Feb 19, 2010 • Hussey Sound, Maine, USA

Adroitly adrift

by • 1 Comment

Kara La Lomia is part of a team at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) that’s designing, constructing and using drifters. These floating instruments track the currents, and are engaging everyone from students to lobstermen.

La Lomia told me, “Well, I enjoy this kind of work. It’s hands on and it’s quiet, thoughtful work, and I enjoy that very much.”

So I made a trip to Portland, Maine a couple months ago to check it all out. Have a listen.

[audio:https://coseenow.net/podcast//2010/02/og28.mp3]

Slideshow

The Cape Fear Community College drifter deployment team off the North Carolina shore. Credit: Tim Shaw.

One of the drifter deployment teams at Southern Maine Community College in the waters off Portland. Credit: Tom Long.

The team at Southern Maine Community College assembles drifters that either float at the surface or hang about 5-10 meters beneath it, and they get pushed along by the currents. Credit: Tom Long.

More Media

Kara La Lomia and Catherine Chipman deploy the drifter tracking the current 5 meters down in Hussey Sound just off the coast of Portland, Maine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYwdb4i7dY8

Kara La Lomia shows off a pregnant female lobster being raised in aquaculture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx5Hno921IU

 

Education Standards

National Science Education Standards Grade 5 to 8

National Science Education Standards Grade 9 to 12

Ocean Literacy Principles

Send a Message

Send us your guess for the Sonic Stumper or your questions for the SMCC drifter team:

Adroitly adrift

One Comment

  1. Liesl Hotaling says:
    July 9, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    What a program and what an opportunity to involve students and commercial fishers in research, thank you for sharing!