Sea Grant blogs, podcasts - and more

Oregon Sea Grant has been blogging since 2006, when marine educator Bill Hanshumaker chose the format to chronicle his experiences on an Antarctic research cruise. Enthusiastic response to the journal from teachers and their students led Sea Grant Communications to look to blogging as a way to present timely and engaging content about ocean and coastal matters and deliver it directly to those who are interested and involved.

A growing cadre of Sea Grant Extension faculty and educators are embracing blogging as a means of extending their reach beyond traditional communities of place and interest. And we've added audio and video podcasts to provide in-depth treatment of important subjects such as climate change.

As social media proliferate, Sea Grant continues to experiment with new ways of engaging with our audiences on the coast, across Oregon and around the world.

Our blogs:

Breaking Waves - Produced by Sea Grant Communications, Breaking Waves delivers timely news about marine science, Sea Grant publications and videos, grant and fellowship opportunities, meetings and classes, and other ocean and coastal topics, in a short, easy-to-read format with links to more in-depth information. Entries are archived by date and category, and a search tool makes it easy to find older information.

COMING SOON: Buoy Tales - Accompany intrepid HMSC Visitor Center volunteers Michael Courtney and Annie Thorp on their second NOAA cruise to the equatorial Pacific to service buoys that gather data for atmopsheric research.

Words from a Wet Vet - Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan, Oregon Sea Grant's "fish doctor," writes about all things related to ornamental fish and their health. Intended as a replacement for the irregularly published Ornamental Fish Health Newsletter, the blog provides up-to-the-minute news about the world of fish health, as well as reports from fish health workshops and other events our "wet vet" takes part in.

H2ONCoast - The north coast of Oregon is impressively wet - so wet, in fact, that it can be hard to remember that the region faces surprisingly complex problems related to water quality, supply and the potential hazards of flooding and erosion. Rob Emanuel, Sea Grant Extension's Tillamook-based water resources and community development educator, attempts to bring those issues to light with interesting and engaging discussion of water, climate and community on the north coast and beyond

(ARCHIVED) Sounds from the Southern Ocean - Marine educator Bill Hanshumaker's journal of a NOAA-sponsored research expedition to Antarctica in 2006 was our first foray into blogging, and an opportunity for readers to get on-the-scene reports from our planet's southernmost continent, complete with photographs of the frozen landscape and some of its animal inhabitants. While no longer active, the blog's archives provide a rich example of how blogging can bring science to life, as it happens, even from the farthest corners of the earth. Read more about Bill's blogging experience

Podcasts

Communicating Climate Change - Audio and video interviews with prominent social scientists on the challenges of communicating complex scientific concepts, such as climate change and variability, to the public. Produced by Oregon Sea Grant's Joe Cone.

Ocean Learning - An audio-visual introduction to the exhibits and science at OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center. Available on iTunes for downloading to your iPod before you visit the HMSC!