Featured Archive

May 2022 News at SoMAS

Photo above: The Friends of Flax Pond Walk, led by Steve Abrams, took place on Sunday May 1st. Congratulations to Kim Knoll, who has been awarded the Chancellor's Award in Professional Service for 2022. Everyone who works with Kim knows how deserving she is of this...

February 2022 SoMAS News

Here's the February News and Press Wrap-Up from SoMAS! Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Pochron, who has been promoted to Associate Professor of Practice at SoMAS! In the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, SoMAS student athlete Jessica Salmon has...

January 2022 News from SoMAS

Happy New Year and here's to a great start of the Spring 2022 Semester! Hopefully your recovery from the snow event over the weekend was successful. Atmospheric Science researchers spent most of the weekend collecting data at South P Lot and elsewhere as part of the...

September Research and Press at SoMAS

As the semester gets into full swing, here's the latest updates from SoMAS Faculty and Staff. Dr. Yong Chen has received a new award in the amount $417,022, for the period 9/1/2021 - 8/31/2023 in support of the project entitled "Evaluating Impacts of Changing Life...

SoMAS Faculty Release Long Island Water Quality App

How’s the water? – First-ever water quality app allows user to instantly know the status of any beach or water body across Long Island Southampton, NY, August 9th 2021- It’s summer and Long Islanders are enjoying beaches, swimming, fishing, and even clamming.  But how...

SoMAS Scientists Use New Method to Predict Precipitation Changes

Figure Above: This figure depicts summer and winter precipitation in East Asia based on a new mathematical method that reveals less precipitation increases in summer and larger ones in winter. Credit: Wengui Liang Scientists Use New Method to Predict Precipitation...

July News and Research Updates

Photo above: Kevin Reed discusses the impact of climate change on extreme weather events on "Doug To The Rescue." Here's the latest news and press from SoMAS for July! Congratulations to SoMAS PhD student Arlaine Sanchez for her "Tools of the Trade" article about...

Latest News and Press from SoMAS

Above: Indian Island off Hubbard Ave in Peconic Bay, Riverhead, NY. Photo by Kaitlin Morris. Catch the latest press featuring SoMAS faculty and staff! The Environmental Protection Agency recently granted SoMAS with an award in the amount $522,537 in support of the...

Harmful Brown Tide Erupts Across Great South Bay

Photo above: Brown tide in Patchogue on June 23, 2021 Stony Brook’s Gobler Laboratory monitoring the tide; newly spawned hard clams at risk STONY BROOK, NY, June 25, 2021 -- An intense and damaging brown tide has erupted across Great South Bay on the south shore of...

Machine Learning May Help Improve Long-Range Weather Forecasting

Photo above, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): MJOs are powerful tropical thunderstorm systems that move eastward, as depicted in this graphic, and affect global weather. STONY BROOK, NY, May 26, 2021 – The accuracy of weather...

News Roundup from SoMAS

Did you catch SoMAS in the News? Here's a few headlines featuring our students, faculty, and staff! Congratulations to Dr. Sara Hamideh, on her NSF CAREER Award, entitled "CAREER: Affordable Versus Vacation Housing Resilience: Mechanisms that Shape Housing...

Stephen Schwartz Receives International Aerosol Fellow Award

From Stephen Schwartz Receives International Aerosol Fellow Award by Joe Gettler in the Brookhaven National Lab Newsroom, November 4, 2020. Stephen Schwartz, a senior scientist emeritus at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and...

SoMAS Takes Flight to Measure Air Quality in the Arctic and NYC

Photo above: The ALAR aircraft, operated by Paul Shepson, is one plane that will be flown in Alaska during CHACHA research. Photo credit: The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research From SoMAS Takes Flight to Measure Air Quality in the Arctic and NYC on Stony...

SoMAS Expertise On Display During Shark Week

Lisa Crawford and members of the Frisk Lab join Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino at Tobay Beach. Photos by Meredith Whitten. The Lab of Dr. Michael Frisk attended a press conference in front of media on Wednesday August 12 in light of recent shark sightings...

SoMAS Study Projects More Intense Rain During Future Hurricanes

Photo Above: A visible image of Tropical Storm Cristobal on June 5 over the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas. New research suggests future storms that make landfall over eastern U.S. coasts may carry more intense rain totals per hour (credit: NASA Worldview) From...

SoMAS Researchers: Dissolved Oxygen and pH Policy Leave Fisheries at Risk

Photo above: Stony Brook’s Christopher Gobler is one of Long Island’s leading experts on water conservation. From Researchers: Dissolved Oxygen and pH Policy Leave Fisheries at Risk on Stony Brook University News, April 23, 2020 Stony Brook University’s Christopher J....

Substantial Natural History Collection Gifted to SoMAS

Photo above: the Research Vessel Seawolf conducting a cruise on the Hudson River. From Extraordinary Collection of Marine Specimens and Data Donated to University on SBU News, December 6, 2019 Gift provides a windfall of unpublished biological and water quality data...

NY Sea Grant Contributes to Marine Aquaculture Research Projects

Photo above: SBU’s Bassem Allam is the lead PI on a study of hard clams (photo by Bassem Allam); Inset photo: A worker at Norm Bloom & Son Oysters offloads shellfish harvested from the company’s beds in Norwalk, CT (photo by Judy Benson, Connecticut Sea Grant)....

Cell Chemistry Illuminated by Laser Light

Image above: Raman microspectroscopy helps researchers observe cell chemistry by focusing a laser beam on a spot within a cell and then capturing light emitted after interactions with cellular molecules, which produces a molecular fingerprint (Raman spectrum). From...

New Study Reveals Important yet Unprotected Global Ocean Areas

From New Study Reveals Important yet Unprotected Global Ocean Areas on Stony Brook News, October 25, 2019. The published findings may guide policymakers to increase MPAs STONY BROOK, NY, October 25, 2019 — The largest synthesis of important marine areas conducted to...

Ashley Schiff Nature Preserve Art Procession at Stony Brook University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  ART PROCESSION BY STONY BROOK UNIV. STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2nd, 2019  On October 2nd, Stony Brook University students will be celebrating the 50th ANNIVERSARY of the ASHLEY SCHIFF NATURE PRESERVE by gathering together to...

SoMAS Professor Named Interim Provost

From Minghua Zhang Named Interim Provost on Stony Brook News, July 31, 2019 Dr. Minghua Zhang has been appointed Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, effective 1 August 2019, Interim President Designate Michael A. Bernstein has announced....

SoMAS Alum Returns for Honorary Degree

Photo above:  Greg Marshall with his son and SoMAS Faculty and Staff in 2017. From "Stony Brook to Award Honorary Degrees to Diverse Trio of Trailblazers" on Stony Brook News, April 29, 2019. STONY BROOK, New York–April 29, 2019–-Stony Brook University will award an...

Sea Gates Save Lives And Protect Property From Devastation

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT BY THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY STORM SURGE WORKING GROUP School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University Hurricane Florence is another wake up call for the New York-New Jersey-Long Island region. Six...

SoMAS Study Shows Threatened Sharks Still Common in Fin Trade

Photo above: These are randomly selected shark fin scraps derived from fin processing being prepared for DNA testing in the laboratory. This step is essential in order to determine if the fin parts are CITES listed endangered species. Credit Diego Cardeñosa From Study...

Scientists Explore New Experimental Model Systems to Advance Biology

Photo above: Marine protists known as thraustochytrids produce carotenoids, which are responsible for giving them a yellow to orange color. Carotenoids are essential nutrients for animals, and of biotechnological interest for several applications. EMS scientists are...

eDNA Analysis: A key to Uncovering Rare Marine Species

A pod of killer whales, an endangered species, swims near Seattle. By using eDNA from seawater samples, marine biologists can often detect rare species like the killer whale without seeing them. (Credit: C. Emmons, NOAA Fisheries) From eDNA Analysis: A key to...

SoMAS Professor Analyzes Storm Damage on North Shore

Photo above by R. Lawrence Swanson: An eroding bluff at Long Beach has been stabilized by constructing a stone seawall at the bluff’s base. The bluff has been terraced to capture material that rolls down from the top and can be planted with vegetation that will help...

Archive of Featured Press Releases

Team of Researchers Find Evidence of Fire in Antarctic Ice
Concentrations of CO isotopes reveal surprising pattern of biomass burning in the Southern Hemisphere over the past 650 years.

First Multi-year Nearshore Survey of Antarctic Krill Reveals High Density, Stable Population in Shallow, Coastal Waters
Small boat acoustic sampling augments larger vessel surveys and could impact krill fishery management.

Book Provides First Comprehensive Synthesis of Trophic Cascades
Scientific evidence presented indicates top-down regulation by predators operates in most ecosystems.

Stony Brook University to Offer New Master of Arts Program in Marine Conservation and Policy Beginning in Fall 2010
Interdisciplinary program will prepare students for careers protecting the ocean and its inhabitants.

Proposed Wind Power Grid To Make Offshore Wind Power More Reliable
The energy needs of the entire human population could potentially be met by converting wind energy to electricity by means of wind turbines.

The Institute For Ocean Conservation Science Applauds IUCN’S Reclassification Of Beluga Sturgeon As “Critically Endangered”
The world’s largest global environmental network announces that more sturgeon species are critically endangered than any other comprehensively assessed group of species.

New Research Shows Fishery Management Practices for Beluga Sturgeon Must Change
A first-of-its-kind study of a Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) fishery demonstrates current harvest rates are four to five times higher than those that would sustain population abundance.

Study of Shark Virgin Birth Shows Offspring Can Survive Long Term
Shark pups born to virgin mothers can survive over the long-term, according to new research published Jan. 25, 2010 in the Journal of Heredity. The study shows for the first time that some virgin births can result in viable offspring.

Scientists Trace Shark Fins Back to their Geographic Origin for the First Time using DNA Detective Work
These breakthrough findings provide strong evidence for enacting international trade protection for hammerhead sharks at the March 2010 CITES meeting in Qatar

Ocean Acidification May Contribute To Global Shellfish Decline
Stony Brook University researchers find elevated carbon dioxide concentrations impede growth and survival of bivalve larvae

Rip Currents Pose Greater Risk To Swimmers Than To Shoreline
Long term monitoring by Stony Brook University researchers finds rip currents are frequent but short-lived at East Hampton Village Beach

International Fisheries Task Force to Meet in Portland, ME, to Develop Smart Management Plans for Forage Fish, a Growing Target of Commercial Fishing Operations
“Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force” working to ensure that forage fish populations continue to flourish; excessive removal can imperil marine food web

Stony Brook University Announces Formal Partnerships With Atlantis Marine World And The Riverhead Foundation
SBU’s SoMAS joins ranks of major universities collaborating with regional aquariums and preservation foundations to advance marine research and education

Scientists Shed New Light On Behavior Of Shark “Tweens” And “Teenagers”
Study May Prove Useful in Conservation Efforts for Over-Fished Sharks

Researchers At Stony Brook University Show Warmer Environment Means Shorter Lives For Cold-Blooded Animals
Temperature explains much of the geographic variation in lifespan within species

Little-Known Marine Decomposers Attract The Attention Of Genome Sequencers
The Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) announced today that they will sequence the genomes of four species of labyrinthulomycetes

Connecting Delta Cities: International Workshop Focuses on Strategies for Adapting and Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change on Coastal Cities at Stony Brook Manhattan
Policy makers and environmental, planning, and engineering experts from around the world convene to compare and assess the mitigation and adaptation policies of three major world coastal cities, each with a Dutch heritage: Rotterdam, Jakarta, and New York City

Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force Launched
Expert team of international scientists is devising solutions for sustainably managing these small prey fish; overexploitation and inadequate management is threatening the marine food web

Jack Macrae and Paula Cooper Donate Forge River Property in Support of SoMAS
The gift will be used to further understanding of the Forge River and other systems like it in the region and around the world

“Undesirable” Evolution Can be Reversed in Fish, Stony Brook University Scientists Show
In an intriguing 21st century example of Darwinism, researchers demonstrate that fish will again grow to larger sizes and produce more young when size-selective fishing is eased

Study: Foraging Behavior Of Key Antarctic Predators Unchanged After Storms That Alter Prey Distribution
Eating Habits Hard to Break for Penguins and Fur Seals

Scientists Confirm Second-Ever Case Of Virgin Birth By Shark
“Tidbit,” the blacktip shark, lived for eight years in a Virginia Aquarium tank where there had been no male blacktips

A third of the world’s marine fish catches are used for animal feed, squandering a precious food resource for humans, research finds
Comprehensive study in upcoming Annual Review of Environment and Resources urges that alternative foods for farmed animals be found.

The New York Marine Sciences Consortium Founded At Event Hosted By Stony Brook University
New York colleges, universities, and degree-granting institutions with interests in marine and coastal science research and education created a new platform for collaboration and advocacy

New Institute For Ocean Conservation Science At SBU To Tackle Pressing Threats To Marine Ecosystem
Institute to investigate and pursue solutions to some of the most complex issues facing waters in New York State, the nation, and the world

Timing is everything: How vulnerable to flooding is New York City?
SBU researchers show how advances in high-resolution modeling will help improve storm surge forecasts.