Rising Tides Newsletter - Dec. 2023

Dear CMS Colleagues,

The holidays offer us an opportunity to reflect on the past year and set intentions for the year ahead. As you celebrate the season with your loved ones, I hope that you find time for moments of relaxation and appreciation of your many accomplishments. Your hard work and dedication are pivotal to the College of Marine Science’s continued impact on the community — both locally and on the field of oceanography more broadly. The future of marine science is bright thanks to you.

We’ve had a lot to be celebrate this year, including the inaugural cruise of the Collaborative Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) program organized by CMS faculty and staff. Enjoy the holiday photo above, which was taken by Sophie Theiss, a USF journalism graduate student who interned with CMS this fall and joined the five-day CORE cruise to document the experience. 

As we close out 2023, enjoy reading about other recent achievements of CMS faculty, students, and staff in this final newsletter of the year. I look forward to our many new successes in 2024.

Holiday Cheers,

Tom

Ocean color science meeting draws experts from around the world to St. Petersburg

The International Ocean Colour Science Meeting 2023 saw attendees share innovative new research and nurture a strong global community for applied ocean color science.

College of Marine Science to lead $3.2-million grant to develop Sargassum forecasting system

Improved forecasting using satellite data and modeling will help researchers reduce Sargassum impacts on coastal communities.

Students conduct science at sea

Education and research combined for students aboard a five-day cruise on the Florida Institute of Oceanography’s R/V Weatherbird II.

CMS faculty earn global recognition as high-impact researchers

The Stanford-Elsevier study identifies the top two percent of researchers worldwide across all fields of study, based on their citation impact through 2022.

CMS receives award to research stressors on South Florida’s coastal ecosystems

CMS will receive $200,000 over four years through the newly funded Florida Regional Ecosystems Stressors Collaborative Assessment project.

Study identifies nutrients as driver of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt

In a recent journal article published in Nature Communications, researchers say they have identified that the nutrient content of Sargassum tissue could help determine the enrichment sources and potentially improve predictions and Sargassum management efforts.

Stella and Sam: a pair of gliders on a mission

Staff and students from the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT) recently sailed aboard the R/V WT Hogarth to collect data using a pair of uncrewed, underwater gliders.

Researchers propose a global observatory to monitor Earth’s biodiversity

The Global Biodiversity Observing System is a proposal designed to improve monitoring efforts of Earth’s biodiversity and, in turn, improve conservation in an age of climate change.

CMS grads and intern win the 2023 Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award

Congratulations to CMS graduate students Lydia Ruggle and Emma Grave who recently received the 2023 Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award! They were joined by Samantha D’Angelo, a marine biology undergraduate at USF St. Petersburg and intern for the CMS Ocean Circulation Lab.

Tracking CMS successes 

• Catalina Rubiano is part of the first cohort to graduate with the new hydrography (seafloor mapping) concentration, designed to develop skills for careers outside of academia.
• Congratulations to our talented graduate students and the critical fellowships that support their impactful research and education at the 2023 Fellowships & Awards Celebration.
• Congrats to Dr. Xuewu (Sherwood) Liu, who won one of the USF Outstanding Staff Awards and the Employee of the Year Award!

Help spread the word: Calling all future campers! 

Calling all rising 9^th graders from Pinellas County to apply for an experience of a lifetime: the annual Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls. Deadline: February 1st.