United States-Portugal Collaborations in Ocean Science Education

Abstract

The Ocean Technology Foundation (OTF), in cooperation with its 19 U.S. and Portuguese partner organizations has been conducting its Science, Education, and Marine Archeology Program in Portugal (SEMAPP) for the past several years. This program is unique in that it includes universities, government and military organizations, and nonprofit, private, and educational organizations. Studying the geology, biology, and ecology of the Portuguese continental shelf, discovering and identifying submerged cultural resources, transferring marine technologies, and public education and outreach are the primary goals of SEMAPP. In 2004, OTF conducted a two-week expedition to explore Nazare and Portimao Canyons using the manned submersible Delta. Working closely with Marinha Portuguesa (Portuguese Navy) and its Institute Hidrografico, a major archeological site was investigated, and video documentation of canyon and shelf biology and geology was recorded. Education is a major component of SEMAPP, and in partnership with Ciencia Viva, Portugal's leading science and technology education organization, seven Portuguese high school students and their teachers were selected to participate in the expedition and joined researchers out at sea. Undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Connecticut and the Autonomous University of Lisbon were also aboard the ship. Students had access to all principal scientists, ship and submersible crews, and several made dives in the submersible. Some of them are currently involved in post-cruise data assessment. In addition to these at-sea education activities, OTF and the University of Connecticut's Maritime Studies program have established a Study Abroad Program in Portugal. Students spend four weeks interning at Zoomarine, an oceanographic education facility on the southern coast, and also learn about the country's rich maritime heritage through field trips to historic sites. Two new SEMAPP initiatives are currently underway. The first is an archeological internship in Portugal that will involve students from Spain, Portugal and the U.S., and is based on a site that has both terrestrial and marine components. The second involves helping to build Portugal-U.S. ocean relations through OTF's participation on a bilateral committee that is identifying ways to advance the recommendations of Portugal's Strategic Commission on Oceans.