Check plankton while you cruise!

[Odontella]

Than you for your reply and confirmation. Fair winds !

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Odontella

the yacht/boat/ship really does need to be slow moving (drifting) or 'stationary' (although it does not need to be anchored of course) f.

The standard method for Secchi Disk measurements is from a stationary or slowly drifting vessel with a vertical drop for the disk.

Hi Richard,

I agree with Toaster. Stopping the boat twice per day is not going to happen on the vast majority of cruising boats.

It's a pity you cant devise some way to take a reading whilst moving.

If the research has value in it then devising a good system is essential.

☺️

[Odontella]

Hi

We are not asking for a stop to take a measurement twice a day, just as and when people feel inclined or it is convenient. It maybe a reading once a day, once a week, or once a month. The study works by numbers of participants and duration (years of measurements). The idea with open-ocean measurements is that sailors tend to follow the same routes at the same time of year, year after year and so the data builds up. Coastal sailors tend to travel the same waters weekly. So both cruisers and day sailors can collect useful, but differently scaled, data.

The method dates to 1865 and has been in use since then and so it is very important for consistency to follow the protocol, which is for a vertical descent of the Secchi Disk. Drifting on a calm day obviously presents a good opportunity to take a measurement.

Have a look at the Website Secchi Disk study and the data map. We are getting open-ocean measurements. Our seafaring Ambassador yachtswoman Susie Goodall took some excellent readings during her passage across the Atlantic and wrote a marvelous entry in her log, which you can read on the website.

Even if you find the study isn't for you, I would be grateful if you tell others about it. The Secchi Disk study's success relies upon awareness.

Best Wishes

[Toaster]

Hi Richard,

If we are making way at 3-4 knots or more, we're not going to want to slow down or stop. On the other hand, there are times when winds are light and speed through water is perhaps two knots or less. If we could take data at two knots, it would be great. Is that slow enough for the Secchi disk? I guess with enough weight on the disk, it would be.

I like the idea of just having the device ready so that when those balmy days strand you with nothing else to do, at least you can have something to look forward to at noon. (As well as the GLOBE Clouds app from NASA).

[Odontella]

Hi Toaster,

As long as you can achieve a vertical drop of the disk, all will be fine.

In any case, you won't be stationary if not 'anchored' and even then the current may be 2 knots or more. Most vessels that cannot maintain position will be underway to some extent, and certainly not anchored in the open ocean.

What we need to avoid is 'inventions' added to achieve a vertical drop, other than the addition of a heavier weight.

The amount of weight depends on the disk material, the current, and windage.

The Secchi depth measurement takes approximately 5 minutes.

To pick up on another point you made about waves and turbulence, the simplicity of the Secchi Disk measurement and the distances measured make it very robust, which is why it has been used for 150 years. And of course, nobody will be taking measurements if the sea is rough as it will also be too windy, back to the underway problem.

Look forward to seeing your lunchtime break Secchi Disk data if you take part.

[Odontella]

The Secchi Disk study has reached a key achievement with the publication of the first scientific paper entitled:

Seafarer citizen scientist ocean transparency data as a resource for phytoplankton and climate research

The paper is published in the journal The Public Library of Science ONE or PLOS ONE, and it can be accessed for free HERE

As you will see, YOU, the seafarers taking part in the Secchi Disk study are the first authors as it is very much a result of seafarer citizen science.

The key findings of this first publication are

1) Sailors acting as citizen scientists can collect useful scientific data using a simple DIY piece of equipment matched to a Smartphone application,

2) The sailors' data is vital to help us better understand the ocean’s phytoplankton. While satellites now survey the sea surface from space to determine phytoplankton by measuring ocean colour, the Secchi Disk data collected from the sea is important to help interpret the satellite data,

3) Using sailors as citizen scientists it is possible to obtain measurements from far more places than scientists could achieve alone,

4) In years to come, as the sailors' data continues to accumulate, the data will help us better understand the long-term changes in the phytoplankton.

I hope you find this first publication interesting and hopefully, it will be the first of many more.

Why not take part in the Secchi Disk study if you are not doing so already ?

The publication is Open Access, which means it is free to download and distribute, so please share with family and friends and perhaps send a copy to your yacht club or marina office.

Best wishes to everyone.

[Odontella]

The Secchi Disk citizen science study is now in it's 7th year and I wanted to bring you an update to show how the study is progressing through sailors taking part.

The best way is by the project map and this image, taken today, clearly shows the global coverage the study is achieving.

Secchi Data coverage 2019_YBW.jpg


While you cannot zoom into the map I have attached you will see that the intensity of data (as well as the coverage) is quite great in places if you visit the data map on the study's website.


The other purpose of this e-mail is to ask for your continuing help to promote the study to more sailors that might like to get involved in science as they sail, whether that is just by word of mouth, a poster on a club notice board, or in literature, such as in harbour and marina guides. Free to use resources are available from the Press Releases, Images and Videos tab on the Secchi Disk study's website (direct link to folder).



Thank you to everyone taking part.

[Odontella]

It's been a while since i last posted news from the Secchi Disk study.

But the Secchi Disk study is still going strongly thanks to sailors' data collection.

Today, the study published its second paper in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

You can read the article HERE or by using this link https://rdcu.be/cqKH0. (Please share this publication.)

The article is Open Access and so it is free to read, download and print.

The title of the study is: Citizens and scientists collect comparable oceanographic data: measurements of ocean transparency from the Secchi Disk study and science programmes.

Along with the first publication (available here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0186092) this new study demonstrates that the data collected by sailors for the Secchi Disk study is reliable and so it can be scientifically useful, i.e. it can be used to address scientific questions, and as such these two papers together, were important milestones for the study.

We would like to thank the Whirlwind Charitable Trust for funding the costs of Open Access publication.

And of course, huge thanks to all the participants in this ongoing study of the oceans' phytoplankton. Without your data collected while sailing, there would be no publication. Thank you also for making this the largest study of its kind.

Best Wishes to everyone.