Jillian,I am a student of an online Oceanography course.I am completely amazed after reading your journal.  Not only have you captured what your expedition entails, you have also managed to put your reader in the passenger seat!  I feel as if I am right there with you by your detailed accounts and how you have explained the ship....no one has given such detail as to each level (and desert recipe) of the ship.  It was fascinating to see what happens "behind the scenes"....thanks.My question is:  Are there any species that are in danger in the Bering Sea? Best,Marina Perez

1. The name of the teacher is Jillian Worssam.
2. The expedition is sponsored by a partnership through PolarTREC and NOAA’S Teacher at Sea Program. It is called the Bering Ecosystem Study 08”
3. The date of the entry:  June 30-August 2, 2008.

Expedition summary:  Jillian Worssam is part of a team that will be studying the ecosystem of the Bering Sea.  They will conduct sampling along a series of transects over the eastern Bering.  The researchers will be measuring salinity, temperature, and nutrient content of the sea water, to name a few. One discovery: Changes in the organic matter supply on the sea floor affect benthic organisms. One question I had:  Are there any type of species in the Bering Sea that are in danger?  

HI!!!! Hope your keeping warm:)

    Ihave read your journals and  your background information of you and your team. And i wanted to know:

WHAT HAVE THE MEASURMENTS YOU AND YOUR TEAM TAKEN, SHOW YOU ABOUT THE OCEAN CONDITITONS AND PRODUCITIVITY OF THE BEARING SEA ECOSYSTEM?

-LAURA CHAVEZ

Thank you Jillian!  Your journal has been a very special treat.  I hope you can do a couple of follow-up entries.  I love your energy and enthusiam and especially your knack for catching people being silly on film (or whatever digital cameras have!).

Have a safe trip home.   We'll miss you.

 ~ Linda

I've been tracking the course of the Healy since I read about SAILWX.COM (ship location information) on one of your blogs.

I have noted that several times during your cruise that the Healy and a ship with the call sign of NWS0003 have been in close proximity to each other. On 2-3 occasions the ships appeared to be at exactly the same coordinates.

Is the NWS003 another research vessel? If so, what is their mission and how does it relate to the BEST studies?

I know that today is your last day aboard the Healy. I understand if you are too busy to reply to this. It has been fun reading your journal articles and viewing the photo galleries. Will you continue to make journal entries after you leave?

Thanks,

CJ

Jillian, You have done such a great job of journaling.  I am impressed with your energy and your thoroughness.  Thanks for a great job.  We hate to see you go. and now you won't ever confuse wenches and winches again.

Ken and Gwen 

Thank you for the reports on the 26th and 27th, as well as your reports about life onboard the Healy. I especially enjoyed the photographs and the reports of your interactions with the crew. I know that it must feel a little cramped at times, but it looks like it could be comfortable for a couple of months. Claustrophobia in the bed and bathroom/shower are my only concerns.

I know that the science team is on the Healy for only a few weeks. Hopefully the rest of the Coast Guard people can get off frequently. I bet they are looking forward to freezing weather when they can get off the boat and go out and do things on the ice.

Also, thanks for your tip. I'll look into a major in Oceanography. Can you suggest a good university? Marine Biology is the closest that my university offers. My guess is that I would probably have to go to a coastal state. Being an interior state does have limitations. Is your Bachelor degree in Oceanography?

 Thanks again.

CJ

 hI!!!! Hope your keeping warm:)

WHAT HAVE THE MEASURMENTS YOU AND YOUR TEAM TAKEN, SHOW YOU ABOUT THE OCEAN CONDITITONS AND PRODUCITIVITY OF THE BEARING SEA ECOSYSTEM?

-LAURA CHAVEZ

This may sound stupid, but...

I just looked at the photos from the web camera on the mast of your research vessel, the Healy. The 2001 hour (I hope that is the correct terminology) photo shows the front of the boat sailing almost directly into the sun. If I understand military time right, that would mean that the photo was taken around 8 p.m.

My question is this, if you had a compass, would you have a reading of West when the photo was taken, or would it be different given the location of the Polar Trec ship, now that you are so close to the 60th parallel. We live near the 40th parallel so I'm not sure if our West would be the same as your West because of the shape of the earth.

Thanks, and I hope the question isn't too stupid.

C.J. Sattdar