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CTDs, devices that measure salinity (via conductivity), temperature, and depth in the ocean, are essential for almost all marine scientific research, whether oceanography, ecology, conservation, or management. But CTDs are often cost-prohibitive, making this essential tool of ocean science inaccessible to the majority of ocean knowledge seekers. The OpenCTD is a low-cost, open-source oceanographic instrument, built from relatively accessible components, that allows ocean knowledge seekers to collect data on salinity, temperature, and depth in waters as deep as 140 m, with depth accurate to <1 cm, temperature to ±0.1°C, and a salinity error rate of 1%, with a 90% response time of 1 second. The OpenCTD is an open, adaptable platform that allows users to integrate other sensors (e.g., dissolved oxygen, pH) to fit their specific needs or questions. The utility of the OpenCTD for both STEM education and community oceanography is demonstrated in real-world case studies. The OpenCTD offers researchers, community groups, educators, managers, and other ocean knowledge seekers the ability to collect baseline data about their local waters at a fraction of the cost of commercial alternatives and, for most use cases, with comparable data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GEOTRACES is an international endeavor to elucidate the biogeo-chemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes in the ocean. Inherently, this interdisciplinary program provides ample opportunities for students to develop professional, academic, and seagoing skills. This perspective recalls first-hand experiences gained from five years in the GEOTRACES community, spanning undergraduate and graduate research, including international engagement in Germany and seagoing oceanography in the South Pacific and Southern Ocean. Description of these opportunities reveals the framework that makes the GEOTRACES program a success and the culture that will ensure its ongoing legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Centuries of exclusion have resulted in a tangible human diversity deficit, where the diversity of oceanographers does not represent the global diversity of people impacted by ocean processes. We present six challenges faced by oceanographers who have one or more marginalized identities: (1) historical practices of conquest, discrimination, and exclusion underpin oceanography's modern diversity deficit; (2) undervalued and uncompensated labor by oceanographers from underrepresented groups can perpetuate a lack of representation by leading to burnout and attrition; (3) marginalized individuals are often forced to hide parts of their identities (languages, appearances, partners, behaviors) that deviate from outdated expectations of professionalism; (4) oceanography requires trainees to navigate extensive logistical and financial hurdles; (5) individuals from non-Western cultural and religious traditions often conceal their spiritual obligations in attempts to assimilate or avoid forgoing valuable research experiences; and (6) limited planning and transparency in oceanographic fieldwork can threaten the physical and mental safety of marginalized individuals. We highlight how holding multiple, intersecting identities can compound negative impacts on the well-being of marginalized oceanographers. Finally, we recommend solutions that individuals, mentors, professional societies, funding agencies, and institutions should undertake to move toward a more diverse oceanographic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the advantages of cooperative learning in the field of oceanography. It explains that cooperative learning, which involves structured group work, can lead to better learning outcomes and positive experiences for students. The article highlights the importance of positive interdependence and individual accountability in successful group work. It also discusses various strategies and cooperative learning structures that can be used to promote these principles, including the well-known Jigsaw technique. The article specifically focuses on the application of the Jigsaw technique in oceanography education, providing examples and practical considerations for implementation. Overall, the author emphasizes the benefits of cooperative learning in enhancing student engagement and comprehension. [Extracted from the article]

The geoscience workforce, particularly in ocean sciences, lacks diversity. Implementing culturally responsive teaching and mentoring practices throughout the K-university pipeline is one way to help increase diversity in the field. Here, we describe initial results and lessons learned from a pilot course developed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography through a partnership between the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI), a local nonprofit that provides opportunities for low-income K-12 youths to learn about oceanography. The goals of the pilot course are to educate a racially diverse group of UCSD undergraduates in culturally sensitive mentoring practices and provide opportunities for them to apply their newly acquired skills while working with K-12 students at ODI. The undergraduates prepared and implemented lessons designed to demystify the college experience for their mentees. Through classroom experience and weekly journal reflections, undergraduates developed confidence and improved their ability to mentor youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional and scientific societies are increasingly engaging in efforts to create a science community that manifests justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). However, progress assessment is challenging, and opportunities for community feedback are limited. During the 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting, the Oceanography Society (TOS) JEDI committee led an interactive Town Hall to collect feedback from conference participants and TOS membership on three themes: challenges, initiatives, and opportunities related to advancing JEDI in ocean sciences. This Town Hall was preceded by a survey that was administered to the TOS membership. Survey respondents and Town Hall participants provided valuable observations and synthesis on the past, present, and future of JEDI work in ocean sciences. Discussion included both positive efforts and outcomes of JEDI work as well as harmful and ineffective practices. This paper synthesizes feedback received and highlights ways in which the ocean sciences community and professional and scientific societies can advance similar work. Gatekeeping, a system of implicit or explicit cultural and institutional constraints to and requirements for entry into a field, was identified as the most significant challenge to diversifying the ocean sciences. The majority of survey respondents agreed that efforts to broaden participation have been successful, and identified specific initiatives that have been effective, including the development and support of mentorship and training programs and partnerships with minority-serving institutions. Some challenges to advancing JEDI initiatives include targeted recruitment from the most "elite" institutions and "parachute science." Respondents agreed that professional and scientific societies have an important role to play in advancing JEDI in ocean sciences. Participants discussed strategies to broaden participation, including efforts that can be employed by professional and scientific societies such as regular data collection on demographics, improved information sharing, and stricter codes of conduct at professional meetings. We conclude by summarizing some new TOS-led initiatives that are designed to promote JEDI in ocean sciences and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The information published annually by the National Science Foundation on its Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awardees was used to create an Awardees in Ocean Sciences (AOS) data set. This data set shows that women have been successful in receiving the fellowship award in the ocean sciences, receiving an overall 69% of the awards from 1996 through 2021 (458 women among 659 awardees). Women comprised at least 50% of awardees in the six ocean sciences disciplines listed as GRFP subfields of study. The highest percentages of awards to women (72%) were in biological oceanography and marine geology/geophysics, followed by marine biology and chemical oceanography (69%), physical oceanography (67%), and ocean engineering (61%). Women were successful both as undergraduate applicants (69% of undergraduate awardees) and as graduate applicants (71% of graduate awardees). We estimate that GRFP women awardees made up 17.8% of the women obtaining doctoral degrees in oceanography from 2017 to 2021, compared with GRFP men awardees comprising 8.5% of the male doctoral recipients for the same period. Our analysis suggests future directions for study of GRFP awardees and highlights the need for data that would help inform community outreach to underserved student populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine how women’s representation in National Science Foundation Ocean Sciences (NSF-OCE) awards changed between 1987 and 2019 and how it varied across different programs, research topics, and award types. Women’s participation in NSF-OCE awards increased at a rate of approximately 0.6% per year from about 10% in 1987 to 30% in 2019, and the strong similarity between the temporal trends in the NSF-OCE awards and the academic workforce suggests that there was no gender bias in NSF funding throughout the 33-year study period. The programs, topics, and award types related to education showed the strongest growth, achieving and surpassing parity with men, while those related to the acquisition of shared instrumentation and equipment for research vessels had the lowest women’s representation and showed relatively little change over time. Despite being vastly outnumbered by men, women principal investigators (PIs) tended to do more collaborative work and had a more diversified “portfolio” of research and research-related activities than men. We also found no evidence of gender bias in the amount awarded to men and women PIs during the study period. These results show that, despite significant increases in women’s participation in oceanography over the past three decades, women have still not reached parity with men. Although there appears to be no gender bias in funding decisions or amount awarded, there are significant differences between women’s participation in specific research subject areas that may reflect overall systemic biases in oceanography and academia more broadly. These results highlight areas where further investment is needed to improve women’s representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]