We are thankful to enter the holiday season and the end of the semester! Here’s what happened in November at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.
SoMAS has had the benefit of 25 years of student scholarships, from the generous support of the community that honors and cherishes the life and memory of Evan Liblit, a leader in waste management and recycling on Long Island. This year, the Liblit Steering Committee had the pleasure of interviewing 15 excellent SoMAS students for consideration for the scholarship award, and the winners of the 2022 Evan R. Liblit Scholarship Award are:
Undergraduate Student Awardees:
Trinity Chen and Alex Casamassima
Graduate Student Award:
Alyson Lowell
And the initial recipient of a Liblit Scholarship in the MCP program:
Jessica Salmon
Latest Publications
Collins, M. B., Pulver, S., Hill, D. T., & Manski, B. (2023). Targeted pollution management can significantly reduce toxic emissions while limiting adverse effects on employment in US manufacturing. Environmental Science & Policy, 139, 157-165.
Doherty, A. C., Lee, C. S., Meng, Q., Sakano, Y., Noble, A. E., Grant, K. A., Esposito, A., Gobler, C.J. & Venkatesan, A. K. (2022). Contribution of household and personal care products to 1, 4-dioxane contamination of drinking water. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 100414.
Kleinhaus, K., Bohorquez, J. J., Awadallah, Y. M., Meyers, D., & Pikitch, E. (2022). Boost Egypt’s coral reef conservation efforts. Science, 378(6620), 608-609.
Hamideh, S., & Sen, P. (2022). Experiences of vulnerable households in low-attention disasters: Marshalltown, Iowa (United States) after the EF3 Tornado. Global Environmental Change, 77, 102595.
Barge, L. M., & Price, R. E. (2022). Diverse geochemical conditions for prebiotic chemistry in shallow-sea alkaline hydrothermal vents. Nature Geoscience, 1-6.
Alpert, P. A., Kilthau, W. P., O’Brien, R. E., Moffet, R. C., Gilles, M. K., Wang, B., Laskin, A., Aller, J.Y., & Knopf, D. A. (2022). Ice-nucleating agents in sea spray aerosol identified and quantified with a holistic multimodal freezing model. Science Advances, 8(44), eabq6842.
Louca, S., Taylor, G. T., Astor, Y. M., Buck, K. N., & Muller‐Karger, F. E. (2022). Transport‐limited reactions in microbial systems. Environmental Microbiology.
Lato, K. A., Stepanuk, J. E., Heywood, E. I., Conners, M. G., & Thorne, L. H. (2022). Assessing the accuracy of altitude estimates in avian biologging devices. PloS one, 17(10), e0276098.
Latest Seminars
Dr. Lucas Laurindo gave the TAOS lecture on November 2, 2022 “Role of Ocean and Atmosphere variability in scale-dependent Thermodynamic air-sea interactions.”
Dr. Dino Martins gave the OSAC lecture on November 4, 2022 “Ecology in the Turkana Basin: Opportunities for Research & Collaboration.”
Dr. Suyash Bire, SoMAS alum, gave the TAOS lecture on Wednesday November 9, 2022 “Boiling Icy Moons – Ocean Circulation on Icy Moons Heated From Below.”
Dr. Pedram Daneshgar gave the OSAC lecture on November 11, 2022 “Maritime Forests, Ghost Forests and Cranberry Bogs.”
Dr. Bob Chant, SoMAS alum, gave the OSAC lecture on November 18, 2022 “The Change in the Exchange: Urban estuaries in the Anthropocene.”
Dr. Dié Wang gave the TAOS lecture on November 30, 2022 “Updrafts and Downdrafts of Mesoscale Convective Systems“.
Stony Brook News Features
Saving Egypt’s Coral Reefs is Necessary to Preserve Oceans’ Ecosystems
Scientists Characterize Sea Spray Particles That Form Ice Crystals in High Altitude Clouds
SoMAS Faculty Featured in NBC New York Series on Climate Change
Heidi Hutner Feature Documentary ‘Radioactive’ Premiering in NYC on December 4
Latest Press
Long Island Business News: Mass scallop die-off prompts new breeding effort
- To help reverse the trend of die-offs, aquaculture experts from the CCE Suffolk Marine Program and Stony Brook University are jointly undertaking two breeding initiatives focused on selective breeding. Also ran in PostX News.
City Life Org: Proposal #1/Aerial View/Conceptual Draft Rendering
- New York Climate Exchange, led by Stony Brook University, in partnership with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Georgia Institute of Technology, Pace University, Pratt Institute, University of Washington, Duke University, Moody’s Corporation, Rochester Institute of Technology, State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, Oxford University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, URBS Systems, General Electric (GE), and additional business, nonprofit, and on-Island partners.
Newsday: Peconic Bay scallops experiencing die-off for 4th straight year
- Cornell suspects a combination of a known parasite that preys on the scallops and continuing warm waters are among the primary factors for the die-off. Stony Brook University, which is working closely with Cornell to study the parasite impacts and identify and propagate resistant strains of scallops, has found high levels of the parasite in sample scallops, Tobi said.
Newsday: Fishing’s ‘fall blitz’ brings excitement to LI anglers
- Just a few yards to the east, Clayton McGoldrick, 21, of Southampton, has hooked another false albacore, his second of the morning. After a spirited battle that sees his albie make three strong runs of 30 yards or more each, he slides his catch onto the sand and lets out a loud and emphatic “Yeah!” before releasing it. A student in Stony Brook University Southampton’s Semester by The Sea Program, the Fairview, Connecticut, native spends plenty of time around the water but still can’t get enough of Long Island’s late fall fishing.
Shelter Island Reporter: Center clean water advocates expand views: Letter sent to Town officials pushing a counter study
- The letter reiterated Mr. Gobler’s credentials as director of the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology at SUNY Stony Brook and referred to Mr. Lombardo’s criticisms of using an alternative solution to the Center water quality problems.
Three Village Patch: SBU Faculty Member’s Climate Change Podcast Wins National Award (press release)
- Stony Brook University School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) lecturer and WSHU managing editor J.D. Allen received an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Excellence in Science Communication Award from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The Post and Courier: What we know — and don’t — about how climate change impacts hurricanes
- “That is a question that is really difficult to answer. There is no ‘what would have September 2022 looked like without climate change?’ We don’t have that,” said Reed, an associate professor in the school of marine and atmospheric sciences, at Stony Brook University.
NJ.com: To help migratory birds, allow this feeding frenzy to go on | Opinion
- Op-Ed written by Abigail Costigan who resides in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., and is a marine researcher with a master’s degree from Stony Brook University. Carl Safina is an author, and heads the Safina Center on Long Island, a nonprofit that dedicates itself to environmental justice for wildlife.
Dan’s Papers: 4th Annual Die-Off Hits Peconic Bay Scallops
- Warming waters exacerbating high disease levels, low oxygen levels and adult scallops being physiologically stressed from spawning amid the higher water temperatures were to blame for the die-off in June and July, experts said. In response, scientists at Riverhead-based Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE Suffolk) are working on two genetic-driven projects under the leadership of Bassem Allam, a professor of marine sciences at Stony Brook, that evaluate selective breeding as a strategy to mitigate the die-offs.
Three Village Patch: Stony Brook University Researchers Study Sea Spray Particles (press release)
- Now researchers at Stony Brook University have developed a way to simulate SSAs in laboratory tanks that mirror ocean conditions. This has allowed them to determine the organic compounds associated with and released by growing marine microorganisms, and discover clues to the role of these compounds as INPs. They also studied the formation of ice, as in itself is a complex process and can be formed by various mechanisms. Their findings are detailed in a paper published in Science Advances.
Player FM: Your Inner Tree (rebroadcast)
- Professor of Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University and founder of the Safina Center, and author of “Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace.”
Eco Magazine: Saving Egypt’s Coral Reefs is Necessary to Preserve Oceans’ Ecosystems
- An international group of marine scientists led by Karine Kleinhaus, of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), has published a letter in Science that is a call to action for policy makers, government agencies and ocean conservation groups to take major steps to preserve Egypt’s 1800 km of coral reefs – a massive section of the Red Sea’s reef system. Egypt’s reefs generate billions of dollars annually from tourism and tourism-related commerce.
Newsday: Study calls for sea gates, walls to protect South Shore from storm surge
- A complex system of sea gates and concrete walls with lifting panels are needed to protect Long Island’s vulnerable South Shore communities from storm surges and rising sea levels, according to a study by a Stony Brook University professor.
News12: Stony Brook University study proposes solutions to South Shore flooding issues
- Stony Brook University gave an update on a nearly four-year study on how to prevent or limit flooding on the South Shore 10 years after Superstorm Sandy hit.
WCBS-TV: Experts explain how to prevent catastrophic flooding on Long Island
- Wednesday, the Stony Brook School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences explained how sea gates and cross bay baffles at certain inlets could prevent the South Shore from catastrophic flooding. Also ran in Yahoo News, Vietnam Explorer News Channel, News Explorer, New York Folk/New Yorker,
Lewiston Tribune/Orlando Sentinel: Ian’s historic Orlando rain has experts seeking ways to hold back floods
- Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and Stony Brook University in New York found that climate change likely increased Hurricane Ian’s rainfall by 10%. Also ran in the Miami Herald, Marietta Daily Journal,
East Hampton Star: Folkestone Creek Oyster Nursery Is Approved
- To assuage the trustees’ concerns, Mr. Nicholas said he had submitted a proposed five-year study to be conducted by Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences “to monitor the water and the coastal rehabilitation of the property as it changes from marina to an oyster farm.” The proposed study would cost $100,000 over five years, he said. “I request that you grant us the opportunity to operate the oyster farm now under the same guidelines as the D.E.C., and allow me time to apply for grants to cover the coastal rehabilitation study.”
Brookhaven Lab: A Study of Stormy Houston Switches Gears
- Three other experts weighed in. Pavlos Kollias, who has a joint appointment at Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University, talked about the preliminary analysis of data from TRACER’s novel radar tracking of convective cells.
Times Beacon Record: SBU’s Daniel Knopf, Josephine Aller identify aerosolized organic matter in clouds
- Daniel Knopf, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Stony Brook University, and Josephine Aller, microbial oceanographer in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, have been teaming up to study the effect of sea spray aerosols on cloud formation in the ocean for 15 years.
Popular Science: How kelp farming is helping revive the economy and ecology of a Long Island bay
- Kelp feeds off excess carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorus. The last two are pollutants responsible for harmful algal blooms that have killed off plants and animals in Shinnecock Bay, said Christopher Gobler, a marine scientist at Stony Brook University on Long Island. Also ran on MSN and Discover.
Phys.org: A study of stormy Houston switches gears
- Three other experts weighed in. Pavlos Kollias, who has a joint appointment at Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University, talked about the preliminary analysis of data from TRACER’s novel radar tracking of convective cells. Also ran in Vietnam Explorer News Channel, News Explorer and News Concerns.
Deeper Blue: Scientists Highlight The Importance Of Protecting Egypt’s Coral Reefs
- The team was led by Karine Kleinhaus, from Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.
Sea Technology Magazine: Scientists Call for Protection of Egypt’s Reefs
- An international group of marine scientists led by Karine Kleinhaus, of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), has published a letter in Science, coinciding with COP27, that is a call to action for policymakers, government agencies and ocean conservation groups to take major steps to preserve Egypt’s 1,800 km of coral reefs–a massive section of the Red Sea’s reef system.
Southampton Press: Stony Brook Professor Says Billion-Dollar Iron ‘Sea Gates’ at Inlets Could Protect Long Islanders in Next Hurricane
- The report from a study conducted by Malcolm Bowman, PhD, an oceanography professor at Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, said that having sea gates at the six inlets along the South Shore during Superstorm Sandy would have reduced severe flood damage.
Novonite: Heidi Hutner feature documentary ‘Radioactive’ premieres in NYC December 4
- Heidi Hutner, an associate professor of ecofeminism and environmental justice in the English Department of the College of Arts and Sciences premieres her feature-length documentary, RADIOACTIVE: The women of Three Mile Island at the Dances with Films independent film festival on December 4 in New York City.
City & State: Steve Englebright leaves an environmental legacy
- Before joining the Assembly in 1992, Englebright served in the Suffolk County Legislature, and he has taught at Stony Brook University in his district.
East Hampton Star: Shinnecock Life and Old-Growth Forests
- Gears will shift on Saturday, when Carl Safina and Joan Maloof will talk about “The Importance of Old-Growth Forests” at 3 p.m. The first endowed professor of nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, Dr. Safina has published 10 books, hosted the PBS series “Saving the Ocean,” and received numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship.
Newsday: Hochul: $2.25M for cesspool replacement on Long Island
- The Department of Environmental Conservation recently approved Nassau County’s Nine Key Element Plan to reduce nitrogen with Stony Brook University.
North Fork Patch: $2.25M In Federal Funding Aimed At LI Water Quality Improvement
- The DEC also recently approved the Nassau County Nine Key Element Plan for Nitrogen. The plan helps advance efforts to restore and protect the water quality of the groundwater and bays around Nassau County. The program was funded in part by the Long Island Sound Study and is a collaboration between Nassau County, the DEC, and Stony Brook University’s School of Atmospheric and Marine Sciences, Hochul said.
Governor Kathy Hochul: Governor Hochul Announces $2.25 Million in Federal Funding to Improve Long Island Water Quality and Reduce Pollution
- The plan helps advance efforts to restore and protect the water quality of the groundwater and embayments around Nassau County. Its development was funded in part by the Long Island Sound Study and is a collaboration between Nassau County, DEC, and Stony Brook University’s School of Atmospheric and Marine Sciences (SoMAS). The result is a science-driven plan to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the waters in and around Nassau County. Suffolk County completed a similar “Nine Element Plan” in 2021.
Manhasset press: A Summer Of Discontent In Long Island’s Coastal Waters
- Scientists at Stony Brook University have completed their assessment of water quality in Long Island’s estuaries in 2022 and the news is not good –the announcement was made recently at a press conference on the Cold Spring Harbor waterfront.
