In April 1998, the JASON Project joined a team of researchers bound for Guaymas Basin in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, aboard the R/V Atlantis. The mission was to conduct scientific research on hydrothermal vents and the surrounding biological communities at the bottom of the sea. During the expedition, daily reports, data, and images were sent from the ship using a satellite link to the Internet, allowing JASON Project students to follow the expedition along with shore based scientists. The Guaymas basin expedition was the culmination of the ninth JASON Project, “Oceans of Earth and Beyond” during the 1997-1998 academic year. Approximately 1,000,000 middle school students and 25,000 teachers studied shallow, mid, and deep ocean environments through a comprehensive curriculum, professional development programs for teachers, satellite and Internet programming, and videotapes. The project compared ocean environments in Bermuda, Monterey Bay, and the Sea of Cortez, (image 1.1 from the JASON website, www.jasonproject.org).

Ballard, R.D., and S.M. Coan. 2000. Exploring the boundaries of distance learning in ocean environments. Oceanography 13(2):40–44, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2000.32.

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