Eco-DAS XIII
October 15-20, 2018, Honolulu, Hawai’i
Application Deadline: 1 May, 2018 apply at http://eco-das.org/
The Ecological Dissertations in the Aquatic Sciences symposium series is designed to:
The 2018 symposium will be held at the East-West Center, University of Hawai`i at Manoa campus, 15-20 October 2018. Applicants should have received their PhD on or after 1 June 2017, or expect to receive it before 1 June 2019. The dissertation work of the applicant must deal with an important ecological problem in oceanography or limnology. Applications will include: a current resume, a letter of support from the applicants current (graduate or postdoctoral) advisor, up to two additional letters of support from other individuals familiar with the applicants background (optional), a personal statement regarding the applicants goals and reasons for applying (2 pages maximum), and a substantive outline of a proposed collaborative manuscript (3 pages maximum). All travel and on-site expenses will be paid by the program.
Applications are due by 1 May 2018. For more information regarding the symposium, including application requirements and procedures, see the symposium website at: http://eco-das.org/ or contact paulkemp@hawaii.edu. Past symposia have resulted in proceedings volumes published as Limnology and Oceanography e-Books; and individual articles appearing in Limnology and Oceanography: Letters, Limnology and Oceanography: Fluids and Environments, Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, F1000 Research, Oecologia, Environmental Evidence and other journals.
Eco-DAS funding is provided by NSF. Eco-DAS is sponsored by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) at the University of Hawai’i.
“Frontiers in Ocean Optics and Ocean Colour Science”
Villefranche-sur-Mer, France (25 June – 7 July 2018)
The 2018 IOCCG Summer Lecture Series, dedicated to high-level training in the fundamentals of ocean optics, bio-optics and ocean colour remote sensing will take place at the Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), France from 25 June – 7 July 2018. Prospective students can apply online at: http://ioccg.org/what-we-do/training-and-education/ioccg-sls-2018/ (deadline 5 March 2018).
Several distinguished scientists have been invited to provide lectures on cutting edge research, focusing on current critical issues in ocean colour science. Students will be given ample opportunity to meet with the lecturers for in-depth discussions on various pre-selected topics, as well as on their own scientific research. This training course is open to young graduate scientists and post-doctoral fellows with a strong background in ocean optics, as well as researchers with a longer record in ocean colour research hoping to broaden their knowledge. Reports and videos from previous IOCCG Summer Lecture Series can be viewed here.
Course content
The emphasis of the course will be on current critical issues in ocean colour science, and will consist of lectures by specialists as well as a few hands-on practical sessions. Participants should be familiar with downloading and processing satellite ocean colour imagery. Lectures will tentatively cover the following topics (final agenda to be provided at a later date):
Course Sponsors
The course will be sponsored by:
Cost
There is no fee for the lecture series but students are expected to cover some of their own expenses including meals, taxis and airfare. Free accommodation will be available for all students. A limited number of scholarships will be available from EUMETSAT, SCOR and OCB.
The 2018 IOCCG Summer Lecture Series website will be updated periodically, so please bookmark this link: http://ioccg.org/what-we-do/training-and-education/ioccg-sls-2018/.
Applications will be open from 1 February 2018 to 5 March 2018.
The Alfred Wegner Institute is delighted to announce its 5th year hosting the Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence (NF-POGO CofE); providing world class education, training and career development programmes in oceanography. The 10 month training programme will take place on the offshore island of Helgoland and the UNESCO reserve Wadden Sea island of Sylt, Germany.
Scholars will receive training in core research skills (project design, implementation, analysis and presentation) and specialized topics including remote sensing, ocean-atmosphere interactions & modelling. Scholars will carry out an independent research project, mentored and supervised by an AWI scientist. A full scholarship will be provided by the NF-POGO CofE covering travel, accommodation, tuition and a modest allowance.
Each year the course is open to 10 participants from developing and emerging countries. Trainees must have at least a first degree in science.
Deadline for applications is 9th March. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of May and the programme will begin in September.
More information here
The Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program (www.us-ocb.org) will support up to five U.S. students or postdocs to participate in this course, including tuition, travel, and housing expenses.
If interested, please send your CV and a brief statement of interest (1 page max) to the OCB Project Office (hbenway@whoi.edu) by 15 March 2018.
The statement should describe your interest in the course and its potential to enhance your research. Application materials will be reviewed by the OCB Project Office, OCB Scientific Steering Committee leadership, and the course organizer Bruce Monger (Cornell Univ.). Please bear in mind that this is a full immersion class and participation for the entire 2 weeks is essential to gain all of the class benefits.
Please visit the course website (http://www.geo.cornell.edu/ocean/satellite) for more information about the course content. If you have additional questions about the course content, please contact Bruce Monger (bcm3@cornell.edu).
OCB-sponsored participants of Univ. Maine Calibration and Validation of Ocean Color Remote Sensing summer course May 2017.
Course resources, including lecture videos, are available online.
Lionel Arteaga is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Jorge Samiento’s group at Princeton University. He initially studied Biology at Universidad Simon Bolivar, Venezuela, where he analyzed the upwelling systems in the northern coast of Venezuela using satellite data. In 2009, Lionel moved to Germany to complete his Master in Science and PhD in Oceanography at the University of Kiel, under the supervision of Andreas Oschlies, in the Marine Biogeochemistry Modeling group. His PhD dissertation was titled Combining satellite and model analyses to describe phytoplankton growth.
“The 2017 class on Calibration and Validation of Ocean Color Remote Sensing at the DMC was one of the best learning experiences of my career. I was highly impressed with the quality of the lectures, lab practices, and the dedication of all the instructors. I highly recommend this class to anyone working with ocean color and/or remote sensing information.”
Mike Brown is a PhD candidate in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, advised by Dr. Oscar Schofield. His dissertation is focused on phytoplankton ecology along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, with a specific focus on diatoms on cryptophytes, the dominant algal taxa in the region. With regard to optical oceanography and ocean color remote sensing, he is particularly interested in developing and using methods to estimate phytoplankton functional types.
“Thank you to the OCB program for supporting my travel to the 2017 Ocean Optics Course at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center. Thank you as well to all the course instructors for a fantastic experience. With informative lectures on the fundamentals of ocean optics, and practical exercises in the laboratory and field, I left the course with the skills needed for my current dissertation work and future research in optical oceanography. The Darling Marine Center is a wonderful facility, and I had a great time meeting and working with my fellow classmates.”
Andrea Jaegge is a 2nd year PhD student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette working in Dr. Beth Stauffer’s phytoplankton ecology research lab. Her research focuses on quantifying environmental controls on phytoplankton communities in Louisiana’s coastal estuaries. She is also interested in examining the presence of toxin-producing species and assessing their possible ecosystem impacts.
“The ocean optics course was a fantastic learning experience! Working with the world’s leading optical oceanographers allowed me to learn new skills that will be incredibly valuable to my doctoral research. This opportunity also allowed me to connect with many other young scientists working in this field. Thank you UMaine and NASA for sponsoring this incredible course!”
Sasha Kramer is a second-year PhD student in Marine Science at UC Santa Barbara working with Dr. Dave Siegel. Her work focuses on evaluating and comparing in situ methods for determining phytoplankton community structure on global scales, including optical measurements and phytoplankton pigments. Before attending UCSB, she received a degree in Earth and Oceanographic Science from Bowdoin College in Maine.
“I had been hearing about the ocean optics class for years, but actually being a student at the course surpassed all of my expectations. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to attend the course and vastly improve my skills across the board. I learned an incredible amount about in situ and remote sensing methods, from data collection and analysis to calibration and validation of instrumentation and so much more. One of my favorite parts of the class was our final project, where we were able to design and carry out independent projects using the skills we had gained. I am so grateful to all of our instructors for their non-stop hard work and dedication to the students throughout the class! Thank you!”
Catherine Kuhn is a third-year PhD student at the University of Washington in the School of Forest and Environmental Sciences. Her expertise is in inland water carbon cycling, satellite remote sensing and geospatial big data analysis. She graduated with her MESc from Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies where she quantified carbon dioxide and methane emissions from headwater streams in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountain range. For her PhD, she is using optical remote sensing and high-resolution underway field surveys to evaluate carbon cycling dynamics in large river systems under the direction of Dr. David Butman.
“The Ocean Optics course experience exposed me to a new level of rigor and expertise in ocean color validation and calibration. The lectures, hands-on practice in the labs and cruise, and the independent projects gave us a solid grounding in the core theoretical concepts underlying the physics of light as well as practical methodological tips for data collection, validation, and analysis. In addition, we also gained an invaluable network of peers from all over the world who bring their own expertise and experience to the course, further enriching the experience. Thank you so much, NASA and the University of Maine, for making this experience possible!”
Abhishek Kumar is a second-year PhD Student (Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens-GA) with Dr. Deepak R. Mishra. Abhishek’s research interests are remote sensing of water quality parameters in coastal lagoons, estuaries, open ocean, and inland lakes/water bodies using multi-platform satellite sensor derived data. His past work includes remote monitoring of suspended sediment in a tropical coastal lagoon (Chilika, India: Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon) using MODIS/Terra and differential impact of anniversary severe cyclones on the water quality of a tropical coastal lagoon. Presently, Abhishek is developing a multi-sensor tool for monitoring inherent optical properties of water in a tropical coastal lagoon using in-situ and satellite data.
“The Ocean Optics course is the greatest learning program I have attended so far. Before the start of the class, I had much less knowledge about the science behind the remote sensing of water bodies. This program helped to build fundamentals and clarify the concepts in ocean remote sensing. Students are exposed to hands-on experiment every day in the lab and field, which helps a lot to learn in true environment and implement the skills learned during lecture session. The close proximity to Damariscotta River Estuary makes Darling Marine Center very useful for water quality research. Training facilities and great inspiring and motivational instructors are the heart of this program, which produced great researchers from this class in past and I believe many more great researchers will emerge in future as well. Overall, I would say it was a dream journey to attend this class, which I will always remember and the learning experiences need to practice lifelong!!!”
Brian Lamb is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the City University of New York. He is advised by Maria Tzortziou and Kyle McDonald. His research centers on studying ecological processes in tidal wetlands, with a particular focus on using radar remote sensing to study wetland vegetation phenology and wetland hydrology. He is beginning to broaden his remote sensing horizons to include aquatic remote sensing, and is interested in using satellite observations of CDOM to better understand the exchanges of dissolved carbon between tidal wetlands and estuaries.
“The Ocean Optics course was an unbelievable learning experience. Coming from a terrestrial remote sensing background, this course highlighted how comparatively challenging ocean/aquatic remote sensing is in a technical sense. Especially when considering the lower signal to noise ratios for aquatic targets (water) and the need for more precise atmospheric corrections. For me, the highlight of the class was learning to use SeaDAS, and being trained by the very people that helped develop the software. I’d like to thank NASA and the wonderful instructors for this opportunity.”
Bingqing Liu is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University, advised by Eurico J. D’Sa. Her work focuses on using in-situ measurements and ocean color remote sensing in coastal and open ocean waters, including the Barataria Bay and Gulf of Mexico, US. Her research interests include inversion model for IOPs and developing algorithms for water quality parameters in order to study the interaction between physical process and optical parameters in water bodies.
“Ocean Optics 2017, I felt like it was the fastest month with longest nights of my life. I gained great knowledge in the study of ocean optics and made amazing friends across the globe in science. I can’t thank OCB and NASA enough for that I could spend four weeks learning and discussing science with some of the greatest minds of Optical Oceanography. I really enjoyed the organized lectures, lab and field trip of the course, which provided very useful background knowledge about ocean optics including outstanding research work, instrument calibration, sample collection and data processing. Thanks so much Emmanuel Boss and Collin Roesler (and many others) for leading and inspiring the next-generation ocean optics scientists. They are really knowledgeable and excellent instructors and helped me trouble-shoot difficult problems in data processing, field trip design and scientific ideas. I appreciate all the comments and encouragement they gave me, which opened my eyes and stimulated new ideas for my research. What’s more, the case study of Ethics in Science taught me how to share and cooperate in ways that will benefit me a life-long.”
Kelly Luis is a second-year PhD student in the School for the Environment at University of Massachusetts-Boston, advised by Zhongping Lee. She currently works on ocean color remote sensing projects involving coastal water quality and coral reefs. Prior to joining Professor Lee’s lab, she graduated with a BA in Environmental Science from Columbia University. After her undergraduate studies, Kelly spent a year working on remote sensing and carbonate chemistry projects at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a research associate.
“I’m deeply appreciative for the calibration and validation ocean color remote sensing instructors and students. As an early graduate student, I was drawn to this class because I needed a better understanding of ocean optics fundamentals. This class exceeded my expectations. The instructors genuinely cared about us understanding the materials and they gave us the resources and support necessary to carry back the materials to our home institutions. In addition, their emphasis on building a collaborative and supportive scientific community made the class worthwhile. Lastly, the students have become my collaborators and life-long friends. Thank you, OCB, for supporting my attendance and my growth as a young scientist.”
Ryan O’Shea is a third-year PhD student within the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program. His research focuses on developing novel optical instrumentation and data processing techniques for the study of water quality parameters in highly dynamic environments. His current research is on characterizing and developing drone deployable hyperspectral systems for mapping phytoplankton in regions that require high spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution data (i.e. coastal regions).
“The Calibration and Validation of Ocean Color Remote Sensing course at the University of Maine was an intense and rewarding experience. Through the seminars in this course I received very broad and rapid training in the field of ocean optics, learning the fundamentals of multiple different disciplines. As an engineer designing new optical instruments, learning what optical instruments were available and how scientists use the currently available instruments in their research was an invaluable experience. The instructors and TA’s provided feedback during our presentations that enabled us to interpret our data more accurately and develop more robust experiments. Their insight and manner of thinking enabled me to approach not only ocean optics problems, but scientific experiments and data in general, more critically. Thank you to OCB, NASA, and all of the instructors at this course for a very fruitful experience!”
Mike Sayers is a third-year PhD student at Michigan Tech University and a research scientist at the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), where his research has been focused on the use of bio-optical remote sensing methods to assess water quality changes in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Prior to his position at Michigan Tech, he received his BS and MS in remote sensing from Central Michigan University. His current interest is in the development and application of airborne and satellite hyperspectral inversion models for assessing primary production dynamics, harmful algal bloom occurrences, and benthic cover change.
“The 2017 Calibration and Validation of Ocean Color Remote Sensing course at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center was an experience of a lifetime for an “optics nerd” and I am very grateful for NASA’s commitment to training future scientists. The course was led by a fantastic group of instructors who took significant time out of their busy schedules to teach us the very challenging discipline that is ocean optics. I can say that I came away with a far greater understanding of ocean optics and ocean color remote sensing which will have an immediate impact on my current and future research. Perhaps more importantly, I developed relationships with some of the best and most respected scientists in the field as well as with peers who will undoubtedly be in that same group in the future. “
The annual Austral Summer Institute (ASI) organized by the Department of Oceanography and the COPAS Sur-Austral Program of the University of Concepcion, Chile, provides training for a topic that is timely and of wide interest in the marine science community. ASI XVIII is organized around four courses, each one week long, that address different aspects of the general theme.
ASI XVIII to be held in January 2018 at the University of Concepcion is mainly focused on: “Numerical Modeling Tools to Understand Physical and Biological Processes in Mid and High Latitude Marine Ecosystems”
Courses related to this theme are:
• Introduction to hydrodynamic models and statistical tools for modeling validation (3 – 6 January 2018)
• Ocean modeling using the Coastal and Regional Ocean Community Model (CROCO) (8 – 12 January 2018)
• Marine Ecosystem Modeling – Approaches and Challenges (15 – 19 January 2018)
• Circumpolar ocean and regional circulation models, downscaling techniques (22 – 26 January 2018)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has provided funds to support participation in ASI XVIII for U.S.-based graduate students and early career researchers.
Interested participants should apply through the ASI website and may apply for one or more individual courses.
The application deadline is 15 November 2017.
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee and successful applicants will be notified in late November.
Please contact Eileen Hofmann for questions or additional information about NSF funding for ASI XVIII.
The Ocean Optics 2017 training course entitled “Calibration & Validation for Ocean Color Remote Sensing“ is starting this week at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center (10 July – 4 August 2017).
As the course progresses, the powerpoint presentations from all the lectures plus the recordings and the lab’s printed materials will be posted at:
http://misclab.umeoce.maine.edu/OceanOpticsClass2017/
Image: NASA Ocean Color MODIS/Aqua
OCB supported early career participation in Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing class in June 2017.
Nicole (Nikki) DeLuca is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, advised by Benjamin Zaitchik. Her work focuses on using ocean color remote sensing in coastal and inland waters, including the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Her research interests in the Chesapeake Bay include developing and using pre-existing algorithms for water quality parameters in order to develop a remote-sensing based model for Vibrio bacteria. She is also interested in using remote sensing to look at long-term trends in water quality in Lake Tana, where in situ measurements are scarce.
I would highly recommend the Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing course to anyone interested in using some aspect of ocean color remote sensing in their work. Bruce and the TAs provided the tools and knowledge needed to progress my research that are not available at my institution. He was a very engaging instructor and I really enjoyed both the lecture and hands-on portions of the course. He helped me to trouble-shoot difficult inland water problems, and he was very intent on making sure that we got out of the course whatever benefited our individual research interests. The course has opened my eyes to new research ideas and possibilities. The other students in the course were a joy to interact with both inside and outside of the classroom, and Ithaca was a beautiful place to explore on our days off. I can’t thank OCB and Bruce enough for the opportunity to take this course!
Melanie Feen will be working with Dr. Melissa Omand at the University of Rhode Island this fall. She graduated with a BA from Skidmore College in geosciences where she researched proxies for ocean carbon export. She also spent time calibrating dissolved oxygen sensors at Skidmore and at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a Guest Student.
Thank you so much to Dr. Bruce Monger for teaching the Satellite Remote Sensing course and to OCB for enabling me to attend. This experience will undoubtedly benefit my future research. Learning how to use Python to download and process satellite imagery for a range of ocean applications will be an incredibly valuable tool. I now have the skills necessary to efficiently analyze large data sets to do time-series analysis and to generate higher-level data products. Overall, the class was an excellent balance of lecture and hands on data processing exercises. Dr. Monger is a wonderful professor and I am so thankful to have had this opportunity!
Catherine Garcia is a 3rd year PhD student in Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine, and is advised by Dr. Adam Martiny. Currently, she is working on two projects centered on the elemental stoichiometry of phytoplankton in the Indian Ocean, and linking these findings to global predictions of plankton functional groups in the surface ocean. Prior to this, she worked as a lab manager for Dr. Jed Fuhrman’s lab at USC, continuing the San Pedro Ocean time series study of marine microbial diversity.
The Satellite Remote Sensing course could not have come at a better time for me. It was a fantastic experience, and has left me well prepared to start a project on remote sensing of plankton functional groups! Bruce Monger is a very personable instructor, who really makes an effort to foster permanent friendships and collaborations within the class. Students left with the ability to trouble shoot problems, and a thorough understanding of the various satellite product backgrounds and uses. The campus and surrounding area is really ideally and gorgeous (pun intended). I am very thankful I to OCB for the chance to participate in this program!
Jing Tan is a postdoctoral scholar in Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her expertise is in satellite remote sensing, ocean optics, inverse problems, and water quality. She has over five years of experience in remote sensing and its application to water quality monitoring for rivers and lakes. As a PhD student at Purdue University, she organized and conducted in-situ water sampling, including collecting water samples and data on apparent and inherent optical properties, studied the spatial and temporal variability of water-body properties, and developed algorithms to accurately describe the biogeochemical state of the water. She was also involved in a project to determine the applicability of thermal remote sensing to studying and monitoring regional stream temperatures in the Pacific Northwest. During 2014-2016 she developed a comprehensive spectral-biogeochemical database of Midwestern rivers for water quality retrieval, and the database has been published online through the Purdue University Research Repository (PURR, doi:10.4231/R7000030).
The Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing is definitely a great experience. Basically, all the skills for dealing with remote sensing images that are needed for my research are covered. I have learned Python, Linux, and SeaDAS, sharpening my skills in image analysis. More importantly, I got to know more about NASA satellite products and felt that I am more like an “insider” than an “outsider” of the ocean color community. Bruce is a very good instructor and he was helpful and thoughtful. Ithaca is a beautiful place and you always would want to stay longer. I really appreciate this opportunity and would like to thank NASA and Cornell for providing such a wonderful course.
Guoqing Wang is a fourth-year PhD student working on bio-optical algorithm development with Professor Zhongping Lee at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She developed a new algorithm named Multiple Pigment Inversion model (MUPI) to retrieve not only chloropyll a but also other phytoplankton pigments from satellite remote sensing imagery. Her two main efforts involved phytoplankton pigments retrieval, and phytoplankton groups/harmful algal blooms detection. Prior to joining Professor Lee’s lab, Guoqing worked on numerous projects at South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on instrument designing, satellite validation, and remote sensing of phytoplankton particle size distribution, and obtained her MS in Physical Oceanography at Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Every aspect of the Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing Training Program exceeded my expectations. I’m still amazed by all the materials Bruce shared with us. This is one of my best learning experiences. Bruce is such a good organizer. He made the course very inspiring and enjoyable. Bruce and the TAs are so nice, patient, and helpful. The diverse backgrounds of the students make interesting conversations happen. Two weeks were so short when we were learning with nice people in such a nice place. I’m sure all the skills about python programming I learnt from this course will be a lifelong benefit. Thank you very much, OCB and Bruce, for having me.
Bo Yang is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Washington. He uses oxygen data from Argo profiling floats with mass balance models to determine the net biological oxygen and carbon production in the upper ocean. He received his PhD from University of South Florida, where he studied the CO2 system in coastal waters, in the context of developing new methodology and instrument for CO2 system parameters, field observations, and chemical characterization of CO2 system behavior.
As a chemical oceanographer, although I have been using some satellite remote sensing data products for a while, I didn’t know too much about the concepts behind those products. This course is a great opportunity for me to fill this niche. It provided very useful background knowledge about the satellite measurements, data processing, algorithm development, and its applications in various oceanography studies, which will definitely help me to make better use of these data products. It also provided us a unique environment to interact with other participants of different academic disciplines.
OCB-sponsored participants of 3rd International Ocean Color Meeting in May 2017.
Christiana Ade is a first-year PhD student at North Carolina State University in the Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department. She researches wetlands and coastal environments using satellite remote sensing and field measurements. Her research includes water quality mapping, establishing new environmental indicators, and determining satellite resolution requirements for adequately monitoring wetlands.
“As a master’s student, I focused on wetland vegetation, but for my PhD I am shifting toward water quality monitoring. The 2017 IOCS meeting occurred at a critical time in my career as I begin this research transition. IOCS allowed me to meet several prominent researchers and advanced students that I foresee myself collaborating with in the future, thus furthering my long-term objective of becoming a researcher in a national lab or university professor. I presented a poster at IOCS on some preliminary research and received extremely useful feedback, which I am already implementing. Although the conference was great for networking, it was most beneficial for expanding my understanding of current limitations and future opportunities in remote sensing of water. In particular, the breakout sessions provided me with several insights on hot-button topics and gave me confidence that the ocean color community will aid researchers invested in coastal applications to determine what sensor resolutions are needed to monitor these environments. Meetings like this ensure that the necessary technology gets built and launched. I would like to thank all the organizers, speakers, and the OCB for their positive impact on my research career.”
Henry Houskeeper is a third year Ocean Sciences PhD student working with Raphael Kudela at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Henry investigates the optical properties of dinoflagellate red tides. His broader interests include remote sensing of the coastal ocean, coastal upwelling ecosystem dynamics, and phytoplankton ecology.
“Attending the IOCS meeting was an excellent opportunity for me to receive thoughtful feedback on my research. IOCS connected me with helpful members of the ocean color community and exposed me to a diverse assemblage of ocean color research projects. The support from OCB made this valuable experience possible for me.”
Suhey Ortiz Rosa is a PhD student conducting research with Dr. Roy Armstrong in Bio-Optical Oceanography at the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez (UPRM). In 2005, she completed a B.S. in Coastal Marine Biology at the University of Puerto Rico- Humacao, and in 2010, a MS in Chemical Oceanography at UPRM. Suhey’s work focuses on the biogeochemistry of coastal waters and coral reefs, validating algorithms from satellite imagery of complex optical waters, remote sensing, and GIS. Previously, she worked on CDOM characterization with PARAFAC, mapping marine species distribution with the GAP-Analysis Project of Puerto Rico and later with watershed analysis of sedimentation processes on coral reefs.
“The International Ocean Color Science Meeting was a unique experience. Networking with the international community to address common issues on satellite imagery analysis benefits my research tremendously. I am now able to communicate with leading experts that work with the latest processes, allowing me to conduct more accurate and efficient research. The workshop on Copernicus Data was also very helpful, providing hands-on personalized experience. The cultural diversity and different research projects presented made this conference an advantage for me as an early career ocean color researcher. The information I obtained expands my options for new opportunities and ideas in research. It is fundamental for young scientists to remain up to date with the innovations in their current research topic. Thanks to the OCB program for making this experience possible!”
Sara Rivero-Calle is a postdoctoral researcher at the Levine Lab in the University of Southern California interested in projects that involve large datasets, combining remote sensing and in situ data to answer large-scale ecological questions. She first learned about satellite remote sensing during her MS program at the University of Puerto Rico working on mesophotic reef sponge ecology using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. She earned a PhD from Johns Hopkins University, where she used the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey to study long-term changes in North Atlantic phytoplankton communities. Currently, Sara is conducting postdoctoral research on fine-scale variability and patchiness, combining remote sensing, float, and HPLC data with numerical models.
“Attending IOCS was a fantastic experience. I was invited to give a talk on the global distribution of Trichodesmium for the special session on Trichodesmium. This was a great opportunity, not only for the exposure, but also because I am now collaborating with the organizers on writing a white paper with recommendations for remote sensing of Trichodesmium from space. This is perfect timing, given the new sensors with higher spatial and spectral resolution currently being developed and forthcoming satellite missions. I also noticed a clear interest in the remote sensing community to work closely with modelers and I think I can help bridge the two communities. I will be collaborating with another working group focused on carbon cycling. One of the things I liked most was the IOCS meeting structure—splitting us up into working groups, identifying current challenges and brainstorming together on how to deal with them and move forward. This meeting is not focused on presenting work but on setting new goals and working towards them. I also liked that the IOCS meeting facilitates direct communication with program managers and representatives from all space agencies and how the agencies came to the meeting to hear what the scientific community needs to advance satellite remote sensing. In summary, the IOCS meeting is the perfect venue for international scientific networking and I am so grateful to OCB for supporting us at an early stage of our career, thanks for believing in us!”
Sarah Schlunegger is a PhD Student in the Program of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, advised by Prof. Jorge Sarmiento. Sarah uses Earth System Models to predict the timing, sequence and inter-dependence of emerging anthropogenic signals in the ocean, with a focus on the ocean’s acquisition of anthropogenic carbon and heat. The ocean provides a climate service by absorbing the atmosphere’s excess carbon and heat but at a cost, namely acidification and warming, which deteriorate marine habitats. Sarah’s primary research goal is to identify when and where changes in these heat/carbon sinks and their resulting impacts will be detectable in the ocean.
“As a climate modeler, I have limited daily interactions with observationalists, despite my using satellite observations as a component of my own research. The 2017 International Ocean Colour Science Meeting was the perfect platform to cure this condition! Hearing talks and discussion from the lead scientist and engineers who have spent decades developing and perfecting satellite observation platforms has expanded my understanding and appreciation for the work behind the end-product. I enjoyed listening to the expert panels parse through upcoming innovations to address atmospheric correction, a major challenge faced by the community. The fellow conference attendees were friendly and encouraging, and of course, Lisbon is a magical city!”
Copyright © 2024 - OCB Project Office, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd, MS #25, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA Phone: 508-289-2838 • Fax: 508-457-2193 • Email: ocb_news@us-ocb.org
Funding for the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Project Office is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The OCB Project Office is housed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.