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June 30, 2008

Highlights

A Special Tribute
On June 16, 2008, members of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences held a special event honoring the inaugural Director, J. Frederick Grassle. The event was well attended by members of the IMCS Advisory Board with Jack Mullen, Chair, as emcee, Phil Furmanski (Executive VP for Academic Affairs), Bob Goodman (Executive Dean, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences), faculty, staff, students and former students, as well as family, and friends. Fred Grassle was presented with resolutions from Hon. Jim Saxton, Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr., NY State Senator Owen Johnson, NJ State Senator Barbara Buono and NY Assemblymen Barnes and Diegnan, as well as a congratulatory letter from Governor Jon Corzine. The event was a truly wonderful tribute to Fred Grassle and his many achievements and accomplishments during his 19-year tenure as Director of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. (Pictures courtesy of Donglai Gong.)

• John Wilkin and Cisco Werner joined seven of their colleagues in Washington, DC, on June 5 to receive the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP <http://www.nopp.org> ) 2007 award for "Excellence in Partnering." The presentation was made by Sen. Bill Nelson during Capitol Hill Ocean Week <http://www.nmsfocean.org/chow2008> , a 3-day program coordinated by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The successful project, led by Dr. Eric Chassignet of Florida State University, involved 20 investigators from more than 10 academic, government, and private organizations in a 4-year project developing a global ocean data assimilation and prediction system using the HyCOM <http://hycom.org> ocean model.
• Mike Kennish received the "Guardian of Barnegat Bay Award" at the Barnegat Bay Festival on June 1, 2008. Program director, Stanton Hales, of the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program writes,"Mike's strongly held convictions about the Barnegat Bay and his tireless efforts to protect the entire watershed are well known to all of us. His unwavering commitment to the bay is clearly reflected through his research, participation in the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, and outreach efforts at the local level. Mike's efforts have helped create a greater public awareness about the bay and served as a catalyst for efforts to protect the watershed." To read the press release click here.
• The COOL Glider, RU-17 (aka Scarlet Knight) is in the news again. Read more about it's journey across the North Atlantic, and the students and researchers behind the project in an article by Kirk Moore, "Rutgers team launching new era in undersea study" which appeared in the June 2, 2008 issue of the Home News Tribune. http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806020332

The Delaware Estuary Living Shorelines Initiative (DELSI), a collaborative program led by Dave Bushek of Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory and Danielle Kreeger, Science Director for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, is engaged in researching the use of living shellfish reefs in the Delaware Bay to stabilize eroding shorelines. To read more about this program, click here for the June 5, 2008 article by Jean Jones of the Bridgeton News. Photo on the right shows one of the sites.

• Jim Miller gave an invited talk on The Impacts of Climate Change on New Jersey at Plansmart NJ’s Smart Growth Economy Project Conference Hyatt Hotel, New Brunswick, June 13, 2008.
• Max Gorbunov participated in a field campaign to assess the physiological state of coral reef communities off Miami coast (June 16-19). The field research is conducted in collaboration with the University of Miami as part of a SERDP (Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program) project aimed to develop novel technologies for monitoring and assessing of benthic ecosystems.
• On June 19th, Mike Kennish was interviewed by CBS TV in Philadelphia (WKYW TV-3) at Ventnor for the "Orr at the Shore" segment of the News. It deals with human impacts on the shore environment of NJ. To view interview, click on the following link http://cbs3.com/orrattheshore/kathy.orr.orr.2.752714.html
• Peter Rona reported multidisciplinary results of the ongoing , "Exploration of Hudson Submarine Canyon Off New York and New Jersey: A Dynamic Interface," by a Rutgers-NOAA National Undersea Research Center consortium to the Clean Air and Shore Trust (COAST) Committee on June 20th in New York.
• Jim Miller participated in a radio Forum on Delaware River Flooding for WJFF radio station, June 21, 2008.
• Mike Kennish has been invited to be the editor of Volume 8 of a 12-volume International Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science to be published by Elsevier Science in Oxford, England. Volume 8 will focus on anthropogenic effects on estuarine and coastal marine environments. The Editors-in-Chief of the 12-volume treatise are Donald McLusky of Stirling University in England and Eric Wolanski of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
• Liz Sikes participated on a cruise on the New Zealand oceanographic Research Vessel the R/V Tangaroa to the Chatham Rise. This was one of 2 cruises that were funded by NSF to study "Controls on Alkenone Temperature Estimates in Subtropical and Subpolar Waters," in collaboration with colleagues from NIWA, New Zealand and University of Hawaii. Primary objectives of the cruise were to recover two sediment trap moorings from the site, and to monitor water column productivity. Details of the cruise were posted on a weblog which can be accessed by clicking link: http://marine.rutgers.edu/%7Esikes/tangaroa-blog.html
• Anthony Broccoli gave a presentation "Energy Use and the Challenge of Global Climate Change," M&M Mars Sustainability Program, Rutgers EcoComplex, Columbus, NJ, June 2008.
• On June 10, 2008, Alan Robock appeared on the History Channel, Mega Disasters series, "Volcanic Winter."
• Alan Robock was quoted June 5, 2008, in Popular Mechanics article, ''Hacking Earth Against Warming, Scientists Favor Fake Volcanoes,'' by Bijal Trivedi, http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4267288.html?series=15

Meetings Attended

• Anthony Broccoli gave a presentation, "Response of Climate to Glacial Forcing in the GFDL CM2.1 Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Model" (poster), at the American Quaternary Association, 2008 Biennial Meeting, State College, PA, June 2008, with A. Wittenberg and M. Erb.
• John Reinfelder gave an invited talk, "Arsenic mobilization from black shale pyrites," at the ASM 108th General Meeting, Boston, MA, June 2008.
• At the 2008 AGU Joint Assembly held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, May 27-30, 2008, Alan Robock served as session chair for the "Charney Lecture: Another Inconvenient Truth-Even a Small Nuclear War Could Be Much Worse Than You Think," and the "Atmospheric Sciences Fellows Lectures." He also gave the presentation, " Incorporating Water Table Dynamics in Climate Modeling: Groundwater Influence on Coupled Land-Atmosphere Variability" along with Richard Anyah, Christopher P. Weaver, Gonzalo Miguez-Macho, and Ying Fan Reinfelder.

New Grants

• Able, K. NJ Marine Sciences Consortium, "Habitat Dynamics of Adult Winter Flounder: Connectivity Between Estuaries & Continental Shelf." 02/01/08 - 01/31/09, ($49,315)
• Bricelj, M. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "US-ECOHAB Understanding Shellfish Resistance Strategies." 05/09/08 - 04/30/09, ($70,300)
• Bricelj, M. University of Maine, "US-ECOHAB: Spread of a Sodium Channel Mutation in Softshell Clam, Mya arenaria, Populations." 03/01/08 - 08/31/08, ($101,187)
• Glenn, S. University of Washington, "Office of Naval Research Glider Consortium." ($50,000 addnl).
• Guo, X., Wang, X., DeBrosse, G., New Jersey Sea Grant, “Marker-assisted breeding technology for the eastern oyster.” 02/01/08 – 01/31/09 ($102,957, Year 1)
• Guo, X., Wang, Y., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant Oyster Disease Research Program (ODRP), “Validation of disease-resistance markers for marker-assisted selection in the eastern oyster.” 6/1/08 – 5/31/09 ($143,005 for Year 2)
• Guo, X., United States Department of Agriculture/Northeastern Regional Aguaculture Center (USDA/NRAC) via University of Rhode Island, “Development of JOD-resistant lines and markers for eastern oyster aquaculture.” 6/1/08 – 5/31/09, ($55,816)
• Haidvogel, D. National Science Foundation, "Collaborative Research: Field and Modeling Studies in Support of Understanding Disease Resistance (Research Experiences for Undergraduates Supplement)." ($14,000 addnl).
• Johnsen, G., M.A. Moline, J. Berge J., S,M. Glenn, O. Schofield, Norwegian Partnerships in Higher Education program Norway -North America 2008-2011, “Technology for marine monitoring and ocean observation” ($1,700,000 Norwegian Krona)
• McDonnell, J. University of Delaware, "COSEE NOW Community Center Project (MACOORA: Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association). 03/31/08 - 09/15/08, ($15,000)
• Metaxas, D., U. Kremer, P. Manish, H. Crawford, O. Schofield, S. Glenn, National Science Foundation, Computer Sciences Directorate, Major Research Infrastructure Development Grant 2008-2011 “Development of Next Generation Collaborative Underwater Robotic Instrumentation” ($2,000,000)
• Schofield, O., S.M. Glenn, D.G. Martininson, D. Steinberg, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 2008-2011, “From Microbes to Mammals: A Robotic Network to Study Climate Induced Changes in an Antarctic Marine Ecosystem” ($1,347,416)
• Sikes, E. National Science Foundation, " Radiocarbon content of the Southwest Pacific and Southern Ocean waters in the Holocene and late Quaternary" in collaboration with Drs. Thomas Guilderson and Mea Cook, UC Santa Cruz. (Total funds $ 556,848. Funds to Rutgers $296,926)
• Roarty, H. Clarkson University, "Texas HF Radar Project." 04/01/08 - 08/31/08, ($39,411)
• Rosenthal, Y. American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund, "Assessing the Potential of B/Ca in Planktonic Foraminifera as a Proxy of Seawater pH: A Sediment Trap." 07/01/08 - 08/31/10, ($99,563)
• Schofield, O. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Development of Fluorescence Induction & Relaxation Systems for the Measurement of Biomass." ($209,000 addnl).
• Schofield, O. Office of Naval Research, "Rapid Environmental Assessment Using an Integrated Coastal Ocean Observation & Modeling System." ($1,014,919 addnl)
• Schofield, O. Office of Naval Research, "Characterizing Continental Shelves with Satellites and Gliders." 04/14/08 - 08/14/09, ($351,089)

Publications

• Altieri, K.E., S.P. Seitzinger, A.G. Carlton, B.J. Turpin, G.C. Klein, and A.G. Marshall. 2008. Oligomers formed through in-cloud methylglyoxal reactions: Chemical composition, Properties, and mechanisms investigated by ultra-high resolution FT-ICR Mass Spectrometry. Atmospheric Environment, 42 (7), 1476-1490
• Glibert, P.M., R. Azanza, M. Burford, K. Furuya, E. Abal, A. Al-Azri, F. Al-Yamani, P. Andersen, D.M. Anderson, J. Beardall, G.M. Berg, L. Brand, D. Bronk, J. Brookes, J.M. Burkholder, A. Cembella, W.P. Cochlan, J.L. Collier, Y. Collos, R. Diaz, M. Doblin, T. Drennen, S. Dyhrman, Y. Fukuyo, M. Furnas, J. Galloway, E. Graneli, D.V. Ha, G. Hallegraeff, J. Harrison, P.J. Harrison, C.A. Heil, K. Heimann, R. Howarth, C. Jauzein, A.A. Kana, T.M. Kana, J. Kim, R. Kudela, C. Legrand, M. Mallin, M., Mulholland, S. Murray, J.O’Niel, G. Pitcher, Y. Qi, N. Rabalais, R. Raine, S. Seitzinger, P.S. Salomon, C. Solomon, D.K. Stoecker, G. Usup, J. Willson, K. Yin, M. Zhou, and M. Zhu. 2008. Ocean urea fertilization for carbon credits poses high ecological risks. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 56:1049-1056
• Mafra L. Jr., V.M. Bricelj, C. Ouellette, J.E. Ward, C. Léger, S.S. Bates, 2008. Feeding mechanisms contributing to low domoic acid uptake by oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries cells. I. Filtration and pseudofeces production. Aquatic Biol., in press.
• Mafra, L.L., V.M. Bricelj, J.E. Ward, 2008. Feeding mechanisms contributing to low domoic acid uptake by oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries cells. II. Selective rejection. Aquatic Biol., in press.
• Ohring, G., S. Cohen, J. Norris, A. Robock, Y. Rudich, M. Wild, and W. Wiscombe, 2008: Global dimming and brightening; International Workshop of the Israel Science Foundation on Global Dimming and Brightening; Ein Gedi, Israel, 10-14 February 2008. EOS, 89, 212.
• Rasch, P.J., S. Tilmes, R.P. Turco, A. Robock, L. Oman, C-C (Jack) Chen, G.L. Stenchikov, and R.R. Garcia, 2008: An overview of geoengineering of climate using stratospheric sulfate aerosols. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A., in press.
• Ramey, P.A. and E. Bodnar. 2008. Selection by a deposit feeding polychaete, Polygordius jouinae, for sands with relatively high organic content. Limnology and Oceanography, 53(4): 1512-1520.
• Robock, A., 2008: Geoengineering shouldn't distract from investing in emissions reduction. Bull. Atomic Scientists, Roundtable discussion, http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/has-the-time-come-geoengineering
• Robock, A., 2008: Whither geoengineering? Science, 320, 1166-1167.
• Robock, A., L. Oman, and G. Stenchikov, 2008: Regional climate responses to geoengineering with tropical and Arctic SO2 injections. J. Geophys. Res., in press.
• Rona, P.A. 2008, The changing vision of marine minerals, Ore Geology Reviews, volume 33, pages 618-666; doi:10.1016/j.oregeorev.2007.03.006.
• Seitzinger, S.P. 2008. Nitrogen Cycle: Out of Reach. Nature. 452:(7184):162 doi:10.1038/452162a
• Seitzinger, S.P. and E. Mayorga. 2008. Linking Watersheds to Coastal Systems: A Global Perspective on River Inputs of N, P and C. Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program Newsletter 1(1):8-11.
• Wang, H. and X. Guo. 2008. Identification of Crassostrea ariakensis and related oysters by multiplex species-specific PCR. J. Shellfish Res., 27(3):481-487.
• Wang, Y., X. Guo. 2008. Chromosomal mapping of major ribosomal RNA genes in the dwarf surfclam (Mulinia lateralis Say). Journal of Shellfish Research,
  27 (2):307-311.
• Wang, Y. and X. Guo. 2008. ITS length polymorphism in oysters and its potential use in species identification. J. Shellfish Res., 27(3):489-493.
• Wang, H., G. Zhang, X. Liu and X. Guo. 2008. Classification of common oysters from North China. J. Shellfish Res., 27(3):495-503.
• Wolheim, W.M., C.J. Vorosmarty, A.F. Bouwman, P. Green, J.A. Harrison, E. Linder, B.J. Peterson, S.P. Seitzinger, and J.P. M. Syvitski. 2008. Global N removal by freshwater aquatic systems using a spatially distributed, within-basin approach. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 22:
  GB2026-GB2040. doi: 10:10.1029/2007GB002963,2008.
• Vardi, A., K. Bidle, C. Kwityn, D.J. Hirsh, S.M. Thompson, J.A. Callow, P. Falkowski, C. Bowler. 2008. A diatom gene regulating Nitric-Oxide signaling and susceptibility to diatom-derived aldehydes. Current Biology 18: 1-5 DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2008.05.037

Student News

• On June 24, 2008, Ramya Ramadurai (GPO) successfully defended her master's thesis "Water Mass Classification using Band Ratios." Committee members were Scott Glenn and Oscar Schofield (advisors), and Jennifer Francis.
• Visiting Student Lisa Oswald is working in the lab of Liz Sikes, working up samples from their recent cruise. Lisa is visiting from the University of Hawaii where she is working on her masters with Dr. Brian Poppp.
• Anupreet Anand one our undergraduate Marine Science majors is spending the summer in the lab of Liz Sikes doing his lab practical work for the major. He his generating a record of sea surface temperature for the last 18,000 years from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Anupreet will be a senior this coming year.

Let's Welcome

• Dr. Takane Okimoto joined HSRL as a visiting scientist on June 4, 2008. Dr. Okimoto received her Ph.D. from Nagasaki University in Japan. She is currently a research scientist at Shimane University. She will be here for one year and working with Ximing Guo’s group on bivalve classification and population genetics.
• Dr. Hassan Moustahfid has joined IMCS as a Research Project Manager for The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) International Secretariat at Rutgers University. Dr. Moustahfid brings with him a lot of experience on data quality analysis, biogeography and taxonomy. Prior to joining OBIS, Dr. Moustahfid was a Research Associate at NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Woods Hole working on developing and evaluating multispecies and ecosystem models for the Northeast US continental shelf ecosystem (NEUS) and the Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM). He served as Fisheries Biologist at the Moroccan National Institute of Fisheries Research. While there he participated in several international projects, including the study of the pelagic ecosystem in Northwest Africa (1994-1999) led by The Russian Atlantic Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (AtlantNIRO), and the Nansen Program on Fisheries Management and Marine Environment (1998-2002) led by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in collaboration with the Food Agronomic Organization (FAO). He has participated in more than 20 research surveys on board US, Russian, Norwegian, French and Moroccan Research Vessels, conducting Oceanographic surveys and trawl-hydroacoustic surveys. He also has served as coordinator of the FAO working group on stock assessment and on shared stocks management. Dr. Moustahfid's work is in the field of biological and fisheries oceanography; multispecies and ecosystem Modeling; Fisheries hydro-acoustic; Marine acoustic telemetry; Trophic Ecology and Fisheries Management. He earned his M.S. in Fisheries Biology from Technical Institute of Fisheries Industry (Russia) and Ph.D. in Biology from Kaliningrad Technical State University. (Room 303A, ext. 305)
• Dr. V. Monica Bricelj, Research Professor: "I was Associate Professor at SUNY Stony Brook before leading the shellfish research program at the Institute for Marine Biosciences, National Research Council, Canada, from 1996 to 2008. My research focuses on shellfish biology and aquaculture, benthic ecology, and interactions between shellfisheries and phytoplankton, including harmful algae. I am interested in physiological, behavioral and biochemical adaptations of shellfish populations to environmental change. Work in my laboratory has identified algal diets with unique fatty acid profiles that greatly enhance growth of scallop larvae. We also investigated causes and mitigation of overwintering mortalities of hard clam seed. I currently have several interdisciplinary research projects from the NOAA-ECOHAB Program focusing on the impacts of brown tide and genetic adaptation to paralytic shellfish toxins. A collaborative effort with DFO, Canada, studies grazing mechanisms of oysters on domoic acid-producing diatoms, and evaluates the potential for management by species, aimed at reducing the economic impact of blanket harvesting closures. I am interested in management and enhancement of coastal shellfisheries, and the fate and metabolism of algal toxins of human health concern in marine food webs. I have also worked on predator-prey dynamics in eelgrass and have a continued interest in early life history and metamorphosis. I am a native of Argentina, and enjoy working in a multicultural setting; I carried out projects in Hong Kong, mainland China and France, and trained numerous international students. I enjoy world traveling, hiking, foreign languages, literature, photography, films from Antonioni to Scorsese, writing, and the visual arts. I also love to cook and have a special fondness for felines, both domestic and wild." (Old Blake room 101, 2-9709)