Conceptual Diagram

One of most respected scientists at University of Maryland Environmental Sciences is Walter Boynton, who has devoted almost entire his life to restore Chesapeake Bay. He emphasizes drawing conceptual diagrams so much, and I also draw a lot to clarify my research idea. One of examples is shown below and this is about nutrient cycle in estuary although it is not completed. It can be very complex but also simple depend on the purpose of diagram. I need full pictures of nutrient cycles because I want to estimate net ecosystem metabolism, which I want to talk in near future. In short, net ecosystem metabolism is a combination of 'plant' and 'animal' metabolism and it shows the balance of ecosystem by subtracting them each other.  

Conceptual diagram

Syringe Pump #1

We always can name scientific equipment as we want. I have different equipment all called 'syringe pump'. I would like to introduce these because it shows how much syringes are important to scientific experiments.




This syringe pump above is used to inject small amount of liquid into target areas (such as bottles, containers, etc.). The greatest function of this syringe pump is several options for rate we can choose from very tiny to relatively faster rate. I am going to use it to simulate diffusion of nutrients across haloclines, which is a sharp gradient of density, in estuary. We can calculate or use already estimated diffusion rate of molecules (such as oxygen, nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, etc.) in water. Then, using the pump ensures the simulation as close to real environment as possible.

Working on a scientific cruise

I should include a word 'scientific' when someone ask me where I work. If I just say a cruise, they often think a tourist cruise although I sometimes think this is a combination of scientific and tourist cruise because of amazing foods and a list of DVDs I can all enjoy after work.

In May of 2012, I am now working on Research Vessel Oceanus owned by NOAA and operated by Oregon State University. Dr. Crump invites me to this cruise months ago and we made a plan for collecting water samples for microbial measurements. I am in charge of measuring respiration rates from high turbid water which are natural phenomenon occurring in estuarine environment worldwide.



I have never been on the Columbia River estuary before but I just fell in love with it right after I saw for the first time. Sea lions, geneses, sea gulls, mountains, tides, etc. which I all love.



We use two methods to collect water samples: Owen tube (left) and a pacer pump connected to CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth sensors in a metal frame) frame (right). There is a slight difference between the two methods: Owen tube allows us collecting water and particles of different settling speeds at one depth while CTD pump allows collecting one in many different depths. These are usually operated by at least three people: winch operator, computer screen watcher, and me fighting with a cable and hose.

We also have many scientists on board working on the same project with different tools. Enjoy pictures below:

Oxygen transition in the Chesapeake Bay

I created this video for my presentation at MEES (Marine Estuarine Environmental Science at University of Maryland) Colloquium meeting. I was honored to give a talk as a representative of oceanographic students.

I used data downloaded from the Chesapeake Bay Program. Cool colors show where oxygen depleted in warmer seasons, and this is called anoxic or dead zone. And numbers above the map are months in numbers (e.g. January = 1, December =12) in 2011.

Dead zone occurs almost all around the World due to human input of organic matter (basically trash and nutrients). There are tremendous works done in the topic and ,especially, if you want to find out what it is and how it affects marine lives, please check here.

Enjoy watching the video!