Connecting education and public outreach (EPO) with oceanographic expeditions is becoming increasingly common, and is thus an additional layer of planning, execution and assessment for a chief scientist to manage. In this week, we will review some of the common ways that EPO is incorporated into field work, both before, during, and after, and what is required to implement them (technology and personnel), and some of the common pitfalls to be aware of. We will hear from a scientist-engineer who is also an amazing science communicator to give us another perspective on outreach and sea-going work. Finally, we will discuss the assessment tools, processes, and metrics that are used to gauge the efficacy of EPO activities, and how to write these into proposal planning.
Goals
Understand the types of common EPO connected with deep-sea oceanographic expeditions, what is required to implement them, and common pitfalls to be aware of
Understand where to get communication training to help with creating effective products
Understand what kinds of assessment tools, processes, and metrics are useful and often required from funders
Pre-Class Activities
Spend some time looking at example outreach products like blogs, photo galleries, and videos from recent expeditions of the Schmidt Ocean Institute (Designing the Future expedition in 2022 featuring our guest speaker!; Lost City Vents cruise) and the Ocean Exploration Trust (NA138). Note that professional communicators often sail on these expeditions to enable these products.
Review this article from Mexican artist Ale de la Puente’s for a perspective of sailing on the Falkor as an artist.
Draft a short paragraph or a few bullet points describing the education, public outreach, and/or communication approach for your proposed Dream Project.
Class Plan & Materials
Hour 1
3:30-3:45: Welcome and scene setting - give some examples of outreach that worked really well… or didn’t
3:45-4:05: Guest lecturer, scientist, engineer, and National Geographic Explorer Kakani Katija
4:05-4:25: Q&A
4:25-4:30: Break
Hour 2
4:30-4:45: Julie & Beth: How we have funded our own EPO at sea, what has worked or not, how some agencies required assessment, bringing in experts, etc. (one slide below)
4:45-5:00: Q&A
5:00-5:25: Breakout rooms to discuss your Dream Project idea for EPO
Learn about project Ocean Memory, a collaborative network of researchers from across the Sciences, Arts and Humanities dedicated to exploring the intersection of Ocean and Memory.
Other examples of expedition outreach:
A website maintained by NOAA/PMEL researchers working at Axial Seamount, including educational activities and blogs from 20+ years of cruises. These were mostly done by scientists aboard.
Slide deck from Brian Kennedy at Boston University with incredible detail about considering how to implement telepresence on a ship, from the 2022 Master Class.
Watch this recorded part of a recent ROV Hercules dive on the Don Quixote Seamount EV Nautilusexpedition 134. Listen to the first 10 minutes or so to hear how the scientists, pilots, navigator, and camera controller communicate with each other to work through sampling, archiving, navigation, all while also narrating the action for a global online audience. Also, really cool deep-sea corals and sponges to enjoy! COBRA Director Beth Orcutt is one of the scientists narrating this part of the dive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOoySWCXQOY
Check out the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s YouTube channel for the cruise at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that just ended at some point before class and listen to the recorded livestream to get a sense of what telepresence sounds like.
Articles about outreach and telepresence applications:
Marlow, J., Borrelli, C., Jungbluth, S.P., Hoffman, C., Marlow, J., Girguis, P.R. and AT-36 Team, 2017. Telepresence is a potentially transformative tool for field science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(19), pp.4841-4844.
Raineault, N.A., Bell, K.L. and Girguis, P., 2018. Advancing ocean science and exploration through telepresence. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 150, pp.1-3.
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