This post was written by Jessica Sheu, a recent graduate from the computer science Masters program at San Jose State University. Jessica has been developing tools to apply machine learning techniques to automatically classify and ID images of sinking particles. This June, I attended my first Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) workshop! I presented a […]
How do you tell the difference between “detrital aggregates” and “fecal pellets” (aka zooplankton poop)? In the last few months I have been looking through thousands of particle images, and categorizing them as fecal pellets or aggregates. These particles sink and transport carbon from the surface ocean into the “twilight zone” and sometimes all the […]
Last week I sailed on Moss Landing Marine Lab’s R/V John Martin for the first time! My collaborator Meg Estapa came to MLML to test neutrally-buoyant sediment traps that she has been building and programming in preparation for next month’s NASA EXPORTS research cruise. We wanted to perform a few more tests on these instruments […]
Last year I sailed on the Sea to Space Particle Investigation research cruise aboard the R/V Falkor. Our goal on that cruise was to connect surface phytoplankton communities with the amount of carbon exported out of the surface ocean and to identify the ecological mechanisms leading to their export. The most direct pathway between plankton […]
Yesterday as I was looking under the microscope at particles collected from the bottom of the ocean, and I came across this beautiful cell(s): This centric diatom is surrounded by a halo of smaller coccolithophore cells. The circle in the center is the diatom. You can see the nano-patterns on the silica valve and […]
At this year’s MLML open housee we set up some microscopes in the biological oceanography lab so that visitors could explore and discover plankton. In the morning before the open house I stopped at the wharf in Monterey to collect a phytoplankton net tow. It was a beautiful morning, and an otter with her pup […]
Congratulations to Melia Paguirigan for being selected by the ASLO Multicultural Program to attend the 2017 ASLO meeting in Honolulu Hawaii. (ASLO = the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography) Melia presented a poster about the research she conducted in my lab during summer 2016. Read more about her research and experience here. […]
This week I received my lab’s first microscope! It is an Olympus SZX16 stereo microscope. This microscope will be used to image and quantify sinking particles collected in sediment traps. It also fits easily into a carry-on size bag so that I can safely transport it out to sea. […]
A new project in my lab was recently funded by the National Science foundation. (My first NSF award!) The title of the project is: “Collaborative Research: EAGER: Particle-specific DNA sequencing to directly observe ecological mechanisms of the biological pump” This project is a collaboration with my co-principal investigators Margaret Estapa (Skidmore College) and Melissa Omand […]
The evolution of silicon transporters in diatoms. Journal of Phycology (html)(pdf) study co-authors: Julie Koester (UNC Wilmington), Sara Bender (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), E. Virginia Armbrust (UW) The ornately patterned silica cell walls (“frustules”) formed by diatoms attract attention for their beauty, but also give diatoms a distinct and globally important role in the […]
It is always exciting when science and art intersect. This summer, science illustrator Natalie Renier created this beautiful image to help CSUMB REU student Melia Paguirigan communicate her research about diatom aggregation: The biological pump is very complex, and this image helped Melia communicate the components of that process that were directly related to her […]
Posted by CSUMB REU student Melia Paguirigan: This summer I participated in the California State University Monterey Bay Research Experience Undergraduate program, with Dr. Colleen Durkin as my mentor. Our project investigated the role of diatom community composition and morphology in aggregation. We collected whole seawater samples from Monterey Bay. Then I used a roller […]
Last week I visited Melissa Omand’s lab at the University of Rhode Island to analyze sediment trap samples collected on the R/V Endeavor. Unfortunately I was not able to go on the cruise, but I was still lucky enough to look at the exciting samples they brought back. The types of samples collected on this […]
The main reason I enjoy working at the microscope is that I never know exactly what I will see. Today while counting a preserved phytoplankton sample collected at the Rhode Island shelf break I spotted these cells: This is a chain of diatom cells (genus: Detonula, I think) undergoing a life cycle stage that allows […]
Our study of phytoplankton associated with sinking particles was recently published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography. (link to open access publication) The amount of carbon that sinks out of the surface ocean in the form of organic particles is highly variable and difficult to predict, in part because the ecological processes that lead to […]
The “EN572” cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor was a success. My goals on this cruise were to link the phytoplankton communities growing in the surface with the particle types sinking out of the surface. We observed a very abundant and diverse phytoplankton community, including many different species of diatom and dinoflagellates. The sinking particles were […]
On this cruise we are deploying three different types of sediment traps, a remotely operated vehicle, and are recovering a glider. We are also taking water samples from the ship. One of our goals is to determine how best to coordinate these instruments with one another in order to resolve particle flux and the conditions […]
This morning we set sail, heading for the Rhode Island continental shelf break. We are sailing on the R/V Endeavor: Unfortunately, Melissa, the chief scientist had to stay on the dock, because she is beyond the pregnancy threshold for sailing on a cruise. Instead, Melissa will be acting as chief scientist from shore and will […]
This week I am sailing on the R/V Endeavor off the coast of Rhode Island. The cruise is lead by chief scientist Melissa Omand. We’ll be deploying three different types of sediment traps and many other instruments that will resolve the physical and chemical environment over short time periods and small spatial scales. These types […]
