News & Events

News stories posted in the last 60 days. For information about a story, contact Dennis Krohn (727) 803-8747 x3062.

SPCMSC Researchers invited to Expert Panel Workshop on the Role of Subsidence in Coastal Louisiana

On May 13, 2013, SPCMSC staff Jack Kindinger, Jim Flocks, and Julie Bernier participated in a workshop on the role of subsidence for Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Planning hosted by The Water Institute of the Gulf (TWIG) in Baton Rouge, LA. Participating via Webinar, the SPCMSC scientists were invited to present an overview of SPCMSC’s past, current, and potential subsidence research. The Panel was tasked by the State of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to address current data gaps in coastal subsidence knowledge. The objectives of the workshop were to foster technical discussion on primary processes driving subsidence, to describe technical issues associated with the various measurement methodologies, to identify existing data sources, and to make recommendations to the CPRA committee.

SPSMSC staff continue Calcification Monitoring in the Keys

From May 13 – May 24, a field team led by SPCMSC scientist Ilsa Kuffner will continue research on coral growth involving several species in the Florida Keys.  The goal of the research is to better understand why rates of coral calcification and reef building are faster in the Dry Tortugas compared to the main Florida Keys reefs. The field trip will finish up the monitoring on one species and start monitoring a second.  SPCMSC staff also participating includes Jennifer Morrison, BJ Reynolds and Keith Ludwing.  The field crew will be staying aboard the M/V Ft. Jefferson, a National Park Service vessel chartered by the USGS for use by both Ilsa’s research team and Kristen Hart’s (SESC) research team.

SPCMSC staff to establish Baseline Map for FY14 Coral Reef Project

From May 20 – May 25, SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Dave Zawada will lead a field expedition to the Florida Keys to map Crocker Reef, using the ATRIS imaging systems (http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2010/08/research.html). The imagery will be used to create a benthic-cover map of the site which will serve as a base layer for future data products to be generated during CREST-II a continuation of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/).

Green Sea Turtles Benefiting from Protected Areas

On Monday, April 29, USGS put out a press release (http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3575&from=rss_home) on research showing green sea turtles make use of habitats in Dry Tortugas National Park and nearby protected areas. The work, conducted by SESC biologist Dr. Kristen Hart, SPCMSC scientists Dr. Dave Zawada and Barbara Lidz, and a University of Florida colleague, was recently published in the journal Biological Conservation. Media calls so far include Mother Jones and Washington bureau of the Sun Sentinel/Orlando Sentinel. The release was picked up by a number science blogs such as Science Daily, PhyOrg, RedOrbit, Mother Nature News, Biology News Net. It was also run in Discovery News, the Summit County Citizen's Voice, and syndicated by LiveScience.

SPCMSC interview with 10 News WTSP Tampa on Hurricane Research

On April 25, SPCMSC-Oceanographer Hilary Stockdon was interviewed by a team from Tampa's Channel 10 News for a special show they will be broadcasting for hurricane season. Mark Collins, a station forecast meteorologist, talked to Hilary about storm surge, waves, sand dunes, beach erosion, and USGS predictions, among other topics.  The TV crew recorded a lot of video of our USGS model runs and maps showing probabilities of coastal change. The show is expected to air on June 1, the first day of Hurricane season.

SPCMSC hosts High School Charter Students

On April 30, 2013, a group of 35 junior and senior dual-enrollment high school students from The Villages Charter School, in Sumter County, Florida, visited the US Geological Survey and USF College of Marine Science. SPCMSC staff member Theresa Burress introduced them to the U.S. Geological Survey and the diverse array of ongoing scientific research at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center. Research geologist Jennifer Miselis led a tour of the Science Center. She explained how scientists use the sediment core laboratory and equipment, demonstrated by Julie Bernier, as they conduct field work and seek to advance their knowledge of coastal geomorphology along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States.

SPCMSC Scientist invited participant to Joint GSA Penrose/ AGU Chapman Conference on Coastal Issues

From April 14 to 19, SPCMSC Oceanographer, Jack Kindinger participated with a select group of 80 coastal scientists in Galveston, Texas, for the Joint GSA/AGU Conference on Coastal Processes and Environments under Sea-Level Rise and Changing Climate: Science to Inform Management. The joint conference was convened to develop criteria to increase scientific and public awareness of the realities of global change and its impacts on coastal environments. There were four days of talks, posters, and a field trip describing: (1) short-term and long-term impacts of accelerated sea-level rise, (2) climatically induced alteration in sediment delivery to coasts, (3) increased frequency of severe storms, and (4) anthropogenic exacerbation of coastal change. On the fifth morning a panel led the small group of scientists in a discussion “Reaching Scientific Consensus and Conveying Science to Policy Makers”. This discussion produced twenty-five basic knowledge points that will guide decision and policy makers.

SPCSMC Post-Doc Presents Crisis Communication Research at IgniteTampa Forum

On Thursday, April 25, 2013 Sophia B Liu, Ph.D., Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), presented her research on crisis crowdsourcing, specifically on coastal hazard classification, at the 3rd Annual IgniteTampa (http://ignitetampa.org/) held at the historic Tampa Theater in Tampa, Florida. Ignite talks have a strict fixed format: 5 minutes and 20 slides, that automatically advance every 15 seconds. Sophia recounts her personal experience using Twitter during a Colorado wildfire, the long history of crowdsourcing at the USGS with the "Did You Feel It?" earthquake website established in 1999; and her recent research work on the USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch system that can detect earthquakes in real-time by crowdharvesting Twitter data. For her Mendenhall research, Sophia is developing iCoast, a web application to ground truth and improve predicative coastal erosion models by utilizing the power of crowdsourcing to help classify thousands of coastal aerial photos acquired in response to Hurricane Sandy.

SPCMSC Staff participate in undersea research in deepwater canyons off the US East Coast

The USGS DISCOVRE (Diversity & Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems) team will take part in multiple cruise legs between April 30 and May 27 to investigate the biology and ecology of deepwater canyons off the eastern coast of the United States. This cruise will focus on Norfolk Canyon with some visits to Baltimore Canyon. Michael Gray (SPCMSC) will be examining the microbial associates of deep-sea corals and the microbial diversity present in soft sediments. He will also be retrieving a setting plate experiment that has been underwater since last August to look at the microbial biofilms that form on various substances (limestone, sandstone, steel), since those biofilms determine which macrofauna will later colonize rocky outcrops or shipwrecks. Other DISCOVRE scientists include Cheryl Morrison (Leetown Science Center), studying coral population genetics; Amanda Demopoulos (SESC), studying benthic ecology and foodwebs; and Nancy Prouty (Santa Cruz), studying paleoclimate using coral skeletons. The cruise will be a NOAA signature expedition and will have web coverage on the Ocean Explorer website. This work is conducted in cooperation with BOEM-funded contractors from a variety of academic institutions.

Related links:
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/coral-microbes/discovre/
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3102/
http://deepwatercanyons.wordpress.com

SPCMSC staff participates in Climate Change Symposium for Educators

On April 22, Lisa Robbins and Theresa Burress will present a one-hour workshop to teachers on climate change science to the Coastal Areas Climate Change Education Partnership (CACCE) at Jefferson High School in Tampa, Fl. The workshop will provide an overview of current research underway at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), where scientists study various aspects of climate change such as creating climate histories using microfossils, coral reef calcification, and ocean acidification. USGS scientist Lisa Robbins will discuss her recent research expeditions to the Arctic Ocean where researchers collected ocean chemistry data and shared their experiences with students via an interactive web site and blog. The CACCE Symposium, funded by the National Science Foundation, will bring together hundreds of educators and secondary school teachers working in science institutions from the Tampa Bay area to facilitate discussions about innovative educational practices on climate change science.