Dive Into Your Own Adventure!

As we've developed our VR capacity with respect to its application to research (capturing imagery for immersive VR 'dives' up and down the coast in many of the state's Marine Protected Areas, MPAs), it has become increasingly clear that the imagery has extraordinary education and outreach potential. Even prior to COVID-19, we were beginning to explore the use of VR in high school and college classrooms and in a traveling kiosk for use at public events. But with the transition to on-line instruction, we've been able to use the imagery to provide 'hands-on' learning to students around the country. We are now convinced that VR can help us reach out to communities across the state, and indeed the country, in a way that will prove useful well beyond COVID-19.

Come take a virtual dive along our research transects and explore inside marine protected areas (MPAs) across coastal California. Observe fishes, invertebrates and marine mammals in lush kelp forests ranging from Gerstle Cove State Marine Reserve (1) in northern Sonoma County to La Jolla State Marine Reserve (9) in the south. Either select numbered locations on the map, or scroll downward through the story tour to automatically launch the 360 videos - and observe the latitudinal changes in biological communities and habitat. [Note: for longer transects at selected sites, navigate to the  Inventory > Diver-Operated Videos  page.]

For more information about the Immersive VR Video Archive, or CSUMB's Research Diving Program, please contact Dr. James Lindholm, jlindholm@csumb.edu