Janice McDonnell

The Trans-Atlantic Slocum Glider Expeditions: A Catalyst for Undergraduate Participation in Ocean Science and Technology

This paper provides an overview of the education programs developed for underwater gliders, how these programs were applied to the trans-Atlantic missions, and the educational lessons learned. It concludes with a perspective on how this educational effort provides the foundation for an international partnership to explore the world ocean on a second NOAA challenge, a repeat of the 1870 Challenger Mission, the first scientific circumnavigation of the globe.

Implementing a New Paradigm in Ocean Observing: A View from the Coolroom

Human populations exert considerable pressures on our coastal oceans which is a concern as there are many signs that they are increasingly exhibiting signs of stress. Historically the lack of technology capable providing data over relevant scales has often left the local, state and federal governments blind to effectively assessing the health of oceans. While this may seem overwhelming, the future is bright as we are in the midst of a technical revolution. We formed the Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (RU COOL) in 1997 which is advanced ocean observatory. This system has been anchoring for over a decade a series of large Office of Naval Research and National Science Foundation science campaigns. The RU COOL system is anchored by satellites, shore-based radios, and a growing fleet of smart undersea gliders. The data is processed in near real-time and fuels data assimilative models. Using a wireless cyberinfrastructure network adaptive sampling by ships is enabled. The power of the system is illustrated in this manuscript. The examples all directly address the priority themes outlined in recently published Decadal Ocean Priorities report developed by the United States ocean communities. Given this, we believe that the future for exploring, understanding and managing our oceans shows great promise especially given the potential of the Integrated Ocean Observing System and Ocean Observing Initiative.

Educational needs in the changing field of operational oceanography: training the people that will sustain Munk's 1+1 = 3 scenario

The Rutgers University Graduate Program in Oceanography (GPO) has initiated a new Masters Degree in Oceanographic Technologies. Within the collaborative setting of the Rutgers University (R.U.) Coastal Ocean Observation Labs (COOL) Operations Center, students will receive hands-on training in the use of advanced ocean observing technologies and will participate in the year-round field activities supported by the Center. Potential Masters, theses topics include improvements to the capabilities of sensors and sampling platforms, and the analysis of the observatory datasets for a wide spectrum of applications. The program was designed with input from a pair of AMS Interactive Workshops on Operational Oceanography, and with input from people working in Navy and NOAA operational centers. Graduates will directly support the sustained technology needs of the Integrated Ocean Observing System and the Ocean Observation Initiative.

Educating with Data

The advent of the Internet, coupled with the increasing use of oceanographic and atmospheric sensors and instrumentation, enabled scientists to share ocean observations with any interested person with Web access. However, providing access to data does not ensure effective communication or utilization of data. Attention to these aspects of sharing data, especially within informal or formal learning environments, can promote good data-literate habits. Thus there is a need to use authentic data in educational activities that focus on real-world phenomena to help create a data literate society with twenty-first-century workforce skills. For more than ten years, the National Science Foundation funded the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence—Networked Ocean World (COSEE NOW). COSEE NOW explored the development of teaching strategies and materials to build ocean literacy through interactions with oceanographic data. The COSEE NOW objective was, and continues to be, to foster critical thinking skills around oceanographic data thus creating ocean literate students capable of understanding human impact on the ocean and the impact of the ocean on humans.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative education and Public Engagement Organization: Using real-time data in the undergraduate classroom

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) promises to reshape the way ocean science is conducted by providing ocean researchers with access to near real-time data, the ability to control/configure sensors and mobile assets, high-bandwidth infrastructure for images, powerful cyberinfrastructure, and data visualization and modeling tools to conduct their research. Recent advances in the delivery of web-based education, and the use of visualization technology in educational contexts, have led to the development of on-line platforms for instruction that engage students in active scientific inquiry by collecting and analyzing real world data. The OOI Education and Public Engagement (EPE) Implementing Organization will leverage these technologies for ocean education. EPE will construct a series of software tools and a web-based social network that leverages the OOI Cyberinfrastructure to support engagement of a wide range of users. These tools will enable educators and developers to enhance their undergraduate education programs and engage free choice learners using real-time and streaming data provided by the OOI. EPE will enable a new approach to oceanography research, where scientists, students and the public can explore and research the ocean in real-time from their classrooms, offices, dorm rooms, and even their homes. The face of an oceanographer will be expanded well beyond the professor at sea to to a student at home viewing and analyzing exactly the same data at exactly the same time. In addition to the OOI EPE Implementing Organization (IO), there are additional IOs supporting the OOI construction (Figure 1): Regional Scale Nodes (RSN): RSN will deploy sensors to study Hydrate Ridge, an area of massive sub-seafloor gashydrate deposits, and Axial Seamount, an active submarine volcano. Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN): CGSN will deploy a global array of moorings and underwater gliders to provide sustained, but adaptable, access to complex coastal and global systems. Cyberinfrastructure (CI): The CI will provide a common operating infrastructure connecting and coordinating the operations of the marine components with the OOI scientific and educational pursuits. Program Management Office (PMO): The OOI program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and managed by the OOI PMO, located at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) offices in Washington, D.C.

Using ocean observing systems data in K-12 classrooms: proceedings from a workshop exploring the merit and feasibility of developing a National Ocean Observing Systems (NOOS) education product

Ocean engineers and scientists are transforming the way we experience and understand the ocean through the Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS). For the first time, there will be continuous, sustained, near-real time, multidimensional data available from the oceans, collected both from within the oceans using sensors systems and above using remote sensing methodologies. These data make possible inquiry-driven questions concerning the dynamic nature of the oceans physical, biological and chemical characteristics in both time and space. These data provide unique and meaningful access to the ocean for a broad range of users. One major expected user group is K-12 educators and their students, who will be able to explore and utilize data and information from coastal observing systems in real time from the classroom. The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence-Mid Atlantic or COSEE-MA, is focused on coastal observing systems and the development of products and services that bring real time data to a broad range of user groups. COSEE-MA currently partners with a broad range of stakeholders to explore the development of lesson plans and resources that use observing data in meaningful ways that promote science inquiry in the classroom. In this session, we will discuss the results of a July 2005 workshop sponsored by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA), the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence-Mid Atlantic (COSEE-MA), and Ocean.US to explore the merit and feasibility of developing a national ocean observing systems (NOOS) education product.

Mid-Atlantic Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence

The Mid-Atlantic Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) was recently established by the National Science Foundation as one of six regional centers to promote awareness of the ocean sciences among our youth and the general public. The collective science and educational strengths of Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, the University of Maryland, College of William and Mary, New York Aquarium, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and a National Estuarine Research Reserve constitute the backbone of the Center. Technological advances in ocean observation, modeling, and data synthesis that have enabled the nation to enter a new era in oceanography, along with active NSF science programs underway in the Mid-Atlantic region, will be used to provide a source of data and information to scale up a variety of existing programs such as: professional development opportunities for middle and high school teachers (grades 5-9) that will lead to the creation of new Earth sciences and other science teaching modules within the classroom; pre-service training programs that feature hands-on exposure to geoscience research, important teaching resources including audiovisual materials, and the internet technologies that can link active research programs to their future students; and; graduate training for students enrolled in geoscience graduate programs by offering fellowship support that combines knowledge creation with knowledge translation and transfer to K-12 teachers. Each of these programs will be delivered in relevant formats including face to face programs, internships, and emerging technologies such as video streaming and distance learning and the worldwide web. The partner institutions of the Mid-Atlantic COSEE recognize that education reform is a long-term proposition. Providing depth of content in Earth sciences and long-term professional development opportunities are keys to stimulating change in teaching practices and improving student achievement. Through this COSEE Center, the partners seek to explore strategies for creating life-long learners including long-term improvements in the preparation of teachers by exposing them to the practice of science. Second, the partners strive to improve communication among the science-education community through graduate student assistantships and collaborative development of educational materials. Finally, our short-term goal is to assist overburdened school directs with training opportunities and resources that contribute to the enrichment of the school community. The Center plans to use the results of the preliminary evaluation to ground-truth these goals and make mid-course corrections for a broader, more sustained effort.