Education: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Scientists and engineers must be able to communicate clearly and persuasively the ideas and methods they generate. Critiquing and communicating ideas individually and in groups is a critical professional activity. Click on the icons (below right) to view other standards.
   Asking Questions and Defining Problems Developing and Using Models Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Analyzing and Interpreting Data Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Engaging in Argument from Evidence Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information


Artist
Advancements in Sea Surface Salinity Research (00:06:56)  
Sea surface salinity research has come a long way, initially being measured from ships and more recently with autonomous floats such as wave gliders and Argo. Beginning in the mid 1970s, satellites were launched into space to measure various oceanographic processes.
Discharge of the Mississippi River at Belle Chasse, LA
Aquarius Sees the Gulf of Mexico (00:02:48)  
Dr. Gary Lagerloef uses data collected from NASA's Aquarius satellite to show ocean processes taking place in the Gulf of Mexico (September, 2011).
Measuring water depth from the International Space Station
Comparing Ships to Satellites (00:04:33)  
In this clip, Dr. Eric Lindstrom gives viewers a comparison between early seagoing vessels and earth-observing satellites.
Mooring deployment
Constructing a Surface Mooring (00:07:18)  
Dr. Tom Farrar dicusses how scientists design surface moorings to stay in one place in the middle of the ocean while simultaneously collecting data for up to one year at a time.
Carbon flux
How are Humans Affecting Ocean Salinity? (00:07:00)  
Dr. Gary Lagerloef explains how understanding ocean salinity can help us to better understand human-induced global climate change.
Schematic of ARGO profile operation
Introduction to the Argo Float Program (00:06:09)  
Dr. Stephen Riser explains what an Argo float is and how it has increased scientists' knowledge of global ocean salinity since its implementation.
TOPEX/Poseidon satellite
Ocean-Observing Satellites (00:07:37)  
Ocean-observing satellites are able to measure a variety of properties including weather, salinity, temperature, and ocean color. Dr. Eric Lindstrom talks about the evolution of these satellites and how they have progressed to give us more detailed views of the worlds oceans from space.
Map of average salinity from historical ship and buoy data
Sea Surface Salinity and the Freshwater Cycle (00:05:19)  
The freshwater cycle and the salinity cycle operate at very different time scales; as our freshwater cycle intensifies, this difference is becoming more significant for global climate change.
International space station
The Evolution of Open Ocean Exploration (00:03:14)  
Dr. Eric Lindstrom talks about the connection between ocean-going vessels and ocean-observing satellites and how both are vital in learning more about how ocean circulation works and affects our planet.
Flux buoy locations
What's Above a Mooring? (00:03:21)  
Surface moorings collect continuous data from a single point in the ocean. Dr. Tom Farrar explains the types of instrumentation often found atop one of these moorings.
The global water cycle
Why Care About Ocean Salinity? (00:04:37)  
In this clip, Dr. Stephen Riser explains that ocean salinity is a way to better understand the global water cycle. Salinity plays a role in determining seawater density, which can determine where water travels throughout the oceans.