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June 2, 2009
#09-011 |
New Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center dedicated at Skidaway Institute |
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The long awaited Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center (MCSRIC) at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography is officially open. The new research laboratory building was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning.
The MCSRIC contains 11,000 square-feet of state-of-the-art research laboratories and offices, space for visiting scientists, and instructional space for marine science students from throughout the University System of Georgia.
The building was funded with a $5 million dollar appropriation approved by the Georgia General Assembly in 2006 and signed by Governor Sonny Perdue.
At the ceremony, Skidaway Institute director James Sanders said the MSRIC will allow Skidaway scientists to expand their research into several areas.
“An important and growing part of our research is the assessment of factors affecting the environmental health and integrity of Georgia's coastal zone” Sanders said.
The MCSRIC has been designed to be environmentally friendly and is expect to be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) Green Building Rating System.
The building's orientation minimizes its east-west exposure which reduces the heat it will absorb from the sun. This orientation is one reason the MCSRIC is 31 percent more energy efficient than a comparable building. Its courtyard, roof and sidewalks are organic or reflect the sun’s energy, further reducing the amount of heat the building will absorb.
The layout of the MCSRIC’s interior minimizes the building’s perimeter, reducing the energy and heat that can leak into or out of the building. The common work areas and the central hallway are open to the roof and have a row of upper windows running the length of the building. This allows natural night to flood the building on sunny days and saves on lighting energy.
Other “green” characteristics of the building include a solar hot water heating system, a 1,000 gallon cistern to capture rainwater for various uses, six-inch foam insulation and energy efficient windows.
The architect for the MCSRIC was Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Inc.. The construction manager was Choate Construction. Engineering work was done by Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung International Inc., and Nottingham, Brook & Pennington, Inc.
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May 26, 2009
#09-010 |
Dedication set for Skidaway Institute's new laboratory building |
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Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientists have begun moving into a newly-built research facility on the Skidaway campus. The Marine and Coastal Science Research and Instructional Center (MCSRIC) will be officially dedicated on Tuesday, June 2, at 9:30 a.m.
The MCSRIC contains 11,000 square-feet of research laboratories and offices, space for visiting scientists, and instructional space for marine science students from throughout the University System of Georgia.
The building was funded with a $5 million dollar appropriation approved by the Georgia General Assembly in 2006 and signed by Governor Sonny Perdue.
The MSRIC will allow Skidaway Institute to expand its research in several areas, including the development of new technologies associated with ocean observation systems; discovering the diversity of species and their interactions in the marine environment: and the assessment of factors affecting the environmental health and integrity of Georgia's coastal zone.
The MCSRIC has been designed to be environmentally friendly and is expect to be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) Green Building Rating System.
The building's orientation minimizes its east-west exposure which reduces the heat it will absorb from the sun. This orientation is one reason the MCSRIC is 31 percent more
energy efficient than a comparable building. Its courtyard, roof and sidewalks are organic or reflect the sun’s energy, further reducing the amount of heat the building will absorb.
The layout of the MCSRIC’s interior minimizes the building’s perimeter, reducing the energy and heat that can leak into or out of the building. The common work areas and the central hallway are open to the roof and have a row of upper windows running the length of the building. This allows natural night to flood the building on sunny days and saves on lighting energy.
Other “green” characteristics of the building include a solar hot water heating system, a 1,000 gallon cistern to capture rainwater for various uses, six-inch foam insulation and energy efficient windows.
The architect for the MCSRIC was Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Inc.. The construction manager was Choate Construction. Engineering work was done by Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung International Inc., and Nottingham, Brook & Pennington, Inc.
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May 6, 2009
#09-009 |
‘Planet Earth in the 21 st Century' wraps up Skidaway Institute spring lecture series |
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography's spring lecture series will wrap up with a two-speaker program titled “Planet Earth in the 21 st Century.” The program will be presented twice, on Monday, May 11, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, May 14, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
The program is the final program in the lecture series under the umbrella title “Living with the Ocean” that has focused on the 21 st century ocean and man's interaction with it.
Skidaway Institute professor Peter Verity will begin the program with his talk “How We are Changing the Ocean.” Included in his talk, Verity will discuss the way overfishing is changing the functioning of marine ecosystems; greenhouse gas increases are changing climate, warming and acidifying the oceans and raising sea level; and ocean pollution and toxic compounds are threatening species survival.
“The scope and scale of human activities now have the oceans on a new trajectory towards an uncertain future,” said Verity. “This path is definitely not favorable by comparison with past and even present assessments of intrinsic value of the oceans.”
Skidaway Institute professor Herb Windom will present the second half of the program with a talk titled “Real Time and Real Important: Environmental Observation in the 21 st Century.” Windom will explore the ways in which scientists have explored the environment in the past and, how many of those observations have been inadequate for the conclusions that have been drawn. He will also discuss the way new technology is drastically changing the way scientists will study the ocean and the planet in general in the future.
The program will begin at 7 p.m. on both days.
For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325 or visit the Skidaway Institute Web site at www.skio.usg.edu . |
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April 24, 2009
#09-008 |
Savannah State, SCCPSS and Skidaway Institute launch ocean literacy program |
Savannah State University, the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) are joining hands to enhance science education in local schools through infusion of local research into the classrooms.
The three organizations are working together in a five-year program to engage graduate marine science students from Savannah State into science classes in neighboring schools. The “Building Ocean Literacy Program” is funded by a $2.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Program. The program will provide fellowships to eight graduate students in Savannah State's Marine Sciences Program who will be partnered with K-12 teachers to deliver enhanced classroom instruction. The goal of the NSF GK-12 Program is to ensure that universities are producing scientists capable of communicating the results and significance of their research to broad audiences.
During summer breaks, teachers will have opportunities to participate in a workshop, in a research cruise aboard Skidaway Institute's Research Vessel Savannah , and collaborate with the graduate fellows and Savannah State and Skidaway Institute faculty on research in the local estuaries.
“We want to promote the interest of K-12 students in the sciences, with an emphasis on coastal issues, and also improve the incorporation of marine sciences into the classroom curriculum” said Savannah State professor Carol Pride . “In addition, we hope to improve the communication skills of the graduate students to discuss science issues beyond the boundaries of a university campus.”
The graduate fellows will receive special training in communication, team work, and teaching skills through a K-12 training course and a weekly seminar. They will be paired with science teachers at Thunderbolt Elementary Marine Science Academy, Charles Ellis Montessori Academy, Sol C. Johnson High School, and the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. The graduate students will work with their teacher-partners to enhance hands-on instruction and to develop curriculum specific to their thesis research in the local marine ecosystem.
“The school system is excited to work with Savannah State and Skidaway Institute to give the teachers the ability to link topics in the Georgia Performance Standards to relevant, real-world situations,” said Horace Magwood III, Director of Science Instruction with the SCCPSS. “The summer research opportunities will certainly ignite a passion for science research with our teachers which will pass on to their students.”
Another key component to the program will be scientific research in the local estuaries and marshes. The teachers, graduate fellows, faculty mentors and K-12 classes will participate in monitoring of local estuaries and marshes, including monitoring water quality, sediment properties, and marine life.
“By including hands-on research in this program, the public school teachers and students will get a taste of what scientific research is all about”, said Skidaway Institute professor Peter Verity. “Science is more than lectures in a classroom,” Verity said. “The excitement of science is in the discovery of new knowledge.”
Savannah State graduate students will be selected for the program this summer. The program will launch in the schools in the fall. |
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April 16, 2009
#09-007 |
Skidaway Institute lecture to focus on the changing coast |
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The Georgia coast is constantly changing. For millions of years, the forces of nature have caused the coast to shift its location and character, and more recently the works of man have played a role in shaping the coast.
This changing coastal picture will be the focus of a lecture by Skidaway Institute of Oceanography professor Clark Alexander. The program is a part of the Skidaway Institute spring lecture series, “Living with the Ocean.” Alexander will present his program twice, on Monday, April 20, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, April 23, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
“Rising sea levels, wave and current energy, and sediment supply have been naturally shaping the Georgia coast since the oceans were formed,” said Alexander. “These forces created the barrier islands and salt marshes that we see today.”
Alexander's presentation will examine how these physical processes acted to create and continue to shape the Georgia barrier islands. He will also discuss the impact of those natural forces on human activities along the coast and describe the future of our coast under present and anticipated scenarios of climate change.
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Alexander will be joined in the two-lecture program by Skidaway Institute professor Bill Savidge, whose presentation will focus on the incredible diversity of life in the ocean.
The final program in the series will be:
“Planet Earth in the 21 st Century”
Monday, May 11, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, May 14, Skidaway Institute
All programs will begin at 7 p.m.
For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325.
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March 19, 2009
#09-006 |
Skidaway Institute lecture to focus on climate change and origins of life |
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Approximately 3.6 billion years ago, the Earth faced its greatest pollution crisis ever, and it changed the way life developed on our planet.
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography professor Marc Frischer will discuss that pollution crisis and the origins of life on Earth in the next program of Skidaway Institute’s spring lecture series “Living with the Ocean.” The lecture program will be presented twice, on Monday, March 30, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, April 2, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Frischer will be joined in the two-speaker program, titled “The Oceans Drive the Earth,” by Skidaway Institute professor Stuart Wakeham. He will focus on the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere, and the ocean’s major role in global climate change.
That primordial pollution crisis was caused by the evolution of microbial life. The so-called pollution was oxygen derived from the microbial invention of photosynthesis.
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“Oxygen, the end product of oxygenic photosynthesis, was toxic to most of the planet’s earliest life,” said Frischer. “However, life adapted, and the presence of oxygen lead to the evolution of most of the life that is familiar to us now and is now essential to modern life, including us.”
Frischer’s talk will take the audience on a journey from the formation of Earth through the evolution of life in the oceans and the transformation of the planet to what we know today. Along the way the audience will learn about the diversity of life and the important role played by microbes in the ocean and other planetary ecosystems.
Wakeham’s lecture will touch on one of the most talked-about topics of today – global climate change. He will discuss how the interactions between the ocean and atmosphere strongly influence the global climate.
“Ocean sediments contain a record of global change in the past,” Wakeham said. “Understanding how the ocean has affected climate in the past and how its present-day changes affect the ocean are important for our ability to predict the state of the earth in the future.”
The next programs in the series will be:
“Living Near the Ocean”
Monday, April 20, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, April 23, Skidaway Institute
“Planet Earth in the 21st Century”
Monday, May 11, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, May 14, Skidaway Institute
All programs will begin at 7 p.m.
For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325 |
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March 3, 2009
#09-005
‘One Big Ocean’ kicks off Skidaway Institute
spring lecture series
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography spring lecture series will begin with a two-speaker program titled “One Big Ocean.” The program will be presented twice, on Tuesday, March 10, at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and again on Thursday, March 12, in the library auditorium at Skidaway Institute. Both programs will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
The program is the first of four science lectures under the umbrella title “Living with the Ocean” that will focus on the 21st century ocean and man’s interaction with it.
Skidaway Institute Director Jim Sanders will begin the program with his talk “Oceanography 101: What every science literate person should know about our ocean planet”. Sanders’ talk will address the general principles and concepts that govern the functioning of the oceans.
“I hope to help the audience to understand how the oceans influence life on earth, and how people influence the ocean,” Sanders said. “With this knowledge, people should be better able to make informed and responsible decisions about the ocean and its resources.”
Skidaway Institute professor Jay Brandes will present the second half of the program with a talk titled “The most amazing substance on Earth – water” Brandes will examine how water is an essential component of life on Earth.
“Not only does it make up the majority of our and other life forms’ bodies, but it transports heat around the globe, dissolves nutrients and other elements from rocks, and provides an environment that occupies 70 per cent of the surface of our planet.,” Brandes said.
The next program in the series will be:
“The Oceans Drive the Earth”
Monday, March 30, at the Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, April 2, at Skidaway Institute.
“Living Near the Ocean”
Monday, April 20, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, April 23, Skidaway Institute
“Planet Earth in the 21st Century”
Monday, May 11, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, May 14, Skidaway Institute
All programs will begin at 7 p.m.
For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325.
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| February 12, 2009
#09-004 |
Skidaway Institute spring lecture series to focus on man and the ocean
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Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will host a series of four science lecture programs this spring focusing on the 21 st century ocean and man's interaction with it. Under the umbrella title “Living with the Ocean” the four two-hour programs will be presented at the Coastal Georgia Center on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah and then repeated in the Skidaway Institute library auditorium. Each program will consist of two speakers from the Skidaway Institute faculty and run from 7-9 p.m. at both venues. Admission will be free.
“In the 21 st century, it is vital that all of us become ‘ocean literate,'” said Jim Sanders, director of Skidaway Institute. “We expect this series of programs will be both interesting and informative to anyone who cares about the world around us.”
According to Sanders, many of the vital issues facing society involve the ocean. “The ocean is a major factor in global climate change, our food supply and coastal development, just to name a few,” he said.
Sanders will kick off the first program, “One Big Ocean,” on Tuesday, March 10, at the Coastal Georgia Center with a presentation titled “Oceanography 101: What every science literate person should know about our ocean planet.” Jay Brandes will provide the second half of the program with a talk on “The most amazing substance on Earth – water.” This program will be repeated on Thursday, March 12 at Skidaway Institute.
The second program “The Oceans Drive the Earth” will focus on the ocean's role in global climate change and the origins of life in the ocean. Skidaway Institute professors Stuart Wakeham and Marc Frischer will be the featured speakers. It will be presented at the Coastal Georgia Center on Monday, March 30, and at Skidaway Institute on Thursday, April 2.
On Monday, April 20, scientists Clark Alexander and Bill Savidge will present a program on “Living Near the Ocean,” which will address the complex relationship between man and the environment in the coastal zone. The Skidaway Institute program will be held on Thursday, April 23.
The final program in the series will be held at the Coastal Georgia Center on Monday, May 11 and at Skidaway Institute on Thursday, May 14. Titled “Planet Earth in the 21 st Century,” professors Peter Verity and Herb Windom will outline the ways mankind is changing the ocean, and how developing technologies are being used to monitor the ocean and the coastal environment.
For additional information, call Michael Sullivan at (912) 598-2325.
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
Spring Science Lecture Series -- “Living With the Ocean”
All programs will begin at 7 p.m.
One Big Ocean
Tuesday, March 10, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, March 12, Skidaway Institute
The Oceans Drive the Earth
Monday, March 30, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, April 2, Skidaway Institute
Living Near the Ocean
Monday, April 20, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, April 23, Skidaway Institute
Planet Earth in the 21 st Century
Monday, May 11, Coastal Georgia Center
Thursday, May 14, Skidaway Institute |
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| January 12, 2009
#09-001 |
Skidaway Institute scientists use microscopic
algae to track coastal water quality |
As burgeoning growth on the Georgia Coast puts additional pressure on the fragile coastal environment, scientists at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography are researching new techniques to monitor coastal water quality.
Scientists can measure water quality several ways. One method is to measure the water’s chemical characteristics, such as oxygen and nutrient concentrations. Skidaway Institute researcher Elizabeth Mann is investigating another technique – using a group of microscopic organisms as a bioindicator of water quality.
“When you measure the chemical composition of the water, you essentially get a snap shot of all the individual components in the water at the time you take your sample,” Mann said. “We are trying to determine if the micro-organisms in the water will give us a better picture of water quality because living cells must adapt to all of the stresses in an environment over a longer time span.”
Mann’s research focuses on one of the smallest of microscopic algae or phytoplankton called cyanobacteria. These organisms are less than 2 microns in size and form the base of the food web. Like plants, cyanobacteria such as Synechococcus contain chlorophyll and manufacture their own food through photosynthesis.
Cyanobacteria have many characteristics that make them potentially good indicators of water quality. Synechococcus are abundant in Georgia’s coastal waters and are relatively easily isolated and grown in the laboratory. They can also be identified and counted using flow cytometry, a technique that can accurately count up to 500 cells a second.
“Cyanobacteria can serve like a canary in a coal mine,” said Mann. “Changes in Synechococcus populations may help monitor the condition of the environment in which they live because these small phytoplankton are more sensitive to toxic metals such as copper and cadmium than larger marine algae.”
Mann is examining the water quality in the Savannah River by comparing conditions in that heavily industrialized estuary to the more pristine Altamaha River.
“The abundance of cyanobacteria, including Synechococcus, is much lower in the Savannah River than in the relatively pristine Altamaha,” Mann said. “Not only is the total number of cyanobacteria lower in the Savannah River, but certain types of microbes abundant in the Altamaha River are essentially absent from the more heavily impacted Savannah River.
In addition, Mann said, adding water from the Savannah River to populations of estuarine phytoplankton from more pristine locations leads to a decrease in the abundance of cyanobacteria and other small phytoplankton.
Mann’s work is just beginning. A next step will be to identify the types of contaminants responsible for low Synechococcus numbers in the Savannah River and to determine what effect stunted cyanobacteria populations have on the larger organisms in the food web that prey on these small plants.
Note: The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography is an autonomous research unit of the University System of Georgia located on Skidaway Island in Savannah, Ga. The mission of the Institute is to provide the State of Georgia with a nationally and internationally recognized center of excellence in marine science through research and education.
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| September 11, 2008
#08-015 |
Skidaway Marine Science Day set
for Saturday, October 11
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An afternoon of marine science programs, displays, tours and activities -- Skidaway Marine Science Day 2008 -- will be held on Saturday, October 11, from noon to 4 p.m. on the campus of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography at the north end of Skidaway Island.
The Skidaway Marine Science Day is a campus-wide open house with activities geared for all ages from young children to adults. These will include programs, tours, displays and hands-on activities, all related to marine science. The event is open to the public and admission is free.
The event will be presented by the campus’s marine research and education organizations, including the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, the University of Georgia (UGA) Marine Education Center and Aquarium, the UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory, Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary and WSVH Georgia Public Radio.
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The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will offer a variety of activities for adults and children, including tours of the Research Vessel Savannah, science displays on current research programs and hands-on science activities.
The UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium will offer a nature hike, coastal reptile chats, a touch-tank, boat tours, crabbing and behind the scenes tours of the aquarium, which will be open to visitors with no admission fee.
The staff of the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary will introduce visitors to an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and visitors will have to opportunity to maneuver the ROV in the campus pool.
WSVH Georgia Public Radio will be open for visitors.
For the second year, campus scientists will present a career information session for high school and college students who are interested in exploring a career in science. The informal question-and-answer program will be presented at 1 p.m. in the McGowan Library Auditorium on the Skidaway Institute campus.
Music will be played throughout the afternoon. The Savannah Arts Academy SkyLite Jazz Band will play from 2-3 p.m.
School classes or other large groups wishing to attend Skidaway Marine Science Day can be accommodated only through advance arrangements. For additional information, call (912) 598-2325.
All activities at Skidaway Marine Science Day will be free. For additional information, call (912) 598-2325, or visit www.skio.usg.edu.
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| September 10, 2008 #08-014 |
Skidaway Institute to present career program for future scientists
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The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography will present an informal career program for future scientists as part of Skidaway Marine Science Day on Saturday, October 11, at 1 p.m. in the McGowan Library Auditorium on the Skidaway Island campus.
Faculty, research and education staff, and graduate students from Skidaway Institute, the University of Georgia (UGA) Marine Extension Service and NOAA’s Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary will be available in the auditorium for a question-and-answer session and one-on-one discussion.
“There may be high school or college students who are interested in pursuing a career in science, but aren’t aware of the opportunities or even where to start,” said Peter Verity, a Skidaway Institute scientist and education coordinator. “We would like to tell them about the careers that are available and the educational paths they should take.”
The information session will cover career opportunities in a wide range of scientific fields.
The career information program will be a part of Skidaway Marine Science Day, an open house presented by the campus’s marine research and education organizations, including the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium, the UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory, Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary and WSVH Georgia Public Radio.
Skidaway Marine Science Day will feature activities geared for all ages from young children to adults. These will include programs, tours, displays and hands-on activities, all related to marine science. The event is open to the public and admission is free.
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For more information, contact:
Michael Sullivan
External Affairs Manager
(912) 598-2325
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| August 4, 2008
#08-012 |
Skidaway Institute scientists study docks' effects on salt marshes |
Are new dock designs as friendly to salt marshes as their manufacturers say they are? That is the question Skidaway Institute professor Clark Alexander is trying to answer.
The question starts with earlier research conducted by Alexander and other scientists that showed the shadow cast by docks hinders the growth of the marsh grass below. Since that research became known, state regulatory agencies have become much stricter about issuing permits for private and community docks along the Georgia coast.
In response to this trend in Georgia and elsewhere, some dock manufacturers have begun building docks with alternative materials that reduce a dock’s shadow. One design dispenses entirely with the wood planks used for decking on a traditional dock. Instead, the Dockrider design is an open framework upon which an electric cart drives from the high ground to the terminal platform. In two other designs, the walking platform is made of plastic, fiberglass or metal grate which allows some light to pass through.
“These all sound good,” said Alexander. “But what we don’t know is if they actually work effectively.”
To answer that question, Alexander is conducting a three-year, two-part research project funded by a $195,488 grant from the Georgia Coastal Zone Management Program.
The first part of the study is to conduct field-based “before and after” studies of salt marshes where some of the new designs are being built. Alexander’s team is collecting samples and recording conditions in the marsh before the docks are built and will continue to monitor the salt marshes after they are completed.
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The second part of the study is to measure the shadow footprint of the various dock designs over the course of a two years. To do this, Alexander’s team, with the help of Dock Supply in Midway, Ga., has constructed four dock models using alternative materials on high ground on the Skidaway campus. They have been placed in a field with unobstructed sunlight and are being fitted with light meters that will measure the amount of sunlight being received above and below each dock. “Because dock orientation is an important parameter in light transmission, these mock docks will be mobile and will be re-oriented in 45 degree steps over two weeks during the four seasons to see the effects of orientation and seasonal sun-angle” said Alexander.
After the orientation study is completed, the dock height will be adjusted in steps of one foot to assess the impact of height and width on light penetration to the ground below.
According to Alexander, the project will generate information that will serve the needs of coastal managers on several levels. “Evaluating the effectiveness of multiple dock construction materials and styles will allow regulators to better manage and minimize the impact of the burgeoning number of community docks that are being built along the Georgia coast,” he said. “These same results can be very broadly applied to private recreational dock construction as the marsh shading issue is the same.” |
For more information, contact:
Michael Sullivan
External Affairs Manager
(912) 598-2325
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| July 29, 2008
#08-011 |
Skidaway Institute, Georgia Tech team-up for new
Coastal Science and Engineering Program
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The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the Georgia Institute of Technology – Savannah are joining hands to create a new joint degree program to prepare professionals to deal with emerging issues along in coastal regions.
The Coastal Science and Engineering Program will combine research-based marine science with engineering concepts. Six students are enrolled to begin the graduate program this fall.
“This program will be unique to the Southeast and one of only a few like it in the country,” said Skidaway Institute Director Jim Sanders. “By combining research science with engineering, the program will produce graduates who will be able to look at the spectrum of coastal issues from many different angles.”
According to Sanders, increasing coastal populations and an ever-changing coastline make it necessary to create a program that will integrate science and engineering.
“Because development along the Georgia coast has been slower than in some other parts of the country, we are just now beginning to see the pressures that can come with increased population,” said Sanders. “We need well-trained scientist-engineers with the background to help us prevent and mitigate some of the problems that have developed elsewhere.”
Skidaway Institute professor Jay Brandes will teach one of the first courses. He says this program will train the next generation of scientist-engineers needed to interface technology with mankind's needs in a period of increasing climate uncertainty.
“The graduates of the program will be equipped to populate the future workforce to design and manage harbors; develop and maintain ocean observatory sensors and networks; model and predict invasive species and pathogen trajectories; and mitigate some of the unexpected consequences of coastal habitation,” Brandes said.
“There are many problems in engineering that require the expertise of those working in the sciences, and vice-versa,” said Georgia Tech professor Paul Work. “The idea behind this program is to educate students who will operate in the area where engineering and ocean sciences overlap.”
The program will focus classroom instruction on fundamental concepts and processes that are universal, rather than on facts that may apply to a single location or process. It will partner engineers with marine scientists to ensure the use of mathematical techniques for applying concepts to environmental situations and stress problem-solving skills.
“I look forward to working with engineers,” said Brandes. “They generally have a very strong aptitude for quantitative problem solving.
“The students will generally have less ‘real world’ experience in the marine environment, but I am optimistic our program will provide many opportunities for them to learn to appreciate the complexities of working in marine ecosystems.”
The first course in the program will include five days on board Skidaway Institute’s ocean-going Research Vessel Savannah so students can immediately experience first-hand working in a challenging environment. Additional courses will cover subject areas not usually joined together in the same course of study, especially at the graduate level. Coastal engineering will be covered in combination with basic sciences such as hydrology, meteorology, biology and coastal ecology.
Brandes says the project will be a learning process that should strengthen both Skidaway Institute and Georgia Tech. “Here in Georgia and around the world, we need skilled engineers who also appreciate the special challenges provided by salt water, shifting sediments and environmental changes,” he said.
The program will be supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
“The program forms a partnership between two productive academic research entities and encourages participation by other University System institutions and faculty,” said Sanders. “It should serve as a model program for other regions in the country.”
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For more information, contact:
Michael Sullivan
External Affairs Manager
(912) 598-2325
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| July 23, 2008 #08-010 |
Atlanta college students get wet and dirty
in research internship at Skidaway Institute
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| Spelman College student Chanelle West didn’t know quite what to expect from her research project at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.
“They said we would be working outside, but I didn’t know it was going to be this much,”
said West. “It’s a lot of work. We got stuck in the mud pulling seaweed, but it’s been interesting.”
West is one of five students from Clark-Atlanta and Spelman College who are participating in a two-month long research internship at Skidaway Institute. They are working with Skidaway Institute Professor Dick Lee on a pilot program to develop an environmentally friendly and economically viable aquaculture program.
“Students come down and do individual projects,” said Lee. “We give them a list of things we are doing, and they pick their projects.
“We try to work with them to select projects that will fit their skill set.”
Selecting the right project is important because the five interns come from different academic backgrounds -- two students are chemistry majors; one is a biology major; and the other two are business students.
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All the students work on some facet of Lee’s on-going pilot aquaculture project raising black sea bass for the sushi market. Lee and his team raise the black sea bass in a salt water system and feed them juvenile tilapia, which are bred in a nearby fresh water system. On both the saltwater and freshwater side of the system, algae and bacteria are used to cleanse the natural fish by-products from the water. In Lee’s system, no wastewater is discharged into the environment.
While each of the students has her own individual research focus, they all have experienced the day-to-day work of fish farming.
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“This has been really labor intensive,” said Clark-Atlanta’s Ashley Shannon. “I didn’t realize I would be outside so much, getting into the raceways, harvesting the fish and all that.
“If you aren’t interested in getting wet and dirty, and getting outside in the hot temperatures, this wouldn’t be for you.”
West and Clark-Atlanta biology major Diamond Carr are working to cultivate edible seaweed in the nutrient rich wastewater in the sea bass system. For several years, Lee and his research associate, Karrie Brinkley, have been growing aquaponic vegetables and flowers on the fresh water side of the system. The seaweed cultivation is a natural extension on the saltwater side. |
“Seaweed has its own commercial importance,” said Lee. “It is something like a $25 million dollar industry in Hawaii.”
“The fish by-product is a natural fertilizer for the seaweed. It would be neat if you could grow seaweed in the same system you are already using to grow the black sea bass.”
West and Carr pulled native seaweed from the shore of the Wilmington River on the Skidaway campus and attempted to grow it in tanks in a greenhouse.
“We are finding a whole lot of different results,” said Carr. “What we thought would make it grow better didn’t work, so we’re moving in a different direction.”
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Shannon and Spelman’s Jolill Ross’s project comes straight from today’s headlines. They are
investigating whether the pond scum that grows on the surface of the outdoor fish pools can be a source of ethanol or another biofuel. After collecting the algae and drying it, they came up with 60 pounds of dried algae. Currently they are fermenting the dried product to see how much ethanol can be produced.
“With the price of gas rising, we’re trying to see if algae can be converted to biodiesel or ethanol.” said Ross, a chemistry major. “We need to come up with ways to make this country more efficient. Gas is going up, and it’s ridiculous.”
As a business student, Shannon is approaching the product from a different perspective. She is working on a business plan for the biofuel project.
“Jolill did most of the scientific research, but I helped,” Shannon said. “We’ll do our presentation together. She will explain how to produce it, and I’ll explain what it would cost.”
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Clark-Atlanta accounting major Matilda Young is also working on the business side. Her focus is developing a business plan to set up the aquaculture project on a commercial scale.
“Basically, my job here is to come up with a figure in case someone wants to start something like this,” she said. “How much would it cost?”
Young says her summer experience is very different from her experience in school, and she appreciates the way Lee is allowing her to develop her project from scratch.
“This should prepare me a lot more for the real business world,” she said. “It is also giving me skills I can take back to the classroom.”
The five students will present the results of their summer projects in a program at Skidaway Institute next week.
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For more information, contact:
Michael Sullivan
External Affairs Manager
(912) 598-2325
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Skidaway Institute professor published in ‘Science’ |
 Skidaway Institute of Oceanography professor Jay Brandes is the co-author of a scientific article published in the May 2, 2008 issue of the prestigious journal Science.
Brandes worked with Georgia Institute of Technology researcher Ellery Ingall and his Ph.D. student Julia Diaz, as well as with physicists at the Argonne National Laboratory.
Using state of the art X-ray microscopes capable of chemical imaging within cells, the team discovered a new mechanism for the removal of the vital nutrient phosphorus from the marine ecosystem. Diatoms, an abundant microscopic plant found in the oceans, were found to produce concentrated polymeric phosphorus particles only a few millionths of an inch across. After the diatoms die, these particles “seed” underlying sediments with the precursors needed to form long-lasting calcium phosphate minerals. Their findings explain a long-standing, fundamental mystery regarding the way phosphorus is cycled through marine systems.
Phosphorus is a vital nutrient element required by all organisms. In addition to being a key nutrient, phosphorus is also an important pollutant which, when discharged, is often the primary cause of low oxygen levels in lakes, rivers and coastal waters. Because of this, understanding the cycling and sequestration of phosphorus is also important to water treatment and mariculture systems which can produce large quantities of phosphorus enriched waste.
“The startling thing about this result is that polymeric phosphates, long thought to be short-lived energy storage molecules, actually are responsible for permanently -- at least, on our timescales -- removing phosphorus from the ocean,” said Brandes. “This appears to be a very widespread yet overlooked phenomenon that could help regulate nutrient concentrations as pollution levels rise in rivers and estuaries”
The journal Science is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific organization. This work was funded through a grant to Brandes and Ingall by the National Science Foundation. |
 New article from SkIO's Dr. Jay Brandes:
Julia Diaz, Ellery Ingall, Claudia Benitez-Nelson, David Paterson, Martin D. de Jonge, Ian McNulty, Jay A. Brandes . 2008. Marine polyphosphate: a key player in geologic phosphorus sequestration . Science 2 May 320(5876): 652 - 655 DOI: 10.1126/science.1151751. |
-Posted 5/14/2008 |
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Skidaway Institute expanding coastal radar system |
The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) has awarded Skidaway Institute of Oceanography a grant of $180,000 to enhance and expand Skidaway Institute’s coastal radar system that is used to study surface ocean waves and currents on Georgia’s continental shelf.
The system is built currently around two radar stations, one in South Carolina and the other on a barrier island south of Savannah. The two systems work together to create a detailed map of surface ocean currents across an area stretching more than 125 miles offshore and 135 miles north to south. The map shows the speed and direction of the current at each of those points on the ocean’s surface.
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The grant money will be used to improve the system’s ability to monitor different size waves and to install a third radar station on the Georgia coast which will greatly improve the coverage area.
“This kind of data is extremely valuable for search and rescue operations or for tracking oil spills,” said Dana Savidge, the Skidaway Institute researcher in charge of the project.
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Aside from the practical applications, Savidge says the primary purpose of the system is to improve researchers’ understanding of what is happening on Georgia’s continental shelf.
The special high frequency radar, known as WERA, bounces radio signals off the ocean waves. One particular size wave results in a strong reflection, depending on the frequency of the radar signal. The waves travel on the water, and the water itself also moves due to winds and tides. Because the speed of a wave is determined by its size, the system can factor out the wave velocity and measure the speed and direction of the water itself.
Savidge’s research interests include studying Gulf Stream effects on continental shelf circulation. The coverage area of the current radar allows it to monitor current patterns into the Gulf Stream as it flows northward on an undulating course at the edge of the shelf. The expansion will significantly increase that area to the south.
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“The next radar installation on the Georgia coast will pave the way for collaborative work across our southern border into Florida,” said Savidge. “Our coverage will extend southward into the North Florida shelf where a group of Florida scientists are planning two new WERA sites.”
According to Savidge, these efforts, like Skidaway Institute’s, are part of the nation’s Ocean Research Priorities Plan, which calls for a nationwide coastal observatory system, to serve both societal and research needs regionally and nationally.
The GRA funding will also be used to acquire additional hardware and software to improve and enhance wave height estimates across the inner and middle shelf.
“This kind of information is in high demand from ocean and atmospheric modelers and is of interest to the National Weather Service for their wave forecasts and rip-tide warnings,” Savidge said. “The system’s third radar installation will significantly increase the capability of estimating currents on the shelf and along the shelf edge, and will approximately double the area over which wave estimates can be made.”
Skidaway scientists want to make the information they gather easily accessible to anyone who needs it. In addition to posting the data on the Internet, they plan to create displays at the University of Georgia Aquarium on Skidaway Island and other locations around the area.
“With the planned improvements, we expect to provide reliable measurements of wave heights, along with current speeds and directions across a substantial portion of the continental shelf in near real-time,” Savidge said.
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-Posted 5/9/2008 |
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Learn more about our marine science research projects near and far |
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Skidaway Marine Science Day set for Saturday, October 11
An afternoon of marine science program, displays, tours and activities -- Skidaway Marine Science Day 2008 -- will be held on Saturday, October 11, from noon to 5 p.m. on the campus of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography at the north end of Skidaway Island. This campus-wide open house will be presented by the campus's marine research and education organizations, including the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, the University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium, the UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary and WSVH Georgia Public Radio.
Skidaway Marine Science Day activities will be designed to interest both adults and children. All activities at Skidaway Marine Science Day will be free.
For additional information, call (912) 598-2325, or visit www.skio.usg.edu. |
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SkIO expanding its research fleet |
Scientists from Skidaway Institute soon will be able to better research the sh  allowest of tidal creeks thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation. An NSF grant awarded to SkIO will fund the purchase of a 28-ft fiberglass vessel especially designed for rapid surveys of shallow water environments. The vessel replaces an aging 25-ft estuarine and coastal survey boat purchased more than 12 years ago. The vessel will be part of a robust scientific research system that will include sensors for navigation, ocean currents, dissolved chemical species and bottom characterization, as well as a data acquisition system. The vessel will be powered by twin outboard engines and can be transported easily over land with a trailer. The data collection system configured on the new vessel will make data generally available to all interested scientists. The data collection package will be portable also, so that it can be moved to alternate vessels, thus ensuring its availability to many different user groups. All instrumentation will operate simultaneously with the navigation system to give complete physical/geophysical data suites within coastal and intracoastal waters. In essence, it will be like taking a larger, well-equipped research vessel, usually involved with research in larger bodies of water, into the shallowest of tidal creeks.
Principal investigators who initiated funding for this project are Jack Blanton and Jim Sanders.
Posted: 2007/11/27 08:32:34
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SkIO Science Highlight Measuring marsh elevations from aircraft |
Coastal Georgia has numerous estuaries and tidal creeks surrounded by some of the largest intertidal (marsh) areas in the United States. These salt marshes are picturesque features of the coastal zone. They are also spawning and nursery habitats for a number of marine animals, providing nutrients for their use through twice-daily inundation by the tide. The efficiency that enables tides to furnish nutrients and remove wastes from a marsh is controlled, to a large extent, by marsh morphology, i.e., the distribution of high and low elevations. Defining the topography of a tidal channel and its estuaries, however, can be complicated. Over the past decade, two researchers at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) in collaboration with an international group of scientists have focused their attention on tidal circulation in the channels surrounding salt marshes.
In 1999, Dr. Jack Blanton and research coordinator, Julie Amft, began collaborating with fellow scientists in South Carolina, Massachusetts, Portugal and Brazil to measure the elevations of the intertidal areas typical of salt marshes. These high-resolution data sets are known as digital elevation models (DEMs). Such data are becoming increasingly important elements of numerical models designed to simulate flow in tidal channels. Examples of important information that can be derived from an area's DEM include its morphology, the tidal prism (related to the flushing of a tidal channel), and the hypsometric curve (the distribution of surface area to water depth).
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Existing data for the intertidal areas of marshes are usually limited since accessibility to them is generally restricted and difficult. The use of remote sensing from aircraft mitigates this difficulty. From a series of aerial images during a rising tide, measurements of the areal distribution were then converted to a grid of marsh elevations at resolutions as high as 1 m2. We refer to this technique as DIMITAP (digital measurements of intertidal topography from aerial platforms). The main objective of DIMITAP is to separate water from other reflecting objects in near-infrared images, so that detailed maps of the areal distribution of water, at the time of the image, can be determined. Applying DIMITAP to a series of aerial images obtained during the flood tide phase (elapsed time of 6-7 hours) leads to a high-resolution topographic map of the area (the DEM) (Fig. 1). This MOVIE simulates the increasing water area as it follows the elevation contours during the rising tide. Professor Francisco Andrade and his assistant, Adelaide Ferreira, from the University of Lisbon (Portugal) designed DIMITAP.
The first DEM utilizing DIMITAP was constructed for a study site in South Carolina, on the Okatee River, as part of the Land-Use Ecosystem Research Program (LU-CES)( http://www.lu-ces.org/ ) and sponsored by NOAA's Coastal Ocean Program. The aerial mission was flown by Spectrum North Carolina, Inc. Two LU-CES projects have taken advantage of the Okatee River DEM. The first was a finite-volume circulation model (FVCOM) developed by Dr. Changsheng Chen at the University of Massachusetts. He and Dr. Haosheng Huang have computed detailed tidal currents in the upper reaches of the Okatee as part of the LU-CES project (Huang et al., in press) (Be patient, slow moving link!) ( http://codfish.smast.umassd.edu/research_projects/LUCES/home.html ). The high-resolution DEM of the Okatee is incorporated into the model grid (or mesh) that is the base of FVCOM's application to the Okatee. In a second project, the DIMITAP technique was used to compute flushing times and validate residence time models of the Okatee River (Moore, Blanton and Joye, 2006).
In 2000, tidal marsh areas in Georgia became the focus of the SkIO and Portuguese scientists as part of a larger national program, the Georgia Long-term Ecosystem Research program (G-LTER, http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu ), sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The Duplin River (Sapelo Island, GA) was selected as a study site because with twelve main tributary creeks and little upland runoff, the tide is the primary generating force of the creek's circulation. Since only 15% of the high-tide area is covered at low water, the large intertidal expanse greatly affects the tidal circulation in the creek and the resulting fluxes of salt and other material.
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An additional project is underway to take further advantage of the DIMITAP technique. The ALGE model, designed at SRNL, is also being used in Groves Creek, a small tidal creek adjacent to SkIO. Plans are underway to acquire the necessary flood-tide sequence of aerial infrared images and then to use the DIMITAP technique to provide high-resolution elevations of the intertidal area in Groves Creek. The Groves Creek marsh presents new challenges because the drainage patterns in the center of the marsh are unusually complex. However, there are new opportunities because the marsh is small enough to cover the entire domain from a helicopter. Moreover, being in SkIO's own backyard decreases the magnitude of the logistical problems associated with providing facilities for an airplane.
The use of remote sensing from aircraft, as described here, is being motivated by attempts to understand how transport processes in complex intertidal areas can be linked to marsh biogeochemistry, organic matter fluxes, and plant distributions. The tidal channels and marshes here in the southeastern US are prototypes of similar areas found throughout the planet. The attempt centered here at SkIO is attracting oceanographers from regions encompassing the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and Europe.
Acknowledgments : Several agencies have supported these efforts over the past 10 years. We thank the following:
Georgia Coastal Zone Management Program (Grant No. RR100-279/9262764)
National Science Foundation (LMER Grant No. DEB-9412089, LTER Grant No. OCE-9982133, and SEI+II Grant No. 0429644)
NOAA Coastal Ocean Program (Grant to South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium entitled "Tidal Circulation and Salt Transport in a Tidal Creek-Salt Marsh Complex")
Office of Naval Research (the SEACOOS program, N00014-02-1-0972)
Department of Energy Grant to the Savannah River National Laboratory, SR06-COL073
Luso -- American Foundation
Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil
Read more about the GCE-LTER and the Duplin River project:
Exchange Processes between Intertidal Areas and Tidal Creeks: The Duplin River Study by Blanton et al. (http://www.lternet.edu/news/images/spring05/GCE_Duplin_River_Study.pdf)
LTER Network News, Vol 18 (1), Spring . See pages 11 & 12.
Additional reading :
Blanton, J.O., G. Lin and S.A. Elston (2002) Tidal current asymmetry in shallow estuaries and tidal creeks. Continental Shelf Research 22: 1731-1743. pdf
Blanton, J.O., H. Seim, C. Alexander, J. Amft and G. Kineke (2003) Transport of salt and suspended sediments in a curving channel of a coastal plain estuary: Satilla River, GA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science., 57:993-1006. pdf
Blanton, J.O., F. Andrade and M. Adelaide Ferreira (2006) The relationship of hydrodynamics and morphology in tidal-creek and salt-marsh systems in South Carolina and Georgia. In: Implications of changing land use patterns to coastal ecosystems. (Eds. Kleppel, G.S., M.R. DeVoe and M.V. Rawson, Jr.) p. 93-107. Springer-Verlag, New York, USA. Abstract
Moore, W. S., J. O. Blanton, and S. B. Joye (2006) Estimates of flushing times, submarine groundwater discharge, and nutrient fluxes to Okatee Estuary, South Carolina, J. Geophys. Res., 111: C09006, doi:10.1029/2005JC003041. pdf
Seim, H.E., J. O. Blanton and S. Elston (2006) Tidal circulation and energy dissipation in a shallow, sinuous estuary, Ocean Dynamics 56 (3-4): 360-375. pdf
Posted: 2007/10/26 10:32:11 |
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Postdoctoral scientist joins SkIO
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 SkIO welcomes Dr. Ai Nihongi as a postdoctoral scientist collaborating with Dr. Gustav Paffenhöfer on studies of the behavior and ecology of marine zooplankton species. Dr. Nihongi received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee working with Dr. J. Rudi Strickler, using optical technologies to examine behaviors of freshwater zooplankton. Her dissertation was entitled "Adaptive Behaviors of Crustacean Zooplankton."
Dr. Nihongi is originally from Kanagawa, Japan, and came to the USA in 2000 after receiving her bachelor's degree in Aquatic Biosciences from Tokyo University of Fisheries (now Tokyo University of Marine Sciences and Technology) with Dr. Hidekatsu Yamazaki.
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BOR / USG – transforming lives through education |
 University System Marks 75 Years of "Transforming Lives"
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia announces its 75th anniversary celebration!
In 1932, twenty-seven separate boards of trustees were consolidated under a single governing Board of Regents.
Read about the birth of the USG, its historical background, and discover how large the University System of Georgia has become over the past 75 years. The list of selected USG Alumni photos may surprise you!
www.usg.edu
USG 75 Years of Transforming Lives
USG Press Release
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography is proud to be a research unit of the University System of Georgia and especially proud to be highlighted in the University System's publication, "The University System of Georgia 75 Years of Transforming Lives."
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| The Roebling House is transformed into a laboratory for the production of ACT's oxygen video by SCAD graduate students Adam Farrell (right: director /cinematographer); Tyler Martinolich (middle: producer/director); and Chris Swaford (left: cinematographer). |
Dr. Jim Nelson and Research Coordinator Charles Robertson are currently engaged in the preparation of the Alliance for Coastal Technology's (ACT) first training video. Three graduate students from the Savannah College of Art and Design have been working closely with the Nelson lab to produce a video for the standardization of Winkler methods to measure oxygen concentrations. The Winkler method dates back to 1888 and is still among the most widely used chemical analyses. This video is intended to provide basic training as a supplement to published protocols. The video in development will provide a model for future ACT training videos. SkIO hosts the Southeastern Center for ACT, a NOAA-supported program whose mandate includes the groundtruthing and inter-laboratory calibration and verification of a diverse suite of physical, chemical and biological sensor technologies. As oceanographic research advances the development of in situ observatories, reliance on robust, accurate sensors will increase dramatically. Even the best sensors require calibration and verification. For example, oxygen sensors must be standardized routinely using verified chemical determinations. A standardized application of sensors and analytical techniques is mandatory for the accurate interpretation of observatory data streams.
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Marine research center a 'go' |
January 17, 2007
Savannah Morning News
Morris News Service
Marine research center a 'go'
Regents give nod to list of bidders, also approve public health doctorate at Georgia Southern
ATLANTA -- The State Board of Regents on Tuesday approved a list of construction companies for the university system to enter into negotiations to construct the $5 million Marine and Coastal Science Research Center at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in Savannah.
About $3.7 million is set aside for the actual construction of the center, which is designed to have 12,000 to 16,000 square feet of floor space when finished.
Choate Construction of Pooler won the rights to negotiate first with the system, followed by R.W. Allen and Associates of Augusta and Dabbs-Williams General Contractors LLC of Statesboro.
The Skidaway Institute is an autonomous research unit of the University System of Georgia. Its stated mission is to provide Georgia with a nationally and internationally recognized center for marine science.
Also on Tuesday, with the state facing a crunch in public health workers, the Regents approved a doctorate degree in public health at Georgia Southern University.
According to board documents, Georgia lags far behind the national average of health workers for each 100,000 people and has a smaller portion of its workforce -- 7.7 percent -- devoted to public health work than the national average of a 8.8 percent.
The program is expected to enroll six doctoral candidates in its first year. That should grow to 30 candidates by the end of the third year.
According to the university, it will not cost anything to set up the degree program.
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Congratulations!
SkIO graduate student Alex Rao receives PhD from Georgia Tech |
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Congratulations to Alexandra Rao upon the completion of her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology in December 2006. Alex's thesis title was "Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Permeable Continental Shelf Sediments and Porewater Exchange across the Sediment-Water Interface." All of her laboratory experiments and field research efforts were conducted at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO); SkIO professor, Richard Jahnke, served as her thesis advisor. Other committee members included Dr. Jay Brandes of SkIO, Drs. Ellery Ingall and Martial Taillefert of Georgia Tech and Drs. Markus Huettel and Flip Froelich of Florida State University. Alex has accepted a postdoctoral position at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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 Black Sea Bass for the Sushi Market
One of our professors is experimenting with raising black sea bass for the sushi market in a “mariculture” setting. What he is doing differently is also raising tilapia and feeding the baby tilapia to the sea bass. The bass are apparently growing to market size in about half the time as using traditional food-pellet methods. Also less waste. When the bass gobble the small tilapia, they eat them whole. There are no remnants sinking to the bottom of the tank. At the same time, he is using the waste water from the tilapia tank to fertilize a hydroponic garden.
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 Coastal Water Quality Declining
One of our professors has been measuring the quality of the water in Georgia’s inshore waters for almost 20 years. Specifically, his measurements are of the Skidaway River, although his results match up with other measurements up and down the coast. Over that time he has found that the level of “nutrients” from sources like fertilizer, sewage plants, etc has increased steadily as has the level of algae (phytoplankton.) The level of dissolved oxygen has declined. While all this has been happening, the area fishermen’s catches of shrimp, crab and “desirable” fish has been declining. He is not ready to say that Georgia’s coastal waters are about to turn into Chesapeake Bay just yet, but he does say this is a troubling trend that needs to be addressed.
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 Coastal Radar System
One of our latest developments is the installation of a high frequency, low power radar system on St. Catherine’s Island. Working in conjunction with another identical system near Beaufort, SC, the radar is able to map ocean currents off the Georgia/South Carolina coast to a range of over 200 km. The coastal shelf is very wide here, but it gets out into the Gulf Stream. The system will create a map with hundreds of “data points” which are updated twice an hour. There are some practical applications to this, tracking chemical spills, search and rescue, etc. However, the real purpose is more in the realm of pure science. Movement of water affects all kinds of things, animal, plant and mineral. What is happening in coastal waters? How and where material is transported along and across the coastal shelf? How does this affect issues such as nutrients or the marine life which spend their immature life in the salt marshes but their adult hood in the open water. Etc.
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 Real Time Constant Ocean Observation
The radar system is part of a larger, ongoing effort to develop a system of real-time, constant ocean observation. This is a growing field in oceanography. One simple aspect of it would be tsunami warning systems that were a hot topic of discussion last winter. Skidaway Institute is heavily involved in this field through our partnership with the US Navy in the SABSOON (South Atlantic Bight Synoptic Ocean Observation Network) towers off the Georgia coast. Skidaway has placed meteorological and oceanographic monitoring equipment on the top of three towers and in the water beneath them. These systems monitor a multitude of different conditions, ranging from wind speed to ocean current and salinity. It is transmitted back to land via a microwave signal, stored digitally and available for anyone with internet access. From time to time, we send crews out to maintain this equipment and we can sometimes arrange for visitors to “hitch a ride” on the helicopter. We just need to set it up. (This is not easy to schedule because we don’t just have a helicopter on stand-by. Due to the expensive cost of the helicopter trip, we would need to coordinate with a flight that was going out for another reason and had available room, etc.)
Also, related to that, our assistant director, Rick Jahnke (yahn-key) is the director of a national program, ORION, which is working to establish a global network of monitoring stations like this. We have people who can speak about the local view as well as the national/global perspective. Additional info on these programs can be obtained at: http://www.skio.usg.edu/research2/sabsoon/ .
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