Flags and Cups, Oh My!

    Jillian Worssam
    Thank you PolarTREC and NSF for such an amazing scientific expedition. Life time memories!

    The science of the cruise might be over, but science is everything and all the time! Today was styrofoam cup day! Yahoo. I thought for sure we wouldn't get to the cups. The dredge was the only science traveling to the ocean floor, but due to the design of the dredge, there was no way we could safely attach a bag of styrofoam cups.

    But today, thanks to the support of the MT department, and the consent of the bridge, we attached the cups to about 300 lbs (136 kg) and a winch, sending the artistically drawn styrofoam drinking instruments down 800 meters.

    Hydrostatic plastic deformation
    Thanks to the flexibility of the bridge and the MT department, styrofoam cups made it down 800 meters.

    Okay all you math people. I have two questions. If we sent the cups down to 800m at 40m a minute, how long did it take the cups to get to 800 meters and... drum roll please. What was the pressure exerted on the cups at 800 meters?

    I have amazing penguin magnets for students who attempt this mathematical problem and give me answers with correct LABELS and the complete formulas. Thanks for trying.

    Oh, one more question. Why did the cups not come back to the surface in a uniform size? Each cup was in the same bag and went to the same depth, hence shouldn't they be uniform in shrinkage?

    Shrunken styrofoam cups
    Why would one cup shrink at a different rate than others when all were exposed to the same levels of pressure?

    Over six and a half months ago I started sending out expedition flags across America and the world. This part of the outreach for me has been a labor of love, friendship, and the power of social media. My friends were absolutely amazing in their assistance in covering the United States, and today was the first day we flew the flags. Everyone pitched in tying the flags together and since we wanted to take them outside, every flag needed to be attached securely to its partner flag, no flags overboard.

    Expedition flags from across America and the world
    Expedition flags from across America and the world. Thank you to Julie Zurbuchen for your assistance in flying our flags.

    Expedition flags on board the Palmer
    Just aft of the bridge the flag project flies!

    Our first plan was to drape the flags from the bridge to the bow, but with 15 knot winds it was deemed a bit dangerous and foolhardy by the captain. Our secondary plan was off the back of the bridge.

    How many flags do you see?
    Julie Zurbuchen and Joel Lunsford, amazing support as we brought the flags up to the bridge, de-tangled and then let fly!

    What a sight indeed, over 150 flags, flown in the southern ocean, representing the time, energy and dedication of so many, THANK YOU.

    Expedition flags
    From the ice tower above the bridge we start to get a glimpse of the expedition flags traveling with us through the Southern Ocean.

    Comments

    Jose Flores

    Hey Ms. Worssam its José and I was wondering how you took all of those flags in the plane to Antarctica?

    Jillian Worssam

    Hello Jose, Great to hear from you. All the flags were nicely rolled together in three bundles. Now they are all wild and loose and I need
    to figure out how to get them back to Flagstaff. I do think they are
    pretty spectacular and beautiful. Thanks for reading. See you in a
    week. Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-19 18:55, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    eli barreras

    Hi Ms. Worrsam im glad to see the spongebob cup is still somwhat alive. I think i know the answer to the second question. The reason that some cups shrunk at a faster rate is less coloring on the cup, im not sure why but the cups with more coloring shrunk slower.

    Keke Chambers

    Hello Mrs. Worssam, I was just wondering on the first picture of this journal what does the "NSF" stand for ? And is that located on the boat ?

    Kevin-Vargas-Cabrera

    Dear Ms.Worssam i am verry excited fo you to grt back from your trip. I am also wondering what you have found out this trip you have gone on. I will also answer the question i think that the cups change size because of the pressure and one shrinks more because it has less colored than all the otgher cups so that is why they change size.

    Jacob Carpenter

    Hi, Ms. Worssam.
    I have the answer to your question, the cups will shrink at different rates by going at different speeds. How many flags did you take to Antartica?
    There is my last Blog,
    Jacob

    Tanner Wuollet

    Hi,I am glad to see that you had a great time. I was just wondering about how those cups all shrank in different ways. I wonder if it is how the cups were made and if every cup was made a tiny bit different. That is it and have a good ride home.

    Zac Lopez

    Hey Mrs. Worssam I was windering why the cups did not shrink tio the same size if the all went to the ame depth in the water? How long were all of the flaags when they were tied together?

    Zac Lopez

    Hey Mrs. Worssam I was windering why the cups did not shrink tio the same size if the all went to the ame depth in the water? How long were all of the flaags when they were tied together?

    Carlos Benford

    When you sent the cups under the ocean how deep was it and how much pressure was there also the cups look just more damp and not completely crushed like i thought, why?

    isaac chavez

    its isaac,i got two more questions for my final blog of your trip. how long did it take to tie all of the flags together?and did you send all the cups down to the same depth or did each one go down at different depths? cant wait to see you when you get back. i got a lot more questions to ask

    Laura Holt

    Hi Mrs. Worssam! It's sounds like you've had lots of fun and happy memories to tell us when you get back. By the way can't wait to see you in our classroom again. Those cups you brought there are tiny now, but make sure you to bring them back to SMS. My final questions are: Was the crew happy with all the flags you had? Also, why do you think the cups aren't all the same size even when the cups went down at the same measurement and depth?

    Kelly B.

    Hey Ms. Worssam! I'm so happy you're coming back to us and that you had a great time on this trip. My question is to know how much pressure was used to crush the cups? Did the temperature have affect along with the pressure? Can't wait to see you soon!

    Ken Lawver

    Thankyou for the great blog.My brother Larry Lawver told me about it.I will miss reading it every day.Ken

    Fransisco Vargas

    Hey Ms. Worrsom i was wondering how did all the cups get like that? and how many cups did you have?

    Trudy

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    Douglas White

    Hello Mrs. Worssam what did you do to the cups so that they would turn out like that.

    Sergio Pacheco

    was the research hard?

    Yamile Lujan

    Hello Ms.Worssam i was wondering how you like your penguin barbequed or baked? Mr.Rhode want to know and i do also.

    Faith Rodriguez

    Hey Mrs.Worssam it is Faith and I was wondering how many feet did the flags take up when you extended them?

    Mackenzie Piatt

    I think it came up in a uniform size because the pressure was so great the cups couldnt take it, and ended up deforming.

    Anna Peterson

    Hello Ms. Worssam.I hope your having a great trip and we can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. I was wondering could it be possible that the cups shrunk differently to the amount of drawing on them? Did the amount of ink on the cups have anything to do with the amount of change? Can't wait to see you back!

    Jasmine Martinez

    Ms. Worssam, I believe that the cups came up deformed because they can't stad the pressure of being under the weight of the water. Also, did you lose any of the cups in the water?
    Jasmine Martinez

    lynn selby

    hey, Mrs. Worssam were so glad and excited to see you i'm exceptionally excited to hear your sarcastic puns and awesome jokes.Also are you glad to come back or do you want to study in the Antarctic forever?

    lynn selby

    hey, Mrs. Worssam were so glad and excited to see you i'm exceptionally excited to hear your sarcastic puns and awesome jokes.Also are you glad to come back or do you want to study in the Antarctic forever?

    Ragan Horn

    Dear Ms. Worssam,
    When hanging all the flags were you more scared you were going to lose them all or you were not going to be able to hand them all? And did any of the crew members enjoy looking at all the amazing art in all the flags?

    Ragan Horn

    Dear Ms. Worssam,
    When hanging all the flags were you more scared you were going to lose them all or you were not going to be able to hand them all? And did any of the crew members enjoy looking at all the amazing art in all the flags?

    Madi Peters

    Hey Ms. Worssam! The flags look awesome. About how many feet did all the flags lined up take? And the answer to your third question depends on if you were moving. The same force in different areas causes different pressure which caused the cups to shrink. The answer to the second question would be with the formula 800/40 which would give you the answer of 200. The cups would take 20 minutes.

    Ashlyn Hernandez

    Hello Ms. Worssam, I am happy to see you are enjoying your last few days on the ship! and those flags are lookin' great i had no idea that there was that many. I thought there was only like a 20-40, but in that picture there is 150! I can not wait till you get back so you can tell us every detail not in the journals about your wonderful adventure. I hope you have a blast on the rest of your trip and I will see you 3rd hour when you come back!

    Elise Hansen

    Hello, Ms. Worssam!I think I have an idea with the cup question; why they didn't all collapse in the same way. I have several hypotheses. First, all of the cups cannot be made exactly the same. Some might be filled with more air pockets, others with less, etc. Also, we all decorated our cups differently. I believe it is possible that the ink may have affected how the cups differentiated.
    That is a lot of flags! You said you got flags from the united states and the world; where in the world did you get a flag from?

    Have fun!

    ~Elise Hansen

    Carmen Phillips

    Dear Ms. Worssam,
    The flags and cups look great. I wondering how long it took to put up all of them?

    Zoe Bartlett

    Hello Mrs. Worssam! I'm so glad you were able to do your experiment. The answer to your third question: no. because the way it was placed in the bag or the where it was as to closer to another bag or not? have a great day! oh yeah it took 20 minutes to get 800m!

    Shandiin Vandervere

    Ms. Worssam,I am so excited to see my flag and cup among all others being used aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer. In answer to your math question, it would take 20 minutes to get the cups down to 800 meters below the surface. The average amount of pressure for each cubic square of water is 62.4 pounds. By multiplying this amount by 1600 feet (about 2 feet in a meter), he amount of pressure exerted on the cups at 800 meters is 99840. I have no idea if this is right, so let's call it an educated guess. We can't wait to see you again, Ms. Worssam. Hope you had a wonderful time!

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Ken, glad you have been following our trials and tribulations. We have gotten some great data under some horrendous conditions. Will be in
    port tomorrow I hope. Thanks for keeping up, cheers, Larry

    On 2014-10-20 08:09, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Keke, The NSF stands for National Science Foundation, they contract with the vessel to run all the science research cruises. Thanks for
    writing. Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 07:57, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    You know Zac, I took pictures of all the flags together but forgot to measure the full distance. I will have to check. Thanks for asking.
    Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 07:59, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Jacob, Thanks for writing your last blog response. The cups all descended to 800 meters at the same rate, uhm, what do you think now?
    Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 07:58, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Tanner, great response on the cups, you are close to the correct answer and for sure the manufacturing of the cups is part of the answer.
    Keep trying. Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 07:59, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hey Kelly, You are asking me the question I asked you to solve. Silly, see if you can do the math, we talked about atmospheric pressure
    before I left. Thanks for reading. Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 08:01, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Eli, Great guess on color being a variable to effect the rate of shrinkage on the cups, but sadly it is not quite correct. Keep trying.
    MS. Worssam Oh and Spongebob looks great.

    On 2014-10-20 07:57, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Isaac, Great question. I had a lot of help tying the flags and with five people it took only about a half an hour. Each cup went to the
    same depth in the same bag. See you in a week and thanks for writing.
    Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 08:00, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Kevin, Thanks for writing. I have learned so much, and guess what, you will be learning it as well, Yahoo. Great answer on the cups but
    not quite right. Keep trying. Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 07:57, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Laura, Silly question, I know why the cups are all different sizes, but I do not want to tell. See if you can problem solve to figure it
    out. And I hope everyone was ok with the flags. See you in a week.
    Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 08:01, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hi Yami, You and Mr. Rhode are too funny. I have heard the penguin tastes fishy and is very oily. I will stick with a chorizo burrito...
    Thanks for writing. Ms. Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 09:05, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Jillian Worssam

    Hey Francisco, Please read the blog and it will tell you what we did with the cups. Then you can tell me why they ended up like that. Ms.
    Worssam

    On 2014-10-20 09:02, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

    Tyler Tapia

    Hey Mrs. Worssam I was wondering why the cups did not shrink to the same size if the all went to the same depth in the water? How long were all of the flags when they were tied together?

    colton dana

    how did the cee flor maping go did you do everything you needed to do