Earth, Oceans, and Space REU Program

Marine microbes cover a diversity of organisms that account for more than 98% of ocean biomass. They are fundamental for oceanic food webs and thus ecosystem function and services. Research within the Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory aims to understand microbial and biogeochemical processes and their role in the cycling of growth-limiting nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) as well as organic and inorganic carbon in marine environments. REU students will be involved with field measurements in the Gulf of Maine and its estuaries, and with laboratory research focusing on microbial growth and metabolic rates along with carbon chemistry, and how these rates and parameters are affected by anthropogenic stressors such as ocean acidification, sea surface warming, and ocean pollutants (e.g., microplastics, spilled oil). Students will gain skills in marine sensor deployment, lab incubation methods, and statistical data analysis.

Mentor: Dr. Kai Ziervogel

Seagrasses are important ecosystems that help mitigate climate change, clean the water, and support local fisheries and biodiversity. Globally, these sensitive ecosystems are in decline, with numerous international efforts attempting to monitor their health and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation programs. As seagrasses photosynthesize and sway in currents, underwater sound and surface cameras can be used to monitor their health. Research within 3 centers: CARE (Center for Acoustics Research and Education), CCOM (Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping), and SMSOE (School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering) aims to understand the relationship between hydrodynamics and underwater acoustics in seagrass beds, enabling the design of better sensor-based seagrass health monitoring systems. To better study this complicated interaction, researchers are using a model seagrass bed seeded with bubbles in a 10-m-long flume in the laboratory. REU students will be involved with running the flume and collecting acoustic and hydrodynamic data. They will gain skills in the processing and interpretation of acoustic and hydrodynamic signals.

Mentors: Dr. Gabriel R. Venegas and Dr. Tracy Mandel

Coastal marine habitats are rich with natural sounds that many aquatic animals use for important functions such as communication and selecting suitable habitat. These sounds together make up the “soundscape” of an environment and can be recorded with underwater microphones (hydrophones). Different characteristics of coastal soundscapes, such as how loud they are, often correlate with visually determined indicators of habitat health and biodiversity. The application of using acoustics to monitor ecosystem health, or “Ecoacoustics”, has been explored in many coastal habitats including coral reefs, but is only beginning to be explored in New Hampshire’s local waters. Seagrass habitats in New Hampshire have declined and new tools to assess seagrass health are in high demand. A key first step for success in developing soundscape monitoring as such a tool is a detailed understanding of the natural composition and temporal variation of a soundscape. This project will use underwater sound recorders deployed in local seagrass habitats to investigate: what types of sounds (from animals, currents, and other sources) are present in these habitats? How do these sounds vary over day and night cycles? Are soundscapes different for healthy seagrass areas, versus seagrass areas that are degraded or recovering?

Mentor: Dr. Ian T. Jones 

Estuaries – where rivers meet the ocean – are hotspots for biodiversity, as well as early indicators of water contamination issues and climate change impacts. Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) researchers within SMSOE use a suite of in-situ water sensors along with surveys of seagrass coverage and indicator species (shellfish, green crabs, lobster, and oyster reefs) to help monitor estuary ecosystem health and develop best management practices for nutrient pollution. The PREP organization helps communities around UNH better manage their two estuaries of national significance: the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary and the Great Bay Estuary. Due to its community focus, PREP’s expertise and student training includes participatory process design and facilitation, and science communication. REU students will collect and analyze data from estuary in-situ sensors. Skill development includes not only data analysis, but also community outreach and science communication.

Mentor: Dr. Kalle Matso

Phenology is the study of seasonal cycles of natural phenomena like climate, plant, and animal life. As the climate warms and becomes more variable, once predictable seasonal cycles such as the timing of snowmelt and vegetation green-up are changing in unpredictable ways. Shifts in key phenological events can have big impacts on terrestrial ecosystem carbon and water cycles that have yet to be explored. Sensors that monitor climate and plant phenology can help to inform the drivers and consequences of changing seasonality.

Mentor: Dr. Alix Contosta

Understanding the controls on water quality in streams draining different watersheds requires high frequency measurements that account for changes during storms.  Major research questions include: How do various water quality variables such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, sediments, and nutrients respond during storm events? And, How do these storm responses interact with land use?  High frequency sensors deployed in streams are needed to address these questions.

Mentor: Dr. Wil Wollheim 

Oil is an ancient fossil fuel that we use to heat our homes, generate electricity, and power large sectors of our economy. But when oil accidentally spills into the ocean, it can cause big problems. Research in the Kinner lab focuses on validation and calibration of various remote sensing technologies (RSTs) to determine oil slick thicknesses in a controlled laboratory setting. RSTs include overhead Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) based sensors, surface samplers, and underwater sensors. Student interns would validate and calibrate RTSs at an outdoor facility that includes totes, troughs, and pools which will contain slicks of known oil thickness and overflights will be conducted periodically throughout the day while environmental factors (light level, water and air temperature) are continuously monitored. The influence of environmental factors on the signals observed from the sensors will be investigated to identify potentially useful relationships applicable to oil spill responders.

Mentor: Dr. Nancy Kinner

Water resources are essential to all human activities, from feeding the global population to industrial production. Prior to the satellite era, water resource data was collected with inconsistent methods, quality, and density across different regions of the world. Now, researchers in the Earth Systems Research Center use cutting-edge satellite data to observe many important components of the water cycle and human water use consistently across the globe, including changes in groundwater storage, soil moisture, snow and glacier cover, reservoir water levels, and even irrigation infrastructure. These data, in combination with statistical analysis and hydrologic modeling, can answer such questions as: is snow cover changing in regions that rely on snowmelt to supply irrigation water? How much does agricultural production rely on nonrenewable groundwater resources? Is groundwater pumping contributing to sea level rise? These questions are essential to the multiple ongoing Earth Systems Research Center research projects that focus on applying Earth sensor data to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. REU students will use global satellite observations to understand how water resources are changing through space and time across the entire planet, with a focus on Sustainable Development applications. Skill development will include satellite data processing, hydrologic modeling, and statistical analysis.

Mentor: Dr. Danielle Grogan

Our technology-driven society is dependent upon satellite technology for communication, navigation, and national security, as well as upon a reliable power grid for everyday needs such as money transactions, job functions, and food storage. These infrastructure systems are vulnerable to geomagnetic activity, when charged particles in the space surrounding Earth are energized and transported due to energy input from the Sun. Researchers in the Space Science Center use satellite data to create ion temperature maps of the magnetosphere, which help to understand where and how ions are heated by the energy from the Sun and how they’re propelled towards Earth. Emerging machine-learning methods are being tested to evaluate their ability to use satellite sensor data to model geomagnetic storms and predict when these disruptions will cause power outages. REU students in the Space Science Center will join in the creation of ion temperature maps from satellite sensor data, as well as test new machine learning models. Skill development will include satellite data processing, 3D map making, and machine learning methods.

Mentor: Dr. Amy Keesee