I am Rockson Ashitey Armaah, a rising senior in the University of Ghana, Legon, West Africa, studying Oceanography and Fisheries. Currently working hard towards the completion of my undergraduate course so as to pursue my masters in an Oceanographic sector of my interest.

After gaining some knowledge on oceanographic studies, I found the course worth studying. Through these studies, I have realized how much the activities of human influence the various occurrences in the aquatic environment, the marine especially. During my first year in Oceanography, I was introduced to Remote Sensing, which craved my interest the more. Although I found difficulties in understanding some of the technicalities in Remote Sensing I never gave up because I hoped that with time all is going to be crystal clear; as the saying goes “ a journey of thousand miles begins with a step.”


Through the training provided by Dr. Wiafe and my other professors, I have realized a wide spectrum of knowledge concerning the ocean and the world at large. Growing up in a coastal region, I have been putting useful ideas together, on how I can positively contribute to the scholarly body and knowledge that can impact the solutions of the coastline of Ghana as my department is currently working on. I am also planning to work on means by which negative acts that result in incidences like sea level rise, reduction of the seawater quality through waste disposal etc. will be curbed or minimized. Under the mentorship of Je’aime H. Powell I have acquired additional skills in the Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean, Marine and Polar Science, (UREOMPS) in CERSER and Research Experience for Undergraduate, (REU), in The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at the Elizabeth City State University and The University of Kansas respectively. In my capacity as a member of the TeraScan Ground Truthing team in the above-mentioned program, I will help solve the erosion problems at the shoreline and the also oil spillage related problems in Ghana. The training I am receiving is shaping and preparing me for graduate school.