fdl@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (f.d.la rocca) (01/31/90)
I'm interested in doing some form of marine biological studies, and or data gathering. I do most of my boating in the Great Bay area and along the near by coastal waters of New Jersey. I would like to understand if a need for this type of activity exists to support other scientific work. This is purely for the fun and learning experience. I'm getting tired of just cruising around wasting gas and I really don't like fishing. Being an electronic engineer/ computer hardware type by trade is hardly a background for this but I always like learning new things. Any comments, suggestions, or ideas from the marine biology folks would be appreciated.
guy@bevsun.bev.lbl.gov (Aran Guy) (02/04/90)
In article <7824@cbnewsh.ATT.COM> fdl@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (f.d.la rocca) writes: >I'm interested in doing some form of marine biological studies, >and or data gathering. I do most of my boating in the Great Bay >area and along the near by coastal waters of New Jersey. I would like to >understand if a need for this type of activity exists to support >other scientific work. This is purely for the fun and learning >experience. I'm getting tired of just cruising around wasting gas >and I really don't like fishing. Being an electronic engineer/ >computer hardware type by trade is hardly a background for this >but I always like learning new things. Any comments, suggestions, >or ideas from the marine biology folks would be appreciated. I was involved in the local community college Oceanography program for a few years, and we did quite a bit of unsponsored but nonetheless appreciated research for various organizations both public and private, some of which include: Tide and currents for various points of the Sacramento delta for the Army Corps of Engineers, for calibrating the Bay Model. O2 and CO2 concentrations of the delta for Dept. of Fish and Game. Fish counts from Otter Trawls for Fish and Game, Pacifc Gas and Electricity, and various conservation organizations. Nitrate, sulfate, and silicate concentrations of the delta for conservation organizations. Sponsoring research tours of the bay, delta, and various Marine Stations for school children. Volunteer cleanup following oil spills for the Audubon Society. Beach surveys throughout the year from Salt Point to Carmel State Beach to determine erosion and variations in the offshore current for the State Lands Commission. Invertebrate counts in the delta, along with salinity measurements at various depths for the various groups fighting the infamous Peripheral Canal. Triangulation fixes of navigation marks in the Delta for the Coast Guard, among others. Most of the data collected go back 20 years, and is in the process of being computerized. Practically all of it was done by volunteers and students. The quality varies, but the salinity measurements alone are an important resource. If you want to get involved locally, you can join the Coast Guard Auxiliary. They can get you started, with your skills, in bottom mapping using a good quality depthsounder, Loran, and computer in areas either poorly charted or subject to changes with time. The data ends up in the Notices to Mariners, and in NOAA charts. The Coast Guard has had to cut back on this activity themselves because of the current, uh, "reallocation" of their resources. Local conservation organizations always need help with tracking pollution events; an alert boater can help in spotting them. Depending on political climate, state and local agencies can often use some help in such things as bird counts, pollution control, fish tagging, beach cleanups and pollution control. Then there are the societies: Cousteau, Audubon, Greenpeace, etc. Although they usually just ask for money, they are active in research and can use all the help they can get. Out here there is the Oceanic society, a very active group of boaters that does everything from hosting fundraisers to taking disadvantaged kids out on the water to taking water samples for state agencies. Just being an environmentally aware boater helps, too. You don't have to equip your boat with a gas chromatigraph to make a difference. Using a boathook to pick up floating trash is something every boater can and should do. (This may come off as an environmental puff-piece, but every boater that I know personally that got involved in some research program ended up much more environmentally aware. Cleaning sick oil-covered ducks or walking along an isolated Irish beach COVERED with American garbage does something to your world-view.) I, unfortunately, don't have enough time to read most of these newsgroups, so if you want more info, please e-mail. -- Aran Guy guy@bevsun.bev.lbl.gov LBL Knobtwister and Buttonpusher And me be me SuperHeavy Ion Linear Accelerator Our opinions Accelerator and Fusion Research Division Rarely agree.