Expedition 122: Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls

R/V ANGARI is no stranger to the University of South Florida (USF) College of Marine Science’s Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls (OCG). This year was the 9th year that R/V ANGARI and her crew welcomed OCG’s enthusiastic science-driven campers and their mentors aboard for three days of oceanographic research in and around Tampa Bay. OCG annually delivers a three-week summer camp for high school girls in Pinellas County interested in exploring careers in STEM, oceanography and marine science. Led by USF scientists, the camp provides participants real-world experiences in oceanography while learning and developing problem solving, communication, teamwork and leadership skills.

During this three-day expedition campers, scientists and peer mentors boarded R/V ANGARI and experienced oceanographic sample and data collection firsthand. Throughout each day-long research cruise, we visited three different locations and used a variety of oceanographic tools. The eager oceanographers participated in environmental data collection using a YSI probe to measure conductivity, temperature and depth, an anemometer to measure wind and a Secchi disk to assess turbidity. The participants used Niskin bottles to collect water samples, a Ponar grab sampler to collect sediments and a plankton net to collect microscopic marine organisms. In R/V ANGARI’s wet lab the campers used chemistry to analyze nutrients and other parameters of the collected water samples, and observed the plankton under microscopes to identify the different organisms and their relative abundance. Each day was rounded off with the deployment of an otter trawl and campers participated in identifying, measuring and releasing the animals caught. The data and samples collected during the research cruises contribute to the camper’s final projects that are presented at the end of the summer.

Thank you to the Florida Institute of Oceanography and the University of South Florida College of Marine Science for supporting this expedition by providing scientific gear and dockage for R/V ANGARI.