houck2040/artisci huggingface dataset:
panel a: deployment of the van veen sediment grab sampler from the ship the r/v trident panel b: closeup of the sediment grab sampler filled with sediment panel c: recently graduated phd mandy mulcan lopez first author of the sedimentary lead article image credit: chris mouchyn
dr peter santschi a regents professor at texas a&m university at galveston praises the paper as a nice demonstration of an application of stable isotopes that can delineate sources its a powerful method and they are very good at it says santschi who was not part of the research team he explains that the houston ship channel (hsc) which is constantly dredged for large ship passage acts as a sediment trap the constant dredging creates dredge islands to the sides of the hsc it is difficult to sample in the hsc because it is dangerous with the high traffic of large ships and tankers santschi says the only way is to look at or near the dredge islands samples for this study were collected from tributaries that drain into galveston bay the san jacinto and trinity rivers and buffalo bayou and across the entirety of galveston bay at various bay stations collection took place quarterly between june 2017 and june 2019 and the researchers also used a previously collected (july 2016) sediment core the core sample (e3) was used to compare current lead levels to what was found in the core sample dating back 150 years as the scientists expected lead levels steadily rose over the last 150 years which coincides with human industrial growth in the area however those levels began to level off in the 1990s possible due to policy changes such as the elimination of leaded fuels in the us
dr jessica fitzsimmonsmap of sampling locations sampling sites indicated by pink stars and the sediment core sample (e3) is indicated by the orange dot image credit: created by nathan lanning department of oceanography; revised by dr jessica fitzsimmons
we were hoping that lead concentrations in the last couple decades would have gone back down but we did not see as much of the downturn as we might have hoped given the recent clean-up efforts in galveston bay fitzsimmons says the study also provided some unexpected results in certain areas for example lead concentrations were surprisingly higher in eastern bay areas which are mostly surrounded by natural refuge lands than in the western bay areas closer to houston and its industrial ports the scientists believe that complex chemical interactions occur when freshwaters from the trinity river which empties into the east side of the bay and is the highest freshwater contributor to the bay meets the seawater entering the bay from the gulf of mexico these complex chemical interactions cause natural riverine lead that is dissolved in trinity bay waters to attach the surfaces of sediment grains causing the higher concentrations in the east circulation of sediments and residence times may be a more important part of the story than we previously considered fitzsimmons says the trinity river source supplies so much freshwater that it drives the salinity gradient across the entire bay which forces the lead out of the water and onto the sediment grains lead concentrations in oyster bayou on the southeast side of the bay were also higher than expected fitzsimmons and her colleagues believe this unidentified lead source is potentially derived from the gulf intracoastal waterway but requires further investigation fitzsimmons would also like to see better transport modeling of sediments conducted in galveston bay in future studies in this study i wanted to apply my analytical toolbox to a more local area with greater human impact fitzsimmons says the best news is that our results showed that lead concentrations in sediments in our backyard waters fall below toxicity thresholds this research was funded by the galveston bay estuary program and the texas a&m t3 triad program by justin agan ‘18
noaa predicts above-average 2021 atlantic hurricane seasonthe national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa)'s climate prediction center announced in their may 20 2021 briefing that they are expecting another highly active hurricane season this year jun 2 2021may 20 2021 the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa)'s climate prediction center announced in their may 20 2021 briefing that they are expecting another highly active hurricane season this year noaa forecasters predict a 60 percent chance of an above-average season for 2021 which officially starts june 1 and continues through nov 30 these predictions include an estimated range of 13-20 named storms 6-10 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes (category 3 or higher) likely earlier this year noaa updated the statistics for determining average levels of hurricane activity the updated average hurricane season now produces 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes including 3 major hurricanes while it is predicted to be an above-average hurricane season the 2021 season is not expected to be as active as 2020 which was the most active hurricane season on record however a less active hurricane season does not equal a lower potential for devastating storm damages although noaa scientists do not expect this season to be as busy as last year it only takes one storm to devastate a community said ben friedman acting noaa administrator in the briefing with hurricane season around the corner noaa and the national weather service and texas sea grant are urging coastal communities to start preparing now kate de gennaro planning specialist with the community resilience collaborative (crc) emphasized the importance of early preparedness for hurricanes especially when it comes to having a good list of supplies and forming an evacuation plan make sure that you know what youre going to do well in advance and talk over your plan with everyone in your household including friends or family that live more inland said de gennaro always err on the side of caution you dont want to be stuck in one of these storms for more information on hurricane preparedness de gennaro recommends the homeowners handbook to prepare for coastal natural hazards which is available online in english and spanish to download for free texas sea grant also has a program page dedicated to more resources for hurricane preparedness including links to informational videos and a comprehensive list of further resources media contact: sara carney communications manager texas sea grant scarney@tamuedu 979-458-8442 by corley-ann parker '20
may 20 2021 the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa)'s climate prediction center announced in their may 20 2021 briefing that they are expecting another highly active hurricane season this year noaa forecasters predict a 60 percent chance of an above-average season for 2021 which officially starts june 1 and continues through nov 30 these predictions include an estimated range of 13-20 named storms 6-10 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes (category 3 or higher) likely earlier this year noaa updated the statistics for determining average levels of hurricane activity the updated average hurricane season now produces 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes including 3 major hurricanes while it is predicted to be an above-average hurricane season the 2021 season is not expected to be as active as 2020 which was the most active hurricane season on record however a less active hurricane season does not equal a lower potential for devastating storm damages although noaa scientists do not expect this season to be as busy as last year it only takes one storm to devastate a community said ben friedman acting noaa administrator in the briefing with hurricane season around the corner noaa and the national weather service and texas sea grant are urging coastal communities to start preparing now kate de gennaro planning specialist with the community resilience collaborative (crc) emphasized the importance of early preparedness for hurricanes especially when it comes to having a good list of supplies and forming an evacuation plan make sure that you know what youre going to do well in advance and talk over your plan with everyone in your household including friends or family that live more inland said de gennaro always err on the side of caution you dont want to be stuck in one of these storms for more information on hurricane preparedness de gennaro recommends the homeowners handbook to prepare for coastal natural hazards which is available online in english and spanish to download for free texas sea grant also has a program page dedicated to more resources for hurricane preparedness including links to informational videos and a comprehensive list of further resources media contact: sara carney communications manager texas sea grant scarney@tamuedu 979-458-8442 by corley-ann parker '20
may 2021 commencement ceremony in reed arena (photo courtesy of texas a&m)
the texas a&m university college of geosciences would like to congratulate its may 2021 graduates graduating seniors families and friends faculty and staff joined together in an online graduation celebration may 18 to celebrate and recognize the students accomplishments congratulations to all of you on your inspiring accomplishments completing our degree programs which are incredibly rigorous said dean of the college of geosciences dr debbie thomas who led the event you should all be very proud and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors geosciences students receiving their doctoral degrees were honored at the doctoral commencement and hooding ceremony on may 8 and undergraduate and graduate students received their degrees at the may 19 commencement ceremony please draw from your courage your strength and your discipline to lead by example thomas said your knowledge and skills as geoscientists are critical to the current and future challenges facing society geoscientists are the very foundation of sustainability in addition to meeting todays needs while enhancing the prosperity and security of future generations sustainability requires a society that trusts science so lead us there aggie geoscientists! the following students were honored with awards at the event department and program honors environmental programs outstanding graduating seniors amanda wright environmental geosciences james "will" maddux environmental geosciences kennedy mayo environmental studies kenji blum environmental studies undergraduate excellence in oceanography award dylan halbeisan geography outstanding student award luke vitullo geography christina shaw gist klein family scholarship kendahl hejl gtu national honor society eshan zia elyse burgess nathan bradley christina shaw abir chaudhuri nathan young geology and geophysics outstanding senior award deanna flores catherine lloyd colton barr kade flynn atmospheric sciences outstanding senior award leanne blind-doskocil outstanding student award these students began their last semester with a cumulative grade point average of 375 or higher colton barr leanne blind-doskocil kenji blum elyse burgess kristina djinis kade flynn analisa garcia james will maddux kennedy mayo daniel mckinney clara migala christina shaw emily smith luke vitullo amanda wright college of geosciences medallion milestone scholars the medallion milestone scholars program identifies those who have excelled within and beyond the classroom recipients have demonstrated leadership professionalism citizenship and/or research skills while building collaborative relationships in the academic local or global community gold lance belobrajdic leanne blind-doskocil hannah davis jeanette gallardo gonzalez joseph miles langfeld james will maddux chelsea parada erin sherman silver rachel eldridge kade flynn matthew herdrich kalli johnson bailey ohlson joshua ostaszewski dalton st romain kayleigh thomas bronze dylan halbeisen nicole hernandez andrew jansen katherine maberry anneliese olbrich nadia partida amber schlessiger julia villafranca james wilde watch the college of geosciences may 2021 graduation celebration by leslie lee
dr bryant in the field conducting research in socorro county new mexico (photo courtesy of dr bryant)
through the recently established geosciences future faculty fellow program dr raquel bryant is a postdoctoral research associate in texas a&m universitys department of geology and geophysics bryant has a research background in cretaceous paleoceanography and micropaleontology and specializes in the study of fossil foraminifera marine protists and ancient environments working with dr christina belanger bryants current research focuses on analyzing past marine environments by building datasets of micropaleontological data and by integrating microfossil and geochemical records
postdoctoral research at a&m bryant is one of the first texas a&m college of geosciences future faculty (gff) postdoctoral fellowships working with dr christina belanger in the department of geology and geophysics bryant was drawn to texas a&m by the mix of different paleoceanography research topics the college engages in and international ocean discovery program (iodp) i was especially excited to work with my advisor dr christina belanger because she has expertise in paleoecology and applies it to modern and relevant topics like understanding ocean hypoxia bryant said individual fossils can tell us a lot but aggregating that data into big data sets facilitates the identification of bigger ecological trends i also like to consider how geochemical records can give a broader paleoenvironmental context so i am really interested in building integrated microfossil and geochemical datasets for the application of quantitative paleoecological methods i recently submitted my first first-authored paper and it really exemplifies how integrating geochemical and microfossil records can tell us a lot about paleoenvironments one of the big conclusions is that benthic foraminifera are not always an indicator of a well oxygenated seafloor some forams are okay with low oxygen conditions and looking at the fossils with the geochemistry really revealed that these results have inspired my next project i am wondering how these forams cope with low oxygen so this was the inspiration for designing 3 undergraduate research projects bryant is working with belanger to use data science to compile multi-proxy datasets for analyzing paleoclimate systems and understanding ancient low oxygen environments there is already a lot published on foram fossil occurrences and there are a lot of geochemical records especially from key iodp drilling sites something i learned from my graduate studies is how to use litho- and chemostratigraphy to correlate across sites so i am creating data sets from already published studies so that i can apply quantitative ecological methods to analyze low oxygen environments across a basin instead of just at one site
dr bryant pictured serving as a mentor and instructor for the nsf program science technology engineering and math student experiences aboard ships (stem seas) (photo courtesy of dr bryant)dr bryant pictured presenting her research on at the 2019 international conference on paleoceanography in sydney australia (photo courtesy of dr bryant)
early inspirations in the geosciences bryant spent much of her formative years as a child at a local science museum in west hartford connecticut she credits the early exposure to natural history and local geology as sparking an interest in her i've always liked learning about ecosystems bryant said when i was a kid i spent a lot of time at science museums there are pretty cool dinosaur fossils in the river valley in connecticut and massachusetts and i just remember thinking about how different this area where i live today must have been the appeal of the geosciences continued with the influence of a high school science teacher who had a phd in geophysics this teacher shared with her students all the opportunities for travel and field work she would just tell us how she got to go to greenland and fiji and australia just to do science and i had no idea you could do that bryant said when i went to undergrad i wanted to study geology because i thought thatd be cool to get to go to different places i had not really traveled at all before that bryant attended brown university for her undergraduate degree and struggled the first semester with her first science class she said fortunately bryant had a mentor a faculty member at brown that had also struggled initially in university and encouraged her to persevere bryant took an earth systems history course during her second semester and that was when things started to click i thought i don't think i can major in this i need to change my major this is not what i want to do bryant said and then it actually switched to where i was thinking about soft rock stuff and fossils and especially climate proxies and i knew yes this is what i want to study! understanding the interconnectedness of life the oceans and climate system excited bryant and inspired her to continue pursuing a career in the geosciences
dr bryant presenting on her paleoclimate research at the american geophysical union 2019 annual meeting in san francisco california in addition dr bryant and dr keisling led the first iteration of the next generation of geoscience leaders at the 2019 agu meeting (photo courtesy of dr bryant)raquel holding a piece of a glacier at kenai fjords national park alaska this field trip was part of the stem seas 2016 expedition (photo courtesy of dr bryant)
research opportunity building blocks as an undergraduate student bryant wasnt sure what specific research topics appealed to her so she cast a wide net and reached out to faculty and post-doctoral researchers by being open and interested in many interdisciplinary science topics bryant became involved in undergraduate research using stable isotopes with the archeology department in addition she was encouraged to apply to a national science foundation (nsf) research experiences for undergraduates (reus) program bryants first reu was at the department of paleobiology in the smithsonian institution national museum of natural history during this time she worked with museum curator dr brian huber to revise biostratigraphy and evaluate the preservation of microfossil assemblages from the agulhas and naturaliste plateaus ever since working with foraminifera i became convinced that they are the coolest organisms and the createcous ones are the most interesting bryant said the following year bryant participated in a second reu at scripps institution of oceanography during this time she created a high resolution record of ichthyoliths which are essentially fossil fish teeth it was fun gaining experience with a more unconventional type of microfossil! upon finishing her undergraduate degree bryant started a phd at university of massachusetts amherst working with dr mark leckie her research looked at foraminifera from the western interior seaway most people like to focus on just one foram type the ones that live in the upper water column or the ones that life on the seafloor but i focused on the full foram assemblage for my dissertation bryant said which was cool but also challenging it made me become more interested in geochemistry because i wanted to have environmental context for the forams i was observing in order to connect what the fossils from the top and bottom of the water column were telling me during this time she earned two key fellowships the randolph & cecile bromery graduate fellowship and the nsf graduate research fellowship i've been obsessed with the idea of being a lifelong learner and being able to mentor people and educate them and i found research to be a great vehicle to drive that
dr bryant working with dr huber as part of her first reu at the cushman collection in the smithsonian institution national museum of natural history(photo courtesy of dr bryant)dr bryant hard at work on the microscope she used to analyze her graduate school research samples (photo courtesy of dr bryant)
barriers in science bryant was first made aware of racial disparities in the sciences in middle school when a teacher spoke about the racial achievement gap it was a deeply discouraging experience that made her question if she even belonged in science bryant said i remember thinking is there even a point in me trying in school is there even a point in me trying in science which i started liking around that same time bryant said it always stuck in my head whenever i would get the highest grade or get into a competitive class i would just think in the back of my head i'm not supposed to be doing this i'm not supposed to be here i felt that all the time i was always on edge bryant continued to deal with racism in her educational environment in high school she recounts how even though she attended a fairly diverse high school she was often the only student of color in her honors and ap stem classes back then i didn't really have any tools to interact with my experiences but because of them it's been a constant in my mind the idea of science and the idea of systemic racism there has never been a time when those things were different for me during her undergraduate degree she noticed that the geosciences field as a whole was disproportionately white bryant credits the support of student organizations that made it acceptable to embrace multiple identities in science this was the first time i was seeing that if you don't feel comfortable in your academic space there are ways to support yourself all of that was so affirming even though there was still the whiteness problem in geology at least now im gaining tools to interact with it i knew i belonged in the geosciences simply because i wanted to study geoscience bryant said so now i try to see the barriers as opportunities to first refine my skills in overcoming them and second to give advice to someone else down the line as they may encounter those same barriers
dr bryant pictured in front of a mural in north carolina (photo courtesy of dr bryant)
inspired by bromery in graduate school bryant found a key inspirational figure dr randolph bill bromery bromery was the first black chancellor of umass amherst and left an endowment the randolph and cecile bromery graduate fellowship that supports students of color doing research in the umass department of geosciences bryant received this fellowship for the first two years of her phd program i took the bromery familys generosity very seriously and i wanted to learn everything about him because he is a famous black geologist and yet i knew nothing about him before getting the fellowship bryant said one of the first things i learned about him was he served as a tuskegee airman like my grandfather! bromery used that experience in his research; when he returned from war he saw that the usgs was recruiting geologists that knew how to fly planes he became part of the first cohort of usgs airborne geophysists and helped found a whole new field that is how his geoscience career started by using another skill to make his science even better bryant said bromery was hired as a faculty member at umass amherst authored over 100 journal articles and mentored numerous black students in geosciences and beyond it was really affirming to find an example of someone i could look up to because it's not necessarily what i see bryant said i don't see many black geoscience faculty and i definitely don't see faculty doing what bromery was doing he was just as committed to broadening participation as he was to his research and approached both with incredible rigor that led him to be very successful in both endeavours bromery went on to become the chancellor of the university of massachusetts and president of the geological society of america he was instrumental in the effort to secure the w e b du bois papers for umass making it a hub for black scholarship and study bromery is very important to me because as a paleoscientist i am always looking to the past to inform the present and future bryant said seeing his story and learning more about his life really made me feel that what i'm doing could be the right path just because it's not something i see examples of right now doesn't mean it's not a valid way to be a scientist