Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
Last Friday, DMS graduate students hosted the annual Sip ‘n Science event at Beer’d Brewing Co. in Stonington, featuring interactive science demonstrations for the local community. Despite a torrential downpour outside, the event was well attended and highlighted meaningful engagement between students, faculty, and the public. Students designed demonstrations of oceanographic principles or their own research, showcasing the breadth of work at the Marine Sciences department while also gaining valuable experience in communicating complex scientific concepts to a general audience.
Erin Leathrum (l.) and Sarah McCart (r.) found a way to visualize microfossils.
Carley Dunn (l.) and Halle Berger (r.) having fun showing off macrobenthic organisms.
Hannah Roby (r.) and her giant cardboard black sea bass.
This year’s demonstrations covered a wide range of topics, including microfossils, mercury, marshes, ocean waves, isotopes, ocean acidification, the Coriolis force, sea ice brine, Black Sea Bass gut contents, planktonic species, and coastal snails and crabs. Students were nothing short of creative - designing wave tank races, ranking games for mercury-impacted species, isotope explanations using the Hungry Hungry Hippos game, visual displays of acidification effects on seashells, rotating table experiments with dye to show ocean forces, larger than life-sized sea bass cutouts, and salty ice cubes to simulate polar sea ice processes.
Well done, everyone! The department is truly proud of its graduate students!
Genius! Hungry hungry Hippos to visualize isotopes or just to have fun ...
You never know when passion starts. Outreach plants seeds.
Julie Granger (l.) and Catherine Mattassa (r.) - Sip 'n Science!
Emma Siegfried (l.) dissolving shells - ocean acidification illustrated.
Catherine Crowley (l.), Alex Frenzel (m.), and Peter Ruffino (r.).
Bernard Akawaase explains the wave tank
A highlight was Paban Bhuyan's and Bernard Akaawase's (not shown) rubber ducky wave tank.