Tags: industry

oil sheen on water from the air
UGA team travels to Gulf of Mexico to investigate May 12 oil spill

Marine scientist Samantha Joye organized a rapid response research cruise to assess the impact of a crude oil spill approximately 90 miles south of Timbalier Island, Louisiana: The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the spill reportedly discharged from a Shell subsea wellhead flow line on May 12. "Our goal for this response mission is to document the distribution of oil in the water column, to characterize the hydrocarbons and to assess the fate of…

glacier melting, with people
Tracking the Greenland meltwater

Very interesting work in the context of a significant increase in the melting of glacial land ice on the island of Greenland due to atmospheric warming: a team of researchers led by faculty at the University of Georgia has discovered the fate of much of the freshwater that pours into the surrounding oceans as the Greenland ice sheet melts every summer. They published their findings today in the journal Nature Geoscience. "Understanding…

people on board a research vessel
Scientists discover new reef system at mouth of Amazon River

Marine sciences professor Patricia Yager is part of an incredible story of the unlikely discovery of a reef system near the mouth of the Amazon River: A new reef system has been found at the mouth of the Amazon River, the largest river by discharge of water in the world. As large rivers empty into the world's oceans in areas known as plumes, they typically create gaps in the reef distribution along the tropical shelves—something that makes…

researchers in b/w photo
Noted and Quoted, March 2016

Franklin faculty expertise continues to gain influence in the media on a wide variety of crucial issues affecting American society and the world. A sample from the month of March: The Washington Post files an editorial written by professors Marshall Shepherd and John Knox. The post is about “the unfortunate demise of the National Achievement Scholarship Program.” U.S. News map: What going viral looked like 120 years ago. An interactive map,…

carbon ocean cycle diagram
Deciphering Ocean Carbon

The complex unpacking of how micro-organisms work - and work together - in the world's oceans continues apace, as this new perspective article by marine sciences faculty members attests: In the past, studying the connections between ocean-borne compounds and microbes has been impractical because of the sheer complexity of each. Three University of Georgia faculty members-along with an international team of scientists-bring to the forefront…

woman with people on boat, day
Joye: Standing Firm

UGA marine scientist continues to influence policy as a scientist, teaching and inspiring as she brings relentless energy to complex problems in our marine ecosystems: Today, on World Oceans Day, Joye has invited the press to tour the research vessels, Endeavor and Point Sur, that she and other scientists and students use to reveal what's happening under the deep blue waters. Journalists and photographers, as well as two documentary film…

woman with marsh
Understanding the global ocean microbiome

The community of microorganisms in the world's oceans turn out to be the most important control mechanisms of how the Earth functions. Understanding their function and behavior will leverage our grasp on how the Earth will adjust to broad environmental changes, says Mary Ann Moran in a review article in the journal Science: The ocean microbiome covers the majority of the Earth's surface, extending an average of more than 2 miles deep to the sea…

oil globs in surf - photo
UGA researchers among recipients of GoMRI grants

Of the $38 million recently awarded to study the effects of oil on the Gulf of Mexico, two marine sciences faculty members had seperate projects funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative research board: “The Research Board was impressed with the quality of the 288 applications received,” said Dr. Rita Colwell, Chairman of the GoMRI Research Board. “As is our practice, all proposals underwent a rigorous merit review process like that used…

two women in lecture hall
Joye at BLUE Ocean Film Festival

Formerly Chief Scientist of NOAA, Dr. Earle is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence and was instrumental in adding the oceans layer to Google Earth. Great work, Dr. Joye. The power of film to help address conservation issues worldwide could prove decisive thanks to the tireless efforts of filmmakers, scientists and producers working together to bring attention and support solutions. Image: Samantha Joye with Sylvia Earle, BLUE Film…

smoking oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico
Unified Microbiome Initiative

Leading scientists are urging for the creation of a major initiative to better understand the microbial communities critical to both human health and every ecosystem: In two papers published simultaneously in the journals Science and Nature, the scientists called for a government-led effort akin to the Brain Initiative, a monumental multiyear project intended to develop new technologies to understand the human brain. “This is the beginning of…


Collaborative Education: Marine Science

Great news out from the Franklin College department of marine sciences yesterday. A book written by UGA Sapelo Island Marine Institute director and professor of marine science Merryl Alber has been distributed to every Georgia public library in the state thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation. The book focuses on teaching children of all ages about the importance of salt marshes. The book is just one product of the Georgia…

students on a boat, water
Oceanographic training on the R/V Savannah

Discover UGA features the Skidaway Marine Institute and the work of our marine sciences faculty: Students from UGA and other universities spent the first half of the course at the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island and the second half at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. During the intensive studies program, they researched animals, plants, microbes and processes in coastal environments and participated in a small research cruise…

sun set over water
The Climate for Climate News

Whatever the curent state of the art on presenting/denying/affirming the realities and consequences of a changing global climate, UGA and Franklin College scholars have long been a trustworthy source of expertise on the subject. And it is a complex subject, which is why it calls for scholarship from such a wide range of fields from marine sciences to geography and atmospheric sciences to microbiology, forestry, ecology and the biological…

freshwater wetland photo
Methane emissions

And speaking of the need to protect pristine areas, some that might not be thought of as necessarily pristine also deserve greater consideration of their important functions as natural areas. This new study emphasizes methane sinks that need to be better understood: Though they occupy a small fraction of the Earth's surface, freshwater wetlands are the largest natural source of methane going into the atmosphere. New research from the University…

woman on ship
Joye receives SEC Faculty Award

Congratulations to Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences and professor of marine sciences, who was named UGA's 2015 recipient of the Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award: The award, which is administered by SEC provosts, comes with a $5,000 honorarium and recognizes professors with outstanding records in teaching and scholarship who serve as role models for other faculty and students. ... Joye's…


Joye at Blue Ocean Film Festival

Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences, is participating as a judge in the internationally acclaimed "BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit", underway in St. Petersburg Florida.  Joye joins global leaders in ocean conservation including Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue, marine advocates Fabien and Celine Cousteau, grandchildren of Jacques Cousteau, and royal philanthropist Prince Albert II of…


Science at the Stadium

One the greatest missed opportunities of gathering so many people on campus several Saturdays each fall for football is not engaging them in other ways with the research mission of the university. Franklin colleagues in marine sciences have designed a new way to make inroads with some of the many UGA supporters who will be here for the Homecoming matchup with Vanderbilt: marine sciences department and faculty will present "Science at the Stadium…


Joye: Deepwater Horizon spill effects require long-term study

A new study in Nature Geoscience by UGA marine scientist Samantha Joye questions the fate of methane released from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf and provides evidence that microbes may not be capable of removing contaminants as quickly and easily as once thought. "Most of the gas injected into the Gulf was methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change, so we were naturally concerned that this potent greenhouse…


Deep-sea plumes

instrument in ocean
Sulfur into clouds

In a naturally-occuring process, sulfur makes its way from microbes in the ocean up into the atmosphere where it plays a part in the formation of clouds. The phenomenon has long been know, but now scientists are learning more about how it actually happens: A new $2 million National Science Foundation grant will allow the UGA-led research group to further document how genes in ocean microbes transform sulfur into clouds in the Earth's atmosphere…


Hopkinson awarded Sloan Foundation Fellowship

“As CO2 in the atmosphere increases, CO2 increases in the ocean and evidence suggests these increases cause higher rates of photosynthesis in the ocean,” said Hopkinson. “The molecular details of how that works were not very well understood.  But in some of our recent research, we established a decent explanation for how that happens.” A very prestigious award - the Sloan Foundation announced the awards in a full page ad in the New York…


Students field tested during Hercules blowout emergency response

When the Hercules 252 rig blew out and began spewing gas, condensate and other hydrocarbons into the Gulf of Mexico on July 23rd earlier this year, UGA marine scientist Samantha Joye and colleagues from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative quickly assembled a team and plan to assess the potential impacts of the accident. Graduate students involved with the project found themselves with the rare opportunity to participate in 'rapid…


The Marine Institute at Sapelo Island

The appointment of Alber reflects a renewed focus on the pristine marine laboratory as a field station that supports world-class research and education in coastal ecosystems. UGAMI's international reputation, dating back to the 1950s, is based on groundbreaking ecological research by scientists from UGA and beyond.  An undeveloped barrier island on Georgia's coast, Sapelo is a national treasure as well as a unique living laboratory for…
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