Award: OCE-2126668

The work conducted from the funding provided for this project have achieved the intended goals of the research project and are beneficial to oceanographic research for the fields of marine ecology and biogeochemistry. The work included advancing our knowledge of the connections between the marine phosphorus cycle and the microbial community living in the ocean. The work included collecting samples alongside an on-going time series at the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier at the University of California, San Diego for more than a year and a half. This has resulted in a significantly large dataset that includes information on the microbial community present at the pier, the concentrations of phosphorus in the water, and how the phosphorus is cycling over a seasonal cycle and under various environmental conditions. In addition to the data collected at the pier, the work completed for this study also included collection of data from a research cruise off the coast of Southern California that collected profiles of the entire water column at multiple stations, which included targeted samples from an oxygen minimum zone (or region of low oxygen concentrations in the seawater). These data increase our understanding of the microbial communities present in oxygen minimum zones and how the phosphorus cycles in these regions of the ocean. The preliminary results from this research project have been presented at multiple international conferences and final results are expected to be published in at least one peer-reviewed journal.

 

Outside of the scientific knowledge that was gained from the work completed, this project also aided in the professional development of a wide range of students. The project included direct mentoring of an undergraduate student for the work completed, with the student gaining opportunities to present at multiple conferences and take part in the research cruise. Additionally, the lab that hosted the work completed by this project maintains collaborations with research groups and labs around the globe and in the United States. The funded project included collaborations with students from the host lab, other labs at the University of California, San Diego, and with students at other universities. The data collected through this project is currently being used in at least one graduate student’s research at the University of Miami. The research cruise for this project was part of a graduate-led seminar series at the University of California, San Diego, and has produced two publications, one published in the Frontiers for Young Minds (aimed at presenting science to kids) titled “All Aboard! Behind the Scenes of a Scientific Research Cruise” and the other published in Oceanography titled “The Ocean as a Classroom: Considering the Roles of Equity, Diversity, and Justice in Oceanographic Knowledge Production to Promote Accessibility for Future Generations”. Overall, the work has resulted in a dynamic group of students and scientists working on the project and engaging with children and potentially future scientists.

 

Last Modified: 04/24/2025
Modified by: Kaycie Brooke Lanpher