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A high-school class may be part of the research team for the year 2000!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" It was heartening to see a gathering of teenagers with such great ideas and genuine concern for the health of our marine environment, as opposed to the negative image of teens usually portrayed in the media."
Dan Howard

Education

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Sanctuary Summits - Cordell Bank

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General Information
About the Panel of Experts
References
Post-Summit Summary
Student Projects


General Information

Date: April 26, 1999
Location: Bodega Marine Laboratory
Participants: Science classes from the Sonoma County area
Theme: Exploration in Cordell Bank

High school science classes from the Sonoma County area will participate in a Sustainable Seas Expedition Sanctuary Summit on April 26, 1999 at the Bodega Marine Laboratory.

Panel experts:

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society
•Ed Ueber, Gulf of the Farallones & Cordell Bank Sanctuary Manager
•Dan Howard, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Assistant Manager
•Kathy Soave, 1999 Bay Area Teacher-at-Sea
•Tom Laidig, Sustainable Seas Expeditions researcher and aquanaut.

Following an introduction by Dr. Earle, there will be a slide show about Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and statements from panel members regarding their roles in the project. Then Dr. Earle will divide students into smaller focus groups. Using the information and details covered during the presentations, as well as the supplemental material they will receive on arrival, the student focus groups will be charged with designing and developing an original research proposal. A student proposal may be selected and incorporated into the following years of Sustainable Seas Expeditions in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. A high-school class may be part of the research team for the year 2000!

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About the Panel of Experts

Sylvia Earle
National Geographic Society

 Sylvia Earle

Marine biologist Sylvia Earle is Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, a position she has held since 1998. She is working with a variety of Society divisions on projects involving her passion -oceans - especially serving as project director of Sustainable Seas Expeditions and writing three books for publication in 1999.

Named one of Time Magazine's "heroes for the planet" in 1998, Earle has pioneered research on marine ecosystems and has led more than 50 expeditions totaling 6,000 hours underwater. She holds numerous diving records and is the author of more than 100 scientific and popular publications, including a 1995 book "Sea Change."

Earle was born August 30, 1935, in Gibbstown, NJ. She has a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a master's and doctorate from Duke University, as well as nine honorary doctorate degrees. She lives in Oakland, California. 

Ed Ueber
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Ed Ueber

Ed Ueber is the manager of Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries, and co-manager of the northern portion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Mr. Ueber oversees all administrative, research, education, and enforcement programs that occur within the sanctuary boundaries. He is also the Department of Commerce trustee for the Apex Houston and Cape Mohican oil spill settlements. Prior to becoming sanctuary manager, Mr. Ueber conducted fisheries research. He has published peer-reviewed papers on fish biology, fishing techniques, global warming, fishery economics, fish trade, fishery management, wooden boat building, wooden ship construction, oceanography and marine operations. 

Dan Howard
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Dan Howard

Dan Howard is the assistant manager of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. He is currently involved in education, research and management activities associated with Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries. Since 1980, he has been studying nearshore ecology of cold temperate, warm temperate, and tropical marine environments. He has completed over 2000 dives investigating nearshore reef communities in California and Hawaii and participated in a series of oceanographic research cruises over California's continental shelf. Much of this work investigated relationships between fish predators and their prey. He has published on a variety of subjects relating to his research. Topics range from natural mortality rates for first year juvenile rockfish to the effects of Hurricane Iniki on deep water corals in Hawaii. During the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, Mr. Howard will be using DeepWorker to investigate deep water habitats at Cordell Bank. Visual and video transects will be used to characterize habitats and assess algae, invertebrate and fish populations around the Bank. 

Kathy Soave
Teacher at Sea

Kathy Soave

Kathy Soave was chosen to be Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones "Teacher at Sea." Kathy will observe the dive operations, participate in sanctuary research, and interact with the scientists and educators onboard the NOAA ship McArthur. Kathy is a science teacher at the Branson School located in Ross, California. She currently teaches Marine Biology, Honors Chemistry and Environmental Science. In addition to designing and building the Marine Biology curriculum at Branson, she uses local field sites for her students to investigate varying ocean habitats, has created an immensely popular marine biology "mini-seminar " for Parents' Day, and organized an all-school, all-day assembly around the topic of the marine environment. At her school, she has won two prestigious awards as an outstanding faculty member/teacher and has been Junior Class Dean for three years.

Her leadership roles in education have included being a Master and Mentor Teacher as well as being involved with the Expanding Your Horizons workshops to foster middle/high school girls interest in math and science. Kathy is also an avid diver and has considerable skills in marine photography.

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References

Ecology of an Underwater Island by Robert W. Schmieder
The book is a summary of what is known about the ecology of Cordell Bank. It is based on a series of exploratory expeditions led by the author and colleagues. The book summarizes the physical factors that appear important to the biotic community living on Cordell Bank, and how the community interacts with itself and its surroundings.

Cordell Bank Fact Sheet.
This is an educational fact sheet on the unique features of Cordell Bank.


Post-Summit Summary

Overview

overview photo of room

Maria Brown welcomes the nearly 100 high school students from The Branson School, Cloverdale, El Molino, and Tomales High Schools to the Sanctuary Summit.

The first Student Summit of the Sustainable Seas Expeditions took place in the auditorium of the Bodega Marine Laboratory, directly inland from Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Nearly 100 high school students from Sonoma County traveled to the site to participate in the discussions of the day. Attendees included students from The Branson School, Cloverdale, El Molino, and Tomales High Schools, and their teachers.

 

Sylvia addressing students

Dr. Sylvia Earle familiarized the students at the summit with the mission of the Sustainable Seas Expeditions.

The audience was welcomed by Maria Brown, Executive Director of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association and organizer of the event. Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic's Explorer-in-Residence and the Chief Scientist for the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, then spoke to the students and showed them a brief video to better familiarize them with the mission of this unique project. Dan Howard, Assistant Manager for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, presented a slide show on the resources of the Sanctuary, as well as the challenges of accessing it, and how the DeepWorker technology offers many opprotunities for further research and exploration. Presentations from Ed Ueber (Sanctuary Manager), Kathy Soave (Teacher at Sea), and Tom Laidig (National Marine Fisheries Service biologist and pilot of the DeepWorker) concluded the students' orientation to the project at hand.

students talking in group

Students work in small groups to formalize ideas for ocean exploration at Cordell Bank.

After hearing from the panel members, the students were given their assignment to design a research project and were divided into smaller groups. These groups were guided by submersible pilots for the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries' Expeditions. For the next hour the students unleashed their ideas and explored the range of future possibilities for the DeepWorker.

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Project Ideas

The students came up with the following concepts for exploration at Cordell Bank:

1.) "Current Effects on Sessile Marine Organisms"--researching the relationship between the currents and seasonal upwelling on the location, population size, and density of the strawberry anemone in the Cordell Bank area. (The Branson School)

2.) "Diurnal and Vertical Biogeography of Cordell Bank"--analyzing vertical migratory and behavior patterns in relationship to topography and productivity. (The Branson School)

3.) "Establishing a Health Rating for the Bank"--surveying diversity and abundance of species over a four year period in order to establish comparable results over the next seven years. (El Molino High School)

4.) "Fossils Are Our Friends"--investigating the number and type of fossils left in the sediment of Cordell Bank in order to determine its origin. (Tomales High School)

5.) "Don't Destroy It Before You Explore It: Human Effects on the Ocean"--taking the sub down to all possible areas to show what is there and what has been negatively affected by us. Educate the public through multimedia presentations and the web. (Cloverdale High School)

6.) "Exploration and Research Day and Night on Cordell Bank"--observing changes in the daily location and abundance of krill, and how this affects the food chain. (Cloverdale High School)

two boys presenting

Students present their concepts for future expeditions to the assembly.

An elected student from each of the six groups presented the concept of their project to the assembly and how it would further the missions of the SSE. Closing remarks from Maria Brown complemented the students on their ingenuity, as did Sylvia Earle who saw great hope for changes to be made in the future by these talented young people.

 

 

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Quotes

Students

audience listening

"You've got to study the whole system in order to really understand what's going on out there. Everything is part of something bigger and affects everything else. That's why we propose doing a biogeography study--putting together all the pieces for a complete picture." --Lauren Morlock

 


"We think education is really where it's at. People have to know what's out there in order to want to protect it and with all the possibilities in the field of multimedia, we can reach people as far inland as Kansas and bring the ocean to them." --Jason and Kyle Siebenthall

"The only thing missing from this day is that you should let the students pilot the DeepWorkers for a taste of what it's really like." --unanimous 

Teachers

two students listening

"I was impressed with the interesting and thoughtful research projects my students developed."--Steve Salkovics, Cloverdale High School 

"This has been a great experience! I'm looking forward to participating in SSE in the coming years of the Expeditions. This is so important, bringing to the public why we need to protect the oceans. We need the oceans in order to survive, they don't need us. We need to figure out what it's going to take to make things sustainable."--Kathy Soave, The Branson School 

Organizer

"I think the day went really well. The students have great ideas and it was inspiring to see them so fired up about sanctuary research." --Maria Brown 

Panel Members

This Student Summit was a chance for us to reenergize ourselves with new ideas from younger people." --Ed Ueber 

" It was heartening to see a gathering of teenagers with such great ideas and genuine concern for the health of our marine environment, as opposed to the negative image of teens usually portrayed in the media."--Dan Howard

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Student Projects

Project #1: A day & night at Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Project Duration: October 1, 2000 to October 14, 2000
School: Cloverdale High School
Student Names: Jake B., Sophia D., Megan A., Kari M., Arthur C., Doug S., Josh S.
Teacher: Preston Addison
E-mail:
addisonp@cusd.org

Project Abstract:
The team would observe marine life at Cordell Banks during times of peak daylight and total darkness in the mid water zone at specific depths and times. The species of concentration would be krill because they are most abundant and are more likely to travel from the depths off the edge of the back to the mid water zone. The deep worker would be used to document the expedition on film and this footage would later be made into an educational video available for distribution around the country to schools and other educational institutions.

Project Description:
Observe marine life during the day and during the night. Samples would be taken at 150, 170, and 180 feet. Sample and counting times would be at 12:00 noon and 12:00 midnight. The specific species of focus would be Krill from the continental shelf to the mid water column. Focusing specifically on the Abundance of Krill in a given depth during both day and night. Equipment: plankton nets, submersible "deep worker" with video cameras, night vision system, limited light equipment, light meter, collection bags. The team would watch krill in density during the day and night hours. October would be a good month because of optimum sea conditions.

Project Requirements and Restraints:
Being able to dive at night. Being able to do one day dive and one day dive every day for two weeks and find a pilot willing to do that. Being able to film in low light. Being able to get into the water on a daily basis.

Correlation with SSE Goals:
The project supports the monitoring and education goals because the information learned would be documented and distributed to the public after monitoring was completed.

Comments or Additional Material:
The pilot of the deep worker could start very deep and film the traveling marine life as they ascend to the mid water column.

Project #2: Don't Destroy It Before You Explore It": Human Effects on the Ocean

School: Cloverdale High School
Student Names: Shawna C., Heather C., Whitney C., Alan F., Ian J., Natasha L., Jason S., Kyle S.
Teachers: Preston Addison and Steve Salkovics
Email:
addiosnp@cusd.org and salkovis@cusd.org

Abstract
Our project is titled "Don't Destroy It Before You Explore It.": Human Effect on the Ocean. We would use the Deep Worker submersibles to go down to all possible areas in the Cordell Bank to show what is there, what is affected, and what can be affected by humans. We would then process our information, and show it to our target audience: teens. Teens are the future, and the choices they make now will affect the oceans later. We would show them our information through multimedia presentations and virtual reality, which could be put on the Internet. People need to see the variety of species in the ocean, and those that have not been discovered yet. But we shouldn't destroy it before we explore it.

Project Description:
The goals of our project are to show the public what is there at Cordell Bank, what has been damaged by humans, and to tell them how to save that which is left. We would study all the habitats at Cordell Bank, and at different depths, as far down as is allowed by the Deep Worker submersibles. The equipment that we would need would be:
1. 2 Deep Worker 2000 submersibles
2. The McArthur ship
3. Camera equipment to be mounted on the Deep Workers
4. Computers with enough power to put together virtual maps

We would also need pilots to operate the submersible, people to work the computers to assemble the maps and multimedia presentations, and one or two people for publicity. One of the proposed research methods is to arrange a grid over Cordell Bank, put the two submersibles on opposite sides of the Bank, and work inward, covering as much area as possible, documenting the effects of humans on Cordell Bank.

The project would be divided into four phases:
Phase I
During phase I of the project, we would conduct our research. We would load up the McArthur at Bodega Bay, and go out to Cordell Bank. We would use our grid to position the two Deep Workers on opposite sides of the Bank. We would try to do 4 dives a day, two hours in length. We would document everything we found down there, the diversity of life, and the damage done by humans.

Phase II
During phase II of the project, we would process all the data gathered in phase I. We would then produce a video using film taken while down at the Bank. Along with the video, we would produce a multimedia presentation to be put up on the Internet and shown at conferences and assemblies, and we would produce virtual reality maps of the Bank. To further get our message out, we would distribute the video to TV stations, and to teachers along with a lesson plan about Cordell Bank and how humans are affecting the ocean through pollution, and how to save that which is still there. Because of the demands put on a computer to display virtual reality, we would outfit a van with the latest equipment available, and we would drive it around the country to schools.

Phase III
As was mentioned by the pilots and others at the summit, why would the person in Kansas care about the ocean? "Out of sight, out of mind." We would hold a nation-wide lottery for adults and students. Those who won would get to go out for a day on the McArthur. We would go down to Cordell Bank in the Deep Workers, and use live video links to let those on the sip see what was going on under the ship. This would bring them closer to the whole project, and hopefully impact how they feel about ocean pollution.

Phase IV
During phase IV, we would follow up on all of our research. We would try to see if anything had changed. We would set up monitoring systems to continually see what is going on at the Bank.

During this project, we would use all the technology available. But, because technology is ever expanding, in the future more advanced technology would become available, which would allow us to go back to the bank, and go deeper to see if humans can impact life further down in the ocean.

Project Requirements and Restraints:
For our project to be implemented, we would need pilots, publicity directors, people to operate the computers, and project directors. Some of the restraints would be time, and the seasons (condition of the sea).

We would use the 2 submersibles to dive about 4 times a day, at about 2 hours per dive. We don't know exactly how long the project would take, but the majority of the time would be spent analyzing the data collected.

Correlation with SSE Goals:
(I) Ocean Observatory and Monitoring Sites:
For follow up to our project, we would want to set up monitoring stations at the Bank to see if the condition of the Bank improves.
(II) Exploration:
We would be exploring the Bank during phase I of the project. We would use the submersibles to not only study the pollution at the Bank, but the amount of life down there. After the project is over, when new technology arises, we might be given the chance to do more at the Bank, like go deeper.
(III) Research on a Resource Management Issue:
We would be seeing the connection between ocean health and human activities.
(IV) Education and Outreach:
We would be raising awareness about the Bank, and the impact humans have on the ocean. After we produced our video, we would send it out to teachers along with lesson plan to teach students about Cordell Bank and the impact humans have on the ocean. We would be able to show the public that the ocean is a precious as the National Parks on land.

Comments or Additional Material:
This is quite an extensive project, which could be narrowed if needed. With this project, we hope we can raise awareness about the pollution in the ocean, and to teach people how to save what is left for future generations to enjoy. So remember, "Don't Destroy it Before You Explore It!"

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For more information on the Sanctuary Summit at the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, please contact:

Maria Brown, Executive Director
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Assocation
The Presidio
P.O. Box 29386
San Francisco, CA 94129
(415) 561-6625
mcbfmsa@jps.net

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