Scientist at Sea
Pathways to the Geosciences
2024 Scientist At Sea on Research Cruise
Aboard FIO's R/V Weatherbird II
May 20-25th, 2024
See 2024 Cohort Webpage for at sea updates!
Visit the S-A-S student pages to see what they are up to:
In the news....
U. South Florida, College of Marine Science: "S-A-Sing it up in the Gulf" Video
Florida Institute of Oceanography - our host and collaborator at sea (Facebook Post)
Ocean Sciences Conference 2/19-2/23/24 in New Orleans, LA
S-A-S students as lead author and/or co-author
Comparing and Tracking Radioisotope Adsorption Rates in Seawater and Deep Ocean Sediments
Jodi Murray1, Gregg Brooks2, Rebekka Larson2, Patrick T Schwing3, Daniel Rivera2 and Bryan O'Malley2, (1)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, (2)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (3)University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St Petersburg, United States
Bailey Inga1, Bryan O'Malley2, Patrick Schwing2, Rebekka Larson3 and Daniel OB Jones4, (1)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (3)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, (4)National Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom
Investigating Spatial and Temporal Patterns of 210Pbxs Inventories in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Alexsandra Henes1, Rebekka Larson1, Gregg Brooks1 and Patrick T Schwing2, (1)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St Petersburg, United States
Using Machine Learning Techniques to Identify and Characterize Foraminifera in the Gulf of Mexico
Gabriel Mopps1, Jack Prior2, Bryan J O'Malley3, Patrick T Schwing4, Dan Rivera1 and Erin Griesenauer5, (1)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)NOAA, Boulder, United States, (3)University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, Saint Petersburg, United States, (4)University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St Petersburg, United States, (5)Eckerd College, Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science, St. Petersburg, United States
Kattey Pass1, Rebekka Larson2, Cary Lopez3, Sara Kaminski3, Francesca Sangiorgi4, Suzanne de Zwaan5, Laura Villanueva6 and Gregg Brooks2, (1)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, (2)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (3)Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, United States, (4)Utrecht University, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, Netherlands, (5)Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Netherlands, (6)NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Den Burg, Netherlands
The use of Barium in Deep-sea Sediments to track Oil Drilling Activities
Katharine Murray1, Daniel Rivera2, Rebekka Larson2, Maxim Oliver2, Sasha Gitler2, Gregg Brooks2 and Patrick T Schwing2, (1)Eckerd College, Geosciences, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, (2)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States
Evaluation of Oolitic Limestone/Sediment in Hubbard Springs in the Northern West-Florida Shelf
Jackson Wheat1, Rebekka Larson2, Ricardo Babilonia1, Nicole Raineault3, Ana R. Arellano4, Neil Puckett5 and Shawn Joy6, (1)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, (3)Florida Institute of Oceanography, St. Petersburg, United States, (4)Florida Institute of Oceanography, Saint Petersburg, United States, (5)SEARCH inc., Orlando, United States, (6)ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH COOPERATIVE INC, Tallahassee, United States
Samantha Cuson, Liam Fry and Chelsea Korpanty, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, United States
Patrick T Schwing1, Bryan J O'Malley2, Bailey Inga2, Sophia Chernoch2, Rebekka Larson1 and Gregg Brooks1, (1)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, United States
Bryan O'Malley1, Patrick T Schwing1, Tristan Lam2, Rebekka Larson1, Gregg Brooks1, Jenna Schell3 and Andrew J Gooday4, (1)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, United States, (3)Eckerd College, St Petersburg, United States, (4)National Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom
Rebekka Larson1, Patrick Schwing2, Gregg Brooks2, Steven A Murawski3, Julie N Richey4, Sherryl Gilbert5, Caitlin E Reynolds6, Kylee Rullo7, Eric Tappa8 and Eric Plage9, (1)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, (2)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (3)University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St Petersburg, United States, (4)USGS, St. Petersburg, United States, (5)University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. petersburg, United States, (6)USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center St. Petersburg, St Petersburg, United States, (7)University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, Saint Petersburg, United States, (8)University of South Carolina, School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment, Columbia, United States, (9)Tampa Bay Watch, Saint Petersburg, United States
Daniel Rivera1, Patrick T Schwing1 and Bryan J O'Malley2, (1)Eckerd College, Marine Science, St. Petersburg, United States, (2)Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, United States
GomCon 2/19-2/23/24 in Tampa, FL
Examining Relationships Between Karenia brevis and the West Florida Shelf Benthos
A. Cory1, P. Schwing1, M. Garrett2, R. Larson1, G. Brooks1, B. O'Malley1, T. Lam1, G. Mopps1, G. Dauzvardis1, B. Inga1;
1Eckerd College, Saint Petersburg, FL, 2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Saint Petersburg, FL
Assessing Elemental Composition and Radioisotopes of Tuna Vertebrae in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
H. Truong1, H. McCartney1, J. Towne1, C. Horwin1, S. Murawski2, P. T. Schwing1, R. A. Larson1, G. R. Brooks1;
1Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, 2USF College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL,
Assessing the Preservation of the Deepwater Horizon Blowout in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Through Spatial and Temporal Lead and Thorium Inventories and MAR Analysis
J. P. Knudsen, S. A. Shipley, L. T. Fry, A. Henes, P. Schwing, G. Brooks, R. Larson;
Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL.
Characterization of the Radium-226 Activity Budget from Produced Waters in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
R. K. Flickinger, S. van Mierlo, M. Riefsteck, P. T. Schwing, R. A. Larson, G. R. Brooks;
Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL
Continuing Trends of Benthic Community Health Characterization in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
E. Baran, P. Schwing, G. Brooks, R. Larson;
Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL
Scientist at Sea: Pathways to the Geosciences at Eckerd College
K. M. Laguna, A. Vargas, D. Rivera, R. Larson, P. Schwing, G. Brooks;
Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL
Tracking the Footprint of Drilling Mud by Identifying Barite in Sediments Using X-Ray Diffraction
S. Gitler, P. Schwing, D. Rivera, R. Larson, G. Brooks, K. Murray;
Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL.
Are We in Hot Water?: Potential Radiological Threats of Produced Water Discharges from Offshore Oil and Gas Facilities in the Gulf of Mexico
S. A. Murawski1, P. Schwing2, R. Larson2, S. van Mierlo2, R. Flickinger2;
1University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, 2Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL
Over the past few decades there have been an increasing number of issues related to the geosciences including but not limited to climate, natural hazards, energy resources, and contaminant input to marine systems. Simultaneously, there has been a significant decrease in geoscience training at the undergraduate level, and very little diversity. Consequently, there are few well-defined pathways for students to enter the geosciences at critical junctures.
The intellectual merits of this project are multifold. First, this project will provide opportunities and prepare a more diverse group of undergraduate students, most of whom already possess a strong interest in the marine sciences, to pursue careers in the geosciences. It is well documented that culturally-relevant, problem-based research experiences, such as the DwH oil spill, which serves as the foundation of this project, can be a very successful recruitment tool. This proposal provides early exposure for students to obtain research experiences at a critical juncture in their education for determining career paths. The project will also increase the skills and quality of graduating students, and quantity of students continuing into geoscience careers (higher-education/academia, industry, government).
The scientific project used for geoscience training of undergraduate students for this project is an on-going (>10 years) investigation of the evolution of the DwH oil spill recorded in seafloor sediments. Specifically, we will be continuing an annual time series of sediment cores, which is virtually unheard of in the geosciences as geologic process of natural systems generally work so slow that annual time series of sediment sampling will not reveal environmental changes on this time scale. Perturbations of the sedimentary system caused by the oil spill, however, created rapid changes recorded in the sediments that can be resolved on an annual basis, and these changes (e.g., sedimentation/bioturbation rates, redox geochemistry, foraminifera assemblages/diversity/density) are still occurring. The >10-year investigation consisted of an international team of experts using cutting-edge techniques. The EC component resulted in 5 book chapters, 15 peer-reviewed journal articles and 87 conference presentations with 106 EC students as authors/coauthors.
