Professor Brian Arbic and Assistant Research Scientist Joseph Ansong of the U-M Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences traveled to Ghana, West Africa, to conduct a summer school in oceanography at the Regional Maritime University (RMU) from August 24-27, 2015.  They were joined by Dr. Ebenezer Nyadjro of Naval Research Laboratory/University of New Orleans, and Winn Johnson, a chemical oceanography graduate student in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.  Johnson lectured on chemical oceanography, Nyadjro lectured on satellite oceanography, Ansong lectured on ocean modeling, and Arbic covered basic physical oceanography.  In addition, one lecture was given by RMU faculty member Mamudu Abdulai-Saiku.  The project is funded by NSF grant OCE-1351837.  About 35 participants attended most of the summer school lectures, and about 20 additional participants attended a small number of lectures. The participants included many RMU faculty, one KNUST faculty member and student from the department of mechanical engineering, many KNUST NIMS students, one Associate Oceanographer from the University of Ghana, and individuals from various governmental agencies and private-sector companies.  More information on the summer school can be found on the website https://secure.earth.lsa.umich.edu/groups/oceanmodeling/wiki/843cd/2015_Ghana_Oceanography_Summer_School.html 

We plan to return to Ghana in summers 2016 and 2017 and will incorporate participant feedback to improve the school.