Hi there,
Please help us test a possible new Zooniverse project - The Senses Of Stories
What the researchers say:
"Stories can be more than words on a page – they can evoke images, sounds, textures, tastes, and even bodily sensations. In this project, we are investigating how sentences from literature engage readers’ senses and create immersive experiences. You'll be asked to identify sentences with greater or lesser sensory content along with the specific types of senses that are most strongly invoked".
Try it out now at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/cit ... of-stories and give us your feedback via this form https://forms.gle/HSgD8oc76fgPGDLY9 (which you can also reach by clicking the link on the project itself).
Your feedback is extremely important to us when deciding whether to approve or reject a project. To date you have helped launch over 450 Zooniverse projects!
Thanks for all your help!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Zooniverse
Re: Zooniverse
Happy New Year, Zooniverse!
2026 has only just started, and we already have not one, but two new projects for you! Join us to look for cranes, bears and squirrels with Snapshot Dubuque Iowa, or explore Earth's protective magnetic shield with Space Umbrella? Start classifying now - or read on to learn more about each project!
Space Umbrella - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/vic ... e-umbrella
Discipline: Space
Task: One-step. Analyse colours in images to help tell the magnetosphere and sheath apart.
Help uncover Earth's magnetic shield in space! Space Umbrella is a new project that explores Earth's protective magnetic field, called the magnetosphere.
Earth’s magnetosphere acts like a giant umbrella in space. It moves and bends as it protects our planet from charged particles streaming from the Sun. The magnetosphere meets and deflects the Sun's particles. This interaction can create the beautiful northern and southern lights (auroras). But, strong bursts from the Sun can also disrupt GPS and communication systems on Earth.
You will examine data from a NASA spacecraft that has observed Earth’s magnetosphere for more than 8 years. The research team needs your help finding when the spacecraft saw the magnetosphere interacting with the Sun's particles. This will pinpoint the most interesting times to focus their research efforts. Your work will help create the largest set of observations of its kind. Scientists will use this data to better understand solar storms and help keep astronauts and technology safe.
Join the umbrella squad: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/vic ... e-umbrella
Snapshot Dubuque Iowa - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/jay ... buque-iowa
Discipline: Biology, Nature
Task: Multi-step. Identify animals, count them, and note their behaviour in camera trap images.
Fawns, coyotes, and bears, oh my! This project asks volunteers to identify wildlife photos collected from a network of 25 cameras located in five different conservation areas within the county of Dubuque, Iowa. With your help, the Dubuque County Conservation Department hopes to have a better understanding of the species within these areas and how they are influenced by factors such as human development, seasonal change, and predator/prey relationships. This knowledge can help management staff to improve and protect habitat for wildlife.
The trail cameras are motion activated and each one is set to snap three shots upon being triggered. A small team maintains the cameras and retrieves and organises thousands of images captured by each camera before uploading them to the Snapshot Dubuque Iowa project. This large number of images necessitates a wider group of volunteers to help classify any wildlife in the photos.
Less common animals, like cranes and bears, will be a joyful surprise while classifying; and more common ones, like deer and squirrels, can captivate volunteers with some of their behaviours. Your efforts to identify animals for the Snapshot Dubuque Iowa project will help us to better understand the populations and distribution of wildlife in our area.
Try out the project as an individual, family, or class—visit: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/jay ... buque-iowa
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
2026 has only just started, and we already have not one, but two new projects for you! Join us to look for cranes, bears and squirrels with Snapshot Dubuque Iowa, or explore Earth's protective magnetic shield with Space Umbrella? Start classifying now - or read on to learn more about each project!
Space Umbrella - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/vic ... e-umbrella
Discipline: Space
Task: One-step. Analyse colours in images to help tell the magnetosphere and sheath apart.
Help uncover Earth's magnetic shield in space! Space Umbrella is a new project that explores Earth's protective magnetic field, called the magnetosphere.
Earth’s magnetosphere acts like a giant umbrella in space. It moves and bends as it protects our planet from charged particles streaming from the Sun. The magnetosphere meets and deflects the Sun's particles. This interaction can create the beautiful northern and southern lights (auroras). But, strong bursts from the Sun can also disrupt GPS and communication systems on Earth.
You will examine data from a NASA spacecraft that has observed Earth’s magnetosphere for more than 8 years. The research team needs your help finding when the spacecraft saw the magnetosphere interacting with the Sun's particles. This will pinpoint the most interesting times to focus their research efforts. Your work will help create the largest set of observations of its kind. Scientists will use this data to better understand solar storms and help keep astronauts and technology safe.
Join the umbrella squad: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/vic ... e-umbrella
Snapshot Dubuque Iowa - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/jay ... buque-iowa
Discipline: Biology, Nature
Task: Multi-step. Identify animals, count them, and note their behaviour in camera trap images.
Fawns, coyotes, and bears, oh my! This project asks volunteers to identify wildlife photos collected from a network of 25 cameras located in five different conservation areas within the county of Dubuque, Iowa. With your help, the Dubuque County Conservation Department hopes to have a better understanding of the species within these areas and how they are influenced by factors such as human development, seasonal change, and predator/prey relationships. This knowledge can help management staff to improve and protect habitat for wildlife.
The trail cameras are motion activated and each one is set to snap three shots upon being triggered. A small team maintains the cameras and retrieves and organises thousands of images captured by each camera before uploading them to the Snapshot Dubuque Iowa project. This large number of images necessitates a wider group of volunteers to help classify any wildlife in the photos.
Less common animals, like cranes and bears, will be a joyful surprise while classifying; and more common ones, like deer and squirrels, can captivate volunteers with some of their behaviours. Your efforts to identify animals for the Snapshot Dubuque Iowa project will help us to better understand the populations and distribution of wildlife in our area.
Try out the project as an individual, family, or class—visit: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/jay ... buque-iowa
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Road Blockages
The second a workflow you will be presented with an image of a road. We are looking to see if the road is blocked. Blockages can include flooding, debris (such as trees, building materials) or a damaged road. If you see a blockage, please click "Yes" there is road damage in this image. If the road is not blocked you can click “No”.
When classifying, please just do your best, and remember that we ask multiple people to examine each image, and we will gather consensus from the crowd. Even if you are uncertain, your best judgment is very valuable!
The images for this project have been provided to us by Planet Labs, using 3-metre resolution data.
We need lots of support on the project to classify the data as soon as we can, to ensure data reaches humanitarian organisations as soon as possible. If you can help by making classifications, please click here.
As always, please remember to take breaks whenever you need or want to. If you are in distress and need or want support, here is a list of international mental health support hotlines and international crisis support hotlines so you can get support wherever you are in the world.
Thank you, from the Planetary Response Network team.
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
The second a workflow you will be presented with an image of a road. We are looking to see if the road is blocked. Blockages can include flooding, debris (such as trees, building materials) or a damaged road. If you see a blockage, please click "Yes" there is road damage in this image. If the road is not blocked you can click “No”.
When classifying, please just do your best, and remember that we ask multiple people to examine each image, and we will gather consensus from the crowd. Even if you are uncertain, your best judgment is very valuable!
The images for this project have been provided to us by Planet Labs, using 3-metre resolution data.
We need lots of support on the project to classify the data as soon as we can, to ensure data reaches humanitarian organisations as soon as possible. If you can help by making classifications, please click here.
As always, please remember to take breaks whenever you need or want to. If you are in distress and need or want support, here is a list of international mental health support hotlines and international crisis support hotlines so you can get support wherever you are in the world.
Thank you, from the Planetary Response Network team.
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Hello, Zooniverse!
Get ready to explore the past: we’re excited to announce the launch of Sovraimpressioni!
Discipline: History, Social science
Task: Multi-step. Answer questions about the content of historical photos.
Sovraimpressioni is a new citizen science project that invites you to help describe a remarkable photographic archive preserved by the State Archives of Turin. The collection includes thousands of photographs gathered by General Cesare Lomaglio, offering a unique visual perspective on the early 20th century. With the first dataset, you will work on photographs from World War I, carefully observing each image to help identify places, people, and visual clues that can suggest when and where the photograph was taken. By combining many individual contributions, the project builds richer and more accessible metadata for this significant historical archive.
Through your contributions, you will support archival research, improve access to historical sources, and help keep the memory of the past alive and meaningful today. Every classification adds a small but valuable piece to a larger historical picture.
Get involved and try the project today:
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ast ... mpressioni
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Get ready to explore the past: we’re excited to announce the launch of Sovraimpressioni!
Discipline: History, Social science
Task: Multi-step. Answer questions about the content of historical photos.
Sovraimpressioni is a new citizen science project that invites you to help describe a remarkable photographic archive preserved by the State Archives of Turin. The collection includes thousands of photographs gathered by General Cesare Lomaglio, offering a unique visual perspective on the early 20th century. With the first dataset, you will work on photographs from World War I, carefully observing each image to help identify places, people, and visual clues that can suggest when and where the photograph was taken. By combining many individual contributions, the project builds richer and more accessible metadata for this significant historical archive.
Through your contributions, you will support archival research, improve access to historical sources, and help keep the memory of the past alive and meaningful today. Every classification adds a small but valuable piece to a larger historical picture.
Get involved and try the project today:
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ast ... mpressioni
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Hi there,
Please help us test a possible new Zooniverse project - Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout II
What the researchers say:
"One of the big questions in galaxy evolution is why there are very few galaxies with clumpy structure in the local Universe when they were so common in the past.
Since nearby galaxies are easier to observe than galaxies further away, we can also study them in greater detail.
The first Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout project helped to find a large sample of these local clumpy galaxies. In this project we hope to learn more about the detailed shapes and substructure of these clumps. We need help from volunteers to check and, if necessary, correct the predictions made by a machine learning model on what it thinks are clumps.
This project is brought to you by the Galaxy Zoo team and with funding specifically from NASA's Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP): NASA Citizen Science projects"
Try it out now at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/hug ... p-scout-ii and give us your feedback via this form https://forms.gle/roDB7tyhdbNWoZLQ6 (which you can also reach by clicking the link on the project itself).
Your feedback is extremely important to us when deciding whether to approve or reject a project. To date you have helped launch over 500 Zooniverse projects!
Thanks for all your help!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Please help us test a possible new Zooniverse project - Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout II
What the researchers say:
"One of the big questions in galaxy evolution is why there are very few galaxies with clumpy structure in the local Universe when they were so common in the past.
Since nearby galaxies are easier to observe than galaxies further away, we can also study them in greater detail.
The first Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout project helped to find a large sample of these local clumpy galaxies. In this project we hope to learn more about the detailed shapes and substructure of these clumps. We need help from volunteers to check and, if necessary, correct the predictions made by a machine learning model on what it thinks are clumps.
This project is brought to you by the Galaxy Zoo team and with funding specifically from NASA's Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP): NASA Citizen Science projects"
Try it out now at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/hug ... p-scout-ii and give us your feedback via this form https://forms.gle/roDB7tyhdbNWoZLQ6 (which you can also reach by clicking the link on the project itself).
Your feedback is extremely important to us when deciding whether to approve or reject a project. To date you have helped launch over 500 Zooniverse projects!
Thanks for all your help!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Hello, Zooniverse!
We are launching two new projects this week, exploring how humans interpret stories and how galaxies evolve across cosmic time. Try the projects right away, or read on to learn more.
The Senses of Stories - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/cit ... of-stories
Discipline: Literature, Art
Task: One-step, survey-style. Describe how senses are portrayed in passages from world literature.
Help researchers explore how stories activate the senses and pull readers into worlds of sound, sight, touch and taste.
The Senses of Stories is a new Zooniverse project that invites you to help analyse how writers create immersive reading experiences.
Stories make us see, hear, feel, and even taste through a simple series of words on a page. In this project, you will be asked to rate sentences to help researchers understand how sensory language works in storytelling.
The dataset includes passages from world literature, fanfiction, and nonfiction. Each sentence is a small experiment in how language generates sensation in the reader’s mind.
You may rate sentences on three dimensions – imageability, concreteness, and sensory richness – tackling a surprisingly difficult task that continues to challenge researchers: what sensory experiences do stories prompt?
The project brings together a transatlantic collaboration led by McGill University (Canada), with partners at Aarhus University (Denmark), the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), and the University of Alberta (Canada), and forms part of the broader Citizen Readers initiative.
Your contributions will enable the research team to:
• Study sensory immersion in storytelling.
• Examine how sensory language interacts with emotions and other narrative features.
• Compare fictional and non-fictional stories across genres, periods, and cultures.
• Assess limitations in current AI models in how they understand the embodied senses of stories.
Explore how storytelling engages the senses and imagination, at: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/cit ... of-stories
Citizen readers: https://www.zooniverse.org/organization ... en-readers
Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ast ... idal-tales
Discipline: Astronomy
Task: Multi-step. Identify galaxy mergers and classify faint tidal features in Euclid space telescope images
Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales invites volunteers to help identify signs of galaxy interactions in deep space images from the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission. When galaxies pass close to one another or merge, gravity pulls stars into faint tidal features — streams, tails, and shells — that reveal how these encounters unfolded. The team will use volunteer classifications to build the first large catalog of galaxy mergers in Euclid’s deep fields and to train computer models to better recognize these subtle features. Together, volunteers and researchers will help map how galaxies grow and change over billions of years.
Join this project at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ast ... idal-tales
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
We are launching two new projects this week, exploring how humans interpret stories and how galaxies evolve across cosmic time. Try the projects right away, or read on to learn more.
The Senses of Stories - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/cit ... of-stories
Discipline: Literature, Art
Task: One-step, survey-style. Describe how senses are portrayed in passages from world literature.
Help researchers explore how stories activate the senses and pull readers into worlds of sound, sight, touch and taste.
The Senses of Stories is a new Zooniverse project that invites you to help analyse how writers create immersive reading experiences.
Stories make us see, hear, feel, and even taste through a simple series of words on a page. In this project, you will be asked to rate sentences to help researchers understand how sensory language works in storytelling.
The dataset includes passages from world literature, fanfiction, and nonfiction. Each sentence is a small experiment in how language generates sensation in the reader’s mind.
You may rate sentences on three dimensions – imageability, concreteness, and sensory richness – tackling a surprisingly difficult task that continues to challenge researchers: what sensory experiences do stories prompt?
The project brings together a transatlantic collaboration led by McGill University (Canada), with partners at Aarhus University (Denmark), the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), and the University of Alberta (Canada), and forms part of the broader Citizen Readers initiative.
Your contributions will enable the research team to:
• Study sensory immersion in storytelling.
• Examine how sensory language interacts with emotions and other narrative features.
• Compare fictional and non-fictional stories across genres, periods, and cultures.
• Assess limitations in current AI models in how they understand the embodied senses of stories.
Explore how storytelling engages the senses and imagination, at: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/cit ... of-stories
Citizen readers: https://www.zooniverse.org/organization ... en-readers
Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ast ... idal-tales
Discipline: Astronomy
Task: Multi-step. Identify galaxy mergers and classify faint tidal features in Euclid space telescope images
Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales invites volunteers to help identify signs of galaxy interactions in deep space images from the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission. When galaxies pass close to one another or merge, gravity pulls stars into faint tidal features — streams, tails, and shells — that reveal how these encounters unfolded. The team will use volunteer classifications to build the first large catalog of galaxy mergers in Euclid’s deep fields and to train computer models to better recognize these subtle features. Together, volunteers and researchers will help map how galaxies grow and change over billions of years.
Join this project at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ast ... idal-tales
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Hello, Zooniverse!
Great news for those of you who enjoyed the Iberian Camera Trap Project: the WildINTEL collaboration is launching a new Zooniverse project focused on wildlife across Europe. We’re also sharing an invitation to participate in research on crowdsourcing and AI.
European Camera Trap Project - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/wil ... ap-project
Discipline: Biology, Nature
Task: One-step, survey-style. Identify animals in colour and night-time photos.
The European Camera Trap Project invites volunteers to help identify animals in photographs taken by camera traps placed in different regions of Europe. These cameras automatically capture images when animals pass by, recording species such as red deer, wolves, Iberian lynx, brown bear, foxes, and other animals that are often difficult to observe directly. It has been developed within the WildINTEL project (www.wildintel.eu), a collaboration of scientists working to improve wildlife monitoring across Europe under the Biodiversa+ programme and is an upscaling of the Iberian Camera Trap Project.
Camera traps can collect hundreds of thousands of images during a single monitoring session, creating valuable datasets for studying wildlife distribution, behaviour, and biodiversity change. Processing such large volumes of images is a major challenge for research teams. By helping classify these photos, volunteers will support stakeholders and scientists in analysing these important data while also helping train artificial intelligence tools to make it easier to process wildlife images in the future. Your contribution will help detect and track changes in wildlife populations and ecosystems, supporting conservation efforts.
Join the project at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/wil ... ap-project
Crowdsourcing & AI Research Opportunity
Dr Pinar Yelmi (University of Leeds) conducts research on contributors’ experiences in crowdsourcing and how AI might help address common challenges. Below is an invitation for Zooniverse volunteers to participate:
"I’m Dr Pinar Yelmi, Lecturer in Digital and Interactive Design at the University of Leeds. I have been working on soundscapes and crowdsourcing sound heritage for more than a decade. I organised a crowdsourced project “Soundsslike” to collect sound heritage values a while ago.
I’m currently working on a project related to identifying challenges in crowdsourced projects and exploring ways to collaborate with AI in addressing these challenges. For this project with ethical approval reference no: AHC FREC 3123, I am collecting contributors’ experiences/motivations/challenges in crowdsourcing projects.
If you’re interested in taking part, here is the link for a 10-minute online questionnaire: https://tinyurl.com/594pdyuw
Many thanks for your support and happy crowdsourcing!"
Please note that Zooniverse is not affiliated with this survey. If you have any questions, please contact Dr Pinar Yelmi directly using the email address provided on the survey form.
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Great news for those of you who enjoyed the Iberian Camera Trap Project: the WildINTEL collaboration is launching a new Zooniverse project focused on wildlife across Europe. We’re also sharing an invitation to participate in research on crowdsourcing and AI.
European Camera Trap Project - https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/wil ... ap-project
Discipline: Biology, Nature
Task: One-step, survey-style. Identify animals in colour and night-time photos.
The European Camera Trap Project invites volunteers to help identify animals in photographs taken by camera traps placed in different regions of Europe. These cameras automatically capture images when animals pass by, recording species such as red deer, wolves, Iberian lynx, brown bear, foxes, and other animals that are often difficult to observe directly. It has been developed within the WildINTEL project (www.wildintel.eu), a collaboration of scientists working to improve wildlife monitoring across Europe under the Biodiversa+ programme and is an upscaling of the Iberian Camera Trap Project.
Camera traps can collect hundreds of thousands of images during a single monitoring session, creating valuable datasets for studying wildlife distribution, behaviour, and biodiversity change. Processing such large volumes of images is a major challenge for research teams. By helping classify these photos, volunteers will support stakeholders and scientists in analysing these important data while also helping train artificial intelligence tools to make it easier to process wildlife images in the future. Your contribution will help detect and track changes in wildlife populations and ecosystems, supporting conservation efforts.
Join the project at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/wil ... ap-project
Crowdsourcing & AI Research Opportunity
Dr Pinar Yelmi (University of Leeds) conducts research on contributors’ experiences in crowdsourcing and how AI might help address common challenges. Below is an invitation for Zooniverse volunteers to participate:
"I’m Dr Pinar Yelmi, Lecturer in Digital and Interactive Design at the University of Leeds. I have been working on soundscapes and crowdsourcing sound heritage for more than a decade. I organised a crowdsourced project “Soundsslike” to collect sound heritage values a while ago.
I’m currently working on a project related to identifying challenges in crowdsourced projects and exploring ways to collaborate with AI in addressing these challenges. For this project with ethical approval reference no: AHC FREC 3123, I am collecting contributors’ experiences/motivations/challenges in crowdsourcing projects.
If you’re interested in taking part, here is the link for a 10-minute online questionnaire: https://tinyurl.com/594pdyuw
Many thanks for your support and happy crowdsourcing!"
Please note that Zooniverse is not affiliated with this survey. If you have any questions, please contact Dr Pinar Yelmi directly using the email address provided on the survey form.
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Greetings NASA-interested Zooniverse Volunteers --
2026 is off to a good start, with the Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales launching last month, and multiple new projects nearing launch -- stay tuned!
For astrophotographers and image processors: check out the invitation below regarding the NASA Calendar.
NASA Calendar Images
Calling all image processors, data visualizers, and photographers! The NASA Science Calendar team wants your NASA science images!
Each year NASA puts out a spectacular calendar full of high-resolution images depicting some development in NASA science. Thousands of copies are given out each year and the images are displayed on NASA webpages and other materials. The calendar was the second most-viewed page on NASA’s science website last year!
If you’ve made a high-res image based on NASA data or science that you’d be willing to share with NASA and the public, submit it for consideration for the 2027 calendar! Use this online form: https://forms.gle/mx56xsHpM6bUtujK6
You must have an image ready that’s at least 4200x3200 pixels in size. (You’ll submit a smaller version via the form so we don’t break the internet.) Be sure to write a caption that describes how the image is related to NASA science. All submitted images must be free of copyright restrictions.
Submissions are due by March 20, 2026 and will be evaluated for possible inclusion in the 2027 calendar by the NASA Calendar production team.
Thank you and good luck!
Marc Kuchner, NASA Citizen Science Officer
Jenny Mottar, Art Director for NASA Science
2026 is off to a good start, with the Galaxy Zoo: Tidal Tales launching last month, and multiple new projects nearing launch -- stay tuned!
For astrophotographers and image processors: check out the invitation below regarding the NASA Calendar.
NASA Calendar Images
Calling all image processors, data visualizers, and photographers! The NASA Science Calendar team wants your NASA science images!
Each year NASA puts out a spectacular calendar full of high-resolution images depicting some development in NASA science. Thousands of copies are given out each year and the images are displayed on NASA webpages and other materials. The calendar was the second most-viewed page on NASA’s science website last year!
If you’ve made a high-res image based on NASA data or science that you’d be willing to share with NASA and the public, submit it for consideration for the 2027 calendar! Use this online form: https://forms.gle/mx56xsHpM6bUtujK6
You must have an image ready that’s at least 4200x3200 pixels in size. (You’ll submit a smaller version via the form so we don’t break the internet.) Be sure to write a caption that describes how the image is related to NASA science. All submitted images must be free of copyright restrictions.
Submissions are due by March 20, 2026 and will be evaluated for possible inclusion in the 2027 calendar by the NASA Calendar production team.
Thank you and good luck!
Marc Kuchner, NASA Citizen Science Officer
Jenny Mottar, Art Director for NASA Science
Re: Zooniverse
Hello, Zooniverse!
Today, we invite you to join scientists from the Seattle Aquarium as they dive into Washington State’s vibrant kelp forests. Try the Kelp Quest project now or read on to learn more.
Discipline: Biology, Nature, Climate
Task: One-step. Identify algae, seafloor types and animals in underwater camera images.
Kelp is a type of large brown seaweed that grows in the ocean and forms underwater forests. These kelp forests provide food and shelter for thousands of different species, ranging from microscopic invertebrates to whales that forage around their canopy. In recent decades, kelp forests along the Washington coast have been declining. Scientists are working to understand what helps kelp thrive so they can better protect these important habitats.
Scientists at the Seattle Aquarium are using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to capture tens of thousands of images of the seafloor in and around kelp forests. These pictures help them learn what the ocean bottom is made of—like rocks, sand, and different kinds of seaweed—and how these conditions affect where kelp can grow.
To sort through so many photos, researchers trained a machine learning model to help label what’s in each image. However, the model is still learning and makes mistakes. That’s where you come in!
In Kelp Quest, volunteers are asked to confirm or refute the model’s predictions. The data you help generate will directly impact conservation, restoration, and the sustainable management of kelp forests.
Will you take the plunge? Explore the depths with Kelp Quest: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zhr ... e-aquarium
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Today, we invite you to join scientists from the Seattle Aquarium as they dive into Washington State’s vibrant kelp forests. Try the Kelp Quest project now or read on to learn more.
Discipline: Biology, Nature, Climate
Task: One-step. Identify algae, seafloor types and animals in underwater camera images.
Kelp is a type of large brown seaweed that grows in the ocean and forms underwater forests. These kelp forests provide food and shelter for thousands of different species, ranging from microscopic invertebrates to whales that forage around their canopy. In recent decades, kelp forests along the Washington coast have been declining. Scientists are working to understand what helps kelp thrive so they can better protect these important habitats.
Scientists at the Seattle Aquarium are using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to capture tens of thousands of images of the seafloor in and around kelp forests. These pictures help them learn what the ocean bottom is made of—like rocks, sand, and different kinds of seaweed—and how these conditions affect where kelp can grow.
To sort through so many photos, researchers trained a machine learning model to help label what’s in each image. However, the model is still learning and makes mistakes. That’s where you come in!
In Kelp Quest, volunteers are asked to confirm or refute the model’s predictions. The data you help generate will directly impact conservation, restoration, and the sustainable management of kelp forests.
Will you take the plunge? Explore the depths with Kelp Quest: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zhr ... e-aquarium
Happy classifying!
Alisa & the Zooniverse Team
Re: Zooniverse
Dear Zooniverse Community –
We are aware that starting today (4 August 2026) some Zooniverse community members have received a suspicious email (Subject: “Your Zooniverse milestone badge is ready”) that we believe to be a phishing attack.
This email was not sent from the Zooniverse. The “From” email address includes a misspelled version of “zooniverse.org”.
Do not open this email or click any links contained within. Please report the email as phishing or spam with your email provider and delete the message.
Due to this on-going incident, please take care to review emails from Zooniverse and confirm the sender before opening any emails or clicking any links contained within.
We are working with various providers to report and stop this incident.
The Zooniverse Team