{"id":190762,"date":"2025-07-31T08:28:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T12:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/?p=190762"},"modified":"2025-07-31T08:28:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T12:28:16","slug":"extremely-driven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/publications\/aboard-gso\/extremely-driven\/","title":{"rendered":"Extremely Driven"},"content":{"rendered":"

From researching the South Atlantic to documenting severe marine heat waves to working on COP 30, Regina Rodrigues, Ph.D. \u201904, is determined to highlight the importance of the Global South.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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Apply site-wide<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

By Veronica M. Berounsky, Ph.D.\u201990<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For Regina Rodrigues, Ph.D. \u201904, <\/em><\/strong>the URI Graduate School of Oceanography wasn\u2019t part of her original plan, but it quickly became a place where her research found momentum. \u201cAt the time, my master\u2019s adviser in Brazil, at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo, was writing a proposal with GSO Professor Mark Wimbush,\u201d says Rodrigues. \u201cThe proposal was about the bifurcation of the South Equatorial Current in the South Atlantic. When it was not funded, I applied for a grant to the Brazilian National Science Foundation to do my Ph.D. abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, she arrived at GSO with Wimbush as her major professor and became part of a vibrant scientific community. Her dissertation on South Atlantic circulation filled a critical gap in our knowledge of an understudied area and led to multiple peer-reviewed publications. GSO Research Professor Randolph Watts, who served on her degree committee and co-authored a paper with her, recalled Rodrigues as \u201cprojecting a sense of quiet competence\u2014reliable and determined. Those fine characteristics have help propel her to a prominent position in physical oceanography in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Researcher and Writer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After earning her degree, Rodrigues returned to Brazil and continued to focus her work on South America and the South Atlantic. A prolific and well-respected scientist and writer, Rodrigues says \u201cmy research interests include understanding how tropical ocean basins interact and affect the extra-tropics leading to extreme events. Recently, I\u2019ve focused on understanding compound extreme events of drought, land and marine heatwaves, as well extremes of high acidity and low productivity in the oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodrigues also integrates the human dimension in her research. Last year she spoke as part of URI\u2019s Metcalf Institute lecture series titled \u201cImplications of Under-researching the South Atlantic for Water Scarcity in South America.\u201d She discussed the effects of warming temperatures and weather events on water resources. Previously she wrote a related article for Carbon Brief: Clear on Climate titled: \u201cHow the South Atlantic is overcoming its history as an under-researched ocean.\u201d She noted \u201cchanges in the South Atlantic driven by human-caused climate change can contribute to an increase in extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts and floods in South American and African countries, leading to water and food insecurity for millions of people and resulting in mass migration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond large-scale trends, she also writes about local, community-driven responses to climate change. In her 2022 article in PNAS Nexus,<\/em> \u201cSmall is beautiful: Climate change science as if people mattered,\u201d Rodrigues advocates for a \u201cbottom-up\u201d approach to climate mitigation strategies that empower people and help them to see the results of their activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Teacher and Mentor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rodrigues has taught and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students. Afonso Gon\u00e7alves Neto, Ph.D. \u201920, worked with Rodrigues as an undergraduate research assistant and researcher as part of the Brazilian Research Network on Climate Change. When he wanted to pursue his Ph.D., Rodrigues encouraged him to go to GSO. \u201cI learned a lot from the physical oceanography faculty, who were not only very knowledgeable but also respectful and patient,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a great environment, and I enjoyed my time in Rhode Island. These are essential factors to consider when applying for a Ph.D.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Gon\u00e7alves Neto finished his doctorate, Rodrigues had a grant from the European Commission Horizon 2020 Program for research on marine heatwaves and their impacts on marine ecosystems in the South Atlantic, so Gon\u00e7alves Neto returned to Brazil to be her post-doctoral researcher. Although Gon\u00e7alves Neto has since moved on to other positions, their work together resulted in two recent publications in the journal Nature Communications. In one, they provided data to show that an extreme marine heat wave was the cause of a severe 2020 coral bleaching event off the Brazilian coast. In the other, they documented that the frequency and intensity of triple compound events\u2014marine heat waves, high acidity and low chlorophyll\u2014have increased dramatically over the past two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what she accomplishes as a Brazilian researcher who chose to live and work in Brazil is remarkable,\u201d says Gon\u00e7alves Neto. \u201cShe publishes high-quality research papers, is an editor for Communications Earth & Environment,<\/em> does an amazing job behind the scenes with World Climate Research Program and still teaches and advises undergraduate and graduate students. She is probably the most relevant Brazilian physical oceanographer nowadays, while still working in Brazil, researching the South Atlantic and strongly advocating for climate justice and for the development of research and climate mitigation and adaptation in the Global South. I feel very, very lucky to have had the chance to learn from her!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Innovator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As an associate professor of physical oceanography and climate at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Rodrigues is heading the development of the new \u201cInstitute for Climate Change.\u201d \u201cThe university has expertise in several areas, ranging from renewable energy (engineering departments) to climate justice (social sciences),\u201d she says. \u201cThe idea is to develop real interdisciplinary research under the new institute and make it meaningful to society, to support mitigation and adaptation policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Advocate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While studying at GSO, Rodrigues realized how much funding for oceanography was linked to geopolitics. \u201cSince the South Atlantic has historically been considered less geopolitically and economically important, it has not been the focus of oceanographic research,\u201d she says. \u201cMoreover, the ocean is flanked by low- to middle-income countries that still struggle to fund the high costs of oceanographic research. Yet, the South Atlantic plays a crucial role in the global climate. It is a key part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Warm near-surface currents are shown in red, and cold deep currents are in blue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Rodrigues strives to overcome these funding obstacles and also bring attention to the importance of better understanding the oceanography of this area and its implications. She is involved with the South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (SAMOC) initiative, a group dedicated to further understanding of the role of the South Atlantic Ocean in the MOC system and the establishment of an observing system to document the circulation. As she noted in the Carbon Brief article, \u201cthe success of the SAMOC initiative can be explained by its community, which is driven by a shared vision, well-defined goals and a grassroots sharing of resources. This allowed the equal participation of scientists from the global south and north.\u201d Rodrigues is the editor of a special collection on ocean science in the South Atlantic published in 2022 by the journal Communications Earth & Environment and is the co-chair of the World Climate Research Program Lighthouse Activity \u201cMy Climate Risk,\u201d which is charged with developing a framework to construct climate information involving local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Organizer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rodrigues will get a boost towards better understanding the South Atlantic in November when the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which includes the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 30), takes place in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil. This will be the first time a major climate conference will be held in an Amazonian city. The timing and circumstances are perfect for Rodrigues as it provides an opportunity to highlight the lessons learned from research in the South Atlantic. As one of the organizers, Rodrigues says she is working hard to \u201cmake science and people at the center of COP30 with less lobbying from fossil fuel industry. But this is not an easy task.\u201d She also would like to see more of the word \u201coceans\u201d in the conference documents. \u201cOceans are essential for mitigation and adaptation, yet they are almost completely ignored in the previous negotiations,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Rodrigues helping shape the agenda and conference reports, that oversight is unlikely to persist.\u2002<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Veronica M. Berounsky, Ph.D.\u201990 For Regina Rodrigues, Ph.D. \u201904, the URI Graduate School of Oceanography wasn\u2019t part of her original plan, but it quickly became a place where her research found momentum. \u201cAt the time, my master\u2019s adviser in Brazil, at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo, was writing a proposal with GSO Professor Mark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,1987],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-190762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aboard-gso","category-publications"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190762"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190766,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190762\/revisions\/190766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}