By Brittany Schieler

Summer break is quickly coming to a close for many, meaning it’s that time of year again! Time to dust off that syllabus from last year and get ready for the academic year ahead. If you are an instructor or teaching assistant preparing for a course in oceanography, limnology, or general earth science, ASLO may be able to help. We have an extensive collection of free access, peer-reviewed, and up-to-date content that can be a perfect supplement to your course material. These fall into a few categories: Our e-Lectures written and reviewed by expert scientists, online virtual issues that pull articles from various ASLO journals under a common theme, and a variety of tools and resources for science communication and policy. The suitability of the content spans a range of backgrounds and may be used for upper-level high school to graduate courses in various aquatic science topics. More information about these teaching tools below.

e-Lectures:

Our 19 e-Lectures are comprised of lecture slides prepared by top scientists in their fields and reviewed by panels of expert peers. The content is both current and timely. The e-lectures fall into six main categories in aquatic science:

Limnology

1. Paleolimnology: An introduction to approaches used to track long‐term environmental changes using lake sediments by John P. Smol
2. Lake Physics to Ecosystem Services: Forel and the Origins of Limnology by Warwick F. Vincent and Carinne Bertola

Oceanography

1. The Ocean's Biological Carbon pump as part of the global Carbon Cycle by Susanne Neuer, Morten Iversen, and Gerhard Fischer
2. Introduction to Satellite Oceanography by John Marra
3. Biological Implications of Change in Pacific‐influenced Arctic Marine Ecosystems by Jacqueline M. Grebmeier

Marine Benthos

1. Non‐invasive flux Measurements at the Benthic Interface: The Aquatic Eddy Covariance Technique by Peter Berg, Marie Lise Delgard, Ronnie N. Glud, Markus Huettel, Clare E. Reimers, and Michael L. Pace
2. An Introduction to Marine Sediments with an Emphasis on Sediment Organic Matter Remineralization by David J. Burdige
3. Analysis of DNA archived in lake sediments by Irene Gregory‐Eaves and Isabelle Domaizon

Radioactivity in the Marine Environment by Claudia R. Benitez‐Nelson, Sabine Charmasson, Ken Buesseler, Minhan Dai, Michio Aoyama, Núria Casacuberta, José Marcus Godoy, Andy Johnson, Vladimir Maderich, Pere Masqué, Marc Metian, Willard Moore, Paul J. Morris, and John N. Smith

1. Radioactivity in the Marine Environment: Understanding the Basics of Radioecology
2. Radioactivity in the Marine Environment: Uranium‐Thorium Decay Series
3. Radioactivity in the Marine Environment: Understanding the Basics of Radioactivity
4. Radioactivity in the Marine Environment: Cosmogenic and Anthropogenic Radionuclides

Ocean Acidification

1. Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem by Richard A. Feely and Scott C. Doney
2. Combined Effects of Ocean Acidification, Warming, and Hypoxia on Marine Organisms by Hannes Baumann
3. Ocean Acidification ‐ A Paleo Perspective by Adina Paytan and Bärbel Hönisch
4. How to Document ‐ Ocean Acidification Data by Li‐Qing Jiang, Krisa M. Arzayus, Jean‐Pierre Gattuso, Hernam E. Garcia, Cynthia Chandler, Alex Kozyr, Yan Yang, Rob Thomas, Brian Beck, and Tobias Spears

Plankton Ecology

1. A Mechanistic Approach to Plankton Ecology by Thomas Kiørboe
2. Freshwater bloom‐forming cyanobacteria and anthropogenic change by Sylvia Bonilla and Frances R. Pick
3. Phytoplankton‐Bacteria Interactions: Ectohydrolytic Enzymes and Their Influence on Biogeochemical Cycling by Kay D. Bidle

ASLO Virtual Issues:

Our virtual issues (VIs) are curated collections of ASLO journal articles that fall under a particular major theme. The ASLO L&O Bulletin VIs are accessible to all types of audiences and include topics such as science policy, science communication, and field stations/marine labs. The L&O and L&O: Methods VIs are targeted toward more specialized audiences. These VIs include topics such as stable isotopes, remote sensing, and the science of large lakes. All of the content included in our VIs are freely available to members and non-members.

Policy Toolkits & Other Communication Resources:

Thinking about including science communication or policy components in your course? Perfect! Communication skills and a good understanding of the policy-making process are more important in the aquatic sciences than ever. Previous ASLO Science Communication Intern Lushani Nanayakkara composed detailed policy toolkits that are handy guides to the legislative process in Canada, United States, and European Union, along with tips on how to communicate with your elected officials. In addition, we have an extensive collection of talks from previous ASLO meetings and other seminars and workshops on the ASLO YouTube page.

Good luck in your upcoming semester!