Intercampus Marine Science Graduate Program

Join us for our Seaside Market Lunch at the Grove! Questions? Email dining@umassd.edu or connect with us on social @UMassDEats

The Grove

Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences "Uncovering the history of the Bering Land Bridge using the Arctic Ocean's nitrogen cycle" Jesse Farmer, Assistant Professor in the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston Wednesday, October 23, 2024 12:30-1:30pm SMAST E 101-102 and via Zoom Abstract: Beringia, the region between the Lena River in northeastern Russia and the Mackenzie River in northwestern North America, has experienced profound changes in relative sea level that fundamentally reshaped Northern Hemisphere terrestrial and ocean connections. Today, Beringia centers on the Bering Strait, a ~50 m deep gateway that links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via the Arctic Ocean. This modern arrangement has been ephemeral over recent Earth history, with a ~1000 km-wide land bridge at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~20,000 years ago) providing the long-proposed route by which humans first migrated to North America. However, direct information on past Beringian sea level has only existed for times after the LGM. This greatly limits our knowledge of the timing of and environmental context for past migrations, including that of our human ancestors. Here I will present new reconstructions of past Bering Strait flooding using foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes to trace the fingerprint of Pacific nitrogen input into the Arctic Ocean. Results show that the Bering Strait was flooded immediately prior to the LGM and date the formation of the Bering Land Bridge to ~36,000 years ago. These results require much higher global mean sea level prior to the LGM than previously thought, and limit the duration over which the land bridge was available for terrestrial migrations. Corroborating evidence for a late land bridge formation from terrestrial paleogenomics will be presented. Finally, I will discuss preliminary results from an extension of the nitrogen isotope approach back to ~130,000 years ago. ---------------------------------------------------- For additional information, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu

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Department of Fisheries Oceanography "Linking Knowledge to Action for Climate Ready and Resilient fisheries the Gulf of Maine" Jocelyn Runnebaum, Marine Scientist, The Nature Conservancy Wednesday, October 23, 2024 3pm-4pm SMAST E 101-102 and via Zoom Abstract: Climate change is already and will continue to have far-reaching and multiscale impacts on fisheries, fisheries management, and fishing communities in the Gulf of Maine. Ocean temperatures are warming two to three times faster than the average global rate and commercial landings are near the lowest levels observed for this ecosystem, with several species experiencing historically low population levels. To understand New England harvester's perceptions of the impacts of climate change on themselves, their communities, the ecosystem, and commercially important species in the region we conducted a survey from Maine to Connecticut in 2020. We found that respondents wanted climate change and harvester observations to be considered in fisheries management. We also found that those that believe in climate change see themselves as more vulnerable to its impacts. Calls for fisheries to be climate-ready and climate-resilient have become almost ubiquitous across the fishery management system to with an aim to improve the adaptive capacity of harvesters and to sustain the resilience of changing ecosystems. However, it seems like the scientific information on climate change is not making its way into the fisheries management process in a timely manner. Through an evaluation of the fisheries management process, it is possible to identify how to link knowledge to action for achieving climate ready fisheries management. This includes understanding where specific onramps for climate information and place-based knowledge are in the current process and specific actions at each onramp for how to utilize climate and ecosystem information and diverse knowledge types to inform decision making. This will be a personal, policy, and scientific journey on striving for meaningful outcomes for the Gulf of Maine. For additional information, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu

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Speaker: Jim Lynch, WHOI Date: Thursday, October 17, 2024 Time: 2pm Location: TXT 105, CSCDR Abstract: If someone told you that our universe is digital, holographic, and stroboscopic; that time has three dimensions; that the basic structure of spacetime is the Higgs field (which also produces the famous Higgs boson); and that we live in a forward/backward universe, you'd almost certainly say "You're crazy!" But I'm pretty sure I can show some convincing arguments that these crazy assertions are in fact true. Whether or not you believe me when the talk is over, I think I can assure you of an interesting trip to some of the wilder shores of cosmology and theoretical physics. Biography: Dr. James Lynch obtained his BS in Physics from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1972 and his PhD in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978. He currently holds the position of Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Dr. Lynch is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), former Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, and current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. He is recipient of the Walter Munk Award (2009), the Oceanic Engineering Society Emeritus Award (2019), and the ASA Gold Medal (2021). His primary hobby is amateur astronomy, and he is the current president of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society. He is also a (returning) amateur pianist relearning Chopin's A-flat Ballade and Mozart's K332 Sonata, among many others. He travels through life accompanied at home by his beautiful wife Christine and two great rescue cats, Gingi and Gretr.

Textiles Building 105

Grab a snack as you learn about climate change, sustainability, and everything in between through the Sustainability Movie Series here on campus held by the Office of Campus Sustainability. We will be joined by a representative of Oceana, an international organization that works to protect and restore the world's oceans. Movie Synopsis: Introduced by actor and environmentalist Ted Danson, the documentary film Were All Plastic People Now investigates the hidden story of plastic and its effects on human health. In an era of throw-away ease, convenience has cost us our well-being. Were All Plastic People Now asks the question, how much evidence do we need before we decide to take action? Oceana Website: https://oceana.org/ Sticker(s) Available: Sustainability Movie Series & Sustainability Speaker Series

Angus Bailey Auditorium

Grab a snack as you learn about climate change, sustainability, and everything in between through the Sustainability Movie Series here on campus held by the Office of Campus Sustainability. We will be joined by a representative of Oceana, an international organization that works to protect and restore the world's oceans. Movie Synopsis: Introduced by actor and environmentalist Ted Danson, the documentary film "We're All Plastic People Now" investigates the hidden story of plastic and its effects on human health. In an era of throw-away ease, convenience has cost us our well-being. "We're All Plastic People Now" asks the question, how much evidence do we need before we decide to take action? Oceana Website: https://oceana.org/ Sticker(s) Available: Sustainability Movie Series & Sustainability Speaker Series

Main Auditorium (Angus Bailey Auditorium)