Orcas Sighted off Northern California
Staff at HSU's Telonicher Marine Laboratory were recently among the lucky few who saw some orcas (killer whales) hunting near the shoreline at Trinidad, California. We seldom see orcas this far south, but there have been some recent sightings. Click here for a link to an article in the Times-Standard, a local newspaper.
HSU Oceanography Prof Hits the Airwaves
Update: Missed seeing Dr. Crawford's TV presentation? You can watch it now online! Visit the Research Channel's website, www.researchchannel.org. In the Search box, type in "Small World Ocean". Click on the appropriate link. You can then choose to watch the show in streaming video (Windows Media Player or Quicktime) or download it in MPEG4 format.
Professor Greg Crawford gave a televised presentation on the Research Channel on April 27, 2008. Entitled "It's a Small World Ocean -- Better Ocean Management Through Science", Crawford's presentation focused on many challenges facing the world's oceans today and the new and exciting ways in which scientists are collaborating to understand and solve these problems. The problems range from local ones (like local water pollution) to the global scale (including global warming and sea level rise). The solutions, therefore, require looking at the ocean and its inhabitants at several scales as well: local, regional, national, and international. Crawford explained how one area in rural northern California is both contributing to, and benefiting from, a developing ocean monitoring and modeling effort known broadly as ocean observing systems (OOS).
The presentation was produced by California State University, Monterey Bay, in collaboration with Humboldt State University.
Humboldt Bay Symposium set for April 24-25, 2008
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District has announced the upcoming Humboldt Bay Symposium 2008. Set to take place on April 24-25, the symposium will include sessions on ocean and other resource monitoring programs, marine transportation, ecosystem-based management and the potential for ocean wave energy extraction, among others. Several local and regional ocean scientists and resource managers will be in attendance, along with representatives from local businesses, conservation groups and other interested parties. The symposium is open to the public. Registration fees are $10/day. More information can be obtained at the Harbor District's website, http://www.humboldtbay.org.
HSU Secures a NSF Major Instrumentation Grant
Our 90' research vessel, the R/V Coral Sea, is about to get some brand new oceanographic equipment, including: a vessel-mounted acoustic current profiler; real-time CTD (for measuring temperature, salinity, and density profiles); a surface water sampling system (that allows us to measure surface water conditions, like temperature, salinity, and turbidity as the vessel moves through the water), and fish egg sampler. The instruments will be installed during the summer of 2008, while the vessel is in dry dock for repairs. These exciting improvements will make for better instructional capabilities, more research opportunities (for faculty and students). They will also help substantially with our ocean observing system efforts (e.g., PACOOS, CICORE, COCMP) and make the vessel a more desirable platform for potential contractors. We're very excited!
From the Rivers to the Sea ...
Professor Jeffry Borgeld has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to study the transport of particulate organic carbon (POC) from small, mountainous rivers along the west coast of the United States. By some estimates, this process accounts for more than 50% of the global transport of particulates from the land to the sea, so it is clearly an important component of the global carbon cycle. However, little is known about the ultimate fate of this POC when it reaches the oceans. Jeff, along with colleagues from Oregon State University, will focus on measuring the transport and assessing the fate of POC from three key rivers: the Eel, Umpqua, and Salinas. Jeff's focus is primarily on the Eel River. He and a number of his undergraduate students are in the process of sampling the river during the current 2007-2008 rainy season, particularly after major rainfall events.
Wave Energy Forum Co-Hosted by HSU
HSU, in collaboration with the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), co-hosted a public forum on wave energy on Oct. 23, 2007. The meeting was intended to facilitate an open and frank discussion of the perceived potential, as well as potential impacts, of the development of wave energy facilities off the coast of Humboldt Bay (and Fort Bragg, California, another site of interest.) The meeting included presentations from representatives from the OPC, the California Energy Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Finavera Renewables, Inc. (a manufacturer of wave energy conversion devices), and the local forecast office of the National Weather Service, and Professor Greg Crawford from HSU's Oceanography Department. The floor was then opened for questions and a "lively discussion" ensued.
Wave energy is a hot topic of conversation in northern, coastal California. Efforts are already well underway to extract energy from ocean waves off Oregon and Washington State. Here in California, the state is moving forward but proceeding cautiously and thoughtfully. Greg is collaborating with the state and other colleagues to develop a white paper, identifying what is and is not known about the consequences of wave energy development off coastal northern California. The goal of this effort is provide key information and resource analyses in order to support good management decisions regarding wave energy extraction in this area.
Goldthwait Publishes in Science
Professor Sarah Goldthwait co-authored a paper that was recently published in Science, one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world. The article highlights some of her recent work on the relationships among the physics, chemistry and biology of mesoscale eddies in the Sargasso Sea. Sarah's work focused on the characterization of the zooplankton community and their response to phytoplankton blooms. Sarah notes, "We were thrilled to find the highest chlorophyll concentration ever documented in that region, as well as the enhanced zooplankton mass!" She notes that additional details of her work will be published in an upcoming special issue of the oceanographic journal Deep Sea Research.
Oceanography Department Celebrates 40th Anniversary
The HSU Oceanography is over 40 years old!. Last summer (June 29-July 1, 2006), alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the program celebrated this special time with a series of events on and off campus. This included the first ever SHOAL (Survey of the Humboldt Oceanography Alumni Legacy) Symposium, a tour of the Telonicher Marine Lab and a cruise on the R/V Coral Sea. Attendees had a great time renewing friendships, making new ones, and seeing what's new at HSU. Special guests included emeritus and retired profs Jim Gast, George Crandell, Bob Hodgson, John Pequegnat, and Jim Butler. For more information, see the celebration webpages.