When Travel and Science Join Hands, Great Things Happen

Dr. Annette Bombosch is a co-founder of the Polar Citizen Science Collective and our Lead Citizen Science Coordinator. Here are some highlights from a recent conversation with Annette.

Bringing Travelers and Science Together

Back when I was doing my PhD, I could see that some scientists had a bit of an attitude towards travelers – feeling that the polar regions should be a place for science only. But I thought, what if travelers WERE doing science? I love the fact that citizen science accomplishes that.

Doing what Researchers Alone Can’t

I know how hard it is for any scientific organization to get data from the polar regions. Maybe you can get there two or three times each season. As an operator, we saw huge potential to help scale this, as we spend entire seasons in the polar regions, allowing for a great deal of data collection. That realization is what inspired the citizen science program.

Citizen Science is Real Science

For this collaborative approach to work, all the data being collected across our ships has to be done in a standardized way. Our citizen scientists are held to the same data-collecting standards as any other scientist. And the guides are highly trained.

Science Needs Citizens Like You

When you’re on the water collecting data, you are the only person, in a world of 8 billion people, in that exact spot at that exact moment, getting that information. It may seem like a drop in the bucket, but that data is added to an immense data set that, over time, can impact conservation, legislation, restoration, a lot of things.

A Great Big Thank You from the Whales

The work we do makes a real difference: Slow down zones that protect whales from passing ships, phytoplankton data that reveals shifting food supplies, new perspectives on how to study seabirds, and seaweed observations that helped inform the most recent South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area Management Plan.

What People Love About the Program

First of all, it’s fun. It’s the part of science that every scientist loves: the fieldwork. Guests appreciate the educational component, too, understanding how polar ecosystems are connected to our daily lives. And ultimately, citizen science, and all our science onboard, makes the voyage more meaningful for people.

One Final Thought

A lot of scientific research happens behind a desk, but we’re doing the best part, in some of the most beautiful locations on our planet! What could be better?

Annette working with guests in a phytoplankton study for the FjordPhyto project from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography