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August 30, 2001 Hello, We are fourth grade students in Mrs. Sandez’ class at North Ridge Magnet School in Moreno Valley, California. We are following your expedition everyday. We have a question for you. How big are the green sea turtles? They look big in the picture, but we can’t really tell how big they are. Also, are they camouflage green or darker green? Do they look the same in water as out of water? Thanks for your answers and good luck on your expedition. Hi Lori and Anthony: Thanks for your question and we’re glad to have you on board Dive and Discover exploring the Galápagos with us. I’ve asked Rhian Waller, a marine biology graduate student at Southampton Oceanography Center in England who is on board to answer your question about the sea turtles we saw. An adult Pacific Green Sea Turtle can be massive and weigh around 150kg, though the females have larger shells than the males, to give them more room to grow eggs. The color of the marine turtle camouflages it from predators underwater, so it’s mainly a dark green color with different spots of different greens, all in random patterns. This makes them quite difficult to see and as we found out when snorkeling, they disapear into the hazy ocean very quickly! Out of water they look pretty much the same, though you’ll rarely see them out of the sea. Even though they breath air, they only come out for a short time to lay eggs on sandy beaches, then quickly scurry back into the water. This is because they are very slow on land and so are at a much greater risk of being eaten. The Pacific Green Turtle is the only marine turtle to lay their eggs on the Galápagos Islands. These turtles tend to go on long jouneys, some of the same individuals have been seen as far away as Costa Rica, so we were very lucky to see the ones we did. Thanks for your great question and keep Diving and Discovering with us. Best Regards,
The following questions are from Mrs. Crosby’s 8th grade class in Tucson, Arizona. Hi from the deserts of Tucson, Arizona. My 8th grade class of 158 students is following your expedition and they, too, are really enjoying the daily journals and slide shows. One thing they noticed is that you seem to say, “tonight we are going to...” Is there some reason that these events need to happen at night? Thanks for solving this mystery for us. There’s no real difference between sampling during the day and sampling at night for us as the sea floor below 400m is always in darkness. So if we say “tonight we're going to...” it’s only because it just so happens to be when we’re working in the area. Because the cost of operating a research ship is so great, about $20,000 per day, we always work around the clock to get the most research done. That is why we use ‘watch’ shifts of 4 hours on and 8 hours off-watch. Our class looked at the schematic of the ship and saw all the compartments. It got me to wondering if you have the water to take regular showers or do you have to take “Navy” showers? Can you jump overboard and go swimming or is the ship always moving? The ship makes it’s own freshwater by boiling sea water in a vacuum and catching the steam as it cools, forming condensation that is drinkable. We all can take regular showers, though 30 minutes steam showers are discouraged so that there’s enough water for everybody. I’m afraid we don't get to swim overboard, not even when it’s really hot! That’s because there is always something going on that might make it dangerous to go in, such as equipment in the water, just the fact that we’re moving, or also the abundant sea life in the area which includes sharks. Our computer technician at school told us that computers work best when it is about 68 degrees in the room. Do you keep your lab that cold? Also, how warm are the sleeping quarters? We do try to keep the labs at around 68 degrees, though because of all the equipment running, the air can often be a lot warmer. The sleeping quarters each have thermostats, so we can control the temperatures in our rooms so it is comfortable. The engineering department works hard to keep everyone comfortable on the ship and with all the comforts of home. Do most the scientists enjoy being on the boat 24/7? What are the best and worst parts of this trip? Going out to sea is definitely an exciting part of studying submarine volcanoes. The best part is seeing for the first time areas of the ocean floor no one else has seen before. When we are away though, we miss our family and friends. During your expedition, besides finding your objective, do you ever find new species of plants or animals? While the main focus of this expedition is geology, we do have several biologists on board. There is always the possibility we might find a new marine animal, it would be so exciting if we did! As the deep-sea is relatively unexplored, a lot of cruises find new species all the time. What is the difference between the sonar you use to map the ocean floor and the sonar used to track fish and other sea life? Essentially they are just the same. The ones used by fishermen to track fish are usually a lot smaller and don't have as wide a swath pattern. Many of the “"fish-finders” also run at a higher frequency than the 11-12 kHz multibeam or MR1 sonar we are using. Is it fun to be doing what you do or does it get very boring? What do you do if you get bored? Is looking at all the data on the computer difficult? Some tasks can be monotonous, like looking at a computer screen for your four hour watch, but you always have to remember that the end result is very exciting. We’re looking at a part of the seafloor that has never been looked at before, so we can discover new things all the time. Interpreting the data is not always easy, that’s why we have so many specialists to look after certain pieces of equipment or do the data processing. Paul Johnson, Jenny Engels, Todd Erickson, and Steve Tottori all look after the MR1 sonar. Uta Peckman and Dan Jacobson are specialized in operating the multibeam sonar. We generally don’t get bored as there is always something to do, questions to ask about the geology of the Galápagos, or interesting sea life to see in the ocean that surrounds us. What is the highest sea state that the Revelle can withstand? Do you ever worry about a storm blowing in? If the Revelle rolls over, is she the type of ship that can right herself? The highest sea state the Revelle has withstood so far has included 70ft seas in Antarctica (that’s higher than the bridge!) and 60 degrees of roll. We never really worry when a storm draws near. The stability of the ship is affected by where the weight is distributed, the lower down the weight is kept, the greater the stability. If the Revelle ever rolled right over she probably would not right herself. The chances of this ever happening are very, very small.
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