested in documenting it so they can be prepared for any changes in the marine biology of the area.
For all of these reasons and more, we took a lot of extra samples at this station. And it took almost 2 hours to process them!
In the evening, we stopped outside of Key West and the director of this program for NOAA, Michelle Wood, took a small boat into the harbor because she cannot be with us for the entire cruise.
She asked me if I’d like to go along with the small boat to see Key West, since I have never been there before, and of course I agreed! I got some great pictures of the R/V Walton Smith from the water and we saw a great sunset on the way back to the ship after dropping her off with Jimmy Buffet blasting from the tourist boats on their own sunset cruises.
We will be in the Mississippi River plume for most of tonight. Everyone is very excited and things are pretty crazy with the CTD sampling because we are doing extra special tests while we are in the Mississippi River plume. We might not get much sleep tonight. I will explain in my next blog all about the chemistry sampling that we are doing with the CTD instrument and why it is so important.
Did you know?
On a ship, they call the kitchen the “galley,” the bathroom is the “head,” and the bedrooms are called “staterooms.”
One interesting thing about the ship is that it does not have regular toilets. The ship has a special marine toilet system that functions with a vacuum and very thin pipes. If one of the vacuums on one of the toilets is not closed, none of the toilets work!
Animals seen today…
Zooplankton that live in the sargassum (a type of seaweed that usually floats on the water) –baby crab, baby shrimp, and other zooplankton. The sargassum is a great habitat for baby crab, baby shrimp, and baby sea turtles.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Onboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette July 1 — 14, 2011
Mission: IEA (Integrated Ecosystem Assessment)
Geographical Area: Kona Region of Hawaii
Captain: Kurt Dreflak
Science Director: Samuel G. Pooley, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist: Evan A. Howell
Date: July 13, 2011
Surf. Water Temp.
Surf. Water Sal.
Science and Technology Log
Results of Research
Beginning on July 1st, the NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment project (IEA) in the Kona region has performed scientific Oceanographyoperations at eight stations. These stations form two transects (areas) with one being offshore and one being close to shore. As of July 5th, there have been 9 CTD (temperature, depth and salinity) readings, 7 mid-water trawls (fish catches), over 15 acoustics (sound waves) recordings, and 30 hours of marine mammal (dolphins and whales) observations.
The University of Hawaii Ocean Sea Glider has been recording its data also.The acoustics data matches the trawl data to tell us there was more mass (fish) in the close to shore area than the offshore area. And more mass in the northern area than the south. This is evidence that the acoustics system is accurate because what it showed on the computer matched what was actually caught in the net. The fish were separated by hand into categories: Myctophid fish and non-Myctophid fish, Crustaceans, and gelatinous (jelly-like) zooplankton.
The CTD data also shows that there are changes as you go north and closer to shore. One of the CTD water sample tests being done tells us the amount of phytoplankton (plant) in different areas. Phytoplankton creates energy by making chlorophyll and this chlorophyll is the base of the food chain. It is measured by looking at its fluorescence level. Myctophids eat phytoplankton, therefore, counting the amount of myctophids helps create a picture of how the ecosystem is working.
The data showed us more Chlorophyll levels in the closer to shore northern areas . Phytoplankton creates energy using photosynthesis (Photo = light, synthesis = put together) and is the base of the food chain. Chlorophyll-a is an important pigment in photosynthesis and is common to all phytoplankton. If we can measure the amount of chlorophyll-a in the water we can understand how much phytoplankton is there. We measure chlorophyll-a by using fluorescence, which sends out light of one “color” to phytoplankton, which then send back light of a different color to our fluorometer (sensor used to measure fluorescence). Myctophids eat zooplankton, which in turn eat phytoplankton. Therefore, counting the amount of myctophids helps create a picture of how the ecosystem is working. The data showed us more chlorophyll-a levels in the closer to shore northern areas.
The Sea Glider SG513 has transmitted data for 27 dives so far, and will continue to take samples until October when it will be picked up and returned to UH.
Overall the mammal observations spotted 3 Striped dolphins, 1 Bottlenose dolphin, and 3 Pigmy killer whales. Two biopsy “skin” samples were collected from the Bottlenose dolphins. A main part of their research, however, is done with photos. They have so far collected over 900 pictures.
Looking at all the results so far, we see that there is an area close to shore in the northern region of Kona that has a higher concentration of marine life. The question now is why?
We are now heading south to evaluate another region so that we can get a picture of the whole Eastern coastline.
And on deck the next morning we found all kinds of krill, a type of crustacean. Krill are an important part of the food chain that feed directly on phytoplankton. Larger marine animals feed on krill including whales. It was a fun process finding new types of fish and trying to identify them.Last night I found a beautiful orange and white trumpet fish. We also saw many transparent (see-through) fish with some having bright silver and gold sections. There were transparent crabs, all sizes of squid, and small clear eels. One fish I saw looked like it had a zipper along the bottom of it, so I called it a “zipperfish”. A live Pigmy shark was in the net, so they put it in a bucket of water for everyone to see. These types don’t ever get very big, less than a foot long.
I have really enjoyed living on this ship, and it will be sad to leave. Everyone treated me like I was part of the group. I have learned so much about NOAA and the ecosystem of the Kona coastline which will make my lessons more interesting this year. Maybe the students won’t be bored!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Heather Haberman Onboard NOAA Ship Oregon II July 5 — 17, 2011
Mission: Groundfish Survey
Geographical Location: Northern Gulf of Mexico
Date: Saturday, July 09, 2011
Weather Data from NOAA Ship Tracker Air Temperature: 30.4 C (86.7 F)
Water Temperature: 29.6 C (85.3 F)
Relative Humidity: 72%
Wind Speed: 6.69 knots (7.7 mph)
Preface: Scroll down the page if you would like to read my blog in chronological order. If you have any questions leave them for me at the end of the post.
Science and Technology Log
Topic of the Day: Plankton, the most important organisms on the planet.
Say the word plankton to a class full of students and most of them will probably think of a small one-eyed cartoon character. In actuality plankton are some of the most important organisms on our planet. Why would I so confidently make such a bold statement? Because without plankton, we wouldn’t be here, nor would any other organism that requires oxygen for life’s processes.
Plankton are a vital part of the carbon and oxygen cycles. They are excellent indicators of water quality and are the base of the marine food web, providing a source of food and energy for most of the ocean’s ecosystem’s. Most plankton are categorized as either phytoplankton or zooplankton.
Question: Can you identify which group of plankton are the plants and which are the animals based on the prefix’s?
Phyto comes from a Greek word meaning “plant” while planktos means “to wander”. Phytoplankton are single-celled plants which are an essential component of the marine food web. Plants are producers meaning they use light energy from the sun, and nutrients from their surroundings, to photosynthesize and grow rather than having to eat like animals, which are consumers. Thus producers allow “new” energy to enter into an ecosystem which is passed on through a food chain.
Because phytoplankton photosynthesize, they also play an important role in regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere while providing oxygen for us to breathe. Scientists believe that the oceans currently absorb between 30%-50% of the carbon dioxide that enters into our atmosphere.
Did you know: It is estimated that marine plants, including phytoplankton, are responsible for 70-80% of the oxygen we have in our atmosphere. Land plants are only responsible for 20-30%.
Question: Since phytoplankton rely on sun and nutrients for their energy, where would you expect to find them in greater concentrations, near the coast or far out at sea?
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The horse-shoe shaped Trenta Valley was first mentioned in a note in the 14th century. It was mined for Iron Ore for over 200 years until the mine closed in 1778. Rising costs for digging, transport and competition bought about the halt in production, with the nearby forge closing a year later. The Trenta Valley also gives birth to Slovenia's most beautiful river; the emerald green Soča.
The valley itself is home to just three settlements, the villages of Soča (named after the river), Lepena (also named after a river flowing through the valley) and Trenta (which gave its name to the entire valley). A 20 km trail takes you from the Soča's source, along the valley to the border of the National Park and then on to Bovec.
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Children with an autism spectrum disorder may be at greater risk for contemplating suicide or attempting suicide than children without autism, according to researchers.
Children as young as 3 years old know when they are not sure about a decision, and can use that uncertainty to guide decision making, according to new research.
UK children are being exposed to millions of tobacco images/messages every week on prime time television, indicates new research.
Children who avoid situations they find scary are likely to have anxiety a study of more than 800 children ages 7 to 18 found.
Psychologists demonstrate the impact sensitive parenting has on language growth for children who receive cochlear implants.
What happens when human brain cells that surround and support neurons are implanted into the brains of newborn mice? Researchers recently found that such mice had enhanced learning and memory when compared with normal mice that hadn't received the transplanted human cells. The findings indicate that these supportive cells, called glia, play an important role in human cognition.
A new study explains how young brains are protected when nutrition is poor. The findings reveal a coping strategy for producing a fully functional, if smaller, brain. The discovery, which was made in larval flies, shows the brain as an incredibly adaptable organ and may have implications for understanding the developing human brain as well, the researchers say.
Exercise may play a key role in helping children cope with stressful situations, according to a recent study.
The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.
In the din of a crowded room, paying attention to just one speaker's voice can be challenging. Research demonstrates how the brain homes in on one speaker to solve this "Cocktail Party Problem." Researchers discovered that brain waves are shaped so the brain can selectively track the sound patterns from the speaker of interest while excluding competing sounds from other speakers. The findings could have important implications for helping individuals with a range of deficits.
Psychologists have found that children and adolescents with major depression or subthreshold forms of bipolar disorder - and who had at least one first-degree relative with bipolar disorder - responded better to a 12-session family-focused treatment than to a briefer educational treatment.
Recent research into how we learn is set to help people in their efforts to read a second or foreign language (SFL) more effectively. This will be good news for those struggling to develop linguistic skills in preparation for a move abroad, or to help in understanding foreign language forms, reports, contracts and instructions.
Researchers have, for the first time, identified a specific group of cells in the brainstem whose activation during rapid eye movement sleep is critical for the regulation of emotional memory processing.
It is possible to tell who a person is thinking about by analyzing images of his or her brain. Our mental models of people produce unique patterns of brain activation, which can be detected using advanced imaging techniques according to a new study.
Adults whose parents were divorced are more likely to switch religions or disassociate themselves from institutional religions altogether -- but growing up in a single-parent family does not have any effect on private religious life, including praying, according to a new study.
Women who receive strong social support from their families during pregnancy appear to be protected from sharp increases in a particular stress hormone, making them less likely to develop postpartum depression, according to a new study.
The mammalian placenta is more than just a filter through which nutrition and oxygen are passed from a mother to her unborn child. According to a new study, if a mother is exposed to stress during pregnancy, her placenta translates that experience to her fetus by altering levels of a protein that affects the developing brains of male and female offspring differently.
A new mother may constantly worry and check to see if her baby is breathing. Or she may obsess about germs. A new study found postpartum moms have a much higher rate of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population. This is the first large-scale study of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in new moms. The symptoms could result from hormonal changes or be adaptive, but may indicate a psychological disorder if they interfere with a mother's functioning.
Study could reveals key predictors of speech gains. New findings reveal that 70 percent of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who have a history of severe language delay, achieved phrase or fluent speech by age eight.
The first large, population-based study to follow children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder into adulthood shows that ADHD often doesn’t go away and that children with ADHD are more likely to have other psychiatric disorders as adults. They also appear more likely to commit suicide and to be incarcerated as adults.
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(With reference to a wound) heal by scar formation: [with object]: it was used to cicatrize certain types of wounds [no object]: his wound had cicatrized
More example sentences
- This oil appears to be one of the most effective, naturally occurring, cicatrizing agents.
- Oil of Tamanu appears to be one of the most effective known cicatrizing agents in nature.
- In the middle ages, pastel leaves were applied in poultice for their cicatrising virtues.
late Middle English: from Old French cicatriser, from cicatrice 'scar' (see cicatrix).
Definition of cicatrize in:
- The British & World English dictionary
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