Citizen oceanography: crowdsourcing ocean data collection in a sea of new technologies


Session ID#: 36291

Session Description:
How inexpensive sensors, the Internet of Things, the cloud, and wireless technologies are enabling cutting-edge citizen science

High quality sensors aren’t just for professional scientists anymore. Citizen science is becoming increasingly common across diverse scientific fields due in large part to the ubiquity of smartphones and smart devices, new wireless technologies, and comparatively inexpensive hardware. These technological leaps are leading to the collection and analysis of data that would otherwise be difficult or impossible for scientists to generate using traditional techniques—particularly true for oceanography where adequate sampling across time and space is often impractical.

People interact with the ocean in many ways, from short-term coastal recreation to longer-term open ocean cruises and even from their homes via cloud tools, each of which offers unique opportunities and potential for citizen science projects. In addition to generating valuable data, citizen science has the capacity to raise public awareness and understanding of oceanic processes.

This town hall will consist of short presentations on current and past ocean-based citizen science projects followed by an open forum for discussion. Discussion will center on successes, pitfalls, and the societal benefits of conducting citizen based oceanography with a focus on high tech implementations.

Primary Contact:  Philip Joseph Bresnahan Jr, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States
Presenters:  Philip Joseph Bresnahan Jr1, Tyler Cyronak1 and Robert J W Brewin2, (1)Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States(2)National Centre for Earth Observation, United Kingdom
Cross-Topics:
  • CD - Coastal Dynamics
  • ES - Ecology and Social Interactions
  • ED - Education, Outreach and Policy
  • OC - Ocean Change: Acidification and Hypoxia
 

See more of: Town Hall