All Things Ocean

There are many ocean-related topics I enjoy writing and speaking about, ranging from current ocean events and lectures to my time spent at sea. Here, I’ve generated mini-collections of posts related to a handful of different ocean-themed activities. All of my posts that journey into my connection with the ocean are under the Ocean Exploration category.

Scientific ocean drilling

Laura Guertin (Outreach Officer EXP 390) takes selfie with Patrick the Safety Penguin. This mascot inspired a blog post where I dove into the fascinating history of Patrick and how he came to the JR!

I have spent time at sea on the scientific research vessel JOIDES Resolution, generating outreach material relating to my two-month expedition, and serving in a volunteer capacity for U.S. participation in the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).

  • My posts while at sea on JOIDES Resolution – images from Instagram and blog posts from the ship
  • The quilt collection I generated from Expedition 390, Stories from the South Atlantic Ocean.
  • A resource page that includes book titles, articles, and videos that I discuss in my Ocean Discovery Lecture, Stories of Scientific Ocean Drilling, from Text to Textiles (forthcoming)

NOAA Teacher At Sea

I have had the opportunity to sail as part of the Teacher At Sea program with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

  • In June 2023, I headed to Alaska to join NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson for Leg 1 of the Gulf of Alaska Summer Alaska Walleye Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey. I authored 11 blogs posts for NOAA and have reproduced those posts here on The Journeys of Dr. G.
  • In September 2014, I joined NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson for a hydrographic survey around New York and Rhode Island. Those 11 blog posts will soon be transferred to this blog.
In port on Kodiak Island, Alaska, waiting to join NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson in February 2022. Alas, COVID conditions prevented us from heading out to sea this year, as detailed in one of my non-expedition blog posts.

OCEANDOTCOMM – Coastal Optimism

Image of Laura on a boat in the Louisiana bayou

OCEANDOTCOMM was a science communication event that took place at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) in March 2018. For five days, I joined a group of scientists and communicators in exploring field sites on land and on the water, visiting with local residents, and hearing stories of resilience and adaptation instead of doom and gloom for the south Louisiana coast. I authored 10 blog posts describing my journey into coastal optimism. This program had a significant impact on my own science communication portfolio and was the inspiration for me to start my journey into quilting science stories through the Stitching Hope for the Louisiana Coast collection.