REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Introduction

This free 4-week online course, Ocean Science in Action: Addressing Marine Ecosystems and Food Security in the Western Indian Ocean, will be available from 5th October 2020. It will introduce you to innovative marine technologies and their applications used to tackle the challenges of the sustainable management of marine ecosystems.

Marine autonomous systems are becoming ever more reliable and easy to use for environmental observations – at a fraction of the cost of a research ship. Earth observation satellites monitor the oceans daily, collecting a wide range of marine data, most of which are freely available from global archives. Ocean models of increasingly high resolution make it possible to explore regional ecosystem dynamics and gain insights into reasons for variability and change.

Together with our educators, you will explore how these technologies can form the basis for environmental research and monitoring programmes to deliver decision support for marine policy development and resource management.

Using case studies from the SOLSTICE project, you will learn how marine science can be applied to the sustainable management of local marine ecosystems, and how this may contribute global efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is designed to be accessible to anyone with an interest in ocean management and conservation, the technology used to study the ocean, and the impact of climate change on the marine environment.

It would particularly appeal to people working within marine-related industries, such as fisheries, in the Western Indian Ocean, and those who study this ocean region.

Any enquires, please email solsticeMOOC@noc.ac.uk

Registration is open, you can enrol for this free course here.

MOOC Educators

Dr Katya Popova is the Lead Educator for the course, and Dr Zoe Jacobs is the MOOC Presenter who will guide you through all the topics. They are both experts in ocean modelling and impacts of climate change based at the National Oceanography Centre in the UK.

Each week Katya and Zoe will be accompanied by international experts in the topics we cover in our course:

         Dr David Obura, Coastal Oceans Research and Development Indian Ocean, East Africa

         Prof. Michael Roberts, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa

         Dr Narriman S. Jiddawi, Institute of Marine Sciences, Tanzania

         Prof. Warwick Sauer, Rhodes University, South Africa

         Dr Joseph Kamau, Kenyan Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kenya