Using Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) Data to Enhance Student Learning about the Factors Affecting Primary Production in the Southern Hemisphere Polar Pacific Ocean.

Through data explorations, students will explore the factors affecting primary production in the Southern Hemisphere Polar Pacific Ocean. Primary production is the rate at which organism’s store energy through the formation of organic matter (carbon-based compounds), using energy derived from solar radiation during photosynthesis or from chemical reactions during chemosynthesis. Students will use Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) Data to explore the effect of abiotic factors, such as nutrient concentration, light availability, and temperature, on primary productivity. After engaging with the data exploration, a student will be able to:describe patterns in individual data sets and correlations between the different data types presented, interpret the provided data, explain the relationship between primary productivity, nutrient concentration, light availability, and temperature in the Southern Ocean using evidence and relevant scientific concepts to support their conclusions, and apply knowledge gained from a small subset of data to make predictions over longer time series.