“CO2 Toolkit” curriculum project announcement

CO2 Toolkit Curriculum Project
June 2011; May 2012
UGA Campus
Athens, GA

CALLING ALL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATORS in the Athens- Clarke County area!

COSEE SE will be hosting a multi facetted curriculum development opportunity geared at middle and high school educators focusing on carbon dioxide and ocean acidification. This one year project, the CO2 Toolkit Curriculum Project, will consist of web meetings, a 3 day non residential workshop based in Athens, GA from June 28-30, 2011, lab time with UGA professor and scientist, Dr Brian Hopkinson, to test and try out your activities/curriculum, and the opportunity for you to take this curriculum to your students and provide feedback on your experience. Space is limited to 3 educators.   

Participants completing all requirements will receive $500 stipend, monies for activity supplies, and travel in addition to access to resources from UGA and COSEE SE for support in their curriculum development efforts throughout this year long project.  Deadline to apply is May 6th, 2011!

Ocean acidification: Hands-on experiments to explore the causes and consequences

Ocean acidification is one of the most serious environmental issues facing the planet (e.g., Doney 2006; Guinotte and Fabry 2009). It is caused by excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels put CO2 and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, which causes the Earth’s average temperature to increase. This increase is commonly referred to as “global warming” or “climate change,” but the problem doesn’t stop there. The two lessons presented here familiarize middle school students with the causes and consequences of ocean acidification. They also provide students with an opportunity to generate hypotheses, collect data through hands-on experimentation, and analyze results. These lessons can be successfully integrated into Earth science, biology, environmental science, marine science, or chemistry curricula.

Friday Harbor Laboratories SUMMER 2011 COURSES: Experimental approaches to understanding ocean acidification

Please note: course is offered under the “umbrella” course Biology 533: Advanced Organismal Biology. Thus transcripts from University of Washington will list the course title ADV ORG BIOL rather than the specific Friday Harbor Laboratories’ course title listed above.

Session A: June 20 – July 22, 2011 (5 weeks)
Monday-Saturday (Mon-Fri 8 am-5 pm, plus Sat morning 8 am-noon, except final week no Saturday meeting)
Arrive Sunday, June 19 after 3 pm, depart Friday, July 22 after lunch.

Dr. Michael O’Donnell and Dr. Terrie Klinger

As new researchers turn their attention to studying the effects of ocean acidification on a broad range of biological systems they are frequently stymied by the inherent complexities of manipulating and documenting experimental conditions. The purpose of this course is to provide students with the skills to design and conduct experimental manipulations of biological systems that are consistent with the current state of the field.

Changing Planet: Ocean acidification – The chemistry is less than basic!

Summary: Students will use a pH indicator solution to detect the presence of carbon dioxide and changes in acidity, and to model ocean-atmosphere interactions.

Source: Adapted by NESTA/Windows to the Universe team members Missy Holzer, Jennifer Bergman, and Roberta Johnson from the Carbon Dioxide Sources and Sinks activity on Windows to the Universe.

Time: This activity requires careful preparation including some set-up the previous day. It is recommended that the directions be read carefully before beginning this activity.

• Materials preparation: 40 minutes
• Class time: 40 minutes
• Discussion and review: 30 minutes

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Students will be able to explain the concept of ‘sources’ and ‘sinks’ as they relate to carbon dioxide.
• Students will understand the use of an indicator solution (BTB) to reveal the presence of carbon dioxide as well as levels of acidity.
• Students explain the cause and effect relationship between lower pH levels of seawater and carbonate ion availability for shell formation in marine organisms.

Experimental approaches to understanding ocean acidification

Session A: June 20 – July 22, 2011 (5 weeks)
Monday-Saturday (Mon-Fri 8 am-5 pm, plus Sat morning 8 am-noon, except final week no Saturday meeting)
Arrive Sunday, June 19 after 3 pm, depart Friday, July 22 after lunch.

Dr. Michael O’Donnell and Dr. Terrie Klinger

As new researchers turn their attention to studying the effects of ocean acidification on a broad range of biological systems they are frequently stymied by the inherent complexities of manipulating and documenting experimental conditions. The purpose of this course is to provide students with the skills to design and conduct experimental manipulations of biological systems that are consistent with the current state of the field.

“Understanding Ocean Acidification” Workshop

“Understanding Ocean Acidification” Workshop, University of California at Santa Barbara.

University of Washington winter ocean acidification lecture series on Thursdays – open to all

The 2011 Bevan Series examines the effects of carbon dioxide buildup from human activity, which dissolves into the oceans, making them more acidic. This process of ocean acidification — the “evil twin of global warming” — may harm corals, shellfish, and other organisms at the base of marine food webs. How will this process alter marine fisheries and aquaculture now and into the future?

Ocean acidification training

Friday, Aug 20 8:00a
at UCSD Skaggs School Of Pharmacy, San Diego, CA

Ocean acidification is a phenomenon related to current global climate changes and is becoming a major threat to marine ecosystems ranging from tropical coral reefs to the chilly waters of the Antarctic. In this lesson, students observe and investigate the mechanisms driving ocean acidification. The lesson and lab make connections to basic chemical principles such as acids/bases and the pH scale. In the first activity, video footage from current oceanographic research is used to assess students’ prior knowledge and develop testable hypotheses from initial observations. In the second and third activities, hypotheses generated by students are tested in student-led experiments conducted in a small group setting. The lesson includes a short lecture and class discussion of ocean acidification at the global scale.

Course: Experimental design & data analysis for marine biologists

A COURSE DESIGNED FOR PHD-STUDENTS

4th – 13th August 2010

Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences – Tjärnö

Göteborg University, Strömstad, Sweden

LECTURERS:
Professor Gerry Quinn Deakin University, Australia
Professor Ralph Mac Nally Monash University, Australia
Professor Jon Havenhand University of Gothenburg

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This graduate level course provides participants with advanced skills and hands-on training in the design of sampling programs and experiments in marine systems, and subsequent statistical and graphical analysis of results. The course will cover principles and practice in sampling design, estimation and hypothesis testing methods, analysis of linear generalised models (including regression models), simple and complex ANOVA models, multivariate techniques (including Principal Components Analysis, Multi-Dimensional Scaling, and Analysis of Similarity) and Bayesian Analysis.

The course will comprise both lectures and practical/workshop sessions, giving participants the opportunity to apply the principles learned to marine datasets using commonly available statistical software. The course will also include time to address experimental design and analysis issues particular to the participants.

EPOCA, BIOACID, CalMarO and OCB training workshop on the best practices in ocean acidification research

A training workshop in ocean acidification research will be jointly organized by EPOCA, BIOACID, CalMarO and OCB. The workshop, which will be held at IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel during March 8-12, 2010, will build upon recommendations from the Guide of Best Practices in Ocean Acidification Research and Data Reporting. It will combine lectures and hands-on practical training on a range of key issues in OA research, including

• measurements and calculations of the seawater carbonate system
• approaches and tools to manipulate carbonate chemistry
• choice of CO2 levels in perturbation experiments
• designing experiments and sampling to maximize statistical power
• biogeochemical assessments
• calcification rate measurements
• metabolic rates and gas exchange in heterotrophic organisms
• molecular approaches and membrane transport studies
• data reporting, management and policies