Three long-range (5 MHz) Coastal Ocean Dynamics Application Radar (CODAR) SeaSonde HF radars overlooking an array of as many as eight moored acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) have operated on the West Florida Shelf since September 2003 for the purpose of observing the coastal ocean currents. HF radar performance on this low-energy (currents and waves) continental shelf is evaluated with respect to data returns, the rms differences between the HF radar and the ADCP radial currents, bearing offsets, and radial velocity uncertainties. Possible environmental factors affecting the HF radar performance are discussed, with the findings that both the low-energy sea state and the unfavorable surface wave directions are the main limiting factors for these HF radar observations of currents on the WFS. Despite the challenge of achieving continuous backscatter from this low-energy environment, when acquired the data quality is good in comparison with the ADCP measurements. The rms differences range from 6 to 10 cm s 21 for hourly and from 3 to 6 cm s 21 for 36-h low-pass-filtered radial currents, respectively. Bearing offsets are in the range from 2158 to 198. Coherent variations of the HF radar and ADCP radial currents are seen across both tidal and subtidal frequency bands. By examining the HF radar radial velocities at low wave energy, it is found that the data returns decrease rapidly for significant wave heights smaller than 1 m, and that the rms differences between the HF radar and ADCP radials are degraded when the significant wave height is smaller than 0.3 m.* Center for Prediction of Redtide Contribution Number 7.

Using authentic data from NSF's Ocean Observatories Initiative in undergraduate teaching: An invitation.

No abstract

A B S T R A C TA community survey of undergraduate professors was conducted along with subsequent interviews of community college professors to gather information on the practices and teaching needs of members of the oceanographic community. Our objective was to capture how undergraduate professors are currently using oceanographic data in their teaching, to what degree they are using inquiry in their undergraduate teaching, and information on what effective practices exist for teaching with data. The majority of those surveyed (73%) indicated that they have used data in their teaching within the last year. Professors reported they found it useful to integrate data in their teaching to help students draw conclusions from evidence. Professors reported they are using online archived data, journal publications, and data that the professors had collected themselves. The lowest percentage of professors indicated that they use online real-time data. Results indicate that professors were very likely to use a lecture (no inquiry) teaching strategy when using data in their classes. When asked where they could use the most help in improving their practice with teaching with data, responses varied by career stage. There is a need for more exploration of effective practices for the integration of data into teaching and the need for data visualization tools that help undergraduate professors meet the demands of teaching 21st century science skills and practices.

OOI Teaching with Data Workshops; New Brunswick, New Jersey, 19–21 May 2017 (chemistry) and 2–4 June 2017 (geology)