Ocean AdVENTure! - Meet the Scientists!

Ocean AdVENTure
Meet The Scientists

Andra Bobbitt
GIS/Research Assistant
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory; Newport, Oregon

This image shows Andra Bobbitt waving from the conning tower of the DSV Alvin.

What are your responsibilities as a GIS/Research Assistant?

I'm the person that picks up the researcher's "parts", organizes and edits the pieces then puts them into a single basket. Our basket is a Geographic Information System (GIS) which allows the researchers to view their data in relationship to other scientists data both recently obtained and historical. Most of the work involves converting the data into a usable format (most original data is specific to the instrument it was obtained from) and verifying its accuracy.

As a faculty research assistant I also prepare publications for the public and journals, present work at conferences and consult with outside researchers working on similar projects. I usually go to sea each year as a participant on research expeditions. At sea I begin the data gathering and reformatting process, primarily with bathymetric and submersible navigation data.

How did you prepare for this job?

I obtained a scientific degree at a university which fortunately is home to the leading oceanographic institution in the nation, UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography. UCSD does not offer degrees in oceanography but its association with Scripps gave me opportunities to get involved with researchers while obtaining my general biology degree. Having a strong foundation in a general science which included math, statistics and computers was the key to having the flexibility to apply myself to working primarily in the marine geology field. Gaining experience with the ever changing computer world (software and hardware) as the technology in oceanography has also rapidly developed, has led me to advance in this exciting field.

"The ocean holds so many secrets which we need to unlock for our future generations and I can only hope that the world will give the innovative researchers the resources to make these discoveries."
--- Andra Bobbitt

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