Oceanographic Research

Part 1  FOLLOWING ORV ALGUITA

Charting ORV Alguita's Voyage  

 In Google Earth

Google Earth Lesson Plan This is an introduction to how to load and operate Google Earth. This GIS software is FREE, can be downloaded from the internet and is easily understood.

Google Earth Activity 1 (Introduction to Google Earth)  This brief lesson is intended to serve as a starter excercise before utilizing the Google Earth software required in other more complex lessons. During this lesson students explore different controls in the Google Earth program and label them on a reference chart for use in future lessons.

Google Earth Activity 2 (Charting The Voyage) In this activity the students learn how to operate the very user friendly Google Earth software to navigate through satellite images of the earth to locate their school, measure it's distance from the ocean, explore their watershed then learn how to plot ORV Alguita's voyage using GPS coordinates.  (First follow the directions under Google Earth Lesson Plan to download the free software. Lesson 1 is optional but can provide good reference for those new to the program) This activity provides a worksheet guide with images, detailed step by step instructions, and questions to answer.

On a Paper Chart 

 Printable Paper Chart of the Pacific Ocean (Print ONLY Page 24 of this large PDF File) (National Geographic Ocean Atlas Teacher’s Guide Sylvia Earle.)  This printable paper chart provides latitude and longitude for charting ORV Alguita's course during her voyage.  All the students will need for the activity are copies of the printout, rulers and pencils. 

How to plot a position on a chart using GPS Coordinates

Web link step by step Canadian Coast Guard Tutorial.

The Basics of Plotting Ocean Locations

This PowerPoint presentation provided by Ocean Globecovers the basics of plotting ocean locations using GPS Coordinates

Part 2  JOIN THE RESEARCH 

Sample Collection and Sorting for Plastic Debris

DESCRIPTION: "Students will participate in current research by carefully collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on plastic debris to the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF)." http://plasticsareforever.org/?page_id=69

Printouts:

Activity 2: Beach Sample Collection and Sorting for Plastic Debris

          Actividad2: Protocolo para la colección de muestras de la playa.

Part 3  BECOME A PART OF THE SOLUTION

Stencil your Storm Drains! (Watershed Wonders, Algalita Marine Research Foundation)

http://algalita.org/pdf/WatershedWonders-curr.pdf

Printouts:

  Watershed Wonders (7.1MB PDF) Print pages 15 & 16 of the PDF. (This is a 91 page PDF of the full Watershed Wonders Curricula designed for middle and high school classrooms.)