In the orientation phase, students select a topic of study that interests them and familiarize themselves with the instruments they'll need to collect data.

On this Voyage of Discovery, the students organized into six teams of two, each focusing on a specific field of study. In turn, each pair of students would work closely with a senior crew advisor.

Working on Days Two, Three, and Four, the students spent their time learning about each possible topic and using our intruments, as well as learning how to collect foramifera. Although the students' individual projects would be tightly focused, each student would also learn how to perform every experiment, including several which are not currently part of anyone's specific research projects. Some students also shifted their topics after discovering that, while fascinating, their projects' requirements would fall beyond the scope of this voyage.

Once the students has selected their topics and familiarized themselves with the materials and procedures involved, they developed guided questions to lead them through the topics?

Since preparation and learning to use our scientific gear is a central aspect of the orientation phase, some of the photos below illustrate our student crew members creating their data tables or working with instruments beyond the scope of their own projects.

You can scroll down or use the links below to jump directly to a topic.

Air Pressure, Humidity, & Temperature

Students: Danielle & Tahari
Senior Crew Advisor: Gary Coolidge

Danielle and Tahari will measure barometric pressure, air temperature, and humidity levels on a regular basis during the Half Moon's data collection layover. They will then graph their findings and seek to determine whether there exists any connection between these atmospheric conditions.

Guided Questions:
Danielle: How do air pressure, temperature, and humidity affect each other?
Tahari: How do air temperature and humidity levels affect air pressure?

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Students: Jessica & Nora
Senior Crew Advisor: Gary Coolidge

When the Half Moon stops for its data collection layover, Jessica and Nora will measure current speed and direction at a fixed location throughout a tidal cycle, then graph their findings.

Guided Questions:
Jessica: Does wind speed affect the current?
Nora: Does the current speed of the river change? If so, why does the current speed change and how? Does the ebb and flood currents have anything to do with current speed?

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Height of Tide

Students: Carlos & Gabriel
Senior Crew Advisor: Bob Wardwell

Carlos and Gabriel will use a lead line to take soundings of the water's depth on a regular basis while the Half Moon has its layover at East Haddam. They will then use this data to graph the height of tide at that location throughout an entire tidal cycle. They will also take soundings at Old Lyme for comparison purposes.

Guided Questions:
Carlos: Is the depth of tide affected by different locations?
Gabriel: Does the water depth increase at night, and is it affected by salinity?

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Height of Sun & Atmospheric Conditions

Students: David & Nick
Senior Crew Advisor: Jennifer Reilly

David & Nick will use a quadrant and compass to track the altitude and direction of the sun on a regular basis. They will also use a barometer and thermometer to record air temperature and relative humidity levels at the same time, and seek to discover whether any correlation exists between these atmospheric conditions and the position of the sun.

They had previously prepared to study turbidity, but our expectations were that turbidity levels would be almost entirely constant during our data layover, so they shifted to a more dynamic topic.

Guided Questions:
David: What is the effect of the position of the sun on humidity?
Nick: Does the height of the sun have any effect on air temperature?

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Mechanical Advantage

Students: Carolann & Oksãna
Senior Crew Advisor: Sarah Read

Carolann and Oksãna will familiarize themselves with the simple machines on board the Half Moon, including levers and pulleys. They will then use an adjustable block and tackle rig to measure how much mechanical advantage these simple machines can provide when lifting a weight.

They had previously started work on a study of salinity; as it happens, however, the Connecticut River pushes so much fresh water into Long Island Sound that salinity readings dropped to zero almost immediately as we entered the river, leaving them with little to observe in this circumstance.

Guided Questions:
Carolann: How does the number of supporting leads affect the force used to pull the weight up?
Oksãna: How does the use of a simple machine change the amount of force needed?

Solar Energy

Students: Alex & Jamie
Senior Crew Advisor: Jurgen Schuijer

Alex and Jamie will learn how to use a quadrant and compass to measure the altitude and direction of the sun, and will use solar panels and a voltometer to measure the sun's energy output.

They had previously prepared an experiment which would have compared height of tide to the lunar phase; unfortunately, despite their impressive prep work, this study would have required an entire lunar cycle to complete.

Guided Questions:
Alex: Does the projectory of the sun affect the amount of solar radiation reaching the solar panels?
Jamie: How do clouds affect the solar panels?