The oceans cover around 70% of the earth's surface, but our understanding of the geo-physical-chemical functioning of the oceans and of the life found in their waters is very limited. Technology is developing increasingly better tools to help us learn more about this challenging environment.

Research vessels such as the state-of-the-art G.O.Sars are floating technology platforms enabling researchers to address questions and collect data that even a few decades ago would have been impossible. Beliefs that have been accepted for hundreds of years are being overturned, such as the deep ocean is a desert, life is impossible without sunlight, the ocean water columns are uniform environments etc. ...

Researchers are expanding the frontiers of science with every new discovery. Knowledge is increasing at an accelerating pace. However, the technology that is the driving force behinds these advancements is expensive, and a knowledgeable public is crucial to the funding process. It is therefore critical that information about new scientific findings make its way quickly and effectively to the public arena. Teachers and schools are a critical link in this process. For this reason, the Centre for Geobiology hasis developing a "teacher-at-sea" programme that brings classroom teachers in close contact with scientists engaging in active research.

Summer 2008 from 29 June - 9 August, the G.O.Sars headed north once more with teams including students and scientists from a variety of disciplines including geology, geochemistry, biology and microbiology. There were also five teachers on board who worked closely with the scientific crew and were responsible for maintaining a daily journal about the activities during the cruise. (Participant list)

Teacher at Sea 2008

Daily diary

Part 1 Exploration (30 June - 16 July)

Part 2 Natural Laboratory recovery and deployment (18 July - 26 July)

Part 3 Methane seeps (28 July - 8 August)

Tokt dagbok (på norsk)