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Today was a full day of research operations for us on the AR-71 STEMSeas-HBCU Partnership transit. There were scheduled deployments of CTDs, XBTs, and CPIES at specified sites along the transit towards Cape Hatteras in the Atlantic Ocean over a 24-hour period starting at 6:30AM Thursday, January 5th and ending 6:30AM Friday, January 6th. Each instrument is designed to collect quantitative data about the water column. CTDs measure conductivity (a proxy for salinity), temperature, and pressure (a proxy for depth). XBTs (Expendable Bathythermograph) instruments collect pressure and temperature data. CPIES (Current, Pressure, Inverted Echo Sounder) collect bottom pressure and vertical acoustic travel time data (a proxy for temperature and salinity profiles) as well as near bottom current measurements (velocity of ocean water). The CTDs and CPIES will be in place to collect data over the next 18months.
The goal of the data collection is to understand water movement and sea surface height variability. This data will help us understand currents and heat transfer by currents which has implications for ship travel. These data will also be used to help calibrate and validate measurements from a new satellite, SWOT which is Surface Water Ocean Topography. [To find out more information about SWOT, see swot.jpl.nasa.gov] The deployment of this array is part of the Adopt a Cross-over program AdAC east of Cape Hatteras. [To find more information about AdAC see https://www.swot-adac.org/campaigns/mab-swot/]
The cruise headed by Chief Scientist, Dr. Magdalena Andres, a physical oceanographer, was assisted by undergraduate students, a graduate student, and science techs specialized in research vessel technology. We as HBCU faculty representing 6 institutions were tasked with launching eight XBTs along the transit. [To meet the STEMSeas-HBCU participants see https://stemseas.wordpress.com/cruise-participants/]
Participating in these research operations is a unique experience. It is both immersive and experiential. Immersive as we live on the ship with various conversations about the ocean sciences. Experiential in that we are physically engaging in data collection and understanding how the data is analyzed. Although it is only Day 3 of the STEMSeas-HBCU Collaborative transit, this space has been generative. We have shared about potential collaborations amongst our various institutions– SUPERgirls (a non-profit), Tennessee State University, Coppin State University, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Florida A&M, and my home institution, Morgan State University. We have had conversations about our specific research areas, the ocean sciences, and how to develop a geoscience ecosystem that improves access to such immersive and potentially transformative experiences for students who are currently and historically poorly represented in the geosciences. I have a few takeaways and wonderings thus far. How do we provide meaningful learning and research experiences in the geosciences for students currently and historically under-represented in the field? How do we build academic pathways into geoscience majors from pre-college spaces? How do we build capacity for learning and studying the geosciences through in-school and out-of-school learning spaces K-16?
I am personally excited to be a part of the experience and look forward to what comes next.
Shondricka Burrell, PhD, Morgan State University
