Cindy Lee

Dr. Cindy Lee visited our Faculty last week. We had the opportunity to enjoy a very interesting talk about Ocean Acidification and the Role of Particles. She also inaugarated our modest conference room, especially designed to have a better arena to hear the dissertations of our master and doctoral students. Her research is concerned with the distribution and behaviour of biogenic organic compounds in the marine environment, and the role of these compounds in the global carbon cycle. Understanding how organic compounds behave requires knowledge of the biological, geological, and physical processes in the sea. Most biogenic organic compounds are produced in surface waters by phytoplankton as a result of photosynthesis. These compounds can enter the marine food chain by acting as food for bacteria or zooplankton. Organic compounds can also be affected by chemical and physical processes such as adsorption, photochemical degradation, and transport by currents. She is interested in the rates and mechanisms of the transformation reactions which occur as organic compounds are affected by these processes. To study transformation reactions, students identify and measure the amount of individual organic compounds present in the environment with analytical techniques like gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). They also use radiolabeled compounds as tracers to simulate the behavior of naturally occurring compounds. She is interested in organic compounds in all environments, particularly seawater, surface microlayer and sediments of open ocean and coastal areas.

Dr. Cindy Lee

Dr. Cindy Lee at work


...



The paper of today is a very recent review by Buesseler and Boyd published in the last number Limnology and Oceanography about net primary production, gravitational flux at the base of the euphotic zone and flux leaving the mixed layer. Compulsory for those working in carbon flux and sediment traps.

Students at sea

Today a video of the last cruise of practical work at sea by the students of the Marine Sciences degree and Master in Oceanography. Enjoy the photographs made by Igor Fernández, Melchor González-Dávila (most of the pictures) and Lidia Nieves. To all of them, thank you for sending the slides.



The paper of today is the last one published by Pascal Lehette and Santiago Hernández-León in Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. It is a calibration exercise to obtain biomass of zooplankton from the body area of the organisms. Because now we can photograph, record or scan a zooplankton sample and we can have the area of every organism, the total biomass and the biomass size spectrum can be obtained converting the body area of every organism into biomass using the relationships given by these two researchers. Therefore, there is no need to destroy the sample to know its biomass (as for dry weight). Now, you can preserve the sample for other purposes (taxonomic studies,...).

Des Barton

Today some photographs made by the now official paparazzi of the Master in Oceanography, May Gómez (thanks May). Professor Barton gave during the last week some teaching in our master degree. Des Barton is Research Professor in the Spanish “Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas” in the Departamento de Oceanoloxía at Instituto de Investigacions Mariñas in Vigo. He took undergraduate studies in Physics and Oceanography and then completed the Doctorate. He went to work in the United States and Mexico for a number of years. On returning to the UK, he worked on research contracts until 1983 when he obtained a post of Lecturer, and then Senior Lecturer at University College of North Wales. In 2004, he moved to the present position in Spain. His research interests have focused on Eastern Boundary Current systems of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In recent years he worked increasingly closely with biogeochemists and zoologists on the intricate relations at meso and smaller scales that govern these large marine ecosystems. These systems are subject to major changes associated with climate variability and anthropogenic activity, but are still incompletely understood. On a more regional scale, he has studied the circulation and processes associated with oceanic islands and recently completed intensive work on circulation within the small semi-enclosed Ria de Vigo, both in a strongly multi-disciplinary context.

Des Barton

A famous couple in Oceanography, Javier Arístegui and Des Barton

Ted Packard and Des Barton

Andrew Watson

A few weeks ago, Dr. Andrew Watson visited our Faculty in order to teach in our master of Oceanography. The research interests of Professor Andrew Watson are biogeochemical cycles, controls on oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, marine biological controls on climate and ocean circulation studies. Current active research includes interactions of the oceans, CO2 and climate, quantifying the sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide using surface measurements, monitoring transient tracers in the North Atlantic, theoretical studies on the control of nutrients in the ocean, and the composition of the atmosphere through time.

Dr. Watson in the laboratory of Chemical Oceanography (spectacular manifold). Thanks to May Gómez for the photo.

The scientific news today is a series of papers appeared in the last number of Deep-Sea Research I about the study of the late winter bloom in Bermudas. Remember that the first mention to the late winter bloom was given by Menzel and Ryther in 1960, working near Bermuda. Thereafter, Dr. Braun from Tenerife took this concept to study our late winter bloom in the Canary Island waters. Many years after, we still work in this bloom as it inspired many ideas. I post the abstract of the first paper of four, but do not hesitate to read the others as there is good information about the phytoplankton, primary and export production.

Ocean Acidification

Below is the excellent poster made by Iván Alonso (thanks Iván) for the announcement of the next talk in our Faculty by Dr. Cindy Lee from the School of Marine Sciences at Stony Brook University (New York). Compulsory for all the members of the oceanography staff, the master students and my students of the fifth year (regional oceanography).

With this talk we will inaugurate, unveil, open,... the new conference room (Sala de Grado) of our Faculty. Do not lose this historical day! So, this time do not go to classroom number 105. Find the new way...

Master students at sea

Today, some photographs sent by Igor Fernández Urruzola (thanks Igor) taken during the sampling on board the RV Aemón 22. The survey consisted in a transect to the south of Gran Canaria Island parallel to the coast. The objective was to detect the island effect on the thermocline depth and its biological consequences. Nice work performed by our master students who worked hard at sea.

The RV Aemón 22 was the boat used to train our students in the oceanographic work. Not so bad...

A nice photograph of our "Rositta", the small rosette used in this small boat.


Natalia Osma shutting the Niskin bottles from the lab. Hard work... See the temperature profile on the screen. The mixing layer was deeper than 150 m.


Deploying the bongo net


Recovering the net


The zooplankton sample

The team of oceanographers (from left to right): Natalia Osma, Laia Armengol, Igor Fernández Urruzola, Santiago Hernández León, Manuela Aristizabal, Claire Schmoker and Federico Maldonado Uribe. Very nice people.

Cruise cruise baby

Today, we start to post some photographs of the short cruises we had the last two weeks as part of the work at sea by students of the Marine Sciences Faculty. The firsts photos were sent by Lidia Nieves (thanks Lidia) and are the samplers (the little rosette or "rositta") and the bongo nets.

Rositta

The bongo net

I hope to receive more and more photographs from the short cruises on board the R.V. Aemón 22.

Now, an impressive photograph from NASA. It is a satellite view of the coast of Guinea-Bissau. This is to illustrate the country of our good and nice students from this country.

Finally, the paper of today is a work by Minutoli (60 secondoli) and Guglielmo in Marine Ecology Progress Series about ETS activity in Mediterranean zooplankton. Interesting for those engaged in the enzymatic work (many in our lab).