Today’s blog is brought to you by Dustin, Islay, and Setharonious.

This morning we visited members of the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) in a small office/garage building less than a 10 minute walk from the dorm.  There we met Jason, who manages the North America chapter of SMRU; Jessica, who is a junior scientist; and Jesse, the field technician, who explained to us what they do related to bioacoustics.  Jason gave us an overview of the physics of sound, Jessica showed us how the computer identifies and compiles orca noises from hours of sound data from the hydrophones and Jessica reviews it.  Jesse is the technician and he constructs Coastal Acoustic Buoys which hydrophones are attached to and then deployed in the ocean.  Currently, Jesse is working on assembling CABOWs (Coastal Acoustic Buoys for Offshore Wind) for companies that are building offshore wind power on the East Coast.  

This team is aiming to generate a solution to the rampant noise pollution humans have introduced into the ocean. Right whales are endangered in the Atlantic and the noise pollution from the construction disrupts their behavior.  Therefore there are regulations in place which require companies to avoid creating noise when whales are observed within a 10km radius.  About 10 CABOWs would be placed in the water to detect Right whale sounds and notify people on land to stop creating noise.

-Students calibrating sound waves on the Audacity program. Photos by Islay Ross

After the SMRU’s engaging presentation on whale calls and sound level zonation, we dove into creating our own sound waves to analyze.  We downloaded the Audacity program onto our computers, and recorded a 10-second tone clip to find each individual computer’s calibration number.  Long story short, we imported 442,368 individual data values from vibration graphs into cells in a Google spreadsheet; squared each cell; found the average of those squared values; and added our initial calibration value…etcetera. Then, divided into 5 groups, we dispersed into town and individually recorded minute-long sound clips.  When we returned from town, we got to see our sound bytes in wavelength form!  Some of us had tourist chatter, passing cars, or airplanes- it was awesome to apply theories of bioacoustics to everyday sound effects.  Then, we headed off to lunch! 

After our lesson on marine acoustics we returned to the dorms to make progress on our final projects. Some students stayed at the dorms to continue their research in physical and online scholarly literature, and others went to Friday Harbor Labs to do field work and collect data. Just about all of us have a clear goal in mind, and this program is doing more than enough to make them possible. From orcas to the violent and dangerous behavior of chitons, our various interests will be presented in depth on our posters. I must go now, the chitons draw closer with every passing moment… I can not keep outrunning them, this may very well be my last entry. REJECT SOCIETY RETURN TO MATT.

Stay safe out there,

-Setharonious (and friends)

Hey everyone! It’s Andrea, Islay, and Sonja again! Today was a very exciting day of munching, napping, ferry-ing, swimming, mutilating marshmallows, looking at plankton, and so much more! I hope you enjoy hearing about it!

We got some extra time to sleep in today, but nobody slept in except for Ana. The morning was very chill though it was super hot out. We all woke up, ate breakfast, and then watched Moana. Somebody probably did laundry, but I didn’t ask.

^{Look at this pretty view. It is so pretty and a view. Photo taken by Andrea.}

After getting ready in the morning, we got some time to work on our independent projects. A few of us went out on a boat to go to Lopez Island. At Lopez island, we surveyed for sea stars and looked around on the rocks. It was super interesting though we had to watch out not to get sunburnt!

Decked out in hats, shades, and sunscreen, we (the people not on the boat) took a trip to the ocean survey zone at Friday Harbor Labs. We collected samples of plankton with nets, containers, and other various lab materials.  After scooping them up with tiny spoons, we crouched over the dishes of plankton with our microscopes.  By the end of the observation and identification session, we were all beautifully adorned with dents from the rocky concrete. Nevertheless, it was worth it since we got to see various spots and dots that the adults promised were actually animals.  

Once everyone regrouped later in the afternoon, we all decided to head down to Jackson’s Beach. As we walked into the water, we were all shocked by the cold, and yet we all stayed inside for a solid ten minutes. Seth decided to swim to another island.  He was successful! Resting in the sun was a good way to warm up. We listened to music and looked at the passing dogs and people with cool tattoos. Some people got a good swim, while others, like me, watched and relaxed.

_{^{Say “apostichopus californicus!” Pictured are Madi, Abby, Islay, Colette and Ana.}}

Four hours at the beach was a lot, so we decided to head back to the dorms. We started to make hot dogs in the oven and ate them around the fire. Kira, being the special person she is, decided to roast her hotdog in the fire. Good for her. Craving something sweet, we all decided it was a great idea to make some s’mores.

It was such a great time for most of us except Sonja. She got smoke in her eyes. She’s ok now… I think.

^{Lighting everything on fire. Photo by Islay.}

Overall, the day was a blast! It was nice to get some time to relax after spending so much time being scientists this past week. We also really enjoyed working on our independent projects and bonding with each other. I really like smores. Go make some. Thanks for reading!