In the middle of the ocean, about 60 degrees south of Antarctica, over 25 scientists are finishing up their day and opening up laptops to connect with students back in Maine. The Great Belt Research Cruise is compromised of an international team of researchers studying phytoplankton across the southern ocean. An equally important goal of the excursion is to share their findings with students in Maine.
The excursion will end on March 23, when the research vessel Roger Revelle arrives on the western coast of Australia. Throughout the course of their journey, the research team has been checking in with students on Frenchboro, Long Island, Islesboro and North Haven.
The interaction with island schools began before the research cruise ever set sail. Rebecca Fowler, director of education for Bigelow Labs, along with Bigelow Senior Research Scientist Ben Twining, first worked together while Fowler was teaching on Monhegan Island. Twinings was interested in working with island and coastal schools as part of a research requirement in a grant funded by the National Science Foundation. After connecting Twining with the Island Institute, his team was able to work with students on Frenchboro to use plankton to discuss concepts like photosynthesis and the marine food web.
After seeing the success of the project with Frenchboro, Fowler shifted her focus to develop outreach to more island schools. “The goal of our research expedition is to expose Maine students to career options in ocean science and to understand how the ocean really affects their lives,” says Fowler.
She and Twining presented the idea in October at the Island Teachers Conference and connected with teachers from the islands who wanted to be involved with the project. Before the trip, they visited with the students to collect water samples and talk about the impending expedition.
Aboard the R/V Roger Revelle, scientists are currently working around the clock, taking 12-hour shifts to gather as much data as possible while on board. Analysis of the samples will take place over the next year in labs across the country. Their goal is to carefully analyze the Great Southern Coccolithopore Belt, also known as simply The Great Belt, to study coccolithopores, a type of phytoplankton prevalent in this part of the ocean.
Though the goal of the cruise is to study phytoplankton, their link to island schools remains just as important. “We know that many of the students that live on the islands are excited about the ocean,” explains Fowler. “But we also want to show them how exciting a career in this field can be.”
Students are able to follow the crew through a blog and video conferencing while they’re at sea. “I’m so impressed by the questions they’re asking,” says Fowler. “They aren’t just interested in what we’re our day-to-day is like on the ship, but they ask really thoughtful questions about the research that is going on as well.”
The classrooms are able to access everything from satellite tracking to data on the pH levels in the ocean. “All different grade levels are being exposed to this program,” says Fowler. “We’re able to adapt the conversations to every age when we talk about studying the ocean.”
When the team finishes their expedition, Fowler is excited to head back to the islands and meet up with the students again. “I hope this project will lead to long term collaborations between island teachers and Bigelow scientists,” says Fowler. “Island schools are a great fit for these projects and so many great learning moments come out of our interactions.”