Spring 2018 – Education Spotlight
– JUNE 19, 2018
(From Spring 2018 Newsletter)
The Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment (CARTHE) recently partnered with the ANGARI Foundation and MetOcean Telematics on a professional development opportunity for K-12 educators. The ANGARI Foundation’s mission is to promote “a global community that is interested, knowledgeable, and invested in marine and environmental sciences by directly supporting research initiatives that foster a greater trust and dialogue between scientists and the public.” A leader in satellite communications, MetOcean Telematics supports the integration of Iridium hardware into unmanned surface vehicles, buoys, profilers, and more to ensure reliable data transmissions. The goal of the one-day event, which took place in late March 2018 in West Palm Beach, Florida, was to provide an opportunity for the educators to learn about drifters, how scientists use them to track ocean currents, and to inspire them to incorporate this type of science and technology into their curriculums. The event took place on the R/V ANGARI, and the educators were able to drop a drifter provided by MetOcean Telemetics into the Gulf Stream. The drifter can be tracked online (www.osmc.noaa.gov, WMO ID #4101559). More information on this collaboration can be found on the ANGARI Foundation website here and on their Facebook page here.
The Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Input to the Gulf (ECOGIG) consortium participated in the 2018 EarthX Expo, Conference, and Film Festival held in Dallas, Texas from April 13-22, 2018. EarthX, a nonprofit organization that focuses on environmental education and awareness, hosts an annual event to “celebrate progress, hope, and innovation” by bringing together environmentally- focused organizations, businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, and others to participate in a forum to share “the latest initiatives, discoveries, research, innovations, policies, and corporate practices that are reshaping our world.” The event includes a three-day expo, five days of group conferences, and a 10-day film festival; last year, over 100,000 people attended the event. ECOGIG displayed their Ocean Discovery Zone booth during EarthX Expo, where they talked with visitors about ECOGIG’s research on deep sea ecosystems. More information on EarthX, including photos from the event, can be found on the EarthX Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages and on the ECOGIG website here.
