Frontiers Newsletter - Spring 2021

N E W S F R O M T H E R O S E N S T I E L S C H O O L O F M A R I N E & AT M O S P H E R I C S C I E N C E SPRING 2021

Advancing Our Global Mission

By Roni Avissar, Dean, Rosenstiel School Whether developing life-saving weather forecasts, restoring coral reefs, promoting aquaculture or uncovering ocean secrets, Rosenstiel School’s talented faculty and students are contributing to the future of our planet.

Despite the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to advance our global mission through research, education and service. We take a collaborative approach on many initiatives, working closely with partners in the public, nonprofit and private sectors.

In this issue, you can read about the many accomplishments of our scientists, students and alumni who are leading the way in their fields of atmospheric, marine and earth science. We also focus on communicating their findings to other professionals, as well as policymakers and the public. In that regard, I want to recognize our stellar faculty who contribute to our series of “Sea Secrets” talks on vital marine-related topics.

school’s high-impact programs.

Your contributions play a vital role in empowering our scientists and faculty, while creating invaluable STEM learning opportunities for our students. Enjoy this issue!

Finally, I would like to thank our alumni, friends and foundations for their generous support of our

R ESEARCH 600-year-old marine sponge holds centuries-old climate records A Rosenstiel School-led research team used a 600-yearold marine sponge to reconstruct a record of ocean

temperature in the North Atlantic revealing past volcanic activity as well as the current global warming trend. The basketball-sized sclerosponge was collected via submersible more than 430 feet below the surface in Exuma Sound, The Bahamas by the study’s senior author Peter Swart, Lewis G. Weeks Professor of Marine Geosciences. Sclerosponges are slow-growing marine organisms with a soft outer body and hard limestone skeleton that record upper ocean temperature and climate conditions. Swart said, “This 600-year-long temperature reconstruction can help us understand how the climate has changed in the past so that scientists can better project how conditions may change in the future.” https://rebrand.ly/600-year

Rosenstiel scientist’s tool predicts harsh weather Frigid winter temperatures in Texas and other states in February did not surprise Ben Kirtman, professor of atmospheric sciences. He was the primary architect of the multimodel Subseasonal Experiment, or SubX, which forecast in mid-January that a breakdown in the polar vortex – the massive area of cold air spinning high in the atmosphere above the Arctic – would occur in the next three to four weeks. Then, a month later, a blast of ultracold air from Canada brought the season’s harshest weather to the central United States. The multi-

institutional, long-range forecast project combined multiple global models. “The diversity of tools—in this case, multiple forecasts—was critical,” explained Kirtman, the chief architect of SubX. “If we had used only one tool that wasn’t very good at predicting the breakdown of the polar vortex, we would have missed an accurate forecast.” https://rebrand.ly/predicts-weather

Disadvantaged communities overlooked for climate adaptation funding As government and communities across the U.S. ramp up efforts for equity-oriented climate change adaptation, a new Rosenstiel study has found that some disadvantaged communities in California could be overlooked for state climate adaptation funds.

When the researchers analyzed CalEnviroScreen 3.0, California’s program used to designate a census tract as “disadvantaged,” they found that using that tool alone would result in the state overlooking 348 communities that would be eligible under two alternative indices.

“There are limits to the effectiveness of using a single index to guide a fund with projects and communities as diverse as those under the California Climate Investments program,” said Lynée TurekHankins, a Ph.D. student at UM’s Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy and lead author of the study. “Contextspecific tools are needed to capture local

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nuances and variabilities.” Although this study focused specifically on extreme heat in California, its findings are applicable for other climate-related hazards and states, said Turek-Hankins. https://rebrand.ly/climate-adaptation

Study projects more rainfall in Florida during flooding season A new Rosenstiel study projects an increase in Florida’s late summertime rainfall with rising Atlantic Ocean temperatures. Scientists have known for years that Florida receives more rainfall in decades when North Atlantic waters are warmer than average, but the study showed that ocean temperatures are most influential on Florida precipitation in late summer, during the region’s highest high tide events. The researchers used a suite of climate models to show that the link between ocean temperatures and rainfall only develops as a result of human influences on the climate system, such as greenhouse gas emissions and industrial pollution. “We know that humans are continuing to make North Atlantic waters warmer, so we expect an increase in late summer rainfall in Florida in the future,” said Jeremy Klavans, a

Ph.D. student who was lead author of the study. https://rebrand.ly/more-rainfall

A life-changing scientific Arctic adventure As a Rosenstiel Ph.D. student, Bingkun Luo was fortunate to study changes in the Arctic climate in 2019 on board the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent. “I believe every ocean science researcher should gain an appreciation for the difficulty of collecting and analyzing data onboard ship, and also experience the fulfillment that comes from working at sea,” he said. During the 2019 cruise, Luo was responsible for operating the Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD)/ Rosette and water sampling. “Being in the most remote places in the world, I gained a broader perspective on life,” he said. “My cruises have been a life-changing experience in more ways than one, and I can’t wait to explore the ocean again!” https://rebrand.ly/arctic-adventure

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New technology helps track highly migratory species across the ocean New technology is helping Rosenstiel scientists better understand how highly migratory species are responding to a changing ocean. Wide-ranging ocean species, such as sharks, tunas, and billfish, lead complex lives hidden under the ocean surface. This makes studying activity levels in these species very challenging for scientists.

Rosenstiel researchers partnered with Wildlife Computers, Inc. to release a new application to remotely track data gathered on an animal’s activity levels over several months, along with the temperatures and depths, and transmit the information via satellites, according to Rachel Skubel, a Rosentstiel Ph.D. student. “The Activity Time Series (ATS) data product allows us to determine when the tagged animal is switching from slow to fast swimming and vice versa,” she said. https://rebrand.ly/satellite-tag

Study finds more critically endangered sawfish in Miami waters A new collaborative study by scientists at the Rosenstiel School and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found evidence of growing numbers of critically endangered smalltooth sawfish within coastal waters off Miami. The new findings are part of a NOAA initiative to support and enhance the recovery of smalltooth sawfish in and around Biscayne Bay, an area where the regular presence of this rare species had gone largely undocumented until now. NOAA estimates that smalltooth sawfish populations in U.S. waters have -4-

declined by as much as 95 percent from a combination of overfishing, bycatch in fishing gear, and habitat loss from increasing coastal development. “Our analysis showed sightings have increased exponentially in recent decades, with some individuals even appearing to be making returning annual visits,” said Laura McDonnell, a Ph.D. student, who was lead author of the study. Many of the smalltooth sawfish documented in this study were found in waters very close to Miami, where they were exposed to high levels of pollution, boat traffic, and fishing. https://rebrand.ly/endangered-sawfish

Study uncovers spawning preferences of Mahi-mahi Spawning mahi-mahi prefer the Florida Straits at night, and under a new moon, according to a new study by Rosenstiel scientists. To uncover these important details about the behaviors of mahi-mahi, or dolphinfish, the research team tagged captive spawning fish located at the UM Experimental Hatchery to build predictive spawning models and then used the models with data collected

from mahi-mahi tagged in the wild. The study is the first to use acceleration data from remotely transmitting pop-up satellite tags to predict the spawning habitat of a wild marine fish. The UM Experimental Hatchery is the only place in the country where spawning mahi-mahi are kept in captivity. https://rebrand.ly/mahi-mahi

Scientists find Galápagos volcano could help forecast future eruptions A large eruption in the Galápagos Islands provides new insights into how volcanoes behave and

could help forecast future events, according to an international team of scientists. The study, published in Nature Communications, gives the first detailed description of a volcanic eruption from Sierra Negra.

The findings reveal how the volcano inflated and fractured before it erupted

and provide a new level of detail for any eruption from a volcano on the islands. “The run-up to the eruption was very exciting,” said Falk Amelung, professor of marine geosciences at the Rosenstiel School and a coauthor of the study.

“Half-a-year earlier we saw from our satellite data that the caldera floor was uplifting at a rate of 10 centimeters a month. Such high inflation rates are rarely seen at active volcanoes.” https://rebrand.ly/galapagos-volcano

New study finds oil in the ocean photooxidizes within hours to days A new study led by Rosenstiel School scientists demonstrates that oil drifting in the ocean after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 photooxidized into persistent compounds within hours to days, instead over long periods of time.

This supports a new paradigm of photooxidation that has emerged from laboratory research. After an oil spill, oil droplets on the ocean surface can be transformed by a weathering process known as photooxidation, which results in the degradation of crude oil from exposure to light and oxygen into new by-products over time. The Rosenstiel research team developed the first oil-spill model algorithm

that tracks the solar radiation oil droplets receive as they rise from the deep sea and are transported at the ocean surface. “Understanding the timing and location of this weathering process is highly consequential,” said Claire Paris, a Rosenstiel faculty member and senior author of the study. “It helps directing efforts and resources on fresh oil while avoiding stressing the environment with chemical dispersants on oil that cannot be dispersed.” https://rebrand.ly/photooxides -5-

D EVELOP M ENT Gift launches Aircraft Center for Earth Studies Thanks to a generous gift from The Batchelor Foundation, the Rosenstiel School launched the Aircraft Center for Earth Studies (ACES), inaugurating the next generation of scientific aerial observations. This laboratory adds drones to the school’s Helicopter Observation Platform (HOP). ACES can operate from land or an at-sea research vessel, opening the door to many vital atmospheric and marine studies.

Various projects are currently in planning at ACES, including a study on the gravity waves emitted by hurricanes, and exchanges of gases between the atmosphere and the surface of the ocean among others.

The $6 million multifaceted ACES initiative includes the establishment of the G. Unger Vetlesen Endowed Professorship, a research professorship position and sophisticated equipment for the flying laboratory.

Search for the director of this new center is anticipated to be completed within the next few weeks.

Hurricane X Project launched Under the leadership of Dean Roni Avissar, a Rosenstiel research team has launched the Hurricane X Project, designed to improve the current quality of forecasting.

Dr. Robert Walko and Dr. Martin Otte are the main scientists working on this high-impact project, funded by the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation. The new forecasting system

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is based on the state-of-the-art Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Model (OLAM) that has been developed by the research team over the past two decades. For this project, OLAM will be augmented by a sophisticated assimilation of veryhigh resolution atmospheric and oceanographic data and an ocean model specifically adapted for computational efficiency while maintaining all relevant features for hurricane forecasting.

Philanthropy benefits coral reefs For 23 years, the University of Miami Changemakers Student Fund has supported innovative projects that propel change and engage the community in meaningful ways. After raising more than $11,000 during the U’s Giving Day, the Rosenstiel School’s Rescue a Reef project received the $25,000 Sebastian Hero Award from the UM Citizens Board.

A citizen science program, Rescue a Reef is designed to build community and coastal resilience through coral reef research, restoration, and education.

It brings together restoration scientists, students, and U.S. military veterans to restore

depleted reefs, foster student engagement, develop leadership skills, and provide experiential learning opportunities. Student fellows and veterans serve as role models for youth interested in STEM through hands-on and virtual presentations and workshops.

marine resources that are being threatened, but we also want to preserve and restore our veterans,” said Jim Ritterhoff, Force Blue founder.

Rescue a Reef also receives invaluable support from Mission Continues, a U.S. veterans group, and Force Blue, a non-profit formed by Navy SEALs. Using advanced diving skills learned at the military, these veterans are planting laboratory-grown corals on South Florida’s reefs.

“We want to preserve our

Photo Credit - Liv Williamson

Valentine Foundation helps students set sail A generous gift from the Valentine Foundation will allow the Rosenstiel School to purchase a small vessel for coral research. This initiative will allow more students to study South Florida’s endangered reef and encourage restoration by planting new corals in key locations. The foundation has also contributed funds to support student scholarships, creating learning opportunities for talented young adults interested in STEM careers.

Students selected for Cornelia Lowerre Scholarship Rosenstiel graduate students Denise Hassinger and Bianca Routt were recently named recipients of the Cornelia Lowerre Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which honors the M.S. ’14 alumnae. “I deeply appreciate the support of this scholarship,” said Hassinger, who is studying the biology and ecology of sharks and corals. “I look forward to contributing to the conservation of Earth’s biodiversity with a focus on marine ecosystems.”

Denise Hassinger

Bianca Routt

Routt also thanked donors to the endowed scholarship. “I have been studying the challenges facing coral, such as thermal stresses, and how to mitigate them,” she said. “I am very grateful for this support.”

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AWA RDS AND AC C O L A D E S Professor Amy Clement received a $0.7M research grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to investigate the cooling trend of sea surface temperatures in the subpolar North Atlantic to gain understanding of the ocean and atmosphere on interannual to multi-decadal timescales.

Professor Dave Nolan received a $0.7M research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate convective gravity waves in the stratosphere and their role in defining atmospheric structure and variability.

Professor Hilary Close received $0.7M research grant from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) and the Simons Foundation for a collaborative program to study microbial and zooplankton interactions with organic particle chemistry in the North Atlantic subtropical ocean current system.

Professor named editor in chief of AGU journal Lisa Beal, professor in the Department of Ocean Sciences, has been named editor in chief for the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. As a physical oceanographer, she has published many papers in the journal beginning with her thesis work more than 20 years ago. “It’s a real delight and honor to serve the community in this way,” she said. “As a woman and as part of the LGBTQ

community, I want to help create space for more diverse voices in the journal and at AGU into the future.” For more than a decade, Beal has led annual science writing workshops, and she is excited by the potential to bring some of the ideas and experiences from the workshops to the journal’s editorial team.

Student named to honor society Adrianne Wilson, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, is one of five University of Miami graduate students and post-doctoral fellows selected for induction into the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society for 2021.

She is the first student from the Rosenstiel School to receive this prestigious honor. Her research is centered on the age and growth of Lane snapper (Lutjanus synagris), a species of snapper native to the western Atlantic Oceans from -8-

North Carolina to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The society is named for Dr. Edward A. Bouchet, the first AfricanAmerican scholar to earn a Ph.D. from an American university in 1876. Today, the Bouchet Society recognizes and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and in the professoriate.

Inductees form a network of scholars who exemplify the society’s five pillars: scholarship, leadership, character, service and advocacy.

Ocean observing team recognized Faculty and researchers in the Department of Ocean Sciences, led

by Professor William (Bill) Johns, along with other members of the RAPID/MOCHA/WBTS 26ºN, were selected as the inaugural recipients of The Oceanography Society’s Ocean Observing Team Award.

The award recognizes innovation and excellence in sustained ocean observing for scientific and practical applications. The team is recognized for transforming our understanding of Atlantic circulation with a breakthrough

in observing system design which provides continuous, cost-effective measurements.

The international team has sustained a core array of moorings across the Atlantic at 26 degrees North for more than 16 years, monitoring changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

This involved collaborative work between scientists and engineers to calibrate, deploy, and maintain a large suite of in-situ instrumentation and to innovate

and trial near real-time telemetry technologies for deep ocean observing.

Outstanding Mentor Award

Catherine Macdonald, a lecturer in the Department of Marine Ecosystems & Society, is this

year’s winner of the Outstanding Rosenstiel School Mentor Award from the Student-Led Evaluations and Development committee (SLED). This group, which represents graduate students and focuses on fostering successful student-mentor relationships at the Rosenstiel School, conducts an annual survey during March and April to select the recipient of the mentor award.

“The best mentoring relationships are reciprocal, and I’m so

grateful to constantly learn from my amazing students,” said Macdonald. “I don’t think there’s a greater honor than hearing that your service is helpful, recognized, and appreciated. The 2020-2021 academic year has had unique challenges, but I’m proud of the ways our school has been able to meet them and continue serving our community.”

Honored for Scientific and Technological Accomplishments David Nolan, professor and chair of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, received the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Scientific and Technological Activities Commission Award for his contributions to research into the formation, intensification, and structural evolution of tropical cyclones. The AMS Distinguished Scientific and Technological

Accomplishment Award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions to hurricane science and is recognized as a science and technological leader in the discipline.

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Professor receives Provost’s Innovation in Teaching Award Marjorie Oleksiak, professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, received the Provost’s Innovation in Teaching Award, which goes to a full-time faculty member or a small team that has overcome a difficult course-related problem with a novel approach that resulted in improved learning outcomes. The innovation may be made through technology, a new teaching format, a novel engagement with content, the creation of new learning activities, or engagement with external entities.

ALU MNI NEW S Pavlos Kollias receives AGU Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Award Atmospheric scientist Pavlos Kollias, Ph.D., ’00, has received a 2020 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Award, which recognizes exceptional, mid-career scientists for their excellence in research and leadership in the atmospheric and climate sciences.

“I had no idea my work had left such an impression on my community,” said Kollias, who is a professor of atmospheric sciences in Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and director of Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing. “I am grateful for my mentors, colleagues and family, whose support has

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been instrumental throughout my career.”

Growing up in Greece, Kollias became interested in cloud microphysics, remote sensing and climate at the University of Athens.

Coming to the Rosenstiel School, he found mentors in cloud scientist Bruce Albrecht, who served as his dissertation advisor, and in Roger Lhermitte, now deceased, whom he remembers as the “godfather of radar meteorology.”

David Yeomans wins another Lone Star Emmy David Yeomans, BS ’10, MS ’14, recently won his third Lone Star Emmy award for his work at KXAN in Austin, Texas. His most recent honor was a 2020 Emmy for First Warning Weather University for weather scientists. He received a similar Lone Star Emmy Award in 2019, and another in 2015 for the First Warning Weather Team’s Summer Weather Outlook. He was awarded First Place Weathercast in 2016 by the Texas Associated

Press Broadcasters, and Television On-Air Personality of the Year in 2018 by the Alliance for Women in Media. An experienced weather professional, Yeomans holds the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist seal from the American Meteorological Society.

Alumnus helps keep sea anemone and coral cells alive in laboratory James Nowotny, B.S. ’19, is continuing the Rosenstiel School’s alumni tradition of groundbreaking research. Now a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Nowotny took part in a study led

by Rosenstiel assistant professor Nikki Traylor-Knowles to grow cell cultures from starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) and cauliflower coral (Pocillopora damicornis) in a laboratory setting.

Nowotny tested 175 cell cultures from the two organisms and found that their cells can survive for on average 12 days if they receive

an antibiotic treatment before being cultured. At Rosenstiel, Nowotny was funded in part by the University of Miami Linda Farmer Research Award, named in honor of a longtime Rosenstiel professor of biological oceanography who served as assistant dean and director of Marine Science prior to her death in 2015. Since then, Rosenstiel faculty and friends have banded together to support this annual award in her honor. https://rebrand.ly/culturing-corals

U PC OMING EV ENTS May 26 - September 5, 2021 - Rosenstiel School’s Underwater Photo Contest winning images on display at Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science. Thanks to our sponsors Canon and Allstar Liveaboards, Blackbeard’s Cruises.

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SPRING 2021

N E W S F R O M T H E R O S E N S T I E L S C H O O L O F M A R I N E & AT M O S P H E R I C S C I E N C E The Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities better understand the ever-changing environment we live in. Private philanthropy ensures that our renowned faculty, researchers and the best and brightest students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories and research vessels to conduct vital Earth-

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science research. Research that supports sound policy making in an effort to solve society’s most pressing environmental issues, all while educating the next generation of scientists. We focus on local and global challenges such as climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise, hurricanes, marine conservation,

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sustainable fisheries, oceans and human health, natural hazards and catastrophes and more. If you would like to make a gift please call Jennifer Dillon at 305-401-3246 or you can go to our secure giving pages online at www.giving.rsmas.miami.edu

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www.giving.rsmas.miami.edu I 305.421.4373