The OOI Ocean Data Labs 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 Labs 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.

  • Attendees at our 2019 workshop in Bellingham, WA.
  • Participants at our workshop during the 2019 Earth Educators Rendezvous in Nashville.
  • OSM20 Data Lab Workshop table group
  • Data Lab workshop participants at Western Washington University.
  • Sage chats with several Ocean Sciences workshop participants.
  • Participants at our 2020 Ocean Sciences Data Labs workshop.
  • A table of participants at our Ocean Sciences Workshop hard at work checking out some new Data Explorations.
  • July workshop participants use a bright window to compare multiple graphs on top of each other
  • Participants from our July OOI Data Lab Development Workshop
  • Participants from our June OOI Data Lab Development Workshop
  • The March 2019 OOI Data Labs workshop featured 20 participants and staff from around the country.
  • Wilmington workshop participants gather on the dock at UNCW for a photo.
  • Workshop participants on the trolly on their way to the first night of presentations.
  • Participants discuss how best to interpret a graph as part of a nonsense data activity.
  • Dr. Beaulieu presenting on the OOI Data Explorer to workshop participants. She is standing and actively talking while the participants are sat in front of her and following along.
  • Four participants gathering around a table, looking at a laminated piece of paper and discussing its contents.
  • Six adults standing side-by-side, smiling at the camera, outside on a sunny day, shaded by a vibrant tree.
  • Workshop participants gather in front of a fall tree at the Chauncey Center
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Recent Blog Posts

Data Labs at the OOI Facilities Board

Earlier this month, Janice and I presented an update on the Data Labs project to the OOI Facilities Board during their (virtual) spring meeting. It's always nice to have an opportunity to reflect on your accomplishments. It's been almost…
Axial Base Shallow Profiler Mooring - CTD

Identifying Dataset Sample Rates

Today's example is rather simple, but it answers a common question I've heard... What is the sample rate of my dataset? For many ocean observatory datasets, the rates are usually pretty well defined and constant in time. For example,…
CTD data from OOI Station Papa Flanking Mooring B

Merging Datasets For the Win (and export)

If you find yourself with multiple datasets that you need to analyze or plot together, you will probably need to merge them. A merged dataset is handy because all of the data points line up with the same index or timestamp, which allows…

Access the Ocean with OOI

Have you been looking for a good (and quick) video introduction of the OOI to show your students? In case you haven't seen this video yet, it's a nice option to consider. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U8uXLefjIk&t=28s This video,…
Air and seawater temperatures along with salinity at the Pioneer Central Surface Mooring (CP01CNSM) for 2019 and early 2020.

Data requests the easy way with the OOI API

Welcome back to Python Tuesday! The OOI dataset is not exactly the easiest dataset to work with. But a significant reason for this is that the dataset contains over a thousand individual instruments in the system and 36 different instrument…
Seasonal cycle of sea surface temperatures at NDBC Station 44025 in the Mid-Atlantic
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Seasonal Cycle and Anomaly at NDBC 44025

The Mid Atlantic has one of the largest summer to winter changes of sea surface temperature in the world. But you don't have to take my word for this, we can use real data to see how large the change is! In last week's example notebook,…

 The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Data Labs is pleased to be a (non-funded) sponsored program of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT).

NAGT sponsors programs that foster improvements in the teaching and learning about Earth as a system at all levels of formal and informal instruction, emphasize the relevance and cultural significance of geoscience to all people, foster and disseminate knowledge of and research in geoscience education, and promote professional growth of our members. the Data Labs project  fully aligns with NAGT’s mission as it works to promote data literacy skills building in undergraduate education using the lens of the geoscience disciplines.