Barents Sea Cruise 5-1-13

Skidaway Institute scientists Marc Frischer and Jens Nejstgaard are participating in a research cruise in the Barents Sea, north of Norway. This is an account of the experience from Marc.

First day of the cruise.  Everyone is excited and anxious.  We were all on board the ship by 9:00am and busy scurrying around making final preparations, securing instruments & lab gear and setting up the various work stations.  The crew was exceedingly helpful and efficient.

The Marine Tech was delayed in Oslo (coming by plane) so we couldn’t leave until he arrived.  He made it around noon and we were underway at about 12:45pm.  We headed north through the fjords.  The scenery was fantastic.  Calm water, snow and fog covered mountains, sun and clouds.  Not too much wildlife present, some seabirds.  The captain (Tom Ole) predicted that we’d see a lot of life near the ice edge, perhaps even whales.  Next week they have a whale observing cruise scheduled in the same area that we are heading to now.

Heading out to sea

After discussions with Aud Larsen and Jens Nejstgaaard we decided that due to our late departure we would head to immediately to the polar front and ice edge to take full advantage of the night to steam.  Of course night doesn’t really feel like night since it only gets dim for a few hours this far north this time of year, but for some reason we still get tired.  We also decided to stop a various points along our course to characterize the water and plankton communities.  We are occupying a standard transect used by IMR (Norwegian Institute of Marine Research) called Fugløya – Bjørnøya and are lucky that the previous week (25 – 29 April 2013) this line had been run giving us a pretty good idea of what we’ll find this week.  The data from the previous week indicated that water conditions are not unusual and that we could expect to reach the polar front approximately 225 NM north of our first sea station after leaving the fjords.

Our goal is to locate water masses containing the algae Phaeocystis pouchetti in various stages of its bloom cycle so that we can study how it is eaten (or not) by other organisms and thereby contributes to the food web.  It’s a very interesting and mysterious algae because of its importance as a major blooming algae in high latitude waters and because whether it is eaten seems to be highly variable.  We suspect that at times it is readily eaten and at others it is not and that this is mainly due to its ability to dramatically alter its size, chemically defend itself from predation and its resistance to ubiquitous viruses.  Despite the fact that this algae is slimy and smelly, all of us who study it love it because it’s so interesting.  We call the  project “Phaeo Enigma” because there is so much we don’t understand about this organism.

We stopped around 3:30 pm (13:30 GMT) in the fjord to take a quick sample.  The water column profile was classic textbook fjord with a chla maximum at about 23 meters.  The water contained big colonies of the algae we are studying (Phaeocystis pouchetti), but we are sticking with our plan to head north.

Continuing north we finally made it to our first sea station at 70 30 N 20 00 E.  Again, it was a quick stop to look at the water.  As we expected we found classic Norwegian Coastal Current water.  Phaeocystis was present here too, though at lower concentrations that we found in the fjords.  After a quick 30 min stop we were back on our way.

Since there wasn’t much to do most for the remainder of the evening, most of us thought it was prudent to turn in early for the evening.  Soon enough we will all be very busy!

Barents Sea cruise

Skidaway Institute scientist Marc Frischer is beginning a research cruise in the Barents Sea. Here is the first of his reports.

The cruise starts! We’re on the hunt for the enigmatic but globally significant algae Phaeocystis. We head north to the ice shortly aboard the Norwegian Research Vessel Hakon Mosby. I’ll try to update as I can.

 

Skidaway Institute scientist presents coastal hazard program

Clark Alexander

The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientist Clark Alexander will present an informative and visual program on threats to the Georgia Coast in an “Evening @ Skidaway” reception and lecture on Tuesday, May 21, on the campus of Skidaway Institute.

The program will begin at 6:15 p.m. with a reception at the University of Georgia MAREX Aquarium to be followed by the science talk at 7:15 p.m. in the McGowan Library Auditorium.

The program is open to the public and admission is free.

Alexander’s talk is titled, “Coastal Crystal Ball: A Look at the Future of Georgia’s Changing Coastline.” Drawing on two decades of work in the area, Alexander will discuss coastal hazards relevant to Georgia, such as storms, beach erosion and sea level rise. He will introduce the Georgia Coastal Hazards Portal, a web-based tool that anyone can use to assess their specific exposure to coastal hazards, and present up-to-the-minute results of ongoing research to better quantify coastal Georgia’s hazard vulnerability.

The reception will include a demonstration of the Georgia Coastal Hazards Portal display located at the Aquarium.

Seating is limited. Please reserve seats by calling (912) 598-2325 or email to mike.sullivan@skio.usg.edu.

An “Evening @ Skidaway” is sponsored by the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the Skidaway Marine Science Foundation.

Congratulations…

… to Skidaway Institute tech Tina Waters! She won a student poster award at the ASLO meeting held in New Orleans last month. The title of her winning poster is:

MOLECULAR PROFILING OF ZOOPLANKTON GUT CONTENT USING PNA-PCR AND DENATURING HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (PNA-PCR-DHPLC)

LaGina M. Frazier, Gustav-A. Paffenhöfer, and Marc E. Frischer all collaborated with Tina and were cited on the poster. In addition to being a valued member of the Skidaway Institute science team, Tina is a grad student at Savannah State.

Skidaway Institute presents ‘Chasing Ice’ at ocean film festival

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will present the award-winning documentary, “Chasing Ice,” as the feature film at the 11th Annual Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival on Saturday, September 14, at 7 p.m. at the Lucas Theater for the Arts in downtown Savannah.

“Chasing Ice” is the story of James Balog, a photographer who directed The Extreme Ice Survey, an ambitious project to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog deployed revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to produce a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

James Balog with of his cameras at an Alaska glacier.

Balog and his team battled untested technology in subzero conditions to capture images that compress years into seconds and depict ancient mountains of ice as they disappear at a breathtaking rate.

“Chasing Ice” has won 23 awards at film festivals around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival Award for Excellence in Cinematography and the Environmental Media Association’s 22nd Annual Best Documentary Award.

The screening will be followed by a short panel discussion on climate change including several Skidaway Institute scientists and other environmental experts.

The screening will be sponsored in part by the Skidaway Marine Science Foundation.

More information on “Chasing Ice” can be found at
http://www.chasingice.com/
.

The 11th Annual Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival will be presented Thursday, September 12 through Saturday, September 14, at the Jepson Center and the Lucas Theater for the Arts. An encore presentation of selected festival films will be screened at the Jewish Education Alliance on Sunday, September 15. Admission to all films will be free.

More information on the film festival is available at www.graysreef.noaa.gov.

Field stations and marine labs join forces to tackle national environmental challenges

A world threatened by extreme weather, invasive species, emerging disease and increasing uncertainty needs the scientific capacity to face those challenges. Natural laboratories around the country, which have been placing researchers on the front lines of understanding and managing environmental change for a century, form the building blocks of that capacity. The Organization of Biological Field Stations and The National Association of Marine Laboratories has released a report showing how scientists in communities across the continent respond to emerging questions in flexible and nimble ways, and are poised to work together to contribute to global solutions.

James Sanders

The report was supervised by a steering committee of seven scientists, including Skidaway Institute of Oceanography director James Sanders. Also, Skidaway Institute scientist Jens Nejstgaard participated in the workshop that contributed to the report.

Field stations and marine labs (FSMLs) are the primary places scientists go to study environmental processes in their natural context, and as such they harbor the knowledge of the past that we need to predict the future. They host thousands of individual researchers at hundreds of locations, and are the birthplace of many of the innovations and discoveries that drive environmental science today. Recent large-scale initiatives, such as the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), as well as the longer-running Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)

network, depend on existing FSML infrastructure. The novel insights these new observatories generate

Jens Nejstgaard

will stimulate complementary research at many more field stations and marine labs.

However, only a small fraction of FSMLs participates in these broader-scale scientific initiatives. NEON and LTER represent ten per cent of the available long-term, place-based, multiple-investigator environmental research sites. The report, “Field Stations and Marine Laboratories of the Future: A Strategic Vision,” is based on a national workshop and survey and on input from the broader scientific community. The report recommends creating a Network Center to catalyze broader-scale science and to facilitate participation in coordinated environmental efforts. For example, a stronger network of FSMLs could contribute to evolving national and international programs such as the sustained National Climate Assessment or the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network.

Field stations and marine labs have the flexibility and the logistical and intellectual capacity to support novel experimental approaches across tremendous ecological diversity. Collectively, they represent billions of dollars of investment in research infrastructure, including and tools, and they have trained generations of environmental scientists.

This report is a first step in making sure the nation’s investment in field stations and marine labs continues to meet the dynamic and changing needs of scientists, students and the public they serve.

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The National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML), organized in the late 1980′s, is a nonprofit organization of over 120 members employing more than 10,000 scientists, engineers, and professionals and representing marine and Great Lakes laboratories stretching from Guam to Bermuda and Alaska to Puerto Rico. The member institutions of the National Association of Marine Labs work together to improve the quality and effectiveness of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes research, education and outreach. Through these unique national and regional networks, NAML encourages ecosystem-based management, wise local land management and the understanding and protection of natural resources.

 

The Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that represents field stations throughout the world. The mission of OBFS is to help member stations increase their effectiveness in supporting critical research, education, and outreach programs. OBFS pursues this goal in a manner that maximizes diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability, and transparency.

 

Regents Align Skidaway Institute of Oceanography with UGA

Atlanta — January 8, 2013

The Board of Regents approved today aligning the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) with the University of Georgia (UGA).

“The new alignment between the institute and the university will streamline operations and enhance the research efforts of both SkIO and UGA’s excellent marine and coastal programs,” said Houston Davis, the University System’s chief academic officer and executive vice chancellor.

Davis said that the change is part of Chancellor Hank Huckaby’s efforts to streamline the University System of Georgia’s operations. He said that the change will become effective July 1, 2013.

The Institute has 65 employees who conduct cutting-edge oceanographic research on both a regional and global scale. The Institute also provides research-based educational opportunities to students from other University System institutions and from around the world.

The University of Georgia has a staff of about 20 who provide classes for as many as 18,000 students from elementary to high school each year at Skidaway. The university also has a site on Sapelo Island for site-based research and instruction of undergraduate and graduate college students in its marine program.

“In addition to enhancing research conducted by UGA, this change provides a synergistic environment that is sure to benefit both Georgia Tech and Savannah State University who also conduct important coastal research at Skidaway,” added Davis.

The Georgia General Assembly chartered Skidaway in 1967 after philanthropist Robert Roebling donated the land to the state. The Institute operated as a stand-alone institution for four years before coming under the responsibility of the University System.

Skidaway Institute scientists seek answers to salt marsh questions

Salt marshes are a vital part of the coastal ecosystem. They provide a nursery for many kinds of marine animal life. Sitting in the transition zone between the ocean and the land, salt marshes serve as a physical buffer against severe weather. They act as a chemical buffer by capturing, holding and releasing nutrients that are brought in on each tide. As a result, the marshes have a great influence on the type and amount of nutrients that enter the sounds and the ocean. That buffering capacity varies on tidal, daily and seasonal time scales, but how it functions is poorly documented.

A team of Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientists have begun a project to get a clearer picture of how salt marshes function and interact with their surrounding environment.

The composition of the science team reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the project. Principal investigator Jay Brandes, Aron Stubbins and Bill Savidge are chemical oceanographers, and Catherine Edwards is a physical oceanographer. Geologist Clark Alexander and physical oceanographers Jack Blanton and Dana Savidge are also contributing to the effort. The three-year project is funded by a $699, 971 grant from the National Science Foundation.

The research team at Groves Creek (l-r) Clark Alexander, Jack Blanton, Catherine Edwards, Jay Brandes, Dana Savidge, Bill Savidge, Aron Stubbins

“Scientists have looked at salt marshes in the past and have gotten some good data,” Brandes said. “However, this will be the first detailed look at the combined functions of one of these marsh systems.”

The project will focus on Groves Creek, a portion of coastal salt marsh along the Wilmington River, adjacent to the Skidaway Institute campus. Groves Creek has been the site of other research projects.  Over the past three years, Blanton, Alexander, Dana Savidge and others have studied the topography and water-flow in the marsh as part of a Department of Energy-funded project.  Because of this, the physical layout of the marsh has been documented to a fine detail.

“We already know a lot about this area, especially how the water moves in and out of the marsh on the tides,” said Brandes. “We have a very good understanding of the topography of the top of the marsh and its tidal creeks, both above and below the surface.”

The scientists also believe the Groves Creek area is fairly representative of salt marshes along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.

From a chemical standpoint, the research will focus on way the salt marsh uses carbon: is it a consumer or producer of carbon-based organic material and nutrients?

“Marshes take material in from the river on every high tide, and they deliver material back to the river on the falling tide — but it isn’t the same stuff,” Savidge said. “The marsh changes the river chemistry on every tidal cycle.”

There isn’t much consensus on what controls that exchange between river and marsh. “That is one of the big questions,” said Brandes, “Trying to understand whether the marsh is a producer or consumer, and how that changes over time, the seasons, the tides and so on.”

To get a detailed history of marsh-river exchange, the scientists will place sensors in the marsh that will measure various conditions every 15 minutes. Remote sensors cannot measure everything, so the research team will also be collecting samples on a daily basis and returning them to their labs for analysis.  Understanding the big picture will come from adding up all the little incremental changes over time and relating them to the actions of sun, tide and weather on the marsh surface.

Stubbins will focus his efforts on the role of dissolved organic carbon in the marsh. Savidge will work look at how the salt marsh uses dissolved oxygen. Edwards will be modeling how water flows in and out of the system and how that movement interacts with the chemical and biological activity.

When the project is complete in three years, the Skidaway scientists expect to have a much more extensive picture of the role salt marshes play in the larger coastal ecosystem.

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Deepwater Horizon oil spill prompts Skidaway Institute research

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the impetus behind a research project at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography to study the effects of spilled oil on blue crabs and grass shrimp.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill as viewed from space./ NASA Photo

The project is looking at two forms of oil. The first, emulsified oil, is an oil-water mixture produced by wave turbulence.  The oil doesn’t change chemically, but the emulsification produces a thicker, more viscous mixture.

“Because the emulsified oil is so much thicker, it becomes a much more difficult clean-up issue, especially if it is washed ashore,” said Skidaway Institute professor Richard Lee, the chief scientist on the project.

Lee and his team are exposing blue crabs and grass shrimp to emulsified oil in sediment and then watching to see how this affects their molting, which is the way the shrimp and crabs grow.

The second focus is on oil that has been treated with dispersants. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon spill, millions of gallons of chemical dispersants were sprayed over the surface of the Gulf to disperse the oil slick. These break the oil down into micro-droplets. Dispersed oil forms a underwater plume that can extend for many miles.

Richard Lee works with the tanks containing crabs and grass shrimp in his laboratory at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

In the laboratory, the researchers are adding emulsified oil into the tanks containing the crabs and also feeding the crabs squid that has been contaminated by the emulsified oil. Dispersed oil droplets are added to tanks containing embryos of crabs and shrimp.

“What we are trying to determine here is just how the exposure to dispersed or emulsified oil affects the growth and molting crabs and shrimp,” said Lee.

The scientists selected grass shrimp and blue crabs for the study because of the important places they occupy in the marine food web. Although grass shrimp are not typically harvested as a commercial product, they are abundant in salt marshes and estuaries, and are an important food source for many fish. Blue crabs are also a food source for many fish in addition to having value as a commercial catch.

The study is funded by a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Lee is working with research associate Karrie Bulski at Skidaway Institute. The team also includes Sook Chung from the institute of Marine and Environmental Technology at the University of Maryland, and Harriet Perry and Christopher Snyder from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.

Sook is looking at the crab and shrimp at a molecular level. “We believe that the genes that regulate molting will be affected, and the crab and shrimp will not molt properly,” said Lee. “Hormone regulation and its relationship to contaminant exposure is something we need to learn more about, and Dr. Sook carries out that kind of research.”

The researchers will also send tissue samples, primarily from the shrimp and crab’s endocrine organs, to another researcher, Anna Walker, at Mercer University School of Medicine to look for physiological or pathological changes.

Another major part of the project will be to explain the results of the study to the public, especially the fishermen whose livelihood depends on a healthy marine ecosystem.  A significant part of the grant, $80,000, is designated for the establishment and implementation of a Community Outreach for Accurate Science Translation teams in four communities along the north central Gulf of Mexico coast.

“This is primary role for the team from the University of Southern Mississippi,” said Lee. “They will develop public presentations on the project and the results to educate them on what this all means to them.”

The project will run through 2013.

Skidaway Institute crew wins top customer service award

The crew of Skidaway Institute of Oceanography’s Research Vessel Savannah has been honored with the Gold Award in the Chancellor’s Customer Service Recognition Awards. The crew won the award in the team category in a competition among all 36 institutions in the University System of Georgia for year ending June 30, 2012.

The crew of the R/V Savannah, (l-r) Chris Keene, John Bichy, Pete Casserleigh, Michael Richter, Raymond Sweatte and Richard Huguley.

The 92-foot, ocean-going R/V Savannah is used by scientists from Skidaway Institute as well as other institutions for oceanographic research in waters ranging from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Mexico.

The award was based on a survey of scientist-customers in which R/V Savannah crew received outstanding reviews. In the two key categories that dealt directly with the crew and their interaction with the science parties, the scientists rated the crew with an average of 4.97 on a scale of one to five.

The crew received the award in a ceremony at Clayton State University on October 4th. The team is led by Captain Raymond Sweatte, and includes First Mate Peter Casserleigh, Engineer Richard Huguley, Second Mate Chris Keene and Marine Technician John Bitchy. They are supported by Marine Superintendent Michael Richter.