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The Island View: News from Shoals Marine Laboratory
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Dear Friends of Shoals Marine Laboratory,
Happy holidays everyone! What a warm December we are having in the Northeast! Record highs have been set in much of country. Snowfall is behind in many places (that snowy photo of Appledore above is from last year). All of this warm weather is happening while world leaders are departing from the
21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (aka COP21). While I am personally very thrilled with the international agreement penned at the conference, there is more work to address ocean health at a global level. I know Shoals Marine Laboratory has much to contribute to this effort! Long-term data monitoring programs, like the Intertidal Transect Study and the Appledore Island Migration Banding Station, are critical to identifying the impacts of climate change on ecological systems. Equally important is educating university students on the causes and impacts of climate change as it is already influencing many aspects of life on earth, especially in the oceans. Being a good steward of our very own place on this planet is also important; showing and teaching everyone who steps foot on Appledore Island about sustainable practices to reduce our carbon footprint. We take these roles and jobs seriously and we hope you will support us in our efforts. Now, on to the latest news from activities at SML this month!
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New collaborative Internship!
Shoals Marine Laboratory, in conjunction with the
Thompson School of Applied Science at UNH, is pleased to announce a new venture: a Horticultural Technology Independent Study! Working with the nationally known Celia Thaxter's Island Garden, this independent study course will help prepare for the 2016 garden by planning for and ordering heirloom seeds, planting and nurturing seeds and seedlings in the Thompson School Greenhouse during the spring semester, organizing transport of the seedlings to the garden on Appledore, and planting the garden in June. The student involved in this study will receive credit towards their degree at UNH. Know a Thompson School student?
Share this link with them.
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The importance of SML programs...
Collecting oceanographic data in the three-dimensional and highly dynamic ocean presents serious technological challenges.
Nevertheless, the need for more data and their interpretation is never as important as it is now, especially when facing problems posed by climate change and ocean acidification.
At the annual meeting of NERACOOS (North East Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observation Stations) held in Portsmouth, NH this month, speakers emphasized both the critical need for more data. A key challenge acknowledged by all was the need to detect gradual, as opposed to sudden, ecosystem changes.
The aim of NERACOOS is to 'produce-integrate-communicate' data to a wide range of end-users and is critical to addressing these needs, especially in the Gulf of Maine, which over the past 10 years has warmed faster (3.2°F) than most oceans on the planet. Implications of warming and acidification to the Gulf of Maine ecosystems, fisheries, and economics also were discussed.
Clearly, there is increasing need for trained biologists and ocean engineers, who can begin their careers at marine laboratories such as the Shoals Marine Laboratory.
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Photo from
Under the Isles of Shoals book
by Dennis Robinson |
Shoals history lecture in February!
Join SML faculty Dr. Nathan Hamilton, Dr. Robin Hadlock Seeley and I at the L.L.Bean store in
Freeport, Maine on February 5th at 7pm for a fantastic evening lecture:
The Isles of Shoals: 5,000 Years of Marine Ecology. Join us for a journey of
5,000 years of human habitation of the Isles of Shoals! Drs. Hamilton and Hadlock Seeley's recent excavations on Smuttynose Island, Isles of Shoals and earlier work on Appledore Island form the basis of this talk. Dr. Seavey will end the talk with discussion of what today's SML scientists have in common with Shoalers of the past! Come learn about Isles of Shoals history!
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SML courses change lives!
College and high school students from around the world are currently signing up for SML summer courses! We know this decision is likely to be a very important pivot point in their education, the summer that they decide to become a scientist! Please help us make this life changing moment possible for more students by making a year-end donation to our student scholarship funds!
Shoals Marine Laboratory
Morse Hall, Suite 113
8 College Road
Durham, NH 03824
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Shoals Marine Laboratory turns 50!
SAVE THE DATE for an 50th anniversary celebration on and off the island:
August 19-21, 2016
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Registration details this January 2016!
We are collecting 50th celebration auction items to benefit student scholarships from generous people like YOU! If you would like to contribute, please contact Jim Coyer at
[email protected].
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The SML office moves to UNH!
After more than a year of planning and work, SML's headquarters are now fully up and running in Morse Hall at UNH in Durham, NH. Please stop by and check out our new space! The majority of the SML staff are now all together in one office suite for the first time in lab history. We are really enjoying working more closely as a team and new ideas are being developed around the watercooler! The Cornell SML office is now located in Stimson Hall and is staffed by the Cornell SML Academic Coordinator, Dr. Robin Hadlock Seeley. Please come by and visit. Our office move to NH did mean we had to say goodbye and a heartfelt thank you to two wonderful Shoalers, Jane Paige and Christine Bogdanowicz. We are so grateful for their hard work and dedication to SML over the years!
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In closing,
I want to wish the entire Shoals Marine Laboratory community a warm and joyous holiday season and happy new year! We are so grateful for your support, enthusiasm, interest, and commitment to help us make significant positive contributions to science and in our student's lives. It is noble work and I am personal extremely proud and honored to be taking SML into our next 50 years in collaboration with all of you!
As always, I welcome your valuable input and support to ensure that SML continues to be a vibrant place and extraordinary experience for our students.
With deep appreciation and warm wishes,
Jennifer Seavey, Ph.D.
Kingsbury Director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory
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Shoals Marine Laboratory
113 Morse Hall, University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
and
office: 2M15 Stimson Hall, Cornell University
mail: 106A Kennedy Hall, Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
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Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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