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COSEE Alaska at the 2010 Alaska Marine Science Symposium
George Matsumoto provides an overview of  the COSEE Network
 
George Matsumoto provides an overview of the COSEE Network
COSEE Alaska sponsored workshops, luncheon speakers and activities at the 2010 Alaska Marine Science Symposium held in Anchorage, Alaska from January 18-22. The annual symposium, which draws the entire Alaska marine science community, had a record-breaking attendance of more than 800 scientists, educators, and coastal community members. More than 200 of these attendees participated in two half-day workshops co-sponsored by COSEE Alaska to kick off the conference: Communicating Ocean Science and Ocean Acidification. George Matsumoto (COSEE National Advisory Committee), Craig Strang (COSEE California), and Annette deCharon (COSEE-Ocean Systems) were invited presenters at the Communicating Ocean Sciences workshop, bringing successful tools and programs to Alaska from across the COSEE Network.

Other presentations featured research and communication of science in Alaska Native communities by Vera Metcalfe, a Director of the Alaska Eskimo Walrus Commission, and a collaborative project between researcher Andrew Trites and a teacher on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands that provided outreach and education about fur seal ecology and its cultural importance to the school and the community.

 
Andrew Trites, fur seal researcher, and Tonia Kushin, St.Paul teacher, describe their collaborative project
Andrew Trites, fur seal researcher, and Tonia Kushin, St.Paul teacher, describe their collaborative project
COSEE Alaska sponsored lunchtime programs, including an organizational meeting of the SEANET networking group that was attended by more than 100 scientists, educators, and science media and outreach specialists from throughout the state. COSEE Alaska also sponsored a mock National Ocean Sciences Bowl competition between a student team and a team of scientists, as well as a presentation about Google Ocean by Charlotte Vick, Google Earth (Ocean) content manager. A final COSEE-sponsored workshop provided hands-on experience for 70 scientists and educators to work with Charlotte Vick on posting content to Google Ocean.

As a follow-up to the symposium, highlights of presentations about Alaska ocean climate change, the Bering Sea ecosystem study, sea ice, and ocean acidification were posted on the SEANET networking site.

Contributed by Marilyn Sigman