Ribbon cut — It’s official!

We cut a ribbon and officially dedicated the Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center Tuesday morning. Most of the background information is in earlier posts, so her are some pictures of the event.

(l-r) Howard Morrison, County Commissioner Pat Farrell, architect Amy Leathers, Skidaway Foundation chair John Duren, Skidaway Director Jim Sanders, USG's Samson Oyegunle

Skidaway Inst Director Jim Sanders comments at the dedication.

Former Skidaway Marine Science Foundation Chair Howard Morrison

Architect Amy Leathers from Lord, Aeck and Sargent describes the "green" features of the building.

Armstrong Atlantic State University Dean of the College of Science and Technology George Shields (l) and AASU's provost, Ellen Whitford

Skidaway Institute supporters Howard Morrison (l) and Howard Stryker

Skidaway Institute staffers (l-r) John Cruickshank, Anna Boyette and John Scarborough

Skidaway scientist Jim Nelson (r) talks with guests.

Skidaway scientists Dana Savidge (l) and Liz Mann.

Skidaway Marine Science Foundation board members Howard Morrison (l) and Barrett Benton.

USG's Samson Oyegunle and Barry Abrams of Lord, Aeck and Sargent.

Wachovia Bank’s Salita Hill (l) and Robert Sparks.

Skidaway Institute scientist Clark Alexander and UGA's Randy Walker.

County Commmissioner Pat Farrell (l) and Skidaway Marine Science Foundation chair John Duren.

Georgia Tech-Savannah's Paul Work and Page Siplon of the Maritime Logistics Center.

Architect Amy Leathers (l) and Skidaway scientist Liz Mann.

Interns and research staff relax in the casual gathering area in the front lobby.

Skidaway Institute’s new building ready

Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientists have begun moving into a newly-built research facility on the Skidaway campus. The Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center (MCSRIC) will be officially dedicated on Tuesday, June 2, at 9:30 a.m.

The MCSRIC contains 11,000 square-feet of research laboratories and offices, space for visiting scientists, and instructional space for marine science students from throughout the University System of Georgia.

The building was funded with a $5 million dollar appropriation approved by the Georgia General Assembly in 2006 and signed by Governor Sonny Perdue.

The MSRIC will allow Skidaway Institute to expand its research in several areas, including  the development of new technologies associated with ocean observation systems; discovering the diversity of species and their interactions in the marine environment: and the assessment of factors affecting the environmental health and integrity of Georgia’s coastal zone.
The MCSRIC has been designed to be environmentally friendly and is expect to be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The building’s orientation minimizes its east-west exposure which reduces the heat it will absorb from the sun. This orientation is one reason the MCSRIC is 31 percent more energy efficient than a comparable building. Its courtyard, roof and sidewalks are organic or reflect the sun’s energy, further reducing the amount of heat the building will absorb.

The layout of the MCSRIC’s interior minimizes the building’s perimeter, reducing the energy and heat that can leak into or out of the building. The common work areas and the central hallway are open to the roof and have a row of upper windows running the length of the building. This allows natural night to flood the building on sunny days and saves on lighting energy.

Other “green” characteristics of the building include a solar hot water heating system, a 1,000 gallon cistern to capture rainwater for various uses, six-inch foam insulation and energy efficient windows.

The architect for the MCSRIC was Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Inc.. The construction manager was Choate Construction. Engineering work was done by Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung International Inc., and Nottingham, Brook & Pennington, Inc.

‘Planet Earth in the 21st Century’ wraps up Skidaway Institute spring lecture series

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography’s spring lecture series will wrap up with a two-speaker program titled “Planet Earth in the 21^st Century.” The program will be presented twice, on Monday, May 11, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, May 14, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The program is the final program in the lecture series under the umbrella title “Living with the Ocean” that has focused on the 21^st century ocean and man’s interaction with it.

Peter Verity

Skidaway Institute professor Peter Verity will begin the program with his talk “How We are Changing the Ocean.” Included in his talk, Verity will discuss the way overfishing is changing the functioning of marine ecosystems; greenhouse gas increases are changing climate, warming and acidifying the oceans and raising sea level; and ocean pollution and toxic compounds are threatening species survival.

“The scope and scale of human activities now have the oceans on a new trajectory towards an uncertain future,” said Verity. “This path is definitely not favorable by comparison with past and even present assessments of intrinsic value of the oceans.”

Herb Windom

Skidaway Institute professor Herb Windom will present the second half of the program with a talk titled “Real Time and Real Important: Environmental Observation in the 21^st Century.” Windom will explore the ways in which scientists have explored the environment in the past and, how many of those observations have been inadequate for the conclusions that have been drawn. He will also discuss the way new technology is drastically changing the way scientists will study the ocean and the planet in general in the future.

The program will begin at 7 p.m. on both days.

For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325 or visit the Skidaway Institute Web site at www.skio.usg.edu.

We’re moving in!

Mike Sullivan writes:

The new Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center is coming to life.  Four of our scientists, Marc Frischer, Liz Mann, Aaron Peck and Jim Nelson, are starting to move in along with their research teams.

This project has been a long time coming. One of our supporters says it has been in the works for 13 years, but that pre-dates me by nine years.

Skidaway Institute MCSRIC

The $5 million, 11,000-square foot building houses eight offices for scientists, six labs and extensive additional workspace for research assistants, students, visitors and so on.

Research Assistant Karen Butler works in one of the labs.

The MCSRIC has been designed to be environmentally friendly and is expected to be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

The building’s orientation minimizes its east-west exposure which reduces the heat it will absorb from the sun. This orientation is one reason the MCSRIC is 31 per cent more energy efficient than a comparable building. Its courtyard, roof and sidewalks are organic or reflect the sun’s energy, further reducing the amount of heat the building will absorb.

The layout of the MCSRIC’s interior minimizes the building’s perimeter, reducing the energy and heat that can leak into or out of the building. The common work areas and the central hallway are open to the roof and have a row of upper windows running the length of the building. This allows natural night to flood the building on sunny days and saves on lighting energy.

Other “green” characteristics of the building include a solar hot water heating system, a 1,000 gallon cistern to capture rainwater for various uses, six-inch foam insulation and energy efficient windows.

Savannah State, SCCPSS and Skidaway Institute launch ocean literacy program

Savannah State University, the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) are joining hands to enhance science education in local schools through infusion of local research into the classrooms.

The three organizations are working together in a five-year program to engage graduate marine science students from Savannah State into science classes in neighboring schools. The “Building Ocean Literacy Program” is funded by a $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Program. The program will provide fellowships to eight graduate students in Savannah State’s Marine Sciences Program who will be partnered with K-12 teachers to deliver enhanced classroom instruction. The goal of the NSF GK-12 Program is to ensure that universities are producing scientists capable of communicating the results and significance of their research to broad audiences.

During summer breaks, teachers will have opportunities to participate in a workshop, in a research cruise aboard Skidaway Institute’s Research Vessel Savannah, and collaborate with the graduate fellows and Savannah State and Skidaway Institute faculty on research in the local estuaries.

“We want to promote the interest of K-12 students in the sciences, with an emphasis on coastal issues, and also improve the incorporation of marine sciences into the classroom curriculum” said Savannah State professor Carol Pride. “In addition, we hope to improve the communication skills of the graduate students to discuss science issues beyond the boundaries of a university campus.”

The graduate fellows will receive special training in communication, team work, and teaching skills through a K-12 training course and a weekly seminar. They will be paired with science teachers at Thunderbolt Elementary Marine Science Academy, Charles Ellis Montessori Academy, Sol C. Johnson High School, and the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. The graduate students will work with their teacher-partners to enhance hands-on instruction and to develop curriculum specific to their thesis research in the local marine ecosystem.

“The school system is excited to work with Savannah State and Skidaway Institute to give the teachers the ability to link topics in the Georgia Performance Standards to relevant, real-world situations,” said Horace Magwood III, Director of Science Instruction with the SCCPSS. “The summer research opportunities will certainly ignite a passion for science research with our teachers which will pass on to their students.”

Another key component to the program will be scientific research in the local estuaries and marshes. The teachers, graduate fellows, faculty mentors and K-12 classes will participate in monitoring of local estuaries and marshes, including monitoring water quality, sediment properties, and marine life.

“By including hands-on research in this program, the public school teachers and students will get a taste of what scientific research is all about”, said Skidaway Institute professor Peter Verity. “Science is more than lectures in a classroom,” Verity said. “The excitement of science is in the discovery of new knowledge.”

Savannah State graduate students will be selected for the program this summer. The program will launch in the schools in the fall.

Skidaway Institute lecture to focus on climate change and origins of life

Approximately 3.6 billion years ago, the Earth faced its greatest pollution crisis ever, and it changed the way life developed on our planet.

Marc Frischer

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography professor Marc Frischer will discuss that pollution crisis and the origins of life on Earth in the next program of Skidaway Institute’s spring lecture series “Living with the Ocean.” The lecture program will be presented twice, on Monday, March 30, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, April 2, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Frischer will be joined in the two-speaker program, titled “The Oceans Drive the Earth,” by Skidaway Institute professor Stuart Wakeham. He will focus the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere, and the ocean’s major role in global climate change.

That primordial pollution crisis was caused by the evolution of microbial life. The so-called pollution was oxygen derived from the microbial invention of photosynthesis.

“Oxygen, the end product of oxygenic photosynthesis, was toxic to most of the planet’s earliest life,” said Frischer. “However, life adapted, and the presence of oxygen lead to the evolution of most of the life that is familiar to us now and is now essential to modern life, including us.”

Frischer’s talk will take the audience on a journey from the formation of Earth through the evolution of life in the oceans and the transformation of the planet to what we know today. Along the way the audience will learn about the diversity of life and the important role played by microbes in the ocean and other planetary ecosystems.

Stuart Wakeham

Wakeham’s lecture will touch on one of the most talked-about topics of today – global climate change. He will discuss how the interactions between the ocean and atmosphere strongly influence the global climate.

“Ocean sediments contain a record of global change in the past,” Wakeham said. “Understanding how the ocean has affected climate in the past and how its present-day changes affect the ocean are important for our ability to predict the state of the earth in the future.”

The next programs in the series will be:

“Living Near the Ocean”

Monday, April 20, Coastal Georgia Center

Thursday, April 23, Skidaway Institute

“Planet Earth in the 21^st Century”

Monday, May 11, Coastal Georgia Center

Thursday, May 14, Skidaway Institute

All programs will begin at 7 p.m.

For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325 or visit the Skidaway Institute Web site at www.skio.usg.edu.

‘One Big Ocean’ kicks off Skidaway Institute spring lecture series

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography spring lecture series will begin with a two-speaker program titled “One Big Ocean.” The program will be presented twice, on Tuesday, March 10, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, March 12, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The program is the first of four science lectures under the umbrella title “Living with the Ocean” that will focus on the 21^st century ocean and man’s interaction with it.

Skidaway Institute Director Jim Sanders will begin the program with his talk “Oceanography 101: What every science literate person should know about our ocean planet” Sanders’ talk will address the general principles and concepts that govern the functioning of the oceans.

“I hope to help the audience to understand how the oceans influence life on earth, and how people influence the ocean,” Sanders said. “With this knowledge, people should be better able to make informed and responsible decisions about the ocean and its resources.”

Skidaway Institute professor Jay Brandes will present the second half of the program with a talk titled “The most amazing substance on Earth – water” Brandes will examine how water is an essential component of life on Earth.

“Not only does it makes up the majority of our and other life forms’ bodies, but it transports heat around the globe, dissolves nutrients and other elements from rocks, and provides an environment that occupies 70 per cent of the surface of our planet.,” Brandes said.

The next program in the series will be:

“The Oceans Drive the Earth”

Monday, March 30, at the Coastal Georgia Center

Thursday, April 2, at Skidaway Institute.

“Living Near the Ocean”

Monday, April 20, Coastal Georgia Center

Thursday, April 23, Skidaway Institute

“Planet Earth in the 21^st Century”

Monday, May 11, Coastal Georgia Center

Thursday, May 14, Skidaway Institute

All programs will begin at 7 p.m.

For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325 or visit the Skidaway Institute Web site at www.skio.usg.edu.

Skidaway Institute spring lecture series to focus on man and the ocean

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will host a series of four science lecture programs this spring focusing on the 21^st century ocean and man’s interaction with it. Under the umbrella title “Living with the Ocean” the four two-hour programs will be presented at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and then repeated in the Skidaway Institute library auditorium. Each program will consist of two speakers from the Skidaway Institute faculty and run from 7-9 p.m. at both venues. Admission will be free.

“In the 21^st century, it is vital that all of us become ‘ocean literate,’” said Jim Sanders, director of Skidaway Institute. “We expect this series of programs will be both interesting and informative to anyone who cares about the world around us.”

According to Sanders, many of the vital issues facing society involve the ocean. “The ocean is a major factor in global climate change, our food supply and coastal development, just to name a few,” he said.

Sanders will kick off the first program, “One Big Ocean,” on Tuesday, March 10, at the Coastal Georgia Center with a presentation titled “Oceanography 101: What every science literate person should know about our ocean planet.” Jay Brandes will provide the second half of the program with a talk on “The most amazing substance on Earth – water.” This program will be repeated on Thursday, March 12 at Skidaway Institute.

The second program “The Oceans Drive the Earth” will focus on the ocean’s role in global climate change and the origins of life in the ocean. Skidaway Institute professors Stuart Wakeham and Marc Frischer will be the featured speakers. It will be presented at the Coastal Georgia Center on Monday, March 30, and at Skidaway Institute on Thursday, April 2.

On Monday, April 20, scientists Clark Alexander and Bill Savidge will present a program on “Living Near the Ocean,” which will address the complex relationship between man and the environment in the coastal zone. The Skidaway Institute program will be held on Thursday, April 23.

The final program in the series will be held at the Coastal Georgia Center on Monday, May 11 and at Skidaway Institute on Thursday, May 14. Titled “Planet Earth in the 21^st Century,” professors Peter Verity and Herb Windom will outline the ways mankind is changing the ocean, and how developing technologies are being used to monitor the ocean and the coastal environment.

For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325 or visit the Skidaway Institute Web site at www.skio.usg.edu.

The eagle has landed!

We have a pair of new and fairly frequent visitor to our campus. Two bald eagles have decided the cell phone antenna array on top of our water tower is a pretty good place to hang out. Usually only one of the eagles is there, but occasionally the second half of the pair comes along. Pretty cool!

Skidaway Institute scientists use microscopic algae to track coastal water quality

As burgeoning growth on the Georgia Coast puts additional pressure on the fragile coastal environment, scientists at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography are researching new techniques to monitor coastal water quality.

Scientists can measure water quality several ways. One method is to measure the water’s chemical characteristics, such as oxygen and nutrient concentrations. Skidaway Institute researcher Elizabeth Mann is investigating another technique – using a group of microscopic organisms as a bioindicator of water quality.

“When you measure the chemical composition of the water, you essentially get a snap shot of all the individual components in the water at the time you take your sample,” Mann said. “We are trying to determine if the micro-organisms in the water will give us a better picture of water quality because living cells must adapt to all of the stresses in an environment over a longer time span.”

Mann’s research focuses on one of the smallest of microscopic algae or phytoplankton called cyanobacteria. These organisms are less than 2 microns in size and form the base of the food web. Like plants, cyanobacteria such as Synechococcus contain chlorophyll and manufacture their own food through photosynthesis.

Cyanobacteria have many characteristics that make them potentially good indicators of water quality. Synechococcus are abundant in Georgia’s coastal waters and are relatively easily isolated and grown in the laboratory. They can also be identified and counted using flow cytometry, a technique that can accurately count up to 500 cells a second.

“Cyanobacteria can serve like a canary in a coal mine,” said Mann. “Changes in Synechococcus populations may help monitor the condition of the environment in which they live because these small phytoplankton are more sensitive to toxic metals such as copper and cadmium than larger marine algae.”

Mann is examining the water quality in the Savannah River by comparing conditions in that heavily industrialized estuary to the more pristine Altamaha River.

“The abundance of cyanobacteria, including Synechococcus, is much lower in the Savannah River than in the relatively pristine Altamaha,” Mann said. “Not only is the total number of cyanobacteria lower in the Savannah River, but certain types of microbes abundant in the Altamaha River are essentially absent from the more heavily impacted Savannah River.

In addition, Mann said, adding water from the Savannah River to populations of estuarine phytoplankton from more pristine locations leads to a decrease in the abundance of cyanobacteria and other small phytoplankton.

Mann’s work is just beginning. A next step will be to identify the types of contaminants responsible for low Synechococcus numbers in the Savannah River and to determine what effect stunted cyanobacteria populations have on the larger organisms in the food web that prey on these small plants.