60 Years of Groundbreaking Research
GSO has a long and proud history of innovative coastal and ocean research. For GSO’s 60th anniversary we also are highlighting this institution’s research: past, present, and what will continue into the future. GSO was established with a firm oceanographic foundation, and this compilation shows how far GSO has come in its 60 years as well as the multiple directions in research and technology that will continue in the future.
Presented here are GSO’s research themes identified by past and present faculty and scientists, as well as programs that are associated with each theme, and the GSO faculty who are now or have been working on each theme. The compilation—which will continue to grow throughout this 60th year—is intended to be inclusive and to indicate broad themes of research that GSO is known for in the wider community, not every individual research project.
For further information, you can search for the last names of the researchers on this list of GSO publications since 2010. You can also search by the last names of the researchers in the holdings of the Pell Library (which includes books, journal articles and other publications by any GSO researcher).
| Research Theme | Named programs | Related faculty, technical staff, MRS, including retired ones |
|---|---|---|
| Major ocean currents and global circulation: structure , dynamics, modeling (especially Gulf Stream) | Pegasus, Gulf Stream Saildrone Project | Rossby, Watts, Donohue, Palter, Wimbush |
| Atmosphere-ocean interactions from the small scale to hurricanes; atmospheric dynamics; tracer transport | Ginis, Hara, Duce, Heikes, Loose, Arimoto, Merrill, Palter | |
| Satellite oceanography: new insights into global patterns and processes | Cornillon, Yoder, Mouw | |
| Understanding climate change on planet Earth through geological time to the present | Kennett, Robinson, D’Hondt, Spivak, Corliss, Leinen | |
| Volcanoes and geological processes of the deep ocean floor and Earth’s interior | Larson, Sigurdsson, Fox, Carey, Ballard, Kelley, Shen, Kincaid, Pockalny, Schilling, Wei, Savage, K. Moran | |
| Ocean exploration and seafloor mapping | OET, NOAA, ISC | Ballard, Larson, Carey, Pockalny, Sigurdsson, D’Hondt, King, Walsh |
| Global biogeochemical cycling (especially nitrogen and carbon) and carbon export to ocean depths | JGOFS, EXPORTS, NSF | Kester, Bender, Omand, Rynearson, Menden-Deuer, Jenkins, Wishner, Pilson, D’Hondt, Spivak, Loose, Robinson, McMahon, B.Moran, Oviatt, S. Nixon, K. Johnson, Palter, Oldham |
| Climate change impacts on ocean systems and biology: global warming, ocean acidification, deoxygenation | Palter, Wishner, Loose, Campbell, Rynearson, Menden-Deuer, Spivak, Pilson, McMahon, Oldham, Robinson | |
| Polar oceanography, biology, and processes | MOSAIC | Campbell, Loose, Rynearson, Menden-Deuer, Watts, Donohue, E. Durbin, McMahon, Robinson, Oldham, Jenkins |
| Marine microbiology from fundamentals to the deep subsurface biosphere; symbioses; geobiology | Sieburth, D’Hondt, Smith, Spivak, Beinart, Rynearson, Menden-Deuer, Maranda, P. Johnson, Oldham | |
| Microbial loop | Sieburth, Swift, P. Johnson, Gifford, Menden-Deuer, Smith | |
| Chemical pollutants, metals, and plastics in the ocean and Bay | STEEP | Quinn, Lohmann, Oldham, Spivack, Pilson, Hinga, Walsh, S.Nixon |
| Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine: Currents, zooplankton, fisheries, food webs | GLOBEC | Collie, Gifford, E. Durbin, Campbell, Wishner, Sullivan-Watts, Hebert, Ullman, McMahon |
| Marine mammals especially ecology and conservation of an endangered species (North Atlantic Right whale); whale-zooplankton-current interactions; animal behavior | SCOPEX | Winn, Kenney, Wishner, E. Durbin, A. Durbin |
| Deep-sea and mesopelagic biology and exploration | OET, NOAA, ISC, NSF | Beinart, Phillips, Omand, Wishner, Carey, Chris Roman |
| Ocean optics, acoustics, thin layers, fine scale processes | DOSITS | Rossby, Palter, Omand, Hara, Chris Roman, Donaghay, Miller, Gifford, Rines, Menden-Deuer, Hanson, Farmer, Wimbush, Winn |
| Plankton and fish: ecology, distributions, biodiversity, physiology, adaptations, food webs, evolution, environmental interactions | Hargraves, Smayda, Swift, Rynearson, Menden-Deuer, Jenkins, Gifford, Sullivan-Watts, Wishner, E. Durbin, A. Durbin, Campbell, Yoder, Mouw, Post, Collie, Oviatt, Rines, Maranda, Sastry, Inomura, Klein-MacPhee, Donaghay, Specker, Napora, Hare, Costa-Pierce, Marshall, Sherman, Jeffries | |
| Coastal geology | McMaster, King, Kincaid, Walsh | |
| Benthic ecology from Narragansett Bay to ocean depths | Oviatt, S. Nixon, Beinart, Collie, Sastry, Carey, Wishner, Hinga, S. Pratt, Marshall | |
| Narragansett Bay (NB) ecology, climate change, and human impacts (see below) | Sea Grant, RI C-Aim, CI | See below |
| NB: Long term time series: phytoplankton, fish, zooplankton, benthos, beach survey; harmful algal blooms, hypoxia; food web modeling | Smayda, Rynearson, Jeffries, Collie, McMaster, King, Walsh, Oviatt, Sullivan-Watts, Rines, Maranda, Klein-MacPhee, E. Durbin, A. Durbin, Beinart, Inomura, Rothstein, S. Pratt, Marshall, Mouw, Yoder, Saila, S. Nixon, Stouffle, Reed, Requintina | |
| NB: Nutrient cycles, currents | S. Nixon, Oviatt, Kincaid, Ullman, Oldham, Robinson, Stouffle, Reed, Requintina | |
| Local economic-environmental impacts and management: wind farm, NB parks, watershed, sewage, aquaculture, ballast water, biofouling | CRC | King, Charles Roman, S. Nixon, D. Nixon, Collie, Hare, Costa-Pierce, Oviatt, Kincaid, Rothstein, Specker, Maranda, Smith, Cygler, McCann, Lee |
| Regional and international fisheries research, modeling, and management | Sea Grant, CRC | Saila, Collie, Klein-MacPhee, Specker, Humphries, Oviatt, Walsh, Olson, Hare, Costa-Pierce, Sherman, Crawford, Lazar, Cygler. Marshall, S. Nixon |
| Coastal resilience, planning and management | CRC | Rubinoff, Crean, Gaines, Kotowicz, Ricci, Ginis, Walsh |
| Socio-econonic aspects and analysis of coastal and marine systems | CRC | Torell, McCann, Kotowicz, Robadue, Freeman, Kent, Ricci, Bowen. Lee |
| Marine spatial planning and Ocean Multi-Use | CRC | McCann, Kotowicz, Freeman, Walsh |
| Geoheritage | CRC, OET | Gaines, Walsh |
| Coastal and Ocean Governance and Policy | CRC | Olsen, McCann, Kent, Robadue, Ricci, Torell, Kotoqicz, Freeman, Crean, Rubinoff, Cygler, Gaines |
| Widely-used new technology developed at GSO (see below) | See below | |
| ROV development and use | OET, NOAA | Ballard, Chris Roman, Zhou, Soule |
| Telepresence | OET, ISC, NOAA, NSF | Ballard |
| Rafos floats | Rossby | |
| PIEs | Watts | |
| Carbon cycle chemistry measurements | K. Johnson, Sieburth, Spivak | |
| MERL mesocosm array and experiments | MERL | Oviatt, Pilson, S. Nixon, Sullivan-Watts, Hinga, Doering |
| Shallow water mesocosm array and experiments | S. Nixon, Oviatt, Granger, B.Buckley, Stouffle, Reed, Requintina | |
| Deep-sea profilers, sensors, floats, samplers | Chris Roman, Hanson, Omand, Phillips, Beinart, Miller, Uffelen, Grilli, Kester, Donaghay, Oldham |