SMA PRADITA DIRGANTARA (Boyolali) – Thursday, November 12, 2020, SMA Pradita Dirgantara held a Webinar and Sharing with Expert event entitled Building The Nation through Emerging Research on Marine Science and Oceanography. This event was attended by students of class X, XI, and XII as well as teachers, staff, administrators of Yasarini Depohar 50, the management body of SMA Pradita education, administrators of PIA Depohar 50, representatives of SMA Angkasa, and SMA Pradita Dirgantara management. This webinar discusses marine research in the fields of Geology, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, with the speaker Adi Purwandana, Ph.D., a researcher in the field of Physical Oceanography of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
The event moderated by Dina Fitriana, S.Pd., M.Sc., a Chemistry teacher at SMA Pradita Dirgantara discussed Oceanography as a branch of science that discusses the ocean. As a maritime country with a territorial sea area twice the land area, this discussion of Oceanography aims to equip SMA Pradita Dirgantara students as future leaders of the Indonesian nation to be able to understand this knowledge better. It is hoped that after participating in this webinar students will have a desire to participate in protecting and preserving the Indonesian sea including the biotic and abiotic environments in it.
There are four main fields of Oceanography, namely Geological Oceanography, Physical Oceanography, Chemical Oceanography, and Biological Oceanography. Each of these fields of Oceanography studies different marine fields such as ocean topography (Geology), physical properties of sea water masses (physics), seawater nutrients (Chemistry), and marine biota (Biology). These four different fields have potential as objects of research study.
“There are three pillars in studying ocean dynamics, namely reviewing data from theory, observation, and numerical modeling. Observations can be made on phenomena in the sea such as wind, ocean interactions in the form of waves, and currents in the sea due to differences in the density of sea water masses. Another observation that can be made is seawater fingerprinting which can be viewed from temperature or salinity which causes different characteristics of sea water. ” Clearly Mr. Adi Purwandana, Ph.D. who is a Physical Ocean researcher with more than 14 years of experience.
As a researcher at LIPI, Mr. Adi also told about observation equipment that could be used by researchers, for example the research ship “Baruna Jaya VIII” which is the most sophisticated ship owned by LIPI with complete equipment. Other equipment is usually used to measure water density, pH, ocean depth and area, and ocean water currents. He also gave research ideas that could be carried out by students, namely mapping the dangerous zone around the sea (Coastal Dangerous Zone). This research can help analyze new coastal ecotourism areas. Furthermore, research in general, both in the field of Oceanography and other fields, requires attitudes and scientific methods which consist of observing phenomena, theoretical foundations, raising questions and statements (hypotheses), collecting data, analyzing, and conclusions followed by publication.
It is hoped that webinars related to marine research will arouse students’ curiosity about the marine field which can be viewed from the science of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and other sciences studied in schools. It is also hoped that students will be more sensitive to the areas where they live, especially those close to the coast / sea coast, and they will be able to make research ideas that specifically help the community around the area by studying one of the four marine fields. For example, in the study of marine life, students can take the topic of marine plants such as seagrass or research related to coral reefs. In addition, phytoplankton in the sea can be studied because it acts as a producer in the food chain that occurs in the sea.
Finally, SMA Pradita Dirgantara school activities such as Critical Essays and Project Based Service are expected to be developed into a wider domain such as participation in national and international scientific work competitions such as LKIR and NYIA LIPI. As explained by Mr. Adi, the NYIA (National Young Inventor Award) and LKIR competitions organized by LIPI can be participated by SMA Pradita Dirgantara students. NYIA and LKIR LIPI winners will have the opportunity to take part in international competitions such as the International Exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI), the Asean Student Science Project Competition, and The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF). (Zeeni / PR / SMA Pradita Dirgantara)
