• Speaker Spotlight

    by  • May 1, 2013 • Announcements, Events, Research

    In the lead up to our Annual Marine Science Forum on the 4th and 5th May, we will feature a post about each of the scientists presenting this year.

    Dr Stephen Eggins, Fellow, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University.

    Steve Eggins is a marine biogeochemist and senior fellow at the Research School of Earth Sciences at The Australian National University, where he researches the effects ocean chemistry on foraminifers and corals, and develops novel laser-based methods for analyzing the chemistry of very small things.

    Kate Holland, PhD candidate, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University.

    Kate Holland is a PhD student the Research School of Earth Sciences at The Australian National University. Kate is a self-confessed foram tragic. She is investigating how foraminifers and corals control their internal pH and calcification rates as the pH of seawater changes.

    Presentation title: Why put the acid on Twofold Bay’s planktonic foraminifera?

    Presentation outline: About 1/3 of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning since the beginning of the industrial revolution has been absorbed by the ocean, causing it to become more acidic and affecting the ability of calcifying organisms to produce their calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. This includes the planktonic foraminifera, a group of tiny unicellular zooplankton that inhabit shallower parts of the open ocean and produce microscopic (<1mm sized) shells. Foraminifera shells are important for ballasting the transfer of carbon from the surface ocean to the deep ocean, and also for collecting in deep-sea sediments where they provide us with valuable records of past changes in ocean temperature and acidity (pH) encoded in the chemistry of their shells. We are collecting several species of Southern Ocean planktonic foraminifera from the outer shelf region off Twofold Bay and culturing them in the laboratory at the SCMDC, where we are determining how their shell calcification and chemistry is affected by changes in ocean acidification and temperature.  This research is helping us understand the affects of ocean acidification on the viability of this group of organisms, and interpreting past changes in the ocean and climate spanning millennia to millions of years.

    About

    Marine Scientist and Teacher for the Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre. Sheree has a Bachelor of Marine Science (Hons) from the University of Wollongong. Her honours thesis evaluated the use of underwater video to study estuarine fish assemblages. She also has a Graduate Diploma in Education from University of New England. Before moving to Eden, Sheree worked as a fisheries research scientist with the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

    https://www.sapphirecoastdiscovery.com.au