JASCO celebrates World Oceans Day 2014

June 8 has been celebrated as World Oceans Day globally since 2002 and has been officially recognized by the UN since 2008. World Oceans Day aims to promote ocean conservation, foster education about marine life, and bring communities together to celebrate the things we love about the ocean. 

This year JASCO Applied Sciences will join in the celebration of World Oceans day at two events. First, on Friday June 6 JASCO will have an educational exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia along with other groups involved in ocean and nature conservation including the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Hope for Wildlife, and the World Wildlife Fund. School groups in the Halifax area will be travelling to the museum for a fun day of ocean education.

Then, on Sunday June 8, JASCO is sponsoring an ocean themed day at the Discovery Centre, also in Halifax. For the entire day admission to the Centre will be free as JASCO is covering all entrance fees. The event will include ocean themed talks, films, and interactive educational activities presented by a number of groups including the Ecology Action Centre, the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dalhousie University and its Let’s Talk Science team, Nautilus Aquatics & Hobbies, and the Canadian Sea Turtle Network. This entertaining and instructive forum will engage children’s interest in science as they learn about a wide range of ocean science disciplines.

Do you speak whale?

JASCO will demonstrate at both events its very popular software DORI (Detecting Oceanic Real-time Impersonations), which lets people see if they can “speak whale”. When participants imitate marine animal sounds into a microphone, JASCO’s marine mammal detection software shows them a visual rendering of their vocalization and tells them what species they sound like, be it humpback whale, orca, bearded seal, or even snapping shrimp. This entertaining demonstration shows how scientific software can identify a species based on the frequency, timing, and structure of their calls.