Oceanography Summer Camp

CMOP and Saturday Academy hosted the annual Oceanography Summer Camp giving high school students hands-on research experience with:

• Food webs
• Bacterial ice nucleation
• Aquatic sampling gear
• Marine biology
• Carbon and nitrogen cycling within the Columbia River Estuary

During one session, Jim Nurnmi immersed the campers into the world of water chemistry. The water chemistry session had two components to it; (i) class room instruction that gave background and theory on water chemistry variables such as pH, and (ii) a lab component where the students created their own pH ladder and compared ocean and river samples in order to determine the health of these two ecosystems.

Campers also experienced how to sample and filter river water for collecting and extracting RNA/DNA. They performed the first step of any molecular analysis, extracting nucleic acid from the Sterivex filters containing water samples. They also learned how to use basic laboratory equipment (e.g. pipettes, vortex, balance, centrifuge).

The highlight of the camp was a trip to Astoria and a day aboard the research vessel Forerunner. Campers got hands-on experience with research equipment and sampling techniques aboard the ship.

Instructors included CMOP faculty and staff: Jim Nurmi, Lydie Herfort, Joe Needoba, Mike Wilkin, Katie Rathmell, and Saturday Academy instructors Eryn Fordney and Renee Albertson.