An underwater robotics competition in North Bend, teacher workshops in Newport, a student-built unmanned sailboat in Astoria — all reflect an ambitious educational initiative known as the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.
Category: Marine Studies Initiative
Sardines, mackerel and other “forage fish” are more valuable as food for larger species such as cod and tuna than as a commercial catch in their own right.
With a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon State University economists are studying the economic value of coastal features, such as sand dunes, wetlands and estuaries.
Last summer when Oregon State University researchers announced the development of a new strain of seaweed tasting remarkably like bacon when cooked, the news caught the attention of foodies everywhere. It was hailed as the holy grail of good eating — a nutrition-packed marine plant as yummy as a fat-loaded meat product.
“The ocean remains a wonder to me. As an ecologist, I have worked on land, but I understand that the ocean — like forests, wetlands and grasslands — is vulnerable to disruptions and that we are just starting to understand its complexity and dynamics.”
Music student Ryan Zubieta listened to the sounds around him — water running over stones, branches clicking together, wind rattling the canopy — then recorded and edited them, finally converting them into a haunting piece of music that, he says, “retains the organic quality” of the original woodland sounds.