The Macondo oil well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 and was finally sealed in September. Many methods have been used to mitigate the affects and amounts of oil present in Gulf waters, including dispersants, containment, burning, oil removal, and even erecting barrier islands. What about microbes? MORE >>
Their webinars may have come and gone, but we've seen a lot of "buzz" about some of our presenters in various media. Here are a few that we've seen recently. MORE >>
Our ROLE Model webinars resumed last night with a topic near and dear to our hearts here in Midcoast Maine—lobsters! Dr. Richard Wahle, based at UMaine’s Darling Marine Center, has been conducting research on the American lobster for 20 years. He and his collaborators are seeking methods and tools that will successfully predict population trends of one of the most economically important fisheries in the United States. MORE >>
Follow the Great Belt Research Cruise as they sail around the South Atlantic from Chile to South Africa on the R/V Melville. This scientific expedition is carrying out the first systematic study of the Great Southern Coccolithophore Belt. Rebecca Fowler, Director of Education at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, has created a website specifically for education and outreach. Her daily blog is filled with fun, educational news, answers to readers questions, and interviews of Bigelow scientists. MORE >>
12/27/2010
| Carrie Armbrecht, University of Maine
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: graduate students
Albert Einstein once said, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” As graduate students, we receive ample training in how to do research. Yet effectively sharing our results and the passion of science with others is the most exciting and challenging thing. In absence of formal instruction, we sought to bring in an expert to guide us in communicating our science not only to colleagues but to students in the classroom and the general public. MORE >>
Tags: 12.01.10 webinar, climate intervention, iron
“This isn’t science fiction,” Professor Chai said, “This is real.” What if we are not able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we face an emergency here on Earth as a result of global warming? Scientists asked this question some time ago and have been researching different technologies that could be used to cool the planet, if needed. MORE >>
11/29/2010
| Lawrence Mayer, University of Maine
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: 10.06.10 Webinar, carbon cycle, scientist post, carbon sequestration
In this second installment, Dr. Larry Mayer (University of Maine) answers some additional questions posed by webinar participants. To watch Dr. Mayer's webinar presentation, you can visit the archive page.MORE >>
11/22/2010
| Benjamin Twining, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: 10.20.10 webinar, scientist post, icebergs
One of my favorite aspects of oceanography is its collaborative nature. Most projects are collaborations between multiple science groups—often located at different institutions and occasionally on different sides of the globe. A great collaborator can teach you about their field of research, provide an independent view of your own data, and help generate novel models and hypotheses. MORE >>
Dr. Linda Kalnejais, an oceanographer at the University of New Hampshire, studies the effects that pollutants have on estuaries. She pointed out that a very large percentage of the world’s human population lives clustered around these unique ecosystems. As a result, estuaries receive significant levels of pollutants. MORE >>
11/11/2010
| Lawrence Mayer, University of Maine
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: 10.06.10 Webinar, carbon cycle, scientist post
Dr. Larry Mayer from the University of Maine answers further questions from his webinar presentation on the topic of carbon cycling in the ocean. MORE >>
A lot of people still aren’t comfortable with the whole idea of “models”—what they are and how to use them. But they have become increasingly important in many fields, including ocean and climate research. Carolyn Jordan is a research scientist at the Complex Systems Research Center: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). In this week’s webinar, she explained how mathematical models work. MORE >>
11/02/2010
| Beth Campbell, University of Maine
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: 10.06.10 webinar, educator post, graduate students
Recently concept mapping for me has taken a different turn. After 10+ years as a high school educator, I have begun a new challenge – graduate school. Now rather than using concept maps with my students to help them organize their thinking in active, cooperative ways, I am using this tool to guide my own understanding as a student in the classroom and as a researcher. MORE >>
10/28/2010
| Michele Benoit, Bangor High School
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: concept mapping, 07.28.10 webinar, educator post
Even as the oft-accepted notion of multiple-learning styles was called into question by a recent NY Times article ("Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits" by Benedict Carey, 09/06/2010), teachers infer that different students think differently, based on the questions they ask, how they assemble information, and misconceptions they hold. What's really neat is to see those differences revealed in the layout of their concept maps. MORE >>
10/25/2010
| Amy Cline, University of New Hampshire
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: aerosols, 11.03.10 webinar
Have you ever thought about how or why scientists study aerosols and their affects over the ocean? This short video describes how a scientist at the University of New Hampshire, Dr. Hui Feng, uses measurements on land and from satellites to better understand the ocean and climate. MORE >>
In this week’s ROLE Model Webinar, Dr. Ben Twining, researcher at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, described some of the myriad technologies that are used in ocean science research. Annette deCharon then shared some of her observations and experiences from her years of using concept mapping in a variety of contexts. MORE >>
10/14/2010
| Ted Taylor, Bangor High School
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: concept mapping, carbon cycle, ROLE Model Webinar, educator post, 10.06.10 webinar
I think we have all had those times when you are trying to figure out how to do something, and you’ve spent hours and hours, days and days, and even months on it, but you just feel like you’re going nowhere with it. You just seem to reach a wall where you see many of the pieces you want to fit together, but you can’t seem to make it fit. Then something happens where you “see the light” and you wonder why it took so long. I had one of those “see the light” moments during the third COSEE-OS webinar when I listened and watched Dr. Larry Mayer discuss his carbon cycle concept map. MORE >>
Tags: carbon cycle, ROLE Model webinar, 10.06.10 webinar
Biogeochemist Larry Mayer spent the last few weeks dreaming about genies. Last night he talked to an online audience of 36 people from 12 states about what he calls the “genie in the bottle” also known as sequestered carbon. Former educator and current graduate student Beth Campbell also shared her insights as an educator on just how useful concept mapping can be – both for her previous students and for her current research. MORE >>
Tags: ROLE Model webinar, Persistent Organic Pollutants, Concept Mapping, 09.22.10 webinar
University of Connecticut scientist Penny Vlahos brought us into the world of POPs- persistent organic pollutants - and what their global travels might mean to our health. MORE >>
09/15/2010
| Peter Girguis, Harvard University
(Ocean Systems)
Tags: ROLE Model webinar, hydrothermal vents, scientist post, 08.10.10 webinar
Thanks to all the educators who participated in our ROLE Model Webinar. I really enjoyed interacting in “virtual space” with all of you, and discussing my most recent research cruise during the month of July 2010 to the Juan de Fuca hydrothermal vent field off the coast of Oregon state. It is really refreshing for me as a scientist to talk to people who are so excited about deep sea topics – it truly helps reinvigorate my own passions and ideas for my work, as well as learn more about how you and your students could best utilize this information in educational settings. Thanks for sending in such though-provoking questions on the pre-webinar survey as well. I tried to answer some of them below, and have provided reference links at the end of this post to reputable scientist-vetted sites for others. MORE >>
Tags: ROLE Model webinar, 07.28.10 webinar, 08.10.10 webinar
At COSEE-Ocean Systems we always want to know how participants feel about the activities, resources and events that we sponsor—if you’ve attended any of our events you’ve probably had direct experience with this through one of our Survey Monkey surveys! This is very important to our work and we appreciate the time people take to do these surveys because they’ve enabled us to collect so much valuable information about what is useful to educators and what direction we need to go in. MORE >>
Tags: ROLE Model Webinar, hydrothermal vents, oil spill, 08.10.10 webinar, 07.28.10 webinar
This summer, educators and other professionals from across the U.S. participated in online presentations by scientists on two fascinating topics: 1) oil spill impacts on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and 2) hydrothermal vent ecosystems. They also heard from educator-colleagues about ways to implement concept mapping in the classroom and in collaborative projects. MORE >>
Tags: ROLE Model webinar, hydrothermal vents, 08.10.10 webinar
Harvard scientist Peter Girguis shared some of the secrets of the deep and strange hydrothermal vent ecosystems found in the Juan de Fuca ridge area through a new concept map presentation at last night's second "ROLE Model" webinar. MORE >>
Tags: ROLE model webinar, concept mapping, oil spill, 07.28.10 webinar
Throughout the past week, OS staff have been on the hunt to find interesting, scientifically-accurate items to add to the Ocean Climate Interactive database of assets on the topic of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexcio. We gathered some great images of the spill plume taken by various NASA satellites as they passed by, as well as some clear overview diagrams and maps produced by NOAA and others in their collaborative efforts to gather information to discover the best way to address the spill. Presenting scientists Karen Orcutt and Kjell Gundersen also shared some of their own assets with us, which we also uploaded for use in concept maps. MORE >>
At COSEE-OS, we've strived to transform ocean science education by involving members of the scientific research community through our programs. Many COSEE-OS workshops have paired educators with research scientists, and we are always eager to hear peoples' feedback from these endeavors.
After running several workshops, we began to notice a pattern - that we were hearing the same feedback time and time again. We found that there is a strong desire from participants to have more opportunities to interact with research scientists. MORE >>
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant # NSF OCE-0707385. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
COSEE-Ocean Systems Central Office School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine Darling Marine Center 193 Clark's Cove Road Walpole, ME 04573
Phone: (207) 563-8176 E-mail: cosee-os
