Errrrgggg. I could tell you all about the dull, monotonous, and mind-numbing labwork portion of my trip, or we could sit and watch this video together. Remember the good ol’ days of fieldwork!

That there video was produced by Oregon State University’s media department. I am very pleased with how it turned out. The university is using this for advertisement purposes; however, the guys behind it are using the experiences and footage for a lot more. Media is an exciting aspect of the GCMP. We are doing our best to open our project, data, and experiences to colleagues and the public, and part of our funding is allocated toward ‘outreach’. For us, the outreach aspect is important, so we are working with the university media guys to produce a number of these short videos, a few online and magazine articles, and, most excitingly, a feature-length film about the decline of coral reefs and the consequences for the people who depend on them. Here’s a trailer (with most of the footage again from Lizard Island):

I briefly mentioned the media guys David and Justin in a previous post, because they came with us on this trip to Saudi Arabia. Having them around was great! Nothing helps clarify the purposes of a project like discussing it with ‘outsiders’.

But seriously, this labwork… For every day diving, I’ve spent two in the lab. And a day in the lab has been ~9:00 AM – ~11:00 PM on average. I DO NOT REMEMBER THIS TAKING SO LONG IN AUSTRALIA!