On Tuesday, April 9,
several students from Ms. Blair's Environmental Science classes began the
"Ocean Drifter" Project with John Galluzzo & Jo Frazier (South
Shore Natural Science Center), & Abby Smith (National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration [NOAA] contact).
To begin the project the
students Skyped with Dr. Diane Stanitski, a scientist at NOAA who is in charge
of the Global Drifter Program.
After the Skype session,
the students completed the first part of building Hull High School's Surface
Drifter. A Surface Drifter is a
student-built, satellite tracked instrument that monitors surface ocean
currents.
Once completed and
deployed, the students will track and monitor the drifter, and thus the
currents, via the Web. The data from the drifters is used to validate
ocean circulation models. The students will use the ocean surface current
data to understand the processes that cause plankton and lobster larvae to
drift and settle on the ocean floor, and to forecast harmful algal bloom's
(HAB's) transport.
The students
participating in the project include: Sean Smyth, Brendan McCue, Jake
Hague, Veronice Lopes, Alex Brown, Joe Truglia, Kevin Perry, Anthony Frizzell,
Garrison Oliver-Jones, Kathleen Dunn, Diana Perrone, Eric Daniels, &
Brandon Sanders.
