November 2024 News and Press at SoMAS

Dec 1, 2024

Student mural artist Norah Allam is celebrated for her work at SoMAS with her parents Bassem Allam and Emmanuelle Pales-Espinosa and Dean Paul Shepson.

Photo above: Student mural artist Norah Allam is celebrated for her work at SoMAS with her parents Bassem Allam and Emmanuelle Pales-Espinosa and Dean Paul Shepson.

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Gobler, who was one of eleven Stony Brook University endowed faculty members that were formally installed on October 25 at a ceremony held at the Charles B. Wang Center Theater.

 

Stony Brook University hosted the national Society for Women in Marine Science Symposium, the first since 2019, this past weekend.  Over the three days of the event, there were 115 registrants, who watched the documentary Picture the Scientist and attended panels on professional development and career options as well as an organizational tabling and poster presentation session.  Participants also were able to attend training workshops on marine mammal stranding, Data Analysis and Visualization in R for Marine Scientists, and social media & CV/Resume writing. Photos from the SWMS Symposium 2024 are available on Google Photos.

Dr. Joe Warren has received a new award from the Office of Naval Research (via UNH), in support of the project “Expanding Science from the Gulf of Maine Regional Acoustic Network”, in the amount $170,000, for the period 9/1/24 – 8/31/26.

Abstract

The Gulf of Maine as a region is experiencing rapid rates of climate change with associated impacts on both the ecosystem and the organisms that reside there. A key challenge in any long term monitoring study is being able to monitor components of the ecosystem at the proper spatial and temporal scales necessary to quantify and identify changes occurring from natural forcing processes and those from anthropogenic causes. Long-term acoustic backscattering monitoring at the AEON/GOMRAN sites are producing an extensive Gulf of Maine dataset measuring zooplankton, nekton, and (in some locations/times) higher predators at a temporal resolution allowing us to investigate a variety of oceanographic processes. However, there has not been a concerted effort to use the lander backscatter data in a comprehensive manner to develop a set of time-series indices that can be efficiently combined with the other datasets produced by the landers as well as other scientific products for this region (i.e. modeled animal distributions and abundances). Therefore, this task will focus on: collection of concurrent net, optical, and multiple-frequency backscatter data at the WIB site during year 1 to collect vertically-resolved information on the distribution of small (copepods) and medium (krill) crustaceans which are key components of the GoM ecosystem. These data will be combined with additional datasets (i.e. MBON monthly net sampling) and theoretical acoustic backscatter models to develop classification algorithms which can be used to process the lander-collected backscatter data from the GOMRAN network. This will result in the production of indices specific to key types of organisms (e.g. copepods, krill, fish, and/or squid) relevant to the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. The results from this effort will provide information on the relative abundance and variability (in space and time) of secondary and tertiary consumers in the GoM food web at similar temporal resolutions that primary productivity is currently measured by satellites and in situ instruments. Having compatible data sets for phytoplankton production and the next steps in the food web will provide researchers the information needed to address key questions of how the GoM ecosystem is responding to anthropogenic and other changes.

SBU News Features

Latest Videos

 

Latest Publications

Michaud, E., Aschenbroich, A., Stieglitz, T., Brunier, G., Aller, R. C., Anthony, E., … & Thouzeau, G. (2024). Upscaling the contribution of crab burrows to mangrove ecosystem functioning in French Guiana (South America). Regional Environmental Change, 24(4), 1-14.

Gilbert, C., Li, R., Colle, B., Moses, J., & Golden, S. (2024). Investigating the role of community organizations in communicating extreme weather events in New York City: A content analysis. Risk Analysis.

Khan, A. S., Aurand, A., Hamideh, S., Vickery, J., Walter, R. J., & Errett, N. A. (2024). Opportunities for Implementation of Disaster Risk Management Strategies among Public Housing Authorities. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 0739456X241293384.

Wu, H., Flynn, C., Hall, C., Che-Castaldo, C., Samaras, D., Schwaller, M., & Lynch, H. J. (2024). Penguin colony georegistration using camera pose estimation and phototourism. Plos one, 19(10), e0311038.

McCraw, J. R., Tobin, T. S., Cochran, J. K., & Landman, N. H. (2024). Ammonites as paleothermometers: Isotopically reconstructed temperatures of the Western Interior Seaway track global records. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 112594.

Chang, H. Y., Richards, R. A., Townsend, D. W., & Chen, Y. (2024). Temperature and Abundance Effects on Spatial Structures of Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) at Different Life Stages in the Oceanographically Variable Gulf of Maine. Fisheries Oceanography, e12714.

Zhu, Z., Yang, F., Kollias, P., Lamer, K., Luke, E., Mead, J. B., … & McComiskey, A. (2024). Peering into Cloud Physics Using Ultra-Fine-Resolution Radar and Lidar Systems. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 105(11), E2010-E2025.

 

Latest Press Headlines

The Cooldown: Researchers make disturbing discovery in Long Island waterways — here’s what it could mean for the future of the island

  • “We had a record number of dead zones in 2024 with oxygen levels of less than 3mg oxygen per liter,” coastal ecologist Dr. Christopher Gobler at Stony Brook University told Fox. “Ideally, our coastal waterbodies will have 4.8mg oxygen per liter.” (Also in MSN)

ETX Daily Up: Scientists use AI to help track penguins in Antarctica

  • Researchers at Stony Brook University in New York have come up with an ingenious way of tracking the evolution of Adélie penguin colonies in Antarctica, without having to go there. They use the Segment Anything Model, a computer vision model designed by Meta. It enables them to analyze photos taken by tourists and scientists in this remote part of the world. This tool, designed for segmenting objects in images, can identify one or more penguins in a matter of seconds, something it would take a minimum of one to two minutes to do otherwise, the researchers explain in their paper.

Newsday: $400M Mastic Beach plan to revitalize downtown with housing, restaurants, shops, officials say

  • Rich Murdocco, an adjunct professor of planning at Stony Brook University, said Mastic Beach will need to craft a new identity if it is to attract visitors, “and that’s going to take time.” For redevelopment to succeed, he said, residents will need to show unwavering support for the plan.

Innovate LI: No. 929: New rental housing, Hank Foley and plenty more to be thankful for (including some much-needed days off)

  • Michael White has been named interim director of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute at Stony Brook University. He is currently an adjunct faculty lecturer at SBU’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and a special-projects consultant with Winter Brothers Waste Systems of Long Island.

Newsday: Does downpour dampen Long Island’s drought? Not likely, experts say

  • After Saturday, “our next chance for precipitation looks like Monday night, there’s a slight chance,” Pollina said. “That usually means mainly dry, but some areas might see a passing shower. Nothing through midweek after that.” The weather change since the late summer “certainly sets off a small alarm,” said David Black an associate professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Miami Herald: A Trump administration is not necessarily bad for climate change | Opinion

  • Build and nurture strong coalitions — Climate impacts are bipartisan and communities pull together to rebuild after a fire or storm regardless of political viewpoints. Ensuring that broad community coalitions are prepared to face climate threats is essential. The University of Miami is a core member of the South Florida Climate Ready Tech Hub, while the SUNY Stony Brook-anchored New York Climate Exchange has coalesced a global network of partners to accelerate climate solutions in New York City and beyond. Both seek to empower local networks and keep the U.S. competitive in the rapidly developing climate tech sector. (Also in MSN and Yahoo)

Waste Advantage: Michael E. White Named Interim Director of Waste Reduction and Management Institute at Stony Brook University

  • Stony Brook University has named Michael E. White the interim director of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute (WRMI), which resides in the university’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and is overseen by Dean Paul Shepson. White is presently a SoMAS adjunct faculty lecturer and works as a consultant on special projects with Winters Bros. Waste Systems of Long Island, LLC, which was recently acquired by Waste Management of New York. He is an attorney and has concentrated his law practice in the areas of environmental law, solid waste, municipal law, land use, natural resources and freight rail transportation. White is also the president and owner of LI Strategies, Inc., an environmental planning consulting firm.

Newsday: New Stony Brook waste expert to tackle recycling, other challenges posed by closure of Brookhaven’s landfill

  • One of Michael E. White’s prized possessions is a flag commemorating the first Earth Day in 1970. More than a half-century later, the environmental lawyer has been selected by Stony Brook University to serve as interim director of its Waste Reduction and Management Institute. He is principal investigator overseeing a state-funded study of Long Island’s municipal trash and recycling programs. The institute is using a $250,000 grant for the research.

 

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