November 2025 News and Press from SoMAS

Dec 1, 2025

Attendees from the memorial for the late professor Sultan Hameed

Photo above: Attendees from memorial for the late Professor Sultan Hameed

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the memorial for the late Professor Sultan Hameed. Former and current SoMAS faculty, staff, and graduate students were joined by members of Sultan’s family to celebrate his life. Video of the event is available on the SoMAS YouTube Channel. Nicole Reimer, a former faculty at SoMAS, returned to give the Friday seminar in honor of Sultan’s work: From Centers of Action to Particle Resolution: Learning Structure Across Scales in Aerosol-Climate Research. Photos from the event are available on Google Photos. A PDF memory book of Sultan Hameed and a photo album of Sultan at SoMAS are also available.

At the Stony Brook University 2025 Investiture Ceremony on October 25, 2025, Dr. Ellen Pikitch delivered the keynote address. In case you missed it, the video is available on YouTube.

Did you see the short videos about the Sustainability Studies program? Learn more about different aspects of the program from faculty and students:

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Dean’s Challenge at the Stony Brook Football game on November 11! We had a great turnout for the tailgate and the weather was incredible for November! Photos from the event are available on Google Photos.

The recipients of the Evan R. Liblit Scholarship were recognized on November 19, 2025 at the Irish Coffee Bar. The Evan R. Liblit Scholarship Breakfast Journal highlighting the event is available as a PDF. Photos from the event are available on Google Photos and video from the event is available on YouTube.

 

Joe Warren has received an award from the Office of Naval Research (via UNH) for a project entitled “Smart Acoustics from Shelf to Shore in the Gulf of Maine” in the amount of $423,000.

Summary: A key challenge in underwater acoustics is to determine what information can be gathered about targets from their scattered signals. Using multiple frequency, broadband echosounders information on the size, shape, composition, and physical properties can (in some cases) be determined remotely. However, performing this task reliably and accurately requires ground-truthed data to verify acoustically-inferred information from water column targets. Understanding the short (meso-scale) and long-term spatial and temporal variability in water column scatterers is critical information that can assist the Navy with the identification and categorization of bioclutter, therefore improving their ability to detect and identify other objects in the ocean. In order to address these challenges, we will participate in the 2026 and 2027 3 week long research cruises in the Gulf of Maine where we will conduct vertical net tows, CTD casts, and Fine-Scale Acoustic Surveys at each of the five Gulf of Maine long term acoustic monitoring locations. In addition, depending on cruise schedules, we will deploy a shadowgraph imaging instrument to measure the vertical distribution of scatterers in these environments to assist with interpreting the net tow and volume backscatter data collected by the bottom landers and ship-board surveys. Additional sampling trips (roughly two times per year) will also occur at the Wilkinson Basin monitoring site and/or at the Isle of Shoals cabled observatory. These data will allow us to improve our capability to characterize and identify scatterers in this region (i.e. bubbles, sediments, crustacean zooplankton, squid, or fish).

Mariko Oue has received an award entitled “Support for Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing (CMAS) Urban Weather Research ” from DOE (via Brookhaven National Laboratory) in the amount of $53,323.50

Project summary: Managing infrastructure and energy sources and sinks in complex urban and coastal locations is one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century. A key component of this challenge is acquiring currently unavailable multi-parametric, multi-scale data. The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing, in collaboration with Stony Brook University, will conduct field campaigns to understand roles of heterogeneous landscapes and energy hotspots on atmospheric phenomena including localized heavy precipitation and environments. Stony Brook University will assist the field campaign planning and logistics including pre-deployment planning for mobile and stationary observational campaigns, deployment and measurement support, and data analyses. We will also develop and demonstrate the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to optimize observational strategies, sensor placement, and sampling frequency.

 

SBU News Features

Latest Videos

 

Latest Publications

Anderson, D. M., Wells, M. L., Trainer, V. L., Suddleson, M., Claridge, K., Coyne, K. J., …, Gobler, C.  J., … & Yuan, Y. (2025). Controlling harmful algal blooms (HABs) in marine waters: Review of current status and future prospects. Harmful Algae, 102989.

Li, Y., Kleisner, K., Mills, K. E., Ren, Y., & Chen, Y. (2025). Integrating scientific data, local knowledge, and expert knowledge to assess climate vulnerability in fisheries. Ecology and Society, 30(4).

Hathaway, J. R., Moses, J. M., Sanders Davis, S. J., Rowan, K. E., Colle, B. A., Bojsza, E. J., … & Brennan, S. E. (2025). Impact of a Workshop with Visualization and Ethics Discussion on Awareness of Flood Risk and Intent to Protect. Weather, Climate, and Society, 17(4), 715-728.

Saeki, K., Zitterbart, D. P., Ikari, K., Warren, J. D., Owen, K., Ohira, S. I., & Toda, K. (2025). Polyamines as predominant organic basic compounds in the Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Chemistry, 104572.

Puigdomènech Treserras, B., Kollias, P., Battaglia, A., Tanelli, S., & Nakatsuka, H. (2025). EarthCARE’s cloud profiling radar antenna pointing correction using surface Doppler measurements. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 18(20), 5607-5618.

Qiu, M., Li, J., Gould, C. F., Jing, R., Kelp, M., Childs, M. L., … & Burke, M. (2025). Wildfire smoke exposure and mortality burden in the US under climate change. Nature, 1-3.

Wugofski, S., Kumjian, M. R., Oue, M., & Kollias, P. (2025). Detection of multi-modal Doppler spectra–Part 1: Establishing characteristic signals in radar moment data. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 18(21), 6233-6249.

Gamboa, Adriana Carolina; MAZA, Richard Jesús Sánchez; MÁrquez, Jennifer Sarahí Ñañez; Rosa, Genesio Mario Da; Flach, Kauane Andressa; Faull, Luis Ernesto Medina. Accumulation of macro, meso and microplastics on an urban Caribbean beach in Venezuela: Human influences and coastal dynamics. Revista de Geociências do Nordeste , [S. l.] , v. 11, n. 2, p. 197–208, 2025. DOI: 10.21680/2447-3359.2025v11n2ID37188. Available at: https://periodicos.ufrn.br/revistadoregne/article/view/37188. Accessed on: November 20, 2025.

Lewin, S. F., Kaminski, A. K., McSweeney, J. M., & Waterhouse, A. F. (2025). Multiscale mixing variability on the inner shelf. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 55(10), 1735-1750.

Kim, J., Kollias, P., Puigdomènech Treserras, B., Battaglia, A., & Tan, I. (2025). Evaluation of the EarthCARE Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) Doppler velocity measurements using surface-based observations. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 25(21), 15389-15402.

Huang, Y., McFarquhar, G. M., Patil, S. U., Gao, L., Taszarek, M., Xue, M., …, Kollias, P., … & Subba, T. (2025). Dependence of Convective Cloud Microphysical Properties on Environmental Conditions during the TRACER and ESCAPE Field Campaigns: A Synergistic Approach of Observations, Machine Learning, and Parcel Models. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 82(10), 2291-2312.

Yan, J., Oue, M., Kollias, P., Luke, E., & Yang, F. (2025). A radar view of ice microphysics and turbulence in Arctic cloud systems. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 25(22), 16479-16490.

Tang, S., Tao, C., Xie, S., & Zhang, M. (2025). Long‐term large‐scale Atmospheric forcing data from three‐dimensional constrained variational analysis for the ARM SGP site. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 130(22), e2025JD044443.

Wehrmann, L. M., Aller, R. C., Kasten, S., Dotzler, J., & Steinhoefel, G. (2025). Rapid forward and reverse weathering reactions drive cryptic silica and cation cycling in Arctic fjord sediments. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 39(12), e2025GB008650.

Fuentes, J. D., Lance, S., Pratt, K. A., Shepson, P. B., Simpson, W. R., Antczak, I., … & Woods, S. (2025). Overview of the CHemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols (CHACHA) field campaign. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 106(11), E2276-E2299.

 

Latest Press Headlines

Washington Post: Deadly Rivers in the Sky

  • These places, where masses of moisture in the atmosphere frequently give rise to heavy rains, must be especially attuned to changes in vapor transport, said Kevin Reed, an atmospheric scientist at Stony Brook University. “If you have that dynamic … you have to know now that the rainfall it can produce is more now than it was 40 years ago,” Reed said. “You have to plan for it.” (Also in MSN)

Earth.com: Ocean predators may need twice the prey when food quality drops

  • “You could have two fish side-by-side that are the same size but have a huge range of variation in the amount of energy they provide,” said Stephanie Nehasil, a postdoctoral researcher at Stony Brook University.

The Cool Down: New study reveals that solar panels are preventing premature deaths across the US: ‘Their broader societal benefits are underexplored’

  • “Over 40% of the air quality benefits flowed to people living outside the states that imported the panels,” Stony Brook professor Minghao Qiu, the study’s lead author, said. “That’s due to how electricity and air pollution move across state lines.” (Also in MSN)

WLIW: Coastal Ocean Acidification in Our Local Waters

  • Christopher Gobler, a professor at Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences explains. “That carbonate that they use to make their shell, becomes less abundant. And so almost like a linear relationship. So it goes down and the carbonate concentrations go down with it. And that makes calcifying a challenge,” he said.

NewsBreak: Stony Brook’s Gobler Lab to Lead Comprehensive Effort to Restore Lake Ronkonkoma

  • (Owned Media) Long Island’s largest freshwater lake, once a thriving resort destination and now one of its most polluted waterways, is getting long-awaited scientific help from Stony Brook University.

Marca: This is how solar panels are preventing premature deaths in the United States, according to a study

  • This study shows that more than 40% of the air quality benefits were obtained outside the importing states, explained Minghao Qiu, a professor at Stony Brook. States such as Texas, the Carolinas and California have benefited, as solar panels replace electricity generated with fossil fuels in heavily populated areas.

Newsday: Hochul should sign legislation to protect horseshoe crabs

  • Horseshoe crabs have been declining annually according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Populations considered “good” in 2009 dropped to “poor” in 2019. The culprits have been habitat loss and unsustainable harvesting. Noted ecologist Carl Safina, a professor at Stony Brook University, says more than 4 million horseshoe crabs have been killed in Long Island waters alone since 2000.

27 East: Winter Oysters: Why North Fork’s Shellfish Shine in the Offseason

  • Data support these observations. A three-year kelp study led by researchers at Stony Brook University found in 2022 that the Peconic Bay has among the lowest nitrogen levels in the region, which is an indicator of ecosystem health that prevents harmful algae blooms and oxygen-depleted dead zones.

Amityville Herald: Herald honors environmental leadership

  • Gold sponsors of the event include The Long Island Conservancy, Reworld and Scott’s Miracle-Gro. Silver sponsors include the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, GreyMart, M&J Engineering, R&M Engineering, Stony Brook University, Edgewise Energy, GreenbergTraurig, Emtec, Merritt, Paraco, and Molloy University. (Richard Murdocco pictured)

Southforker: Clean water event seeks to help local homeowners

  • “This summer and practically every summer, five freshwater bodies in the Village of Southampton (Lake Agawam, Old Town Pond, Wickapogue Pond, Coopers Neck Pond, and Phillips Pond) experienced dense blue-green algae blooms that represent threats to public and ecosystem health,” says Dr. Christopher Gobler, director of the NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University.

Bytes EU: EPA prepares to roll back air pollution standard, as Lee Zeldin remakes agency

  • Recent research has suggested that the standard was still too high. Scientists once believed that at very low levels, “PM2.5 is not really toxic anymore,” said Minghao Qiu, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University’s public health program. “But increasingly research is showing that’s not the case.”

Newsday: EPA prepares to roll back air pollution standard, as Lee Zeldin remakes agency

  • Recent research has suggested that the standard was still too high. Scientists once believed that at very low levels, “PM2.5 is not really toxic anymore,” said Minghao Qiu, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University’s public health program. “But increasingly research is showing that’s not the case.”

Newsday: Long Island winters becoming less fierce as global warming raises the temperature

  • Warmer temperatures trigger a feedback loop, said Minghua Zhang, a Stony Brook University physicist who studies climate. Bright ice and snow reflect the sun’s rays away from the Earth — it’s called the albedo effect — helping cool the ground and air. Without snow cover, “the surface can absorb more solar radiation,” Zhang said, which brings more warming.

EA Water: Stony Brook University Professor Patents Groundbreaking Water Quality Sensor

  • A pioneering innovation from Stony Brook University promises to transform water quality monitoring. Associate Professor Qingzhi Zhu has been awarded a patent for an advanced sensor system capable of simultaneously detecting nitrate/nitrite and ammonium in real time — a major breakthrough for environmental monitoring. This technology can revolutionise wastewater treatment and septic system monitoring, offering immediate insights into water quality and enabling faster response to contamination events.

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