Where are you from, and what is your role in Extreme 2003?

I am a graduate student working in the Geological Sciences Department at Arizona State University. On this cruise, I will be using an ion chromatograph on the ship to analyze samples of hydrothermal fluid and seawater collected during Alvin dives. I will be analyzing the samples for magnesium, calcium, potassium, ammonium, and sodium while on the ship. I will also be working with the device that takes the fluid samples, the Sipper, to make sure that it is working properly. I am also going to be busy getting our experiments ready for deployment on the seafloor and preserving fluid and solid (rocks) samples for further analysis back on shore.

What questions are you trying to answer and why?

Our group at ASU, in collaboration with Dr. Cary's group, is interested in how new hydrothermal chimneys grow, and more specifically, what are some of the environmental conditions within a new chimney that influence how that chimney is colonized by microbes? In order to answer this, we collect samples of new chimneys and the fluids that are in and around them, as well as do some experiments on the seafloor. We perform experiments by using devices called microcosms that are designed to hold minerals and be put over a hydrothermal vent for a couple of days and then collected. By controlling the type of minerals in the environment, we are able to control some parts of the environment that the chimney grows in and that the microbes live in. Our group at ASU examines the fluid samples and samples of chimney, and Dr. Cary's group at the University of Delaware examines the samples to see what kinds of microbes were living there. Then we can see what kinds of microbes like different types of environmental conditions, and what types of microbial life are the first to colonize new chimneys on the ocean floor. We can also learn how the actions of microbes alter their own environment and change how hydrothermal chimneys form.

Why is this research important? What are the benefits?

I think that the main reason that this type of research is important is that it can begin to tell us how microbes affect the environment they live in, and how the environment affects them. By looking at a dynamic environment such as seafloor hydrothermal chimneys, we can see how rapid changes in either the microbes or the chimneys affect the other, possibly providing us with clues as to how these two parts of the same system have evolved together over time.

What's your background and what lured you into marine science/education?

I got my B.S. in geology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and I am currently a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University in the Department of Geologic Sciences. I would have to say the main thing that has lured me into marine research is the interdisciplinary nature of my work and the work within my research group concerning seafloor hydrothermal systems. The interaction of scientists from different fields interested in the same environment provides an exciting and rewarding environment to work in.