Virtual Field Trip: Careers at Sea with Schmidt Ocean Institute
Summary
Join EarthEcho International and Schmidt Ocean Institute aboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Falkor as we explore the many different types of jobs that keep a ship like the Falkor running. From scientists, to captains, and cooks, we’ll explore the many ways to have a career on the ocean.
About the current cruise:
The R/V Falkor is currently in the Pacific Ocean studying the Sea-Surface Microlayer and Air-Sea Boundary. It is the first international, multidisciplinary research cruise to increase understanding of the role of the sea surface microlayer (SML). The SML works as a boundary layer between the ocean and atmosphere; and has been widely ignored by past and current research efforts. The science team led by Principal Investigators Dr. Oliver Wurl, Dr. Michael Cunliffe, Prof. Dr. William Landing, and Prof. Dr. Christopher Zappa is interested in the exchange of trace elements and organic compounds at this layer, and will use advance techniques to characterize sea surfaces, creating a new measure for air-sea exchange of climate-relevant gases and heat, and explore the sea surface as habitat for complex microbial communities. A collection of robotic platforms and vehicles, including autonomous aerial and remotely controlled surface will be used to collect data. Scientists will investigate these processes within a framework that incorporates recent understanding of the SML as a unique habitat for microbial communities and the significant role that they play in affecting air-sea interactions. This study has widespread and significant impact on the science of marine biogeochemistry and climate-related processes at a global scale.
Learn More About Schmidt Ocean Institute & R/V Falkor >>
Panelists
Dr. Oliver Wurl
Dr. Oliver Wurl, the Chief Scientist for this expedition, is a scientist and head of the group “Sea Surface” at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg, Germany. His research interests include the air-sea gas exchange, sea surface, carbon cycling and aerosol chemistry, and using that knowledge to contribute to a better understanding of the ocean’s role in climate change. His group “Sea Surface” investigates the sea surface microlayer and its effects on interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. Wurl’s group developed new technology to investigate processes at the sea surface. This technology, a remote-controlled catamaran and drifting buoy, is applied on this cruise to deepen the understanding how interfacial processes at the sea surface controls the exchange of CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere.
Deborah Smith
Deborah Smith is one of Falkor’s Marine Technicians and has bachelors in Marine Science from Maine Maritime Academy. She has been working as a Lead Hydrographer for a private company in the United States conducting various coastal and ocean mapping projects for the past fourteen years. She is from Rhode Island, USA.
Mónika Naranjo Gonzalez
Mónika Naranjo Gonzalez is the multi-media journalist on the R/V Falkor. For the last seventeen years she has worked on communication projects and strategic campaigns of social or environmental value. Her 2004 documentary “Coco” which portrays the struggle of illegal immigrants entering Costa Rica, received the Best Documentary Award at that year’s Costa Rican Film Festival.
Mónika has worked as Chief of Audiovisual Production for MarViva, a marine conservation regional NGO in Latin America and as Audiovisual Production Professor at the University of Costa Rica. In 2007 she founded LUMA, a successful production company specialized on the production of environmental education, corporate social responsibility and citizen engagement documentaries and campaigns.
Classroom Resources
This virtual field trip will provide a taste of the new resources to be offered through EarthEcho's new STEMExplore Program, a STEM careers resource hub.
Below are a sampling of STEM career videos, highlighting STEM careers from past EarthEcho Expeditions.