Building an Ocean Observatory

An inquiry lesson

Objectives

• Students will have an understanding that recent advances in technology allow scientists to study the oceans in different ways

• Students will understand that all science disciplines are interconnected and depend upon each other.

National Science Standards

• Scientists in different disciplines ask different questions, use different methods of investigation, and accept different types of evidence to support their explanations. Many scientific investigations require the contributions of individuals from different disciplines, including engineering. New disciplines of science, such as geophysics and biochemistry often emerge at the interface of two older disciplines.

Standards continued

• Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.

Standards continued

• Creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are all required in the work of science and engineering.

• Technological knowledge is often not made public because of patents and the financial potential of the idea or invention. Scientific knowledge is made public through presentations at professional meetings and publications in scientific journals.

Standards continued

• Science and technology are pursued for different purposes. Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world, and technological design is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems. Technology, by its nature, has a more direct effect on society than science because its purpose is to solve human problems, help humans adapt, and fulfill human aspirations. …

Questions

• What is an observatory?

• How are they useful? (What are the societal impacts of having observatories?)

• Why do we need to know information about Monterey Bay?

Possible activities

• Brainstorming about the difficulties encountered when studying Monterey Bay and its dynamic components

• Student/room tracking to demonstrate how little is learned from intermittent data collection.– Camera hanging from the neck of a student taking 1

photo per hour.

• Comparisons between ocean and space exploration

• Plan an ocean observatory

Building an ocean observatory

• Students are divided into scientific groups – Biology, chemistry, geology

• Possible problem: What happens to the otter population when there is an oil spill?

• Possible problem: What has happened to the jellies in Monterey Bay?

Student science groups

• Science groups need to develop a list of what they need to know– What processes do they want to measure?– Why?– Students could use information from MBARI’s

website to determine what information they might need.

Student engineers

• Engineering needs to determine what type of observatory to build (mooring, cabled, etc.)

• Engineering group needs to determine what type of technology (sensors, transmission, etc.) is needed.

• Build within a budget?