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June 16, 2003 On your boat tour when my class had a field trip to WHOI, I was fascinated by the bridge. I was wondering who steers the boat, and how do you learn to manage the gadgets, or do they work alone without a person's help? And how does such a big boat move with such a small joystick? Rebecca Hi Rebecca, Those are great questions, and you are surely right, it is quite a fascinating bridge. In fact, it's a bit overwhelming when you first see it. As you know, there is no traditional "ship's wheel" like most vessels, only joysticks. Six years ago, when we first took the brand-new Atlantis out of the shipyard in Mississippi, it was a learning experience for all of us. But with careful training and a lot of practice we gained the experience and the confidence of steering with all the gadgets that we have on the bridge. Besides myself, it's the Mates and the Able Seamen who generally do all the driving. Actually, the only time I get to drive is when we come into port and I dock the ship. Much of the time when we're out at sea the ship steers by itself by the Autopilot, or we can hold our position with the Dynamic Positioning System. But there always has to be a human being watching it, to make sure it is working correctly. After all, computers aren't always perfect. Thanks for participating. What is the manganese crust that you describe covering the fossil corals? Tara Hi Tara, Mn (Manganese) and Fe (Iron) are dissolved in ocean water but readily precipitate out of the water onto solid surfaces, like corals and rocks. At first, a thin layer of Mn-Fe oxide forms, covering any exposed surface, but this thickens at a rate of one centimeter every two million years. Thicker Mn crusts mean that the coral (or rock) is older, while thinner crusts mean the rock is younger. Take care,
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