Date Answered	Question
08/05/02	What is sargassum?
08/05/02	What is an "MPA?"
08/05/02	How is deep-sea coral different from coral found in shallow reefs?
08/05/02	How big is the boat? The sub?
08/06/02	We often read that coral reefs are dying. Are the reefs that you find healthy and growing or are they being destroyed? How are the coral reefs off the Carolina coasts different from coral reefs in the tropics? Are they the same species of coral or very different in colder water?
08/06/02	In the safety exercise involving the Gumby suit, does the person who is demonstrating it actually get to go overboard? Do you ever get to swim off of the ship just for recreation?
08/06/02	Since Liz Baird is working off the SC coast in affiliation with the NC Museum and the museum focuses on indigenous species, are collections from this area still considered indigenous to North Carolina due to the close proximity?
08/06/02	How much of the time spent on the boat and sub is waiting time? And what do you do in the meanwhile?
08/06/02	What is the procedure for analyzing the specimens that you catch with the nets and the sub?
08/06/02	There's been a storm off the coast of the Carolinas. Did the storm delay the team's departure from Charleston? Can the submersible descend in stormy weather?
08/06/02	From what we have read in the log entries, you seem to be eating a lot of seafood while you are on the boat. Is that all you eat? Do you ever eat anything that you catch?
08/07/02	Are you aware of the effort by marine biologists in Puget Sound to capture, care for, and reintroduce the young Orca whale back into her pod earlier this summer? As marine biologists and teachers, what are your reactions to this effort and its apparent success?
08/07/02	How have federal and state regulations and policies affected marine life off the coast of North Carolina?
08/07/02	Who is responsible for developing this unique partnership between NOAA and the North Carolina Natural Science Museum? Will this be an on-going effort? Are there plans for additional outreach programs, such as distance learning throughout the state and US?
08/07/02	Is there more variety among sea- or land-going creatures? Why would one spawn more diversity than the other?
08/07/02	Can you compare and contrast the experience that you are having off the Carolina coast with other sites you have visited around the world or off the coast in other parts of the United States?
08/07/02	Is there any evidence of pollution at the depths that you are working? How have man-made agents impacted the fish and crabs that you are finding?
08/07/02	Would it be possible for Ms. Baird to conduct distance learning programs from the deck of your ship? Could these be done on the Web? It might be interesting for students and teachers to see real-time video of the catch that you bring in and hear or read the commentary by the scholars that you have on hand.
08/07/02	How can private citizens become actively involved in supporting the work that your group is doing?
08/07/02	How does the quantity and variety of specimens compare to similar studies that have been conducted of the Carolina coast 10, 20, or 30 years ago?
08/07/02	Do sharks occur in the deep-water habitats that you are sampling?
08/07/02	Have you seen any sea turtles?
08/07/02	Why does the water depth change so much from reading to reading?
08/08/02	Luminescent sea life holds great fascination. Is the Johnson Sea Link II able to go deep enough to find and film these creatures? If so, could you please put a video clip on the Web site like the one of the scamp grouper changing color?
08/08/02	You have given us detailed information about sampling the life in the area that you are studying, with the implication for conservation for future fishermen. One of the NOAA log entries says, "Before such consideration can proceed, we must map and describe suspected spawning locations, and to confirm spawning." Is your ship also equipped to map the ocean floor for these spawning locations? Is that what the side scan sonar does?
08/08/02	Are you allowed to use a spear gun on the sub?
08/08/02	Are the submarine instruments that you use to pick up things from the ocean bottom difficult to maneuver? Do you have any instruments you can use to catch bottom-dwelling fish that move faster than the Young Grab?
08/08/02	Does the tropical storm stirring off the coast of Florida worry you? What precautions have you taken in case the seas become rough?
08/08/02	Should coral reefs be protected or not, and why?
08/12/02	Do you like it out in the sea?
08/12/02	What is it like being in a submarine looking at all those different little fish?
08/12/02	What exactly is a banded rubber fish?
08/12/02	What are flat needlefish and where can you find them?
08/12/02	Are you anxious to go in the sub?
08/12/02	What was it like catching the shark?
08/12/02	Will you end up in deeper water?
08/12/02	What is the most interesting thing you have caught so far?
08/12/02	How large is the ship and what is its name?
08/12/02	On estimate, how many species of fish have you found so far?
08/12/02	How much weight was there when you brought in the shark/squid/fish/etc.?
08/12/02	How long do you get to sleep?
08/13/02	What is the difference between a right-sided flounder and a regular flounder? Is there a left-sided flounder?
08/13/02	The sea robins sound interesting. Please send pictures of these legged fishes.
08/13/02	How much weight is the Neuston Net supposed to hold?
08/13/02	Is it cold in the water of the ocean?
08/13/02	What is it like underwater?
08/13/02	How do you stay connected to the Internet on a boat?
08/13/02	What is the biggest thing you have caught?
08/14/02	Have you had any experiences similar to this?
08/14/02	Is coral in every ocean? What coral species have you found to be most abundant? How long does coral live? Have you discovered any new species of coral?
08/14/02	What sea creatures live in coral?
08/14/02	Does the sea get darker as you go deeper?
08/14/02	How did this mission get started?
08/14/02	While in the sub, did you see a lot of new species that you were not able to catch?
08/14/02	We know your sub can go 3,000 ft. How deep have you gone?
08/14/02	Out of all the species you have found, which one is the most abundant?
08/14/02	What is it like being in a submersible?
08/14/02	Did you get the chance to control the sub at any point during the dive? If so, how exciting was it?
08/14/02	What is the best and worst thing about the ocean?
08/14/02	Now that it is getting close to the end of your expedition, are you finding more or fewer fish than when you started?
08/15/02	What kind of sharks did you see on this mission?

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