The science, travel, and community that make life aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson possible rely on the team hard at work in the galley. The cooks in the steward department serve a hot breakfast every morning at 7:00 a.m., offering eggs to order, pancakes or waffles, bacon, turkey bacon, sausage, and grits or oatmeal, along with fruit and a variety of sauces.
Some of the Steward Department serving breakfast.
At 11:00 a.m., they serve a wide array of lunch options. Tuesdays are usually Taco Tuesday—a crew favorite—though the menu varies based on what Chief Steward Danni Cuff creates. She posts the weekly menu in advance so everyone knows what to expect. This also allows crew members to request a plate to be saved if they are working on the small boats or on shift outside galley hours.
The menu for this week.
Dinner is served at 4:30 p.m. Last week featured a surf-and-turf dinner with crab legs and steak. It was my first time trying crab legs, and I have to say, I prefer them over lobster.
Surf and turf dinner
For dessert tonight, I joined the Chief Steward in the galley to help make and decorate a white cake. Before we frosted it, she gave me some pointers on piping practice. Since she couldn’t find the exact piping tip she wanted, she also showed me how to cut a pastry bag to create one from scratch.
Danni frosting the cake served for the evening dessert
A white cake with strawberries that was served for dessert about NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson.
The Chief Steward’s role extends far beyond baking. She manages her department and ensures her team receives professional development while in port; one of her crew members will soon attend training at The Culinary Institute of America.
In addition to staff management, Danni oversees inventory and supply ordering for each leg of the voyage. She is currently developing an automated inventory system designed to generate supply orders and vendor lists based on planned menus and upcoming crew counts.
Personal Log
Before embarking on this leg aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, one of my biggest worries was the menu. I don’t typically care for seafood and have actively avoided it in the past, so I even reached out to a past Teacher at Sea participant to ask about the food. It turned out to be a total non-issue for three reasons: 1. Danni consistently provides multiple lunch and dinner choices (as seen on the weekly menu), alongside a fully stocked salad bar and sandwich station; 2. She takes great care with dietary restrictions and allergies. With so many options available, personal preferences are naturally accommodated as well; and 3. I’ve actually found myself reaching for seafood intentionally. Danni has prepared my favorite—catfish—both grilled and fried, and served dishes I had never tried before, like pollock and crab legs. Looking at menus from previous months, I noticed even more local, sustainably sourced species I would love to try.
Danni puts incredible thought, care, and effort into her work, and everyone aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson deeply appreciates her dedication—and her delicious meals.
Did You Know?
A waterspout is a spinning, funnel-shaped column of air and water mist that forms over a large body of water. At the end of the day that I spent with Danni, we saw a waterspout off of the side of the ship.
Taking care of the ship requires communication from all of the departments aboard the ship. The actual fixing and maintenance of the ship requires the Engineering department. As I followed Oiler Sam Fuller around for the day, I was introduced to just how much is involved in caring for the ship. The engineering department ran through the list of what needs to be tackled for the day and what projects are upcoming or ongoing. They make sure everyone knows what to look out for and discusses the tasks to accomplish.
Just like the rest of the ship, the day starts off with a meeting.
Some of the engineering department: From left to right – Junior Unlicensed Engineer Mike Pienta, Chief Marine Engineer John Toye, Oiler Sam Fuller, 1st Assistant Engineer Brian Maddrey
Once the morning meeting was over, Sam took me through a few of the tasks he completes each day. First, he tested the chlorine in the water from the Reverse Osmosis system. They had been having trouble getting the chlorine high enough over the last few months, but today’s reading was finally right on track. Sam made sure to show me the chlorine that gets added to the water and pointed out that I should never be near it without gloves, mask, or goggles because of how dangerous it is. He also let me know that the chlorine added is further from the part of the ship where water is actually used by people because it means more chances to correct for a possible problem.
Sam testing the water for chlorine levels
Then, the engineers showed me how to move the ship’s power from one generator to another. It’s a complicated dance of syncing up the generators so that there is no sudden loss of power to the ship while the next generator comes online. It also prevents catastrophic failure of either generator while one generator slows down and the other takes over.
Generator panels
Then, I got a tour of the engine room. The engine for the ship is massive and it is loud in the engine room. We both wore ear protection while touring the engine room and Sam showed me around.
Thomas Jefferson’s main propulsion engine viewed from above
Thomas Jefferson’s main propulsion engine viewed from the side
Then, it was on to Sam’s projects for the day. One of these projects was to better secure the weights in the gym. He and one of the chief engineers want to create something where several weights can be secured by going through a pipe so they do not move as much. He envisions 4 pipes on a base plate for the weights they have. We went down to measure the weights, and the spacing on the wall so that he could cut and weld everything appropriately.
NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson’s gym, which is available to anyone at any time. Sam is taking measurements for the weight holder project
Once he had the measurements, he put the project aside so that he could wait for one of the chief engineers to come on shift. In the meantime, he went to the survey room to fix an air conditioning condensate pump that broke and caused it to leak water over the computer of one of the Senior Survey Technicians. Previously, a condensate drainage tube had been placed to take care of the problem and the condensate water drained into the bucket over time and then was emptied outside. Sam was able to replace it because they got the necessary part in when they were last docked.
Sam installing the pump
The circuit diagram and electrical system for the unit Sam is installing the pump in.
Once the pump was installed, Sam went downstairs to start cutting the pieces necessary for the gym weight project.
Sam cutting down the base of the weight holder
Sam had a few things cut but then the survey room called and condensate water was leaking again in the survey room. It turned out that the pump was not enough to adjust for the motion of the ship. The pump that broke was meant to make it so that the water went back through the pipe the other way, but it couldn’t because of the elevation of the pipe compared to the other units in the room. The Engineering department decided to install a check valve that allows the water to only flow in one direction. This would make it so that the majority of the water did not make it to the lowest unit in the room and would prevent it from flooding that system. Sam grabbed supplies and started on the repair right away. The Engineering department has enough tools and replacement parts that it can make many repairs while underway and they make sure to keep the ship livable and comfortable without having to wait to take the ship in for repairs.
Sigh, the organization to which I aspire to. I’m going to print out these pictures and paste them on the door to our garage as I reorganize it.
Once the necessary tools and supplies were collected, they got to work.
Installation of the new check valve
Sam returned to his project for the gym until the small boats came in. At that point, anyone who can is asked to come out on deck so they can help if needed while the small boat is put back on the davit. Engineering is especially important in this process and they keep a watchful eye over the process.
Small Boat Retrieval
After the small boat has been returned to the davit, the engineering department goes over the boat and refills it with fuel, checks the oil, and checks how long it should be until the next maintenance period for the engine. They pass on any problems they find to the crew and it is discussed at the morning meeting the next time the boats are sent out.
Engineering checking the fuel on the small boats.
Engineering checking the oil and going over the small boats in detail.
Eventually, Sam was able to begin the process of welding the pipes to the stand that would hold the gym weights. It’s important to place a call to the deck officers and let them know that that type of work is being done so that they don’t worry about a burning smell but also to be aware of any potential for fire so it can be stopped should something go wrong. Again, safety, especially around fire, on a boat is treated very carefully.
Sam welding the pipe to the base plate for the gym project.
The welded metal after welding.
The welded pipe to the base plate.
Personal Log
One of the biggest things that has struck me throughout my time on ship is the huge number of opportunities aboard. The engineering department has one of the best options for vertical movement on the ship because you can start as a wiper or an oiler. Sam started at NOAA by going through the job corp and then joining NOAA as an Oiler. However, that is not the only way to enter into a NOAA engineering department position. Several other engineers came in after serving time in the Navy or Coast Guard and then moving to NOAA and others came in without military experience and joined with experience in other fields instead. The important thing is that they obtained their merchant mariner credential (MMC), which provides proof of their qualifications, which includes their physical readiness as well. More information on obtaining an MMC is found here: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/nmc/merchant_mariner_credential/
Did You Know?
Those working aboard NOAA ships get paid overtime for anything over 8 hours of work completed Monday through Friday and they get overtime for working Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, too. The jobs listed at https://marinerhiring.noaa.gov/Jobs/Openings list base pay, and while overtime is not guaranteed, it often accounts for up to twice the base pay for a given position. The other benefits for working for NOAA are also numerous as well. For example, while on ship, most incidentals are paid for. There is no need for a car or paying for fuel, all food is paid for while at sea, the ships have Starlink, so internet is fast and hasn’t been any less reliable than my home internet, and of course lodging aboard ship is included as well. The professional mariners are on 2 month rotations and then have a month of shore leave, where as one crew member put it, “I cook, clean, and have no other responsibilities.”
I spent the overnight shift with Hydrographic senior survey technician Emily Madish tonight. Her shift starts at 3:30 p.m. and goes until 3:30 a.m. She worked with two other crew members in the survey room: Operations Officer Jessie Spruill and Hydrographic Survey Tech Hannah Hernandez. There were more members of the crew on the deck navigating the ship through the dark waters.
Emily keeping track of the ship and the data coming in
I took the opportunity of the quiet evening and having fewer people around to have Emily walk me through the process for collecting data on NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson and to explain how the scientific equipment on the ship works to collect depth data.
Hydrographic surveys make use of a variety of fundamental physics concepts. One of them is how sound travels. Sound travels at a constant speed through a medium (a material like water or air) unless the properties of the medium change. In lake or ocean water, properties that could change the speed are the salinity, temperature, and depth. Thomas Jefferson accounts for these possible changes by collecting that information using the Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) and collecting that data approximately every hour so that the data collected by the ship can use the most accurate information to create the depth profiles.
This is the graph the MVP software displays, collects, and transfers to other software that works in conjunction with the MVP. This is one of the casts taken from Thomas Jefferson
Once the speed of sound in the area has been collected, the time it takes for the sound to go to the bottom of the seafloor (or in this case lakebed) is collected. From there, the depth of the seafloor can be calculated using the equation:
To solve for depth, it becomes
However, the time included at this point includes both the time leaving the ship and going to the seafloor and back again, which can be visualized like this:
To account for the reflection, the time that is collected is cut in half and the new equation becomes:
(Note: hydrographers use different letters to represent these variables, but I’m keeping everything in notation my high school students are or will be familiar with. They mean the same thing.)
Now, this seems relatively straight forward so far. However, what is really cool is that the ship is not taking just one sounding (depth measurement). Instead, the ship is sending out SONAR in a fan shape using a multibeam or side scan, which can be visualized as follows:
Typical geometry of bottom tracking multibeam sonar. Image from Mayer, Larry & Li, Yanchao & Melvin, Gary. (2002). 3D visualization for pelagic fisheries research and assessment. ICES Journal of Marine Science – ICES Journal of Marine Science. 59. 216-225. (ResearchGate)
This allows not only the various depths of the sea floor to be collected, but because many (MANY) soundings are taken at once, the soundings can also translate into images and an image of the seafloor can be created. In addition to an image of the seafloor, it is also possible to find out if there are any hazards to shipping or features on the seafloor. For example, in Lake Erie on the last leg of the mission a lot of shipwrecks were seen, and while there haven’t been any shipwrecks found on my leg as far I know, some features of the lakebed, like glacial scarring may have been seen, along with a lot of rocks. A lot of rocks.
The path of the ship (yellow and green, this also shows the depth of the area as well) and an initial image of the seafloor.Notice in the black and white image the possible glacial scarring that can be seen).
It is also possible to see schools of fish in the water column or capture an image of a whale with the multibeam or sidescan.
A picture of a side scan that shows a whale that is displayed on Thomas Jefferson
To get to the point of creating an image and having the image accurately represent the location of where the data was taken to create a meaningful map, while also correcting the data for errors and the motion of the ship requires many steps.
First, the Seafloor Information System collects real time depth data being collected by the multibeam sonar, while HYSWEEP communicates with the bridge. Those in survey use HYPACK to make planned survey lines, and those on the bridge use HYSWEEP and follow those lines. The bridge and the survey team are in constant communication while this process is ongoing.
The path as shown in HYSWEEP that both the bridge and the survey team can see
Thomas Jefferson travels back and forth like someone mowing their yard with long back and forth lines that overlap by about 20% to make sure that no areas are missed.
This is the second swath the ship makes as it goes past the same location as the image above with the glacial scarring
The ship also collects what is called crosslines, which must be collected for every 4% or 8% of the lines collected that are parallel to each other, depending on the spacing between the lines, to make sure that the data remains reliable. It is possible the parallel lines could be offset from each other and the crosslines ensure that they are not.
An entire sheet that shows where data was collected including crosslines (the diagonal lines) and the lines parallel to each other
Once the data is collected, the data from GNSS including GPS and information from other satellites is collated with the ship’s depth data. This involves a lot of additional software that ensures the accuracy and fidelity of the information being collected.
After everything has been processed, it is sent to NOAA for further integration into the maps that allow ships navigating the waters carrying people and goods across the Great Lakes stay safe. Progress on the Great Lakes project and other hydrographic survey projects can be found at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/855b7102bd0d42d6974c41fa4f8829b9?item=5
Personal Log
It’s fascinating to notice how life aboard the ship mirrors research experiences I’ve had elsewhere. During my undergraduate and graduate work, I spent night shifts at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory running experiments at the synchrotrons. The late hours aboard the ship feel remarkably similar.
Night shifts have a distinct stillness. Instead of the busy daytime chatter and people moving about, the ship settles into a steady rhythm defined by the deep hum of instrumentation and running equipment. Monitors glow with data software, and as the end of the shift approaches, fatigue sets in—making it just a little easier to make a minor mistake (though usually the mistakes are fixable). Sometimes it even feels like the software itself gets tired of being up that late and starts acting up. But through it all, really cool data is collected despite anything else that happens.
Did You Know?
NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson is sent out after natural disasters like hurricanes, to help ships enter and exit ports. The ship helps make certain that there are not any dangers to ships from the disaster, so that rescue, shipping, and reconstruction after the disaster can proceed.
A NOAA research vessel is a 24-hour operation. The crew works 12-hour shifts that can start at any part of the day or night and in the rain or shine, pitch black or full daylight.
My day began in the quiet dark at 5:00 a.m. with Ensigns Connor Harrell and Julian Santos as they prepped one of the ship’s small survey boats. Before heading out on the water, thoroughness is everything. They meticulously inspected the engine compartment, checked the water and oil lines, verified the batteries, and—equally crucial for a long shift—packed their sandwich ingredients for the day.
Ensigns Harrell and Santos inspecting the small boat they would later take out
Sunrise over Lake Ontario after inspecting the small boats
By 6:00 a.m., the entire crew gathered for the daily safety meeting to review small boat operations, including resolving past mechanical issues and flagging things to watch. We discussed both small boats on Thomas Jefferson: one had just received a new alternator, while the other developed a persistent clicking sound. The cause? It requires a specialized lubricant that isn’t currently stocked on the Thomas Jefferson. A temporary alternative lubricant is keeping things safe and operational in the meantime, even if the click remains for now.
By 6:20 a.m., it was time to launch. Watching the coordination required to launch both small boats was incredible—it took less than five minutes per boat. I watched my roommate, Hydrographic Survey Tech Haley Kenyon, balance on the moving small boat, calmly releasing heavy lines, relying entirely on her upper body strength and footwork before stepping back inside.
Deploying Boat 2904
Small Boat 2904 after being deployed into the water
These small boats serve as essential advance scouts for the Thomas Jefferson, especially when surveying specialized areas like designated dumping grounds. Using side-scan sonar, they map the seabed and detect potential hazards in shallow or tricky waters, ensuring our main vessel can later navigate safely to conduct high-resolution multibeam survey scans without risking the ship’s hull. Deploying the small boats also speeds up data collection significantly—with Thomas Jefferson and two small boats working simultaneously, we can map vast stretches of the lakebed in a fraction of the time.
Of course, science at sea always comes with unexpected variables. Boat 2903—the one with the brand-new alternator—ran into electrical trouble mid-morning and had to be recovered early. While Boat 2904 pressed on with its mission, the crew was understandably frustrated. But on a research ship, equipment problems are simply part of the job, and it was necessary to bring the boat in for further inspection.
Meanwhile, aboard Thomas Jefferson, we were running our own multibeam scans. The multibeam and sidescan systems integrate positional data from a variety of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including GPS, European Galileo satellites, and other available orbital networks with depth soundings.
Survey Tech Josh Gautier collecting hydrographic survey data for NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson
To turn sound waves into precise depth measurements, however, you need to know the speed of sound in water, which changes constantly based on temperature and salinity. To capture these variables, a Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) is deployed. Towed behind the ship, the MVP measures salinity and temperature profiles through the water column. The survey techs aboard NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson launch it roughly every hour, or whenever we transit to a new area, allowing us to continuously calibrate our sonar equations against local water conditions.
Hydrographic Senior Survey Tech Ali DiTommaso preparing to launch the MVP
At 4:00 p.m., Boat 2904 returned to the ship. We wrapped up the afternoon with our daily debrief—a chance for both the small-boat teams and the shipboard crew to compare notes, troubleshoot the day’s electrical snags, and refine our approach for tomorrow before heading off to dinner.
Personal Log
Living quarters on a working ship must make use of every usable square inch. I share a room with Haley Kenyon, one of our fantastic survey technicians (and one of the people who went out on the small boat from the morning’s launch video).
Stateroom with two berths
Our room is surprisingly spacious with plenty of storage. Haley is a permanent staffer, so she’s aboard Thomas Jefferson long term, while I’m settling in for my two-week adventure. We each have space in the dresser and closets, and I have the bottom bunk. While the porthole offers a fantastic view of the lake, my lower berth keeps the early morning light out of my eyes.
The view from the porthole in my room
Our room connects to the adjacent stateroom via a shared Jack-and-Jill bathroom with a toilet and shower. It’s compact, but totally functional. Both connecting doors lock securely from the inside—though there’s always a slight paranoia about accidentally locking yourself out. Conveniently, our sink and mirror are located right inside our bathroom in our bedroom, making it super easy to brush teeth and wash up even if the bathroom is occupied.
The view of our bathroom from the bedroom
Did You Know?
Dessert is a mandatory shipboard requirement.
On NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, official protocol dictates that the crew must be served a dessert at both lunch and dinner. We are extraordinarily lucky because our Chief Steward, Danni Cuff, is a pastry chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America.
Needless to say, the food aboard is great. So far, my scientific duties have been complimented by an impressive rotation of scratch-made cakes, pies, and warm cookies.
One of the pies available to the crew on Thomas Jefferson
Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Bottom Longline Survey, Leg 1
Geographic Area of Cruise: Western North Atlantic Ocean
Date: August 19, 2026
Late afternoon on August 11, 2026, my last night aboard Oregon II.
On August 12, 2026, I disembarked from Oregon II and set foot on land for the first time in 17 days in Charleston, South Carolina. Gradually, the team we had formed for the first leg of the survey began to break up as people went their separate ways. Some would be embarking again in three days’ time for the second leg of the survey. Some were taking their vacations or heading back to work on land but would return for legs three or four. Others, like me, were only part of this one journey from Pascagoula to Charleston.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. BridgePhoto credit: Gretchen ArndtArriving at port in Charleston, SC
It is certainly a strange experience to work so intensely with a group of people – even living and eating meals together – and know that the same team will never come together again exactly as it is. Those of us who wouldn’t return were making way for new people to arrive and gain their own experience. (There is even another Teacher at Sea expected later in the survey!) This is also something we have to accustom ourselves to in education. For a year, we build a sort of family in a classroom, with our own rituals, inside jokes, and memories. Then we ultimately have to say good-bye so that everyone can move on and keep growing somewhere else. As a teacher, I want to make sure that what students experience in my class helps them to contribute the best of themselves to every new team they join.
This week I am returning to school to get ready for the new academic year. I am reflecting on what I learned from my work and life aboard Oregon II and how I can bring that to bear on my teaching and collaboration with colleagues this year. Of course there are many lessons about science and maritime careers. But there are also lessons about resilience, curiosity, and being willing to take risks. I enjoyed so much support from my family, friends, and colleagues at home. My entire district was cheering me on and colleagues told me how brave they thought I was for trying this. Yet it is this very support that allowed me to feel brave enough to go for this opportunity and follow through with it. Having a foundation of trust and support makes people more willing to take on new challenges. We can risk failure because we know somebody will be proud of us just for trying. This is the kind of culture that needs to be built in a classroom. As I decorate my classroom and write lessons, I am thinking of how I can both challenge and support my students this coming year.
That being said, I am also super excited to show my students pictures of sharks, sharks, and more sharks! It occurred to me how very few people have been able to touch, tag and hold sharks like I did. My students are going to be so excited and they will have so many questions for me. Besides sharks, I want to show them pictures of scientists working outside with tools that are like what they might find in a toolbox at home or what their parents might use at work. I want to show them strong scientists holding shark heads and tails to keep their colleagues safe while they measure and tag an animal. I want them to know that some of the scientists I met didn’t always have the easiest time at school, but they still went on to learn, achieve, and snag one of the coolest jobs in the world. I’m also eager to show them pictures of some of the cool machinery aboard ship and allow them to imagine what skills they might need to be an engineer or steward. A boat is like a floating city and it requires many talents to keep it safe and moving forward.
I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned with other educators. (I’ve already had other teachers ask me about they can become NOAA Teacher at Sea!) In our first meetings back at my school, we discussed our main objectives for the year, one of which is to strengthen students’ writing in science class. Being a Teacher at Sea gave me a lot of first-hand experience with how difficult it can be to express scientific concepts clearly and how important it is to be precise. Yet the processes of recording, writing, and drawing can actually help us solidify new learning. Next week my students will be putting together their science notebooks in which they will record all their observations during classroom experiments. We will discuss the importance of taking precise measurements and recording them carefully with the correct units. (After being the data recorder while a team of scientists holds down a thrashing shark to measure it in millimeters, I feel like I have some insights to share.) I can’t wait to see those notebooks fill up with all of their learning and — most important — new questions to investigate.
If you have been following along on my journey, I want to take a moment to thank you. At times, it was a real challenge to sit down and write but then I would think about everyone who told me they enjoyed reading my blog or looking at my pictures. Knowing I had people excited to read about what we were up to on Oregon II or to learn something new about the ocean motivated me. It’s been such a pleasure to share this with you.
