WWU to Offer Oceanographic Data Collection Boat Course Sept. 6 at Shannon Point

Western Washington University’s Shannon Point Marine Center will offer an oceanographic data collection boat trip course this summer in Anacortes.

Participants will observe and assist in the collection of oceanographic data for Washington State’s Department of Ecology long-term monitoring of the Salish Sea.

Oceanographic data (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, etc.) will be observed in real-time aboard the Shannon Point Marine Center’s research vessel Magister. Data will be explained in the context of seasonal and spatial variation in Salish Sea oceanography.

The Department of Ecology has sampled these locations since 1999. The Shannon Point Marine Center has been involved in sampling since 2013.

Community members of all experience levels are welcome to join the class.

The program will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Shannon Point Marine Center. The registration price is $125.

Marine scientist Brady Olson will give a lecture on oceanography at the end of the program. Olson’s research involves planktonic predator and prey interactions. He researches the response of planktonic individuals, populations and communities to emerging climate stressors. In addition, Olson researches coastal planktonic food web ecology, with an emphasis on copepod feeding behaviors.

Marine technician Jay Dimond, who is currently working toward his doctorate at the University of Washington, will be on board the vessel for the class. Skipper Nate Schwarck, a research vessel operator and diving safety officer at the Shannon Point Marine Center, will also be on board.

For more information and to register, visit ee.wwu.edu/profdev or call (360) 650-3308.