![mysteries of the deep.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Scientists-Head-To-Sea-3-880x620.jpg)
Unlocking the Ocean’s Black Box With Science
![mysteries of the deep.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Scientists-Head-To-Sea-3-500x500.jpg)
Part 1: To Unravel Some Of The Ocean's Mysteries, Scientists Head To Sea
![At least twice a year, scientists board the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel, to study the Northern California Current ecosystem](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1-featured-500x500.jpeg)
![Jonathan Witmer, a survey technician with NOAA, readies equipment for the scientists as waves crash against the side of the ship](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.01-500x500.jpeg)
![Crew members on the Bell M. Shimada drop a net into the ocean at night](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.02-500x500.jpeg)
![Talia Davis filters water to collect environmental-DNA, just a portion of the research happening aboard the Bell M. Shimada](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.03-500x500.jpeg)
![Jonathan Witmer, a NOAA survey technician, measure the angle of a net in the water](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.04-500x500.jpeg)
![Calanus marshallae are fatty copepods that many fish like to snack on. They thrive in waters along the Gulf of Alaska to waters off British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.05-500x500.jpeg)
![Bill Peterson's internationally renowned work set standards for long-term oceanographic monitoring.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.06-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientist Laura Lilly gets a net ready to collect samples from the Pacific Ocean](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.07-500x500.jpeg)
![Vince Welton (right) and Colin Schmidt fix a CTD cable after it broke](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.08-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientists collected many zooplankton samples on the Bell M. Shimada survey from May 6-17](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.09-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientist Kris Bauer gets a closer look at the Calanus marshallae copepods a bongo net pulled up off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-1.10-500x500.jpeg)
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(Runtime 4:12)
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![At least twice a year, scientists board the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel, to study the Northern California Current ecosystem.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Scientists-Head-To-Sea-300x225.jpg)
At least twice a year, a team of scientists on NOAA’s research vessel Bell M. Shimada survey waters along the Washington and Oregon coast.
Part 2: Watching For Whales – And Their Food
![On top of the Bell M. Shimada's flybridge, scientist Dawn Barlow searches for any signs of whales](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-2-featured-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientist Rachel Kaplan watches for krill in accoustics frequencies on the Bell M. Shimada](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-2.01-500x500.jpeg)
![Talia Davis (left) and Rachel Kaplan pick through a filter to find krill](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-2.02-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientist Rachel Kaplan collects krill to study later](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-2.03-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientist Clara Bird scans the horizon for any signs of whales](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-2.04-500x500.jpeg)
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(Runtime 4:04)
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![On top of the Bell M. Shimada's flybridge, scientist Dawn Barlow searches for any signs of whales.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Whales-300x225.jpg)
Scientists aboard the Bell M. Shimada keep an eye out for whales. One scientist hopes to help predict where whales will show up by studying the food they eat.
Part 3: Growing Phytoplankton To Learn More About The Ocean's Food Web
![Rebecca Smoak, a graduate researcher at Oregon State University, and Maria Kavanaugh, an assistant professor at OSU, place plastic Nalgene bottles in an incubator to grow phytoplankton on the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-3-featured-500x500.jpeg)
![Aliya Jamil, a graduate researcher at Oregon State University, filters water for a phytoplankton experiment](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-3.01-500x500.jpeg)
![Rebecca Smoak, a graduate research at Oregon State University, sets up a dilution experiment on the Bell M. Shimada, a NOAA research vessel](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-3.02-500x500.jpeg)
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(Runtime 4:14)
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![Rebecca Smoak, a graduate researcher at Oregon State University, and Maria Kavanaugh, an assistant professor at OSU, place plastic Nalgene bottles in an incubator to grow phytoplankton on the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/phytoplankton-300x225.jpg)
Phytoplankton make up an extremely important part of the ocean’s food chain, serving as food for organisms that feed young salmon and other fish in the ocean.
Part 4: This Single-Celled Sea Critter Could Help Scientists Learn About Climate Change
![Jennifer Fehrenbacher looks at planktic forams under a microscope. The research is part of a two-week survey of the Northern California Current ecosystem](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-4-featured-500x500.jpeg)
![Jennifer Fehrenbacher and Brittany Hupp collected planktic forams, which look like popcorn, on the Bell M. Shimada cruise from May 6-17](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-4.01-500x500.jpeg)
![Brittany Hupp looks for planktic forams under a microscope. Scientists collected samples aboard the Bell M. Shimada from May 6-17](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-4.02-500x500.jpeg)
![Jennifer Fehrenbacher picks forams out of water samples they collected by edging the single-celled critter onto a tiny paintbrush](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-4.03-500x500.jpeg)
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(Runtime 4:05)
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![Jennifer Fehrenbacher looks at planktic forams under a microscope. The research is part of a two-week survey of the Northern California Current ecosystem.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/forams-300x225.jpg)
One single-celled oceanic organism could provide big answers to questions about climate change.
Part 5: More Than Work: Living On A Ship, Crew, Officers Become Friends, Family
![The deck crew on NOAA's Bell M. Shimada hauls the CTD machine back on deck after it collected water samples from the ocean](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5-featured-500x500.jpeg)
![Vince Welton woke up in the middle of the night to fix an important piece of equipment that unexpectedly broke](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5.01-500x500.jpeg)
![Scientist Kris Bauer tosses a bean bag during a game of cornhole](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5.02-500x500.jpeg)
![NOAA's Bell M. Shimada, an oceanic research vessel](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5.03-500x500.jpeg)
![Bell M. Shimada, an internationally-known scientist](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5.04-500x500.jpeg)
![Crew members watch as a winch operator pulls a net up from the ocean](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5.05-500x500.jpeg)
![Bell M. Shimada officers (from left) Cmdr. Amanda Goeller; Lt. Cmdr. Justin Ellis; Lt. Justin Boeck; Lt. j.g. Jeff Calderon; Lt. Terril Efird; and Ensign Tyler Hall](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mysteries-of-the-deep-5.06-500x500.jpeg)
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(Runtime 3:59)
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![The deck crew on NOAA's Bell M. Shimada hauls the CTD machine back on deck after it collected water samples from the ocean.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/crew-life-300x225.jpg)
The Bell M. Shimada is designed to gather scientific information. But the collaborative effort of the crew and officers makes scientific endeavors at sea possible.