schillij's blog

This morning, Tawnya Peterson was interviewed for the radio show titled "The OHSU Effect" on KXL 101.1 FM. The show illustrates how OHSU's people and programs positively effect the health of Oregonians on a daily basis. Peterson discussed science and health issues of harmful algal blooms with the shows host Lacey Evans.

(Tawnya prepares for interview with Lacey Evans at KXL studios in Portland.)

The OHSU Effect airs on KXL 101.1 FM from 8 to 9 a.m. on Saturdays. Tawnya's segment will air on April 14.

R/V Oceanus Click to Enlarge
CMOP's old friend the research vessel Wecoma was recently retired and replaced with her sister ship the R/V Oceanus. The 35-year-old Oceanus, owned by the National Science Foundation and originally operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, was acquired by Oregon State University to replace the Wecoma. She will operate along Oregon and Washington coastlines and assist CMOP's research into how climate change and human activities are affecting coastal areas.

Take a photo tour of the ship.

This years 6th Annual EBS Research Symposium had over 25 presenters ranging in education from undergraduates to postdoctoral scientists. The posters were evaluated by a panel of three judges and the best poster from each category was selected as the winner. Congratulations to CMOP scientists Ben Li and Michele Maier for winning best posters in the post-doctoral and advanced doctoral students (3+ yrs) categories.

Ben Li presents his poster to professor Rick Johnson on "Physical and biological controls on Mesodinium rubrum blooms in the lower Columbia River estuary."

It is always great to see how CMOP is translating our transformative research for the next generation of scientists.

On March 9th, Holly Simon (photo left in black vest) and her research group gave young students eye-opening demonstrations on how real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), SHARP sensor arrays and the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) are used to identify microorganisms in environmental samples.

We would like to welcome Jo Goodman to the CMOP team. She joins us from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she recently recieved a Master's degree in Marine Science.

Jo has been appointed Ocean Observatory Technician with the field team in Astoria. She will assist in deploying and maintaining the SATURN observation network in the Columbia River estuary, plume and shelf.

This is Clair, our new Environmental Sample Processor (ESP). She is a field-deployable system – developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and commercialized by Spyglass – that will be used to collect water samples from the Columbia River estuary, concentrate microorganisms or other particles of interest, analyze them using molecular techniques, and transmit the results. We are working on a story about how CMOP plans to use modeling to decide when the ESP should take samples.

In the meantime, here is a photo of Spyglass Chief Information Architect, Paul Janecek and CMOP scientists, Mariya Smit, Charles Seaton, and Vena Hayes going over the functionality of the ESP.

CMOP researchers are presenting this week at the 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, an international gathering of science experts. This is a major venue for CMOP to exchange scientific knowledge with more than 4,000 attendees.

You may need ESP to know what is under the pink plastic covering.

What I do know is that CMOP is one of only a few select research labs in the world that has this device and it will advance our research capabilities in molecular biological analyses.

Three CMOP products have been recently added to the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) products page. They include : Columbia River Climatological Atlas, Data Explorer for River and Ocean Data, and Oxygen Watch for the Columbia River and WA Shelf. Visit the NANOOS products web page.