Students construct and deploy drifters for current data acquisition

The Education Team of HCMR, Crete, and the POSEIDON team hosted students and teachers from the Heraklion School of Arts and Music School of Heraklion at Thalassocosmos (HCMR, Crete) for the JERICOS3 IMAPOCEAN TNA initiative. Under the coordination of Mrs. Ariadne Dimoulas and funded by JERICOS3 (HCMR PI: Dr George Petihakis), the IMAPOCEAN project (Integrated Multilevel Active Passive Ocean Current Education Advancement Network) seeks to actively involve young students in hands-on ocean current data collection by constructing and deploying Drifters. These Drifters, sourced from the USA's NOAA and the Northeast Fishery Science Center (NEFSC), were initially designed for recording flow data related to fish larva movement. Constructed from materials like aluminum or bamboo, canvas, rocks for ballast, and a foam buoy with a GPS unit above the waterline, these Drifters can be assembled in a classroom setting with minimal experience. The Drifters play a crucial role in recording meaningful sub-surface data by telemetrically reporting their movement using GPS at regular intervals. Beyond the educational aspect, this student-built oceanographic tool has the added benefit of actively involving students and their communities in ocean research through the entire process, from building to launching and monitoring the Drifters. During their visit to HCMR, the students participated in a presentation on ocean currents and scientific monitoring tools. Following the presentation, they engaged in the hands-on experience of building and decorating their Drifters. This initiative not only provides valuable insights into ocean science but also fosters a sense of participation and community engagement in ocean research among the students. The drifter was deployed by the POSEIDON team in the area of station E1M3a and its data is available at the following link: https://studentdrifters.org/tracks/drift_imapocean_2024_1.html. The schools that participate the project were informed about the deployment and the link via e-mail.