NEW GROUP MEMBERS DE’MARCUS ROBINSON AND DAVID YOUSAVICH

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This week my two new group members, De’Marcus Robinson (left) and David Yousavich (right), started at UCLA. DeMarcus is a graduate student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, David is a graduate student in the Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences.

De’Marcus received his Bachelor’s degree from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) where he majored Environmental Science with a concentration in Toxicology/Risk Analysis. At his undergraduate university his research looked at creating a material that absorbs oil through organic chemistry and electrospinning. He also received internship investigating microbial lake productivity in the Sierra Nevada Watershed at University of Southern California (USC) through the C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigation) course, and another internship at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) investigating Turbinaria Ornata, an invasive macrogalge, in the coral reefs of Mo’orea.

David received his Bachelor’s degree from Miami University (OH) where he majored in Chemistry and Zoology. There he did research in algal biofuels and cellulose degrading bacteria. After graduating, he worked as a research assistant on projects involving K-12 science education and molecular biology. He received his Master’s degree from Cal State LA in Geology and did research in the bioremediation of heavy metals in Los Angeles, specifically in analyzing processes governing the sequestration of copper, lead, and zinc in bioremediation media.

Both De’Marcus and David will be involved in studying bacterial sulfur and nitrogen cycling in aquatic environments in my group.

Welcome, De’Marcus and David, to UCLA!

MEDSALT Training School in the UK

From Sep 9-16 I served as a one of the trainers for the MEDSALT summer school for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers (EU-COST Action: Uncovering the Mediterranean salt giant). It was the 4th training school of the COST Action with the title “Deep Life in Buried Salt Deposits“.

The school started in Colchester, UK at the University of Essex with scientific presentations and lab instructions. Participants then moved on to Whitby, from were we visited the Boulby mine and the Boulby Underground Laboratory located 1,100 m below surface – a highlight of the school.

Students and Trainers had a great experience and I am impressed by the interdisciplinary scientific discussions that developed during our time, uniting geologists, geochemists and microbiologists.

Find out more on Twitter: @MedSalt
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Apply by June 1: OCB Methane & Nitrous Oxide Workshop

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Apply now for the OCB Oceanic Methane and Nitrous Oxide: The present situation and future scenarios three day workshop on oceanic methane and nitrous oxide covering chemical analysis, microbial metabolism, and our observational and predictive capabilities.

Apply here by June 1.

The workshop will take place October 28-31, 2018 at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center (California, USA).

Workshop Overview
Where in the global oceans should spatial and temporal surveys be conducted to discern climatologically-relevant changes in water-column inventories of methane and nitrous oxide?
  This is an important question facing oceanographers today. However, attempts to answer this question stimulate many related and relevant queries concerning the production and consumption of methane and nitrous oxide in the ocean. For example, how will their water-column concentrations be influenced by factors such as increasing seawater temperatures, decreasing oxygen concentrations, and changing nutrient loading? Do we have sufficient analytical and observational capacity to conduct robust temporal surveys? Do we sufficiently comprehend the microbial metabolic pathways that produce and consume these two trace gases?

The workshop will address these questions to help determine the future directions of methane and nitrous oxide measurements in the global oceans. The workshop builds off a series of global inter-comparison exercises of nitrous oxide and methane. Participation in the workshop is open to everyone and attendees will be decided based on application. All documents including planning papers, agendas, and presentations will be made available from the workshop website over the forthcoming months. For more information please contact Sam Wilson (stwilson@hawaii.edu) or any of the steering committee. To be added to the workshop email list, please contact us.

Apply by June 15: MEDSALT Deep Life in Buried Salt Deposits Training School in Essex (UK), September 9-16 2018

The goal of the Deep Life in Buried Salt Deposits course is to provide training for Ph.D. students and early career researchers in the microbiology and geochemistry needed to investigate life in buried salt deposits. The course includes lectures, laboratory practicals and an underground experience at the Boulby International Subsurface Astrobiology Laboratory! The organizing committee and lecturers include Giovanni Aloisi (IPGP, France), Terry McGenity (University of Essex, UK), Tina Treude (University of California, Los Angeles, USA), Charles Cockell (University of Edinburgh, UK), Sean Paling (University of Sheffield, UK), Josefa Anton Botella (University of Alicante, Spain) and Petra Rettberg (German Aerospace Center, DLR). MEDSALT will support the participation of up to 20 trainees with a fixed grant to cover travel and subsistence costs for EU trainees. Non-EU trainees might have to cover their costs but can apply to participate.  Applications due June 15, 2018.

Apply here

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Public Exhibit on the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Santa Monica Basin

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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.

 

Bubble Shuttle project off Santa Barbara

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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

Santa Monica Bay field sampling with students

As part of our USC Sea Grant project we took undergraduate students from UCLA (teacher: Tina Treude) and the Mt. San Antonio College (teacher: Tania Anders) out into the Santa Monica Bay with the R/V Yellowfin to collect sediment cores with a multicorer from a deep low oxygen zone (~900 m water depth) and from a more oxygen-rich shelf zone (~230 m water depth). Samples will be used in class as well as in an exhibition at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium starting this summer to provide information about the Santa Monica Bay oxygen minimum zone. Students and teachers enjoyed the day on the ocean. While on board, staff of the Southern California Marine Institution (SCMI) introduced classical oceanographic sampling devices. A large clam in an old  glass bottle left everyone wondering…

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New group member Sebastian Krause

Our new group member Sebastian Krause has finished his first quarter at UCLA with getting involved in processing deep biosphere samples in the glove box (see photo).

Sebastian is a new EPSS PhD student who started in the Fall of 2016. He is interested in microbial activity in deep-sea sediments. Particularly in microbes that involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane around methane seeps and tectonic boundaries.

Sebastian received his Bachelor’s of Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) in Marine Biology.  On his free time, he likes swimming, camping, hiking, and scuba diving.

Welcome to UCLA, Sebastian!

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