The 4th Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the
Earth (ACRE) Workshop
September 21-23, 2011
Rescuing Climate and Ecological Data
from the US Fish Commission and the US Navy
Catherine Marzin
NOAA’s Office of the National Marine Sanctuaries
Unlocking the archives…
US Fish Commission Scientific Logs
• While imaging was completed for most scientific logs,
keying remains to be done.
• Associated original deck logs in original book format at
the National Archives.
The US Fish Commission, predecessor to NOAA’s Fisheries Service was created in
1872 to understand why fish populations were declining.
•6 dedicated research vessels
•Covering 1880s to 1930s
•Broad geographic coverage
•One ship with 3,000 survey stations
•15,000 weather obs.
•+ soundings, + biological
Scientific logs of US Fish Commission
research vessels
Scientific Log –US Fish Commission
Format
Example page: Albatross Jan 22, 1888
Recorded for each location/date/time:
- Depth, bottom type, bottom
temp.
- Air/surface temperature,
- Drift
- Equipment used
Also, sampled biota/ new identified
and described new ,marine species
Sample itinerary of Research vessel
Albatross II
1906 Expedition
1891 voyage
1907-1910
Philippine
Expedition
Tropical Pacific Expedition
of 899-1900
Eastern Tropical Pacific
Expedition
1904-1905
Sample: Dredging & Hydrographic Records of the
US Fisheries Steamer Albatross For 1906
Deck log of the US Fish Commission’s
Research Vessel Albatross II 1882-1921
Hour; Knots; Fathoms; Course steered/Winds(direction/force)/
Leeway; Barometer (Heights, Temperature (air dry bulb, air wet bulb
, water at surface); State of weather by symbols; Forms of Clouds by symbols;
Prop of clear sky in 10s; State of Sea
Deck log – kept by ship captain; follows US Navy format
Provide weather conditions complementary to oceanographic/ecological conditions
described in scientific logbooks
Collection of Historical logbooks on
microfilm at the National Archives
•
For the first year partnership with the National Archives,
effort focused exclusively on imaging/duplicating collection
of logbooks on microfilm.
•
Completed detailed inventory of the imaged logs:
• Specific ships of historical significance: USS
Constitution, USS Monitor, Kearsarge, Jeanette
• Specific expeditions: US Surveying Expedition to the
North Pacific Ocean 1852-1863; Perry's Expedition to
Japan 1852-1854
• Some books are actually journals kept by all officers such
as the ones of the Wilkes Expedition
2010 CDMP grant imaging logbooks on
Microfilm at the
National Archives
150 multipage pdfs
Almost 35,000 pages,
Civil War 1861-1865
(Kearsarge, Monitor)
US Surveying Expedition
to the North Pacific Ocean 1852-1863
Jeanette Feb to June 1881
Arctic Exploring Expedition
Perry's Expedition to Japan 1852-1854
4 logs
15 logs
1 log
17 logs
Taiping Rebellion 1855
1 log
Pacific Patrol 1854-1855
2 logs
East Indies Station 1852-1853
1 log
East India squadron
5 logs
Pacific Squadron 1841-44
2 logs
Indian Ocean & Cape of
Good Hope/Return Voyage 1854
1 log
Chinese Coast Operations 1854
1 log
USS Constitution
20 logs
US Navy Ship Logs
US Frigate Constitution
USS Constitution vs. HMS Guerriere, 19 August 1812.
"In Action“ by Michel Felice Corne (1752-1845)
U.S. Naval Academy Museum
- 21 logbooks, on microfilm
- Date range: 1826-1880
(plus other lone years)
- Extensive metadata
- each day at sea: hour, ship
speed (knots and fathoms) and
course, direction of wind, general
remarks
US Navy Ship Logs
US Sloop of War
Kearsarge
- 3 logbooks, on microfilm
- Date range: 1862-1864
- Historical significance:
during the Civil War, this
Union ship sank the
Confederate ship Alabama.
Sinking of the Alabama off Cherbourg, France, June 19, 1864
Perry Expedition to Japan 1852-1854
- 17 logbooks, on microfilm
- Date range: 1853-54
- Historical significance:
Opening of Japan – 1854 treaty
of Kanagawa between Japan
and US
US Surveying Expedition to the North
Pacific Ocean 1852-1863
Logbook entry of William R. Baker,
Assistant Draftsmen
On board the USS Vincennes, on the US
Surveying Expedition to the North
Pacific Ocean 1852-1863
June 22nd,1853. “Cloudy day but wind
still favorable and in sufficient quantity
– Nothing of interest was seen today –
this living on board ship in ordinary
weather is very stupid I would almost
hail with pleasure a regular storm to
break in upon this horrid monotony.
- 15 logbooks, on microfilm
- Covers Date range: 1853-1856
- Of various image quality.
- Great first hand accounts of
life at sea!
Wilkes Exploring Expedition 1838-42
- 50 journals, on microfilm
Trying to locate original logs at National archives.
- Date range: 1838 to 1842
- Historical significance: First major scientific expedition overseas
by the United States
Summary
•
Despite challenging year with end of CDMP support,
completed imaging of US Navy logbooks on microfilm.
•
•
•
•
Rich collection but image quality varies. Challenge:
each log/ship/expedition follows different format. Plus
some weather data embedded in journals.
Very interesting collection, attractive to historians,
scientists, Navy buffs, etc. Can build PR from them –
(developing audio clips from chosen excerpts of logs)
Still much remains to be done: entire US Navy
collection waiting to be imaged/keyed.
Scientific logs of the US Fish Commission research vessels
complement the weather data in the deck logs.
Next Steps
• Image US Navy logs in original
books at the National Archives
priority: Arctic; US Fish
Commission’s Albatross and Fish
Hawk; Wilkes expedition ship logs
(if they exist)…
• Develop work plan for keying old
handwritten US logbooks
• Extract ecological data along with
Climate and oceanographic data out
of US Fish Commission logbooks.
Thank You
For more information:
[email protected]
Tel: (301) 713-7257
Joe Hoyt/NOAA, Thunder Bay NMS