A focus on ocean acoustics education

Abstract

The clear need for ocean acoustics education led to two initiatives in 2023. In January, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) formed a committee to research the state of ocean acoustics education in the country and determine needs and opportunities for the discipline. In May, the theme of the fifth Global Ocean Science Education (GOSE) Workshop was ocean acoustics. The workshop brought together 70 participants from a dozen countries. These delegates, representing the research, business, policy, and education sectors, shared their knowledge on a suite of key topics in underwater acoustics and education. Delegates discussed the importance of integrating ocean acoustics into ocean education and ocean literacy initiatives, workforce development through an ocean acoustics microcredentials program, and addressing the needs of the global ocean acoustics community. The needs identified during the NAS study and the GOSE Workshop include the imperative to raise awareness of careers in ocean acoustics in pre-collegeeducation, as well as undergraduate education, more opportunities for training at the technician level, and easy to access educational resources, such as those found on the Discovery of Sound in the Sea website (www.dosits.org). Recommendations from the NAS study and the GOSE Workshop will be shared during this presentation.