Journals 2007/2008

Kimberly Pratt
Alvarado Elementary School, Union City, California

"Atlantic Northeast Shelf Ecosystem Monitoring Project NOAA, R/V Delaware II" August 15 - 29, 2007

Journal Index: August 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22            23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 Podcasts Additional Resources

August 17, 2007
Comb Jelly Bonanza

Latitude: 38° 21.69' N
Longitude: 74° 31.05' W
Sea Depth: 110 m
Wind Speed: 23 knots
Location: 60 miles off of the Delaware Coast
Time: 1945 Eastern Daylight Time

Greetings! Awoke this morning for a 0345 cast - very early and raining. We saw some lightning off in the distance and proceeded with our bongo tow. In the Bongo Tow we found over 1 liter of ctenophores - (pronounced teen-o-fores). Ctenophores are commonly known as comb jellies and measure 2-3 cm across. They are clear in color with lines - like combs running through them. We rinsed them out of the net and collected a few for viewing. Today, we collected plankton at three different stations and did a water cast as well. It was relatively quiet, and I got a chance to work on my podcast and interview Chief Scientist - Jerry Prezioso. Jerry, easy going and humorous attended Northeastern University, and while attending, was an intern, studying plankton. His mentor Ken Sherman, fueled Jerry's interest in plankton. He really enjoys his job, especially because of the variability of it. It is never the same. He enjoys new challenges everyday, with one of the major challenges being working with different people all the time. If you are interested in a career in marine science, he suggests getting an internship in the field you would like to study.

Ctenophores. View full version pop-up.		Jerry Prezioso