The “Accessible Oceans” pilot project aims to inclusively design auditory displays that support perception and understanding of ocean data in informal learning environments (ILEs). The project’s multi-disciplinary team includes expertise from all related fields — ocean scientists, dataset experts, a sound designer with specialization in data sonification, and a learning sciences researcher. In addition, the PI is blind and provides a crucial perspective in our research. We describe the sound design of informative sonifications and respective auditory displays based on iterative design with user input at each stage, including from blind and low-vision (BLV) students, their teachers, and subject-matter experts. We discuss the importance of framing data sonifications through an auditory presentation of contextual information. We also report on our latest auditory display evaluation using Auditory Interface UX Scale (BUZZ) surveys at three ILE test sites. These responses further affirm our auditory display design developments. We include access to the auditory displays media and lessons learned over the course of this multi-year NSF-funded Advancing Informal Stem Learning (AISL) grant https://accessibleoceans.whoi.edu/
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Free, publicly-accessible full text available June 1, 2025
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The Greenland Deep Western Boundary Current (GDWBC) mooring array is part of the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Project (OSNAP). The mooring array consists of four moorings instrumented with SeaBird 37 MicroCATs and Nortek Aquadopp Current Meters with the goal of 1) better defining the range of DWBC transport variability up to interannual time scales from continuous multi-year time series of velocity, temperature, and salinity, 2) identifying the causes of DWBC transport and water mass variability on multiple time scales, including connections to the dense overflows upstream, and 3) assessing DWBC continuity and connectivity around Cape Farewell and to the western boundary of the Subpolar North Atlantic. These moorings were deployed August 2020 to July 2022.more » « less
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Two 2-year moorings were placed in the Bight Fracture Zone (BFZ), one in the north channel and one in the south channel, between July 2015 to July 2017. Each mooring was instrumented at four depths with a pair of instruments comprised of an SBE MicroCAT and a Nobska MAVS-4 Acoustic Current Meter. The four pairs of instruments were placed at 1500, 1750, 2000 meters depth and 22 meters above the bottom of the channel (2440 meters depth in the north channel and 2115 meters depth in the south channel). The initial processing for both the MicroCAT and MAVS-4 consisted of removing data collected while out of water, replacing data outliers with NaNs, and correcting drifts in the data. In addition, the MAVS-4 data were transformed from instrument coordinates to earth coordinates and magnetic declination was correction was applied.more » « less
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In the 2010s, a large freshening event similar to past Great Salinity Anomalies occurred in the Iceland Basin that has since propagated into the Irminger Sea. The source waters of this fresh anomaly were hypothesized to have come from an eastward diversion of the Labrador Current, a finding that has since been supported by recent modeling studies. In this study, we investigate the pathways of the freshwater anomaly using a purely observational approach: particle tracking using satellite altimetry-derived surface velocity fields. Particle trajectories originating in the Labrador Current and integrated forward in time entered the Iceland Basin during the freshening event at nearly twice the frequency observed prior to 2009, suggesting an increased presence of Labrador Current-origin water in the Iceland Basin and Rockall Trough during the freshening. We observe a distinct regime change in 2009, similar to the timing found in the previous modeling papers. These spatial shifts were accompanied by faster transit times along the pathways which led to along-stream convergence and more particles arriving to the eastern subpolar gyre. These findings support the hypothesis that a diversion of relatively fresh Labrador Current waters eastward from the Grand Banks can explain the unprecedented freshening in the Iceland Basin.
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Abstract The Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) – the primary component of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation – flows along the eastern flank of Greenland from a combination of Denmark Strait Overflow Water and Iceland Scotland Overflow Water. The Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP) has continuously measured the DWBC since 2014 using current meters, temperature/salinity sensors, and acoustic doppler current profilers. This mooring array located near Cape Farewell also incorporates data from the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Global Irminger Sea Array to create the longest continuous observations of the DWBC closest to where Iceland Scotland Overflow Water and Denmark Strait Overflow water first merge. This study reveals that the DWBC has decreased by 26% over the first six years of OSNAP observations primarily due to a thinning of the traditionally defined DWBC layer (σθ > 27.8 kg m-3) due to a known freshening signal moving through the subpolar region. Despite this decrease, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation as calculated by OSNAP has remained relatively steady over the same period. Ultimately, the reason for this difference is due to the methods used to define these two circulations. Finding such notably different trends for two seemingly dependent circulations raises the question of how to best define these transports.
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The geoscience community discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) most often focuses on increasing the participation of underrepresented groups based on race, ethnicity, and gender. Disability status is often overlooked, even though people with disabilities are underrepresented in the US STEM workforce by a factor of 3 compared to factors of 1.5 and 1.3 for women and underrepresented minorities, respectively (NCSES, 2023). The unemployment rate (the proportion of the workforce population that is unemployed but actively seeking work) is twice as high for people with disabilities as it is for those without a disability, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf).
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Look at a graph of oceanographic data. How would you convey the information only using sound? This is the challenge addressed by the US National Science Foundation-funded “Accessible Oceans” project, which seeks to increase access to ocean data in informal learning environments like museums, science centers, and aquariums. Quantitative information in these settings is almost always conveyed with visual displays. For audience members who are blind or have low vision, or those with data illiteracy or innumeracy, these displays remain inaccessible. In this article, we discuss our interdisciplinary project using an inclusive human-centered design process to develop auditory displays that support learning and understanding of ocean science in informal learning environments. We share information about our project and takeaways for inclusive auditory display design, hoping to inspire others to examine the accessibility of their own work.