Welcome to the March issue of Oceanography. In this issue,
instead of focusing on one theme or topic in a special invited
section, five feature articles cover an extraordinarily broad range
of subjects that for the most part came to us via unsolicited man-
uscript submission. We are also very excited to introduce a new
department called DIY Oceanography, where authors share all
relevant information about a homemade sensor, an instrument,
or new software so that others can build, or build upon, it.
The March issue kicks off with a bit of history. Baker and
Zall describe the origins and impacts of the MEDEA pro-
gram, launched in 1992, that resulted in declassification of huge
amounts of data collected by the US Intelligence and Defense
Communities that could enhance research on Earth’s envi-
ronment. One of the most widely recognized outcomes of the
MEDEA program is the global map of ocean bottom topogra-
phy produced by Walter Smith and David Sandwell based on
GEOSAT altimeter data that were declassified during MEDEA.
The MEDEA retrospective is followed by a contribution
from Royer and Finney that provides an “oceanographic
perspective” on early human migrations to the Americas. Adding
to the discussion of this much written about subject, the authors
discuss ocean currents and sea levels that likely existed during
and after the Last Glacial Maximum that could have enhanced
or hindered boat journeys along the route from Berengia, which
included parts of what are now Alaska and eastern Siberia, to the
Pacific Northwest.
The ISMAR Team analyzes the different factors that led up to
the 2019 great flooding of Venice and shows why it was unlikely
that an accurate forecast could have been developed for this
event. Coastal regions around the world are facing similar situa-
tions, which may worsen in the future. The authors suggest that
scientists working on such problems should exchange ideas and
information to improve local solutions.
Cusick et al. provide details about how they developed and
executed their citizen science project that partners scientists with
the Antarctic tourism industry to enable regular data collection
in coastal waters from November to March. In this inspiring arti-
cle, the authors show how using an untraditional approach for
gathering data can enhance research in Antarctica and also edu-
cate tourists about the polar environment.
The final feature article in this issue by Greengrove et al.
provides an overview of current Ocean Observatories Initiative
(OOI) educational resources and opportunities, along with exam-
ple applications of OOI data. The authors invite the community
to create and share new ways to engage students with OOI data.
The March Oceanography department contributions are also
varied. They include a commentary that champions the continu-
ing need for organizations that support the bottom-up develop-
ment and nurturing of science ideas (Urban et al.) and another
that describes a student-led research cruise and the insights the
students gained from the experience at their stage of graduate
education (Bisson et al.). A report by Dierssen et al. details the
recommendations of a recent workshop on data needs for hyper-
spectral detection of algal diversity, and a hands-on oceanogra-
phy contribution by Gravinese et al. provides three activities
in which undergraduates can use real data to understand how
climate and oceanographic conditions have impacted coral reef
growth over the last 5,000 years.
The kick-off DIY contribution by Haëntjens and Boss intro-
duces Inlinino, an open-source software data logger with real-
time visualization capabilities whose main purpose is to log sci-
entific measurements collected at sea over extended periods. In
line with the mission of DIY Oceanography, anyone with moder-
ate coding skills should be able to add new sensors.
The March issue also contains our usual education, Ripple
Marks, and careers columns.
For those who only receive electronic copies of Oceanography,
don’t forget that along with the March issue, we publish the
annual ocean exploration supplement that details the latest
E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor
field seasons. The supplement—now in its tenth year—is mailed
with hard copies of the March issue to TOS members and is also
available online on the Oceanography website (https://tos.org/
ocean-exploration).
It’s been an astonishing seven years since Oceanography has
published an issue without a special section devoted to one
theme or one program. While we don’t know when the next
one will be, we strongly encourage continued submission of
articles that are of broad interest to the oceanographic com-
munity; those articles can be published in any issue, special or
not. See the Oceanography author guidelines (https://tos.org/
oceanography/guidelines) or drop me or any editorial board
member a note (email addresses available here: https://tos.org/
oceanography/editors) with an idea for an article. We look for-
ward to hearing from you!
Ellen S. Kappel, Editor
QUARTERDECK
Introduction to the March Issue of Oceanography
Oceanography | March 2020