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Using Data From Autonomous Vehicles and Drifters to Support Education and Outreach - 03.09.2012

The Icelandic research vessel, Bjarni Saemundssonm, leaves port to investigate the North Atlantic Bloom
2012 Ocean Science Meeting
February 20-24, 2012
Salt Lake City, UT

University of Maine School of Marine Sciences post-doc Ivona Cetinic's presentation at the 2012 Ocean Science Meeting focused on the North Atlantic Bloom (NAB) Webinar Series that featured the research of scientists from the 2008 NAB Experiment*. This five-part weekly series was presented by the NAB scientists, who told the story of the North Atlantic spring bloom and its role in the ocean ecosystem.

Ivona represented seven scientists from four institutions:

  • Ivona Cetinic (University of Maine)
  • Eric D'Asaro (University of Washington)
  • Craig Lee (University of Washington)
  • Amala Mahadevan (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
  • Melissa Omand (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
  • Mary Jane Perry (Univeristy of Maine)
  • Nicole Poulton (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences)
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*The 2008 North Atlantic Bloom Experiment (NAB08) was a collaborative effort to observe an entire phytoplankton spring bloom and included the use of heavily-instrumented autonomous platforms that sampled biogeochemical parameters relevant to aspects of the bloom. To broadly disseminate results and contribute to the public’s understanding of ocean science, NAB08 participants collaborated with COSEE-Ocean Systems to present a series of five webinars describing the motivations and findings of this multidisciplinary experiment. Weekly webinars targeted a wide community of educators, scientists, and students and used interactive concept maps enriched with educational assets to deconstruct and present complex ocean science content.

The series allowed geographically separated NAB08 scientists to reach participants from 21 different U.S. states and several countries. Guided-inquiry datasets, utilizing NAB08 data, were developed, presented and made available to download at each webinar. Post-webinar evaluation showed that 31% of the audience was comprised of researchers and 51% of educators. A high audience retention rate demonstrated the effectiveness of a coordinated series of webinars on a complex scientific endeavor.

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