From Kris:

I am a newly appointed RI C-AIM Postdoctoral Fellow, but I started my time at URI in 2010 as a Cell and Molecular Biology doctoral student. My professional interests lie in the application of molecular biology techniques within an environmental context. During my doctorate, I was able to explore these interests in Dr. Bethany Jenkins’ lab. My research consisted of looking at the impacts of iron concentrations on the regulation of chloroplasts in diatom communities in marine ecosystems, including the Southern Ocean and Subarctic Pacific.

As an RI C-AIM postdoc, I will be working with Dr. Andrew Davies as part of the Narragansett Bay Ocean Observatory. Our goal is to deploy, maintain, and analyze data from autonomous buoy platforms within the Bay. Once deployed, these buoy platforms will allow for the collection of real-time physical and chemical measurements, as well as the collection of remotely triggered filtered and whole water samples. The data collected by these buoys will be accessible in near real-time to the community, allowing for increased ease of informed sampling within the Bay.

I will also be working with biological samples collected from these buoy platforms, assessing phytoplankton and bacterial community composition to aid in modeling efforts to predict biological events within the Bay.

I am always open to questions and discussions about the sensor suites of the buoy platforms, or any other aspects of the Narragansett Bay Ocean Observatory. I look forward to working with the other members of the RI C-AIM community.