KINGSTON, R.I., Dec. 7, 2016 —Submerged Native American sites, fault zones off the southern California shore and the impact of sea-ice melting on waves in the Arctic might seem like disparate topics, but they actually have one thing in common: They are some of the many subjects oceanographers at the University of Rhode Island will discuss during an international Earth science meeting next week in California.
Faculty, staff and students from the Graduate School of Oceanography are among the hundreds of scientists presenting their research and posters at the American Geophysical Union’s meeting Dec. 12 through 16 in San Francisco.
With about 24,000 participants last year, the group’s 49th annual fall meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world, giving researchers an opportunity to present their work, hear about the latest discoveries and network with colleagues. There will be more than 20,000 presentations and posters.
Among the GSO faculty, researchers and students presenting are doctoral student Casey Hearn (submerged Native American sites in Narragansett Bay); Director of the Inner Space Center Dwight Coleman (active fault lines off the southern California shore); professor Kathleen A. Donohue (the impact of sea-ice melting on deep internal waves in the Arctic); post-doctoral fellow Xueyang Bao and professor Yang Shen (tomography of the Tibetan Plateau); doctoral candidate Yackar Mauzole and professor Peter C. Cornillon (survey of sea-surface temperature fronts in the ocean); marine research specialist Katie Pratt (how to create a network of contacts for early-career scientists); professor Steven Carey (studies of Kick’Em Jenny volcano in the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles); and professor John W. King, researcher Marie-Helene Cormier and marine research specialists Clifford W. Heil and Brian Caccioppoli (studies on earthquake hazards in the New York City region).
For the full list of abstracts for the 40 or so GSO-affiliated presentations, including the date, time and location for each talk and poster, visit the GSO site. http://web.gso.uri.edu/research/gso-at-agu/
Among the keynote speakers at the meeting will be U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, who oversees the development of conventional and renewable energy supplies on public lands and waters; serves as steward for 20 percent of the country’s lands, including national parks and refuges; and upholds trust responsibilities to the 566 federally-recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska natives. Her talk will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 14.
A reception for GSO faculty, students, staff and alumni who are attending the science meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at Johnny Foley’s Irish House, 243 O’Farrell St., in San Francisco. GSO Dean Bruce Corliss will host the event.
“The American Geophysical Union’s meeting is one of the most important international geoscience meetings held each year, and I am pleased that GSO will have such a strong presence of our faculty, marine research scientists and graduate students,’’ said Corliss. “This level of activity attests to the outstanding and significant work that is being done at GSO on a broad range of important topics.’’