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October 31, 2004

Highlights

The new dormitory building at the Pinelands Field Station has been delivered and is currently being connected to utilities. The fire suppression system is on order and we hope not to run out of money before we get to installing the fire alarm system and any stairs and ramps to allow to actually get into the building!

Meetings Attended

  • The annual Members Meeting of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and the AMS/UCAR Heads and Chairs Meeting were held in Boulder, CO the week of October 11th. Alan Robock and Jim Miller attended both meetings as Rutgers representatives to UCAR. Additional details can be found at: http://www.ucar.edu/governance/meetings/oct04/followup/index.html
  • Alan Robock represented the Department of Environmental Sciences at the AGU 5th Meeting of Heads and Chairs of Earth and Space Science Departments joint with the AMS/UCAR 14th Meeting of Heads and Chairs of Programs in Atmospheric, Oceanic, Hydrologic, and Related Sciences, Boulder, Colorado, October 14-15, 2004.
  • Alan Robock gave an invited talk on Volcanic Eruptions and Climate at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Oct. 3, 2004.
  • Lisa Totten gave an oral presentation on the Mass Balances of PCBs and PAHs in the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary at the Mid-Atlantic Industrial and Hazardous Waste Conference at University of Connecticut, Storrs, October 9, 2004.
  • Lisa. Totten gave an invited seminar at the NOAA labs at Sandy Hook, N.J. on October 18, 2004.
  • On September 23, Lisa Totten went to Trenton to give a seminar for the Division of Science, Research and Technology of NJDEP on the results of the NJADN.
  • Judith Weis: "Our lab was well represented at the recent AERS meeting that was held at the Meadowlands Commission. Five graduate students, Cathy Czerwinski, James MacDonald, Lauren Bergey, Jessica Reichmuth and Celine Bass gave either oral or poster presentations."
  • Jiang, L., O. M. E. Schofield, and P. G. Falkowski. 2004. Zooplankton grazing affects phytoplankton body size evolution. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, USA.
  • Krumins, J. A. and L. Jiang. 2004. The effects of keystone predation and productivity in a model system. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. Portland, OR, USA.
  • Jen Bosch just returned from Fremantle, Australia where she presented the following talk, "East Coast Plumes and Blooms: Building a Chlorophyll Budget for the Mid-Atlantic Bight," at the Ocean Optics meeting (Oct. 25-29). The authors of the talk are Jennifer Bosch, Oscar Schofield, Scott Glenn, and Josh Kohut.
  • Sybil Seitzinger attended the Third International Nitrogen Conference in Nanjing, China from October 6 to 12th. She made an invited plenary presentation of the paper, "Global prospective on denitrification in terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems: past, present, and future." She also attended the Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting of the International Nitrogen Initiative.
  • Sybil Seitzinger attended the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) board meeting in Bermuda on November 4-5.
  • John Dighton just returned from a European Community COST Action workshop, Woody Root Processes under a Changing Environment in Thessaloniki, Greece, Oct. 27-30. John was invited to give the keynote oral paper, "Functional role of roots in response to environmental factors."
  • Peter Rona presented a keynote talk, "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea: The Science Behind the Film," at the New Jersey Science Convention on October 12, 2004. He also was interviewed by a group of teachers meeting at the New England Aquarium, as part of the NOAA Ocean Exploration Professional Development program on October 16th.

New Grants

  • A NOAA press release mentions Rutgers as an award recipient and participant in " NOAA Fisheries Grants to Study Foreign Oysters for Chesapeake." Ximing Guo and Dave Bushek are among the recipients leading with others on the following projects:

     

    Title: Fertilization interference between Crassostrea ariakensis and Crassostrea virginica
    Project duration: December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2005
    Principal Investigators: Drs. David Bushek and Ximing Guo and Mr. Greg DeBrosse
    Title: Genetic and Ecological Structures of Oyster Estuaries in China and Factors Affecting Success of Crassostrea ariakensis: Clues from A Reclassification
    Project Duration: 12/1/04 - 11/30/06
    Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Ximing Guo, Rutgers University; Prof. Aimin Wang, Hainan University; Prof. Guofan Zhang and Dr. Haiyan Wang, Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Title: A histological investigation of oyster parasites and pathology in three Chinese estuaries containing varying mixtures of coexisting oyster species, including Crassostrea ariakensis.
    Project duration: October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005
    Principal Investigators: Drs. David Bushek, Susan Ford and Ximing Guo
  • Sybil Seitzinger received $12,000 from NOAA, funding CMER Cooperative Program Base Funds: Summer Interns 2005, (9/1/04-8/31/05).
  • Mike De Luca, as PI, received $555,000 from NOAA for the Jacques Cousteau Estuarine Research Reserve Program Operations Budget (10/1/04-3/31/06).
  • Sybil Seitzinger, as PI for the Rutgers CMER Cooperative Program: Bluefish/Striped Bass Interactions VIII , was awarded $923,294 by NOAA. (9/1//04-8/31/06).
  • Paul Falkowski was awarded $375,000 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for his project entitled "Metabolic and genetic characterization of microorganisms encased in ancient, buried Antarctic ice." (9/1/04-8/31/06)
  • Oscar Schofield, Scott Glenn, and Michael Twardowski were awarded $225,000 by the Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research, for their project “Mapping the spatial dynamics in optically significant nepheloid layers using autonomous underwater gliders,” (2004-2005).
  • Fred Grassle, Phoebe Zhang, and Dale Haidvogel received an award of $196,599 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for their project " Integration of the Information System," (10/15/04 - 9/30/06).

Publications

  • Moline, M. A., Claustre, H., Frazer, T. K., Vernet, M., Schofield, O. 2004. Environmental forcing of phytoplankton community composition and potential impact on zooplankton in Antarctic coastal waters. Global Change Biology. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00825. 1-8.
  • Lohrenz, S. E., Fahnenstiel, G. L., Millie, D. F., Schofield, O., Johengen T., Bergmann, T. Bio-Optical properties of spring phytoplankton communities in southeastern Lake Michigan and implications for regional primary production. Journal of Geophysical Research. 109, C10S14, doi:10.1029/2004JC002383.
  • Jiang, L. and P. J. Morin. Predator diet breadth influences the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down control of prey biomass and diversity. American Naturalist (accepted).
  • Jiang, L. and P. J. Morin. 2004. Productivity gradients cause positive diversity-invasibility relationships in microbial communities. Ecology Letters 7: 1047-1057.
  • Wiegner, T. N., and S. P. Seitzinger. 2004. Seasonal bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen from pristine and polluted freshwater wetlands. Limnology and Oceanography 49(5).
  • Sharp, J.H., A.Y. Beauregard, D. Burdige, G. Cauwet, S.E. Curless, R. Lauck, K. Nagel, H. Ogawa, A.E. Parker, O. Primm, M. Pujo-Pay, W.B. Savidge, S. Seitzinger, G. Spyres, R. Styles. 2004. A direct instrument comparison for measurement of total dissolved nitrogen in seawater. Marine Chemistry 84: 181-193.
  • Seitzinger, S.P., H. Hartnett, R. Lauck, M. Mazurek, T. Minegishi, G. Spyres, R. Styles. 2005. Molecular level chemical characterization and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in streamwater using ESI mass spectrometry. Limnology & Oceanography 50(1).
  • Zhdanova, N. N., Tugay, T., Dighton, J., Zheltonozhsky, V. and McDermott, P. 2004. Ionizing radiation attracts fungi. Mycol. Res. 108:1089 ­-1096.
  • Dighton, J., Tuininga, A. R., Gray, D. M., Huskins, R. E. & Belton, T. 2004. Impacts of atmospheric deposition on New Jersey pine barrens forest soils and communities of ectomycorrhizae. For. Ecol. Manage, 201:131-144.
  • Tuininga, A. R. and Dighton, J. 2004. Changes in ectomycorrhizal communities and nutrient availability following prescribed burning in two upland pine-oak forests in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Can. J. For. Res. 43:1755-1765.

Congratulations

  • Please join IMCS in congratulating Susan Keller upon her nomination for the President’s Excellence in Service Award. This award recognizes staff who have demonstrated extraordinary service and dedication in their daily interactions at work to Rutgers students, employees, alumni, and the surrounding communities.
  • Congratulations to Bob, Kristin, and Matthew on the arrival of Robert Geoffrey Rossi. Born on October 28, 2004 at 8:19am, 8 pounds 10 ounces and 21.5 inches long.
  • Congratulations to Jeanine and David Rosario! Elise Francesca was born on October 28, 2004 at 9:03 pm, 8lbs 11oz, 21".

 

Let's Welcome

  • John Evans -- John Evans has joined the Ocean Modeling Group as a Research Computing Specialist. John's background is in computer science and he has worked with a number of environmental research organizations in the New England area, including the USGS in Woods Hole and the Gulf of Maine Observing System (GoMOOS). John is located in Blake 302.
  • Carola Noji -- I grew up in Germany and in 1988 I completed a Master's Thesis on the influence of tube-building polychaetes on transport processes at the sediment surface. I lived in Bergen, Norway, for 11 years. Here I conducted Ph.D. studies on seasonal and geographical differences in benthic metabolism. Three and a half years ago I moved to New Jersey. At the moment I am holding a substitute position in Dr. Judy Grassle's group. Research interests: Benthic-pelagic coupling, benthic metabolism, polychaetes, pollution studies, and larval settlement. (Room 309E).
  • Jean-Paul Simjouw -- Jean Paul joins Sybil Seitzinger's group as a postdoc, working on a biocomplexity project to investigate the interactions between dissolved organic matter and bacteria and/or phytoplankton. Jean-Paul was born in the Netherlands, and came to the US in 1997 to work on his Ph.D. in Oceanography at Old Dominion University. He worked under Dr. Elizabeth Minor since Spring 2001 on several projects using size exclusion chromatography and direct temperature mass spectrometry to characterize estuarine dissolved organic matter, along with his Ph.D. work involving the characterization of dissolved organic matter in a coastal bay subject to Aureococcus anophagefferens (brown tide) blooms. (Room 205, ext. 338)
  • Richard Chinman -- Richard Chinman has joined the Ocean Biogeograhpic Information System Secretariat at Rutgers University as Program Manager. Before coming to Rutgers he was Director of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere-- Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) International Project Office, Richard built a federation of data systems involving 20 countries and 300 research scientists. He has also served as Project Manager for Information Infrastructure, Technology and Applications at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). He received his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island and B.A. from Williams College. He worked in the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, Interagency and International Affairs Division (first as a National Sea Grant Fellow and subsequently as a NOAA staff member seconded to the Navy) to increase international cooperation on use of hydrographic and oceanographic data. He has served on the U.S. National Committee for the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). Richard will be working closely with Phoebe Zhang and Fred Grassle. (Room 104H)