Movement at sea
In 2009, APAL conducted the first experimental studies of the quantitative kinematics of human movement on ships at sea. At the invitation of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory Systems (UNOLS) and the Semester at Sea program, we have conducted research on a several ships in nautical settings all over the world, calling in ports in Oceania, Hawaii, the Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, England, Russia, and Mexico, as well as Seattle, San Diego, and Duluth.
APAL research at sea addresses a wide variety of issues relating to the perception and control of the body, including suprapostural tasks, perceptual-motor learning, seasickness, mal de debarquement, and getting your sea legs. Working with Dr. Nick Stergiou at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, in April 2013 we conducted the first experimental studies of the quantitative kinematics of human gait at sea.
Publications
Stoffregen, T. A., Chen, F.-C., Varlet, M., Alcantara, C., & Bardy, B. G. (2013). Getting your sea legs. PLOS ONE, 8(6), e66949.
Chen, F.-C., & Stoffregen, T. A. (2012). Specificity of postural sway to the demands of a precision task at sea. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 18, 203-212.
Stoffregen, T. A., Villard, S., Chen, F.-C., & Yu, Y. (2011). Standing body sway on land and at sea. Ecological Psychology, 23, 19-36.
Mayo, A. M., Wade, M. G., & Stoffregen, T. A. (2011). Postural effects of the horizon on land and at sea. Psychological Science, 22, 118-124.
Yu, Y., Yank, J. R., Villard, S., & Stoffregen, T. A. (2010). Postural activity and visual vigilance performance during rough seas. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 81, 843-849.
Yu, Y., Yank, J. R., Katsumata, Y., Villard, S., Kennedy, R. S., & Stoffregen, T. A. (2010). Visual vigilance performance and standing posture at sea. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 81, 375-382.
Stoffregen, T. A., Chen, F.-C., Yu, Y., & Villard, S. (2009). Stance width and angle at sea: Effects of sea state and body orientation. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 80, 845-849.
Stoffregen, T. A., Villard, S., & Yu, Y. (2009). Body sway at sea for two visual tasks and three stance widths. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 80, 1039-1043.
Related Links
R/V Blue Heron
Operated by the University of Minnesota-Duluth Large Lakes Observatory
R/V Atlantis
Operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic institution
R/V Thomas G. Thompson
Operated by the University of Washington School of Oceanography