From London to New London

From London, England and standing in front of New Zealand House petitioning for the smallest and one of the rarest dolphins in the world, Morgan was back in the USA. This time she was exploring the history of New London, Connecticut. During the height of the whaling era in the early 19th Century, New London was one of the busiest whaling ports. Oil from whales was exploited but essential to much of the industrial development of the area, with the wealth invested in railroads and hospitals. In the 21st century there is now a recognition for the need to save whales and preserve our ocean environment in a sustainable way. While there are still some countries that hunt whales, thankfully in many countries it is now simply a part of their history. 

Morgan and the history of whaling in New London

A prominent landmark in New London is Wyland’s Whale Wall. Wyland, an American artist best known for his Whaling Walls; large murals painted on buildings across America, featuring life-sized whales.  In New London there was only really one species that could be painted, the whale most hunted by Connecticut whalers in the 1800s, the Sperm Whale. It was Dr Robbins Barstow, one of the founders of WCA partner Cetacean Society International (CSI) and who dedicated his life to saving whales, leading the charge in the effort to stop the slaughter of whales, who invited Wyland to paint the wall in New London. In July 1993 and within one week Wyland had created his Sperm Whale masterpiece. 

Morgan at Wyland's Whale Wall in New London

Over the years the painting began to deteriorate and in 2006 there was even talk of painting over the wall. It was the residents of the city who united with CSI to protect and restore the wall, so that it remains as an icon of awareness and inspiration to these incredible underwater creatures. For Morgan is was a chance to wonder through the history of this place with current members of CSI Patricia Sullivan and Paul Di Gangi. 

Read more about Dr Barstow in CSI’s Whales Alive newsletter written by one of our Morgan’s best friends, Patricia Sullivan. Find out more about the work of CSI at their website. 

Check out Follow Free Morgan's Facebook page for more photos of her adventure around New London, and while you are there why not Like and Follow us!

A Ship of Discovery

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Okeanos Explorer, ‘America’s Ship for Ocean Exploration’ is the only federally funded US ship dedicated to explore our ocean. Why? Because the ocean is 95% unexplored, unseen and unknown, and yet humans rely heavily on its natural resources. To understand, manage and protect the ocean and its resources NOAA believes it is important to explore, understand, discover, inform and educate. Our little Morgan thinks so too. This ship of discovery is packed with a huge variety of sensors and systems, from multi-beam sonar for high resolution mapping of the seafloor down to 6,000 m to plankton sampling kit and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) that can collect samples. This telepresence-enabled ship not only sends live images and data to scientists onshore, but also streams seafloor images and interviews from sea into classrooms, newsrooms and living rooms. 

This week our little Morgan joined Patricia Sullivan and Paul DiGangi from WCA partner Cetacean Society International, at a workshop at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography provided by NOAA on this wonderful exploration vessel. 

Morgan at the University of Rhode Island

Over the course of the workshop Morgan learned about Exploration vs. Research, the ships telespresence, multi beam mapping, water column investigations, underwater robots, wet maps, Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) sensors and image analysis. Morgan participated in experiences such as water quality testing, creating a robot with hydraulics, understanding fractals (a never-ending pattern; infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales) and the notion of the increase in complexity the deeper we study the ocean. 

Testing water quality

The visit culminated in a tour of the command centre for Okeanos where Morgan saw archived video footage of live exploration of the sea floor from around the globe! 

Workshop over there was time to enjoy a little of the beach, soaking up the New England autumn sunshine before heading on to Connecticut with Patti, ready for her next adventure....

Loving the New England coastline

In the meanwhile why not check out NOAA's website for the Okeanos Explorer and Cetacean Society International. Why not check out more photos from Morgan's adventure on her Facebook page.