Questions Submitted by Conifer High School
Joey Henessey: What is the most important part of your research?
Paquita said: "To find out which boat has the best food!" Naw, just kidding! There are 14 individual goals to this mission. Each one is just as important as the next. All of the goals have to do with understanding
these unique Caribbean clouds. On a broader scale the hope is to help us
understand the connection between clouds and global warming. The global warming/cloud connection is basically that clouds reflect sunlight and therefore have a cooling effect on the earth.
Andy West: What kinds of computers do you use to analyze the data?
Personal computers, it's a P.C. world! All different brands are used.
Carissa Myers: Would the information you are getting be different if you were on some other ocean?
The information would be different even if we were in different places on the same ocean. Think "Perfect Storm" for an example. A lot depends on latitude, whether you are on the east or west side of the ocean, and the time of year.
Cody Daigneault: Does the North Atlantic current have anything to do with your research?
The currents here are mostly driven by the winds. We don't see any sea turtles either!
Lauren and Mollie: How long are your work days? What do you get done during a day? How much time do you get to relax?
My work day was as short or as long as I cared to make it. A top priority was to stay healthy, and not become too motion sick, so I always take a lot of naps & spend time outside while on cruises. The people that impress me the most are those who take care of the lidar and radar, because they need to babysit them and can't take too many breaks. Most of what I got done during the day involved sitting in front of a computer, looking at data, plotting, writing, but I often sat outside and read a fun book for a couple of hours a day too. There's lots of time on a boat. - Paquita
Jeff and Spencer: Is there a difference in the amount of carbon dioxide by land than out in the ocean?
Carbon dioxide is mostly generated on land, from cars for example, but it mixes through the atmosphere very well, and eventually the amount of carbon dioxide over the oceans and over remote parts of land are about the same. - Paquita
Laurel: About what is the average cost for everything (equipment, boat, food, etc...)?
What is the cost of everything ? I don't really quite know. The whole cruise cost a lot though, on the order of a few hundred thousand dollars. - Paquita
Rachel: What does your research tell you about global warming?
The research I'm doing doesn't address this question directly, but the scientists have shared with me how parts of the research mission relate to global warming. Clouds act as reflectors and insulators to U.V. radiation. In other words, if the planet is being heated up by the burning of fossil fuels, we are finding that clouds can act as a regulator to this extra heat on the planet. Clouds reflect light from the sun back into space during the day, and can help insulate the surface at night. - Judy
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