Arizona State University’s AEROSE Expeditions: Environmental Research and Student Experience at Sea

Standing on the deck of a 208-foot research vessel while 30-foot waves batter the hull is not a typical college classroom. For Keon Davis, a fourth-year astrophysics major at Arizona State University, it became exactly that during a monthlong summer expedition across the Atlantic Ocean. Winds howled at 20 mph, conversation was nearly impossible, and the cabin offered an easy retreat. Davis stayed on deck and kept working, collecting atmospheric measurements in conditions most students never encounter in any laboratory.

Davis was one of six students who spent nearly a month aboard the NOAA ship Pisces as part of the Aerosols and Ocean Science Expeditions (AEROSE) program, offered through ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. The 28-day trans-Atlantic cruise gave these students direct experience in environmental research while producing data that scientists at NOAA, NASA, and international agencies rely on to improve weather forecasting and climate models.

For students considering careers in atmospheric science, oceanography, or environmental research, AEROSE shows what field-based training actually looks like — and what it asks of the people who pursue it.

What the AEROSE Expeditions Are and Why They Matter

AEROSE stands for the Saharan Dust AERosols and Ocean Science Expeditions, an internationally recognized series of trans-Atlantic field research campaigns. For more than two decades, AEROSE scientists, students, and government agencies have carried their work out of the laboratory and onto the open ocean to study how airborne particles change as they travel across the Atlantic.

At Arizona State University, the program is supervised by Vernon Morris, senior associate dean for knowledge enterprise and strategic outcomes in ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. Morris, an ASU Foundation Professor, has joined more than 15 of these cruises, guiding successive cohorts of students through the demands and rewards of field science.

The expeditions concentrate on one of the world’s most abundant — and most frequently underestimated — environmental hazards: dust. Specifically, mineral dust lifted from the Sahara Desert, which crosses the Atlantic and reaches the Americas, in some years traveling as far as the Southwestern United States.

Explore the AEROSE expeditions at ASU’s New College to see how a research cruise fits into an undergraduate science education.

A Working Research Vessel, Not a Field Trip

The NOAA ship Pisces functions as a floating laboratory. Aboard the vessel, students are not spectators; they are working members of a research team. From the day the ship leaves port until it returns, they share responsibility for the science — and for daily life on a ship that never stops moving. That distinction separates AEROSE from many study-abroad options and explains why alumni of the program often describe it as the moment their training became real.

Why Dust Deserves Serious Scientific Attention

At first glance, atmospheric dust may not seem like a subject that justifies a month at sea. Morris disagrees, and two decades of AEROSE measurements support him.

“All AEROSE cruises are focused on the multiplicity of environmental impacts of airborne mineral dust from the Saharan desert,” Morris said. “These range from atmospheric to marine to terrestrial and public health impacts.”

Those impacts unfold across very different time scales. Some are immediate, including air pollution episodes and short-term weather events. Others develop over seasons or decades and shape long-term climate patterns. Dust particles influence weather and ocean conditions, degrade air quality, and affect human health.

Davis described the health dimension in direct terms: the particles are small enough that, in sufficient quantities, they can cause breathing problems and affect the entire respiratory system. That makes long-range dust transport a public health concern for communities thousands of miles from the desert where the dust originated.

From the Sahara to the Southwestern United States

The dust studied during AEROSE expeditions travels thousands of miles from West Africa across the Atlantic and into the Americas. Understanding that journey requires measurements taken in the middle of the ocean — precisely where observational data is scarce and where satellites are hardest to verify. Filling that gap is the core purpose of the program, and it explains the sustained support AEROSE receives from federal science agencies in the USA and abroad.

The Student Experience: Learning Science in Constant Motion

Lectures and controlled lab experiments build important foundations, but they cannot reproduce field research. AEROSE participants learn how interdisciplinary scientific field work is actually conducted, complete with its uncertainty, improvisation, and physical demands.

Each day, student researchers work five-hour shifts collecting hundreds of measurements of the atmosphere and ocean. They log wind speed and cloud coverage. They record the characteristics and concentrations of small particles that often hang in a visible haze between the ship and the sun. Several times each week, they report their findings back to faculty, contributing to a running record of what is happening to airborne particles as they move across the Atlantic.

The work extends beyond data collection. Students operate instruments, collect samples, record observations, troubleshoot equipment, and make decisions in an environment where the classroom is in constant motion. When an instrument fails in rough seas, there is no help desk — only the team on board.

That structure produces a specific kind of learning. Students who complete a cruise can operate research-grade instruments, manage rotating shifts, and communicate results to supervising scientists. These competencies transfer directly to graduate study and technical careers in environmental research.

Review degree programs at ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences to find where field-based research fits into majors spanning the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences.

Data That Strengthens Weather Forecasting and Climate Models

The AEROSE project gives weather scientists two important tools. First, it collects rare weather data from remote parts of the open ocean, where information is usually limited; scientists use this data to test and improve satellites before they launch. Second, it produces a highly reliable dataset that improves the accuracy of satellite observations and climate models.

NOAA, NASA, and international researchers already use AEROSE data to strengthen weather forecasting and global climate models. Few undergraduate experiences contribute to datasets with this level of scientific reach — a point worth weighing when comparing research opportunities across universities.

Self-Discovery as Part of the Curriculum

For many participants, the most durable outcomes of the expedition are personal rather than technical.

“I feel like it made me more confident and aware of myself,” Davis said. The experience also sharpened his thinking about a long-term goal: joining a space mission, which would require spending extended periods in a confined environment with the same people. A month at sea gave him a realistic preview of that life.

Postdoctoral scholar Saira Hamid, who sailed on an earlier AEROSE cruise and took on a leadership role guiding students through the science, described a different lesson. Early in her career, she believed that a capable scientist worked independently. The expedition changed her mind.

“There was a lot of personal growth for me, because it really taught me how, for great scientific endeavors like what we’re trying to do here, you can’t do it alone,” Hamid said. “This taught me that that is completely impossible, and it’s OK to ask for help. And that’s actually what makes teams stronger.”

Lessons That Follow Students After Landfall

Confidence under pressure, honest self-assessment, and the ability to collaborate in close quarters rarely appear on a syllabus. Field programs like AEROSE teach them anyway. Graduate programs and employers consistently look for evidence of these qualities, and a 28-day research cruise supplies concrete material for applications, interviews, and recommendation letters.

How to Pursue Environmental Research Opportunities at Arizona State University

Students inspired by the AEROSE story can take practical steps toward similar experiences:

• Build relevant coursework early. Classes in physics, chemistry, earth science, and data analysis create the foundation faculty look for when selecting student researchers.
• Contact faculty directly. Professors who run field programs often fill research positions from students who introduce themselves early and ask specific questions about ongoing projects.
• Prioritize field-based programs. When comparing universities, look for undergraduate research options that include data collection outside the classroom rather than laboratory work alone.
• Plan for the commitment. A monthlong expedition requires scheduling and preparation, but few undergraduate experiences deliver comparable training or professional connections.

Institutional support matters as well. Arizona State University has ranked No. 1 in the United States for impact with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for seven consecutive years, a signal of sustained investment in environmental and social research of exactly this kind.

Submit your application to Arizona State University, and mention your interest in undergraduate research when you connect with an admissions advisor so they can point you toward relevant programs.

Field Research Changes How Students See Science — and Themselves

The AEROSE expeditions show that rigorous environmental research and a formative student experience can occupy the same voyage. Students return from a month at sea with technical skills, contributions to datasets used by NOAA and NASA, and a clearer sense of their own capabilities. Weather scientists gain data from a part of the planet where measurements are rare and valuable. Both outcomes begin with a university willing to send its students beyond the classroom walls.

For students weighing where to study environmental science in the USA, programs like AEROSE suggest a concrete question to ask during the decision process: where will I collect my first real dataset? Have questions about research-based programs? Write to the New College advising team and ask how field expeditions fit into your degree plan.

Have you participated in field research as a student? Share your experience in the comments below — your perspective may help the next group of students decide whether a research cruise belongs in their college plans.