Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Time, speed, distance, and velocity (Physical Science/Earth Science)
Students define velocity, and explain why this is a vector quantity; use the Okeanos Explorer Atlas to obtain information about position and movement of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and calculate velocity from information about geographic position at two different times.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Hydrothermal vents (Life Science)
Students explain the overall structure of hydrothermal vents and how they are related to the motion of tectonic plates, and create a model of a hydrothermal vent.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Human benefits from exploration of hydrothermal vent ecosystems (Life Science/Physical Science)
Students will explain at least three ways in which exploration of hydrothermal vent ecosystems can provide direct benefits to humans and will create presentations to share this information with school audiences.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Using ocean chemistry to locate hydrothermal vents (Physical Science)
Students explain the advantages of multibeam sonar, and its role in the exStudents explain the effects of hydrothermal vents on chemical and physical parameters of seawater, how oceanographers can use these effects to locate hydrothermal vents, and describe some of the instruments that oceanographers use to detect chemical clues that suggest the presence of hydrothermal vents.loration strategy used aboard the Okeanos Explorer; and use data from the Okeanos Explorer to create a bathymetric map.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Hydrothermal Vent Chemistry (Earth Science/Chemistry)
(from the Galapagos Rift 2011 Expedition)
Students describe hydrothermal vents; explain how oxidation reduction potential and light-scattering sensor data may be used to detect the presence of hydrothermal vents; and analyze CTD data collected in the vicinity of the Galapagos Spreading Center to recognize a probable plume from hydrothermal activity.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Species variation in hydrothermal vent communities (Life Science)
(from the Galapagos Rift 2011 Expedition)
Students define and describe biogeographic provinces of hydrothermal vent communities; identify and discuss processes contributing to isolation and species exchange between hydrothermal vent communities; and discuss characteristics which may contribute to the survival of species inhabiting hydrothermal vent communities.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Multibeam sonar exploration for hydrothermal vent systems (Earth Science/Physical Science)
(from the Galapagos Rift 2011 Expedition)
Students describe multibeam sonar; discuss the advantages of multibeam sonar bathymetry compared to two-dimensional topographic bathymetry; and interpret three-dimensional multibeam bathymetric data from the vicinity of the Galapagos Spreading Center.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Doppler effect and velocity estimation (Physical Science/Physics)
(from the Galapagos Rift 2011 Expedition)
Students explain the Doppler effect, and describe how a Doppler velocity log is used to estimate the Okeanos Explorer’s speed while underway.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Importance of deep ocean exploration (Life Science/Earth Science)
Students describe at least three different deep ocean ecosystems; explain at least three reasons for exploring Earth’s deep ocean; and explain at least three ways that deep ocean ecosystems may benefit humans.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Hydrothermal vent ecosystems (Life Science)
Students explain the overall structure of hydrothermal vents and how they are related to the motion of tectonic plates;describe the process of chemosynthesis in general terms; contrast chemosynthesis and photosynthesis; describe the anatomy of vestimentiferans; and explain how these organisms obtain their food.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Telepresence and communications for ocean exploration
(from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?)
Students identify the basic requirements for human communication; describe at least three ways in which humans communicate; discuss the importance of scientific communication; and explain the concept of telepresence, how it is implemented aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and how it is used to increase the pace, efficiency, and scope of ocean exploration.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Telepresence and communications for ocean exploration
(from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?)
Students identify the basic requirements for human communication; describe at least three ways in which humans communicate; discuss the importance of scientific communication; and explain the concept of telepresence, how it is implemented aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and how it is used to increase the pace, efficiency, and scope of ocean exploration.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Measuring physical properties of seawater for ocean exploration
(from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?)
Students define “CTD” and explain how this instrument is used aboard the Okeanos Explorer; define salinity and density; explain how relationships between temperature, salinity, and density in seawater are useful to ocean explorers; and use data from the Okeanos Explorer to create and interpret graphs of temperature, salinity, and depth.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Engineering Design (Physical Science/Technology)
(from the from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?
Students discuss advantages and disadvantages of using underwater robots in scientific explorations, and how underwater robots are used aboard the Okeanos Explorer; use the process of engineering design to develop potential solutions for an ocean exploration problem; and explain the principle of hydraulic power transfer systems, and construct a robotic arm that demonstrates this principle.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Plate Tectonics – Movement of plates, results of plate movement, and the Chile Triple Junction (Earth Science)
(from the INSPIRE: Chile Margin 2010 expedition)
Students describe the motion of tectonic plates; compare and contrast three typical boundary types that occur between tectonic plates; describe the plate boundaries that occur and the Chile Triple Junction; and explain why a variety of chemosynthetic communities are expected to occur in this area.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Volcanism on the Mariana Arc (Earth Science)
(from the 2004 Submarine Ring of Fire expedition)
Students explain the tectonic processes that result in the formation of the Mariana Arc and the Mariana Trench and explain why the Mariana Arc is one of the most volcanically active regions on Earth.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Scientific exploration of deep-sea volcanoes (Life Science/Physical Science/Earth Science)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 expedition)
Students compare and contrast submarine volcanoes at convergent and divergent plate boundaries; infer the kinds of living organisms that may be found around hydrothermal vents; describe three ways in which scientists may prepare to explore areas that are practically unknown; and explain two types of primary production that may be important to biological communities around hydrothermal vents in the Mariana Arc.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Hydrothermal vent ecology and transfer of energy among organisms that live near vents (Life Science/Earth Science)
(from the Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 expedition
Students describe how hydrothermal vents are formed and characterize the physical conditions at these sites; explain what chemosynthesis is and contrast this process with photosynthesis; identify autotrophic bacteria as the basis for food webs in hydrothermal vent communities; and describe common food pathways between organisms typically found in hydrothermal vent communities.
Grade Level: 5-6
Focus: Galápagos Rift Ecosystem - Structure and Function in Living Systems (Life Science)
(from the 2002 Galápagos Rift Expedition)
Students design an invertebrate capable of living near deep-sea hydrothermal vents and learn about the unique adaptations that organisms must have in order to survive in the extreme environments of the deep sea.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Plate tectonics (Earth Science)
(from the INDEX-SATAL 2010 Expedition)
Students describe the motion of tectonic plates; differentiate between three typical boundary types that occur between tectonic plates; infer the type of boundary that exists between two tectonic plates given information on earthquakes and volcanism in the vicinity of the boundary; and explain the relationship between tectonic plate movements and earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis.
Grade Level: 7-8; adaptations for Grades 5-6 & 9-12
Focus: Strategies for exploring unknown areas on Earth (Life Science/Physical Science/Earth Science)
(from the from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?
Students describe requirements for explorations of unknown areas on Earth; discuss factors that influenced exploration strategies of the Lewis and Clark and Challenger Expeditions; describe the overall exploration strategy used aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer; and describe how fractal geometry models natural systems, and how scale influences exploration strategy and results.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Wireless communications (Physical Science)
(from the from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?
Students identify and discuss at least five ways in which they use wireless technology in their daily lives; discuss the importance of communication to our culture, and describe some of the factors that contribute to the complexity of human communication; discuss factors that influence the effectiveness of human communication; identify the major components of wireless communications systems used aboard the Okeanos Explorer; and explain how these components support telepresence and scientific communication.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Bathymetric mapping
(from the from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?
Students explain the advantages of multibeam sonar, and its role in the exploration strategy used aboard the Okeanos Explorer; and use data from the Okeanos Explorer to create a bathymetric map.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Use of Robotics for Ocean Exploration
(from the from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?
Students discuss the importance of robotic vehicle technology to the ocean exploration strategy used aboard the Okeanos Explorer; discuss how information from underwater robots about biological and geological features is relevant to the concept of biodiversity; and demonstrate a process for analyzing video data from the Okeanos Explorer’s underwater robot.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Ecological impacts of volcanism in the Mariana Islands (Life Science/Earth Science)
(from the 2004 Submarine Ring of Fire expedition)
Students describe at least three beneficial impacts of volcanic activity on marine ecosystems, and explain the overall tectonic processes that cause volcanic activity along the Mariana Arc.
Grade Level: 7-8
Focus: Biological communities associated with hydrothermal vents along the Galápagos Rift and mapping (Life Science/Earth Science)
(from the 2002 Galápagos Rift Expedition)
Students conduct independent research to discover what types of organisms can survive near hydrothermal vents; learn how organisms living along hydrothermal vents can survive in the absence of sunlight and photosynthesis; and use mapping skills to learn more about the Rose Garden at the Galápagos Rift.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Technology for deep ocean exploration: CTD (Chemistry/Earth Science)
(from the INDEX-SATAL 2010 Expedition)
Students describe typical effects of hydrothermal vents, volcanoes, and cold seeps on chemical and physical parameters of seawater; explain how oceanographers can use CTD data to locate these geologic features; and analyze data from CTD casts for the presence of anomalies.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Technology for deep ocean exploration: Remotely Operated Vehicles (Earth Science/Physical Science)
(from the INDEX-SATAL 2010 Expedition)
Students describe systems and capabilities of science-class remotely operated vehicles, typical applications and limitations of imagery obtained with ROVs, and use ROV imagery to make inferences about deep ocean habitats.
Grade Level: 7-8; adaptations for Grades 5-6 & 9-12
Focus: Strategies for exploring unknown areas on Earth (Life Science/Physical Science/Earth Science)
(from the from the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, Volume 2: How Do We Explore?
Students describe requirements for explorations of unknown areas on Earth; discuss factors that influenced exploration strategies of the Lewis and Clark and Challenger Expeditions; describe the overall exploration strategy used aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer; and describe how fractal geometry models natural systems, and how scale influences exploration strategy and results.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Communications physics (Physical Science/Physics)
Students explain the concept of energy transfer though wave propagation, and how this process is used to support telepresence and scientific communications aboard the Okeanos Explorer; define an electric current, and describe the relationship between current, voltage and resistance using Ohm’s Law; identify resistors, capacitors, and inductors, and explain how each of these influences the flow of electric current; and identify and describe the function of the five basic electronic building blocks that make radios work.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Multibeam sonar
Students explain how multibeam sonar uses the properties of sound waves in water for scientific research about topography of the ocean floor; and analyze and interpret multibeam sonar data using free iview4D software to identify patterns in the distribution of seafloor features that contribute to scientific research about large-scale interactions in Earth’s systems.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Use of CTD data in ocean exploration
Students describe and explain redox potential and optical backscatter, and how these parameters are related to deep-sea ecosystems and geologic features; and analyze data from CTD casts aboard the Okeanos Explorer for the presence of anomalies.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Image analysis
Students describe typical applications and limitations of imagery obtained with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs); demonstrate how lasers may be used to calibrate images for size and distance measurements; and analyze ROV imagery from the Okeanos Explorer to make inferences about deep ocean habitats.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Autonomous Underwater Vehicles/Marine Navigation (Earth Science/Mathematics)
(from the INSPIRE: Chile Margin 2010 expedition)
Students explain a three-phase strategy that uses an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to locate, map, and photograph previously undiscovered hydrothermal vents, design a survey program to provide a photomosaic of a hypothetical hydrothermal vent field, and calculate the expected position of the AUV based on speed and direction of travel.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Deep-Sea Reducing Environments (Life Science)
(from the INSPIRE: Chile Margin 2010 expedition)
Students describe oxidation and reduction, explain the meaning of “reducing environment,” give at least three examples of deep-sea reducing environments, demonstrate a flow of electric current produced by a redox reaction.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Hydrothermal vent chemistry at subduction volcanoes (Chemistry/Earth Science)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 expedition)
Students define and describe hydrothermal circulation systems, explain the overall sequence of chemical reactions that occur in hydrothermal circulation systems, compare and contrast “black smokers” and “white smokers.” and make inferences about the relative significance of these systems to ocean chemical balance compared to terrestrial runoff from data on chemical enrichment in hydrothermal circulation systems.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Volcanic processes at convergent and divergent tectonic plate boundaries (Earth Science)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 expedition)
Students compare and contrast volcanoes at convergent and divergent plate boundaries, identify three geologic features that are associated with most volcanoes on Earth, and explain why some volcanoes erupt explosively while others do not.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Hydrothermal vent chemistry at subduction volcanoes (Chemistry)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 expedition)
Students use fundamental relationships between melting points, boiling points, solubility, temperature, and pressure to develop plausible explanations for observed chemical phenomena in the vicinity of subduction volcanoes.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Chemistry of hydrothermal vents (Chemistry)
(from the Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 expedition)
Students define hydrothermal vents and explain the overall processes that lead to their formation; explain the origin of mineral-rich fluids associated with hydrothermal vents; explain how “black smokers” and “white smokers” are formed; and hypothesize how properties of hydrothermal fluids might be used to locate undiscovered hydrothermal vents.
Grade Level: 9-12
Focus: Inheritance of genetic traits and the effect of environmental pressures on the expressed traits (Life Science)
(from the 2002 Galápagos Rift Expedition)
Students investigate the history of explorations of the hydrothermal vent systems; design a new shrimp species based on the introduction of a new gene form from migrating shrimp populations along the rift systems; assess the viability of the new shrimp species; and develop a model for the establishment of a population of a new species of shrimp.
