Each day educators will engage in hands-on and standards-based lessons, interact with local ocean scientists, and participate in various field experiences. Each teacher program has been designed to provide new scientific content and applications for the classroom or after-school club setting in which you teach.

All of the teacher programs are open to both MARE and non-MARE educators in grades K-12, and participants are welcome to attend one or more of the teacher programs over the course of the summer.

For more information and to register for a Teacher Program visit the Summer Teacher Programs webpage. Share these opportunities with your colleagues through the webpage or the Summer 2012 Teacher Programs flyer.

We hope to see you there!
Thanks, The MARE team

It is here! The next Ocean Lecture & Educators’ Night…

Who: Dr. Tom Herrington
What: Surf’s Up: All About Waves

How to learn more information about the event and to register?
Visit the Dr. Tom Herrington Ocean Lecture & Educators’ Night webpage.

We hope to see you there!
Thanks, the MARE team

Heidi Sosik writes: “A drop of seawater contains hundreds, even thousands of tiny phytoplankton, organisms so small they can only be seen with a microscope. Despite being so tiny they are incredibly interesting and beautifully diverse. According to the scientists studying them at WHOI, that diversity is so beautiful that everyone should be able to peek into the invisible world of plankton. And that is being made possible by a new invention called Imaging FlowCytobot.”

You can find her story here.

Heidi Sosik is a senior scientist in the biology department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Who should attend? This series is designed for early career scientists.

Presenters: The webinar series is sponsored by the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) and the National Science Foundation.

Session 1: Introducing the Broader Impact Wizard

Date: June 4, 2012 at 1:00 pm EST
Presenter: Carrie Ferraro, Rutgers University & COSEE NOW, and Liesl Hotaling, Eidos Education & COSEE

In this session, we will provide a tutorial for COSEE NOW’s new online software, designed to assist scientists applying to NSF for research funding with their Criterion II requirements. The software is a five-step process that helps scientists determine the best education and public outreach plan to translate their research broadly. The final product of the program is an outline of important points to incorporate into your Broader Impact statement, including detailed objectives, examples of relevant educational literature to include, and an evaluation plan for the proposed project.

Sessions 2: Broadening Your Network Using Social Network Tools

Date: June 11, 2012 at 1:00pm EST
Presenter: Bob Chen, University of Massachusetts – Boston & COSEE OCEAN

Social networking is an important new tool for collaboration and knowledge exchange among scientists. In this program, we explore using tools such as Facebook, Twitter, online workgroups, and forums to leverage existing professional networks to increase capacity and productivity.

Session 3: How to Interview and Negotiate for an Academic Position

Date: June 18, 2012 at 1:00pm EST
Presenter: Jim Yoder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution & COSEE NOW

In this session, Dr. Jim Yoder will share his top ten things you should do when interviewing for an academic position. He will review the steps in the process from the phone interview to the face-to-face meeting, and what to do once you have a job offer. Participants are invited to bring a colleague for this informative event.

Workshop Time: 9am –5pm

Workshop Location: Smith Conference Room, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Workshop Participants – WHO should attend?
Early career scientists:

• Those holding a doctoral degree and who are employed in a post-doctoral or tenure-track (or tenure-track-equivalent) position as an assistant professor (or equivalent title)
• Advanced graduate student at an accredited U.S. institution

Workshop Purpose – WHY should I attend?
Scientists are increasingly being asked to communicate the “broader impacts” of their work. With the threat of a decline in both the scientific workforce and the public’s literacy on ocean and environmental science issues, the time is now for stepping up our efforts to promote ocean literacy.

Although there is no single approach for a successful integrated research and education plan, this workshop will build the foundation for attendees to think creatively about how their research will impact their education goals and, conversely, how their education activities will feed back into their research. When research and education are effectively interconnected, the process of discovery can help stimulate learning and the resulting research can be communicated to a broader audience.

Workshop Focus:
The Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) facilitates partnerships between scientists and education professionals (including formal and informal educators, learning scientists, psychologists, and media professionals) to collectively work toward the improvement of public literacy about our ocean. Please join us for a workshop series featuring demonstrations and discussions on the following skills, which we’ve organized into four, interconnected gears or areas:

• Gear #1: Deconstruct Your Science
  When translating scientific research, it helps to break down your message into its key components. This gear focuses on two methods for deconstructing your message including Concept Mapping and Storytelling.
• Gear #2: Understand How People Learn
  What does educational research say about how people learn and what can this tell us about effective ways to teach our students and communicate with the public? This gear focuses on sharing some information about how people learn, and sets the stage for incorporating effective strategies for learning into your practice as you share science with various and diverse audiences.
• Gear #3: Build Effective Communication Techniques
  Learners build an understanding of the world around them through their experiences, motivation, and social interactions. This gear includes information about how you can apply concepts, and effective practices and strategies gleaned from the learning sciences, into your education and outreach efforts.
• Gear #4: Broaden the Reach of Your Science
  The ability to share your scientific message with those outside your research group is critical for career advancement. With funding trends moving towards large collaborative research programs, it is more important than ever that scientists collaborate not only within their discipline, but also across and beyond scientific disciplines. The focus of this gear is on networking and collaboration techniques that will help you develop and disseminate your message to potential collaborators and the general public.
  Deconstructing your science

For more information on the gears and the workshop, please download the draft workshop agenda.

Interested in Attending?
This workshop is currently full. Please e-mail Dr. Jim Yoder at jyoder@whoi.edu with your name and university/institution affiliation if you would like to be added to the waiting list.

Argo floats live and die in the name of science

By: Lauren Koellermeier
Outreach Coordinator, NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

This is no whale or shark. This is a piece of oceanographic equipment. With a torpedo-like body, this instrument glides effortlessly through the ocean, surfacing for a moment before diminishing into the depths of the sea collecting data in the name of science.

Each and every day, over 3000 scientific instruments called Argo floats are traveling through the ocean in a series of calculated ups and downs, just going with the flow – the flow of ocean currents, that is.

The Argo network is an international collaboration that was born in 1999. It has been working tirelessly ever since to help determine the changing state of the upper ocean and patterns of ocean climate variability. Measuring temperature, salinity (the saltiness of the ocean), and currents, each float provides a unique piece of the ocean observation puzzle.

An Argo float’s life often begins in a laboratory, like The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (NOAA-PMEL) in Seattle, Washington. PMEL’s Argo Float Program has been deploying Argo floats since the birth of the network and currently has over 400 active floats in the water. Each float is cared for like a child, making sure it gets outfitted with the proper sensors and then it’s tested, tested, and tested again before being deployed into the ocean to begin its “adult” life.

PMEL Oceanographer Dr. Gregory Johnson says, “The ability to measure and see changes in our upper oceans over time with an instrument that can simply be lowered over the side of a boat and works by itself for up to 5 years is priceless in a research world of large, expensive ships that are normally required to collect data. The discoveries made and questions answered by Argo to date only touch the surface of what we will be able to learn from this observation system.”

Locations of Argo floats in the water as of March 16, 2012. Includes all floats in international array, not just PMELs.

Although each float leads a very solitary life of ups and downs, collectively the worldwide Argo network provides an accurate picture of changing ocean conditions in the upper 2000 meters of the ocean. Using a bladder, much like a swim bladder in fishes, an Argo float drifts down to about 1000 meters where it remains for 10 days taking measurements and floating with ocean currents. The float then drifts down deeper, as deep as 2000 meters, before sampling temperature and salinity as it rises to the surface where it relays its data to the rest of the world.

Life cycle of an Argo float.

Bringing Home the Data

The Argo Float Program at NOAA-PMEL, led by Dr. Johnson, is at the forefront of this research and they have over a decade of Argo float data to thank for it. The accumulating Argo data helps scientists, like Dr. Johnson, answer questions on a global ocean scale as well as provide detailed information on smaller scales such as the case with Indian Ocean waves and Antarctic waters.

Can all the heat being absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans be accounted for?

The key to understanding how much extra heat Earth is absorbing due to anthropogenic (human-induced) fossil fuel emissions is important to determine how global change impacts the Earth system. A recently published Nature Geoscience paper describes how the oceans take up over 90% of this excess heat. Using Argo and satellite data together from 2001 to 2010, scientists conclude that the Earth has been accumulating heat continuously, mostly in the ocean.

“Over the last decade, the net incoming energy measured at the top of the atmosphere is consistent with observed ocean warming within measurement uncertainties, implying that there is probably no ‘missing energy’ in the system as has been suggested,” describes co-author Dr. Greg Johnson, Oceanographer at PMEL.

Without Argo float data, scientists would not be able to provide the accurate ocean heating baseline data for taking full advantage of precise satellite measurements.

How can Argo floats teach us about deep Indian Ocean waves?

It has been straightforward to see and measure waves and currents at the surface of the ocean. Now, what is happening deep below the ocean surface is being understood thanks to Argo floats. Most Argo floats are programmed to stop at 1000 meters and move with the ocean currents to explore. Dr. Johnson used this data to better understand deep signatures of southern tropical Indian Ocean waves, called Rossby Waves, in a 2011 Journal of Physical Oceanography paper.

Rossby waves are most prominent in the thermocline, the boundary between the warm upper layer and cold deeper part of the ocean and have major effects on large-scale ocean circulation, and thus on weather and climate. Johnson helped reveal the deep reach of this wave and its speed across the Indian Ocean with the help of Argo data.

Is significant warming occurring in Antarctic waters?

Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is a dominant Southern Hemisphere water mass that spreads into all three oceans. Heating of this mass, found between 600 and 1000 meters, may reduce the ocean’s oxygen content in deep subtropical and tropical regions. Using Argo data, scientists concluded in a 2011 Journal of Climate paper that the AAIW core is significantly warmer than that recorded by the more sparsely sampled historical shipboard measurements.

Measuring and analyzing these changes in specific water masses will give us a better understanding of how heat is transported below the surface of the ocean, and what effects these changes may have on future ocean heat content. Argo floats allowed a much-improved assessment of these changes.

An Argo float before deployment off a vessel in the open ocean. Each float weighs about 50 lbs and are as tall as a person.

Argo’s Ongoing Legacy

Unfortunately, each Argo float’s life must come to an end. With a lifetime of around 5 years, each float has an un-ceremonial burial in the very waters where it helped gather important data during its life. PMEL and others are continuously replenishing the worldwide array and are deploying an average of 800 floats per year.

So what’s in store for Argo floats in the future? Dr. Johnson and his colleagues at PMEL continue to deploy Argo floats, while taking advantage of new technologies that allow for longer life expectancies with less surface time allowing more dives per float. Scientists are also hoping to use floats and other autonomous instruments to reach below 2000 meters and under ice flows where current Argo floats don’t explore.

“Each Argo float will provide its own lasting legacy with a unique data set that can provide us more data per day that we used to get in an entire year,” said Dr. Johnson.

References

Johnson, G. C. 2011. Deep signatures of southern tropical Indian Ocean annual Rossby waves. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 41, 1958-1964, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-11-029.1.

Loeb, N.G., J.M. Lyman, G.C. Johnson, D.R. Doelling, T. Wong, R.P. Allan, B.J. Soden, and G.L. Stephens (in press): Observed changes in top-of-the-atmosphere radiation and upper-ocean heating consistent within uncertainty. Nature Geosci., doi: 10.1038/NGEO1375.

Schmidtko, S., and G. C. Johnson. 2012. Multi-decadal warming and shoaling of Antarctic Intermediate Water. Journal of Climate, 25, 207-221, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00021.1.

This summer, IMCS is pleased to offer undergraduate students an opportunity to further practice and refine the informal education skills taught in COSIA.

What is the internship?

Over the course of the 10-week internship, interns will work on-site with the education and outreach staff at IMCS. The internship will be for 30 hours per week and requires interns to be on site at least four days a week. Dates of the internship are negotiable (ideally Jun 4 – Aug 10, 2012). Interns who complete the internship will receive a $4,500 stipend, paid biweekly. If needed, campus housing may be provided.

Preference will be given to applicants that have taken COSIA at Rutgers or similar classes elsewhere.

What kind of work will I do?

Over the course of the 10-week internship, students will:

• Package existing educational resources and materials into educational kits for use by informal and formal educators.
• Develop and present educational activities to a variety of informal education audiences (i.e. 4-H clubs, summer camps, school teachers) over the course of the summer.
• Adapt one or more existing educational activities to be used by K-12 classroom educators or informal audience educators. Activities will be used during the 2012-2013 academic year in support of the MARE Ocean Lecture & Educators’ Night and the 4-H Rutgerscience Saturday programs.
• Assist staff in the development of a business plan and educational strategy to implement fee-based programs to be run by the IMCS staff and/or an undergraduate students during the academic year.

How do I apply?

Interested students should send the following information to Janice McDonnell by April 2nd.

• A copy of your transcript. An unofficial version (copy) is acceptable.
• A current resume (include email and phone numbers where we can reach you).
• A personal statement describing your background, interest in developing your science education and communication skills, career plans, and how this Internship will help you reach your goals.
• A list of the contact information for 2 professional references.

If you have any questions, please contact Janice McDonnell, Assistant Professor of Youth Development at Rutgers University, and the Director of COSEE NOW.

Join us for an exciting evening ocean science lecture and a curriculum session.

Dr. Lee Kerkhof

The Kerkhof lab studies why there is such large diversity in the microbial world, how the diversity changes over space and time, and how so many different species of microbes can live together in the ocean. Their research ranges from field studies off of New Jersey to lab experiments to find bacteria that break down TNT.

Agenda-
6:00 – 6:15 pm: Check-in and Socialize
6:15 – 7:30 pm: Lecture, Q&A and Dinner
7:30 – 8:30 pm: Lesson plan/demonstration, Discussion, and Door Prizes

** Please bring an example of a prop, educational material, or lesson plan that you use to teach your students about ecology, diversity, and microbes. **

Registration-
Register by Friday, March 23, 2012 (click here to register).

If you are attending in person you will receive FREE materials, a light super, and a certificate of professional development hours.
However, if you are unable to attend in person we will be broadcasting the event over the internet. We ask that you register if you plan on watching the broadcast so we may ensure that it works well for you.

Upon registering for the event, you will receive a confirmation email.

Background Materials & Lesson Plans-
Visit the Dr. Kerkhof Ocean Lecture page on the MARE website to access background materials, a glossary, and lesson plans related to the event.

Parking-
Prior to the event, you will receive an email with the necessary parking pass to download, print, and display on your dashboard. Parking is available across the street from the Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences (IMCS) building (the red A button in the maps below).

Maps-
Here are two maps to help you navigate to the event.

Zoomed out map of IMCS building on Rutgers University

Zoomed in map of IMCS building and parking

This activity is an adaptation of “Shark Encounter” from the Lawrence Hall of Science: MARE 2002 curriculum. Adapted by: Kristin Hunter-Thomson

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Students simulate field research by working in small teams to collect, analyze, and discuss data on local populations of Black Sea Bass.

Audience:

Elementary, Middle, and High School

Length:

Two 40-minute class periods

NJ State Standards:

• 5.3.2.C.3 – Humans can change natural habitats in ways that can be helpful or harmful for the plants and animals that live there.

• 5.3.6.C.1 – Various human activities have changed the capacity of the environment to support some life forms.

• 5.3.8.E.1 – Individual organisms with certain traits are more likely than others to survive and have offspring in particular environments.

• 5.3.12.C.2 – Stability in an ecosystem can be disrupted by natural or human interactions.

Key Concept:

Fish population fluctuate over time and the actions of human can influence the fluctuations in positive and negative ways.

Introduction:

This activity is intended to help students understand how fisheries scientists collect and analyze data about the local fish populations. Through a simulate field seasons, students are exposed to what fish science in the field looks like. Also, students must analyze their data and compare it with the 40 years of actual Black Sea Bass data. The activity is meant to model the work of fisheries scientists and enable students to see natural fluctuations and the effects of humans on wild populations.

Background:

Black Sea Bass are important fish species in both commercial and recreational fisheries in New Jersey; they range from Maine to Florida. The Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils manage the fisheries. The population decreased from the early 1970s to the late 1990s, but currently is recovering to higher levels. Black Sea Bass provide a good example of fluctuations in a fish population and successful fisheries management.

Overview:

Overall:

The three goals for the activity are:

• Estimate the current Black Sea Bass population in the Mid-Atlantic region.
• Determine what sorts of changes (if any) are occurring in the Black Sea Bass population over time.
• Decide what can be done to prevent damage to the Black Sea Bass population.

Session 1:

To prepare, create the Mid-Atlantic region on the floor of your classroom (Image of Mid-Atlantic region set-up with blue and green boundaries). There will be up to 100 quadrats laid out in the Mid-Atlantic region (black boxes in image). On the under side of the quadrats will be information about what happens in that space (see Resources below).

During the activity, students first are introduced to the activity goals and their challenge: given limited time and resources, how can they accurately estimate a Black Sea Bass population? Ask the students how a scientist migh accomplish these goals? After brainstorming ideas, students test their methods for data collection and afterwards classmates discuss why they place their confidence in one method over another.

Then present your students with a standardized method for sampling and estimating the population of an organism in the field. Students work in small research teams to randomly select study sites and conduct “fishing collection trips” to collect data. Once they have recorded their data they will work to analyze the raw data and convert it into a useable format. From the raw data students calculate the mean length of Black Sea Bass sampled, the sex ratio of the populations, estimates of the population density, and the percentage of males in different length bins within the population.

Session 2:

To prepare, make large replicas of the Black Sea Bass Data Over Time line graph (see Resources below). These data are of the total biomass (estimated size of the Black Sea Bass population in the ocean) and total landings (number of Black Sea Bass that were caught in the commercial and recreational fisheries) from 1968 to 2007 that are used in the Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. If you had your students calculate the percentage of male Black Sea Bass in the population, also create a large replica of the Percent Male by Length graph (see Resources below).

Through the activity their goal is to determine an overall population estimate, account for any discrepancies, observe and compare their results with results from previous years, and determine if any meaningful recommendations can be generated for the future of the local Black Sea Bass population. During the activity, student teams share their data in a conference setting. After recording all of the class data, tell the students the actual size of the Black Sea Bass population and show them the graph with the Total Biomass of Black Sea Bass from 1968-2007. Using the data, ask the students to report on patterns over time in the Black Sea Bass population.

Then show the students the graph of Total Biomass and Total Landings of Black Sea Bass from 1968-2007. Again using the data, ask the students to report on patterns over time in the Black Sea Bass population. Engage the students in a discussion about comparing the total biomass and total landings over time. What does this mean?

Wrap-up:

1. Once the students have finished- distribute a sheet of paper and pen/pencil to each students. Have them do a “Quick Write” about: What are the short term, medium term, and long-term consequences to the total biomass of Black Sea Bass by increasing the amount of fishing pressure? What about decreasing the amount of fishing pressure? What arguments and evidence can you give to support your predictions?
2. Lead a whole group discussion and have students share their predictions with the class
3. Write the key concept (Fish populations fluctuate over time and the actions of humans can influence the fluctuations in positive and negative ways) on the board.
4. Ask the students if they have other observations or comments about the activity.
5. How do you think real marine organisms decide where and when they are going to migrate?

Materials:

For Session 1:

For the class:

• Poster of challenge goals
• Two 50-ft ropes to mark the boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic region
• 100 quadrats (1 ft x 1 ft)

For each student group:

• 1 bag of numbered pieces (poker chips, small tiles, pieces of paper, etc.)
• Calcualators
• 1 Clipboard
• 1 Data Sheet

For Session 2:

For the class:

• Graph of Black Sea Bass Data Over Time
• 1 sheet of large chart paper
• Colored Markers

For each student group:

• 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ paper
• 1 pen/pencil
• 1 Clipboard

Safety Precautions:

Students must walk and interact with one another during the field season part of this activity.

Resources:

Data for the activity:

• Black Sea Bass Data Over Time (Graph and Data Table)
• Black Sea Bass Sex Ratio (Graph and Data Table)

Materials for the activity:

• Black Sea Bass Encounter Quadrats
• Black Sea Bass Student Data Sheet

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