Passive Acoustics Research Group Outreach

The passive acoustic lab is involved in many community outreach activities. Here are ways we engage with the community both in person and virtually.

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Two girls hold a gray seal skull, showing its teeth. — Third grade students with a gray seal skull at Mullen Hall Elementary School in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Genevieve Davis

The Passive Acoustics Research Group brings our research to people of all ages. We use many methods to increase awareness of environmental issues in our own marine backyard—Woods Hole, Massachusetts—and also in all the interconnected seas we study.

A circle with a halo of sound patterns around it displayed on a dark background. — This is what a Weddell seal vocalization looks like when the sound waves of the noise are made into a picture called a spectrogram. This spectrogram was displayed in the Sound Circle application produced by Allison Stokoe of our Passive Acoustic Research Group.

Online Resources

Allison Stokoe, of the Passive Acoustic Research Group, developed an application called Sound Circle, which displays the spectrogram of a sound while the sound is playing. A spectrogram is a picture of the sound. The Sound Circle software is an artistic and innovative viewing platform for specific underwater biological sounds.

Play marine mammal vocalizations in Sound Circle.

We have also partnered with the Sea Grant program at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to create the Coasts, Oceans, and Stewardship (COAST) Program. This program provides free educational materials to use in the classroom and at home. Topics include:

Standards-based lesson plans, resources, games and more

In 2020, with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a new webinar series called NOAA Live! through a partnership with WHOI Sea Grant. To date, the program has presented more than 100 webinars, each hosted by a NOAA expert. The webinars are recorded and available to the public. The webinars are geared toward grades 2-8, with English captions and Spanish subtitles. Many also have American Sign Language interpretation.

View all NOAA Live! webinars

Webinar hosted by acoustician Genevieve Davis

You can also listen to recordings of ocean sounds from around the globe.

Additional resources on ocean sound and the impact of noise from the National Marine Sanctuaries.

The Acoustic Ecology Lab at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center has developed NGSS aligned curriculum for Elementary, Middle School, and High School.

A young man at a computer smiles for the camera, surrounded by an office-like setting. — Intern Jabari Lottie, from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia works remotely from home on his outreach project for the passive acoustics research group. Lottie was a 2021 intern recruited through our center’s Partnership in Education Program (PEP).Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Jabari Lottie

Internships

Every year, the Passive Acoustic Lab takes on interns. Interns come to us through two main programs: the Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship and the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP).

Since 2006, we have hosted an average of two Hollings scholars every year. Past Hollings scholars have completed projects on marine mammal and fish ecology, soundscapes and outreach/education. Hollings scholars receive funding for their work throughout the summer, and an opportunity to present their work at a conference later that year.

The Passive Acoustics Research Group has hosted undergraduate students recruited through PEP since it began in 2009. Past PEP students have completed projects spanning all areas of our passive acoustics research areas. For the first half of their internship, PEP students take a course together. The second half is spent working on a research project with a mentor from one of the Woods Hole scientific institutions.

We also support the NOAA Teacher At Sea program. In addition to working together during research cruises, we collaborate with Teacher At Sea alumni to help develop lessons and activities, conduct classroom visits, and participate in community events.

A screenshot from an April 2020 NOAA Live! Webinar. Two women presenters are pictured in stacked boxes at left. The webinar title is displayed to the right. The title is “Can you hear me now? Marine mammals and sound.” — Genevieve Davis (top left), an acoustician with the Passive Acoustics Group, gives a NOAA Live! talk on marine mammals and sound. NOAA Live moderator Grace Simpkins is pictured at lower left. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Virtual Visits

Our scientists from participate in virtual outreach that “visits” locations throughout the United states and abroad. We participate in programs including NOAA Live!, NOAA Science Snapshots (through the Ocean Guardian School), as well as virtually visiting school classrooms to talk with students ranging from kindergarten to college.

Educators can sign up on the Skype a Scientist website to be matched with a scientist on a topic of their choice. The scientist will virtually visit their classroom as a guest speaker at no cost. Through this program, some of our scientists are available as virtual classroom speakers.

Two elementary students stand side-by-side in their classroom. One is holding a fan–like piece of minke whale baleen. The other is showing a graphic that describes a threat to sea life— marine debris. — Falmouth, Massachusetts students at Mullen Hall Elementary School learn about the research on protected species done by scientists at NOAA Fisheries and Woods Hole Sea Grant. Visiting scientists talk about their work, protected marine mammals in Cape Cod waters, and how students can help contribute to their health. Credit: WHOI Sea Grant/Grace Simpkins

Classroom Visits

As part of the partnership with Woods Hole Sea Grant on the Coasts, Oceans, and Stewardship (COAST) Program, scientists visit local classrooms in Southeastern Massachusetts. We offer free 1-hour lessons with hands-on activities, presentations, and projects on marine and coastal topics for K-8 classrooms. All lessons are linked to the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering standards. Current topics include:

Learn more about classroom visits

To schedule an in-person classroom visit, please contact Grace Simpkins.

A display of passive acoustic information, equipment, and dolphin skulls. — The passive acoustic “Sounds of the Sea” exhibit at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium. Panels to the left and above the two touch screens explain the concepts of sound in the ocean and how we record it. Using the touch screens, visitors can select or record sounds, then hear the results and see a spectrogram of the sound. The hard-cased, round piece of scientific equipment is an underwater microphone used to record sounds in the ocean. The skulls to the right are from dolphins, animals that rely heavily on their acoustic abilities to navigate, hunt, and find other dolphins. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Sarah Trudel

Local Community

Passive Acoustic scientists also serve as judges at the annual Mashpee Science Fair and the Falmouth Academy Science Fair.

Collaborations

Sea Education Association

Our scientists work with the Sea Education Association to train their staff on passive acoustic data collection and analysis. We also sail with them as the marine mammal acoustics experts, mentoring students onboard.

Caribbean Marine Mammals Preservation Network

We partner with the CARIMAM network, providing guidance on passive acoustic monitoring techniques and analysis. During these workshops, we conduct training on passive acoustic monitoring, software, and analyses, as well as presenting our work.

Cornell University K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics

We have joined with the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at Cornell University to supplement the Raven Exhibit software made available to museums and institutions worldwide for public exhibits on bioacoustics.