May SCCOOS PI Spotlight: Melissa Carter |
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Ocean Observing Tools: Shore Stations, Underwater Cameras, Scientific Diving, Plankton Microscopy, Data Management
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“I have dedicated my career to collecting long-term coastal observations and ensuring these data are freely available to managers, agencies, researchers, and the public.”
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SCCOOS PI Melissa (Mel) Carter was inspired to study water quality and environmental issues from her experiences in childhood, taking yearly canoeing trips on the Illinois River. Her family would have to travel hours to reach one of the few crystal-clear, blue rivers in Oklahoma. The rivers closer to her childhood home were cloudy, brown, and undesirable for swimming due to pollutants from near-river poultry ranchers and farmers; she witnessed firsthand how pollution impacts our ability to enjoy our natural resources. To investigate these kinds of environmental issues, Mel pursued a degree in chemistry, but fell in love with oceanography along the way!
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Images: Illinois River watershed facing pollution from poultry farms (photo: Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP); Mel Carter performing field work (image courtesy of Mel Carter)
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Mel earned a B.Sc. in Oceanography from Humboldt State University (Cal Poly Humboldt) and a M.Sc. in Marine Science from the University of San Diego, while also working as a NOAA/CSCO fellow, earning a certification in the identification and enumeration of harmful algae through the International Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Her current role is as a biological oceanographer, where her research with SCCOOS focuses on two main areas: a) Monitoring and understanding the occurrence, frequency and impact of harmful algal blooms, and b) Maintaining long-term ocean observations of temperature, salinity, nutrients and biological proxies to investigate climate change and human impacts on nearshore regions.
Having worked at Scripps Institution of Oceanography for over 25 years, Melissa Carter leads the Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring and Alert Program (HABMAP) at Scripps Pier alongside SCCOOS Director, Dr. Clarissa Anderson. The California HABMAP program is a partnership between SCCOOS and the Central and Northern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) that collects weekly phytoplankton and water quality data at nine locations along the California coast. These data provide information to help detect and predict harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs occur when certain types of plankton (e.g., Pseudo-nitzschia spp., Alexandrium spp.) grow in the ocean and produce toxins, such as domoic acid (the cause of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) and saxitoxins (the cause of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning); these neurotoxins can damage living marine resources, harm humans, animals, and ecosystem health, and in rare cases, cause life-threatening illness in humans.
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Domoic acid causes frequent large-scale marine mammal and seabird mortalities along California’s coasts due to its accumulation in prey fish (sardines/anchovies), particularly affecting California sea lions. Animals with domoic acid poisoning show neurological symptoms (lethargy, disorientation, seizures, etc.) and typically die without treatment or have to be euthanized due to severe neurological damage. In some cases, they are able to be successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wild. In addition to affecting marine mammals, the California Department of Public Health monitors and notifies the public of shellfish and seafood advisories due to HAB events. SCCOOS, CeNCOOS, and the CDPH, along with numerous other research institutions and marine wildlife rescue centers, collaborate to provide bimonthly hindcasts via the CA HAB Bulletin.
Mel Carter’s work collecting and processing plankton samples on Scripps Pier has been critical for monitoring the most recent (ongoing) HAB event in Southern California, which has led to over 1,500 marine mammal strandings and multiple public health advisories. Describing her diverse ocean observing roles, she notes, “I could be diving under piers in southern California to maintain our network of sensors, using a microscope to view and count phytoplankton, or sitting at a computer analyzing and archiving data.” Mel is a great example of the people behind the data points – it takes a village to collect, integrate, and deliver ocean observations that are essential to preserving the safety of our region.
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Images: Mel Carter all geared up for a dive to replace ocean observing infrastructure on Stearns Wharf; Illustration of the Shore Station ocean observing projects (Images courtesy of Mel Carter and the Coastal Ocean Observing Lab)
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Mel also leads the SCCOOS Automated Shore Stations Program (SASS) that provides current and long-term ocean observations of temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, pH, and oxygen concentrations at four pier-based coastal stations throughout the Southern California Bight (Scripps Pier, Newport Pier, Santa Monica, and Stearns Wharf); she often dives herself (pictured above) to install or service these vital pieces of equipment. These stations collect continuous data that are available in real-time and are one of the most frequently accessed SCCOOS data sets! Local coastal workers and ocean-lovers can check the ocean temperature and visibility before heading out to swim, fish, or enjoy a day on the water. Fisheries managers, state regulators, and ocean modelers all benefit from reliable water quality and ocean acidification/hypoxia (OAH) observations to understand the water conditions that impact our natural resources.
As well, these measurements are important for understanding and mitigating human impact on coastal ecosystems. Wastewater treatment centers, such as the Orange County Sanitation District rely on these measurements to monitor the environmental impact of the nutrients in their wastewater outflows:
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“As an ocean discharger, [The Orange County Sanitation District] has considerable interests in research and monitoring of the coastal waters of California [...] Since SCCOOS' inception in the early 2000s, OC San has collaborated with and benefited from their work. The real-time Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) and Ocean Acidification monitoring at Newport Beach Pier is an invaluable resource for filling knowledge gaps within our study area.”
- Lan C. Wiborg, Director of Environmental Services
Orange County Sanitation District
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While the real-time measurements help with current events, such as HABs and emergent water quality issues, the long-term shore station data also help us better understand and predict larger-scale patterns and change. The Manual Shore Station Program, led by Mel Carter and Reinhard Flick, collects daily temperature and salinity using manual collection methods at ten stations in CA. The La Jolla station holds the record for the longest, continuous ocean temperature and salinity program in the Pacific with 108 years of observations!
We rely on observations like these to safeguard our region’s public health, natural resources, and coastal vitality.
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Keep an eye out for next month's SCCOOS Spotlight to learn about another of our Principal Investigators and community data-users!
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Previous editions of SCCOOS Spotlight:
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