I am in the SRJC-Bodega Marine Lab summer internship studying harmful algal blooms with the Coastal Oceanography Group. I am driven and motivated by my strong work ethic, which makes me feel accomplished when I have accomplished something I thought was difficult. I believe I am great with people when it comes to helping, whether that be having a conversation or being a good listener. My current short term goal is to finish classes at SRJC and gain more experience in research so I can apply to medical school to become a medical doctor.
John Largier has been collaborating with pathologists and wildlife health researchers in the UCD Vet School, producing a collection of papers on the transport of water-borne pathogens, including particle aggregation dynamics and plume dynamics. This information is critical for understanding how human and non-human pathogens are transported from land to the sea.
Ocean temperature and salinity has been recorded daily at Bodega Marine Laboratory for over 50 years, and for a couple of decades additional data on winds, chlorophyll, weather and currents have been collected. BML is a leading member of the national Integrated Ocean Observing System, and the regional association Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS). Data are displayed and available via the Bodega Ocean Observing Node (BOON).
The peculiarities of how coastal currents change close to the shore is a surprisingly recent field of research and one in which several Bodega Marine Laboratory researchers are active, using approaches that include mathematics and field-observations. The study of internal waves dissipating nearshore, the slowing of currents in the coastal boundary layer, the breaking of waves on the shore, and the retention of waters in small coves and bays is understood within a broader view of nearshore ecology and environmental issues.
As part of the hydrological cycle, freshwater runs off the land and into the ocean – fueling ocean ecosystems with food and nutrients as well as affecting currents and stratification in coastal waters. Changes in the volume and timing of this runoff, as well as in the particulate and dissolved load, have a profound effect on coastal and estuarine waters with impacts on fisheries, ecosystems, wildlife and human health.
Bodega Marine Laboratory is located in the center of the California upwelling system, with the strongest and most persistent winds anywhere along the west coast of North America. It is logical then that researchers are leaders in the science of wind-driven coastal upwelling, and how it yields such a rich ecosystem.
Physical coastal oceanography research at BML focuses on ocean upwelling, land runoff, and the connections between coastal estuaries (both small and large) and the ocean. Coastal oceanography at the land-sea interface is a unique niche in oceanography and there is little doubt that the Coastal Oceanography Group (COG), led by John Largier, is highly productive at both regional and national/international levels. The Coastal Oceanography Group focuses on regional place-based research along the north coast of California, taking advant
Scientists at BML are engaged in researching many other aspects of climate change, which can be grouped broadly into oceanographic and ecological studies as well as in the context of habitat restoration and invasive species.
