/School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Marine Sciences

Research in Marine Sciences

The research being conducted at SoMAS seeks to understand the way our marine, atmospheric, and terrestrial environments function; as well as the impact of human interactions with these systems. These problems all require knowledge from multiple disciplines and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences encourages interdisciplinary research. Unlike many other places, we do not have traditional departments. What we do have is a large number of faculty and students who work together to better understand our planet.

Overview

One way of understanding the research that is done here at SoMAS is to look at the traditional scientific disciplines that our faculty came from. Clicking on any of these specific disciplines will provide a list of current SoMAS faculty and their research projects that uses the knowledge from these disciplines. You’ll notice that many faculty appear under more than one discipline and that is because most modern problems require interdisciplinary knowledge.

Biology

SoMAS faculty use their knowledge of biology in a variety of different ways from diseases affecting marine organisms, ecological and trophic interactions, processes affecting local fish and shellfish communities, and many others. More information on specific faculty research programs that utilize biology are below.

Researchers:

Allam, Aller J., Aller R., Cerrato, Collier, Frisk, Gobler, Pales-Espinosa, Peterson, Pochron, Taylor, Thorne, Warren

Chemistry

SoMAS faculty use their knowledge of chemistry in a variety of different ways from radio isotope analysis, chemical reactions that occur in the atmosphere and oceans, biogeochemical studies, and many others. More information on specific faculty research programs that utilize chemistry are below.

Researchers:

Aller J., Aller R., Beaupre, Black, Knopf, Mak, Shepson, Taylor, Volkenborn, Wehrmann, Zhu

Geology

SoMAS faculty use their knowledge of geology in a variety of different ways from studying paleoclimate issues, examining the influence of groundwater on coastal systems, and many others. More information on specific faculty research programs that utilize geology are below.

Researchers:

Aller J., Aller R., Black, Bokuniewicz, Wehrmann

Mathematics

SoMAS faculty use mathematics in a variety of different ways from modeling atmospheric and oceanic processes, statistical analysis of different data sets, and many others. More information on specific faculty research programs that utilize mathematics are below.

Researchers:

Chang, Khairoutdinov, Zhang

Physics

SoMAS faculty use their knowledge of physics in a variety of different ways from solving fluid dynamics problems, studying physical processes in the atmosphere, the development of remote sensing systems, and many others. More information on specific faculty research programs that utilize physics are below.

Researchers:

Chang, Knopf, Lwiza, Warren, Zhang

 

 

Integrated Programs

There are several research areas that significant numbers of SoMAS faculty work on. These research themes do not cover every single research project that occurs at SoMAS but they do represent several specialty areas where SoMAS researchers have significant expertise

Environmental Modeling and Prediction

Quantitative analysis of marine and atmospheric systems is an important part of SoMAS research. Our faculty are involved in a diversity of research efforts that employ modeling and other quantitative tools to better understand and predict oceanographic, atmospheric and ecological processes. By combining mathematical models and empirical data, SoMAS faculty gain insight into the causes and consequences of natural phenomena and human disturbances. Here are a few examples of current quantitative research at SoMAS:

  • Understanding the causes and consequences large-scale oceanographic phenomena
  • Role of oceanic processes on global carbon cycles
  • Evaluating mechanisms of climate change
  • Exploring the impact of physical circulation and oceanographic features on biological resources
  • Assessing anthropogenic impacts on food web dynamics
  • Predicting regional weather from meso-scale models

Researchers:

Bokuniewicz, Chang, Colle, Frisk, Lwiza, Peterson, Shepson, Zhang


Patterns and Impacts of Climate Change

Human activities have altered the Earth’s atmospheric composition and its land surface to a sufficient degree that world climates are likely changing as well. It is certainly no longer controversial that human activities have increased atmospheric greenhouse gases, pollutants, and aerosols; nor is it deniable the we have dramatically changed Earth’s vegetation and other landscape characteristics. Under these conditions, questions about how the world climate system and its natural variability interact with human forcings are major concerns to the society. Several scientists at SoMAS are carrying out research to quantify the human forcing of climate, to detect the signals and pattern of climate change, and to understand how the climate system works through numerical simulations. Other researchers are more focused on the impacts of climate change on Earth’s physical and biological regimes. Around the globe, shifting temperature, precipitation, and storm patterns are driving significant changes in continental runoff, coastal hydrology, and species abundance and distributions. Understanding the links between between natural variability, climate change, and human forcings are key to developing rational strategies for such environmental changes.

Researchers:

Black, Chang, Colle, Gobler, Knopf, Mak, Shepson, Taylor, Yager, Zhang


Environmental Health and Contaminants

The presence of chemicals and pathogens in the environment is of great concern to both ecosystem and human health, yet the source, fates, and effects of these contaminants are often not well known. In collaboration with each other and with colleagues in the Stony Brook Health Sciences Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Cornell’s Veterinary School, SoMAS faculty are actively investigating these and other environmental health issues:

  • Pathology and parisitology of marine fish and shellfish
  • Sources and assessment of sediment toxicity
  • Fates and effects of endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environments
  • Impact of groundwater discharges on coastal water quality
  • Bioavailability, food chain transfer and effects of contaminants in marine invertebrates and fish

Researchers:

Allam, Aller J., Bokuniewicz, Gobler, Knopf, Lwiza, Pochron, Taylor, Zhu


Conservation and Management of Natural Resources

Humans have widespread effects on marine environments, ranging from the indirect effects of land-use on coastal water quality, to the direct effects of exploitation. SoMAS faculty are interested in gaining a better understanding these effects and in trying to develop improved management policies. Research interests include identifying the causes and effects of brown tides, understanding shellfish dynamics, exploring causes of disease outbreaks, assessing how aquatic organisms interact with toxic chemicals in their environment, establishing marine wilderness areas, and identifying the evolutionary and ecological effects of fisheries. These efforts involve close collaboration with state and federal management agencies, such as the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

Researchers:

Allam, Collier, Frisk, Gobler, Peterson, Thorne, Warren


Biogeochemical Transformation of Energy and Elements

Anthropogenic alteration of biogeochemical processes such as carbon and nitrogen cycling is thought to be causing a variety of changes to Earth’s biosphere. Faculty at SoMAS are working both on projects designed to produce a mechanistic understanding of how energy and nutrients are transformed from one form to another as they pass through marine ecosystems, and on using that new information to discover approaches to mitigate the pressing environmental problems that result from human activities. These projects include studies of the sources, transformations, fates, and fluxes of various organic and inorganic compounds in both planktonic and benthic systems, as well as studies of the relationships between the genetic and physiological diversity of marine microorganisms and the physical and biological processes that structure their habitats, including food web interactions. These efforts are focused at scales ranging from the water quality of a local embayments over seasons and years, to changes in global climate over years and decades.

Researchers:

Aller J., Aller R., Beaupre, Black, Collier, Taylor, Volkenborn, Wehrmann, Zhu

 

 

Traditional Disciplines

While we do not have strict disciplinary boundaries at SoMAS, for many students and researchers the traditional research areas of marine, atmospheric and environmental science may be useful in understanding the research that occurs here.

 

Biological Oceanography and Marine Biology

Biological Oceanographers are interested in developing a better understanding of how living things influence and are influenced by the structure and function of marine systems. At Stony Brook, Biological Oceanographers and Marine Biologists often collaborate closely with their colleagues trained in the other oceanographic disciplines and with atmospheric scientists as they study a variety of organisms including viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton, benthic animals, and fish.

Researchers:

Allam, Aller J., Aller R., Collier, Frisk, Gobler, Peterson, Taylor, Volkenborn, Warren


Chemical Oceanography

Chemical oceanographers seek to understand how the ocean functions as a chemical system and how oceanic biological, geological and chemical processes control the chemistry of seawater and sediments. Indeed, many faculty at SoMAS study the interactions of biology, chemistry and geology in the oceans and thus work in an area termed ‘biogeochemistry’. As this term implies, chemical oceanographers often collaborate with biological and geological oceanographers in studying broad, multidisciplinary areas such as the ocean carbon cycle. Chemical oceanographers at SoMAS also study the distribution and fates of a wide range of chemical species in the ocean, including trace metals, radionuclides, organic compounds and dissolved gases. Often these various chemical species are used as tracers to better understand the dynamics of oceanic processes.

Researchers:

Aller R., Beaupré, Black, Volkenborn, Wehrmann, Zhu


Geological Oceanography

The Marine Geology program at SoMAS has a strong focus on continental margin systems, from the slope and shelf up through the shoreline and coastal plain. These diverse settings are very dynamic and are where the interactions between land and sea and the influence of humans are greatest. Within this realm SoMAS geologists are investigating fundamental processes that control changes in our shorelines, seafloor, and coastal groundwaters, particularly as related to anthropogenic forcings and future impacts under global climate change. Together with other researchers in SoMAS, interdisciplinary questions centered about coastal dynamics, benthic processes and resources, sea-level rise, and continental margin development comprise some of the major research topics on which we focus.

Researchers:

Aller R., Black, Bokuniewicz, Wehrmann


Physical Oceanography

Research in physical oceanography deals with some of the most challenging problems in classical physics and fluid dynamics. With improved observing tools, increased computing power, and new analytical understanding, this field is at a stage of rapid evolution. Tools of trade include space satellites, numerical modeling, satellite-tracked buoys, and ships. Major cooperative research efforts are dramatically changing our understanding of the dynamics of the and atmosphere-ocean coupling. The results of these studies have impacts on a yet broader range of oceanic, geological, chemical, biological, engineering, and societal problems, e.g., coastal and estuarine dynamics in the Hudson River, Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, Santa Barbara Channel, and mid-Atlantic Bight.

Researchers:

Lwiza, McSweeney, Warren, Wolfe

 

Regional Research

Great South Bay Ecosystem Study

Great South Bay is a shallow, well-mixed, lagoonal system on the south shore of Long Island, NY. Known in the past for its extensive finfish (menhaden, winter flounder, and many other species) and shellfish (hard clam, oyster) populations, along with its extensive eelgrass beds that served as spawning and nursery areas, production of commercial and recreational resources has been in decline for decades.  SoMAS faculty are continuously conducting research in the bay, including Dr. Charles Flagg’s study on Superstorm Sandy’s Breach at Old Inlet.

Shinnecock Bay Restoration Project

In response to deteriorating environmental conditions in Shinnecock Bay on Long Island, faculty at SoMAS founded the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program (ShiRP) to restore the health of this vital ecosystem. The goal of ShiRP is to use science, outreach, and partnerships to restore the water quality and fisheries of Shinnecock Bay.

Stony Brook Storm Surge Research Group

The Stony Brook Storm Surge Research Group is developing a real-time weather and ocean storm surge prediction system which can be used for a variety of purposes. Such uses include hurricane and nor ‘easter flooding predictions and alerts, water quality and effluent dispersion, the feasibility of building storm surge barriers to protect the New York Metropolitan region from storm damage and coastal flooding in an era of global climate change and rising sea level.

LI Shore

This website maintains a database of meteorological and hydrological data, historical data, images, and written information generated by the system operator or received from other sources. In addition, this site provides in real time a selection of current weather and oceanic observations for use by the national and international community. In an effort to enhance science, experimental products are accessible on this server and care must be taken when using such products as they are intended for research use. Reasonable efforts are made to keep this site available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but timely delivery of data and products from this site through the Internet is not guaranteed.

Stony Brook University Research Connect

For the latest information about SoMAS research, including publications, please visit the Stony Brook University Research Connect portal.

Global Research


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