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July 31, 2008

Highlights

The Mid-Atlantic Bight National Undersea Research Program at Rutgers has been conducting pilot projects with the REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle in cooperation with federal, state and academic investigators. Recent missions demonstrated the utility of the AUV to provide information to the National Marine Fisheries Services, resource management groups, and the scientific community. These projects include:

Telemetering Atlantic Sturgeon,/ Acipenser oxyrhynchus,/ in the Norrie Point – Hyde Park section of the Hudson River Valley, by merging REMUS and Lotek hydrophone technology. This work included the application of the side scan capabilities of REMUS to characterize habitat utilized by the sturgeon. Tom Grothues, Joe Dobarro, and Jessica Hoffman, a RIOS student, provided the field support for this project in collaboration with personnel from the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The REMUS, configured with a hydrophone nose cone, detected and mapped acoustically tagged sturgeon in several regions of the project area. This project demonstrated the feasibility of using an independent, mobile platform to detect, track, and identifying preferential habitat for finfish. It is also marked the first time that an AUV may have been used in this capacity.

In collaboration with scientists and geologists from Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina and with the support of the South Carolina Sea Grant Program, MAB NURP personnel deployed the REMUS vehicle to map hypoxic developments and potential ground water seepage areas along the northern coast of South Carolina. This effort supported long-term efforts by Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina Sea Grant, and the University of South Carolina to understand marine and terrestrial processes contributing to low dissolved oxygen events occurring with greater frequency along the Carolina coast. During a nearly ten hour mission, REMUS profiled the water column collecting in excess of 33,700 water quality, bathymetric, and current descriptor measurements, as well as, bottom side scan imagery along the vehicle’s 56 km (32 miles) mission path.

Working with members of the New Jersey Sea Scallop Industry and other investigators, MAB NURP personnel have been testing the efficacy of using an AUV, i.e., REMUS, and side scan technology for assessing sea scallop stock distribution, relative abundance, and habitat characterization in a commercially productive fishing area off of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. To improve upon existing capability, MAB NURP personnel will be investigating the applicability of integrating adaptive technologies, such as a rapid fire camera system, to enhance the REMUS vehicle’s capacity of bathymetric mapping and (fishery) stock assessment.
 
On July 11, 2008, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ honored Stacy Hagan with a reception at the Rutgers University Marine Field Station in Tuckerton (RUMFS). Stacy was awarded posthumously, the 2008 Women & Wildlife Award, in recognition of her "leadership as a marine scientist and a mentor for women for nearly two decades." Stacy's award was a framed print of a mummichog, the subject of much of her research. To read the story by Patricia Shapella, click on link http://conservewildlifenj.org/explorations/summer08/reception.html or click here.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey's reception honoring Stacy Moore Hagan. Margaret O'Gorman, Exec. Dir. of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, presents award to Roland Hagan Lisa Auermuller reads from Stacy's journal entries to illustrate her strength of character. Roland and Marilyn DiGiacobbe (far rt) of Richard Stockton College of NJ Foundation, introduces Jamie Caridad (ctr), first recipient of Stacy Moore Hagan Memorial Scholarship. (Lt to rt) Ken Able; Roland, Ryland and Rutger Hagan; Lisa Auermuller; and Margaret O'Gorman.
Pictures courtesy of Patricia Shapella, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ
On June 1, 2008, Jaime Caridad joined the Tuckerton Lab at RUMFS as a summer intern. Jaime was the recipient of the first Stacy Moore Hagan Scholarship from the Stockton College Foundation. Her experience at RUMFS included sampling, seining for Hogchokers, as well as interacting with the Girl Scouts. This experience proved to be invaluable. Upon completion of her internship, Jaime chose to continue on at RUMFS and transitioned to the position of marine field technician.

Donations to the Stacy Moore Hagan Scholarship, to help fund an annual internship at RUMFS for Future Marine Scientists, are welcome and very much appreciated. For more information go to www.caringbridge.org/nj/stacyhagan

  • Allison Franzese, Christine Theodore, Tali Babila, Paul Field, Silke Severmann and Rob Sherrell, members of the inorganic chemistry group, participated in the first Geotraces Intercalibration Cruise on the R/V Knorr, for which Rob was a co-PI. You can get more info from Rob (or Christine) or at http://www.geotraces.org/.
  • Ken Able is quoted in the 7/22/08 New York Times on the presence of an increasing number of jellyfish in the region. To read the story by Nate Schweber and Sharon Otterman go to http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/nyregion/22jellyfish.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=jellyfish+&st=nyt&oref=slogin
  • On July 22, 2008, a news story about the Rutgers' gliders appeared on TVE Internacional. The channel is carried by the Spanish-language tier of
    DirecTV and by some Time Warner cable systems around the U.S. To view the story by Rosa Mollo, click on http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20080722/robot-estudiara-calidad-del-agua-del-oceano-atlantico/228802.shtml?s1=noticias&s2=&s3=
  • Follow the journey of the RU glider "Scarlet Knight " by going on the new Scarlet Knight webpage http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/atlantic/
  • Thomas Grothues, Assistant Research Professor at the Rutgers University Marine Field Station, and REMUS are in the news! "Fishing for a dead zone" by Robert Morris of MyrtleBeachOnline.com and "Underwater robots search for answers to save marine life" by Rashad Midani of WBTW News 13 report on the use of REMUS to dissect a low oxygen zone off the South Carolina coast. The work was funded by South Carolina Sea Grant and the National Undersea Research Program (NURP).
  • Alan Robock gave the following presentations:
    • June 13, 2008 on "Climatic consequences of nuclear conflict," to U.S. House of Representatives Congressional staff, sponsored by AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy
    • June 17, 2008 on "Climatic consequences of nuclear conflict," Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
    • July 2, 2008, lecture on global warming to SEBS Educational Opportunity Fund-Office of Special Programs Summer Institute 2008, to about 70 students

Meetings Attended

  • Allison Franzese served as a co-chair for Session 17f: Geochemical Tracers of Past Ocean Circulation at the 18th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Goldschmidt 2008 - "from Sea to Sky" held in Vancouver, Canada. Allison also presented a poster entitled "Strontium isotopes in detrital sediments constrain the glacial position of the Agulhas Retroflection" with S.R. Hemming and S.L. Goldstein.

New Grants

  • Able, K. Stockton State College, "Is the Presence of the Invasive Swim-Bladder Parasite Anguillicola Crassus Influencing Eel Recruitment?" 02/01/08-01/31/09, ($11,655)
  • Curchitser, E. North Pacific Research Board, "Recruitment Mechanism for Tanner Crabs in the Easter Bering Sea." 08/01/08-08/31/10, ($69,916)

Publications

  • Castelao, R., O. Schofield, S. Glenn, R. Chant, and J. Kohut. 2008. Cross-shelf transport of freshwater on the New Jersey shelf, Journal Geophysical Research, 113, C07017, doi:10.1029/2007JC004241.
  • Geyer, W.R., R. Chant, and R. Houghton. 2008. Tidal and spring-neap variations in horizontal dispersion in a partially mixed estuary, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C07023, doi:10.1029/2007JC004644.
  • Haag, S.M., M.J. Kennish, and G.P. Sakowicz. 2008. Seagrass habitat characterization in estuarine waters of the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve using underwater videographic imaging techniques. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 55:171-185.
  • Hagan, S.M. and K.W. Able. 2008. Diel variation in the pelagic fish assemblage in a temperate estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 31:33-42.
  • Kennish, M.J. 2008. Research and monitoring in a nationally integrated network of NERRS sites. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 55:236-239.
  • Kennish, M.J. (editor). 2008. Research and monitoring of NERRS aquatic ecosystems. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 55, 240 pp.
  • Kennish, M.J., S.M. Haag, and G.P. Sakowicz. 2008. Seagrass demographic and spatial habitat characterization in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, using fixed transects. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 55:148-170.
  • Mills, H. J., E. Hunter, M. Humphrys, L. Kerkhof, L.. McGuinness, M. Huettel, J.E. Kostka. 2008. Characterization of nitrifying, denitrifying, and overall bacterial communities in permeable marine sediments of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Applied and Environmental Biology. doi:10.1128/AEM.02692-07 74(14): 4440-4453.
  • Mills, K., M.J. Kennish, and K.A. Moore. 2008. Research and monitoring components of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 55:1-8.
  • Nelson, J.D., S.E. Boehme, C.E. Reimers, R.M. Sherrell, L.J. Kerkhof. 2008. Temporal patterns of microbial community structure in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. FEMs Microbial Ecology. DOI:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00553.
  • Robock, A. 2008: Climate effects of nuclear war. Chapter 3.4 in Global Politics in a Changing World, Fourth Edition, Richard W. Mansbach and Edward Rhodes, Eds., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 96-99.
  • Robock, A. 2008. The value of thoroughly evaluating geoengineering schemes. Bull. Atomic Scientists, Roundtable discussion, http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/has-the-time-come-geoengineering
  • Rona, P. 2008. The changing vision of marine minerals. Oregeology Reviews 33: 618-666.
  • Sackett, D.K., K.W. Able and T.M. Grothues. 2008. Habitat dynamics of summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, within a shallow USA estuary, based on multiple approaches using acoustic telemetry. Marine Ecology Progress Series 364:199-212.
  • Subramaniam, A., P.L. Yager, E.J. Carpenter, C.Mahaffey, K. Bjorkman, S. Cooley, A.B. Kustka, J.P. Montoya, S.A. Sanudo-Wilhelmy, R. Shipe, D.G. Capone. 2008. Amazon river enhances diazotrophy and carbon sequestration in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences. 105(30): 10460-10465.
  • Wuenschel, M.J. and K.W. Able. 2008. Swimming ability of eels (Anguilla rostrata, Conger oceanicus) at estuarine ingress: contrasting patterns of cross-shelf transport? Marine Biology 154:775-786.

Student News

  • On August 1, 2008, Alex Kahl (Graduate Program in Oceanography) successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation, “Phytoplankton Physiology and Export Flux.” Committee members were Oscar Schofield (advisor), Paul Falkowski, Bob Chant, Richard Ludescher, Zoe Finkel(Mount Allison University), and Hans Dam (University of Connecticut).
  • Matt Oliver, former Ph.D. student of Oscar Schofield and currently at the University of Delaware, was awarded the NASA New Investigator Award in Earth Science. Congratulations Matt! To learn more, click here or on link http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2009/jul/nasa070208.html
  • Lora Smith (John Reinfelder, advisor) successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, "Land-Atmosphere Exchange of Mercury in Temperate Wetlands" on July 2, 2008. She will begin work at EPA Region II in New York in August.
  • Graduate student Ben Kravitz (Alan Robock, advisor) attended the Advanced Study Program Summer Colloquium on Numerical Techniques for Global Atmospheric Models at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, June 1-13, 2008. For a photo of the attendees, see http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cms/pel/asp2008/group_photo.jpg
    Ben was admitted to this competitive program and all his expenses were paid.
RIOS Summer Interns, 2008

(Back, lf to rt) Lindsay d'Ambrosio (Ammerman), Caitlin Kennedy (Albe/Grothues), Andrea Zasoski (Ramey, J. Grassle), Jessica Lynn Hoffman (Able), Madeline Schroth-Miller (Chant/Ramey), Olga Korenovska (Bidle), Brian Reckenbeil (Able/Grothues), Jessica Kurth (Kennish), Eric Vowinkel (Glenn), and Phyllis Ko (Seitzinger/Altieri/Perri), (Bottom, lt to rt) Frances Buderman (Taghon), Amanda Devillers (Taghon). Absent from photo are Alex Pogue (Albe/Grothues), and Chris Huch (Kennish).
 
2008 Summer RIOS Poster Presentation and Contest
  
 
Pictures courtesy of Igor Heifetz
Madeline Schroth-Miller (Ctr), Winner of the 2008 Summer RIOS Poster Presentation and Contest
  

This year’s internship program (June 1-August 8) offered a summer research experience to 14 students who were the successful applicants from colleges and universities all over the USA. After a shared field experience at the Rutgers University Marine Field Station at Tuckerton in the first week, the students worked with individual research mentors on their own projects and presented their results to the IMCS and wider community in a poster session on August 8. All of these posters can be viewed at the RIOS website http://marine.rutgers.edu/rios/students.htm. In the poster contest (the judges were John Dighton, Janice McDonnell, and Karl Nordstrom) the winner was Maddie Schroth-Miller, California Polytechnic State University, who was mentored by Patricia Ramey and Bob Chant. Her poster was titled “Long-term variability in surfclam recruitment in relation to climate and local physical factors”. The runner-up was Franny Buderman, Cornell University, for her study titled “Effect of pier shading on prey fish in the Hudson River, using dual frequency identification sonar”. Franny’s mentors were Motz Grothues and Ken Able. The winning poster will be presented by Maddie Schroth-Miller at the AGU meeting in San Francisco in December, 2008. The RIOS program is largely supported by an REU grant from the National Science Foundation (Gary Taghon and Ken Able, Co-PIs), with additional support from NOAA and IMCS. Thanks are due to the RIOS students and their research mentors, the two teaching mentors (Joan Pravatiner and Kristen Ross), and the IMCS staff who contributed to an exciting and fruitful summer.

Let's Welcome

  • Dr.Trond Kristiansen is currently a visiting scholar at IMCS, as part of his Post-Doc at the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen in Norway. He recently moved to Rutgers after working one year as a Post-Doc with Dr. Werner in North Carolina. His work focuses on the use of coupled physical and biological models in fisheries oceanography. He uses an individual-based model coupled with the ROMS model to explore and understand the various mechanisms that determine successful growth and survival through the early pelagic life stages of Atlantic cod. This model system enables them to model larval feeding, growth, behavior, dispersal, and survival, under various environmental settings at the spawning and nursery grounds along the coast of northern Norway and at Georges Bank on the eastern coast of USA. (Old Blake room 103)
  • Dr Silke Severmann joined the faculty of IMCS as Assistant Professor this summer. Her position is jointly with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Silke received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the School of Ocean and Earth Science at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK, where she studied Mediterranean sapropels as well as hydrothermal metalliferous deposits from the mid-Atlantic ridge. Following a postdoc in the Department of Geology & Geophysics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, her most recent appointment was as a Research Associate in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California - Riverside. Silke's research interests are in the cycling of metals, nutrients, carbon and sulfur as they relate to the Earth's biogeochemical evolution. To this effect she studies chemical and isotopic tracers in the ocean, lakes and rivers to gain a better understanding how the interactions between physical, chemical and biological processes are recorded in modern sediments and ancient sedimentary rocks. In particular, Silke has made significant contributions to the development of "heavy" stable isotopes, such as Fe and Mo, as new paleo-proxies. The development of a diverse range of paleo-proxies and their ground-truthing in appropriate modern is key to unravelling the geological record of the evolving ocean and atmosphere, and the early evolution of life.
    The metallic blue 1968 VW bug, which you will occasionally see in the parking lot, came all the way from California with her, and if you can teach her how to do a proper tuning, feel free to contact her in room 305A or extension 236.