Collecting teaching tools on the ocean floor: Museum educators and local teachers join research team off N.C. coast
October 12, 2005
For Immediate Release
Science, education and environment writers
Contact: Jonathan
Pishney at
(919) 733-7450, ext. 304.
(RALEIGH) — In search of new teaching resources
for North Carolina schools, Liz Baird, director of school programs
for
the N.C. Museum
of Natural Sciences, is willing to travel anywhere -- including to
the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. This year, she's bringing two North
Carolina teachers with her.
From October 16 to November 3, Baird and cohorts will join a team of scientists aboard a 204-foot research vessel in the Gulf Stream, then dive thousands of feet below the ocean surface in a submersible. Now in its sixth year, the mission -- titled "Life on the Edge" -- concentrates on life that thrives on the ocean floor near the edge of the continental shelf. The research mission is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Ocean Exploration.
The team is primarily exploring deep coral habitats (300-1,000 meters) that are poorly known but that harbor a diverse and productive community. Researchers on previous missions have discovered and mapped unexplored habitats, documented species not previously known to occur in this region, investigated the interconnectivity of communities at different depths, and noted deep-sea animal behaviors never before seen. Because of the topography of the ocean bottom, these areas can only be explored using unique equipment, such as a four-man submarine equipped with still, video and HD cameras. The team also uses different nets designed to capture a targeted range of species such as squid, seaweed and a wide variety of adult and juvenile fishes.
Joining Baird on the boat this year will be M.T. Palmer, the Museum's coordinator of student outreach and distance learning, and teachers Renee Green and Doni Angell. Green is a third grade teacher at Level Cross Elementary in Randleman (Randolph County). Angell, a science and social studies teacher at Walter Johnson Middle School in Morganton (Burke County) will be joining the mission for the second time -- she was the Educator at Sea in 2003. The rest of the team is composed of researchers from NOAA, UNC-Wilmington, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Geological Survey and the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
Twenty-four hours a day, the team will examine poorly studied marine habitats along the outer continental shelves and continental slopes -- collecting, documenting and sharing data with each other and also with teachers and students across North Carolina via the Internet. Baird, Palmer, Green and Angell will provide daily research updates and photographs, and respond to questions submitted via the Museum’s web site (www.naturalsciences.org).
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
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