Photo above: Jim Quigley and David Hirshberg cut the cake celebrating their retirement from SoMAS/Stony Brook in 2018
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of David Hirschberg, who was a part of the SoMAS family for 25 years, starting in the graduate program where he received his Masters in 1979 and continuing to his retirement as the Analytical Lab Technician. SoMAS celebrated the retirement of David and Jim Quigley in 2018.
Congratulations to Mackenzie Laney, Kevin Shaffer, and Kate Colucci for successfully defending their theses and dissertations!
The New York State Center for Clean Water Technology hosted its 2024 Clean Water Symposium, an event designed to highlight global clean water problems and solutions as well as present an overview of the Center’s most recent research breakthroughs. The event presentations covered three major topics including mitigating nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from onsite wastewater, remediating nitrogen and phosphorus beyond the source, and ending the forever of PFAS “forever chemicals”. Each of the three sessions included external speakers likeDr. Xiao Su, Assistant Professor at University of Illinois, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, and representatives from regulatory agencies including the NYS DEC and DOH and Suffolk County. In addition, Center researchers highlighted their latest research advances to develop more cost-effective water quality protection and restoration technologies.
Symposium Presentations and Videos
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
- Dr. Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, UC Berkeley, Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Fred and Claire Sauer Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Dr. Chris Gobler, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University & New York State Officials
Mitigating Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution from Onsite Wastewater
- Dr. Lee Blaney, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
- Dr. Stuart Waugh, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University
- Mr. Frank M. Russo, P.E. & Mr. Siwei Chen, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University
- Dr. Xinwei Mao, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University
- Ms. Jennifer Juengst, Suffolk County
Remediating Nitrogen and Phosphorus Beyond the Source
- Mr. Paul Dombrowski, Director, Remediation Engineer at ISOTEC Remediation Technologies
- Ms. Susan Van Patten, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
- Dr. Nils Volkenborn, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University
- Mr. Mike Doall, School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University
Ending the Forever of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’
- Dr. Xiao Su, University of Illinois, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
- Dr. Lokesh Padhye, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University
- Dr. Yi Zhang, NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University
- Courtney Davis, NYS Department of Health
Dr. Mariko Oue has received a new single-PI award from DOE, in support of the project “Investigating Microphysical and Dynamical Processes Controlling Convective Cloud Characteristics and Lifecyle within Different Aerosol and Ambient Environments“, in the amount $937,131, for the period 09/01/24 – 02/28/26.
Deep convective clouds are found throughout the tropics and midlatitudes, vary in structure from isolated to highly organized systems, and play a vital role in the Earth’s energy and water budgets and climate system. Convective cloud systems are composed of individual convective cells, with small spatial (<1 km to a few tens of km) and temporal (minutes to hours) scales, that control formation and maintenance mechanisms of deep convective systems. Despite the importance of convective cell lifecycles in weather and climate, they remain poorly understood, likely due to the complexities of microphysical and dynamical processes that change rapidly, interact with each other, and are influenced by aerosols and atmospheric environments. The project will address the following three science questions: 1) How do the fundamental characteristics of convective cells evolve throughout the convective lifecycle?; 2) How does aerosol loading impact the microphysical and dynamical processes of convective cells and the resulting cell characteristics over the cell lifecycle?; and 3) How does variability in the ambient environment impact the characteristics of convective cell evolution and modulate the aerosol effects? These SQs will be addressed through the use of dense observations of convective cell lifecycle and aerosols around the Houston area and the northwestern Alabama area with data from the field campaigns. It is expected that the cell characteristics revealed in this study and the analysis techniques may be broadly applicable toward convective clouds in other regions in the world. This will further lead to improvement of convective parameterizations in regional/global models and the evaluation of aerosol-cloud processes in cloud-resolving models and provide preliminary measurements and analysis for evaluation and optimization of the future satellite radar missions.
SBU News Features
- Workshop Addresses Coral Reef Resilience and Conservation
- Coral reefs, despite covering less than 1 percent of the seafloor, support more than 25 percent of marine life. Alarmingly, 50 percent of these vital ecosystems have been lost in the past 30 years, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that 70-90 percent of the remaining corals could disappear by mid-century due to warming seas from anthropogenic climate change. Nevertheless, some coral reefs have demonstrated resilience to warming seas, suggesting potential for adaptation and survival.
- Two from SBU Named to Inaugural Class of SUNY Climate Corps Interns
- State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced the inaugural class of paid student interns from the SUNY Climate Corps Internship Program, including two from Stony Brook University. Thirty-six SUNY students from eight campuses were selected for immersive, real-life work experiences in research and policy at state agencies with environmental and sustainability missions and SUNY System Administration.
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Stony Brook Team Makes Finals of First-Ever Climate Exchange Innovation Challenge
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A team from Stony Brook University that includes graduate students Caroline Fabian, Nathan Hirtle, Ian Maywar and Harmanveer Singh has made the finals of the first Climate Exchange AI Innovation Challenge, devising solutions for NYC stormwater management.
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Latest Publications
Strohm, V. R., Ayache, N., Millette, N. C., Menegay, A., Gobler, C. J., Campbell, L., & Smith, J. L. (2024). Role of Turbulence in Dinophysis spp. Growth, Feeding, and Toxin Leakage in Culture. Harmful Algae, 102666.
Aslan, I. H., Pourtois, J. D., Chamberlin, A. J., Mitchell, K. R., Mari, L., Lwiza, K. M., … & De Leo, G. A. (2024). Re-assessing thermal response of schistosomiasis transmission risk: evidence for a higher thermal optimum than previously predicted. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 18(6), e0011836.
Lee, C. S., Shipley, O. N., Ye, X., Fisher, N. S., Gallagher, A. J., Frisk, M. G., … & Venkatesan, A. K. (2024). Accumulation of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Coastal Sharks from Contrasting Marine Environments: The New York Bight and The Bahamas. Environmental Science & Technology.
Ansmann, A., Jimenez, C., Knopf, D. A., Roschke, J., Bühl, J., Ohneiser, K., & Engelmann, R. (2024). Impact of wildfire smoke on Arctic cirrus formation, part 2: simulation of MOSAiC 2019− 2020 cases. EGUsphere, 2024, 1-29.
Leone, M. T., & Warren, J. D. (2024). Acoustic monitoring of artificial reefs reveals Atlantic cod and weakfish spawning and presence of individual bottlenose dolphins. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 156(1), 137-150.
Weisberg, S. J., Roberts, S. M., Gruenburg, L. K., Schwemmer, T. G., Menz, T., Fenwick, I. F., … & Asch, R. G. (2024). Gulf Stream intrusions associated with extreme seasonal fluctuations among larval fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 739, 157-172.
Wang, W. L., van de Lindt, J. W., Sutley, E., & Hamideh, S. (2024). Interdependent Recovery Methodology for Residential Buildings and Household Housing in Community Resilience Modeling. ASCE OPEN: Multidisciplinary Journal of Civil Engineering, 2(1), 04024007.
Matich, P., Plumlee, J. D., Bubley, W., Curtis, T. H., Drymon, J. M., Mullins, L. L., … & Fisher, M. R. (2024). Long‐term effects of climate change on juvenile bull shark migratory patterns. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Roohi, M., Ghasemi, S., Sediek, O., Jeon, H., van de Lindt, J. W., Shields, M., Hamideh, S., & Cutler, H. (2024). Multi-disciplinary seismic resilience modeling for developing mitigation policies and recovery planning. Resilient Cities and Structures, 3(2), 66-84.
Murray, E. J., Dunion, J., Karnauskas, K. B., Wang, Z., & Zhang, J. A. (2024). Cloud height distributions and the role of vertical mixing in the tropical cyclone eye derived from compact Raman lidar observations. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(14), e2024GL108515.
Chen, G., Qiu, M., Wang, P., Zhang, Y., Shindell, D., & Zhang, H. (2024). Continuous wildfires threaten public and ecosystem health under climate change across continents. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 18(10), 1-10.
Wei, D., Cao, C., Karambelas, A., Mak, J., Reinmann, A., & Commane, R. (2023). High-resolution modeling of summertime biogenic isoprene emissions in New York City. Environmental Science & Technology.
Shipley, O. N., McMeans, B. C., Harrod, C., Graham, B. S., & Newsome, S. D. Celebrating recent innovations in the application of stable isotopes to fish biology. Journal of Fish Biology.
Latest Press Headlines
Newsday: Brookhaven landfill closure likely to drive up costs, congestion on Long Island, experts say
- Most construction waste will be shifted to the privately owned 110 Sand Co. on Spagnoli Road in Melville, which will be the last remaining C-and-D landfill on Long Island when Brookhaven closes, according to Will Flower, vice president of West Babylon-based Winters Bros. Waste Systems, and Frank Roethel, retired director of Stony Brook University’s Waste Reduction and Management Institute.
Newsday: How plastic particles in Long Island Sound can wind up in your body
- The plastic doesn’t remain lodged in the digestive organs; the tiniest particles pass through the stomach into other tissues, according to Luis Medina Faull, a fellow at the marine sciences department at Stony Brook University.
East Hampton Star: Water Report: High Bacteria at Fort Pond
- Additionally, there was a decline in Fort Pond’s dissolved oxygen levels on Monday night, which may indicate pollution or a potential harmful algal bloom. C.C.O.M. continues to partner with Stony Brook University’s Gobler Laboratory to monitor for blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, blooms.
Newsday: No shark attacks, sightings on Long Island but experts say it’s unclear why
- Michael Frisk, a professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences who researches population dynamics, ecology and life history evolution in fishes, said his field crew — the people who catch and tag sharks for tracking — had observed bait schools farther offshore than in the past, which could pull the sharks farther offshore too.
Newsday: Hurricane Beryl’s early, powerful seasonal debut harbinger of storms to come, experts say
- Kevin Reed, a professor at Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, also partly attributed what he described as North Atlantic sea surface temperatures being at a “near a historic high” to climate change. Reed explained that his research, which includes running forecast models of past storms and removing components related to climate change from the equation, has shown that as sea surface temperature gets warmer, there are more extreme, higher category storms.
Newsday: Health officials advise against contact with blue-green algae in Mattituck lake
- Stony Brook University biologists confirmed the presence of the blue-green algae in Marratooka Lake in Mattituck, according to officials. Residents are urged to avoid recreation activities in the lake’s waters and keep their children and pets away from the area.
News12: Beachgoers astounded by turquoise water off LI’s South Shore
- Dr. Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University said it’s a result of “upwelling.” He said beginning a few weeks ago, there were persistent southwest winds that brought deep, nutrient-filled water up to the surface. That led to the growth of algae; in this case, what’s known as “coccolithophores.”
Daily Mail: Scientists explain mystery of why America is becoming ‘shark attack capital of the world’
- But professors Oliver Shipley and Michael Frisk at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook told DailyMail.com that can’t conclusively say there is one specific reason why the sharks are swimming so close to shore. ‘This is not a cut-and-dry cause-and-effect scenario,’ Shipley said.
Riverhead LOCAL: Cyanobacteria blooms found in Marratooka Lake in Mattituck
- Analysis of surface water samples performed by SUNY Stony Brook has confirmed the presence of cyanobacteria blooms, more commonly known as blue-green algae, in Marratooka Lake in Mattituck, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services announced yesterday.
Suffolk Times: Cyanobacteria reaches dangerous levels in Mattituck lake
- Recent testing by SUNY Stony Brook has confirmed the presence of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, in Lake Marratooka in Mattituck. Health officials are asking that people avoid contact with the contaminated water and to keep children and pets away from the area. An average of six Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) reports have been issued per year at Lake Marratooka since 2020.
- “Sharks are important species in our marine environment, and while human-shark interactions remain rare in New York, Governor Hochul’s investments in beach monitoring and public education continue to help reduce risks this summer,” DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. Representatives from the Long Island Coastal Awareness Group—made up of over 200 individuals from municipalities, agencies and private beaches from Queens through Long Island—have been briefed on dangerous marine life by state officials, Stony Brook University and the Wildlife Conservation Society earlier this year. They also received a drone presentation.
- ‘Seeing sharks in our local ecosystem is extremely important, and it’s a sign that the environment around us is healthy,’ Chris Paparo, a shark expert at Stony Brook University in Long Island said in a series of Twitter videos. But professors Oliver Shipley and Michael Frisk at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook told DailyMail.com that can’t conclusively say there is one specific reason why the sharks are swimming so close to shore.
Science: Warming oceans are pushing harmful algal blooms into polar waters
- The unprecedented polar bloom represents an evolving public health threat, says Christopher Gobler, an ecologist at Stony Brook University who published a 2017 study showing ocean warming has expanded the range of harmful algal blooms poleward in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. “It’s really something that can take the regulatory agencies—and, even in some cases, the medical community—by surprise because everything is put in place to deal with the known, not the unknowns.”
Times Beacon Record: Diving into ‘Shark Week’ on Long Island
- Long Island, an under-researched area in regards to sharks, has optimal conditions for sharks. Their visits to our island are certainly not new, according to Oliver Shipley, Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences research assistant professor.
Newsday: Long Island beach closures: 22 were off limits to swimmers for 14 days or more in 2023
- “Our rainfall patterns are changing on Long Island,” said Christopher Gobler, a professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation there. “Specifically, we’re getting events where there’s just more volume happening all at once, and that translates to important implications for our coastal waters.”
- Water temperatures are warming into the 70s on Long Island, with generally fair water quality. Out of 30 sites tested, 11 are ranked fair with 10 good and nine poor
Fox Weather: Facts and myths about sharks
- Oliver Shipley, shark expert and research professor at Stony Brook University, joined FOX Weather to dispel common myths and misunderstandings about sharks. July 25, 2024.
News12: LI Water Quality Report for week of July 25 from Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook University
- Water quality is good by Jones Inlet, Fire Island Inlet, Shinnecock Inlet and the Peconic Estuaries. There is also good water on the North Shore by Port Jefferson Harbor, Mount Sinai and Mattituck.
Newsday: People urged to stay away from Riverhead pond tainted with a toxic algae
- Stony Brook University biologists confirmed the presence of the blue-green algae in a body of water that runs parallel to Pond Lane in the Riverwoods Mobile Home Community in Riverhead, Suffolk officials said in a news release Friday. Residents are urged to avoid recreational activities in the pond’s waters and keep their children and pets away from the area.
Dan’s Papers: New Cyanobacteria Blooms Found in Riverwoods Pond, Residents Warned Not to Swim
- The presence of new cyanobacteria blooms in Riverwoods Pond, Riverside, has been discovered through analysis of surface water samples by SUNY Stony Brook.
Newsday: Baxter Estates gets $8 million to fortify shoreline after coastal erosion
- The issues plaguing Baxter Estates, which is bordered by Manhasset Bay, are not unlike other coastal towns grappling with rising sea levels. When rain storms hit during high tide, they can trigger intense flooding. But what’s unique to the village of around 1,000 is the low elevation of one of its main thoroughfares. “The beach can actually go underwater and drown during storm surges,” said Henry Bokuniewicz, a distinguished service professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. “That sand gets taken away from the back part of the beach, and it could be permanent.”
Civil Eats: The Hard Work of Bringing Kelp to Market
- A former Women’s National Basketball Association star, Wicks became an oyster entrepreneur after retiring from professional sports, inspired to work on the waters that her family has fished for more than 10 generations. Her ancestors could harvest shellfish by hand, but wild stocks have plummeted in Wicks’ lifetime, a consequence of warming waters and nitrogen pollution. After witnessing the decline of her families’ livelihood and pastimes—the traditions of clamming, oystering, fishing and scalloping—she wanted to restore the waters that surrounded her house and hometown. In 2019, she began growing seaweed as part of a research project with Stony Brook University.
