Within the framework of our USC Sea Grant project (PIs: William Berelson & Tina Treude) about the potential spreading of the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) in the Santa Monica Basin, we are currently presenting an exhibit hosted by the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and Heal the Bay. If you are in the area, come by and visit. The exhibit lasts from August through September, potentially extending into October 2017. You can also watch our time-lapse video on the deoxygenation of a sediment core in the lab. The video was prepared by Sydnie Lemieux a part of her master thesis.

This summer we have colleagues visiting from the Institute for Baltic Sea Research (IOW) in Germany to jointly conduct field work off Santa Barbara. It is our goal to test whether methanotrophic microbes are transported by methane bubbles from the sediment into the water column. The Santa Barbara methane seep area is an ideal research target as it has shallow (SCUBA dive accessible) seeps. The team is lead by Oliver Schmale. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation. My group  at UCLA and Ira Leifer (Bubbleology Research International, Santa Barbara) support the project. Watch our video to get a feeling for the science: https://vimeo.com/229619743