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The field of Oceans and Human Health (OHH) is a “metadiscipline,” combining elements of oceanography, marine biology, ecology, biomedical science, environmental health science, medicine, public health, social sciences, economics, and communication science and fostering collaborations among scientists from these and other disciplines as well as with public health professionals, natural resource managers, and land use planners. Initially, OHH programs focused primarily on illnesses associated with exposure to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters, such as those caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs) and Vibrio bacteria, as well as a few health benefits including potential new pharmaceuticals. More recently, OHH programs have expanded to encompass health effects from other freshwater bodies and reported health-promoting effects of “blue” spaces (coastal areas, rivers, or landscapes involving water features). Today’s OHH centers follow community participatory approaches to research, and results are incorporated into products and tools to increase understanding of health risks and benefits associated with aquatic environments and to communicate this information in ways that protect and enhance public health. This chapter explores OHH topics including forecasting of HABs and Vibrios, the wicked problem of plastics in the marine environment, aquaculture as a source of sustainable seafood, potential for growth of wellness tourism, environmental justice, and development of a human health observing system. Highlighted throughout the chapter are some of the myriad opportunities for OHH programs to contribute to the new blue economy and vice versa through data streams, information products and services, new and developing technologies, and workforce development.

Coastal acidification in southeastern U.S. estuaries and coastal waters is influenced by biological activity, run-off from the land, and increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Acidification can negatively impact coastal resources such as shellfish, finfish, and coral reefs, and the communities that rely on them. Organismal responses for species located in the U.S. Southeast document large negative impacts of acidification, especially in larval stages. For example, the toxicity of pesticides increases under acidified conditions and the combination of acidification and low oxygen has profoundly negative influences on genes regulating oxygen consumption. In corals, the rate of calcification decreases with acidification and processes such as wound recovery, reproduction, and recruitment are negatively impacted. Minimizing the changes in global ocean chemistry will ultimately depend on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, but adaptation to these changes and mitigation of the local stressors that exacerbate global acidification can be addressed locally. The evolution of our knowledge of acidification, from basic understanding of the problem to the emergence of applied research and monitoring, has been facilitated by the development of regional Coastal Acidification Networks (CANs) across the United States. This synthesis is a product of the Southeast Coastal and Ocean Acidification Network (SOCAN). SOCAN was established to better understand acidification in the coastal waters of the U.S. Southeast and to foster communication among scientists, resource managers, businesses, and governments in the region. Here we review acidification issues in the U.S. Southeast, including the regional mechanisms of acidification and their potential impacts on biological resources and coastal communities. We recommend research and monitoring priorities and discuss the role SOCAN has in advancing acidification research and mitigation of and adaptation to these changes.

Ocean science education and ocean literacy are overarching components of all Ocean Decade challenges. Educating the next generation of ocean scientists will help achieve Ocean Decade objectives, while increasing public ocean literacy will motivate citizens to engage in the ocean science enterprise. During the UN Ocean Decade, a coordinated flow of information among scientists, educators, policy makers, business leaders, and the public will help guide research priorities in addition to enhancing citizens' ocean literacy. Ocean literacy is about more than the acquisition of ocean science knowledge. It also relates to critical needs for citizens to become responsible in sustainably using the ocean and its resources. Society must gain scientific understanding of the ocean's responses to pressures and make management decisions that are fundamental for sustainable development of its resources. U.S. ocean science education, outreach, and communication initiatives have been greatly expanded since 2002 due to the work of the National Science Foundation-funded, national Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE; now the Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement) network. The infrastructure established by COSEE is well-poised to take on the establishment of a network of networks to forge U.S. leadership in robust international collaborations in support of Ocean Decade objectives.

A new European Commission (EC) Erasmus+ funded project, MATES (Maritime Alliance for fostering the European Blue economy through a Marine Technology Skilling Strategy), aims at tackling the ensuing skill shortages in the maritime sectors of offshore renewable energy and shipbuilding, and in doing so, will contribute to a more resilient labour market. The project will embed the industrial perspective in ocean literacy initiatives, spreading an updated image for the maritime technologies in the blue economy, with a convincing message that the sector has a high-tech future with a long-term positive perspective. Ocean literacy will act for MATES project as a transversal and multidirectional content in all work packages, by boosting the transfer of scientific knowledge to the industry sectors, integrating the industrial perspective in literacy delivery and widening the industrial perspective about the new possibilities that maritimIZED' CVs can yield for blue growth and jobs. Furthermore, it aims to raise awareness about the maritime industry's careers among society, research and education communities, in order to attract youngsters to select future maritime professions. The dissemination of marine sciences will complement the sectoral approach, as a transversal line of action.

The implications of Earth's ocean being little explored may not be immediately evident to individuals who are not ocean literate. For this reason, initiatives to improve ocean literacy must articulate compelling reasons for ocean exploration. A lesson plan that addresses this issue has been developed as part of the education and outreach program for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer, the only U.S. ship whose sole assignment is to systematically explore our largely unknown ocean for the purposes of discovery and the advancement of knowledge. To reinforce key results of student inquiries into the question of why people explore, the authors present a hands-on manipulative activity that uses student-constructed geometric solids called ocean exploration learning shapes to engage students and enhance group discussions.

The NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, commissioned as the first federal vessel dedicated solely to ocean exploration, will offer unparalleled opportunities to the scientific and education communities for “reaching out in new ways to stakeholders to improve the literacy of learners of all ages with respect to ocean issues” (The President's Panel on Ocean Exploration, 2000) and for enhancing awareness of Ocean Literacy Essential Principle #7 — “The ocean is little explored.” Using a systematically mission-driven exploration protocol and advanced technological instrumentation and systems to explore little-known or unknown regions of the ocean, the ship will employ an integrated telepresence system that will provide broadband satellite transmission of data and discoveries in real time for science, education, and outreach. This paper describes the capabilities and assets of the ship, begins to address some of the opportunities that the ship will offer for “learning in new ways,” describes the Okeanos Explorer Education Forum held in the summer of 2008, and addresses some of the issues that will be taken into consideration in using real-time data in a variety of learning environments as the education program for the ship unfolds.

In Spring 2014, the United States Department of Commerce (Commerce) released its FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan), titled America is Open for Business. Five long-term goals and objectives are identified to strategically guide the Nation into the next decade: 1) Trade and Investment, 2) Innovation, 3) Environment, 4) Data, and 5) Operational Excellence. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), representing just one of the 12 bureaus residing within Commerce, leads the environment goal and supports each of the other Strategic Goals presented in the Strategic Plan.

The authors of this manuscript offer perspectives on 1) the status of ocean sciences education within the U.S. over the last two decades; 2) subsequent challenges and opportunities, ranging from the lack of funding to issues and common foci within the ocean sciences community relative to the scientific, engineering, and technological capabilities in ocean research and exploration; and 3) recommended actions and partnerships supported by an array of recent publications addressing ocean science literacy (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2004; National Oceanographic Partnership Program, 2004; U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, 2004; White House, 2004). Four high priority areas are addressed: increased ocean sciences professional development programs for educators, promotion and retention of a diverse ocean sciences workforce, provision of high-quality kindergarten through grade 16 curricula, and enhanced partnerships at all levels within the ocean sciences community. We also offer a summary of benefits that an ocean literate society can offer a nation.

A model for teaching precollege (K-12) teachers interdisciplinary science that focuses on the use of various teams, including teams of instructors, master teachers, and participant teachers, is presented. This model, the Multiple-Team Model, has been developed and implemented over the past five years in concert with the COASTeam Program, a graduate course for elementary teachers in marine science. Because the Multiple-Team Model includes more than one instructor, it is particularly well suited for use in teaching interdisciplinary science, where each instructor has a different expertise. We describe the COASTeam Program course as an example of the Multiple-Team Model, where two teachers from a school enroll as a COASTeam. The course uses a seminar and hands-on activity format, complemented by field trips, a research cruise, and a wealth of supplemental resource materials. As part of the course requirements, COASTeam Teachers conduct a marine-science inservice workshop for peer teachers in their own school...

In the summer of 2010, an international team of scientists and educators from the United States and the Republic of Indonesia collaborated to explore little-known deep-sea ecosystems off Indonesia. Using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ship Okeanos Explorer along with the Indonesian Research and Fisheries Vessel Baruna Jaya IV, the Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region Expedition (INDEX 2010) was the first major step in a multi-year partnership between the two governments to mutually advance ocean science, technology and education. The expedition, also the maiden voyage of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, was the first joint international mission with two ships sending live video and audio via telepresence to ocean explorers in Exploration Command Centers ashore in both countries. Both governments were deeply committed to education and outreach to raise awareness of the importance of exploring Indonesia's deep sea. NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) produced robust education materials/offerings to bring the science of the expedition into classrooms, aquariums and science museums/centers. Several of the education products were translated into Bahasa Indonesian. There were productive collaborations with SeaWorld-Indonesia in Jakarta and The Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA to ensure success of these efforts. Concurrent with the expedition, OER developed the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection (Collection) to encourage educators and students to become personally involved with the voyages and discoveries of the Okeanos Explorer - America's first Federal ship dedicated to ocean exploration. An online workshop in the use of Volume 1 in the Collection: Why Do We Explore? was also hosted in partnership with the College of Exploration. This paper focuses on the education efforts associated with INDEX 2010.