March 2024 News from SoMAS

Mar 29, 2024

Poster session at the SoMAS Graduate Recruitment Event

Photo above: Poster session at the SoMAS Graduate Recruitment Event on March 8, 2024

We received news that Dr. Frank Roethel passed away on the morning of March 26 surrounded by his family. Frank was one of the first MSRC (now SoMAS) PhD graduates, earning his PhD in 1981, and has been an integral part of MSRC/SoMAS ever since. He was instrumental in the construction of the Boathouse built out of incinerated municipal solid waste concrete blocks. Frank served as the director of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute from 2020-2024. He was an active member of the steering committee for the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Scholarship Fund, SoMAS’s longest running scholarship.

Beyond that, Frank will be remembered for his gregarious nature and his commitment to laughter in the face of any challenge. He was also a dedicated volunteer firefighter for the Selden Fire Department. He will be sorely missed. Details about the memorial service for Frank is available here: https://www.giovefuneralhome.com/memorials/frank-roethel/5402067/index.php

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Duke Lecture Hall for the panel discussion and film screening of Anne Belle’s 1976 film “Baymen: Our Waters Are Dying.” An original reel of the film was donated to SoMAS by Donna Burrell, whose father was the president of the Bayman Association at the time the documentary was made. The panel discussion after the film featured SoMAS Faculty, former Southampton students, Baymen, and Southampton Trustees. The panel discussion is available on YouTube and the film is also available on our YouTube channel.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Graduate Student Recruitment Event on March 8, 2024 a success! Photos from the poster session taken by Ginny Clancy are available on Google Photos.

 

Research Looks at Climate Change’s Influence on the Sound’s Fish Populations

Robyn Linner, a PhD candidate at Stony Brook University working with Dr. Yong Chen, Professor of Marine Sciences, and a bi-state team of marine scientists and resource managers in developing habitat suitability indices (HSIs), which will analyze a variety of environmental factors to determine ideal habitat conditions for various  cold- and warm-adapted species in Long Island Sound.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped make Stony Brook University’s Annual Giving Day on March 27 a success! We appreciate your support of the SoMAS Total Immersion Scholarship and the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology!

 

Dr. David Taylor was featured in the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment’s Spotlight Episode 4, “Ecologies of Place and Resilience“.

 

Dr. Laura Wehrmann and co-PI Dr. Bob Aller have received a new award from NSF, titled “Reverse and Submarine Weathering in Glacially Influenced Arctic Fjord”, with a total award amount of $656,302, for the project period 2/1/24 – 1/31/27

Over long time scales, the inputs of major and minor elements to the ocean by rivers and hydrothermal vents has to be balanced by removal mechanisms of these elements in the marine realm in order for ocean chemistry to remain relatively constant. A long-debated process that sequesters elements in ocean seafloor sediments and affects seawater pH is reverse weathering which involves the transformation of biogenic silica, such as diatom frustules, to new silicate (clay) minerals. Many aspects of this process still remain unknown, such as reaction rates and products, and global distribution. Previous studies of this process have focused mainly on tropical coastal ocean systems. Coastal polar regions, including glacially influenced fjords, likely represent another hotspot of reverse weathering because they receive high inputs of key “ingredients”: biogenic silica and reactive iron and aluminum oxide minerals. At the same time, climate change drives the retreat of Arctic glaciers and is expected to strongly modify sediment delivery to and carbon cycling in these fjords. This project will fill key gaps in our knowledge of the pathways and products of the reactions involving silicate minerals in sediments and the impacts of these processes on the removal of dissolved ions from seawater in glacially influenced fjords. We will collect sediment samples for this project from Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, and analyze them using a range of geochemical techniques. Additionally, we will carry out incubation studies using diatom frustules and fjord sediments. The outcomes of this study will help accurately constrain the possible impacts that climate change in rapidly changing Arctic coastal environments has on larger scale oceanic processes and construct predictive models of elemental cycling and biogeochemical responses in the future ocean.

 

Dr. Charlie Flagg has received a new award from U. Delaware/MARACOOS, in support of the project “MARACOOS (Mid-Atlantic IOOS): Powering Understanding and Prediction of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, Coast, and Estuaries”, in the amount $294,990, for the project period 12/1/23 – 7/31/24.

This is the first stage of a long-term project with the Middle Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) for which we will be purchasing a Webb Research Slocum G3s ocean glider. This glider will be used to advance MARACOOS observations of continental shelf hydrographic conditions to document regional climate changes. It is expected that in the future the glider will be deployed one or more times a year to assist in these efforts. However, this initial grant which will extend to July 31, 2024 and is intended solely for the purchase of this glider.

 

Dr. Zhien Wang has received a new award from JPL, in support of the project “CloudSat Level 2 Standard Products (2B-CLDCLASS, 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR, 2C-ICE) and Lidar-Aux product Improvement and operational support.”, on the amount $300,000, for the period 10/05/23 – 9/30/24.

CloudSat, carrying a cloud profiling radar (CPR), and CALIPSO, carrying an aerosol/cloud profiling lidar, satellites were successfully launched in 2006. Our team developed and maintained the CloudSat level 2 standard products to characterize cloud type, phase, and ice microphysical properties by using CPR only measurements (2B-CLDCLASS) or combined CPR and lidar measurements (2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR and 2C-ICE). These products are widely used for global atmospheric researchers, and we provide continuing user supports for these level-2 standard products. After 16 years of successful operations of CloudSat and CALIPSO satellite, the mission is ending, and we are working to have final algorithm improvements to release the final version data products within the two years.

 

Arctic Stories is a website that came about as a result of the friendship between three people – Peter Lourie, Paul and Jody Shepson. Their passionate concern about climate change and love for the natural environment, and a grant from the NSF to Paul, created the opportunity to capture, in the form of “Video Storytelling,” the voices of the Arctic, and the scientists who study it. Visit the recently updated website to dive in to the collection!

The site features a range of videos about the Arctic environment, how it is changing, how it is being studied, what the impacts might be, and most importantly, what life in this beautiful part of the planet is all about. Peter started taking photos for his nonfiction children’s books and gradually got interested in multimedia projects. Working with an atmospheric chemist like Dr. Shepson, now at Stony Brook University, while in the Arctic, presented many wonderful opportunities to capture a special people in a magic environment. The videos were produced by Peter in 2004, and the site now includes new follow up interviews created between 2022 and 2024.

Through interviewing residents and scientists in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, Paul Shepson and Pete Lourie have discovered a unique and close-knit community in the Arctic, characterized by a strong sense of connectedness and support. This experience allowed them to appreciate the richness of human connection, which they believe is often overshadowed by the distractions of the modern world such as information overload. Witnessing an indigenous Arctic community’s positive outlook despite the challenges they face, Paul and Pete are deeply moved and inspired to share their stories and promote the importance of community and positivity.

SoMAS Job Postings:

 

SBU News Features

Latest Seminar Videos

 

Latest Publications

Huelat, B. J. & Pochron, S. (2023). Taming the Chaos of Dementia: A Caregiver’s Guide to Interventions That Make a Difference. Rowman & Littlefield.

Willse, N., Ober, C., Chang, H. Y., Harlisa, H., Ernawati, T., Kembaren, D. D., … Chen, Y., & Kleisner, K. M. (2024). Linking crustacean life history to fishery management controls and reference points. Fisheries Management and Ecology, e12691.

Donovan, D. P., Kollias, P., Velázquez Blázquez, A., & van Zadelhoff, G. J. (2023). The generation of EarthCARE L1 test data sets using atmospheric model data sets. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 16(21), 5327-5356.

Gutiérrez-Ariza, C., Barge, L. M., Ding, Y., Cardoso, S. S., McGlynn, S. E., Nakamura, R., … Price, R. E., … & Cartwright, J. H. (2024). Magnesium silicate chimneys at the Strytan hydrothermal field, Iceland, as analogues for prebiotic chemistry at alkaline submarine hydrothermal vents on the early Earth. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, 11(1), 1-15.

Ghanbari, M., Dell, T., Saleh, F., Chen, Z., Cherrier, J., Colle, B., … & Arabi, M. (2024). Compounding effects of changing sea level and rainfall regimes on pluvial flooding in New York City. Natural Hazards, 1-24.

Steinke, J., Coletti, A., & Gilbert, C. (2024). # WomenInSTEM: exploring self-presentation of identity on Instagram. Journal of Science Communication, 23(1), A03.

Herman, R. W., Clucas, G., Younger, J., Bates, J., Robinson, B., Reddy, S., … & Lynch, H. J. (2024). Whole genome sequencing reveals stepping‐stone dispersal buffered against founder effects in a range expanding seabird. Molecular Ecology, e17282.

Motlagh, F., Hamideh, S., Gallagher, M., Yan, G., & van de Lindt, J. W. (2024). Bonds for disaster resilience: A review of literature and practice. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 104, 104318. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJDRR.2024.104318

Gallagher, K. L., Cimino, M. A., Dinniman, M. S., & Lynch, H. J. (2024). Quantifying potential marine debris sources and potential threats to penguins on the West Antarctic Peninsula. Environmental Pollution, 123714.

Zhang, W., Griffies, S. M., Hallberg, R. W., Kuo, Y. H., & Wolfe, C. L. (2024). The role of surface potential vorticity in the vertical structure of mesoscale eddies in wind-driven ocean circulations. Journal of Physical Oceanography.

Silvers, L. G., Stansfield, A. M., & Reed, K. A. (2024). The impact of rotation on tropical climate, the hydrologic cycle, and climate sensitivity. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(5), e2023GL105850.

Wang, W., van de Lindt, J. W., Hamideh, S., & Sutley, E. (2023). The life-cycle of a community for physical-social interdependent resilience impacted by policy decisions following tornado hazards. In Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems (pp. 303-310). CRC Press.

Lotfikatouli, S., Pan, Q., Wang, M., Russo, F. M., Gobler, C. J., & Mao, X. (2024). Effective nitrogen removal from onsite wastewater using a sequencing aerated biofilm reactor. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 60, 105132.

Knopf, D. A., Ammann, M., Berkemeier, T., Pöschl, U., and Shiraiwa, M. (2024) Desorption lifetimes and activation energies influencing gas–surface interactions and multiphase chemical kinetics, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3445–3528, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3445-2024, 2024.

Cohen AB, Christensen LN, Weber F, Yagudaeva M, Lo E, Henkes GA, McCormick ML, & Taylor GT (2024). Preserved particulate organic carbon is likely derived from the subsurface sulfidic photic zone of the Proterozoic Ocean: evidence from a modern, oxygen-deficient lake. Geobiology, 22, e12593. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12593

 

 

Latest Press Headlines

Atmospheric System Research News: Zhien Wang: We Need the Next Generation of Scientists to Innovate and Discover

  • Zhien Wang speaks softly and smiles kindly as he describes his research and speaks about the people who have touched his career. The professor and Empire Innovation Scholar at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences is widely known for his expertise in atmospheric remote sensing, cloud physics, aerosol and cloud distributions, airborne Raman lidars, and instrument engineering.

Newsday: Leaving Long Island, wind farms, Nassau University Medical Center financial woes

  • Op-ed written by Richard Murdocco, Commack, the writer is an adjunct professor in Stony Brook University’s public policy master’s program.

Environmental News Network: UW Researcher Studies Possible Effects of Cold Air Outbreaks on Arctic Ice Melt

  • From left, Eric Beamesderfer and Coltin Grasmick, both associate research scientists in the UW Department of Atmospheric Science, and Zhien Wang, a professor and Empire Innovation Scholar in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, stand in front of the Wyoming Cloud Radar mounted on the ramp of the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft. The department has provided several instruments being used aboard the research aircraft. (Photo Credit: Bart Geerts)

LongIsland.com: Long Island’s Solid Waste Future to Be Discussed at Stony Brook University Forum March 13

  • Long Island elected officials and solid waste experts will gather Wednesday, March 13th, 2024 at Stony Brook University to address the future of how Long Island will manage its waste in light of the pending closure of the Brookhaven Landfill, increased costs due to regulations, as well as efforts to develop a regional approach for solid waste management.schools.

East Hampton Star: A Plan to Rebuild Ditch Plain Dune in Montauk

  • To that end, the beach profile has been mapped, with an amended, more comprehensive version received last Thursday. The town board voted last month to approve a proposal by Henry Bokuniewicz of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences for consulting services for the beach. Dr. Bokuniewicz, with whom Ms. Rogers met last week, is an internationally recognized expert on beach erosion, dredging, coastal groundwater issues, and pollution in the coastal ocean, according to a biography on the university’s website.

New York Almanac: New Artificial Reef Materials and On-going Research

  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be collaborating with The Nature Conservancy and Stony Brook University on scientific studies at Atlantic Beach Artificial Reef off The Rockaways throughout 2024. The Rockaways is a common name for the Rockaway Peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island.

Me Construction News: US $1bn climate-focused action plan announced by NYC authorities

  • “This work will build on a strong foundation of green economy projects such as the 400,000-square-foot New York Climate Exchange, an academic and research consortium anchored by Stony Brook University on Governors Island, and the development of five-million-square-feet of net-zero manufacturing space at the Brooklyn Navy Yard,” the NYCEDC added.

WLIW-FM/NPR: Hampton Jitney May Have To Raise Fare Due To New MTA Congestion Pricing

  • State legislators are seeking a partnership with Southampton Town to utilize money from the Community Preservation Fund to restore the historic, dilapidated windmill that sits at the heart of the Stony Brook Southampton campus.

Bloomberg: A Living Laboratory for Climate Takes Shape on NYC’s Governors Island

  • Those ambitions will get a firm boost when a consortium of partners, anchored by Stony Brook University, completes the New York Climate Exchange, a 400,000-square-foot, $700 million campus that will be a hub for climate research, education and jobs. The structure, which will break ground next year and is expected to be completed by 2028, will host conferences and include lecture halls and performance space, according to Newman. (The Climate Exchange is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropic organization of Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.)

Long Island Herald: New project is ‘Putting the Oyster Back in Oyster Bay’

  • Michael Doall, associate director of shellfish restoration and aquaculture at SUNY Stony Brook, outlined the project’s goal of developing a comprehensive bay-wide plan for oyster restoration. “We want to take a holistic look at the entire system and develop a strategy for restoring oyster populations,” Doall said. “This involves coordinating ongoing restoration efforts, such as the oyster gardening program and the (Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration) program, to create a blueprint for future restoration activities.”

CBS News: Long Island community divided over needed upgrades to shoreline erosion measures

  • Professor Henry Bokuniewicz, a Stony Brook University erosion expert, says we have the technology to slow down erosion, but there are debatable costs. “If you value the some benefits of the shoreline enough, you can armor yourself against it. Kind of like treating the disease, not solving it,” Bokuniewicz said.

News12: Symposium at Stony Brook University discusses waste management plan following Brookhaven landfill closure

  • A waste management symposium at Stony Brook University discussed the need for a plan after the Brookhaven landfill closes at the end of the year. Waste experts say time is running out to find a solution before the issue begins to impact residents. The forum was presented by the Evan Liblit Memorial Scholarship Committee, which aims to improve recycling and solid waste management.

27 East: Illegal Discharge Seen as Factor in Sag Harbor’s Water Quality Results From 2023

  • Describing what he called “the clearest picture we’ve had yet” of bacterial pollution in the waters around Sag Harbor, Stony Brook University marine scientist Dr. Christopher Gobler told the village’s Harbor Committee on March 7 that human waste from “vessel discharge” was a source of fecal bacteria at several test sites at and near Long Wharf last summer.

Newsday: Towns plan to meet to create plan for regional waste program, Suffolk executive Romaine says

  • Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said Wednesday he would convene a meeting of the county’s 10 towns to begin discussing plans for a regional solid waste program to prepare for the closure of the Brookhaven landfill. Speaking at a Stony Brook University environmental symposium, Romaine warned the landfill closure, expected by early 2028, would have a ripple effect across Long Island as contractors and municipalities ship more waste to out-of-state landfills — boosting construction costs and taxes.

Newsday TV: Looking to the Future with Bookhaven Landfill (minute 4:05)

  • At the Stony Brook University Environmental Symposium, County Executive Ed Romaine said he will call a meeting of Suffolk towns for forming a unified regional waste system.

WSHU-FM/NPR: Environmental Symposium Presented at Stony Brook University (Critical Mention clip: please do not post to websites or include in newsletters).

  • When Ed Romaine was presenting at an environmental symposium at Stony Brook University, he said a key part of a regional plan would be hauling waste off Long Island by rail.

East Hampton Star: Ditch Plain Dune Plans Take Share

  • At an East Hampton Town Board meeting on Tuesday, Councilwoman Cate Rogers said that she had recently walked the beach with Henry Bokuniewicz of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, whom the town has engaged for consulting services for the beach, and Kim Shaw of the town’s Natural Resources Department, “and discussed each area as we went along.”

Newsday: Bucket List: Alaska fishing trips for halibut and salmon

  • Paparo, manager of Stony Brook University’s Marine Sciences Center and a nature photographer, wasn’t on Long Island, where a 10-pound fluke is considered a prize catch. No, he was in Alaska on a fishing trip in 2019 — the kind of trip many Long Island anglers aspire to.

Alliance of Women Film Journalists: RADIOACTIVE: THE WOMEN OF THREE MILE ISLAND – Review by Lois Alter Mark

  • Radioactive is director Heidi Hutner’s first film and it’s a gut puncher. The award-winning Professor of Environmental Humanities and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University tells the story of four Pennsylvania moms who became activists after living through the Three Mile Island meltdown and discovering that they had been lied to about the event’s impact. They founded Concerned Mothers and Women and continue to fight for answers 45 years later.

NOAA Fisheries: Meet Research Ecologist, Skyler Rose Sagarese

  • I received my Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Miami in 2006 where I double majored in marine science and biology. After that, I returned to Long Island to pursue my master’s degree under the advisement of Dr. Michael Frisk at Stony Brook University.

LI Herald: What needs to be done to save Oyster Bay

  • Friends of the Bay just completed a project with Adelphi University to study the currents where the town has been planting clams and oysters to study the suitability of those areas. Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences this year will build on the Adelphi research by continuing to study the best areas and methods for restoring oysters in the bay with a grant of almost $500,000, with the town supplying matching staff time and other resources.

USA Today: South Fork Wind Farm off Rhode Island’s coast starts producing power

  • New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state and federal officials flipped a symbolic switch on Thursday, marking the completion of the South Fork Wind Farm, a 12-turbine project built off the Rhode Island coast and connected to the Long Island energy system. “This will serve as a beacon to the rest of the nation, a statement of what is possible,” Hochul said at the event at Stony Brook University’s Southampton campus on Long Island. (Also published in The Providence Journal and Yahoo! News)

Building Design and Construction: Timberlab to build its first mass timber manufacturing plant

  • Charles Besjak, PE, SE, FAIA, LEED, Principal of Structural Engineering for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, said that mass timber is a major element in the design and construction of New York Climate Exchange, a climate solutions center on Governors Island that SOM and Stony Brook University are creating in collaboration with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, Buro Happold, and Langan Engineering. The building will showcase sustainability and resilience, and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

Newsday: New York Climate Exchange: What to know about Stony Brook U.-anchored project

  • When Stephen Hammer, newly appointed head of the New York Climate Exchange, looks over the site on Governors Island, he can envision its transformation that will take place over the next few years. It’s a mix of preserving the heritage of the island off southern Manhattan that used to house a military base and building a self-sustaining living laboratory that draws researchers from all over the world and is anchored by Stony Brook University.

WSHU-FM/NPR: A year later, plans unsettled for the closure of Brookhaven Landfill

  • This year marks the beginning of the end for Brookhaven Landfill. That is what spurred discussion among industry groups and environmental advocates at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University, seeking answers for the future of waste disposal on Long Island.

Science: Scientists in Antarctica track ‘baffling’ virus that could decimate penguins and other polar animals

  • Such restrictions could make it even harder to chart population declines driven by the virus in Antarctica. But surveys by satellites could help, says Heather Lynch, a quantitative ecologist at Stony Brook University. “One of the advantages of remote sensing … beyond its capacity to survey all the colonies at once, is that it avoids entirely the risk of virus transmission between penguins and researchers,” who might spread it.

27 East: High Temperatures And Algae Blooms Withered East Hampton Harbors and Ponds Last Summer

  • East Hampton’s harbors saw record-high water temperatures in 2023 and were beset by waves of harmful algae blooms that also broke records and busted traditional norms, a Stony Brook University scientist who has been tracking water quality around the town said this week. Dr. Christopher Gobler told the East Hampton Town Trustees on Monday, March 25, that Accabonac Harbor in Springs and freshwater Fort Pond in Montauk both suffered from dense blooms of toxic algae species during the late summer, and typically clear Napeague Harbor experienced what was likely the densest bloom of the toxic algae known as “rust tide” it has ever had.

Newsday: Babylon fortifying water’s edge to fight erosion at town park

  • Henry Bokuniewicz, a Stony Brook University oceanography professor and beach erosion expert, said he thinks the town is taking a “reasonable approach” that’s appropriate for the park’s location given the “alarming” waves the wind can sometimes produce there. “If you can employ nature to solve your problem or mimic the natural protection, in the long run it’s probably the better solution,” he said. “But sometimes you’re up against the wall and you just can’t beat rocks.”

Times Beacon Record: Stony Brook University launches new pre-college summer program

  • Stony Brook University recently announced the launch of the Pre-College Summer Program, a new residential summer program for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Dangerous Wisdom: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe – Dialogue with Carl Safina, author of Alfie and Me

  • Safina is now the first Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University and is founding president of the not-for-profit Safina Center. He hosted the PBS series Saving the Ocean, which can be viewed free at PBS.org.

Glen Cove/Oyster Bay Record Pilot: Meet Friends Of The Bay’s New Executive Director

  • I have always been a nature lover, especially anything marine science related. I was born and raised in Huntington and grew up swimming in Long Island Sound and the bays and harbors surrounding my hometown. My passion for marine conservation ultimately led me to earn a Master’s degree in Marine Conservation and Policy from Stony Brook University in 2020. Upon graduating, it was my goal to work for an environmental nonprofit, specifically a local one. I have always been driven to preserve and protect the environment where I live.

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School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, SoMAS, at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, USA
Phone: 631-632-8700
somas@stonybrook.edu