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Unlocking the Ocean's Black Box With Science

Northwest Public Broadcasting | By Courtney Flatt
Published July 11, 2022 at 12:00 PM EDT
mysteries of the deep.

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
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.
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
Jonathan Witmer, a survey technician with NOAA, readies equipment for the scientists as waves crash against the side of the ship.
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
Crew members on the Bell M. Shimada drop a net into the ocean at night.
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
Talia Davis filters water to collect environmental-DNA, just a portion of the research happening aboard the Bell M. Shimada.
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
Jonathan Witmer, a NOAA survey technician, measure the angle of a net in the water.
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
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. CREDIT: Bill Peterson/ Courtesy Of Kris Bauer
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
Bill Peterson's internationally renowned work set standards for long-term oceanographic monitoring. CREDIT: Jennifer Fisher
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
Scientist Laura Lilly gets a net ready to collect samples from the Pacific Ocean.
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
Vince Welton (right) and Colin Schmidt fix a CTD cable after it broke.
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
Scientists collected many zooplankton samples on the Bell M. Shimada survey from May 6-17.
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
Scientist Kris Bauer gets a closer look at the Calanus marshallae copepods a bongo net pulled up off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington.

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(Runtime 4:12) 

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Part 2: Watching For Whales – And Their Food

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
On top of the Bell M. Shimada's flybridge, scientist Dawn Barlow searches for any signs of whales.
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
Scientist Rachel Kaplan watches for krill in accoustics frequencies on the Bell M. Shimada.
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
Talia Davis (left) and Rachel Kaplan pick through a filter to find krill.
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
Scientist Rachel Kaplan collects krill to study later.
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
Scientist Clara Bird scans the horizon for any signs of whales.

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(Runtime 4:04)

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Part 3: Growing Phytoplankton To Learn More About The Ocean's Food Web

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
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.
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
Aliya Jamil, a graduate researcher at Oregon State University, filters water for a phytoplankton experiment.
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
Rebecca Smoak, a graduate research at Oregon State University, sets up a dilution experiment on the Bell M. Shimada, a NOAA research vessel.

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(Runtime 4:14)

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Part 4: This Single-Celled Sea Critter Could Help Scientists Learn About Climate Change

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
Jennifer Fehrenbacher looks at planktic forams under a microscope. The research is part of a two-week survey of the Northern California Current ecosystem.
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
Jennifer Fehrenbacher and Brittany Hupp collected planktic forams, which look like popcorn, on the Bell M. Shimada cruise from May 6-17. CREDIT: Jennifer Fehrenbacher/ Oregon State University
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
Brittany Hupp looks for planktic forams under a microscope. Scientists collected samples aboard the Bell M. Shimada from May 6-17.
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
Jennifer Fehrenbacher picks forams out of water samples they collected by edging the single-celled critter onto a tiny paintbrush.

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mysteries of the deep 4

(Runtime 4:05)

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Part 5: More Than Work: Living On A Ship, Crew, Officers Become Friends, Family

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
The deck crew on NOAA's Bell M. Shimada hauls the CTD machine back on deck after it collected water samples from the ocean.
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
Vince Welton woke up in the middle of the night to fix an important piece of equipment that unexpectedly broke.
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
Scientist Kris Bauer tosses a bean bag during a game of cornhole.
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
NOAA's Bell M. Shimada, an oceanic research vessel. CREDIT: Stephen De Blois/ NOAA Fisheries West Coast, Flickr
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
Bell M. Shimada, an internationally-known scientist. CREDIT: Carmel Finley And The University Of Washington
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
Crew members watch as a winch operator pulls a net up from the ocean.
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
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.

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mysteries of the deep 5

(Runtime 3:59)

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Local News NOAANational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationenvironmentBell M. Shimadamysteries of the deep