COSEE NETWORK NEWS 2011
January 2011
 In This Issue CNN Vol. 4 No. 1 | January 2011 
Focus On...COSEE West Subscribe
New on COSEE.net
Network Topics
Working Group Updates
Announcements
Center News
COSEE at Conferences
COSEE Network Calendar
Resources
Oil Spill Announcements
COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
Focus On...COSEE West
 
COSEE West
 
What's new at COSEE West? Visit the January Center of the Month and find out!
 New on COSEE.net
New this month on COSEE.net are the About Us pages for COSEE Working Groups. These pages allow our working groups to post information about themselves, including a list of members. Two groups have posted already: the Web Working Group and the Scientist Engagement Working Group. Please contact Lisa Taylor for a user ID and password to post your group's information.
 Network Topics
CD Released! Banana Slugs Release Ocean Literacy CD The long awaited, COSEE/NMEA/NOAA/NMSF/LHS-sponsored children's music CD Only One Ocean was officially released on 1/11/11. The CD is available through the Slugs website, through many stores and distributors, and through iTunes and other online music services. Contact the Slugs if you want to make large orders for education programs or find out about booking a live performance. This fabulous CD contains 14 songs addressing the principles of Ocean Literacy, and features guest performers such as George Winston, Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Victor Wooten, Brett Dennen, Tim Carbone, Zach Gill and others.

Banana slugs
COSEE, NMEA, NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation, and Lawrence Hall of Science all contributed to this effort. The College of Exploration and Dr. Susan Cook also made generous contributions to the project. Special thanks to the funders and to the National COSEE Ad Hoc Slug Working Group (Rosanne Fortner, Jan Hodder and Craig Strang) for providing project oversight and for reviewing the song lyrics.

Great Lakes brochure
Making Lakes Out of Oceans When NOAA released the Ocean Literacy Principles, it was clear that changing them only slightly to fit the Great Lakes would not be sufficient. Instead, COSEE Great Lakes used the Ocean Literacy Principles as a jumping off point for developing the Great Lakes Literacy Principles. Learn more here.

Get Visibility for Your COSEE Scientists on Hear the Answer The mission of Hear the Answer is to educate citizens about the importance of science, environmental research and discovery. They have just launched their website and are now adding content. Recently the site teamed up with COSEE’s SEWG project, who will be providing video on COSEE scientists. Dr. Bob Chen is the first COSEE scientist to be featured. You can access his video here. You can also find the media by doing a keyword search for Chen, COSEE, or urban oceanographer. Additional SEWG scientists will be added on an ongoing basis. Hear the Answer is looking for content! If you or one of your Center scientists are interested in teaming up with them, contact producer Paul Bartishevich.

COSEE and ITEST Team Up for Webinar In this webinar, Curriculum Developed in the NSF-funded ITEST and COSEE Programs, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) ">Learning Resource Center and COSEE will showcase curriculum materials on topics ranging from computer game development to ocean sciences. These curricula - designed for middle/high school teachers and students and available online at no charge - encourage and support innovative STEM learning and teaching and have been adapted through collaboration with partners, educators and students across the ITEST and COSEE education programs. Wednesday, February 23, 2:00-3:00 ET. For more information contact Liesl Hotaling.

Podcasts Available For the last two years, there’s been a new episode of the Ocean Gazing podcast every two weeks. Episode #50 was posted last week. While there will still be an occasional new episode, COSEE NOW is shifting their efforts toward distributing these first 50 episodes in K-12 and college classrooms, on public radio stations, and in other podcasts. They are also revamping the Ocean Gazing website in the months to come to make it easier to search for episodes according to subject and geography, and to find accompanying lesson plans. If you have ideas for how they might promote Ocean Gazing in both formal and informal education settings, please contact Ari Daniel Shapiro.
 Working Group Updates
Scott Glenn 
Scott Glenn
Scientist Engagement Working Group The Scientist Engagement Working Group (SEW-G) is at different stages in the development of several case studies, with work ongoing in the cases of Dr. Scott Glenn (Rutgers, COSEE NOW); Dr. Michael Kemp (University of Maryland, COSEE Coastal Trends); and Dr. Crystal Johnson (Louisiana State University, COSEE CGOM). The National Network Evaluators at Inverness Research are working with the SEW-G production team to begin assessment of the impact of this project, and the SEW-G is working with the COSEE Council to identify effective means of publicizing SEW-G resources. Recent news: Dr. Bob Chen’s video is now featured on the new website Hear The Answer, and Dr. Brian McCann and Ms. Catherine Cramer presented the SEW-G project at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). SEW-G and the production team welcome comments about the case studies. Please contact SEW-G Chair Jessie Kastler with questions, suggestions and comments (228-872-4269).

Evaluation Working Group Scientist Engagement Survey Launched: The COSEE Network has launched the second annual cross-COSEE Scientist Engagement Survey, led by the Evaluation Working Group (EWG). If you're a scientist and receive a survey invitation, please take the time to respond. We need to hear about your engagement with COSEE. Data from this survey will enable us to add to our NSF Decadal Review report the number of scientists working with COSEE in 2010, the types of interactions, and the benefits. For more information about the EWG or this survey, contact Chris Parsons.

Screenshot of the COSEE Alaska home page
Web Working Group After publishing the new About Us pages for working groups, RWS and the WWG are now focused on adding resources and blogs to these pages. The group also continues to refine formatting and functionality of the CMS, including ordering of people on the About Us pages, posting of Center news on the COSEE.net home page, and showcasing resources on Feature Rotators. Coming up: RSS feeds and the addition of new Centers to the CMS. For more information, contact Annette deCharon, WWG Chair.

ENTS Sub-GroupThe Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-Group (ENTs) is developing a survey to find out which webinar topics are of most interest to the Network. And remember, we are always adding new content to the online Tools That Work guidebook, so if you haven’t been there in a while, take a look! In addition, submissions for the Tools That Work collection are always welcome. For more information contact ENTs co-chairs co-chairs Catherine Cramer and Carla Companion.
 Announcements
Research Experience for Undergraduates: Gulf of Maine and the World Ocean Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences invites undergraduates to apply for the 2011 Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program, Gulf of Maine and the World Ocean. They are looking for promising students from colleges and universities around the country interested in gaining hands-on research experience. Areas of research include the marine microbial food web, ocean biogeochemistry, optical oceanography, remote sensing, sensory biology, climate change and fisheries biology. Undergraduates in their sophomore year or later may apply; applications are due March 15, 2011. More information and an online application are available here. Prospective applicants may also contact Rebecca Fowler with questions.
 Center News
COSEE Alaska is presenting Communicating Ocean Science at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage on January 17, and a graduate-level Communicating Ocean Science course at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. COSEE Alaska is co-sponsoring the 2011 EARTH workshop, July 29-August 2, along with MBARI and the North Pacific Research Board. EARTH uses near-real-time data from ocean observatories to design and test outreach with the Internet as an interface to scientists, teachers, students, and the public. Click here for more information on the EARTH program. The focus of the 2011 workshop will be on ocean observatories and Gulf of Alaska research.

COSEE Florida will be announcing their new website very soon. COSEE Florida will be hosting Presentation Boot Camp, a two-day workshop for ocean scientists designed to improve their ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences about their research. The event will be hosted by Indian River State College on February 11-12, and led by Dr. Rick Tankersley. Space is limited and applications to attend are required.

COSEE Great Lakes The final issue of the COSEE GL newsletter is now available.

COSEE Networked Ocean World A new Ocean Gazing podcast is available: Slick of Oil. You can find the full archive of 50 Ocean Gazing episodes here.

COSEE OCEAN participated in the recent AGU Townhall (see details under COSEE at Conferences); is working with the MSP and GK-12 communities and will have a presence at their respective upcoming meetings; and will be presenting an all-day workshop at the ASLO meeting, Using Network Science for Collaboration.

China visit
COSEE Ocean Systems Dr. Min Liu, Associate Professor of Fisheries at Xiamen University, Xiamen, China, visited the New England area during the summer of 2010, in order to learn more about cutting-edge ocean science education and outreach activities in the U.S., and to incorporate this knowledge into a new COSEE China. Her goals were realized through the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC) network of ocean science resources and partners. [more]

COSEE Pacific Partnerships will hold its annual External Advisory Committee meeting on January 13-14, 2011 at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. COSEE Pacific Partnerships and the Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) Program will run a Scientist-Educator Collaborative Concept Mapping Workshop at Oregon State University (OSU) on January 28. SMILE Program after-school clubs provide science and math enrichment for underrepresented and other educationally underserved students throughout Oregon. The workshop will bring together OSU ocean sciences and engineering faculty and SMILE club teachers around the topic of wave energy. For more information, contact Coral Gehrke.

Report cover
COSEE SouthEast’s publication The Educator’s Guide to Marine Debris: Southeast and Gulf of Mexico is a regional introduction to three main categories of marine debris: litter; derelict or abandoned boats; and lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing gear. The January-February Creature Feature is the Loggerhead turtle.
 COSEE at Conferences
AGU Fall Meeting 2010 The COSEE Network was well-represented at AGU, with a full afternoon of presentations and a highly visible exhibit booth. In addition, representatives from COSEE NOW, COSEE Ocean Systems, COSEE California, and COSEE OCEAN engaged participants in leadership development activities designed to help scientists maximize the impacts of their work, during Strategies for Effective Education and Public Outreach: Climbing the Ladder of Scientist Success, an active lunchtime discussion of how to enhance networking, teaching, and professional skills.
 
COSEE Booth at AGU
Brian McCann (CGOM) and Catherine Cramer (COSEE OCEAN) staffing the COSEE Booth at AGU
 
Math Science Partnership-Learning Network Conference (January 23-25, 2011, Washington DC) A 90-minute COSEE session will be held to share experiences and lessons learned between the MSP network (partnerships between school districts and universities around STEM) and the COSEE Network. Contact Bob Chen for details.

ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting (February 13 – 18, 2011, San Juan, Puerto Rico) A COSEE workshop will be offered Sunday, February 13, 2011 focusing on Network Science and featuring Dr. Karen Stephenson. Details here.

COSEE is also participating in two sessions:
  • S26: Improved Broader Impacts = Enhanced Scientific Impact (for professional scientist efforts)
  • S54: Student Engagement in Education and Public Outreach (for undergraduate/graduate student efforts)
 COSEE Network Calendar
For the up-to-the-minute list of upcoming COSEE events, visit the COSEE.net Events page.
 Resources
Podcast from the Encyclopedia of Life On the North Atlantic Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis. Listen to the podcast.

Ocean Acidification Changes Nitrogen Cycling in World Seas Increasing acidity in the ocean may fundamentally change how nitrogen is cycled, say marine scientists who published their findings in a recent issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). [more]

Recycling Rare, Essential Nutrients in the Sea Key marine bacterium appears to thrive by reusing scarce iron. Find out more in Oceanus.
 Oil Spill Announcements
Funding for Research on Impacts of Oil Spill Multiple Federal funding agencies are soliciting applications for grants to fund research on the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and increase the scientific evidence base needed to strengthen the resiliency of vulnerable populations along the Gulf coast. Application is due by January 21, 2011. For more information, click here.

NOAA Launches New Online Library for Deepwater Horizon Information NOAA recently launched a web archive of the maps, wildlife reports, scientific reports and other previously released public information used by emergency responders, fishermen, mariners and local officials during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The NOAA Deepwater Horizon Library can be accessed here. NOAA will continue to update the website with information in the weeks and months ahead. Click here for more information.

Final report cover
National Commission on Oil Spill Releases Report The President’s National Oil Spill Commission released its final report on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. Should the responsible parties be found to be grossly negligent, Clean Water Act and NRDA fines could be in the $20 billion range. Already the Administration has indicated that it would dedicate 80% of the fines to support a Gulf Coast Restoration Initiative.
Contribute to CNN! Send news and announcements of interest to the COSEE Network community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.

 COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
COSEE Alaska (Nora Deans, North Pacific Research Board)
COSEE California (Craig Strang, UC Berkeley)
COSEE Central Gulf of Mexico (Sharon Walker, Institute for Marine Mammal Studies)
COSEE Coastal Trends (Laura Murray, U of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)
COSEE Florida (Edwin Massey, Indian River State College)
COSEE Great Lakes (Rosanne Fortner, Ohio State University)
COSEE Networked Ocean World World (Janice McDonnell, Rutgers University)
COSEE New England (Billy Spitzer, New England Aquarium)
COSEE OCEAN (Bob Chen, University of Massachusetts)
COSEE Ocean Learning Communities (Phil Bell, University of Washington)
COSEE Ocean Systems (Annette deCharon, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine)
COSEE Pacific Partnerships (Jan Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology)
COSEE SouthEast (Lundie Spence, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium)
COSEE TEK (Ivar Babb, University of Connecticut)
COSEE West (Linda Duguay, University of Southern California)