Journal

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

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:40

Andrew Reyes

HI Ms. Worssam, what were the cups used for and what reason did you send them down there for? hope you had a great time there and cant wait for you to be back in the classroom see you soon..one more thing..how long did it take you to put the flags up on the bow of the ship?

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:41

aliscia edd

hey Mrs. Worssam i was wondering how long exactly were the flags that were attached to the string thanks ! hope you have a wonderful time on the rest of your trip

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:41

Dorthy Romero

Hello there Ms.Worrsom how have you been? Well i have a question about the cups, why did you throw them down in the ocean? why did they come back the way they did?

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:41

aliscia edd

hey Mrs. Worssam i was wondering how long exactly were the flags that were attached to the string thanks ! hope you have a wonderful time on the rest of your trip

Fri, 10/31/2014 - 11:55

Lisa Seff

Hi Jillian! So wonderful to see all of those flags on the deck of the ship! How awesome to have all of those students following you and learning about the amazing research your team works on. Thank you so much for taking all of our students along with you! -Lisap.s. hey did I win the car yet???
(:

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:41

aliscia edd

hey Mrs. Worssam i was wondering how long exactly were the flags that were attached to the string thanks ! hope you have a wonderful time on the rest of your trip

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:41

Cortland Adair

Hi Ms. Worssam that is alot of flags. How long did it take to put them up? Cant wait till you come back. When exactly are you coming back? Is it Monday? Cant wait till you come back bye.

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:42

Serenity Rodriguez

Hello Miss Worssam,I was wondering what you where doing with the cups and why you had put them in the water for? Is it supost to be like a symbol of something? I was also wondering how that floor maping went? Did you guys compete what you needed to? Thanks and please answer as many of my question as you can! See you soon!! :3

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:42

Sean Girvin

Hiya Ms.Worssam! I do believe i have found the answer to the question. The cups traveled for 20 minutes and i believe the pressure exerted was 500 lbs at 800 meters. I believe the reason why the cups were not uniform is because the bags began to shrink and when they reached the normal level they expanded and the cups did not.

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:43

Tristan Johnson

Hello Ms. WorssamI was wondering did you find our 7th hours class flag if so can you please message me?

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:43

Matthew Glaze

Hello Ms. Worssam. As I have been reading your blog, the trip is ending, and the crew got to use the styrofoam cups, but it wasn't safely attached. Also the crew pitched in to sending out the flags, and had a plan, but it seemed dangerous. In the 6th photo, those two have a lot of flags around them! I've also noticed that in the last photo a object is helping them expand the flags out. Now I have a question, what did you do with the styrofoam cups? Also what does NSF and MT stand for?Thanks,
Matthew

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 11:43

Richella Johnson

Hello Ms. Worssam, its great that you had a good time and your coming back next week. i have a couple of questions for you, Did any of the flags become loose? Did any of the flags fly away? Hope to see you soon.

Mon, 11/03/2014 - 08:30

Jeffrey MIlnes

Hi Jillian the answer to the how long the cups will take to get to 800m. it would take 20 minutes for the cups to get to 800m. The pressure exerted on the cups at 800m would be 79.5 atmosphere. How I got that is that I divided 33 into 2624.67 to get the answer. I think the reason the cup shrank differently is that maybe each styrofoam could have different chemicals in it. Another answer is that maybe the crayons and markers they use have didderent chemicals on it and that made some of the cups shrink slower then other cups.

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Hi Carmen, We spent about two hours putting all the flags together, getting permission from the bridge and then stringing them out and
taking pictures. It was wonderfully fun. Thanks for writing.

Ms. Worssam

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

Mon, 11/03/2014 - 08:30

Jeffrey MIlnes

Hi Jillian the answer to the how long the cups will take to get to 800m. it would take 20 minutes for the cups to get to 800m. The pressure exerted on the cups at 800m would be 79.5 atmosphere. How I got that is that I divided 33 into 2624.67 to get the answer. I think the reason the cup shrank differently is that maybe each styrofoam could have different chemicals in it. Another answer is that maybe the crayons and markers they use have didderent chemicals on it and that made some of the cups shrink slower then other cups.

Mon, 11/03/2014 - 08:30

Jeffrey MIlnes

Hi Jillian the answer to the how long the cups will take to get to 800m. it would take 20 minutes for the cups to get to 800m. The pressure exerted on the cups at 800m would be 79.5 atmosphere. How I got that is that I divided 33 into 2624.67 to get the answer. I think the reason the cup shrank differently is that maybe each styrofoam could have different chemicals in it. Another answer is that maybe the crayons and markers they use have didderent chemicals on it and that made some of the cups shrink slower then other cups.

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Hi Jasmine, Thanks for writing. I am happy to say that we did notloose any of the cups, that would have been terrible and nasty
pollution. You are right the cups did change due to the change in
pressure, but why? Any ideas? Ms. Worssam

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

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Hi Ana, Great idea as the ink was a variable in each cup, but I do not believe there was enough to make a difference. Any other ideas? Ms.
Worssam

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

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Hi Madi, great math but what about labels? And moving?????? The ship was stationary as we lowered the cups. Thanks for writing. Ms.
Worssam

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

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Ragan, Yes I was very nervous about flags going overboard. But everyone made very strong knots and we were not outside too long. I
think everyone enjoyed the flags, it was a great project and a fun way
to get people engaged in our research. And double yes, the art is
amazing. Thanks for writing. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 10:04, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Lynn, Sarcasm and humor are ways I use to engage you in learning, is it working? I am excited to come back and get into our teaching and
learning partnership. There is so much for me to share. It is hard and
say if I would work down here forever. I love this component of science
also want to be able to share my passion for life and living science to
all of you. If I came dome here to work who would I tell sarcastic
jokes to? See you in a week. Ms. Worssam

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

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 12:33

Jillian Worssam

Hi Elise, Thanks for writing. Each guess on the cups are indeed different variables. Can you think of any others? The countries our
flags came from were Russia, England and two different schools in
Australia. Pretty cool. Ms. Worssam

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

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 13:40

Mindy

Your journals have been super fun! Thank you for being such a great science communicator, and for making the extra efforts to have the flags and cups!

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 15:42

Ashley Landis

Hi Ms. Worssam! I was wondering, did you ever get the chance to weigh the flags all together? If so, how much did they weigh?Also, were there any states that DIDN'T send you flags? You are so popular!Can't weight to see you! (Punny, right?)
Ashley Landis

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 17:32

Susan Steiner

what a project to get all the flags untangled, tied together, and flying...tremendous!!

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 17:43

Kaitlyn Snopek

Hello Ms. Worssam,It is so cool that you flew all of those flags out there, what a beautiful sight! How long did it take to fly all of those flags? Also, did you ever get the chance to weigh all of those cups and flags together? We cant wait to see you!
Kaitlyn Snopek

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 18:35

Jillian Worssam

Hello Matthew, So glad you wrote. It helps a lot to read the whole blog and not just look at the pictures. Everyone was fine with the
flags, it might have looked a bit tricky as it was pretty windy. I am
not sure what object you are referring to for expanding the flags? The
only devices we used were people power. Please read the question about
the cups and feel free to try the mathematical challenge. NSF stands
for national Science Foundation. and the "MTs" on the vessel are Marine
Technicians. Thanks fore writing. I will be giving lots more details
when I get back. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:43, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 18:35

Jillian Worssam

Hi Ashley, You are too funny. I can't "weight" to see you all either. I did not weigh all the flags, but we can do that when I get back. We
now have to mail all the flags back to their individual states. There
were four states that did not get flags in, but I can't remember the
names right now. We will go through all the details when I get back.
Thanks for writing. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 16:42, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 05:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Richella, Thanks for writing. We were very lucky and none of the flags were lost. It was pretty windy so we were lucky. Thanks. Ms.
Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:43, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 05:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Sean, Thanks for the message. I love that you are attempting the problem, so what was the equation that you used, and do you have any
more labels? An interesting supposition on the cups not being uniform,
but why is one cup so much smaller than another? Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:42, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 05:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Serenity, Thanks for writing. In case you forgot, we talked about pressure and atmospheric pressure before I left. The cups were sent
down to 800 meters to show the effects of changes in pressure. GO ahead
and re-read the blog and see if that helps a bit. We will also talk
more about the experiment when I get back. The ocean floor mapping went
well and the scientists now have more information about the sections
that we covered. I will be returning with some of the evidence in data
form, it is fascinating. Wait till you see it. Thanks for writing.
Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:42, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 06:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Tristan, Yes I have the flag, where it is on the whole flag line, I am not sure. I will be bringing it back when I return. Thanks for
writing. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:43, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 06:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Tyler, Thanks for looking at the blog. If you go back and read the blog you will see that I ask the exact same question. Why did the cups
come back as different sizes? Let me know what you think? Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:37, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 06:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Dorthy, We sent the cups down 800 meters in a net bag to see how they would react to changes in pressure. Please read the blog and there
isa math challenge you can try. See if you can tell me why they are
not the same as when they wen town. thanks. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:41, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 06:37

Jillian Worssam

Hi Andrew, I am not sure you remember but we talked about atmospheric pressure before I left and we sent the cups down to see how they would
change due to changes in pressure. See you in a week. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-20 12:40, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 16:31

Briana Bahe

Dear Ms. Worssam, I cant wait for you to be back Monday!!!! For my last Question to you is what made the cups shrink to those weird formations? What do you think.

Tue, 10/21/2014 - 19:39

Jillian Worssam

Hi Briana, Great to hear from you. Great question on the cups. it is all about pressure and the pressure exhorted on the cups was different
than what we experience at sea level and where we live at 7000 feet
above sea level. We talked about this a bit before I left, and will
spend some more time when I get back. It is pretty cool. And the weird
formations, well what do you think? Thanks for writing. Ms. Worssam

On 2014-10-21 17:31, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote: