April 2024 News and Press from SoMAS

Apr 30, 2024

25 miles south of the Canadian border in Vermont, Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Associate Professor David Black captured the #Eclipse2024 as it approached and entered totality. The view was not entirely without clouds, but thankfully the filter he used on his camera saw right through them, resulting in some incredible photos!

Photo above: 25 miles south of the Canadian border in Vermont, SoMAS Associate Professor David Black captured the Eclipse as it approached and entered totality. 

Congratulations to Dr. Joe Warren who has been promoted to Full Professor!

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Earthstock – the week-long celebration of Earth Day at Stony Brook University!

Congratulations to the presenters at this year’s URECA Celebration! SoMAS was well represented by several faculty mentors, including Sharon Pochron, David Taylor, Joe Warren, Kamazima Lwiza, Sarah Weisberg, Luis Medina, Roy Price, Cody Garrison, and Adam Charboneau.

 

SoMAS Job Postings:

 

SBU News Features

 

Latest Seminar Videos

 

Latest Publications

Schultz, J., Gobler, D. L. B., Young, C. S., Perez, A., Doall, M. H., & Gobler, C. J. (2024). Ocean acidification significantly alters the trace element content of the kelp, Saccharina latissima. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 202, 116289.

Chang, H. Y., Pendleton, R., Kenney, G., McKown, K., Eakin, W., Maniscalco, J., & Chen, Y. (2024). Spatiotemporal dynamics of spawning habitat distribution of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in the Hudson River Estuary under multi stressors. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, (ja).

Mason, S. L., Cole, J. N., Docter, N., Donovan, D. P., Hogan, R. J., Hünerbein, A., … Kollias, P., … & van Zadelhoff, G. J. (2023). An intercomparison of EarthCARE cloud, aerosol and precipitation retrieval products. EGUsphere, 2023, 1-34.

Lovy, J., Iwanowicz, L. R., Welch, T. J., Allam, B., Getchell, R. G., Geraci-Yee, S., … & Das, N. (2024). Seasonal Mortality of Wild Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) Is Caused by a Virulent Clone of Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum; Implications for Biosecurity along the Atlantic Coastal United States. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 2024.

Vieten, R., Warken, S. F., Zanchettin, D., Winter, A., Scholz, D., Black, D., … & Spötl, C. (2024). Northeastern Caribbean Rainfall Variability Linked to Solar and Volcanic Forcing. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 39(4), e2023PA004720.

Collins, M. (2024). Disproportionality. In Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Sociology (pp. 136-142). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Huang, X. L. (2024). Unveiling the Role of Inorganic Nanoparticles in Earth’s Biochemical Evolution through Electron Transfer Dynamics. iScience.

Willson, J. L., Reed, K. A., Jablonowski, C., Kent, J., Lauritzen, P. H., Nair, R., … & Yoshida, R. (2023). DCMIP2016: the tropical cyclone test case. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 2023, 1-27.

Zhang, W., & Wolfe, C. L. (2024). Inferring tracer diffusivity from coherent mesoscale eddies. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 16(4), e2023MS004004.

Leonardo, N. M., & Colle, B. A. (2024). Analysis of Snow Multi-Bands and Their Environments with High-Resolution Idealized Simulations. Monthly Weather Review.

Chen, S., Wang, M., Lin, D., Russo, F. M., Gobler, C. J., & Mao, X. (2024). Biofiltration matrix optimization for efficient nitrogen removal from domestic onsite wastewater. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 60, 105208.

Faull, L. E. M., Zaliznyak, T., & Taylor, G. T. (2024). From the Caribbean to the Arctic, the most abundant microplastic particles in the ocean have escaped detection. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 202, 116338.

Linner, R., & Chen, Y. (2024). Evaluating the spatial transferability of habitat suitability models: implications for conservation and management. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, (ja).

 

Latest Press Headlines

Newsday: Solar eclipse may trigger behavior changes in the Earth’s animals, birds and bees

  • For Stony Brook University ecologist Carl Safina, the eclipse presents no window into the animal soul. “As cool and as unusual as a solar eclipse is, for other animals it is very much a passing thing,” he said. “On a conscious level, they might be a little confused,” he said, “but on a more deeply biological level, their biological clocks are still ticking — their melatonin levels and all the other chemical triggers that give senses of the day-night cycle will not have time to readjust. It’s almost like being in a room and someone turns out the light.”

Seattle Times: Extinction risk to southern resident orcas accelerating as researchers raise alarm

  • Carl Safina, an author of many books on the intelligence of animals, including the southern residents, and ecologist and professor for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University in New York, sees in the doom of species extinction and looming loss of the southern residents a moral test for people. (Also published in Hastings Tribune and Arca Max)

The Chronicle: Extinction risk to southern resident orcas accelerating as researchers raise alarm

  • Carl Safina, study author, ecologist and professor for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University in New York, sees in the doom of species extinction and looming loss of the southern residents a moral test for people. “This is like a slow-motion collision; this is where we see the brick wall or the cliff, it’s clear, the road is dry, it’s 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and we are going 8 miles an hour, and it’s half a mile away, and then a quarter of a mile away and then we see it, and our smart sensors start beeping, and then we hit the accelerator and crash … Why do we do that?” Also ran in Phys.org.

Queens Chronicle: Years later, Gennaro still in the weeds

  • Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Hillcrest) never expected to run for office. From the time he graduated high school, he had envisioned working in environmental public policy, and began studying geology at Stony Brook University on day one.

Newsday: Potential impact of wind farms on monarch butterflies understudied, experts say

  • Ecologist Carl Safina, who holds the endowed chair for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, said the potential dangers to migrating wildlife from turbines extend well beyond monarchs. “I view the prospect of thousands of spinning blades off our coast as a nightmare for flying migrants of all kinds: butterflies, birds, bats,” he said. “The entire region is wildlife habitat, and this coastal corridor is a major flyway and migration route for animals above and below the surface.”

The Columbian: Extinction risk to southern resident orcas accelerating as researchers raise alarm

  • Carl Safina, study author, ecologist and professor for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University in New York, sees in the doom of species extinction and looming loss of the southern residents a moral test for people.

Newsday: LI’s garbage problem calls for a regional approach

  • The most pressing concern is disposal of ash from various waste-to-energy incinerators. Right now, Brookhaven’s still-open landfill accepts ash from other towns like Huntington and Hempstead. But when Brookhaven’s site finally closes this decade, a regional approach will be needed to find the most economical and environmental method of ridding ourselves of this potentially toxic ash. Without a new waste plan, Romaine warned last month at a Stony Brook University environmental symposium, the ripple effect will hurt local businesses, contractors and municipalities forced to haul their waste to out-of-state landfills.

Huntington Now: Sugar Kelp Project Keeping Oysters and Waters Healthy

  • That’s how much water a singular oyster can filter in one day—highlighting the abundantly clear importance oyster habitat restoration brings to the efforts to improve water quality on Long Island…Grace Sargent is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.

CNN: Camels evolved from a cold-weather ancestor. We could learn from their remarkable transformation

  • “Gentoo penguins are big climate change winners in the Antarctic,” Heather Lynch told me. As the endowed chair for ecology and evolution at Stony Brook University, her team had spent recent years watching as chinstrap and Adélie penguins remained committed to ancient nesting spots, fruitlessly trying to hatch eggs in standing water with populations crashing as a result. (Also published in Yahoo News, AOL, WICZ-TV, and many other publications)

27 East: Flesh-Eating Bacteria, Toxic Algae, Oxygen-Starved Waters Were Widespread in 2023, Thanks to Nitrogen and Warmer Waters

  • Stony Brook University professor Dr. Christopher Gobler said his laboratory team tracked toxic algae blooms in more than two dozen individual bodies of water around the region last summer. New species of algae blooms, bringing new threats to human health, are gaining footholds as water temperatures continue to tick upward.

Dan’s Papers: Selective Breeding Program Aims to End Peconic Bay Scallop Scarcity

  • Every year since 2019 the bay scallop population in the Peconic Bay, a scenic waterway that lies between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island, has suffered a die-off. Now, scientists at Stony Brook University, in conjunction with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, have embarked on a program to address the struggling scallop population in Peconic Bay: selective breeding.

Times Beacon Record: Celebrate Earth Day 2024 with park cleanups, festivals, nature hikes and more

  • The signature Earthstock Festival returns to Stony Brook University’s West campus, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook on Friday, April 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with vendors, presenters and tables from various departments on the SAC Plaza, with the Green Pledge and other speakers taking the main stage at the Mall fountain at noon. Student performances will be held on a second stage by the SAC at 11:30 a.m. The annual Duck Race will take place at 2 p.m. Free and open to all. Visit www.stonybrook.edu/earthstock

Newsday: Here’s a road map for cleaning up Oyster Bay

  • While the town has vitally important decisions to make, fortunately it will have an array of resources to draw upon, including scientific studies of the bay by Friends of the Bay/Adelphi University and Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; efforts to plant oysters in the bay by the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee and by The Nature Conservancy and PEW Charitable Trusts; town initiatives to create oyster reefs near Beekman Beach and seek bids for 20 million seed clams and oysters; and an “oyster garden” program from the Oyster Bay / Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee in which nearly 200 resident “oyster gardeners” will grow oysters in cages for planting in the bay.

East End Beacon: A Bad Year For Algae Blooms Has Scientists Wondering: “Where’s The Tipping Point?”

  • Toxic algal blooms were widespread on Long Island in 2023, and strains of algae and bacteria not seen before here began to make headway in local waters, according to Stony Brook ecologist Dr. Christopher Gobler, who gave his annual State of the Bays address at Stony Brook Southampton April 3.

Newsday: Forecasting extreme heat and its health risks offered in new online tracker amid global warming

  • Having an online tool that lets people look at an extended forecast and see how temperatures could affect health in an easy-to-use format is important, said Kevin Reed, a professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. “I think, eventually, it would be useful to have one site with even more data, such as forecasts of extreme precipitation and flooding,” Reed said. “We have seen on Long Island and in New York City when LIRR underpasses and subways flood and this would be a way to better prepare for that.”

East Hampton Star: New County Legislator Reflects on First 100 Days in Office

  • Ms. Welker supports the bill, which would ultimately help pay for sewer system expansion and individual septic system upgrades. “There are between 350,000 and 400,000 antiquated septic systems in all of Suffolk County,” she said. “According to Christopher Gobler,” a professor at Stony Brook University, “approximately 70 percent of the nitrogen that impacts our waterways and drinking water comes from septic systems.”

Newsday: Long Islanders consider ways to mitigate fatal crashes of birds into buildings

  • Short of a major renovation, some institutions on Long Island have installed relatively inexpensive patterned films and UV-reflective decals — which most species of birds can see but humans cannot — to break up reflections and make glass visible to birds. Several years ago, members of the Four Harbors Audubon Society in Kings Park collected 20 dead birds in just one day around a group of buildings on Stony Brook’s south campus, according to Patrice Domeischel, a member of the group’s board.

Daily Star: Shark attacks are surging – Brits warned not to provoke apex predators on holiday

  • Shark expert Oliver Shipley has since revealed how scared Brits should be of the horrors of the deep. The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University in New York alumni said the “severity” of the attack which hospitalised Peter earlier this week was troublesome. But the shark expert says Brit holiday makers should be fine so long as they do not provoke the animals. Speaking to the Times, he said: “My thoughts go out to families of all those who go through this because it can be extremely nasty and obviously in some cases, unfortunately, ends in mortality.

 

 

 

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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