Director's Note

In support of conditional optimism

(Photo credit: Samantha Jones)

The holidays are just around the corner, and most of us are busy with preparations for the festive season. It’s a time to gather with family and friends, a time to reflect on the ups and downs of the past year, and a time to look toward the new year with anticipation and new expectations.     

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CCS celebrates grand opening of Malachowsky Hall

(Photo credit: Samantha Jones)

At a rainy opening of the Malachowsky Hall for Data Science and Information Technology on November 3, staff from the UF Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS) shared some of the ways they are capitalizing on artificial intelligence (AI) to help keep Florida’s coasts healthy and livable for future generations.  

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In the Field

Researchers monitor mangroves on the move

(Photo credit: Yvanna Serra)

As temperatures climb due to climate change, the boundaries of plants and animals are shifting, with many species on the move in search of suitable habitat on a global scale. Mangroves are one such species, and their northward expansion in Florida is fundamentally transforming coastal ecosystems by replacing existing saltmarsh plants and producing new zones of species overlap. Ph.D. student Yiyang “Calvin” Kang in the University of Florida’s School of Natural Resources and Environment is assessing mangrove damage and recovery following a freeze event in December of 2022, to advance the understanding of how these rapidly changing habitats may continue to reshape the coastal landscape of Florida under climate change.    

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Tech Dive

Technology uncovers the science of sand

(Photo credit: Nina Stark)

Sand may appear simple but small differences in composition, particle shape, wetness and packing play a critical role when predicting how beaches evolve and change, just as such properties control whether a sandcastle will stand strong or collapse. 

Nina Stark, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida, is part of a multi-institutional team that is investigating how geotechnical properties of sand, that is properties that describe how the sand behaves as a bulk material under loads and stresses, impact sediment erosion and accretion with the goal of improving models for predicting how beaches change and evolve under different environmental conditions. 

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SeaSquad

Charli Pezoldt finds purpose in field work

(Photo credit: Charli Pezoldt)

As a research technician at the Center for Coastal Solutions, Charli Pezoldt gets to live out their childhood dream job of working on the water. Pezoldt is part of a field operations team that helps scientists at the University of Florida collect data and coordinate logistics for numerous experiments and projects.   

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Science in Action

Project to pinpoint sewage sources in Old Tampa Bay

(Photo credit: Anita Denunzio)

Tampa Bay’s vanishing seagrass beds have raised concerns across the state, as experts grapple with how to restore the grasses that are critical to the health of Florida's largest open-water estuary. Among the factors affecting the health of seagrass beds are high levels of nitrogen in the water, which contribute to harmful algal blooms or HABs. HABs can eclipse sunlight and starve the water of oxygen, leading to the loss of seagrass beds. Assistant Professor Alberto Canestrelli, Ph.D., of the Civil and Coastal Engineering Department, is leading a project to pinpoint the main sources of nitrogen pollution from septic tanks in Old Tampa Bay, information that will be used to help two counties optimize the value of investments in septic to sewer upgrades.

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Events

(Photo credit: Michael E. Von Fricken)

One Health Day is celebrated every year on November 3 to highlight the need for a transdisciplinary approach towards addressing health challenges for people, animals and the environment globally. The UF One Health Center of Excellence brought together research labs and student organizations across the University via fun trivia and networking opportunities, emphasizing the diversity and interconnectedness of health perspectives.

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Upcoming

(Photo credit: Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering)

12/7/23 Ohanian Lecture Series: Dr. Brian Silliman

(Photo credit: IFAS NCBS)

12/13/23 Nature Coast Currents: Dr. Ashley Smyth