Field and Data Collection course
The initial Field and Data Collection course will serve as an early engagement and recruitment course with a focus on the important relationship between field observations and environmental data. Some of the planned activities include data collection in various coastal environments: a) coastal lagoons/estuaries with concurrent measurements from manned and autonomous kayaks, b) Narragansett Bay weekly trawls aboard the 53-foot R/V Cap’n Bert, c) Rhode Island Sound on dedicated surveys aboard the 42-foot R/V Shanna Rose with geophysical mapping systems (multibeam sonar, sub-bottom seismics, LiDAR). In addition, students will use low-cost, hands-on instruments that allow group-project teams to take a much more active role in design, deployment and recovery of an observational program. We will develop pedagogical protocols for the use of tilt current meters, thermistor arrays, Lagrangian drifter,s and radio-controlled fleet of sensors. Students will be introduced to nationally maintained environmental databases (e.g., USGS Streamflow, NOAA-PORTS, National Weather Service) for basic data analysis and comparison. Students will also visit Brown University’s immersive 3-D virtual-reality room, the Yurt, to “plant the seed” of a potential goal of the project to generate a 3-D view of the coastal Rhode Island environment. As an end-of-course project, students will assemble the various data collected during the course to identify any patterns/trends or determine how representative the data are of long-term conditions.
Instrumentation and Data Characterization
The Instrumentation and Data Characterization course will demonstrate what the instruments are really measuring and expose students to different types of data and collection strategies. Students will peer inside instruments to see how the sensors use basic physics and chemistry principles to obtain environmental measurements (e.g., conductivity and salinity). The “opening of the black box” will include activities for calibration, understanding proxy measurements, and identifying potential artifacts. Various types of guided data collection activities will expose students to time-series, spatial and hybrid data sets. Spreadsheet applications will be used for basic data analysis, plotting and interpretation, as well as an introduction to databases and metadata. As a final application project, groups of students will design and perform field studies to address provided or self-determined questions that require a combination of time-series and synoptic measurements. The project will include a final data report with preliminary data visualization and interpretation.
The autonomous kayak developed by URI/GSO Professor Chris Roman can be programmed to collect side-scan imagery/bathymetry, temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll and nitrate data over a predetermined cruise track and then transmit the data in real-time to a base station. There are also plans to put on a small winch to obtain CTD casts.
Data Analysis and Visualization
The Data Analysis and Visualization course will use new and/or previously collected data (i.e., field or archived) to expose students to more formal data analysis and presentation techniques.
Students will be introduced to programming and data analysis basics in a variety of programming environments (e.g., R, Python, MATLAB), but we will likely focus on the open-source software. Basic programming activities like loading data, assigning/manipulating variables, and plotting with a range of logic (e.g., conditionals and looping) will be embedded in the course. More advanced data techniques like trend and error analysis, time-series analysis, and multiparametric statistics will be introduced. Students will also be exposed to various data presentation techniques (e.g., plot types, data overlays, and use of color and symbol size). We anticipate a student final project and report that involves the interpretation and presentation of a multi-dimensional data set (e.g., multiple tide gauges in a coastal lagoon) of their choosing.
Data Modeling and Simulation
The Data Modeling and Simulation course will use observed or previously identified trends in data to predict, model or simulate phenomena at different spatial (smaller/larger) and/or temporal (past, future) scales. The course will cover the basics of conceptual, analog and numerical models. We will use existing Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) of Narragansett Bay circulation generated by co-PI Kincaid to introduce students to numerical models and simulations. Students will also be exposed to other modeling and simulation software (e.g., MathWorks SIMULINK, COMSOL). As a final project, students will be required to create a new or significantly modify an existing model/simulation. Ideally, the student project could be adapted to be a display in Brown University’s immersive 3-D virtual-reality Yurt.
Capstone Research Project
The capstone research project is a semester-long (or equivalent) independent research project at a Navy facility, a university, a government agency, or a private industry, that will allow the student to apply the knowledge and data analysis skills to authentic research. Ideally, students would be placed in a Navy or related industry internship, but we anticipate the existing available slots will be limited and very competitive. Multiple alternate research opportunities exist through established independent study courses at URI (e.g., OCG493/494), even internships at other universities through REUs (NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates), at neighboring NOAA and EPA facilities, and environmental private industries (see Table I). Students will be encouraged to apply for real-world research activities and offered URI credits as long as the project is relevant and meets educational requirements. A workshop on how to look for opportunities, how to apply, and what to look for in posted announcements, will be held in the fall of the second year prior to the first summer of internships. Students will also be made aware of opportunities during the school year in university laboratories, and in local agencies. Students participating in independent research projects will present their research results as posters at an annual URI Undergraduate Research Conference and will be encouraged to present at a national conference (assuming non-sensitive research materials) as well, if warranted.
