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January 4, 2013

OOI Connects with the User Community at AGU 2012

By ooistaff | January 4, 2013 | Comments Off on OOI Connects with the User Community at AGU 2012
Tim Cowles, Vice President & Director of Ocean Observing at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership talks with interested conference participants at the OOI booth. (Photo Credit: OOI Communications)

(Click to enlarge) Tim Cowles, Vice President & Director of Ocean Observing at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership talks with interested conference participants at the OOI booth. (Photo Credit: OOI Communications)

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) has returned from a successful 2012 American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco, Calif.  During the conference, OOI team members held a variety of sessions, posters and information-sharing opportunities. 

The OOI team held an informational session Wednesday evening at the nearby Serrano Hotel led by Tim Cowles, Vice President & Director of Ocean Observing at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.  Attendees were provided with an update of recent OOI progress and accomplishments as well as a Q&A session on the 2013 and 2014 deployment schedule.  The session sparked an engaging conversation regarding the streams of data scheduled to begin in late 2013.

“We are excited that a significant number of OOI platforms will be deployed in 2013, with instruments distributed from the sea surface to the seafloor at several of the OOI sites,” said Cowles.  “The data from those instruments will be readily available to users in late 2013 – and represent the first phase of data delivery from the OOI.  I encourage users to stay informed about these deployments and data developments through the OOI website.”

Download a PDF of that presentation HERE.

Download the Deployment Schedule HERE.

John Graybeal, Product Manager of the OOI Cyberinfrastructure (CI) presents a poster explaining the basics of the OOI Cyberinfrastructure, (Photo Credit: Debi Kilb, CI Communications)

(Click to enlarge) John Graybeal, Product Manager of the OOI Cyberinfrastructure (CI) presents a poster explaining the basics of the OOI Cyberinfrastructure, (Photo Credit: Debi Kilb, CI Communications)

At the OOI booth, team members fielded questions from a variety of enthusiastic visitors and provided demonstrations of the online OOI Instrument Tables and the deep-sea exploration XBOX video game DEEP.

“It was inspiring to talk to so many young researchers who are interested in having access to the OOI and using the data in research throughout their careers,” says Megan Gibney, OOI Program Specialist.  “Our goal at the OOI is to provide data to the scientific community for decades and this next generation of ocean researchers will be a big part of that.”

In addition to streaming data, the OOI Education and Public Engagement team will construct a series of software tools and a web-based social network that leverages the OOI Cyberinfrastructure to support engagement of a wide range of users. These tools will enable educators and developers to enhance their undergraduate education programs and engage free choice learners using real-time and streaming data provided by the OOI.  Several posters and talks at AGU focused on highlighting these opportunities to integrate the OOI into the classroom.

“We were excited to see so many experienced and early career educators interested in using the interactive EPE tools that will help bring near real-time data into undergraduate classrooms,” reported Allison Fundis, RSN Education and Public Engagement Liaison, and Debi Kilb, CI Education and Public Engagement Liaison.

The DEEP video game, created by Danny Rohrlick, CI Programmer Analyst, was a big hit at the OOI booth, allowing players to explore hydrothermal vents. (Photo Credit: OOI Communications)

(Click to enlarge) The DEEP video game, created by Danny Rohrlick, CI Programmer Analyst, was a big hit at the OOI booth, allowing players to explore hydrothermal vents. (Photo Credit: OOI Communications)

Those interested can track progress of the OOI by visiting the OOI Website or signing up for the OOI Newsletter (e-mail ooi-newsletter@oceanleadership.org with “Subscribe” in the header). Detailed information on the OOI equipment and sensors and their date products can be found on the OOI Instrument Table Section of the website as well. Click here to see an OOI Station Map.

If you missed the meeting and would like to learn more about what is happening in the program, check out the poster links below.

University of Washington's Giora Proskurowski, RSN Project Scientist, and Allison Fundis, RSN Education and Public Engagement Liaison, co-led the session 'Ocean Science Online: Engaging Multiple Audiences,' which included a presentation by Leslie Sautter, Geology Professor at the College of Charleston, on real time education from at VISIONS cruise. (Photo Credit: OOI Communications)

(Click to enlarge) University of Washington’s Giora Proskurowski, RSN Project Scientist, and Allison Fundis, RSN Education and Public Engagement Liaison, co-led the session ‘Ocean Science Online: Engaging Multiple Audiences,’ which included a presentation by Leslie Sautter, Geology Professor at the College of Charleston, on real time education from at VISIONS cruise. (Photo Credit: OOI Communications)

Tim Cowles, Vice President & Director of Ocean Observing at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and Bob Gagosian, President and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership meet with Subra Suresh, Director of the National Science Foundation in the exhibit hall. (Photo Credit: Julie Farver, Senior Manager, Meetings and Travel, Consortium for Ocean Leadership)

(Click to enlarge) Tim Cowles, Vice President & Director of Ocean Observing at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and Bob Gagosian, President and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership meet with Subra Suresh, Director of the National Science Foundation in the exhibit hall. (Photo Credit: Julie Farver, Senior Manager, Meetings and Travel, Consortium for Ocean Leadership)