Kira taking zooplankton samples aboard the R/V Tiglax. Photo credit: Mette Kaufmann
Kira is a master’s student in the Marine Biology Graduate Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her thesis is titled “Characterization of Cell Division in the Tissues of the Calanoid Copepod, Neocalanus flemingeri from Diapause through Early Oogenesis.”
During the summer and fall 2019 NGA LTER cruises, Kira collected diapausing female copepods. She examined lipid content and cell division within the reproductive structures. Through Kira’s work, she discovered that Neocalanus flemingeri can stop diapause and begin creating egg cells within just twenty-four hours after being collected.
From Kira’s thesis: cell division in the ovaries of a sub-Arctic copepod, Neocalanus flemingeri. Fluorescent microscopy photo showing the start of egg cell creation. Blue cells are non-dividing cells of the ovary and red cells are dividing egg cells. The ov and white outline indicates where the ovary is, and the od shows the oviducts. (A) Females have not started egg cell creation three hours after collection. (B) Females have started creating egg cells twenty-four hours after being collected, as shown by the red cells in the ovary.
Sampling the CTD: Annie filtering nutrient samples aboard the R/V Sikuliaq.
Annie Kandel is a master’s student through the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. For Annie’s thesis, titled “Spatial and temporal variability of dissolved aluminum and manganese in surface waters of the northern Gulf of Alaska,” Annie investigated the seasonal variability of dissolved aluminum and dissolved manganese in our study area. Annie derived data from the spring, summer, and fall NGA LTER cruises in 2018 and 2019.
Annie’s work showed that dissolved aluminum and manganese are trace metals that can be used as tracers of freshwater input in the NGA. This is because in this region, their main source is from rivers. Values for both metals are highest inshore, closer to the mouth of the Copper River, and decrease moving offshore.
Annie’s thesis data: surface concentrations of dissolved aluminum [Al] and dissolved manganese [Mn] during the summer 2019 Copper River plume study. Shown are 50 m, 100 m, and 250 m bathymetry contours.
The Oceanography Department in UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences is seeking a post doctoral scholar to work with Gulf Watch Alaska. The postdoc will contribute to existing data synthesis efforts and lead new analyses.
Gulf Watch Alaska
Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) is the long-term ecosystem monitoring program of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. GWA partners with the Northern Gulf of Alaska Long-Term Ecological Research (NGA LTER) project to monitor the northern Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. In fact, NGA LTER is an example of an GWA project that has existed for multiple decades with resulting long-term physical and biological time series for the Gulf of Alaska.
GWA investigates three main ecosystem components:
Environmental Drivers (physical and biological oceanography),
Nearshore Ecosystems (intertidal and coastal food web), and
Pelagic Ecosystems (forage fish and predators of the pelagic food web).
GWA Science Synthesis
GWA supports annual field sampling efforts. However, it is also conducting cross-component science syntheses that focus on the effects of the recent northeast Pacific marine heatwave.
The postdoctoral scholar for this project will contribute as lead author and as co-author to GWA program synthesis products. They will collaborate with their UAF faculty advisor, GWA investigators, and the GWA Science Coordinator and ecosystem component leads. Together, they will design and conduct studies related to the phenology, magnitude, spatial variability, and recovery time of biological responses to and physical drivers of the marine heatwave. Additionally, other biophysical mechanisms of population regulation in the Gulf of Alaska may also be addressed.
Sunrise over the Gulf of Alaska
Ecosystem Indicators and Management
These synthesis activities will support management actions by informing the ecosystem-based fisheries management of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. For instance, the postdoctoral scholar will work with the GWA Science Coordinator to update existing and develop new ecosystem indicators to be used in NOAA’s Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Status reports and Ecosystem and Socioeconomic Profiles.
In addition, the post-doctoral scholar will also provide technical review and editing of manuscripts, reports, and work plans for the GWA Program Management Team. They will also present results of their research at GWA meetings, scientific conferences, and to the public.
Learn More
To learn more about this position and to apply, please visit Careers at UA. The deadline is November 30, 2020.
Despite only having three scientists aboard and working around 2 gales, the Spring 2020 cruise succeeded! That means all the cruise objectives were met during the May 4 – 10, 2020 cruise, thanks to the efforts of the entire team, including marine technicians and the whole crew of the R/V Sikuliaq. Successful elements of our cruise include:
CTD profiling of ocean physics, collections of macronutrients, chlorophyll, phytoplankton, and three size classes of zooplankton at all 15 Seward Line and 5 western Prince William Sound stations,
Recovery of the GAK1 mooring, (a year’s worth of temperature and salinity data at 6 depths) and its re-deployment for the next year, and
Re-deployment of the GEO1 mooring recovered by R/V Sikuliaq in April. This mooring includes a Profiler that will measure temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a fluorescence, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), nitrate (NO3), and dissolved oxygen (DO) throughout the water column for the next year.
CTD data from the Seward Line, May 2020.
More Media Coverage
As discussed before, this cruise shows how science can adapt during the time of COVID-19. Since that last post, several more stories have been published.
Before the cruise departed, Alaska Public Media’s Casey Grove spoke to LTER Lead PI Russ Hopcroft. Dr Hopcroft explained why sampling this spring was necessary to understand measurements that might be more easily made later in the year, and how springtime measurements enable connections to be made between years:
The Sun sets through an R/V Sikuliaq window in May 2020. Credit: Seth Danielson
Then after the cruise, EOS, the weekly magazine of the American Geophysical Union published an article about the cruise. It describes how measurements were taken while scientists and crew followed the required social distancing.
Citation: Duncombe, J. (2020), What it’s like to social distance at sea, Eos, 101, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EO144098. Published on 12 May 2020.
Like everyone, scientists world-wide want to reduce the spread of COVID-19. However, for their work, they also need to continue research projects that rely in part on uninterrupted data records. Fortunately, with the support of NSF and University of Alaska, NGA LTER scientists will be able to do both by reducing spring field operations.
The research vessel Sikuliaq, here in Seward, Alaska, will depart May 4, 2020. [credit: Sarah Spanos]
Evolution forced by COVID-19
Like other research programs, our research plans shifted rapidly in response to the changing situation. Several articles trace this evolution by featuring NGA LTER PIs and research activities.
“At UAF, two major programs highlight the struggle” describes the announcement by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) to stand down the academic fleet until July 1, 2020. Since our Spring and Summer cruises were scheduled on the UNOLS vessel R/V Sikuliaq, this directly endangered our program (our local newspaper, the Daily News Miner, mid-April.)
“Pandemic carves gaps in long-term field projects” describes the importance of NGA LTER’s measurements of plankton in the spring. And it describes how R/V Sikuliaq’s crew and NGA LTER scientists quarantined in hopes that a spring cruise might be allowed (Science Magazine, mid-April.)
Importance of the Time Series
Multi-disciplinary monitoring of the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem has occurred every May since 1998. Fisheries managers and research scientists can make informed assessments of Alaska marine ecosystem health and status because of these measurements. This long-term sampling happens along the Seward Line – a set of stations stretching 150 miles across the shelf – and within Prince William Sound. Regular samples at these consistent stations insure the integrity of this time series. Therefore, preserving core physical, nutrient chemistry, phytoplankton and zooplankton data at these stations is a high priority for NGA LTER scientists.
The North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS), and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOS) via the Gulf Watch Alaska program all provide additional funding that make this time series possible.
Nearly 50 years of data have been collected at GAK1, a Seward Line station. This allows the calculation of long-term trends and anomalies. [credit: Seth Danielson]
The Plan
Our planned field work aims to continue the valuable Seward Line time series while keeping personnel safe. Before the cruise, R/V Sikuliaq remained in Seward, AK, staffed by her crew. They have been under quarantine on board since their arrival at the start of April. Three of our Principle Investigators (PIs), Seth Danielson, Ana Aguilar-Islas, and Russ Hopcroft, quarantined at home for 2 weeks. They will join R/V Sikuliaq for the 7 day cruise, May 4-10, 2020. Before the cruise, crew and science party members logged body temperatures twice daily and maintained strict adherence to social isolation protocols in order to ensure a virus-free voyage.
The cruise plan includes sampling of the entire Seward Line with additional stations in western Prince William Sound. Planned measurements include water temperature and salinity using the conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instrument; water collections from deep waters to the surface for chlorophyll, nutrient, phytoplankton, and microzooplankton analysis; and net tows for zooplankton.
Other common NGA LTER activities will not be possible due to the short cruise length and limited personnel. Postponed activities include shipboard experiments, seabird and mammal surveys, jellyfish sampling, dissolved iron and other trace metal sampling, carbonate chemistry sampling, and optical measurements. NGA LTER’s other cross-shelf sampling lines will not be visited.
Despite these restrictions, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to continue our work and to contribute to the goal of understanding the Northern Gulf of Alaska ecosystem.
We are seeking new partners for the newly installed Northern Gulf of Alaska shelf moored ecosystem observatory (GEO).
Sister mooring of GEO: the Chukchi Ecosystem Observatory (CEO) being deployed [credit: Seth Danielson]
Current GEO
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust funded the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) to construct a moored Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Observatory (GEO) in late 2017. Consequently, in 2018-2019, investigators designed the system, purchased components, assembled the moorings, and finally deployed the moorings in July 2019.
Now, an array of one sub-surface and two surface moorings collects high-resolution biological, physical, and chemical data year-round. Some sensors report data in real-time.
Opportunity
This year, the Murdock Trust is making $42,600 in “seed” funds available to bring new partners into the observatory consortium. As a result, we seek short proposals by UAF-based researchers for innovative new observing technologies that can be integrated into the upcoming May 2020 GEO deployment. In other words, this effort aims to encourage new partnerships and technology developments that can be applied to ocean observing via moorings in Alaska’s marine environment.
Deployment of GEO sediment trap, R/V Sikuliaq July 2019 [credit: Seth Danielson]
Proposal Guidelines
Interested investigators should e-mail a project description (2-page limit, exclusive of references and budget) and itemized budget to sldanielson@alaska.edu prior to Friday, October 4th, 2019. After notification of proposal success (by November 1st), funds will be available immediately and need to be spent before the end of FY20. In all, we anticipate funding 1-3 proposals. However, by stipulation of the Trust, all seed funds must go to UAF-based researchers.
In the deep water south of the NGA LTER study area lies an abyssal plain punctuated by volcanic seamounts – mountains that rise from the sea floor. The seamounts provide rocky, hard substrate that makes a good habitat for cold-water corals and sponges. Above the seamounts, ocean currents upwell nutrients to the surface where they feed planktonic organisms. This productivity attracts fish and seabirds to create relative hot-spots of biodiversity in the open ocean.
Bathymetric map of the Gulf of Alaska, showing its deep basin with seamount chains. Grey – land, Green – continental shelf, Yellow – continental slope, Orange – deep basin. [credit: Seth Danielson]
The Expedition
Immediately following the NGA LTER’s RV Sikuliaq cruise, summer 2019, several of our team members are setting out to extended our knowledge of the Gulf of Alaska. Dr. Russ Hopcroft, Dr. Petra Lenz, Dr. Vittoria Roncalli, Heidi Mendoza Islas, Callie Gesmundo, and Caitlin Smoot are joining our collaborators from Microcosm and other expedition members aboard R/V Sikuliaq to investigate seamounts in the Gulf of Alaska from an ecological perspective.
ROV Global Explorer by Oceaneering has a multitude of imaging and sampling capabilities ideal for deepwater exploration. [credit: Katrin Iken]
The ROV Global Explorer is a critical tool of this expedition. Operated by Oceaneering International, the ROV will take video and still images of organisms on the sea floor; this is the least-invasive method of sampling communities that could be damaged by bottom trawls and other collection methods. ROV Global Explorer will also collect fragile jellyfish by gently enclosing them in a sampler. This avoids the bias of previous sampling towards hard-shelled organisms that survive net tows.
Expedition Gulf of Alaska Seamounts 2019 will even be employing DNA sequencing to identify microbes. Previously, a NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research expedition to the Gulf of Alaska seamounts in 2002 found that the corals there were distinct habitats for microbes.
Follow Along
The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research has created a website where visitors can follow the Mission Logs. Additionally, educators can also learn more about the expedition purpose and find videos and other classroom materials.
Benthic collage. [credit: Gulf of Alaska Seamounts 2019 Expedition]
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research funds this project, with additional ship support by the National Science Foundation and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Science partners during this mission include scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Manitoba Canada, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), the University of Hawaii, University of Barcelona Spain, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a Microcosm film team from Montrose Pictures. The partner for the ROV is Oceaneering.
Satellite observed Chlorophyll in the Gulf of Alaska with NGA station locations. [credit: Rachel Potter]
The Summer 2019 cruise aboard R/V Sikuliaq has begun. 2019 is the 50th consecutive year of samples taken at oceanographic station GAK1 (begun December 1970) and the 23nd consecutive year of Seward Line physical-chemical-phytoplankton-zooplankton-seabird sampling. However, many new things are happening too.
Special Studies
Deployment of a Gulf Ecosystem Observatory (GEO) mooring aboard R/V Sikuliaq [credit: Seth Danielson]
One of our special studies involves several days of high-resolution sampling of the Copper River discharge plume. We suspect this plume is a source of iron (and other nutrients), therefore driving some of the high productivity in the Gulf of Alaska. To investigate this, we’ll be deploying drifters, making maps of data along the plume edge, and performing incubation growth experiment using both shelf and offshore water.
In addition, the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Observatory (GEO) is being deployed this week. During the next year, it will report oceanographic conditions in real-time. The GEO moorings will provide the NGA LTER program with year-long data about conditions in the Gulf, so we can know what is happening even when we can’t be there. Two of the three moorings in the array report real-time data on ocean surface conditions. You can view data from these moorings in the Ocean Data Explorer system provided by AOOS and Axiom Data Science:
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) students Ayanda, Kelsie, Adrianna, Kate, and Delphina on the deck of R/V Sikuliaq on the 4th of July following safety training for bear guards, compressed air grapnel hook cannon demonstrations, and deployment of satellite-tracked drifters. [credit: Seth Danielson]
Five Research Experience for Undergraduate students are also aboard. Most of their time is spent in the labs at UAF and WWU, but for a few weeks, they are experiencing life at sea. They are:
Adrianna, working with Russ Hopcroft (UAF),
Kate, working with Russ Hopcroft (UAF),
Ayanda, working with Seth Danielson (UAF),
Delphina, working with Suzanne Strom (WWU), and
Kelsie, working with Ana Aguilar-Islas (UAF).
Participants are also updating several blogs about their work.
The Strom Lab describes their work with plankton (especially heterotrophs) in The Planktonic Life
Catherine (Cat) Fuller describes her experiences in her Teacher at Sea Blog.
Internet communication with ships in the Gulf of Alaska is spotty, but these blogs will be updated as often as possible. Katie Gavenus’s completed blog from the Spring cruise gives even more insight into our work.
Yes, until now even the NGA LTER project website has overlooked jellyfish. Instead, our major research components focus on the primary producers and zooplankton that are the base of the food chain. Worse, at sea, jellyfish are often simply a nuisance whose tentacles drape on instruments and clog sensors. However, Heidi Mendoza-Islas, a graduate student in the NGA LTER project, studies the important role that jellyfish play in the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. Read the article to find out more.
Graduate Student Opportunities at UAF, Starting Fall 2019
Overview
credit: Mette Kaufman
The Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research (NGA LTER) project announces multiple openings for graduate students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that will begin Fall, 2019. Specialities include trace metal biogeochemistry, zooplankton ecology or physiology, and high latitude physical oceanography.
This project is part of the NGA LTER site. Therefore, student research will focus on the enhanced production and high environmental variability characteristic of the ocean shelf and slope regions of the NGA. This is a field intensive project with 3 yearly cruises from spring to fall. Projects will include fieldwork on UAF-operated R/V Sikuliaq and smaller regional vessels.
The student will be required to present work at international conferences, and to produce publishable manuscripts. Additionally, they join the national LTER network, with the opportunity of interactions with graduate students at other sites as a member of the LTER Graduate Student Committee. Collaboration with the interdisciplinary LTER research community is essential. An ASM poster session in full swing. Nearly 300 posters were presented over 2 sessions. Credit: Kristen Weiss
Position Details
Applicants must have a strong background in oceanography and/or marine biology, chemistry, or physics, as well as strong written and oral communication skills. Experience participating in field research and/or working in laboratory is desirable. Members of groups under-represented in earth and environmental science are particularly encouraged to apply.
Positions include full stipend, health insurance, and a tuition waiver. Initial acceptance is typically at the Master’s level with possibilities to later expand into a Ph.D., or directly into a Ph.D. for those already at the M.S. level.
Application Deadline
UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences provides application information. For Fall 2019 admission, UAF must receive applications for graduate admission with all supporting documentation, transcripts and test scores no later than June 1, 2019. Contact the appropriate faculty advisor (see below) before April 15, 2019 for more specific information.
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Summer 2019
Overview
The Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research (NGA LTER) project invites undergraduate students to participate in our interdisciplinary oceanographic research. Two or three REU students will join our team from June 3 to August 23, 2019. The application period closes May 7, 2019March 15, 2019; applicants will be notified soon thereafter.
We seek highly motivated undergraduates with interest in marine science, biology, chemistry, physics, and/or computer science to work with scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The students’ research will integrate with work currently being done on the NGA LTER ecosystem. Oceanographic research projects include water column characterization measurements, zooplankton studies, particle dynamics studies, data analysis, and numerical oceanographic modeling.
The time period of this REU position includes our summer cruise aboard R/V Sikuliaq. So participation in ship-board research activities is also possible.
Details
Salary
$12/hr for a summer full-time position (40 hours per week) over 12 weeks.
Discretionary funds may be available to offset housing and transportation costs.
Qualifications
Required:
College level background in biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, or marine science
The ability to carefully follow instructions
The ability to successfully work in a team setting
Good communication skills.
Desired:
Upper division status in a B.S. program
An interest in continuing scientific research upon graduation
Eligibility
Must be a registered student in an undergraduate program.
Citizenship or permanent residency in the United States or its possessions is required.
To Apply
To apply, email your resume and a cover letter to Elizabeth Dobbins (eldobbins@alaska.edu). The cover letter should include a brief description of your interest in participating in LTER research. Make sure your resume includes:
Contact information: email address and telephone numbers,
Applicable completed coursework,
Previous laboratory/field experience, and
Anticipated graduation date
Preliminary contact with potential mentors is highly suggested. You can find potential mentors and their fields of study on our Personnel Page.
Members of groups under-represented in earth and environmental science are particularly encouraged to apply.
