Survey Shows Educational Impact of Antarctic Citizen Science Program Among Travelers

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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 FjordPhyto. 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.

The study was published April 30, 2025, 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. Their research was supported by the National Science Foundation Public Participation in STEM Research and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program.

Read the study: Can a citizen science project enrich travellers’ experience in Antarctica? Case study of a preliminary evaluation of the FjordPhyto project