[SEMCO] WHOI Science Made Public July 2012

[Kathy Patterson]

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Science Made Public
All talks held at the WHOI Ocean Science Exhibit Center
15 School Street, Woods Hole

Link: http://www.whoi.edu/main/smp-2012-talks

July 10 at 2:30 PM
Following the Gulf Stream
Glen Gawarkiewicz, Sr. Scientist, Physical Oceanography Department
Resembling a river in the ocean, the Gulf Stream transports warm water 
northward
from the Gulf of Mexico before it turns east across the Atlantic. In the 
fall of 2011
local fishermen noticed unusually warm water and strong currents at the 
edge of the
continental shelf south of New England. Learn what WHOI scientists found 
when
they investigated this unusual shift in the Gulf Stream and hear more 
about its implications
for ocean circulation in that region and some possible effects on marine 
life.

July 17 at 2:30 PM
Forecasting New England “Red Tides”
Dennis McGillicuddy, Sr. Scientist, Applied Ocean Physics &
Engineering Department
Each year, coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine are prone to blooms of 
the harmful
algae, Alexandrium fundyense. The algae pose no direct threat to human 
beings,
however the toxins they produce can accumulate in filter-feeding 
organisms such as
mussels and clams — which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) 
in humans
who consume them. To insure the shellfish we consume is safe, harvesting 
areas are
carefully monitored by state agencies. Learn more about the work 
scientists have
done to develop a forecasting system to help the shellfish industry and 
environmental
managers better plan for the annual bloom.

July 24 at 2:30 PM
New Bedford Harbor: History, Pollution, and Adaptation
Larissa Williams, Postdoctoral Fellow, Biology Department
Massachusetts’ New Bedford Harbor has been polluted since the mid 1800s when
human waste from a growing population was disposed of into the estuary. 
In the
early 1900s, the city of New Bedford recruited electrical component 
manufacturers
to the city, who in turn polluted the Acushnet River estuary and 
adjoining harbor
with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). While most of the marine life in New
Bedford Harbor died as a result of chronic exposure to PCBs, an 
estuarine minnow,
Fundulus heteroclitus, has persisted and is now adapted to living in the 
contaminated
site. Learn how researchers are using genetic techniques to better 
understand this
minnow’s resistance to PCBs.

July 31 at 2:30 PM
A WHOI Mooring: It’s Not Your Father’s Boat Mooring
Rick Trask, Research Specialist, Physical Oceanography Department
Oceanographers frequently want to make measurements from a single 
location in
the ocean for a year or more. But it is prohibitively expensive for a 
ship to remain in
remote locations making measurements for such a long time. Instead they 
use mooring
structures, often miles long and designed to withstand the wind, waves 
and corrosive
ocean environment, that sit on the ocean floor unattended. Learn how 
WHOI engineers
and technicians design and build these platforms and assemble them at 
sea for
deployment. Get the inside story of how the tiniest of details can make 
the difference
between success and failure.
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