The bold words that are on this page are words that
are in the glossary to the right of each scientist. You can
find their meanings below. If you want to see the whole glossary,
click here.
Dr. Mark Abbott,
Dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences,
Professor of Biological Oceanography, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR.
Mark
Abbott is a professor of biological oceanography. He
is interested in how ocean circulation affects the
distribution of phytoplankton, the microscopic
green plants of the sea. He uses Earth-orbiting satellites
to study these processes as well as data from ships
and buoys. This research will help us understand how the Earth’s
climate affects the health of the ocean. He has worked off
the coast of Oregon and California as well as in the Southern
Ocean between New Zealand and Antarctica.
biological oceanography:
the science that studies the plants and animals of oceans
and seas
circulation:
the movement of something from place to place (as in ocean
circulation)
distribution: the spread or range of something
phytoplankton:
small plants (best seen with a microscope) floating in the
upper layer of the ocean
microscopic: too small to be seen with the human eye
data:
a collection of measurements or observations
Dr. Dick Barber,
Professor of Biological Oceanography, Duke University,
Beaufort, North Carolina.
Dick
Barber is a biological oceanographer employed by Duke University
to teach and carry out basic research. He teaches undergraduate
classes and he advises graduate students. His area of research
involves primary productivity and its regulation
by environmental processes and factors. That is, he
studies how fast oceanic phytoplankton grow and what
regulates their growth rate. Of course, temperature and light
are important, but in many regions of the ocean, the supply
of nutrients is the key process regulating phytoplankton
growth. The big surprise in recent years is that in some areas
the nutrient that is most important is iron, because in these
areas there is plenty of nitrogen and phosphorus
but not enough iron.
primary productivity:
the growth of plants through photosynthesis. This term is
used to describe the growth of phytoplankton in the ocean
regulation:
(as in primary productivity regulation by environmental processes);
a process, method, or law of nature that controls or restricts
action
environmental:
having to do with the surroundings
processes:
series of actions that produce something; a series of changes
or acts
phytoplankton:
small plants (best seen with a microscope) floating in the
upper layer of the ocean
nutrients:
something in food used by plants and animals to help them
grow
nitrogen:
a gas with no color or smell; a chemical element. It makes
up about 80% of the air around Earth. It is a part of all
living things
phosphorus:
a chemical element that is important to living things. It
helps plants grow
Liesl Hotaling,
Internet Training Specialist, Center for Improved Engineering
and Science Education (CIESE), Stevens Institute of Technology,
Hoboken, New Jersey.
Liesl
Hotaling is an Internet Training Specialist for the Center
for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at
Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Most
recently, she worked with the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) to create an Internet-based, ground
level ozone educational project called Air Pollution:
What's the Solution? Previous to working with CIESE, Ms.
Hotaling served as a classroom teacher. She also has worked
as a field scientist for the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium
at Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
ozone:
a form of oxygen that is found in the Earth’s atmosphere
Dr. Susan Humphris,
Senior Scientist, Department of Geology and Geophysics,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA.
Susan
Humphris is a Senior Scientist in Geology and Geophysics,
and Director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a marine geochemist
who studies both the distribution of seafloor hot springs
along the mid-ocean ridge system, and the chemical reactions
that take place between volcanic rocks and circulating seawater
during the formation of hot springs. Susan uses submersibles
and remotely-operated vehicles to directly observe
and sample rocks from the seafloor, and has spent more than
three years at sea on various oceanographic research ships.
She has worked in the eastern Pacific, Atlantic and Indian
Oceans.
geology: the science that studies the physical properties of the
Earth and how it has changed over time. To do this, some scientists
study rocks on Earth, and other scientists study other planets
geophysics:
the study of some part of the Earth and its systems
marine:
having to do with the sea or ocean
submersible: a vessel or ship that can function underwater
remotely-operated
vehicle (ROV):
an unmanned underwater machine used to explore the deep ocean
and the seafloor. The ROV may contain cameras and other sensors.
It may be able to take samples from the ocean floor. The ROV
is connected to a ship with cables. It is operated by people
on board the ship.
Dr. Martin Jeffries,
Research Professor of Geophysics, University of Alaska,
Fairbanks, Alaska.
Martin
Jeffries is a Research Professor of Geophysics. This
means that he has a contract that does not require him to
teach (but he does anyway, most recently classes on snow and
ice for K-12 teachers). Snow and ice are what interest him.
Over the years his research has taken him to northern Norway
to study glacier hydrology, the Canadian High Arctic
to study ice shelves and ice islands (icebergs), the Arctic
Ocean to study sea ice properties and processes, and Antarctica
to study sea ice thickness and formation. In Alaska he has
been studying lake ice since the early 1990s. He currently
has a project that involves fieldwork on ice growth and decay,
and conductive heat flow at frozen ponds only 30 miles
from home. He has lived in Alaska a little over 17 years.
It only took him 14 years to realise that there is interesting
science to be done in his own backyard. No more seasickness
for him (at least not for the moment)!
geophysics:
the study of some part of the Earth and its systems
glacier:
snowfall that has increased over many years to form a mass
of ice
hydrology:
("hydro"= water; "logy"=the science of)
the science of water (liquid and solid). The water under study
can be on the surface of the land (rivers, lakes, oceans),
in the soil and rocks, or in the air.
conductive heat flow: the transfer of heat from warm and cold objects (like
water in ponds) next to each other
Evelyn
Sherr and Barry Sherr are professors of microbial oceanography.
They study single-celled organisms (such as bacteria and protists)
that are the base of the marine food web. (To see photos
of these organisms, visit
this site.
The Sherrs are interested in knowing how the organic
matter produced by phytoplankton is used by other organisms
in the food web. The Sherrs say they do "mom and
pop" science. They are entrepreneurs who share
their job, just as Barry’s parents had a "mom and
pop" variety store in Greenwich Village, New York. As
faculty members at a research university, the Sherrs mentor
students, teach classes, conduct research, and serve on committees.
About one-third of their time is spent on actual hands-on
research. The Sherrs say that "Everything we do is done
together–sharing grants, advising students, going
to sea to collect data, analyzing data, and writing
papers." As they say, there are lots of parts to a researcher’s
professional life: planning future research projects, raising
money for that research, doing research, and thinking about
what their next questions will be. Now they are doing research
in the Arctic and off the coast of Oregon. For more information
about their work, visit
this site.
microbial: like something that can only be seen with a microscope
oceanography: the science and study of oceans
protists:
small, single-celledorganisms such as protozoa and
some algae
food chain, food web: the plants and animals that feed upon each other in a
place, habitat, or system
organisms:
any plants or animals
organic:
based on carbon, an element in living organisms
phytoplankton:
small plants (best seen with a microscope) floating in the
upper layer of the ocean
entrepreneurs:
business people, often those who work for themselves or who
start new businesses
grant:
money for a specific research purpose
analyze: to separate into parts for study; to explain and examine
data:
a collection of measurements or observations
Dr. Walker O. Smith,
Jr., Professor, Department of Biological Sciences,
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, The College of
William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA.
Walker
Smith is a professor of marine sciences. He is interested
in phytoplankton, which are the photosynthetic microorganisms
that are the base of nearly all marine food webs. He
is especially interested in what controls the growth of these
organisms in the ocean, and what their fate is after
they have reached a certain abundance. In recent years
he has become interested in the role of iron, as it has been
shown that this element has a tremendous impact on the ocean.
Walker has done research cruises in a variety of environments,
but he has focused on polar systems such as the Antarctic
and Arctic. Here is a link to an online
interview with Walker.
Mark
Abbott is a professor of biological oceanography. He
is interested in how ocean circulation affects the
distribution of phytoplankton, the microscopic
green plants of the sea. He uses Earth-orbiting satellites
to study these processes as well as data from ships
and buoys. This research will help us understand how the Earth’s
climate affects the health of the ocean. He has worked off
the coast of Oregon and California as well as in the Southern
Ocean between New Zealand and Antarctica.
Dick
Barber is a biological oceanographer employed by Duke University
to teach and carry out basic research. He teaches undergraduate
classes and he advises graduate students. His area of research
involves primary productivity and its regulation
by environmental processes and factors. That is, he
studies how fast oceanic phytoplankton grow and what
regulates their growth rate. Of course, temperature and light
are important, but in many regions of the ocean, the supply
of nutrients is the key process regulating phytoplankton
growth. The big surprise in recent years is that in some areas
the nutrient that is most important is iron, because in these
areas there is plenty of nitrogen and phosphorus
but not enough iron.
Liesl
Hotaling is an Internet Training Specialist for the Center
for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at
Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Most
recently, she worked with the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) to create an Internet-based, ground
level ozone educational project called Air Pollution:
What's the Solution? Previous to working with CIESE, Ms.
Hotaling served as a classroom teacher. She also has worked
as a field scientist for the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium
at Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
Susan
Humphris is a Senior Scientist in Geology and Geophysics,
and Director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a marine geochemist
who studies both the distribution of seafloor hot springs
along the mid-ocean ridge system, and the chemical reactions
that take place between volcanic rocks and circulating seawater
during the formation of hot springs. Susan uses submersibles
and remotely-operated vehicles to directly observe
and sample rocks from the seafloor, and has spent more than
three years at sea on various oceanographic research ships.
She has worked in the eastern Pacific, Atlantic and Indian
Oceans.
Martin
Jeffries is a Research Professor of Geophysics. This
means that he has a contract that does not require him to
teach (but he does anyway, most recently classes on snow and
ice for K-12 teachers). Snow and ice are what interest him.
Over the years his research has taken him to northern Norway
to study glacier hydrology, the Canadian High Arctic
to study ice shelves and ice islands (icebergs), the Arctic
Ocean to study sea ice properties and processes, and Antarctica
to study sea ice thickness and formation. In Alaska he has
been studying lake ice since the early 1990s. He currently
has a project that involves fieldwork on ice growth and decay,
and conductive heat flow at frozen ponds only 30 miles
from home. He has lived in Alaska a little over 17 years.
It only took him 14 years to realise that there is interesting
science to be done in his own backyard. No more seasickness
for him (at least not for the moment)!
Evelyn
Sherr and Barry Sherr are professors of microbial oceanography.
They study single-celled organisms (such as bacteria and protists)
that are the base of the marine food web. (To see photos
of these organisms, 
Walker
Smith is a professor of marine sciences. He is interested
in phytoplankton, which are the photosynthetic microorganisms
that are the base of nearly all marine food webs. He
is especially interested in what controls the growth of these
organisms in the ocean, and what their fate is after
they have reached a certain abundance. In recent years
he has become interested in the role of iron, as it has been
shown that this element has a tremendous impact on the ocean.
Walker has done research cruises in a variety of environments,
but he has focused on polar systems such as the Antarctic
and Arctic. Here is a link to an