Tourism as it was Meant to Be

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Almost any avid golfer knows that Bandon Dunes is regarded as the “Mecca of American Golf”. With its miles of beautiful rolling green hills overlooking the ocean, it’s easy to understand why. Many celebrities, pro athletes, and golf enthusiasts like to escape to the resort for a few days, and some even refer to it as “man camp”. But what many don’t realize is that there so much more to Bandon Dunes than golf.

Mike Keiser, the owner of the resort, saw the needs of the community and the positive impact clean tourism has on the area. He founded the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance (WRCA) to fund triple-bottom-line projects in the community. The net proceeds made from the Bandon Preserves course goes towards the WRCA, which then goes into grants for other organizations serving the Sothern Oregon coast. Even the course itself emphasizes the beauty of the area, featuring the endangered and protected plant species silvery phacelia. Some organizations that had projects funded by the WRCA this past year include the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, Beaver Slough Drainage District and community members in fighting against the invasive species gorse. The WRCA and the Bandon Dunes Resort are prime examples of tourism as it should be; providing visitors with an experience of a lifetime while highlighting features of the area and putting profits back into the community and environment.

As an Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar, I am working with OSU extension and WRCA to develop curriculum for training guides and outfitters on the Oregon coast. I’ve loved getting to explore Bandon and learn about everything the tourism at the resort has done to help the community. It’s been an amazing experience so far learning about the impact tourism can have on communities, and I look forward to learning much more as the summer continues.

The Human Dimension of Marine Reserves

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Mission:  To inherit the knowledge of every place and people I call home. 

 

There’s a first for everything. First job, first road trip, first time meeting the people you now cherish. Being a Summer Scholar promises to be full of firsts: this will be the longest that I have been away from home (Seattle, WA), is my first time doing human dimensions research, is my initiation into the world of working for the government and policy-related work, and is my first internship. I am incredibly grateful that the Oregon Sea Grant in association with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife trusted me to do this work and brought me to where I am today.

Also, thank you mom, dad, loved ones, and my extended family at the University of Washington for all you have poured into me.

Me on Nye Beach at sunset

Image result for marine reserves odfw

For the next ten weeks I will be working with the ODFW’s Marine Reserves Program on the Human Dimensions Research Project. This type of work is fascinating, but ultimately I selected this project because of who would become my mentors.  Tommy Swearingen is the project leader and is a one man show of expertise, initiative, and charisma. He oversees at least 15 different studies that assess the socioeconomic impacts of marine reserve implementation. He has had a Summer Scholar under his wing every year since he was brought onto the team. Being a mentor to him means more than just supplying interns with work–he wants to understand where they come from, and how he can best help them become fully immersed in the work and contribute to their future goals. He is a researcher, but also a teacher. In only the first week under his tutelage, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of the history of Oregon’s coastal communities and of the scope of the Human Dimensions Research Project.

Fishing vessel at dusk approaching the Yaquina Bay Bridge

To ensure the marine reserves are not adversely affecting coastal residents, Tommy and his associates have collected socioeconomic data on the scale of communities to individuals. Seeing as the reserves only make up 3% of Oregon’s coastal area, these effects are difficult to disentangle from larger trends. This is where studies on the individual level–specifically of well-being, world view, and feelings–become crucial. For this, you need an anthropologist.

Specifically, you need Elizabeth Marino. Beth is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at OSU-Cascades, and every now and then she will be driving down from Bend, OR to conduct interviews on fishers and to mentor me. I am inspired by her outlook, knowledge, empathy, and dedication to her work. Just to give you an idea of her background, Beth is the author of Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground: An Ethnography of Climate Change in Shishmaref, Alaska. This documents her decade-long research on some of the first climate refugees, the Iñupiaq people, who are running out of time while their home is engulfed by the sea. Needless to say, her work has real-world consequences.

I am humbled to be working under these incredible researchers and people. By the week’s end, I now know where I fit into the Human Dimensions Research Project:

  • First and foremost, I will be conducting interviews of fishers on their knowledge of the local ocean–which can span back five generations–and on how marine reserves might be affecting their livelihoods. Giving them a voice just might reveal effects that quantitative data fails to do alone.
  • Secondly, I am already in the process of coding (aka categorizing) open-ended responses of a well-being survey of coastal residents. This converts qualitative responses to quantitative data, which could reveal how geography, community culture, and economic well-being all correspond to people’s feelings. It also speaks to what people value and how much they are willing to give up for these values.
  • Lastly, I will be trained on how to maintain an ongoing database of the economic status of coastal communities.

I am beyond excited to see where this work takes me.

Other snapshots from my first week in Newport, OR, my home for this summer:

(Almost) every OSG Summer Scholar working at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. From left to right: Me, Abby Ernest-Beck (EPA), Dani Hanelin (ODFW), and Taylor Ely (ODFW-Marine Reserves). Not pictured + photocreds: Anna Bolm (USDA).

The expanse of Nye Beach, the first beach I visited upon arriving in Newport, looking at Yaquina Head.

A lush beach-side cliff of salal. Coming from a background in both terrestrial and marine science, I am seeing from daily excursions how the ecology of coastal Oregon is not very different from that of western Washington. It feels like home–except with massive beaches of soft sand.

Some of my new friends on the Sea Lion Docks in South Beach.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which we visited the very next day.

Silhouette at sunset. Each day is full here.

 

 

A New Coast, a New Home, and a New Perspective

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As I drove down a winding road in the mountains of western Oregon, I saw it for the first time: the Pacific Ocean. From afar, it looked much like the Atlantic, but the closer I got, the more I could see the new adventures each wave was carrying ashore for me. This summer marks my first time on the west coast, and I know for sure it won’t be my last. I grew up around Boston and have always been attracted to the ocean, but the older I’ve become, the more I’ve been drawn to the natural beauty and marine life of the Pacific Northwest. I aspire, upon completing my undergraduate degree, to bring my knowledge and passion of marine conservation to this region and make it my new home.

My first sunset over the Pacific Ocean

I’ve only been in Newport for a few days, but I’ve already had the opportunity to go to the beach, watch several beautiful sunsets, bike along the coast, and camp in a state park. I arrived a week later than the rest of the scholars due to the finishing of my SEA Semester, a program in which I spent 35 days sailing a tall ship 2,500 nautical miles through the Sargasso Sea and North Atlantic and studying Sargassum phylogenetic diversity and distribution. That means I’m not only adjusting to a new home and a new coast, but I’m also re-adjusting to life on land. While I may have the opportunity this summer to work at sea, the majority of my internship will take place on shore with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). For this job, I will be working with the ODFW fisheries research team to study the efficiency of remote underwater vehicles, also known as stereo-video landers, in developing fisheries-independent surveys of demersal fish populations in Oregon. I will be conducting video reviews of previously recorded stereo-video lander footage to study whether species composition and abundance varies between day and night. Understanding this parameter will help develop more accurate fisheries-independent data for stock assessments.

Throughout my undergraduate career in marine science, I’ve have grown increasingly more interested in fisheries conservation and management. Last summer I interned at the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and throughout the past year in the classroom I have learned a lot about fisheries management and economics. I’m excited this summer to experience a different type of workplace, as much of my previous work has been field-based, and to work hands-on in fisheries management. Tomorrow marks my first day in the office. Just as the Pacific Ocean became more scintillating the closer I got, this opportunity with ODFW gets more exciting as the minutes go by. I cannot wait to learn more about the project I get to assist, the marine life that thrives off the Oregon coast, and the ways fisheries science plays a role in marine conservation.

The Summer of Sea Grant Begins!

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I have just concluded my first week at Newport’s Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) as an Oregon Sea Grant summer scholar. I have been looking forward to this experience and am so grateful to call Newport and Hatfield home for the next nine weeks! I feel fortunate to have already been introduced to multiple research projects, though know I am only skimming the surface. There is such an array of research happening, I hope to learn as much as I can to help narrow my interests for graduate school.

My first day on campus, my mentor, Dr. Brett Dumbauld, took me out on the nearby Idaho Flats with Dr. John Chapman, a professor at Oregon State University. John and Brett have collaborated on burrowing shrimp and were taking a group of REU students out to pull sediment cores to look at the mud shrimp burrows (Upogebia pugettensis).

A sediment core pulled from Idaho flats, showing the burrows from mud shrimp.

A cross section of a mud shrimp burrow. Dr. John Chapman from OSU is investigating whether or not the burrows are used by the mud shrimp to grow and harvest food.

Brett is an aquaculture ecologist with the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), focused on the West coast shellfish culture industry. This summer we’ll be investigating habitat selection of Dungeness crab in response to threat from predation by Pacific staghorn sculpin. The habitats we will be testing are structured: oyster aquaculture and native eelgrass, and unstructured: open mudflat/sand. We spent time brainstorming until constructing the mesocosms we’ll use.

Cutting out holes for side windows and the camera setup.

A nearly finished mesocosm.

 

This week was also the graduate student poster session and Ignite Talks, five minute presentations showcasing selected work. From investigating native oysters as a viable market to understanding how anthropogenic sounds affect whale communication, I learned a lot about the diversity of research happening at Hatfield.

Other highlights of the week included: exploring the south jetty with my roommates, checking out the local brewery, camping in Drift Creek Wilderness, a NOAA wetting down party, new running trails, and walks on the estuary nature trail- just outside my door. I’m looking forward to what the rest of the summer brings!

Agate Beach from Yaquina Head in Newport, OR.

 

First Impressions

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I am very lucky and excited to be an Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar. I’m from Richmond, Virginia and have been to Portland once before, so this whole experience is very new to me: new wildlife, new friends, new grocery stores, new sites, new workspaces, and new restaurants to try. And I am now realizing how this newness is important to my position with Wild Rivers Coast Alliance. I’m working on a project that surveys the products and pricing of whale watching, kayak, and salmon fishing tours along the Oregon coast. I’ll be analyzing this data to see what kind of experiences are out there and, in turn, communicate these findings to tour operators, scientists, and community members to boost tourism on the Oregon coast.

I was surprised by my first impression of Coos Bay. I was expecting a quaint, sweet coastal town like I’d seen on the internet or in movies. Instead, I found a place where nearly 20% of the population lives below the poverty line, have seen many run-down and struggling businesses, driven past several trailer parks, and noticed a high homeless population. There are some really great and beautiful places in Coos Bay, but the town seems to be struggling. I’m realizing that they could really use an economic boost, possibly brought on by sustainable tourism. Being new to this area and being able to make these observations has helped me realize how important tourism can be to these coastal towns and their community members. It has me even more excited to keep me working on my research to see how tourism affects these places.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep enjoying this beautiful place I get to call home for ten weeks, keep exploring this new area, and trying to identify all the cool wildlife around me!

Byways before highways

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To get to Oregon (specifically the northwestern coast) from my home state of Colorado, there are a number of different forms of transportation. You could fly to Portland and then either take a bus to wherever you need to get to, or you could pay an obscene amount of money for a short thirty minute to an hour flight to your destination. It is also possible to take a multi-day train ride from Denver to Portland, but that it is almost as much as (if not more than) a plane ticket. This leaves driving as one of the best options, if you have the time, as it gives ease of travel throughout Oregon. Therefore, this is exactly what I, along with my family, did just over a week ago.

While it is possible to reach coastal Oregon within 20 hours, we chose to take a slight detour and stop at Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park for a few days. I could go on and on about the bison in Yellowstone, the moose in Grand Teton, watching Old Faithful erupt, the amazing colors of the Grand Prismatic, or even the number of ways I intentionally tried, successfully, to annoy my sister throughout the four days (road trips are long, what was I supposed to do??), but instead I want to talk about the joys of America’s byways and the importance of taking “some old back road” as Rodney Atkins sang about in 2011.

It was not until a small bookshop in Jackson, Wyoming that I found these byways laid out in a National Geographic book. Much to the sometimes ambivalent hapiness of my family, this book became our new road map as we finished the road trip and over the last seven-ish days, I have seen three of these byways – SH-31 in Idaho and SH-30 & the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway (SH-101) here in Oregon. Since this is a blog about Oregon we are going to leave out the SH-31 from here on out…sorry Idaho.

State Highway 30 stretches throughout a large part of Oregon along the Columbia River Gorge. Despite the fact that I-84 does run directly into Portland and offers spectacular views of the Columbia River, it doesn’t allow the ability to see the surrounding area’s history. The drive is slightly more strenuous as there is a great deal of moving uphill and downhill, but is a stunning drive complemented by old stonework barricades lining the road and tunnels built during the early 20thcentury. One of the highlights is The Vista House outside of Troutdale. This viewpoint was once a place for travelers to stop off and rest and continues to do so all while offering a sweeping view of the gorge to both the east and west. While there are many tourist spots throughout this drive, the small businesses, some which are run out of resident’s gardens and front yards, were some of my favorite stops – including the small berry market where we got a snack and the lavender farm where we picked bunches of flowers.

View of Columbia River Gorge from The Vista House (looking westward)

The drive on SH-30, while steep, is quite rewarding

The Pacific Coast Scenic Byway is not only more relaxing than I-5, which is full of drivers who fail to understand that not driving twenty miles over the speed limit is not wrong or obnoxious…in fact it is called following the law, but it is also provides many great places to stop and view the Pacific Ocean and get healthy servings of seafood. Just north of Newport is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, accessible for a small fee (or free with the annual National Park Pass, which I strongly recommend to anyone who is outdoorsy). Due to limited time – yeah I know that is ironic/hypocritical given everything I’ve said – I did not take the guided tour of the light house, but instead walked down and around the tide pools below the lighthouse. Having grown up in a family that liked seafood to a degree that made it unhealthy for anyone standing between us and a bucket of mussels, I had to stop and get some during my drive. Therefore, for lunch I stopped at a roadside shack and got fish tacos. It is hard to say it was fast food when I had to wait thirty minutes for my takeout given the lunch rush, but it was well worth the wait. The scenic byway ended in a spectacular view at the top of a hill from which I could see Cannon Beach, my home for the next few months, and Haystack Rock.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Oh yeah I almost forgot, my internship for the summer is working with Haystack Rock Awareness Program where we discuss with visitors the biodiversity of the intertidal zone surrounding Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach and where I will be performing human dimension research, but that is a “Song for Another Time” (great country song by Old Dominion that I recommend to everyone and anyone).

Never a bad day on the beach!

So don’t forget byways > highways…when you have the time to spare.

 

Everything Is New

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Visiting from Virginia and never having been to the West Coast before, everything is new to me. This first week has been full of excitement, from seeing the different vegetation and wildlife, to realizing different cultural norms. Just yesterday while working, I saw a Bald Eagle fly, watched curious Harbor Seals watch me, then later saw a Porcupine scuttle past me as I admired a Pacific Coast sunset. I’ve never seen any of this wildlife in the wild before, it’s wild. I’ve enjoyed hearing the haunting sounds of Cormorants and learning the birds that float nearby on the water are named the Pigeon Guillemot, it’s so fun to say!

My Sea Grant Summer Scholar position is to work with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on the Shellfish and Estuarine Assessment of Coastal Oregon (SEACOR) team. This means almost everyday I am on the water in Coos Bay taking samples of various clams, crabs, and shrimp. Once all the data is compiled the population levels and health of the species will be assessed so inform decision making on resource management. I wear a bulky dry suit that makes me feel like an astronaut, and when filled with air makes for a wonderful and fun floatation device to swim above Eelgrass when it’s too hard to walk through. I’ve learned a lot about the different local shellfish, and other slippery worms and sea slugs we find. Some of my work days begin at 5am which allows me to witness the busy marina of fishermen sailing off too.

I love not knowing what I will do each day, I spend a lot of time walking and discovering new beautiful places along the coast. Each day brings a new experience, and new people. Everyone I’ve met has been so kind, and happy to talk with me about our lives on a deeper level than just the surface. I am happy with my work and social life here, I’m loving Oregon.

 

Adapting to a changing environment

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Like many of the animals we study, us Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholars must adapt to our new environment.  I am fortunate to be a recipient of the 2018 Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar position with NOAA Fisheries.  Although working with NOAA Fisheries is a dream come true, this is not the work environment that I am used to. My experience working in fisheries includes wading through Eastern Oregon and Washington desert streams during the hot summer months while collecting population and habitat data. Common hazards during my prior field work included dehydration, rattlesnakes, thorny vegetation, slippery rocks, and getting shocked constantly while electrofishing. During my short time working in a federal office I have found the hazards to be extremely different.

To begin, my training started off learning about the hazard of data breaches and hacking. Recent hacking into large corporations and even during our last presidential election has led federal agencies to take a hard line approach to data security. Secondly, commuting may pose the hazard of getting your semi-formal clothes totally soaked by an unexpected thunderstorm. This will get you to think twice about grabbing your raincoat or umbrella on your way out the door. Lastly, given our current political environment there have been protests outside of our building in recent months seeing as we share floors with other federal agencies facing opposition from the public. This has led to tighter security and awareness of potential physical hazards to federal employees.

In summary working at a federal office has been quite the change for me coming from a field-based background. I have been learning a great deal about the organizational structure of NOAA Fisheries, diving into documents explaining the role of NOAA Fisheries under the National Environmental Policy Act, and meeting co-workers in different branches of the office. The people here at NOAA Fisheries are extremely passionate about the work they do and have been very welcoming to us interns. As there is much more to read about NEPA I will conclude my blog here.

The importance of outreach and good science communication skills and why I love this aspect of my job!

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Doing research is an essential part of the scientific process. In the scientific community, the epitome of valid research is having it published in a peer-review journal. Unfortunately, this is as far as many scientists go.  But what about sharing your research with local communities, i.e., non-scientific audiences, that might be impacted by this research? What about connecting your research to a bigger picture?  For the public to be able to make intelligent decisions in many areas–how to allocate the communities’ budget, what fish to eat, personal choices on use of plastic and other trash—they must be able to understand what is at stake.

Me presenting a poster at Land Sea Symposium in Yachats OR, sharing my research with other scientist and coastal community members. Photo: Cyndy Leoro

However, many in the scientific community have spent decades seemingly separating themselves from the non-scientific community. Scientists use a whole different vocabulary than the average person in an attempt to explain natural phenomena. They use complex statistical analyses to prove their theories, and some may even pride themselves in knowing what is best for the disadvantaged communities that are in need of a scientist’s help. But this is where we have gone wrong. As scientists, we have at times alienated ourselves into a bubble, stopped listening to others without fancy degrees, or have acted arrogantly towards those outside of the scientific community. Furthermore, many scientists find themselves embattled in the publish or perish dilemma, and may not see it as part of their job or even understand the importance of sharing their research outside of the scientific community.

Before I started my PhD at Oregon State, I was unaware of the importance of outreach and good science communication. It was at a NOAA internship at the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in the Education, Outreach and New Media Division, where I learned what outreach was and its importance. Outreach gave me an opportunity to share my love and passion for the ocean and tell audiences why sea critters are so cool and why ocean resources are worth protecting and why I was so much in love with the work I was doing. In this manner, I also learned to love outreach.

NOAA’s yearly community outreach event. I got to help out and tell the communities about Marine Protected Areas, like National Marine Sanctuaries, and why they are important for Ocean conservation.

Once at Oregon State, I took my first science communication class with COMPASS. After addressing the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) with a call for a “New Social Contract with Science”, Dr. Jane Lubchenco and other like-minded scientists founded COMPASS on the “premise that ocean scientists, in particular, had a wealth of knowledge that was not reflected in public understanding or policy and management practices.” (Lubchenco 1998; Smith et al. 2013). In this class, students are encouraged to use a tool they developed called a message box to hone in on their main message, get rid of the jargon and tell their story (develop story-telling skills). I learned that while I may find my research to be absolutely fascinating, other people might find it more interesting if I tell them my story. In telling my story, I can also tell them about my research. Developing these story-telling skills is crucial for humanizing scientists and making our research more relatable.  If you have ever been to a lecture in college or school, in which the professor drones on and on in a monotone voice on some obscure topic using vocabulary and examples that no one else but him seems to understand, then you have witnessed bad science communication. The difference with a teacher or professor with good science communication skills, is that you fell connected to the topic being discussed and want to learn more. The scientist or professor does not bog you down with jargon or all the nitty gritty details of the research. Rather the scientist or professor may tell you a story related to their research, or take you on a journey that gets the class intrigued on the subject. This skill is the hardest one to develop. Letting go of this jargon and the nitty gritty details of our research may at first seem impossible. As scientists, we are trained to be very cautious in the conclusion we read and specific in the language we use. However, when we communicate our science to general audiences we must learn to forgo that and get the main point across.

Having good science communication skills does not only mean being able to express yourself and explain your research eloquently, but having good listening skills as well. Too many times, scientists have alienated the communities which they wish to help or work with, by not listening to them. Going into a community with open ears and hearing what their concerns and research needs are and how you can help has been shown to result in much more successful collaboration, than going into a community with a mindset that I, the outsider scientist, know what is in the best research interest for you, the lay people.  Local knowledge and wisdom have too often been ignored by many scientists, when they should be complimentary/collaborative to our research.

Kids area always super exited when they get to see and touch marine critters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combining outreach with good science communication skills can help scientists connect their research with communities that may be affected differently, get public support for their work, inform policy to make the best science-based decisions, increase collaboration opportunities, inspire a next generation of scientists, make a difference, and possibly even get more funding for this research.

I had the great opportunity to teach kids about Marine Protected Areas with a game I created for them

I got to explain to kids what Marine Protected Areas are and why they help fisheries

Personally, I particularly love going to schools and telling kids about the ocean, seeing their face light up with fascination as I show them pictures of odd and beautiful sea creatures and answering their questions about the sea. I love answering questions from my friends about how to make smart choices when it comes to sustainable fisheries and about the health of our oceans’ marine resources. I love it when a stranger on a plane asks me what I do, and I get to tell them about all about some of the cool things I get to do for my research, like going fishing. My goal in life is to make a difference in conservation of ocean resources and ensure sustainable fishing practices so that we can continue to fish for generations to come. I hope that through the outreach work I do and the improved science communication skills I have acquired, I can inspire others to take care of our oceans whether by taking small steps such as helping in local cleanups or using less plastic, or by one day becoming scientists in this fascinating field.

Best part of doing outreach is that I get to have fun, work with amazing people that also love the ocean, share my knowledge, and its a great opportunity to be silly once and a while

 

Lubchenco, J. 1998. Entering the Century of the Environment: A New Social Contract for Science. Science 279(5350):491–497. American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Smith, B., N. Baron, C. English, H. Galindo, E. Goldman, K. McLeod, M. Miner, and E. Neeley. 2013. COMPASS: Navigating the Rules of Scientific Engagement. PLoS Biology 11(4):e1001552. Public Library of Science.

Starting out as Malouf Scholar, ODFW Marine Team, and deep-sea research on the Okeanos

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Every day I get to go out on the Ocean I feel like the luckiest person in the world!

I was in Portland OR, attending the Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting, when I first heard the good news that I had gotten the Malouf Marine Studies Scholarship! I could not believe it, and was so exited. I ran all over the Oregon Convention Center, trying to find my adviser to tell him the good news! I finally had the funding to start doing field work and begin my PhD research.

During September I had my first chance to go out with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Marine Reserves Team, and learn how their Hook and Line survey methods works. A method I plan to use as part of my research.  I learned so much those few days I was out there with ODFW’s David Wagman (also known as Wolfe, bottom left). He is a really good mentor and gave me great suggestions on how to improve my proposed research.

Photos: Alex Avila, Participating in ODFW’s Hook and Line Surveys

Photo: Alex Avila. Wolfe measuring fish

Unfortunately that was the last outing of the season. I need to finish writing all my permit application in the winter in order to be ready to hit the ground running next year.

NOAA scholarships have given me the opportunities I would have never even dream possible. Just like Oregon Sea Grant is part of NOAA Sea Grant College program , so is another scholarship that has greatly impacted my life, the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship, from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. I’m currently serving aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of a program collaboration opportunity that was given to me as a Dr. Nancy Foster scholar. I’m here to serve as in data logging and samples processing. At the end of the expedition I will be writing a report that will help prioritize data for researchers, ensuring that the data can be efficiently used.

Photo courtesy of NOAA Office of Exploration and Research (OER)

Photo courtesy of NOAA Office of Exploration and Research (OER)

The  NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer expedition is running from November 29 through December 21 2017, and is investigating deep-sea habitats and the associated marine communities in the Gulf of Mexico basin. Through the Okeanos expedition,  other researchers and I, are exploring and discovering vulnerable marine habitats and investigating areas relevant to resource managers, submerged cultural heritage sites,  and marine protected areas. Okeanos is equipped with telepresence, meaning people on shore – whether scientists or the general public – and anyone can watch the remotely operated vehicle (ROVs) dives live in real time (click here to stream video).  In fact, next week, we will be conducting a Facebook Live event from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in the Gulf of Mexico this Tuesday, December 12th 2017 at 11:00 am PST  (2:00 pm EST). Science Co-lead Dr. Diva Amon, Expedition Coordinator Brian Kennedy, and I will be there to answer everyone questions! Check out Diva’s, NOAA’s OER and my twitter profiles for daily updates from the Okeanos!

Left to right: Diva Amon, Brian Kennedy, Alex Avila. Photo courtesy of NOAA Office of Exploration and Research (OER)