Where are you from, and what is your role in Extreme 2003?
I am president of the company Analytical Instrument Systems, Inc. (AIS), located in Flemington, New Jersey. I am also an adjunct associate professor in the College of Marine and Earth Studies at the University of Delaware.
As in previous expeditions, my role in the Extreme 2003 expedition is to insure that the new instrument designs developed by my company, AIS, allow real-time chemical data to be collected from the ocean floor. Collecting real-time data enables the scientists to observe how the chemistry is interacting with the biology in a particular area at a specific time. In the 1999 expedition at 9°N along the East Pacific Rise, I was assigned the first dive, the check-out dive, of Alvin (first dive in the series). On this dive, I became the first person to perform electrochemical experiments at the hydrothermal vents and the diffuse-flow sites. The excitement of those first electrochemical tests indicating hydrogen sulfide, iron sulfide, and other chemical species was most enlightening. The AIS Model DLK-SUB-1 was the first instrument to perform these real-time electrochemical measurements on the ocean floor.
We will be deploying a new DLK-SUB instrument on this trip allowing for long-term data collection at predetermined time intervals. This will be the first time this instrument will be used at the hydrothermal vent areas. This new instrument will give insight into the chemistry associated with particular biological habitats.
My other duties on this expedition are to help collect scientific data from hydrothermal vent sites and diffuse-flow areas where the tubeworms and other animals of the deep live. I will also be analyzing the electrochemical data generated on all of the Alvin dives which will assist in planning subsequent dives. The electrochemical data collected assists the biologists in understanding the unique relationship between the chemistry of these areas and how the surrounding biology interacts at these sites.
Also, being president of AIS, my mission is to observe the operation of the ship and its crew, the Alvin group, and the general scientific crew to see if there are innovations that can be made for future expeditions.
What questions are you trying to answer and why?
One of the questions trying to be answered is why the biology requires a specific type of chemistry to exist. What changes in this chemistry cause the animals to thrive on one hand and die on the other. Performing longer-term electrochemical tests will allow us to obseve the changes in chemistry and jhopefully find unique relationships between the biology and chemistry at these hydrothermal vent sites and the associated diffuse-flow areas.
Why is the research important?
Our research is important to understand the chemical processes which are in balance in nature and allow the unique organisms of the bottom of the ocean to exist. Understanding the chemistry of the vent areas and the chemistry that surrounds the unique animals that live there offer us insight on how they survive in such harsh extreme environments. This knowledge may give rise to new chemicals or biopharmaceutical compounds that could benefit mankind.
What's your background and what lured you into marine science/education?
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, a Master of Science degree in chemistry and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in analytical chemistry from Rutgers University. I am currently president of Analytical Instrument Systems, Inc., in Flemington, New Jersey, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Delaware College of Marine Studies. My major focus is to develop high-quality, compact, field-portable analytical instrumentation for use in environmental and oceanographic research. What got me into this business was observing the need for analytical instruments to be used at the source, thus allowing for more accurate and precise scientific measurements to be performed. The normal operating procedure is to collect water samples and analyze them later in the laboratory. The problem with this approach is that the water collected is not the same as it was when it was first collected, especially at the hydrothermal vent sites; samples change in chemical and biological makeup with changes in pressure and temperature. Our instruments have become invaluable in collecting chemical data at the hydrothermal vents.
For more information about other types of environmental and analytical instruments designed and manufactured at AIS, visit www.aishome.com or e-mail ais@aishome.com.
