Through
partnerships, students today can see and hear what's under the
ocean surface. They no longer need to just dream. NOAA's creative outreach
and education offers unprecedented opportunity to focus many millions
of young eyes on our essentially unexplored ocean world, especially now
that technology has caught up with our imaginations!
Partnerships and education underscore every NOAA exploration effort. Ten
percent of the Office of Ocean Exploration's annual budget is targeted
to education and outreach. Educators work with scientists to develop inquiry-
and standards-based lesson plans that complement daily expedition logs.
This year 83 hands-on lesson plans were developed for grades 5 -12. Adaptations
for deaf students are underway. A web-based "Ask an Explorer"  feature
lets students connect with those at sea - and receive near-real time answers.
Live deep ocean sound is online too.
Bridging exploration initiatives includes formal and informal relationships
with other federal agencies and academia, the international community,
private sector, and state, local and tribal governments. In partnership
with the National Undersea Research Program and the National Marine Sanctuary
Program, a regional series of eight workshops was conducted early this
year. A broadly diverse group of over 150 people helped shape upcoming
national exploration priorities.
Shipwrecked vessels preserved
in the murky, cold waters of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
still have stories to tell about Great Lakes maritime history and commerce.
Working with sanctuary staff, Dr. Robert Ballard's Institute
for Exploration and the State of Michigan, NOAA is helping to tell them.
To
explore the nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of Alaska,
Sue Doenges
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Dr.
Bradley Stevens
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Taylor
Heyl
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fifth-grade
Illinois teacher Sue Doenges worked with three teams of scientists.
She
partnered with NOAA Fisheries Dr. Bradley Stevens and Taylor Heyl, both
of Kodiak, expedition coordinator and Sea Grant Fellow Catalina Martinez,
and scientists from Stanford University, The Institute for Genomic Research,
Oregon State University, University of California, University of Alaska,
Coastal Carolina University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Explorers
on leg two of Pacific "Submarine Ring of Fire" expedition, which investigated
the birth of new ocean crust off the western North American coast.
They
are shown in front of the "garage" of ROPOS, the Remotely Operated Platform
for Ocean Science that can dive to a depth of almost three miles. NOAA's
Bob Embley (front row, right), co-chief scientist and geologist, and biologist
Michael Kelley (front row, left) were joined by scientists from eight
U.S. and Canadian universities, the U.S. Naval Academy, and other institutions
representing a broad range of disciplines: volcanology, marine chemistry,
microbiology, geochemistry, vent fluid analysis, analytical chemistry
and videography. Teacher-at-sea, Kimberly Williams of New York, reclined
in front.
This
team recently completed the first-of-its-kind exploration of the freezing
depths of the Arctic Ocean's Canadian Basin.
NOAA Fisheries Dr. Michael Vecchione (rear center, with cap), Sea Grant
Fellow Jeremy Potter (to left of Dr. Vecchione, with green shirt), and
NOAA mission coordinator Dr. Kathy Crane (6th person from right, with
sunglasses), partnered with scientists from the Universities of Alaska,
Washington, Texas A&M and Western Washington; Harbor Branch Oceanographic
Institution; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute; State Oceanic Administration
in China; and a team from the National Geographic Society.
Girl
Scouts at Aquarius Habitat
Special
delivery! Aquarius scientists received Girl Scout cookies.
This
summer NOAA and the Girl Scouts of the USA teamed up for The Aquarius
Project 2002, an innovative week of ocean science and discovery
for a nationally selected group of Girl Scout Aquanauts. This is
the first partnership that brings NOAA and the Girl Scouts together
for ocean study and exploration. Girls learned the fundamentals
of exploration, ocean technology, coral reef ecology and much more.
Aquanauts dove to Aquarius and even delivered cookies to
scientists at work there. As the world's only underwater habitat,
Aquarius is 65 feet under the sea. Next to Aquarius
at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is the Gazebo,
with separate air supply and oxygen if needed for quick ascent.
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NOAA’s 5th Teacher-At-Sea
Welcomed Home
NOAA teacher-at-sea, Dr. Diane Stanitski-Martin, professor at Shippensburg
University in Pennsylvania, was given a welcome home reception by Pennsylvania
Senator Rick Santorum (left) and Representative Todd Platts. As the fifth
teacher-at-sea supported by NOAA’s Office of Global of Programs, Diane
boarded the NOAA Ship Ka'imimoana in Honolulu and traveled to the
French Marquesas Islands. Diane is the first teacher-at-sea to conduct
live, close-captioned Web broadcasts (eight) and the first to teach undergraduate
and graduate classes from aboard a NOAA ship. To travel with Diane, visit:
http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/tao.
Credit:
Zac Hoyt
Kodiak schoolchildren
gathered around Dr. Bradley Stevens,
NOAA fisheries biologist,
as he held a tanner crab collected from Patton Seamount during a port
stop.
Sarah Fangman, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary scientist, shared
her experience diving in a submersible.
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