thought somebody might find this interesting, I looked and did not see Dr. Earl on this mission. the website is pretty cool.
NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration will launch the
to access rich education opportunities for teachers, students, and the
public to virtually join a team of scientist-explorers as they investigate
deep coral communities off the southeastern United States from October 16
November 4.
This 19-day ocean expedition will operate from Harbor Branch Oceanographic
Institution’s research vessel Seward Johnson and use the Johnson-Sea-Link
human-occupied submersible and other ocean systems and sensors to locate
and investigate deep-water high relief habitat supporting deep-sea corals
and associated communities. Working offshore of Cape Lookout, North
Carolina to Cape Canaveral, Florida, the team of scientist-explorers will
develop a comprehensive characterization of the coral banks, including
associated fishes and invertebrates. At target sites, researchers in manned
submersible dives will collect high-definition video and still images as
well as biological samples. The goal is to research coral genetics,
paleoclimate data associated with growth rings in black corals, and faunal
habitat relationships.
Because so little is known about the location of deep-sea corals and about
their associated communities, this expedition is largely about putting
meaningful dots on a map that will help to better understand, manage and
protect deep sea corals. With similar efforts of other explorers worldwide,
those dots will fill in much of the sparse map of what is unknown about
deep-sea corals.
Web coverage for this mission includes content essays written especially
for this exploration and lesson plans that tie directly to the science
behind the mission. These lessons have been developed for students in
Grades 5-12, are inquiry-based, and are tied to the National Science
Education Standards. Once the expedition begins, the excitement of deep-sea
discovery will continue to reach into classrooms through web logs written
by scientists and educators at sea to capture daily activities and
discoveries. These logs, which contain compelling video and still images,
are usually posted within 24 hours of their receipt from the explorers. An
"Ask an Explorer" feature will also be available for students to submit
questions to and receive answers from the explorers while at sea.
Life on the Edge: Exploring Deep Coral Communities is the sixth signature
expedition for NOAA’s Office of Exploration’s 2005 field season, with two
additional signature expeditions to follow.
Come explore with us!
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