NeMO EDUCATION OUTREACHTo Teachers and Students:
The Juan de Fuca plate off the Oregon Washington and Northern California coast is the newest frontier in oceanographic research. Within 200 miles of the Oregon coast is an active volcano, seafloor spreading sites, deep ocean hot springs, and strange deep sea creatures many of which have never been seen before. From June to August 2000, NOAA Scientists from the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center and their colleagues will be exploring the ocean floor to investigate this exciting frontier. We're inviting you to come along on the cruise and experience the excitement of discovering secrets of the deep sea. NeMO ROPOS-Cruiss 2000, departs Newport, Oregon June 29. The destination is Axial Volcano located on the Juan de Fuca plate 200 miles off the Oregon Coast and 1500 meters deep. On board the Ron Brown will be 34 scientists, high tech equipment such as the Remotely Operated Vechicle (ROV) ROPOS, rumbleometers and extensometers to facilitate deep sea experiments. Teacher Jeff Goodrich, who teaches at Lake Oswego High School, will join the scientists on board. Jeff will be our eyes and ears on this cruise. He will provide photos and daily reports of shipboard activities and new research discoveries. Through his reports we can go aboard the research vessel and join scientists on this exciting cruise. Mike Goodrich, a retired teacher (and Jeff's father), will be the NeMO teacher on-shore and deliver cruise activities to visitors at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Axial rumbled in January 1998 and the NEMO 98 cruise confirmed an eruption had occurred. Seafloor faulting, deposits of new lava and deep hot springs with unique communities of marine life characterize the area. NeMO 2000 will investigate bacteria, water chemistry and the deposits of new lava at the site. Information from the cruise will be presented daily at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Public Wing and posted on this web site. Oregon Sea Grant and NOAA VENTS welcomes you to this exciting oceanography cruise. |