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Travelers visiting Antarctica have helped scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography learn more about the polar ecosystem through a citizen science program called . This NASA-funded program engages citizen scientists to investigate how warming temperatures are affecting phytoplankton life around the Antarctic Peninsula by collecting data and samples.

In a preliminary study of the program's impact, survey data showed that participants expressed an appreciation for learning about ecosystems and climate change while feeling enriched by citizen science engagement. These responses provide an understanding of how citizen science projects like FjordPhyto are fostering a positive and educational impact in polar tourism.

"Citizen science projects like FjordPhyto can provide that childlike spark of curiosity, motivation, appreciation, and exuberance instilling an additional motivation to visiting the Antarctic continent," the study concluded.

was published in The Polar Journal and was co-led by Scripps postdoctoral scholar Allison Cusick, Scripps biological oceanographer Maria Vernet, Scripps alumna Brooke Dixon, and others.