FSU Department of Oceanography Newsletter
No. 23 Fall/Winter 2002
Dr. Kevin Speer Studies the Currents of the North Atlantic Ocean
Dr. Kevin Speer joined the faculty at Florida State University three years ago as an associate professor in physical oceanography. He brought with him to Tallahassee his experiences working on various projects including the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and the Eurofloat project. The Eurofloat project is a partnership of scientists with a common goal of investigating the circulation of deep water masses in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. With a concentration on the Labrador Sea Water near 1500 meters deep, the scientists deployed floats throughout the area using moored sound sources to track them. Dr. Speer hopes to develop more float work at FSU, incorporating similar and new float technology.
Dr. Speer also worked on WOCE with which scientists hope to gain an overall view of ocean currents. WOCE's main goals were to estimate the transport of mass and heat on a global scale and the rate of formation of water masses in the ocean. Although field work for this international program has ended, the analysis period continues. Within WOCE, Eurofloat, and other projects, American teams studied the circulation on the western side of the Atlantic while a European team studied the eastern side. Vincent Faure, working on his master's degree under Dr. Speer, is combining the data from the studies to get an overall view of the North Atlantic. The North Atlantic is an ocean with strong convection. Warm water moves north and is cooled by arctic air. It then sinks and drifts south. Vincent and Dr. Speer are measuring the strength of that flow.
Dr. Speer is also working with Dr. Rick Lumpkin, a research faculty member, to create a box inverse model of the North Atlantic. The ocean is divided into boxes by hydrographic sections within which the transport of mass, heat, salt, and other properties of the ocean are balanced by interior sources and surface fluxes. The results will help us learn about the role of the ocean in Earth's climate.
Dr. Andreas Thurnherr, another research faculty member, is working with Dr. Speer on the Deep Basin Experiment. This study is about the smaller-scale processes that are important for circulation in the Brazil Basin. They recently published a paper on the structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, relating the bathymetry of the ridge to upwelling and addressing the closure of thermohaline circulation in the dense, bottom-water branch.
Working in conjunction with a group of biological oceanographers, Dr. Speer recently published an article in Science addressing the evolution and biogeography of deep-sea vent and seep invertebrates throughout the world. By incorporating information about deep-sea currents in the North Atlantic, the group was able to explain the possible reasons for the distribution of different species along the Mid-Ocean Ridge.
Together with Dr. Louis St. Laurent, Dr. Speer is co-teaching two classes this fall-Physical Oceanography of the Polar Regions and Survey of Statistics in Oceanography. For the spring semester, he plans to teach an ocean lab course, during which students will go to sea to take measurements of currents in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dr. Kevin Speer
Box inverse model of the North Atlantic.
Staff
Jim Winne Retires After 26 Years with the Department
Looking for the guy who can build anything from laboratory equipment to components for current meters to field sampling devices? How about someone who can repair ancient equipment such as Dr. LaRock's autoclave or Dr. Burnett's centrifuge? Well, he won't be around here much longer. After 26 years of working for the Department of Oceanography, Jim Winne is retiring. Jim joined the department as a lab mechanic/machinist II in 1977 working primarily with Dr. Winchester, building cascade impactors for his air sampling research. Jim fondly remembers working in the shop with Albert P. Woodard (Woody) who according to Jim, "was head machinist and master of all things mechanical and electrical, so I learned from the best."
It was a very exciting time. The department had about 12 faculty members with offices on one and a half floors of the building. As the department grew, more faculty members were added, and space was increased. In 1982, the department created a line position for Jim as instrument maker/designer. He now worked for the whole department instead of just one professor, and they've kept him busy from that day on.
In 1985, Jim was dating Pat Terrie who worked in the Department of Communications Disorders. (She will be retiring in December too.) As Jim tells it: "We'd been dating for over a year and had decided to get married. But our families couldn't make up their minds as to when they could come up for a wedding and so we said to heck with this and just went out and got married at lunch." Jim only told his boss, Woody, who told his wife. They quickly put together a party for Jim and Pat complete with cake and champagne in room 335 (now Dr. Chanton's lab). Afterwards they sent out cards telling friends and family, "Guess what? We got married!" And according to Jim, "It's been an enjoyable ride ever since."
In 1990, Jim was named FSU Employee of the Year for his dedication to the department in both his official role of building and repairing research equipment and in his unofficial role as the "go-to guy" if anything needed to be fixed, moved, or rescued. Over the last 10 years, the department has seen more physical growth and change to the building than in any previous time. Formerly useless rooms were renovated into offices and laboratories. Jim helped design the layout of the building to make it more useful for the researchers.
Jim's immediate plans are to build a shop on his property in Arkansas, where he and his wife will live while they build their new house. He will be hiring a contractor to build the house to the dried-in stage and then will finish the interior himself. Jim plans to set up a little fabrication business doing machine shop work, woodworking, stain glass painting, and whatever else strikes his interest. Jim says, "I'm looking forward to the rural lifestyle with no crowds and having cows for neighbors. Not my own, of course."
Jim Winne in the oceanography shop many years ago.
Around the OSB
Welcome
Angelika Sorgo has joined Dr. Thistle's lab as a technician. She received a degree from the University of Vienna, Austria, for work on the physiology of hydrothermal-vent organisms.
Dr. Peter Lazarevich is the new Current Meter Facility research faculty member. He was born in Champaign, Illinois and lived in Melbourne, Florida for a few years. He spent the last six years in Rhode Island where he received his Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. His thesis focused on using RAFOS floats to measure oceanic variability.
Dr. JungHo Hyun, (a 1992 Ph.D. graduate of the department) from the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute is a visiting faculty member for the next year in Dr. Kostka's lab.
Also new to Dr. Kostka's lab are Julia Glicksberg, undergraduate student researcher, and Deena Westbrook and Christopher Wright, undergraduate work study students. Hayley Skelton, an undergraduate student researcher with Dr. Kostka for over two years has accepted a graduate student position with the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University.
New Developments
Dr. Joel Kostka served on two program-review panels for the Department of Energy Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Program (NABIR) in 2002.
Dr. William Landing is the Program Chair (and Division Chair in 2003) of the Division of Geochemistry of the American Chemical Society. He is also chairman of the Leon County Science Advisory Committee.
Professional Activities
New Grants
COAPS
NASA
$564,000 July 2002 - July 2005
"Numerical modeling of cross-shelf exchange processes in the Gulf of Mexico"
Dr. William Burnett
Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CDRF)
$30,000 Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2004
"Paleoecology and paleo-radioecology of Lake Sevan, Armenia"
Dr. Allan Clarke
National Science Foundation
$808,834 Sept. 2002 - Aug. 2006
"Observations and dynamics of interannual coastal flows"
Dr. Richard Iverson and J. Putland
NOAA
$52,500 July 2002 - July 2005
"Planktonic food web variations related to salinity and nutrient patterns in Apalachicola Bay"
Dr. Joel Kostka
DOE
$895,674 Sept. 2002 - Aug. 2005
"The DOE Subsurface Microbial Culture Collection (SMCC)"
Naval Research Laboratory
$26,500 Dec. 2001 - Dec. 2002
"The impacts of invertebrate macrofauna on the community composition of sedimentary bacteria
in coastal marine sediments"
Dr. William Landing
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency STAR Program
$827,147 Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2005
"Natural mercury isotopes as tracers of sources, cycling, and deposition of atmospheric
mercury"
NSF, Chemical Oceanography
$307,522 Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2005
"Collaborative Research: Global ocean survey of dissolved iron and aluminum and aerosol iron
and aluminum solubility supporting the Repeat Hydrography \(CO2)\ project"
Dr. Nancy Marcus
Dept. of Agriculture, State of Florida via subcontract to Mote Marine Lab
$50,000 Aug. 2002 - June 2003
"Developing marine fish hatchery and nursery culture to expand Florida's aquaculture industry"
Dr. Doron Nof
NSF
$300,000 2000 - 2003
"The role of Agulhas Rings in the Western South Atlantic"
Office of Naval Research
$115,864 2001 - 2002
"The Tsushima Warm Current and its various branches"
Dr. Wilton Sturges
U.S. Minerals Management Service
$167,000 Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2003
"Strong mid-depth currents and a deep cyclonic gyre in the Gulf of Mexico"
Dr. David Thistle
Dept. of Energy
$164,000 2002 - 2005
"The influence of deep seabed CO2 sequestration on small metazoan (meiofaunal) community
structure and function"
Invited Presentations
Dr. William Burnett and Henrieta Dulaiova
Bill: "Radon and radium isotopes trace groundwater discharge into the ocean"
Henrieta: "Measurement of radium isotopes to estimate groundwater flow"
14th Radiochemical Conference, Mariánské Lázne, Czech Republic
April 2002
Dr. William Burnett
"Groundwater and pore-water inputs into the coastal zone"
Land-Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) Synthesis Meeting, Miami, FL
May 2002
Dr. Allan J. Clarke
"Interannual flow on continental shelves"
NOAA/NMFS, Pacific Fisheries Environmental Lab, Pacific Grove, CA
June 2002
"A simple El Niño prediction model based on an understanding of the spring persistence
barrier"
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
June 2002
Dr. Joel Kostka
Convened a special session entitled: "Interactions between macro- and microorganisms"
AGU/ASLO Ocean Sciences 2002 Meeting, Honolulu, HI
February 2002
"Microbial reduction of Fe(III) bound in clay minerals: laboratory investigations of growth and
mineral transformation"
223rd American Chemical Society National Meeting, Division of Geochemistry, Orlando, FL
April 2002
"Elucidating the effects of macrofauna vs. macrophytes on sediment biogeochemistry in the SERF
marsh"
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA
July 2002
Dr. William Landing
"Colloidal iron and iron redox speciation in the Gulf of Mexico: results from the SWISS project"
2002 AGU/ASLO Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, HI
February 2002
"Chemical and carbon isotopic evidence for the source and fate of dissolved organic matter in the
northern Everglades"
2002 American Chemical Society Spring Meeting, Orlando, FL
"Dissolved iron complexation in the Gulf of Mexico"
2002 American Chemical Society Fall Meeting, Boston, MA
Dr. Nancy Marcus
"The impact of eutrophication and chemical pollution on copepod communities of the coastal zone"
8th International Conference on Copepoda, Keelung, Taiwan
July 2002
"Biodiversity in coastal marine systems: benthic resting stages"
Biodiversity Workshop sponsored by NSF and the University of Michigan
September 2002
Dr. Doron Nof
"Fission of single and multiple eddies"
EGS General Assembly, Nice, France
April 2002
"Did an open Panama Isthmus correspond to an invasion of Pacific water into the Atlantic?" and
"Teddies and the origin of the Leeuwin Current"
AGU Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting, Wellington, New Zealand
July 2002
"Teddies and the origin of the Leeuwin Current"
Pedro Ripa Memorial Colloquium in CICESE, Ensenada, Mexico
October 2002
Dr. Melvin Stern
"Initiation of the small steps in the Weddell Halocline"
AGU 2002 Chapman Conference on High-Latitude Ocean Processes, Quebec, Canada
August 2002
Dr. David Thistle
"Seasonal variation in harpacticoid-copepod emergence at a continental shelf site"
Darling Marine Center, University of Maine, Walpole, ME
June 2002
Publications
Burnett, W.C., J. Chanton, J. Christoff, E. Kontar, S. Krupa, M. Lambert, W. Moore, D. O'Rourke, R. Paulsen, C. Smith, L. Smith, and M. Taniguchi, 2002. Assessing methodologies for measuring groundwater discharge to the ocean. EOS, 83, 117-123.
Corbett, D.R., K. Dillon, W.C. Burnett, and G. Schaefer, 2002. The spatial variability of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in a sand aquifer influenced by onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems: A case study on St. George Island, Florida. Environmental Pollution, 117 (2), 337-345.
Nour S., W.C. Burnett, E.P. Horwitz, 2002. Th-234 analysis in marine sediments via extraction chromatography and LSC. Applied Radiation & Isotopes, 57, 235-241.
Mortazavi, B., J. Chanton, 2002. Carbon isotopic discrimination and control of nighttime canopy δ18O-CO2 in a pine forest in the southeastern United States, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 16, 10.1029/2000GB001390.
Kostka, J.E., A. Roychoudhury, P. Van Cappellen, 2002. Rates and controls of anaerobic microbial respiration across spatial and temporal gradients in saltmarsh sediments. Biogeochemistry, 60, 49-76.
Llewelyn, J.M., W.M. Landing, A.G. Marshall, and W.T. Cooper, 2002. Electrospray ionization fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry of dissolved organic phosphorus species in a treatment wetland after selective isolation and concentration. Analytical Chemistry, 74 (3), 600-606.
Pollman, C.D., W.M. Landing, J.J. Perry Jr., and T. Fitzpatrick, 2002. Wet deposition of phosphorus in Florida. Atmospheric Environment, 36 (14), 2309-2318.
Stenson, A.C., W.M. Landing, A.G. Marshall, and W.T. Cooper, 2002. Ionization and fragmentation of humic substances in electrospray ionization fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry, 74, 4397-4409.
Suderman, B., and N.H. Marcus, 2002. The effects of Orimulsion and Fuel Oil #6 on the hatching success of copepod resting eggs in the seabed of Tampa Bay, Florida. Environmental Pollution, 120, 787-795.
Murray, M.M., and N.H. Marcus, 2002. Survival and diapause egg production of the copepod Centropages hamatus raised on dinoflagellate diets. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 270, 39-56.
Nof, D., 2002. Is there a meridional overturning cell in the Pacific and Indian Oceans? Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32, 1947-1959.
Nof, D., T. Pichevin, and J. Sprintall, 2002. Teddies and the origin of the Leeuwin Current. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32 (9), 2571-2588.
Morey S., and J. O'Brien, 2002. The spring transition from horizontal to vertical thermal stratification on a mid-latitude continental shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research, 107 (C8), 10.1029/2001JC000826.
Leonardi, A., S. Morey, and J. O'Brien, 2002. Interannual variability in the eastern subtropical North Pacific Ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32, 1824-1837.
St. Laurent, L., and C. Garrett, 2002. The role of internal tides in mixing the deep ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32, 2882-2899.
Van Dover, C.L., C.R. German, K.G. Speer, L.M. Parson, and R.C. Vrijenhoek, 2002. Evolution and biogeography of deep-sea vent and seep invertebrates. Science, 295, 1253-1257.
Stern, M.E. , 2002. The vertical scale of isopycnal intrusions: Comment on a paper by Ruddick, Phillips, and Turner. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, 35 (3), 295-297.
Wacongne S., and L. Crosnier, 2002. Seasonal variation of baroclinic geostrophic heat transport: is it resolved by existing climatologies of the Atlantic Ocean? Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32, 278--294.
Weatherly, G., M. Arhan, H. Mercier, and W. Smethie, Jr. , 2002. Observations of abyssal eddies in the Brazil Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research, 107 (C4), 10.1029/2000JC000648.
Grothues, T.M., R.K. Cowen, L.J. Pietrafesa, F. Bignami, G.L. Weatherly, and C.N. Flagg, 2002. Flux of larval fish around Cape Hatteras. Limnology and Oceanography, 47 (1), 165-175.
Mentors Needed
Do you remember your college days? Studying for exams, trying to stay awake during lectures, wondering if you should change your major because it was just too difficult? Well, Women in Math, Science & Engineering (WIMSE) understands the difficulties women face in entering the male-dominated fields of math, science, and engineering.
The organization is looking for alumni (male and female) to become mentors for female FSU graduate and undergraduate students majoring in math, science, engineering, technology, and medical-related fields.
By spending just 20 minutes of your time each week, you'll gain the personal satisfaction of knowing that you are helping the next generation of female mathematicians, scientists, and engineers gain the skills they need to make it in these disciplines. Call 850-644-9514 to volunteer today.
In Memory of:
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Dava Dalton, Laboratory Manager for Dr. Joel Kostka. Dava died suddenly from pneumonia in July.
Dava obtained a B.S. in Biology from Georgia Institute of Technology and a M.S. in Microbiology from the University of Georgia. Early in his career, he was a research microbiologist for the Environmental Protection Agency Lab in Gulf Breeze Florida where he worked on the Exxon Valdiz oil spill. He also worked as a microbiologist for the Hershey Foods Company and for Dr. Kostka at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, both in Savannah, Georgia. Dava came to work at FSU in August 1999.
"Dava was honest, kind, and compassionate. He was extremely dedicated to family and friends. And he did much more than science for this department," says Dr. Kostka. "He prepared several posters for the open house at the marine lab and always represented my lab there. Dava was a good teacher and friend to everyone who came into the lab. He was very close to the undergraduate and graduate students in the lab that he helped to train. He always took personal satisfaction in keeping track of and relating to the students. He was excellent at this. He would remind me that the students were there first to learn.
He touched the lives of students and scientists all over the world through his work in our department. I will not be able to replace him, and he will be sorely missed."
Dava Dalton
From left to right: Dr. Joel Kostka, Mike Dollhopf, Chad, Dr. Sherry Dollhopf, April Smith, Lainie Petrie, and Dava Dalton gather samples in the marshes of Savannah, GA.
Dr. Henry Kritzler was killed in a vehicular accident in Tifton, Georgia in June. Dr. Kritzler was appointed a professor in the Oceanographic Institute in January 1967 and then Professor of Oceanography until June 1972. He was then appointed a Senior Lecturer in Oceanography and retired on October 29, 1976.
He and his wife Kitty lived at the coast, where Henry had a laboratory at the FSU Marine Laboratory Edward Ball Coastal Facility. Henry's research specialty was the macrobenthos, small organisms living within the sediments. He was a gifted artist, particularly in water colors and oils.
After retirement, he became particularly interested in bird life and in painting birds. He traveled extensively in retirement, including several trips to Africa where he went on safari.
FSU Researchers Study Paleolimnology in Armenia
by Dr. Bill Burnett
Jaye Cable and I traveled recently to Armenia on the first leg of a two-year study to investigate the chemical and ecological history of Lake Sevan, one of the largest alpine lakes in the world. Armenia is a landlocked country with an area of 29,800 square kilometers and a population of about 3.75 million. Lake Sevan is located northeast of the Ararat Valley, the most intensive agricultural area in Armenia. The lake's catchment basin comprises one-sixth of the country's total area, constituting the primary water resource of the country, giving it strategic importance, both geographically and politically. The lake has also been an important source of hydroelectric power to Armenia. Unfortunately, the water quality and ecology of the lake have suffered from some very shortsighted management decisions made in the 1930's.
In an effort to increase the amount of water that could be withdrawn from the lake and to increase agricultural area, Soviet planners decided to decrease the lake's surface area thereby decreasing evaporation-the major natural water loss from the lake. This was achieved by taking water from the lake for irrigation at rates substantially greater than the natural inflow. This decreased the lake volume by 41 percent and lowered the water level by 19 meters over a period of approximately 40 years. During the water-level drop, the nutrient balance of the lake was altered significantly. Reports indicate that total nitrogen increased about eight times during this period, while total phosphorus actually decreased about 10 times in spite of a 2 to 3 fold increase of the inflow of phosphate to the lake. This may be due to absorption of phosphate onto an increased production of CaCO3, authigenic phosphate mineralization in the sediments, or both.
With travel funding from AAAS and NATO and a research grant from the Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), Dr. Cable and I are planning a detailed paleolimnological study of Lake Sevan that will involve radiometric dating and paleoecological analysis of sediment cores. These sediments should hold a valuable record of both any natural variations that occurred prior to about 1930 as well as those changes that resulted from Soviet-era intervention. In addition, the position of Lake Sevan in the high Caucasus should make it one of the best places in the world for preserving a radioecological record of global fallout from nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident. The purpose of our initial visit was to meet our counterparts from the Center for Ecological-Nooshere Studies (Ecocenter), tour the facilities, investigate logistics, and take some samples from the lake for preliminary analysis. The trip was very successful in all respects including recovery of six sediment cores from the lake bed. The U.S. team will make a longer trip next summer for the main sampling campaign and Anna Nalbandyan, an Armenian Ph.D. student, will visit FSU in 2003.
Map of the Transcaucasial Region showing the location of Armenia. Once stretching from the Black to the Caspian Seas, Armenia is now a land-locked country. Lake Sevan is approximately 100 km northeast of the capital city, Yerevan.
Jaye Cable, (rt.) a 1996 Ph.D. graduate of the department (now an Assistant Professor at LSU), working with Armen Kyuzeghyan on subsampling a gravity core from Lake Sevan.
The four principal investigators on the CRDF project are from left to right: Viktoria Ananyan and Anna Nalbandyan (Ecocenter), Jaye Cable (LSU), and Bill Burnett (FSU).
Degrees Conferred
Completed requirements for Ph.D.
Spring 2002
Lynda Chasar,
"Implications of environmental change for energy flow through natural systems: wetlands
and coastal zones"
(CHANTON)
Michael K. Schultz,
"Geochemical partitioning of actinides in soils, sediments, and natural waters"
(BURNETT)
Summer 2002
Wilton Z. Arruda,
"Eddies along western boundaries"
(NOF and O'BRIEN)
Ricardo L. Queiroz,
"Inorganic nitrogen uptake kinetics by estuarine sediment microalgal communities"
(IVERSON)
Alumni News
Dr. Timour Radko Resturns to FSU for Seminar
Dr. Timour Radko (left), a 1997 Ph.D. graduate of the department, talks with Dr. Stern, his former major professor. Dr. Radko is currently working at MIT with Dr. John Marshall studying large-scale ocean circulation.
Dr. Radko discusses "Eddy-induced diapycnal fluxes and their role in the maintenance of the thermocline" during his recent seminar. He feels strongly that the Department of Oceanography at FSU provides exceptional training for students and his time here was well spent.
Wilton Arruda and Ricardo Queiroz have moved back to Brazil after receiving their Ph.Ds. Dr. Arruda is teaching at Rio de Janeiro Federal University and Dr. Queiroz is working at the Centro de Estudos do Mar.
Dear friends and colleagues,
I hope that this missive finds you in good health and spirits.
I was poking around the FSU Oceanography web page and decided to send you a quick email. I am working as a Project Manager for HydroQual, Inc., an environmental engineering firm in NJ, where I manage a multimillion-dollar water-quality project for the New York City (NYC) Department of Environmental Protection.
Part of the project includes a 3-D hydrodynamic and eutrophication model of NY/NJ Harbor, Long Island Sound, and the coastal shelf. The model includes tidal and meteorological forcing, rainfall runoff, river inflow, and a Mellor-Yamada level-2.5 turbulent closure scheme. In fact, one of the principals in the company is Alan Blumberg, who worked with George Mellor to develop the Princeton Ocean Model. Alan has just accepted a professorship in the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, and I am taking his modeling course there one evening a week.
I am pondering whether I should matriculate and (slowly) pursue a master's degree in Environmental Engineering by taking evening courses. Beyond the modeling work, I also interact frequently with (NJ & NY) state and federal environmental agencies, as well as coordinate public-outreach meetings in the boroughs of NYC. My work is an interesting mix of science, management, and environmental policy, and I am enjoying it immensely!
Family-wise, things are also great, albeit very hectic. My daughter Abby will turn two next month, and my son Joe was born just a few weeks ago on 22nd September. I recently purchased a wonderful 3-yr-old home in Suffern, NY, which keeps me quite busy on the weekends. Nevertheless, I'm still active in the Naval Reserve and have been promoted to captain (O-6), but I doubt that I will remain in the service long enough to make admiral.
Best regards,
Steve Ertman, Ph.D. 1998
Morning all: Just read your Alumni news. Great.
Great memories, especially of the CIA ship we purchased for a research vessel to be used by Grant Goodell and Mike Garstang.
Presently, I am President of Oppen-heimer Biotechnology Inc., a company with activities in 10 countries and currently working on a project to clean up Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela and the Galapagos in Equador. We use Archaea to clean up oil, pesticides, organic matter, etc. in soil and water and waste treatment.
Carl Oppenheimer, Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas in Austin
Honors
Dr. Allan Clarke Received a Named Professorship for scholarly achievement. He chose the title Adrian E. Gill Professor of Oceanography.
Dr. William Dewar Received a Named Professorship for scholarly achievement. He is now the Pierre Welander Professor of Oceanography.
Dr. Doron Nof Received a Named Professorship for scholarly achievement. He is now the Friedtjof Nansen Professor of Oceanography.
Dr. James O'Brien Received the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni Award in May at the Rutgers University Neilson Dining Hall, Douglas Campus.
Dr. Wilton Sturges Was recently made Professor Emeritus.
View From the Bridge
Change is in the wind. In August, after nine years, I will be stepping down as department chair. A new biological oceanographer, Dr. Markus Huettel of the Max Plank Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, will join us as a full professor. He studies the biology, chemistry, and physics of pore-water flow in sands. The Dean of Arts and Sciences has given permission for both the biological-oceanography and chemical-oceanography groups to search for new faculty members. The physical-oceanography group will add a person in the near future as part of the Climate Initiative of the School of Computational Science and Information Technology. The new hires will increase the number of faculty members to 21, which is larger than the department has been in a great many years. Not all the coming change is good. Jim Winne, Supervisor of the Machine Shop, will retire in December. He has been a loyal, talented, can-do guy for 26 years. I will miss him very much.
David Thistle
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4320 | (850)644-6700
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