The OOI Ocean Data Lab Project

The National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is advancing our ability to understand the natural world by collecting large quantities of data to address complex oceanographic processes. This expanded access to data also provides professors in the geosciences with new opportunities to engage undergraduate students in authentic data experiences using real-world data sets to teach geoscience processes.

However, students struggle to work with data based on their limited experience and exposure to different data types and sources. Also, supporting students in engaging with the data can be challenging for professors too, as there is a lack of adequate tools to easily digest and manipulate large data sets for in-class learning experiences.

Therefore, the OOI Ocean Data Lab Project (formerly called Data Explorations), with funding from NSF, is developing, testing, refining, and disseminating easy to use, interactive Data Explorations and Data Lab Notebooks that will allow undergraduates to use authentic data in accessible ways while being easy for professors to integrate into their teaching.

Recent Blog Posts

Data graph showing NDBC Station 44025 air/sea temps and wind speed

Introduction to Python – Part 2

Teaching students how to visualize ocean data is a challenge. But before you get into cognitive theory, choosing colors, or the the principles of (good) visualization design, you really just need to get your students' feet wet plotting some…
A screenshot of a binder notebook, sowing a graph of a CTD profile.
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How to Share and Run Python Notebooks

Python notebooks are a wonderful tool for sharing and collaborating on code. Built on the open-source backbone of the Python programming language, JupyterLab notebooks (their formal name) allow you to include code, text, formulas and images…
Timeseries plot of ocean and air temperatures at NDBC Station 44025 off the coast of NJ.
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Introduction to Python – Part 1

We now live in an ocean of data. And of course, that is literally true for those of us who study the ocean. We've come a long way from the early days of oceanography, when scientists like Nansen, Ekman, and Bjerknes might collect a…
Wave-carved Iceberg, Western Antarctic Peninsula

Polar Literacy Principles for Science Communication

This week was #ScienceLiteracyWeek in Canada, and as part of the campaign, the Arctic Relations blog asked Janice McDonnell, Ocean Data Labs Project PI, to share her thoughts on developing and Using the Polar Literacy Principles in Science…
Autumn tree on Cook Campus, taken by Sage Lichtenwalner

September 2020 Community News

In this issue: Fall 2020 Webinars will explore NEW resources - Register now Resource of the Month - Data as a Tool Implementation Stipends - Opportunity ends soon OOI Data Labs+ Fall 2020 Webinar Series We're pleased to…
Temperature profiles from 2 Pioneer Array Profilers, showing data from May 2019.

Data Labs Tutorial at WHOI

Today I had the opportunity to virtually present an introduction to the Ocean Data Labs project, along with a short tutorial on working with OOI Profiler data to the WHOI Ocean Informatics Working Group. We had over 40 participants attend, including…