August 2024 News and Press from SoMAS

Aug 30, 2024

SoMAS Dean Paul Shepson and his wife Jody take a selfie with Wolfie

Photo above: SoMAS Dean Paul Shepson and his wife Jody take a selfie with Wolfie

Dean Paul Shepson welcomes everyone to SoMAS to kick off the Fall 2024 Semester

Welcome back students and welcome and congratulations to the Class of 2028!

You have chosen your university wisely, and we are so glad you did.  You have also chosen your major wisely, as there are great opportunities here for you.  But, if you are unsure of what you want to do, and what your major should be – this means you are in good company!  In SoMAS, we have many degree options for you to choose from, in Sustainability Studies, in Atmospheric Sciences, and in Marine Sciences.  I also want to call attention to our new Minor in Climate Solutions, and that soon there will be a B.S. degree in Climate Science–stay tuned!  Please know that for all undergraduate degree-related questions you can start with our Undergraduate Advisor, Nancy Black.  For graduate degree-related questions in our MA, MS, PhD, and graduate certificate programs, please start with our Graduate Programs Coordinator, Ginny Clancy.

If your interests and passions are broadly about the Earth environment, please know that we share that passion: we need you, the world needs you, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with you!  You should know that as a professional scientist, researcher, conservationist, urban planner, teacher, professor, marine ecologist, forecaster, climate scientist, whatever your career path, you will never work and learn and do great things alone.  Here in SoMAS, we want you to learn and explore the natural world with others, to help others and yourselves to do great things, to make the world a better place.  That better place we aim to achieve is a world in which human activities have a minimal impact on the natural environment.

Please allow me to offer some advice.  There are more than 8 billion people living on Earth – stand out, be different, do different.  Push yourself out of your comfort zone.  Have adventures.  Explore the world. Join a research group.  Do things that connect you to other people and start expanding your network of friends and supporters.  Explore the air, and go out on the ocean!  I urge all undergraduates to do study abroad!  To see other very different parts of the world is to better understand your home.  We have study abroad programs in Ireland/UK, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Tanzania, Kenya (at the Turkana Basin Institute) Madagascar (at Centre ValBio), and closer to home, we have a new program beginning at Governors Island, to name a few.  Talk to your advisors/mentors/professors.  And if you ever feel lost, or “at sea”, reach out to us, and ask for help!  You are not alone.  We are here to help you succeed at Stony Brook.  You can come to me personally, any time.  You can send me an e-mail (paul.shepson@stonybrook.edu) or contact my assistant, Steve Ortega, and we can make an appointment.

There is a great adventure out there waiting for you, and SoMAS will help lead you toward it. Embrace the fact that you are the leaders of the future!  Don’t be intimidated by that, you are capable of so much more than you can imagine.  Hold your head high, and move forward, one great day at a time!  Again, thanks for being here, you’re going to have the time of your life.

 

Congratulations to Dr. Karina Yager, who has achieved the rank of Associate Professor with tenure!

SoMAS alum and current Research Assistant Professor Oliver Shipley will join SoMAS as an Assistant Professor in January of 2025 as a a faculty member in the area of Marine Conservation Ecology.

Dr. Daniel Holstein will join SoMAS as an Associate Professor in September of 2025 as a faculty member in the area of Marine Ecological Modeling.

Congratulations to Nathan Wilse, Jeffrey Kraemer, and Justice Woke for successfully defending their theses and dissertations!

 

The 2024 graduates of the Marine Conservation and Policy Program at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University presented their work from their Capstone Projects and Internships at the MCP Symposium on Thursday, August 22th. MCP student projects took them to labs and at field sites both near and far. This year’s students have demonstrated the breadth of this program, with topics ranging from understanding coral reef species in Curacao or giant clams in Thailand, to the importance of effective science communication, to the impacts of power generation on fish and water quality.

 

“The Stony Brook chapter of the Society for Women in Marine Science (SWMS) invites you to save the date for our fall symposium: November 15 – 17 here at Stony Brook University. The theme of the symposium will be building skills for the career you want, with panels discussing the various career sectors in the marine sciences. Registration will open in September. Keep an eye on swmsmarinescience.com for more information as the symposium approaches!

We are looking for your help to make this symposium a success! We are looking for:

  1. panelists across a wide range of careers to discuss their career paths with symposium participants
  2. scientific posters for our poster session
  3. organizations with internship, job, or networking opportunities they would like to share with participants at a tabling event

To indicate your interest in participating in the symposium by appearing on a panel, submitting a poster, or tabling, please fill out this form. Questions can be directed to Tara Rider (tara.rider@stonybrook.edu), Katherine Gallagher (Katherine.L.Hudson@stonybrook.edu), or the Stony Brook SWMS Chapter (swms.sbu@gmail.com).

Dr. Bob Aller has received a new award from NSF, entitled “Collaborative Research: Characterizing the role of reverse weathering reactions on marine Si and Li isotope mass balances” (in collaboration with colleagues from Colorado University – Boulder), in the amount $275,425 for the project period 07/15/2024 – 06/30/2027.

Advances in instrumentation over the past ~20 years have allowed resolution of Li and Si isotope ratios of silicate mineral reactants and products with enough precision to permit the use of their compositions in marine sediments to decipher past and present biogeochemical cycling, weathering reaction regimes, and secondary mineral formation pathways. At the same time, marine Si budget estimates have also undergone dramatic changes one of which has been the understanding that early diagenetic reverse weathering reactions, or the neoformation of alumino-silicate phases that consume alkalinity and produce CO 2 , is the second largest sink of dissolved silica within the global ocean. To date, the incorporation of reverse weathering into mass budgets of other silicate mineral weathering products has been theoretical. By analyzing archived samples of porewater and sedimentary reactive Si reservoirs for Li and Si stable isotope ratios within major tropical deltaic systems, we propose to constrain the isotopic composition of end-members within various sediment transport, geomorphic, and lithological regimes. These deltaic depocenters are where the majority of reverse weathering reactions apparently occur on the modern Earth. End-member characterizations and constraints will be applied to a global inverse Si isotope mass balance model to assess whether present Li and Si marine summaries are in isotopic mass balance. The model will be calibrated against available Si isotopic compositions in geological records of biogenic Si through the Last Glacial Maximum. Modeling will allow us to probe the nuances of CO 2 control by the silicate mineral weathering and reverse weathering reactions as relative importance of Si sources and sinks evolve through glacial expansion and retreat.

 

Dr. Kamazima Lwiza and collaborators have received a new Sea Grant Award, in the amount $218,361, for the period 6/1/2024 – 5/31/2026, in support of the project
“AI-based forecast tool for prediction of hypoxia occurrence in Long Island Sound”.

Objectives:
1. To determine the major variables controlling dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound (LIS) using the causal associations approach.
2. To use observational data alone, develop an attention-based convolution neural network for summer hypoxia in LIS.
3. To use observational data and numeric model output, develop an attention-based convolution neural network for summer hypoxia in LIS and compare it to (2).
4. To build a short-term hypoxia forecasting tool module for lead times of one to six-month range and a long-term module in the five to 30-year range.
Rationale:
It is crucial to identify all seminal factors affecting hypoxic volume or areal extent and know exactly how linear and non-linear associations are structured. This knowledge can be used for forecasting and management of hypoxia by determining for example optimal nutrient loads. There is a need to develop novel approaches that can extract causal associations from observations data related to hypoxia, e.g., the PCMCI method. Data-driven models require much less computational power than three-dimensional hydrodynamic models and can handle non-linear associations. These are two of the main advantages over other methods. Therefore, the machine learning approach to be developed will provide us with an efficient way of predicting water quality in estuarine and coastal waters. Perhaps even more importantly, the results may be used to include new principal factors in numerical models for a better representation of the real world. The tool will also help management and policy-making on nutrient load limits by reducing the uncertainty of hypoxia climatic projections for total environmental health in future climatic scenarios. Regional working groups and stakeholders have shown keen interest in developing a better predictive tool for summer hypoxic conditions.

Mike Doall, Dr. Stephen Tomasetti, and Dr. Chris Gobler have received a new Sea Grant Award, in the amount $239,803, for the period 6/1/2024 – 5/31/2026, in support of the project “The current and future impacts of warming and low oxygen on the sustainability of shellfisheries across New York”.

Objectives:
1. Hold stakeholder kick-off meeting with NYSG, NYSDEC, The Nature Conservancy, East Hampton Town Trustees, Southampton Town Trustees, the East Coast Shellfish Growers, the Long Island Oyster Growers Association, and the Shellfish Growers Climate Coalition to introduce the project and engage stakeholders with the topics of climate change-induced warming and hypoxia and potential effects on shellfisheries and aquaculture.
2. Use current and historical satellite data to create seasonal, 1-km resolution maps of temperature trends and maximum temperatures across New York (NY) estuaries since 2002.H1. Seasonal water temperatures in NY are differentially increasing at rates exceeding global averages.
3. Assess long-term, high-frequency records of temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) data from government and academic sources to quantify the frequency, magnitude, and duration of summer hypoxia and heat wave events across the estuaries of the northern, southern,eastern, and western coastlines of Long Island, New York. H2. Presently, NY estuaries are experiencing summer hypoxia and/or heat wave events of a greater intensity and/or duration compared to the past.
4. Collate existing experimental data to develop a shellfish sensitivity index that catalogs the high/low temperature and low DO values and exposure durations that negatively impact the
development, performance, and survival of economically important coastal shellfish species (bay scallops, blue crabs, hard clams, Jonah crabs, whelks, eastern oysters) across life stages.
5. Combine observational, modeling, and experimental data to create maps that indicate current and future, ideal and restrictive habitats for each shellfish species across all NY estuaries.
6. Host a wrap-up seminar to communicate findings and disseminate products (maps, infographics) to project stakeholders.
Rationale:
New York (NY) has historically hosted some of the Nation’s most productive fisheries, with landings of shellfish always among the most valuable. Over the last quarter century, two major NY shellfisheries have collapsed due fully or in part to climate change induced warming and persistent or diel-cycling low oxygen (hypoxia). Most recently, Co-PIs Tomasetti and Gobler demonstrated that high temperatures and heat wave events have exacerbated the vulnerability of the bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) to hypoxia and contributed to the collapse of the A. irradians fishery. Additional studies report summer warming induced regional extinctions of the inshore American lobster (Homarus americanus) in Long Island Sound. Conversely, warming temperatures may benefit some existing or emerging shellfisheries. Despite the risk or benefit of warming and the risk of hypoxia to regional shellfisheries, a comprehensive characterization of the temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics in NY estuaries is lacking, and the impacts of future warming on the availability of habitat with suitable temperature and DO conditions for economically important species is unknown, prohibiting proactive management strategies and risking the possibility of further fishery collapses. To ensure the viability of shellfisheries [bay scallop (A. irradians), blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), Jonah crab (Cancer borealis), oyster (Crassostrea virginica), and whelk (Busycotypus canaliculatus and Busycon carica)] in NY, evaluation of the (i) changing temperatures, (ii) high-frequency DO conditions, and (iii) availability of habitat or aquaculture space suitable to species’ temperature and DO sensitivities is needed. This project will characterize the dynamics of past, present, and future temperature and DO in NY estuaries and identify ideal and inhibitory locations across NY for each species, allowing managers, fishers, and aquaculturists to prepare for future change.

Dr. Yong Chen has received a new Sea Grant Award, in the amount $215,368, for the period 6/1/2024 – 5/31/2026, in support of the project “Developing an end-to-end ecosystem model to inform management of Hudson River and New York Bight ecosystem”.

Objectives:
The overarching goal of this proposed project is to develop and test an end-to-end model to simulate the HRE-NYB ecosystem dynamics, allowing to identify key drivers and stressors that regulate the HRE-NYB ecosystem dynamics for supporting EBFM in the studied area. More specifically, we will address the following four specific objectives: (1) develop an end-to-end model by coupling FVCOM-NPZD and OSMOSE; (2) evaluate whether the developed end-to-end model can simulate the observed HRE-NYB ecosystem dynamics and tune the model; (3) use the tuned model to identify key environmental variables (e.g., temperature, salinity/freshwater inputs, DO, water quality, water runoff, sewage releases and zooplankton) regulating the HRE-NYB ecosystem dynamics; and (4) develop an outreach program to showcase the utility of the developed end-to-end model.
Rationale:
Both the Hudson River and NYB provide critical habitats for ecologically and economically important fish species, with the HRE serving as a corridor to connect these two areas. As fisheries management increasingly strives for an EBFM approach and increasingly dynamic ecosystems under multiple environmental and anthropogenic stressors including climate change and offshore wind power development, it is essential and necessary to consider HRE and NYB as a whole ecosystem considering both ecological and environmental interactions within these two areas. Knowing how ecosystems respond to multiple stressors can be critical for achieving management objectives while avoiding undesirable outcomes. Therefore, to better understand the dynamics of the HRE-NYB ecosystem in the context of ongoing climate change and anthropogenic stressors, an ecosystem model, coupling physical and biological processes, needs to be developed. This project will develop and test an end-to-end model to simulate the HRE-NYB ecosystem dynamics, allowing to identify key drivers and stressors that regulate the HRE-NYB ecosystem dynamics for supporting EBFM and spatial planning in the studied area.

Dr. Emmanuelle Pales Espinosa and Dr. Bassem Allam and collaborators have received a new award from Sea Grant, in the amount $239,989, for the period 6/1/24 – 5/31/26, in support of the project “Characterization and dynamics of bay scallop Marosporida (BSM), an emergent parasite of Argopecten irradians irradians”.

Objectives:
1. To determine parasite distribution and dynamics in the environment and identify potential reservoirs of bay scallop Marosporida (BSM);
2. To evaluate how temperature regulates disease dynamics and the persistence of parasite cells in the environment;
3. To assess whether BSM can be directly transmitted from diseased to naïve scallops; and
4. To characterize the genetic diversity of the parasite throughout its range to understand if the current outbreak in the Peconic results from the emergence of a highly virulent strain
Rationale:
Adult bay scallop (Argopecten irradians subpsp. irradians) populations in the Peconic estuary (east end of Long Island, NY) have suffered severe mortality events since 2019. These mortality events were systematically associated with annual outbreaks of an undescribed parasite that disrupts the tissues of infected animals. Genetic analysis showed that the parasite belongs to a new class of apicomplexan parasites, the Marosporida. The parasite, dubbed bay scallop Marosporida (BSM), has a tropism for kidney tissues, but is also capable of colonizing and disrupting a broad range of scallop tissues including the adductor muscle, gonad and gills. Similar parasites were recently associated with the collapse of the scallop fishery in Iceland and other areas in the Northern Atlantic. Further progress in our understanding of BSM disease outbreaks is limited by an obvious lack of information on basic aspects of the biology and ecology of this emergent parasite. For example, its diversity, distribution and dynamics in the environment are unknown, as is how it is transmitted to its scallop host. Our preliminary results allowed the detection of BSM in seawater and sediment samples from the Peconic estuary, but it remains unclear if these represent a reservoir (or a sink) for parasite cells, or if the parasite can infect other species. It remains also unclear if BSM detected in environmental samples represent BSM cells persisting after release from infected scallops, or instead represent a scallop-independent source of potentially infectious parasite cells. This information is essential to understand how scallops become infected and identify areas of high (or alternatively low) infection risk. This proposed project will address these issues by (1) establishing parasite distribution and dynamics in the environment and identifying potential reservoirs of BSM, (2) evaluating disease dynamics and the persistence of parasite cells in the environment under conditions simulating those prevailing in the Peconic bay under past, current and projected climate scenarios, (3) determining whether BSM can be directly transmitted from diseased to naïve scallops, and (4) characterizing the genetic diversity of the parasite throughout its range. While the center focus of this proposal is the Peconic estuary, we will also probe the presence of BSM in other sites in NY State as well as other areas supporting the scallop industry in the region. Expected results will greatly help identify risk factors associated with disease outbreaks, while at the same time enable the development of mitigation strategies to protect the fishery and facilitate restoration. As in the past, we will work closely with state and local agencies as well as the industry to ensure optimal use of research resources and amplify the impacts of the research findings through extension and outreach.

SBU News Features

 

Latest Videos

 

Latest Publications

Aller, R., Klingensmith, I., Stieglitz, T., Heilbrun, C., Waugh, S., Aschenbroich, A., … & Michaud, E. (2024). Biogeochemical plumbing of pioneer mangrove intertidal flats in French Guiana. Regional Environmental Change, 24(3), 117.

Wang, M., Zeng, F., Chen, S., Wehrmann, L. M., Waugh, S., Brownawell, B. J., Gobler, C.J., & Mao, X. (2024). Phosphorus attenuation and mobilization in sand filters treating onsite wastewater. Chemosphere, 143042.

Kaczvinsky, C., Levy, H., Preston, S., Youngflesh, C., Clucas, G., Lynch, H. J., … & Smith, A. L. (2024). The influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the bacterial microbiome of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) in their natural environment. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 17933.

Dolan, T. E., Feldheim, K. A., O’Leary, S. J., Fede, C. M., McElroy, A. E., & Frisk, M. G. Patterns of persistence: Genetic and behavioral population complexity of winter flounder amid population declines. Journal of Fish Biology.

Lowell, A., Hill, C. E., Dupont, S., Infantes, E., Ramesh, K., Peterson, B., … & Cox, T. E. (2024). Low pH enhances germination of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) seeds despite ubiquitous presence of Phytophthora gemini. Aquatic Botany, 103805.

Steinke, J., Gilbert, C., Coletti, A., Levin, S. H., Suk, J., & Oeldorf-Hirsch, A. (2024). Women in STEM on TikTok: Advancing Visibility and Voice Through STEM Identity Expression. Social Media+ Society, 10(3), 20563051241274675.

Zhang, Y., Goethel, D. R., Smith, M. W., Picariello, L., Chen, Y., Li, Y., … & Agar, J. (2024). A web-based decision support tool for performing management strategy evaluation on the Gulf of Mexico red snapper resource. Ecological Informatics, 102756.

Oue, M., Lamer, K., Luke, E. P., Xu, Z., Yang, F., Zhu, Z., & Kollias, P. (2024). Training the next generation of researchers in exploring cloud dynamics and microphysics using millimeter-wavelength radars. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 105(8), E1514-E1520.

Wakefield, E. D., McClymont, E. L., Carneiro, A. P., Croxall, J. P., González-Solís, J., Granroth-Wilding, H. M., Thorne, L. H. … & Phillips, R. A. (2024). Seasonal resource tracking and use of sea-ice foraging habitats by albatrosses and large petrels. Progress in Oceanography, 103334.

 

Latest Press Headlines

Times Beacon Record: SBU professor discusses local turquoise seawater

  • Along the South Shore, all the way from Montauk to Brooklyn and spanning about 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, there is an algal bloom full of a specific type of phytoplankton called coccolithophores, explained Christopher Gobler, a professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

News12: LI water quality report for week of Aug. 1 from Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook University

  • Water temperatures are in the mid 70s on Long Island with generally fair water quality. Out of 30 sites tested, 12 are ranked fair with six good and 11 poor.

Newsday: Chronic flooding plagues West Islip residents who press town after 10 years of complaints

  • Stony Brook University professor Henry Bokuniewicz, an expert in coastal groundwater issues and shoreline change, cited several potential causes for the increased flooding on Eaton Lane. An increase in rainfall due to climate change, he said, could inundate the area’s drainage systems, which simply weren’t built to accommodate the mounting volume of water.

Newsday: Rare orange lobster finds new digs at marine education center

  • In 2022, there were 119 million pounds of American lobster harvested, valued at $515 million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries bureau. “It’s nothing to go through 30 million lobsters. There’s enough people fishing for lobster that they show up, and when they do, they get sent to an aquarium or zoo,” said Chris Paparo, who manages Stony Brook University’s marine science center in Southampton.

NY Times: Too Much of Our Seafood Has a Dark Secret

  • Not that long ago, if you saw a piece of fish on your plate, you wouldn’t have thought to ask where it came from or whether it was sustainable. That began to change in the 1990s as conservation groups fought to protect all kinds of life in the ocean from overfishing. After persuading Congress to create and enforce strict plans to bring back species, they set in motion a virtuous cycle that made seafood, from the mighty swordfish to the humble sea scallop, abundant again. (Guest written by Carl Safina)

North Country Public Radio: Do you love seafood? Here’s how to eat it responsibly

  • There are a bunch of sites and they’re all really thorough and free. So obviously, Seafood Watch, of course, but also, NOAA has a great guide and so does the Safina Center at Stony Brook University, and the Environmental Defense Fund has a seafood selector.

Department of Energy: $41 Million Investment Strengthens and Expands Marine Energy R&D and Testing Infrastructure

  • Among their projects, the team at the Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC)—consisting of the University of New Hampshire, Lehigh University, Stony Brook University, and the Coastal Studies Institute—will advance the development of anchor systems to support marine energy device deployments in deep water. Anchor systems are designed to keep marine energy devices in place. Researchers will advance a specialized anchoring system that can be adapted to multiple devices and water conditions.

Newsday: As chemical plume nears Farmingdale wells, officials say upgrades will keep drinking water clean

  • Christopher Gobler, a professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, said Farmingdale’s upgrades can effectively target contaminants that are bearing down on its wells. However, he said that higher pollution concentrations from the plume could cause village officials to more frequently change out components of the infrastructure, like the large column that polluted water is pumped through.

NY Department of Health: New York State’s Wastewater Surveillance System Named ‘Center of Excellence’ by CDC

  • Led by the Department, the State’s Wastewater Surveillance Network and program provides health officials with yet another mechanism to assess COVID-19 circulation in communities. The results are used alongside clinical case information and test data to provide an even more dynamic view of transmission trends. The Department’s partners in this work include Syracuse University, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), SUNY Environmental Sciences & Forestry, University at Buffalo, and Stony Brook University.

 

 

 

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