Journal
8:45am on Wednesday

I awoke to a changed sea this morning!

Waves off the aft-portion of the starboard side. R/V Sikuliaq. September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
Waves off the aft-portion of the starboard side. R/V Sikuliaq. September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
I could feel the ship rolling and pitching a little more than it had been the past few days but it was hearing Dr. Mike Lowe say, "I'm hunting for more strapping" that caught my attention! When a storm event is headed your way it's time to add strapping and tie down anything and everything that might get damaged, or might do damage during rough seas! And the right time to tie things down is before the ship really starts to rock and roll!

Mid-Water Trawl Net.
Mid-Water Trawl net strapped down to the deck during rough seas. Onboard the R/V Sikuliaq. September 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

The R/V Sikuliaq is in Marine Zone 240 on the chart for Marine weather forecast! September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
The R/V Sikuliaq is in Marine Zone 240 on the chart for Marine weather forecast! September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
NOAA Wave Watch III Significant Wave Height. How high will our waves be? September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff
NOAA Wave Watch III Significant Wave Height. How high will our waves be? September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff
NOAA Watches, Warnings and Advisories! September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff
NOAA Watches, Warnings and Advisories! September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff

Compare and Contrast!

While we're up here preparing for heavy weather, I know that friends and family in Florida are preparing for a possible direct hit from Irma, a Category 5 Hurricane. Compare and contrast our weather data with Hurricane Irma data.
Notice any similarities? Any differences? Let me know in the "Ask the Team" area of the journal!

Hurricane Irma. Satellite view of the Eastern United States. September 6, 2017.
Hurricane Irma. Satellite view of the Eastern United States. September 6, 2017. Screen shot by Lisa Seff from the website:https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2017/hurricane-irma?map=sat

Screen shot of Hurricane Irma data from www.wunderground.com website. Screenshot September 6, 2017 by Lisa Seff.
Screen shot of Hurricane Irma data from www.wunderground.com website. Screenshot September 6, 2017 by Lisa Seff.

R/V Sikuliaq Underway Data Display of the barometric air pressure. September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
R/V Sikuliaq Underway Data Display of the barometric air pressure. September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
R/V Sikuliaq Underway Data Display of wind speed and temperature. September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
R/V Sikuliaq Underway Data Display of wind speed and temperature. September 6, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

Other questions for you!

What makes a storm earn the classification of a hurricane? Can a hurricane occur in the Arctic? Why or why not? Do a little research and let me know what you figure out!

Links!

NOAA Marine Forecast: Go to the following link, click on the Alaska Marine Zone #240 and you'll be taken to our forecast area http://www.weather.gov/afc/marine

NOAA Wave Watch III Significant Wave Height: Have fun playing around with this site too! http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/viewer.shtml?-multi_1- latest-alaska-hs

Wunderground Hurricane & Tropical Cyclone Information:https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane

Details
Author
Lisa Seff
Date
Location
Beaufort Sea
Expedition
Upwelling and Ecology in the Beaufort Sea
Weather Summary
Overcast, windy and cold! Brrrr!
Temperature
37.9 degrees Fahrenheit
Wind Speed
26 knots
Wind Chill
26 degrees Fahrenheit

View Comments

Comments

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 16:39

Nichole L

Has there ever been a time where you or someone else were late to strapping everything down and something blew away or fell off?

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 19:08

Jaye D.

What would happen if the weather conditions became too dangerous and forced the ship to return to land? Where would the research team go?

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:25

Lisa Seff

Hi NIchole! Fortunately not! The crew and science team were constantly keeping an eye on the weather, it would be too dangerous to ignore it as that's when you'd get into trouble! So things were always tied down early. However as we were not tied down, there were occasions when you were sent sliding across the floor in your chair! Fortunately we all tied our laptops down too, so they stayed safely on the tables.(:
take care and see you on Monday!
Lisa

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:26

Lisa Seff

Hi Jaye-hmmm, that would be some storm and if it was a really bad storm it might actually be safer for the ship to stay offshore. Many of the harbors and docks are open to the sea, so it's better for a ship to stay in deep water.take care and see you on Monday!
Lisa

Thu, 09/07/2017 - 20:18

Tim Buckley

Are you able to add a visual indicator of the location of the R/V Sikuliaq on a map? I participated in this program sometime ago when it was called TEA. I appreciate the time and energy you put into providing information and photos about your research and daily endeavors.

Fri, 09/08/2017 - 13:13

Lisa Seff

Hi and thank you for joining us! I've heard the TEA program mentioned quite a bit over the years-so you're one of the pioneers!(:
As far as the ships position- If you look back at the weather updates #1 and #2, there's a diagram and we're in location 240.
However here's something much better! This link will take you to the "live" tracking map for the ship we're on:
https://www.sikuliaq.alaska.edu/track/
Glad you've joined us on our expedition!
take care and safe seas,
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/7/2017 8:18 PM
Subject: Re: Tim Buckley commented on 6 September 2017 The Beaufort Sea Weather Update #2!