Oceanography Camp Field Trip

This week middle school students are experiencing first hand the latest in ocean science research and technology at the annual Oceanography Summer Camp hosted by CMOP and Saturday Academy.

On Tuesday, I joined them and CMOP research scientists on a field trip to the Columbia River estuary to investigate the impact of biogeochemical changes in the ocean environment. We boarded the Training Vessel Forerunner and sailed out into the estuary to perform salinity/temperature readings and collect water samples. We even cast out a plankton net, a cone-shaped net with small mesh that is used to filter tiny animals, algae and protozoa from water.

Later that day, we returned to the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station (MERTS) to examine the samples under microscopes and identify the lifeforms collected.

Here are some photos from the field trip.

Katie Rathmell, CMOP field team member, helps students collect samples using a plankton net.

Grant Law, CMOP scientist, explains how to use Sterivex water filters to collect samples in the field.

Nievita Bueno Watts, CMOP director of academic programs, assist students with identifying the aquatic lifeforms they collected.

Students, scientists, teachers, and ship's captain give CMOP's Oceanography Camp a big thumbs up.