How to Use This Site

1. Read about the project and the team of scientists.  Read the daily journals.   Find the answers to the questions that are in each journal.  Many of them are math questions (but no answers are provided!).
   • If the research cruise is active, send an email to the teacher on board the ship.  She will answer your question (by email) or ask a scientist or crew member to answer it.
   • If the research cruise is not active, you can still do the math, geography, and reading problems in the journals. 
     
     
2. Many of the journals have interviews with the ship’s crew and with the scientists.  Read about their lives.  How did they find the jobs they have now?  What are the “secrets to success” that they suggest?  What do they say about how they use math in their work and lives?  Write about what you discover, or tell someone else about it.  Compare the answers given by different people to the same questions.
   
   
3. Follow the ship’s cruise track. Using the data on this chart,
   • Plot the ship’s position (latitude and longitude) on a map for each day.
   • Make a graph of the air temperature and the water temperature over time.
   • Convert the temperatures in Celsius into Fahrenheit.
   • Graph the wind speed and wind direction.
     
     
4. Read the ship captain’s “Daily Report”.  Using this information,
   • Make a table of the ship’s daily fuel consumption and/or fuel remaining.
   • Calculate the average daily fuel consumption (gallons per day).
   • The Daily Report will show two kinds of time, steaming time and station time.  What fraction or percentage of the day did the ship spend its time “steaming” and its time “on station”?

• Steaming time:  the time the ship spends going from one place to another
• Station time:      the time the ship stays in one place while the scientists  collect samples and do other work

NOTE: The Ring of Fire 2006 cruise will NOT have daily Journals or regular updates posted directly on the Ocean Science Station website.  All interactive updates and materials can be found on the NOAA-OE website: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/welcome.html    

Please go to that website for the exciting journals, interactive media, and links to follow as the exploration of the Mariana Arc continues.