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Expedition Gulf of Alaska


Michele Hoffman Trotter

Our upcoming Seward Line cruise aboard the R/V Sikuliaq will include some special guests: educator and film-maker Michele Hoffman Trotter, media and education specialist Carlee Belt, and cinematographer Katherine Brennan. They have traveled all the way to Alaska to create a series of educational modules called “Expedition Gulf of Alaska: an Online STEAM Experience”. Additionally, they will be filming for “Microcosm”, a documentary project that features the diversity and roles of microscopic life in the ocean.

Michele is a Chicago based educator with 20+ years of experience in higher education and public outreach to general audiences. She met Dr. Russ Hopcroft, lead PI of the NGA LTER, aboard the USCGC Healy in the Chukchi Sea. They bonded over microscopic creatures and their shared interest in how the ocean functions as a system. At the time, Michele made a video introduction of her work on the cruise.

Educational Modules

plankton sample
Photo credit: Michele Hoffman Trotter

During the April/May 2018 Seward Line cruise, planned educational modules focus on three topics:

  • Changing Climate, Changing World
  • Biodiversity: Our Lives Depend On It
  • Plankton to Whales: How Energy Flows in the Environment

All of these modules will incorporate YouTube videos and other online material, posted daily from the ship. For example, video clips of scientific tools in use performing fieldwork will be posted. Then in the comments, students will directly question scientists about their work during the cruise.

The content targets students from grade five through twelve. As an introduction, younger students will develop a base understanding of key concepts involving the scientific method of inquiry, taxonomy, and fundamentals of ecology, chemistry, atmospheric science, and biology. Supplementary activities will give older or more advanced students chances to engage in analytical thinking. Furthermore, they will also be encouraged to apply newly acquired knowledge to contemporary scientific questions.

We are excited about the intersection between Michele’s program and the goals of the LTER Schoolyard Series. In addition to participants in Alaskan classrooms, we have participating homeschooling families in California and Illinois, and two public schools in Chicago. Additionally, approximately a dozen adults are participating in an adult education version.

View the Microcosm Teaser.

Sikuliaq Cruise, May 2018


R/V Sikuliaq

In a few short days, 23 scientists and educators will embark on our first LTER cruise aboard the R/V Sikuliaq, April 18 – May 5, 2018. Cruises are integral to our research and we anticipate having three each year – in May, July, and September. This cruise continues decades of time-series of measurements of the spring phytoplankton bloom along the Seward Line. As such, its many objectives center on the physical and biological processes that generate and sustain the spring bloom.

Scientific Purpose

This cruise continues the sampling begun in fall 1997 under the NSF/NOAA NE Pacific GLOBEC program, and supported subsequently a consortium of the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS), and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council’s (EVOSTC) Gulf Watch. This is the first cruise as part of the NSF’s Northern Gulf of Alaska Long-term Ecological Program (NGA-LTER). The core scientific purpose of the Seward Line project is to develop an understanding of the response and resiliency of this marine ecosystem to climate variability. This cruise marks the 21st consecutive spring cruise for the Seward Line in the NGA, including Prince William Sound (PWS), and the 48th year of observations at GAK1.

Cruise Objectives

NGA map
Map of Northern Gulf of Alaska sampling stations, 2018.
  1. Determine thermohaline, velocity, light, and oxygen structure of the NGA shelf.
  2. Determine macro- and micro-nutrient structure of the NGA shelf.
  3. Determine particle structure and flux rates of the NGA shelf.
  4. Determine phyto- and microzooplankton composition, biomass distribution, and productivity.
  5. Determine the vertical and horizontal distribution and abundance of zooplankton species (including macro-jellies).
  6. Record multi-frequency acoustics for estimation of nekton
  7. Conduct surveys of seabirds and Marine Mammals
  8. Conduct shipboard experimental work on phyto- and zooplankton.
  9. Determine carbonate chemistry (i.e. Ocean Acidification) at selected stations
  10. Recover and redeploy the GAK1 mooring. Drag for lost mooring at GAK 4 and Gak8i.
  11. Provide at-sea experience for UAF students.
  12. Share the experience through outreach/media activities.

Sampling Plan

To achieve the objectives, the cruise will visit four cross-shelf transect lines plus stations within Prince William Sound. At each station, operations will be divided into day and night tasks. In the day, we will perform CTD measurements, bottle sampling, and perform intensive sampling and productivity experiments at selected locations. At night, net tows for zooplankton will catch the critters when they rise in the water column to feed. The shortness of high latitude nights in May will mean more daylight work than nighttime work.