(Photo credit: Brianne Lehan) | |
Field season is here! For many scientists here at the Center for Coastal Solutions, summer is prime time for our scientists to do field research outdoors across Florida, North America and internationally. Some of my best memories as a scientist are of being out on Sapelo Island, up to my waist in mud, working alongside my students and discovering fascinating things about marsh snails and plants.
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Can Dead Corals Bring New Life? | (Photo credit: Brianne Lehan) | |
Even in death, corals may play an important role in preserving life in the ocean. With support from a 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Award, UF Assistant Professor Andrew Altieri, Ph.D., will launch a new project to investigate the role of dead corals in the resilience of tropical coastal ecosystems and engage high school students, teachers, undergraduate, and graduate students through education, training and mentorship. The NSF Early Career Award, one of the most prestigious awards offered by the Foundation, provides five-years of support to tenure-track assistant professors to help them build a firm foundation as lifelong leaders in education and research in their fields.
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Scientists Develop Techniques for Restoring Dunes Faster | (Photo credit: Orlando Cordero) | |
Coastal dunes are one of the first lines of protection for communities and infrastructure on the coast in the face of extreme storm events, sea level rise and other effects of climate change. By adding nutrients to the soil, diversifying plant species and planting density, researchers from the Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS) found that dunes can revegetate and grow to maturity in about three months, a much faster rate than previously achieved.
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| Sydney Williams: Bridging the Science-Policy Gap in Aquaculture | (Photo credit: Hallie Fischman) | |
Congratulations to Sydney Williams, winner of an aquaculture fellowship from the Florida Sea Grant. With this support, Williams, a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering sciences, will help advance regulation and policy reform for seagrass and clam restoration aquaculture. This will involve working with aquaculturists, legislators, state agencies and stakeholders to develop regulatory guidelines for use in project planning and propose changes to rulemaking language to increase clarity around the development of restoration projects.
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| Dutch Student Alex van Pelt Enjoys Field Work in Florida | (Photo credit: Megan Sam) | |
Undergraduate student Alex van Pelt is inspired by biology at every scale, from cells to whole ecosystems, to find innovative solutions for a more circular economy. As a summer intern at the CCS, van Pelt works alongside researchers in the field and builds research skills as she gets set to close her chapter as an undergraduate student.
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| Codefest to Build Next Gen Ocean Models | (Photo credit: Megan Sam) | |
The CCS technical team took part in the four-day University of Florida Open Hackathon, hosted in collaboration with OpenACC Organization, in May to write code for a new coastal and ocean model that can run simulations of coastal and oceanic processes much faster and more accurately than currently possible. During the codefest, Ron Fick, Ph.D., Jose Gonzalez Ondina, Ph.D., and Collin Ortals, Ph.D., worked with senior programmers from NVIDIA, an industry leader in accelerated computing and artificial intelligence, to optimize the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), a tool used globally to simulate and predict oceanic processes that can be applied in coasts, estuaries and oceans.
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Fifth Generation Floridian Kevin Taylor Joins CCS Advisory Board | |
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This month’s SeaSquad features an interview with our newest advisory board member, Kevin Taylor, who shares his family’s deep roots in The Sunshine State, his long-standing love for the University of Florida, why the CCS’ mission matters, and what the perfect day in Florida looks like to him.
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Empowering Coastal Communities with Decision Aids | (Photo credit: Nicholas Cole) | |
University of Florida engineering alumni gathered at a Gator Nation event in Jupiter to hear how the CCS is working to unlock Florida’s potential to quickly implement data-driven and cost-effective actions to improve water quality statewide through its decision support system. This integrated system identifies root causes of water quality issues and simulates solutions using accelerated computing power to deliver solutions to decision makers.
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