Ocean Observatories and Ocean Education. Marcia McNutt Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing, CA

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1 Ocean Observatories and Ocean Education Marcia McNutt Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing, CA

2 The vitality of a democracy assumes a certain core of knowledge shared by everyone which serves as a unifying force. It is fundamental to the effectiveness of our democratic system that our citizens be able to make informed judgements on the more and more complex issues of scientific and technological public policy. Glenn Seaborg, A Nation at Risk Revisited

3 Is there a problem? Nearly 30% of year-olds in the US cannot correctly locate the Pacific Ocean on a map. The majority students in the midwest do not believe that there is anything they personally do that affects the health of the oceans.

4 Copyright, the Cartoonbank Only 14% of Americans recognize that humans are the greatest source of ocean pollution.

5 Copyright, the Cartoonbank OK - so there is a problem.

6 Can we expect this group to be informed citizens on issues such as Global warming CO 2 sequestration Iron fertilization Designation of marine protected areas Coastal development Agricultural runoff Marine safety

7 How Ocean Observatories Can Help They record the changing nature of the ocean They illustrate the global nature of the ocean They emphasize the interconnectedness of the biology, chemistry, physics, and geology of the ocean They highlight the impact of humans They rely on high tech tools which engage the young

8 Why Do Scientists Want to Build Observatories? Ocean observatories can capture events as they happen Observatories provide synoptic view Observatories promote interdisciplinary research Observatories avoid temporal aliasing Observatories (hopefully) lower the cost of acquiring information

9 Ocean Observing Platforms Permanent buoys Relocatable buoys Cabled observatories Mobile assets: AUVs, drifters to provide spatial footprint

10 Relocatable LEO Sat e llit e Buoys Surface In s t rum e nt a t io n Node Power provided by solar panels and batteries Mo o ring Mid wa t e r Ins t rum e nt a t io n Node AUV AUV Profiling Ins t rum e n t a t io n Node Communications via satellite and seafloor cables Ris e r Ca b le Benthic Ins t rum e n t a t io n Node Benthic Ins t rum e nt s MOOS System Concept

11 Relocatable Buoys MBARI s MOOS mooring is designed as a rugged platform that is easily configured and upgraded to host a large number of sensors from the ocean surface through the water column with a minimum of maintenance costs.

12 Climate Sea surface height anomaly & Ocean Variability Global (TOPEX) to regional (CA current) to local (MB time series) data show regime shift in Linked to fluctuations in sardines. Shallow thermocline

13 Cabled Observatories: Provide much high levels of power and bandwidth to seafloor sensor suites.

14 RIN (before) RIN (after) Canyon Dynamics Understanding the origin of submarine canyons

15 CO 2 in the Deep Animal Collection Animal Collection Time-lapse Time-lapse Camera Camera Sea Cage Cage CO2 Pool CO2 Pool Evaluating response of deep-sea organisms to acidification and hypercapnia near CO 2 release sites. Animals die if ph change more than 1 unit. No effect at 5 m from Time Lapse Video Camera CO2 Corrals Control Corrals Sediment Cores Faunal Cages ph ph Sensor ph Sensor N 10 m CO Release Exp. 1 2

16 Mobile Platforms AUVs, drifters are cheap to build and operate Goal is to provide underwater docking capability to provide power and 2-way communication to AUVs Will enable event response with or without human intervention

17 Sensor Technology The MBARI Chemical Sensor Lab s ISUS, deployed from an ROV, sniffs out HS - at a seep site. We are developing the first generation of chemical and biological sensors that work in situ in the deep sea. These will enable observatories to be truly multidisciplinary.

18 Environmental Sample Processor ESP moored offshore Casco Bay, Maine, performed first in-situ detection of a harmful algal bloom. Professor Mary Silver at UCSC is

19 Understanding Monterey Bay Monterey is the most observed area of seafloor in the world 13-year mooring/ship time series 13,000 ROV video tapes archived 850,000 annotations in data base

20 Informal Education Aquaria and science museums have a wealth of experience in making ocean information engaging. By inspiring, they help citizens to care.

21 Communicating to the Public "Exploring Monterey Canyon" provides live link between Aquarium and MBARI ROVs Two-way communication allows viewers to participate in dives 30-minute typical encounter with the public Cartoon showing the microwave link that enables 2-way communication between MBARI ships and Aquarium visitors.

22 Formal Education While many parents applaud the decision in Georgia to allow the teaching of creationism in schools, others vow to challenge it in court. Of the 13 million high students in the US, only 860,000 will take a geoscience course (<7%). This is a DECREASE compared with the situation in There is a continual fight to keep creationism out of the science classroom.

23 General Issues Many high school students (and parents) oppose requiring 3 sciences for high school graduation. Ocean science material is engaging even to very young students, but elementary and junior high teachers are frequently unfamiliar with the subject matter. (Only 3% of elementary school teachers have a college course in the geosciences.)

24 Observatory Special Issues Scientists are concerned about being overwhelmed with a flood of poorly validated and calibrated observatory data Public even more poorly prepared to deal with that flood of information

25 Conclusions There has never been a greater need for citizens informed about ocean issues Ocean observatories can serve to illustrate many key concepts Much effort will need to be placed into providing the information in an easily assimilated context