Join virtual voyage to Northern Islands

Our very own CoCo’s Corner writer, Qamar Schuyler, is on a voyage of a lifetime to the Northern Islands, and she would like to invite you along! Schuyler is accompanying other scientists and crewmembers in a monthlong research cruise that will take them through the entire Mariana Archipelago.

Known as the Mariana Archipelago Research and Monitoring Program, or MARAMP, the research cruise is on its second trip to the CNMI. The multi-agency effort began in 2003 with the objective of rapidly evaluating and mapping the shallow water reef habitats in the Mariana archipelago. Scientists aboard the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Oscar Elton Sette will use a variety of techniques to study the coral, fish, algae, and benthic habitats around most of the islands and offshore banks of the archipelago. In addition, they will collect oceanographic data such as sea temperature and water chemistry.

This year you will be able to follow the adventures of the ship online, and share in their new and exciting discoveries by visiting www.crm.gov.mp/maramp. Schuyler has been giving daily updates of the cruise, and has been busy answering the many questions that people are writing in. This is her morning job as the cruise’s sole Education Department staff. She also helps out the Night Operation’s team as they gather bioacoustical data and biological samples.

On the MARAMP website, you can click on Onboard the Sette to read about the cruise’s daily adventures from the Daily Log, and learn about the scientists and crew on board in Meet the Crew page. Do you have a question about the cruise? Click on Ask a Scientist, and get some answers, and read questions other people have asked. Some of the questions that are on the website now are, “Are any of the emissions (ash deposits) from Anatahan affecting the marine life around the island?” and “What type of shark species frequent each island?” There is also a section called Resources for Teachers that has lots of links for teachers, including classroom resources to download, lesson plans, helpful web sites, and a list of classroom speakers that are available to give class presentations. You can even sign up as an honorary crewmember and receive a free ID badge.

If you have any questions or would like to have more information about the website, please send an email to our education department at John.Moreno@crm.gov.mp. So follow along a voyage of a lifetime to the Northern Islands, and make daily discoveries online!

CoCo

(The voice of CoCo today is provided by John Dax Moreno, CRMO Outreach and Education Coordinator.)