Archive of Spotlight Feature Articles

Arkansas Teacher at Sea on board the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown

by Diane Stanitski and John Kermond, NOAA - Office of Global Programs

Bob Weller and Mary Cook about to deploy drifter adoped by Escuela America (Read log.)

During the Stratus 2004 cruise, a NOAA project off the coast of Chile focused on deployment of observing system platforms and climate research, an 8th grade science teacher participated in scientific operations on board. Mary Cook, a teacher at Southside Middle School in Batesville, Arkansas was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Teacher at Sea Program, and NOAA's Office of Climate Observation (OCO) and the Climate Prediction Program for the Americas (CPPA) within NOAA's Office of Global Programs (OGP).

Mary participated in radiosonde balloon releases, drifting buoy and Argo float releases and wrote a children's book in conjunction with Diane Stanitski (co-author) of NOAA's Office of Climate Observation, and Bruce Cowden (illustrator), Chief Boatswain on the Ronald H. Brown. The book is geared toward 5th - 9th grade students and focuses on the scientific instrumentation and endeavors on board the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown during the Stratus 2004 cruise.

Ronald H. Brown with Stratus 5 in foreground (See log photo)

Mary Cook was the first teacher to participate in the Adopt a Drifter Program sponsored by NOAA's Office of Climate Observation. She and her students adopted a drifting buoy, decorated it with her school's stickers and the names of her 120 students, and deployed the buoy at 19°40.010'S, 77°58.587'W on December 8, 2004. Her students and fellow teachers at Southside Middle School are able to track their buoy as it travels across the Pacific Ocean. Mary is developing lesson plans focused specifically on the drifting buoy network and the processes linked with the drifter's movement (e.g., wind circulation and ocean currents). For information on how to participate in the Adopt a Drifter Program, please see the Adopt A Drifter Tracking Page.

Viviana Zamorano, a middle school science teacher at Escuela America in Arica, Chile, partnered with Mary as part of the ADP. Viviana, a former Teacher at Sea who participated on the Stratus 2003 cruise, and her students toured the Ronald H. Brown when it was in port in Arica and then communicated with Mary throughout the cruise. A drifter was deployed in Viviana's school's honor. Debra Brice and her students at San Marcos Middle School in San Diego adopted a third buoy. Debra was a former Teacher at Sea on the Stratus 2003 cruise and is a middle school science teacher. Visit the NOAA Office of Global Programs Ocean Observatory Teacher at Sea web site for information about Viviana's and Debra's adventures.

During the Stratus 2004 cruise, Mary assisted with science operations including mooring deployments and recoveries. She wrote daily logs, took photos, interviewed science and crew members and hosted the show, "Six O'clock Science on the Fantail," where she discussed the day's research activities with scientists on board. Mary communicated via email with her class and other land-based teachers and their students regarding all of her activities on the Ronald H. Brown. Diane Stanitski, of NOAA's Office of Climate Observation, provided assistance with videography, photography, and web communications while on board. All of Mary's videos, photos, and logs are available at the NOAA Stratus Teacher at Sea web site along with details and pictures of the new generation STRATUS mooring developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Links:

For information on the STRATUS Teacher in the Field program, go to http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/stratus/. For more details on this program, contact:

Diane Stanitski
U.S. OCO Associate Program Manager
NOAA - Office of Global Programs
(301) 427 - 2089 ext. 144
Diane.Stanitski@noaa.gov

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