Hands-On Post-Calibration of In Vivo Fluorescence Using Open Access Data: A Guided Journey from Fluorescence to Phytoplankton Biomass

The goal of this activity is to help students become acquainted with key procedures in oceanographic data acquisition, processing, validation, and management. These skills are learned through using sensor-based underway fluorescence and discrete chlorophyll a (Chl-a) measurements. By encompassing a wide range of skills necessary for oceanographic research—from at-sea operations, to precise lab work, to data management—this activity showcases the diverse learning opportunities that oceanography offers for educating science and engineering students. This activity highlights the critical, yet often overlooked, steps required to process and validate high-resolution data from autonomous sensors, such as those mounted on ocean observing platforms (e.g., research vessels, moorings, gliders), before utilizing them to investigate relevant oceanographic processes. It offers students the opportunity to develop proficiency in the various steps of managing open-access data from diverse sources, while also introducing them to the principles of findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data practices in scientific research (Wilkinson et al., 2016). Additionally, it familiarizes them with the requirements of the Open-Source Science Initiative (OSSI) for open, transparent, accessible, inclusive, and reproducible science. Emerging mandates that make funding availability contingent on open data managing and sharing procedures make the skills delivered in this activity essential for researchers and technicians (Kaiser and Brainard, 2023).