Archive of Questions for the scientists and crew

Have a question for the scientists on board the R/V Kilo Moana? Email them to sci55@km.soest.hawaii.edu

Student questions and answers:

Kauai High
Why did the scientists decide to make geology and oceanography their life's work?
For most scientists, it is the love of the outdoors that led them to working on rocks on land and in the ocean. Also, most are curious about their surroundings. They are regularly asking themselves about how do things work. For more specific information, please take a moment to look at the scientist's biographies.

Junard grade 4
How strong is the water pressure 3500 meters under the sea?
350 times atmospheric pressure.

Sturtevant grade 5
Is the salinity of the benthos less than the salinity at the surface? No, the salinity of the ocean waters we are looking at is the same from top to bottom.

Sturtvant grade 5
Did Mike name the 9 volcanoes he mentioned in his bio?
Yes, a Hawaiian elder was consulted and she recommended that we name them for the 9th march of the sharks to Hawaii.

High School Marine Science class
Could earthquakes be detected faster if we listened to the ocean floor?
Yes, if the earthquake happened close to the seismometer. It will not make a difference in time if the earthquake is far from the seismometer.

Most earthquakes occur at the edges of Pacific Ocean and other regions of plate collisions, so they are well detected by the land-based system of seismographs. We do have a few seismometers on the ocean floor, which help fill in the wholes in the global network. More ocean floor seismographs are planned for the future.

Keanu grade 7
Have you seen any great white sharks down there? No, we have not seen any large vertebrates the whole time. We have seen a few animals every hour. Look on the web
site I have tried to put photos of what we we see. The problem is that the Jason 2 is really loud compared to the ocean normally at that depth so probably everything that is a big predator ran away. Also there really wouldn't be anything for a big animal to eat.

Rad grade 7
Are there a lot of people on that boat?
We have about 50 people. There is the ship's crew, that's about 20. There is our group which is about 15. There is the Jason group, which is about 10, and there are the technical computer and mapping guys from the university. So it is a pretty big crowd. There are all ages, from about 22 to about 60 years old. There are 2 women on the boat crew and 5 women scientists.

Dayton grade 7
What are the kinds of animals in the deep sea? and are they different than fish we see on the surface?
When Jason comes up there always is a few schooling fish like Mahi Mahi that follow it to the surface, but deep down there are very few fish and they are different. They tend to be all white or perhaps a little red. On the web site I have posted photos of the different little echinoderms and other critters we have seen.

Koa grade 7
Have you found any dinosaur like looking creatures?
Not yet, though the pillow lavas can look like giant eggs.

Keoni grade 8
Will the underwater ancient volcanos ever erupt and start forming something?
The Hawaiian islands formed 4 to 5 million years ago. We are looking at anything that happened after that. Say only a million years ago. One of the interesting flows is the one that goes from Mt. Kilohana and flows out under your school. This is called the Koloa secondary vulcanism. So no, there are no current eruptions. And when the scientists call something "young" they mean a million years or less.

Roshayne grade 7
Why did the cups shrink? There is 400 atmospheres of pressure on them at the bottom. To get an idea what that is, do you know how your ears hurt at the bottom of the high school pool? That is one third of an atmosphere's pressure (11 feet is a bout 1/3 of 35). So this is 1200 times more pressure.

Makana grade 7
What kind of fish do you see down there?
What kind is an interesting question because to identify an animal you need to know specific information about it... I suspect that some of the fish we see have never been named by scientists. We are not trapping the fish and so perhaps they "look like" something we know, but they could be something new.

Malia 6th grade
Are you going to go in the sub down in the ocean?

I do not get to go in a submarine. The Jason 2 is a remote control vehicle. We follow it by camera and video. We can tell it what to do with its robotic arms.

Mitchelle 6th grade
How big is the control room for the Jason 2?

It is the size of 2 20-foot containers bolted together, to make a box that is 20 feet by 16 feet. Six or 7 people work in there at any one time.

Jimmelle 6th grade
Is there anything, which is not allowed on the ship?

Anything you cannot bring to school you cannot bring on the ship. Also all the people who board must be on an approved list.

Shannon D 6th grade
Do you all get along with each other?

So far so good. We had a few tough days when we were all worried that the cable could not be replaced or repaired, but everyone remained focused on the goal of getting out to sea with the Jason working safely. We have some fun together. Today is talk like a pirate day. Yesterday we had a magic show by one of the scientists, Claude.

Amber 6th grade
What type of marine life have you observed?

At the surface we have seen birds, dolphins, mahi mahi, and flying fish. At 3000 meters below the sea we have seen shrimp, sea anemones, sea star, sea cucumbers, and sponges.

Kaumalani 4th grade
How does Jason collect things?

Look at the photos and you will see the robotic arm. It can reach out and grab things. Then it can be directed to move the rock into a basket that is on the Jason. Then when the Jason comes back to the surface the scientists empty the baskets.

Kailana 4th grade
How do you guys get your food?

We have 3 men who working in the kitchen cooking and doing dishes for us. They have packed enough food for the entire month. We have salads everyday and a delicious main course. Today we had Manapua, pot stickers and chicken Katsu for lunch.

Takoda 4th grade
What kinds of samples does Jason 2 get?

We are looking for volcanic rocks. We know where to begin looking because we did backscatter surveys, which found the places where the ocean floor was reflective it is extra hard.

Kailee 4th grade
What is the temperature at the ocean floor?

0 to 4 degree Celsius

Haeo 4th grade
Is there new species on the ocean floor?

We do not know. Any living thing, which comes up with the rocks, we put into a solution to keep it from spoiling and we send it off to a biologist to identify. We will be told in a couple of months.

Stephanie 4th grade
Does the Jason have a lot of wires?

All the electronic parts of the Jason must be sealed up and protected from the ocean, otherwise it would short circuit. So yes there are wires but they are hidden inside the cases.

Logan 4th grade
Why did you name it Jason?

Jason and Medea are from an ancient myth. Jason is the main character in the story and Medea is the helper.

Cherry 4th grade
What is the biggest thing Jason can carry?

Jason can carry about 200 lbs. We try and pick rocks that are about the size of a mango because then we can get about 30 rocks on a dive. If we choose giant rocks we cannot have as many. Every time Jason picks up a rock we leave some iron weights behind so that it can keep floating along.

Isaiah grade 4
How long are you out there?

This trip is one month. Sometimes the trips are shorter and sometimes they are longer. It depends on the work and how close to the work is the harbor where everyone meets to get on the boat.

Jessa Grade 4
How heavy is Jason 2?

I think it weighs about 9000 lbs.

Christian grade 4
Does the ocean look clean?

It does to me… but one of the first things we saw through the Jason cameras was a coke can.

Ezekiel 4th grade
How long has Jason 2 been working?

Our first dive was the 296th dive for the Jason 2.

Kahia grade 4
How big is the Kilo Moana?

More than 186 feet long and about 88 feet wide. It is 4 stories above water and 3 more stories below water.

Dylan grade 4
Does rain make the ocean deeper?

No because rain begins the water cycle by evaporating water from the sea. So it recycles water in and out of the sea.

Alyssa grade 4
Is it dusty under the ocean?

Have you ever waded through the mud in the Wailua River? Did you see how cloudy it became? That is not called dust but we call it small particles of silt. Sometimes the Jason will grab a rock that is buried in the mud and when it is pulled out, a big cloud of silt is stirred up and we cannot see for a little while.

Brylynn Grade 4
How big is Jason 2?

About 6 feet tall and 7 feet wide and 10 feet long… about the size of a mini van.

Sturtevant grade 5
Does there always seem to be wave action in the sea?

The first few days we were out it was beautifully smooth, but there still was current and motion in the water. If you dropped a stick or a piece of string it would float away from you in a direction. Today there is a lot of current and waves. I can see white caps and the water keeps slamming into the bottom of the platform between the two hulls. It is very loud when it hits.

High School Marine Science class
Is it quiet on the ocean floor?

Yes

High School Marine Science class
If noises are heard, where do they come from?

Submarines, animals, boats, things falling….

High School Marine Science class
Can volcanoes and earthquakes be heard under the ocean?

We do have seismometers on the ocean floor to detect events earlier than if we waited for an earthquake to travel to the continents.

High School Marine Science class
Could earthquakes be detected faster if we listened to the ocean floor?

Yes, but barely. If an earthquake happened underwater, an underwater detector might save a couple seconds..

Kauai High
I know that the temperature sensor was taken off the JASON, but they have become curious as to just how cold it is down there.  Would it be possible to get a temperature reading?

0 to 4 degree Celsius

Kauai High
Have the researchers seen any sharks or fish through Jason’s live stream videos?

There is a fish in the photos posted on 9/20, but fish are quite rare.

Presented by the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii, with financial support from the National Science Foundation.