Archive of Spotlight Feature Articles

The NOAA Office of Global Programs (OGP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Atmospheric Sciences supported the placement of two teachers on board the Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown as part of the Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate (EPIC).

EPIC2001, planned over the last five years by scientists in the U.S, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, was launched September 1, 2001, for eight weeks to intensively measure the key processes in the tropical eastern Pacific ocean and atmosphere that are poorly represented in computer models used for El Niño and climate prediction.  Much of the experiment took place along the 95 degree longitude line from the Mexican coast southward to 20 degrees South.  Some 50 scientists from more than 20 institutions participated. 

The field operations center for the experiment, including the base for the NSF C-130 and the NOAA P-3 aircraft, was in the city of Huatulco on the southern Mexican coast.  Aircraft observations were complemented by ship-based measurements on the NOAA ship Ron Brown, the NSF New Horizon, and the National University of Mexico ship El Puma, and buoys and floats in the ocean.  After completing the field campaign, scientists will continue collaboration in the analysis of the collected data to gain a fundamental understanding of how the ocean and atmosphere behave and interact in this region, and to develop improved models to predict climate over the Americas.

Both of our Teachers-at-Sea participated in the science being conducted on the ship, wrote weekly lesson plans, maintained a daily log, took over 250 photographs, interviewed scientists, participated in live web broadcasts from the ship, and generally immersed themselves in the experiment and the sense of adventure that is fundamental to being at sea.

After returning to San Diego (CA) and Alexandria (VA) respectively, Jennifer Richards and Jane Temoshok were both given welcome home receptions from their schools, Guajome Park Academy and Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy.  Jennifer and Jane were later honored in a Congressional reception held on Capitol Hill that was sponsored by their local representatives (Randy “Duke” Cunningham, and James P. Moran) -- both of whom inserted congratulatory messages into the Congressional Record.

To really spotlight our two EPIC teachers, please visit our web site www.ogp.noaa.gov/epic.  We are particularly proud of the video collection that is archived there.   For our earlier Teacher-at-Sea, Susan Carty, we have 38 video clips.  For EPIC we have almost 40, and this number will continue to grow; we also have 11 other featured videos.  Almost 100 video clips -- a web addition that started only in August of 2000.

The EPIC Teachers at Sea, Jennifer Richards and Jane Temoshok, and ACE-Asia Teacher at Sea, Susan Carty, will attend the National Science Teachers Association Annual Meeting next March in San Diego.  All three teachers will personally autograph posters at the NOAA and NSF booths.

[11/19/01]

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