The Dynamic EarthUC Irvine Department of Earth System Science Volume 2 Issue 2 Winter 2012

El Niño and La Niña change our weather.

Coastal erosion is changing our beaches.

Technology has changed, so we can monitor cryospheric dynamics.

We can measure changes in the air, land, ocean and ice.

You should also know that the Earth System Science undergraduate degrees are changing!

Beginning in the Spring, 2012 quarter, the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree will be streamlined.

Also, ESS originally had two degrees with very similar names. To better reflect the content of each degree, we’re updating the names.

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree will be called Earth System Science. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree will be called Environmental Science.

Wondering about the difference? Students in Earth System Science focus on the scientific aspects of

environmental problems. Students in Environmental Science focus on the scientific,

socioeconomic and policy aspects of environmental problems.

If you have questions about these changes please contact us at ugrads@ess.uci.edu

or visit us online at http://ess.uci.edu/undergrad

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W alk into a lab on any given day in ESS, and you will see people at varying levels in their career, doing science. In fact, one of the things that makes ESS dynamic is the combination of undergrads, grad students, researchers, postdocs, and faculty. This allows the department to train and inspire

future generations, while infusing ESS with the energy of discovery. We strive to provide a quality educational experience for undergraduate students, which is infused with opportunities for research, intellectual growth,

and scientific revelation. Our students attend classes in subjects like oceanography, the atmosphere, geology, local and regional environmental issues, global climate change and impacts, remote sensing, and sustainability. Beginning in the Spring, 2012 quarter, the Earth System Science undergraduate curriculum and degree requirements will be updated. This will facilitate the current, engaging, and rigorous Earth System Science (ESS) training program for undergraduate students. Years from now, these students will be making discoveries, creating new scientific understanding, and making policy.

The future begins today…J. Keith MooreVice Chair of Undergraduate Studies, and Professor of Earth System Science

New this issue: Enhanced Content Online!There are so many interesting things happening in ESS that it’s sometimes difficult to fit it all into the pages of The Dynamic Earth. Starting this issue, we will be using the ESS website to publish enhanced newsletter content! To see the current issue, you can always visit http://ess.uci.edu/newsletter . Now, when you see a symbol like this in the print version:

That means you can read more online.

This funny looking image is called a QR Code. QR is abbreviated from Quick Response. It is, essentially, a barcode that can be read by mobile devices. To use a QR code, you’ll need a reader. Search for QR reader in your favorite app store.

In this issueNew this issue: Enhanced Content Online ............. 2Featured Dynamics: ............................................... 3 Dynamical keys to climate variabilityLively Learning ........................................................ 4Science at Sea ........................................................ 5Dynamic Science - ...............................................6-7 In the Lab with UndergradsAt the Core... Publication Highlight ........................ 8Graduate Students Unplugged ..........................9-10What on Earth? ...................................... Back Cover

ESS HighlightsGrad Student: Colene Haffke .................................. 4Postdoctoral Scholar: Gretchen Keppel-Aleks ........ 5Research Staff: Cyril McCormick ............................. 9Faculty: Isabella Velicogna ...................................... 9

ContributorsAdam Martiny, Alice Kim, Alysha Coppola, Ben Fuller, Brendan Rogers, Colene Haffke, Cyril McCormick, Danielle Glynn, George Azzari, Gretchen Keppel-Aleks, Isabella Velicogna, Jack Pan, Jin-Yi Yu, John Southon, Kathe Todd-Brown, Mariela Ruacho, Rachael Tan, and Simon FahrniDesign and Editor: Caryn Neiswender

Featured Dynamics: Dynamical keys to climate variabilityThe oceans offer climate scientists something they always wished for: the ability to predict climate variations months, years, and even decades ahead of time. While the atmosphere is known to have a relatively short memory of several days to weeks, the oceans are believed to be capable of remembering what has happened in the atmosphere weeks, years, decades, and even centuries in the past. Fluctuations in the atmosphere leave footprints in the oceans through the exchanges of heat, momentum, and fresh water at the ocean surface. Over time these footprints expand to influence depths well below the surface and these footprints can emerge out of the ocean at later times to affect the atmosphere and lead to climate variations. If we understand the dynamical keys to how the atmosphere and oceans interact and where the ocean memory resides, we will

be able to make successful long-term climate predictions.Professor Jin-Yi Yu’s research group focuses on understanding and predicting climate variations on interannual to decadal time scales resulting from atmosphere-ocean interactions in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, where two important climate phenomena reside: El Niño and the Asian-Australian monsoons. Together these two phenomena have the ability to substantially impact large portions of the population in Asia, Australia and North and South America. They use statistical analysis methods and numerical models of the climate system running on supercomputers to understand how the oceans control the intensity and frequency of occurrence of El Niño and abnormal monsoon activity. Their goal is to develop dynamical and statistical methods to predict these two influential climate phenomena seasons to decades ahead of the time.Professor Yu’s recent efforts have concentrated on the changing behavior of El Niño, which has occurred more frequently since the beginning of the twenty-first century and whose central location has moved from the eastern Pacific to the central Pacific. He terms this new type of El Niño the Central-Pacific El Niño to differentiate it from the traditional type of Eastern-Pacific El Niño. He believes this new type of El Niño has an underlying dynamic that is distinct from the traditional El Niño and that it affects global climate in new ways. By analyzing climate data and by

conducting climate model experiments on supercomputers, Professor Yu’s research group is working to isolate the dynamical keys to explain and to predict this emerging change in the behavior of El Niño, which may be a consequence of global warming. A more complete understanding of these dynamical keys will lead to increases in the accuracy of predictions of El Niño behavior and its impacts.

The windward side of Kanton Island, American Samoa. Copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

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Lively Learning

E arth System Science contributes to our scientific understanding of the Earth as a coupled system, through both research and education. Undergraduate training in ESS includes total enrollmentof more than 600 in departmental courses, and more than 125 undergraduate students working toward a

Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree from ESS. Just imagine the impact ESS can make on future generations! Beginning this issue, we will be highlighting something about our undergraduate programs in each newsletter. This might be a specific aspect of the program (did you know we partner with CalTeach to prepare future educators?), a specific course (our field methods course includes some very interesting final projects), or highlighting one of our outstanding students! We hope you enjoy this picture of the ESS undergraduate experience at UC Irvine.

KUCI. Student Government. Research in ESS. Leading the Earth System Science Club. Building Ecojars. Is there anything Jack Pan hasn’t done? Currently a senior in the Earth and Environmental Science (B.S.) program, Jack has loved all his Earth System Science courses. His favorite class would have to be EarthSS 134: GIS for Environmental Science (Winter, 2012). In this course, Jack is learning how to represent numerical data in a figure. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” For the last two years, Jack worked on a project investigating the nitrogen cycle of Orange Pitcher Plants. These plants are carnivorous and they capture insects through the pitcher at the tip of each leaf. This causes their nutrient uptake pathway to be very different from normal plants. His lab work includes

growing and feeding the plants in a greenhouse, and also processing and analyzing stable isotope samples.If he could share one tip with his fellow UC Irvine undergrads, it would be to keep exploring Orange County (OC)! There are a lot of exciting places in OC. It’s very close to the beach, and yet OC is like having the metropolitan lifestyle without the busyness, distraction, and stress. Three of Jack’s favorite casual “foodie” places are Itriya Café (a very artistic spaghetti restaurant located in Diamond Jamboree Center), Native Foods Café located in The District of Tustin (very good vegan dishes), and Z-Pizza (with all their organic ingredients makes very special toppings).

W hen atmospheric circulation patterns collide, dynamic storms and weather emerge. In the open sea, these collisions exert a major influence on the ocean. Colene Haffke (Graduate Student) studies

the short and long term variability of the South Pacific Convergence Zone to better understand how and why it forms. One of this year’s Graduate Student Representatives, Colene also enjoys playing volleyball (she has more than a decade of experience), gardening, and watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS.

Global Passages of Scientists (GPS)Originally from Nebraska, Colene has traveled to Ireland, where she enjoyed the amazing Cliffs of Moher.

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Gretchen Keppel-Aleks (Postdoctoral Scholar) uses observations and models to understand carbon exchange between the atmosphere, land, biosphere, and oceans. A member of Jim Randerson’s Research Group, Gretchen works to improve flux estimates of CO2 in two ways. First, by comparing

observed to modeled CO2 levels, she can determine how well the model captures reality. This information informs improved models of CO2 patterns of variability. Second, Gretchen uses flux data and satellite observations to improve models of gross photosynthesis and respiration for global ecosystems. Prior to starting her postdoc, Gretchen spent five weeks biking and hiking through the Cascades and Rocky Mountains. She biked from Seattle up to Jasper before hopping on a Greyhound back to the LA area.

Global Passages of Scientists (GPS)While completing her studies at Caltech, Gretchen visited Park Falls in northern Wisconsin. They used a Fourier transform spectrometer inside a converted shipping container (pictured right), sitting in the middle of a field, that made remote sensing observations of atmospheric CO2. Generally, the measurements were automated, but sometimes things broke, and when they did it was usually during cold, icy winters. Gretchen would head out there in the snow to fix things – this was a pretty good reality check for a grad student living in southern California.

Climate research requires accurate data about the oceans

T he U.S. Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography program executes research cruises to collect water samples, which are then measured, analyzed and made available to the scientific community. By collecting data on these repeated cruise tracks around the world, CLIVAR aims to describe the physical

processes responsible for climate variability, improve oceanic models with these measurements, and predict the response of the climate system by detecting the anthropogenic modification of the oceans. Alysha Coppola (Graduate Student, Druffel Group) had the opportunity to be apart of one of the cruises last Fall to collect samples for her dissertation. The cruise track was from 30oS, leaving from Cape Town to Rio de Janerio. The Druffel Group was specifically interested in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and black carbon (BC) in the ocean. They had the exciting opportunity to use these measurements to understand the complexities of DOC. Prior to this cruise, only 5 locations had been measured for DOC in the ocean – this cruise provided the first 3 profiles for the South Atlantic! Their mission was to collect samples that

will help to explain why DOC in the ocean is cycled on multi-millennial time scales, surviving through several ocean circulation cycles.Alysha arrived in Cape Town excited with the prospect of her first cruise. She spent the first few days setting up the supplies needed to collect seawater for Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Black Carbon (BC). After spending a few days in beautiful Cape Town they were off on an amazing voyage of discovery. Three days out of port they had to turn back without getting any samples yet. Alysha was so disappointed but it was better then getting stuck out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with only one working motor. Back in Cape Town there was one delay after another. Although Cape Town is beautiful and it was nice to take advantage of great hiking and sightseeing Alysha was very anxious to get on with the cruise. After all she was here to collect samples for her doctoral dissertation. Read more online at http://ess.uci.edu/newsletter/coppola

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N umbers can be very dry and visually uninteresting – particularly when they are characterizing the El Niño / La Niña weather system. In her project with Professor

Yu, Alice Kim makes these numbers come alive in a video simulation. It’s pretty amazing to see black and white numbers

turn into a short movie, with colors representing temperatures on a global scale. Alice first became interested in atmospheric chemistry in one of her Earth System Science Courses (EarthSS 55, taught by Gudrun Magnusdottir). The circulation patterns and the Hadley Cell fascinated her. Now, she is involved in a research project that characterizes the La Niña phenomenon.

One of the newest undergraduate researchers in ESS, Alice is learning much about weather, and MatLab!

Aquarium. Food Coloring. Plastic tubes. Plexiglass wall. Ruler. A lot of salt, and a lot of water! With just these pieces of equipment, Rachael Tan is researching

cryospheric changes that result from glacier melting. Originally envisioned by Yun Xu (Graduate Student in Earth System Science), this project involves characterizing and measuring a simulated plume of fresh water (i.e. glacier-melt) in a salt-water environment (i.e. ocean). This project is perfect for Rachael – it combines her love of the ocean with hands-on learning. She’s been involved in pretty much every aspect of the project, from designing the apparatus, to securing funding, to identifying just the right mix of salt and water, and ultimately to collecting data. Rachael’s project will inform a better understanding of cryospheric dynamics, and sea-level rise.

O ne of the most beautiful things about any tropical

reef is its coral. These living structures have such vibrant colors and interesting patterns. From a scientific perspective, coral can give us a vivid picture of past climates. Danielle Glynn works to enhance scientific understanding of oceanic carbon-14 levels using coral samples. For about a year and a half, Danielle has been working on coral samples from the Galapagos Islands and Palau Island, Indonesia. In a nutshell, she acidifies them, and cryogenically freezes down their gases to isolate their carbon. These samples are analyzed by members of the Druffel lab at the Keck Accelerator Mass Spectrometer for 14C analysis. Danielle’s project is producing interesting results. In fact, she will be traveling to Paris, France this summer to present her findings!

Dynamic Science...

W hen you walk into the room, you’re greeted with music playing in the background. Researchers, Graduate

Students, and Undergrads are working through protocols, collecting data, and making discoveries. Some of the equipment has been custom-fabricated, while other pieces of equipment cost literally millions of dollars. Safety gloves and goggles are standard issue, and an engaged mind is essential. This is no run-of-the-mill time and place, this is a cutting-edge lab in the Department of Earth System Science, and these students are engaged in research.

T he samples start as leaves, soil, or other organic

samples that can easily be seen. By the time

they reach Mariela Ruacho’s lab bench, the samples are tiny – refined powder. Mariela’s role in the lab is to prepare these organic samples for analysis of their radiocarbon (14C) content on UCI’s Accelerator Mass Spectrometer. 14C is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is mostly studied to determine the age of things. Mariela is involved in everything that goes on in the lab, including making glass tubing, weighing reagents and samples and managing and

discussing data. Mariela doesn’t get lost in the details though. She understands the importance of carbon to the environment – she knows she has an important role to play in the cutting-edge research that will eventually make a difference, e.g. in predicting the effects of climate change in the Arctic.

While the actual tasks involved in research can vary from lab to lab, the idea remains the same. Research is the process of actively answering a question. It could involve power tools, fire, ice, water, computer programming, measurement, and more. Unlike course-work in the sciences, research can take you to new places, and present new discoveries.

...In the Lab with Undergrads

I was pretty intimidated before I got into the

lab, particularly if I had questions for professors

or grad students. But now, this project is kind of an excuse – now I can ask

another question, to get the conversation started.

-Alice Kim

Working in a lab is very different. In the Chem Lab, they give you instructions,

whereas in research, you have to figure it out

yourself. You have to do a lot of research, to

make sure you have the right way to prepare your

sample. -Mariela Ruacho

I really feel like I have felt the most close to

science by doing this. It’s been fun, I’ve been able to meet a Ph.D. student, and gotten closer to my

professor. I have learned from them, and built

relationships.-Rachael Tan

Some days it’s just awesome, things just work perfectly. In research, you

get to learn things, and add to the knowledge of mankind. I’m thinking 20 years from now, someone might see my paper and

read it. They’ll think I’m a genius!

-Danielle Glynn

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At the core… Publication HighlightGlobal distribution and diversity of marine VerrucomicrobiaFreitas, S., Hatosy, S., Fuhrman, J. A., Huse, S. M., Mark Welch, D. B., Sogin, M. L., & Martiny, A. C. (2012). Global distribution and diversity of marine Verrucomicrobia. ISME Journal. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2012.3

T he ocean ecosystem is home to a wide variety of organisms. Some of these can be seen un-aided (i.e. dolphins), but most are invisible to the naked eye (i.e. microbes). The

“invisible” organisms exert significant influence over global biogeochemical cycles. Researchers are working to understand more fully what organisms exist in the ocean, and where they apply the greatest influence. In an article published in the ISME Journal, the Martiny Research Group characterized the global distribution and diversity of a specific group of microbes (Verrucomicrobia). The group based their study on samples collected off the Newport Beach Pier, alongside more than 500 globally distributed samples from the International Census of Marine Microbes (ICoMM). Based on these samples, they identified where the microbes exist geographically, their typical location in the ocean (i.e. near the surface, in the deep ocean, or in sediments), and how ocean conditions (i.e. temperature, salinity, circulation, depth) affect the proliferation of this lineage. To identify the specific microbes, the group used a process called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) followed by DNA sequencing and a detailed computational analysis. In the paper’s discussion, Sara Freitas (ESS Undergraduate Student, and lead author on the paper) concludes In this global study, we have shown that Verrucomicrobia is one of the more common phyla in the ocean. The phylum is nearly ubiquitous in the marine environment and is found in almost all marine environments across a range of environmental conditions.Further, we show that the phylum appears to consist of several ecologically distinct lineages that occupy unique environmental niches We hope that this can form the basis of more detailed studies in order to further define the biogeochemical role of Verrucomicrobia ecotypes.

I t takes a significant amount of equipment to do the cutting-edge work of Earth System Science. When one of the ESS faculty dreams up a new

type of instrument, or field equipment needs a bit of tweaking, or even if we want to monitor a remote sensor, we call Cyril McCormick, the Associate Development Instrumental Engineer. Cyril provides design and trouble-shooting support for a wide variety of research projects in the Department. He supports research in pretty much everything from fire to ice. Cyril’s father (Cyril McCormick II) taught Chemistry and Mathematics in a 1960’s state-of-the art school. The McCormick curiosity was acquired by Cyril, who always wants to know how things work. It remains to be seen if Cyril’s son (Cyril McCormick IV) acquires that same scientific curiosity.

Global Passages of Scientists (GPS)Two of Cyril’s most recent research cruises took him close to his birthplace, Labrador City. The ship spent a good bit of time bobbing around 200 miles from his parents’ current home in Canada. Cyril actually Skyped his parents from international waters!

Y ouTube. Satellites. Microsoft Excel. What do these things all have in common? They’re each used by Isabella Velicogna (Faculty) in her teaching and research. The focus of Isabella’s research is the cryospheric components of the water cycle and their response

to climate forcing. Her work has implications for future sea level rise, Earth system modeling and global land water cycle. The impacts are not only scientific but also societal as the Velicogna Research Group is working on developing tools to better predict the regional patterns of sea

level rise and they are looking at changes in land ecosystems associated with changes in land hydrology. In addition to her scientific side, Isabella loves painting and illustrating children’s books. She has a passion for art, architecture and design.

Global Passages of Scientists (GPS)Isabella has traveled to a variety of beautiful places for her research, including Greenland, Italy, and Antarctica. For many years, she free-climbed, and enjoyed spots like Monte Rosa in the Swiss Alps. Isabella also enjoyed visiting Malaysia.

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Take nothing but pictures.

Leave nothing but footprints.

Kill nothing but time.

~Motto of the Baltimore Grotto, a caving society

Graduate Students UnpluggedThe Department of Earth System Science at UC Irvine offers graduate students a unique opportunity to study the Earth as a system, which encompasses the transfers of energy, water and elements among the atmosphere, land, ocean, and cryosphere, with emphasis on the recent impacts of human activity. Doctoral students engage in a variety of activities, including field research in diverse global locations, advanced computer modeling, cutting-edge techniques in modern laboratory environments, and interactions with recognized experts in atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemical cycles and physical climate.Of course, when they’re not in the lab, or the classroom, ESS Grad Students enjoy all the best of Orange County. Here are a few highlights from their adventures!

Best place to go cycling in Orange County is around

the Newport Back Bay. You can hook up with the

bike path as it passes campus and then ride down to

Newport Bay, one of the last estuaries in California. If

you hit the bay in the right season the estuary is just

covered in birds wintering over in sunny SoCal. When

you get tired of birding there is a small local natural

history museum (Muth Interperative Center) tucked

just off the bike path or you can take a guided nature

walk or kayak tour of the area, also located right

next to the bike path.

There’s a collection of Food Trucks on Tuesday nights at Irvine Lanes that

serve everything from Mexican food to Pizza to delicious burgers to cupcakes.

Also, because we all live on campus it’s always very easy to get together and

hang out - whether it be watching TV, having a dinner party, having cocktails

or going to the Pub.

Honestly, I love Orange County and Southern California. I love to get outdoors and enjoy the sun, sand, and mountains.

Great place to surf? San OnofreGreat place to kayak? Channel IslandsGreat places to hike? Crystal Cove State Park, “Holy Jim Trail” near Trabucco Creek, San JacintoGreat places to mountain bike? Aliso Woods,Crystal Cove State Park, Newport Back Bay, Santiago Oaks, Whiting RanchGreat place to enjoy the art scene? Downtown Santa Ana, The Lab / The Camp in Costa MesaCool thing to do on campus? Frisbee in Aldrich Park!

What on Earth? This photo from the last issue of The Dynamic Earth is a fossil gastropod shell (~1 mm diameter) that was incorporated in a stalagmite (cave calcite deposit) from Laos.Special thanks to Kathleen Johnson (Faculty, http://ess.uci.edu/~kathleej) for submitting this photo.

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What on Earth?Faculty, Researchers and Graduate Students in the Department of Earth System Science at UC Irvine often find themselves in unique locations, undertaking extraordinary feats. In our last issue, we showed you a picture from Dr. Kathleen Johnson. Do you have any idea what this picture captures? Hint: This picture was submitted by the W.M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (http://ess.uci.edu/ams).

Earth System Science University of California, Irvine 3200 Croul Hall Irvine, CA 92697-3100

Contributing to the scientific understanding of the Earth as a coupled system, through research and education