Aquatic Organic Geochemistry

Chloe Anderson, Amanda Hacking and Kelsey Powers

AOG is proud to have recruitted three new undergraduates to work on SoundCitizen research.  Welcome to Amanda Hacking and Chloe Anderson, both in their second year as Oceanography majors.  Welcome back to Kelsey Powers, who was our summer intern in 2008.  Thanks for (re) joining the team!

Congratulations to Miss Kelsey McDuffee, who successfully defended her Masters Degree in Oceanography on July 9, 2009.  Kelsey’s thesis “A 100 year sedimentary record of the contributions of marine, plant and soil organic matter to an anoxic fjord” provides a new level of understanding for both the geochemical processing of lignin and etherlipids in marine environments, but also establishes the first climate record based on marine records of terrestrial proxies on Vancouver Island BC. 

Kelsey will spend the rest of the summer finishing up her MS manuscript and working on her PCC Certificiate in Climate Change Science.

For a slide shopw of Kelsey during her time with us, follow the link for more… [Read more →]

Graduation Day 2009 was sunny and splendid.  Everyone enjoyed themselves except for Rick who wept constantly at the loss of his latest batch of kids.  Forever growing up and leaving the UW nest… 

On the left:  In keeping with Cambridge tradition, which we learned about from our dean Arthur Nowell, new alumni Ali, Tricia and Britta hold one finger of their mentor Rick as they enter UW’s Husky Stadium for the conferral of their degrees…

Follow the link below for more pictures (on two pages).

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Rick was the speaker at the June “Science on Tap” at TS McHugh’s in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood.  Many new friends turned out to hear about SoundCitizen and our research in Puget Sound.   Missed it?  You can view the video on Seattle’s KCTS Public TV.  Sponsored, in part, by the Seattle Science Center.

Rick and Jaqui are gearing up to participate in a cruise to New Zealand’s Kermadec Arc.  The cruise is a teaching partnership between the UW School of Oceanography and New Zealand’s Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS).  We will be working with Cornel de Ronde and his group, which coincidentally includes Heidi Berkenbosch, UW SOO class of 2006 and Indian Ocean cruise participant.  It will be fun to cruise with Heidi again.

We will also be fortunate to have Dan Fornari and Tim Shank from WHOI aboard with us.   The cruise is part of the School’s undergraduate program.  Please check out the class web site.  Want to study to be an oceanographer?  Come to UW and see the world!  The image shown is from NOAAs web page on their cruises to the Kermadec Arc.  Check it out!

Rick had the pleasure of meeting up with Dr. Dan Donato, class of 1997 and former AOG member, for dinner and beers.  Dan is transitioning from his PhD at Oregon State University to a new postdoctoral appointment with the US Forest Service.  You may remember Dan from such amazing AOG events as the FirstFriday debacle of November 1994 or the infamous trip to the sugarcane fields of Brasil in 1995, but he is perhaps best known as the lead author of the Biscuit Fire Paper of 2006 where he (gasp!) used science to refute a Bush administration policy.  There is even a wiki page about the Biscuit Fire Publication Controversy.   We stand beside Dan and wish him the best of luck has he travels the rim of fire quantifying carbon storage in tropical mangrove systems.  Rick asked if his former helper needed a helper, but it looks as if Rick is staying put in cold and soggy Seattle for a while longer…

Our citizen-action program SoundCitizen was officially launched on Saturday November 22nd.  In cooperation with COSEE-OLC, Sea Grant, and the Seattle Aquarium, we now have more than 200 chemical sampling kits in the hands of everyday citizens.  Check out the program - Soundcitizen.org

images from leg 1:  Rick, Cheryl, Kelsey P, Christine, Julie, Mitch, Miles, Shayma and Ray

Sixteen days at sea aboard the RV Barnes.  Maybe that is a little too long.  Thanks from Rick to Miles, Cheryl, Kelsey, Kelsey, Julie, Mitch, Christine, Brandon, Esther, Shayma and Ray for making the cruise a success.  All our samples were collected, the experiment went well, and we collected many water, particle and sediment samples for analysis back in the lab. 

Images from leg 2: Rick. Miles, Kelsey M, Brandon, Esther, Shayma and Ray

We had a wonderfully fun UW graduation day.  The morning ceremony was very nice, the food excellent, and the company fun.  The UW event in Husky Stadium was also fun – especially leading our seniors (oops- I mean our new alumni) into the stadium to a crowd of cheering loved ones.  Check out the photos by following the ‘read more’ link and you can click here to download the video…

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Rick and Liana just returned from the meeting in Fortaleza Brasil.  Rick met with old friends and colleagues, including Carlos and Thorsten.  Congratulations to Thorsten on his new job in Bremen, Germany.  Check out the photos.    http://www.cbo2008.com/

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Rick has been named the first Richard H. Fleming Fellow in the School of Oceanography.    Richard Fleming was the director of the School when it established the world’s first undergraduate degree in Oceanography in 1951, and he valued strongly the importance of our undergraduate program. The Fleming Endowment honors Richard Fleming’s vision for quality undergraduate studies, and is intended to “ensure that outstanding faculty will continue to innovate and provide oceanography students with an exceptional learning experiences”.

Rick is honored to be named the first fellow of this endowment.  Continue to learn more about Richard H Fleming…

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Gas Cylinder 2314, a constant (if silent) companion in the lab since 1994, was discovered alone and empty over in the corner.   Rick said goodbye but it did not reply.  Cylinder 2314 arrived in the lab the year before Rick became an Assistsant Professor, back in the days when he was a PostDoc.

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Rick has been using the awesome Shifting Baselines media in his teaching for years (I especially like their earlier work featuring Jack Black, such as the Ocean Symphony).  Now, in collaboration with the Puget Sound Partnership, Shifting Baselines has produced a new 5-minute flash video about Puget Sound.

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We lost a sediment trap last night.  Accidents happen, nobody hurt.  Rick wrote a poem, which is on the class web blog http://courses.washington.edu/ocean444/2008/blog/march21/

Services will be held tonight on the aft deck.  Bring a candle for the vigil.

Late Friday afternoon during Oceanography Happy Hour, Rick and Christina discovered that they not only share responsibilities for the sediment trapping on the upcoming senior undergraduate thesis research trip to Glacier Bay Alaska, but they also share a birthday and nearly a birth hour.  Turns out that Rick is almost exactly twice as old as newly 22-yr old Christina.   Viva la March 2…  Happy birthday to Dr. Suess, who was also born on that wonderful day and would be 104 if he were still alive.

Rick has taken calling Christina ‘the halfling’.  Christina is plotting her revenge.  You can read about the senior thesis class at the blog:  http://courses.washington.edu/ocean444

Congratulations to Jon Nuwer, who successfully defended his PhD on Friday February 8th.  Jon now joins the ranks of UW AOG alumni that include distinguished individuals such as Fred Prahl, Stuart Wakeham, Brian Bergamaschi, Greg Cowie, Thorarinn Arnarson, Jeff Abell, Brook Nunn and Anthony Aufdenkampe.  Jon departs the UW AOG group in March 2008 to take up new challenges at SAIC Inc.