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Photo - Chris Johnson |
Session 3:
Planning an Expedition
Students will gain an understanding of what goes into planning an expedition, what factors need to be considered when planning a route, as well as where to begin to search for sperm whales. This week, the Odyssey will begin a two-week research leg to look for whales around Sri Lanka. Their course will be plotted as well as whale sighting locations. Students will be able to compare where they think whales may be found, to where the Odyssey actually finds them.
Topics Covered in Class
- Food webs and sperm whales
- Planning an expedition?
- Answers from Odyssey crew
In-class Activities
- We will start by doing a food web activity so that students have a greater understanding of the food web and how important this is when considering where to look for sperm whales.
- We will briefly go over the prevailing wind, bathymetric and Townsend charts that are available to the students online and make sure everyone understands how they are to be used. We will also cover all other charts available to students to help them in planning their routes.
- Students will break into their groups of three and teach their fellow students what they learned (using the worksheets they have filled out)
- Each group will be allowed to email one suggestion to the Odyssey in order to help the crew find whales. Where possible, the Odyssey will try their suggestions, and respond by session four about whether the advice from the students was successful in helping the crew find whales. Students can then take the Odyssey response into consideration when designing their own final routes. For example, a team may suggest that the crew zigzag between the 2000 and 4000m depths. The crew response might be, "Yes, this strategy helped us find whales this week."
Homework (Research)
- Read a selection of the logs in the "Day in the Life" (crew life - www.pbs.org/odyssey/odyssey/dayinthelife.html ) section and begin thinking of questions to ask Odyssey crewmembers.
- Explore the Internet for other information that might be useful to planning a route. Do Sri Lankan websites provide information that might be useful? NASA and NOAA are two organizations that provide graphs, charts and maps that can be used to explore our world.
Homework Links for Session 3--
Odyssey Logs
These logs are listed here to give the students an idea of what it is like to live aboard a working research vessel at sea. Reading these logs will help the students feel more connected to the experience.
- February 10, 2002 - 'Seasickness'
- June 18, 2002 - 'Sea Mail Service'
- December 24, 2001 - 'Perspectives - Cooking on the High Seas'
- December 4, 2001 - 'A Captain's Report - Weather Update'
- December 11, 2001 - 'Perspectives - Odyssey Science Intern'
- November 6, 2001 - 'Surviving a Sudden Squall'
- January 19, 2001 - 'Abemama'
- January 4, 2001 - 'Guided by Dolphins'
- December 20, 2000 - 'Jarvis'
- October 20, 2000 - 'The Not So Elusive Flying Fish'
- September 27, 2002 - 'Challenges of Tracking Whales at Night'
NOAA & NASA Websites
Both of these websites provide an array of information that students can use to explore the oceans and our planet.
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