A timeseries graph of seawater temperature data measured from the 30m CTD at Global Station Papa Flanking Mooring B, including the mean, median, standard deviation and quartile boxes.

The Upside and Downside of Basic Statistics

When it comes to analyzing and interpreting data, one of the first tools a scientist will reach for are a few basic statistics. This includes calculations like mean, median, standard deviation and range, though there are certainly many others.…
The 8 Science and Engineering Practices

What Makes a Scientist?

Am I a scientist? That’s a somewhat existential question that I, and others in positions like mine, often find myself asking. I’m sure my friends, and the K-12 teachers I work with, generally think of me as a scientist without any…

Air and Sea Temperatures

I love creating data visualizations. I always feel like I’m on an adventure when I take some data, visualize it in a number of different ways, and try to make sense of what secrets are hidden inside. Often times you have a good idea…
Collage of data visualizations from the 2018 OOI Data Workshops

Oh My Data

The Ocean Observatories Initiative has a lot of data! Conceived in the late 1990’s, the OOI was designed to bring together a cutting-edge collection of instruments into a single integrated ocean observatory. This observatory would be larger,…
OOI Tree 2013-06-25
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The Circle of OOI

The complexity of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, simplified to a nice simple circle.
1 week change in Sea Surface Temperature from July 12 to 19, 2013
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The End of Upwelling

What a difference a week makes. Late last week, the waters off New Jersey were between 5-15 degrees below normal. They're not any more.
A sea surface temperature satellite image map, alongside a NDBC buoy on the water

Satellites vs. Buoys

A little while back, I received the following question from a Visual Ocean visitor: "When might satellite sst data be more informative than buoy data?"
Red, white and blue map of SST Gradients in the Mid Atlantic on July 4, 2013
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The Ocean in Red, White and Blue

To celebrate Independence Day, I thought it would be fun to dress up the ocean in a little red, white and blue.
False-color image from NOAA-18 at 4:36pm on June 7, 2013
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Tropical Storm Andrea clouds up the ocean

This week, was the start of the 2013 Hurricane Season, and already forecasters have declared the first storm of the season, Tropical Storm Andrea.
NGSS Middle School performance expectations for Weather and Climate - page 58
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Next Generation Activity Development

Last week, I had an opportunity to look through the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) alongside many other ocean educators at the COSEE Network Meeting. Our goal was to figure out how the NGSS could be used to develop activities.
Conductance vs. Streamflow on the Delaware River at Trenton, NJ

Blog Roundup #1 – Ocean Science and More

I hope to occasionally share some of my favorite web sites and blogs in easily digestible chunks. This first roundup features some of the top sites on ocean, climate and environmental data and science.
Conductance vs. Streamflow on the Delaware River at Trenton, NJ
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Streamflow and Conductance on the Delaware

Conductance is an important measurement of water quality in rivers, and it is often related to river discharge.