I work to passively or actively use acoustic to measure ocean temperature. In some of my research during my PhD, I used ambient sound to measure depth-integrated temperature with two OOI hydrophones that are in the caldera of an active volcano. For my post-doc, I am working on measuring long-range (4000km), low-frequency acoustic propagation and using these observations of ocean basin acoustic propagation to measure ocean temperature.

Ragland, J., Abadi, S., and Sabra, K. (2022). “Long-term noise interferometry analysis in the northeast Pacific Ocean,” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 151, 194–204. doi:10.1121/10.0009232; Ragland, J., Abadi, S., and Sabra, K. (2024). “Using Ocean Ambient Sound to Measure Local Integrated Deep Ocean Temperature,” Geophysical Research Letters, 51, e2024GL108943. doi:10.1029/2024GL108943

Plot of depth-integrated temperature measured with ambient sound and compared to the ocean model HYCOM, and ARGO float observations.

I specialize in fine-scale remote sensing technologies such as drone-based digital aerial photogrammetry and terrestrial lidar. Trees, drones, and lidar points galore! Using fine-scale remote sensing techniques to quantify processes and change at a local level to then develop models for landscape-level characterization of vegetation structure regarding fire effects and habitat. Most of my work is taking characterizations of forest structure from field-sampled remote sensing techniques and upscaling them to a landscape level using aerial lidar, aerial imagery, and satellite imagery.

Batchelor, J.L., Hudak, A.T., Gould, P., Moskal, L.M., (2023). Terrestrial and Airborne Lidar to Quantify Shrub Cover for Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) Habitat Using Machine Learning. Remote Sensing 15, 4434. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15184434 Batchelor, J.L., Rowell, E., Prichard, S., Nemens, D., Cronan, J., Kennedy, M.C., Moskal, L.M., (2023). Quantifying Forest Litter Fuel Moisture Content with Terrestrial Laser Scanning. Remote Sensing 15, 1482. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15061482 Batchelor JL, Ripple WJ, Wilson TM, Painter LE (2015) Restoration of Riparian Areas Following the Removal of Cattle in the Northwestern Great Basin. Environmental Management 55:930–942. doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0436-2

Coastal communities in Alaska rely heavily on fisheries to support their food security. Climate change is currently impacting those fisheries in unprecedented ways. My research focuses on exploring ways that government agencies and organizations can better support food security and sovereignty in these communities in the face of these changes.

Parks, Melissa. 2022. The Influence of Nonhuman Assemblage Interactions on Small Farmers’ Perceptions of Weather in Oregon: A Social Network Analysis. Human Ecology 50: 1103– 1114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-022-00372-y

Parks, Melissa, Gabrielle Roesch-McNally and Amy Garrett. 2021. Bridging Scientific and Experiential Knowledges in Collaborative Climate Adaptation Research: A Case Study of Dry Farmers in Oregon. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development 10(3):187-203. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2021.103.015

Social-ecological systems in Alaskan fisheries

I am a biological oceanographer interested in how environmental change affects phytoplankton communities. I’m working with Dr. Sean McAllister (CICOES, NOAA) and Dr. Zachary Gold (NOAA PMEL) to determine how changes in temperature, nutrients, and ocean acidification affect phytoplankton communities at the base of the food web. I am also studying the prevalence of toxic Harmful Algal Bloom species in Alaskan waters and across the U.S. West Coast, and leading an effort to determine the best methods to assign taxonomy to DNA metabarcoding results. I’ve previously used field-based observations, lab experiments, biogeochemical and molecular methods to study phytoplankton communities in response to environmental stressors (oil, temperature) and changing nutrients.

Setta, S. P., Lerch, S., Jenkins, B. D., Dyhrman, S. T., & Rynearson, T. A. (2023). Oligotrophic waters of the Northwest Atlantic support taxonomically diverse diatom communities that are distinct from coastal waters. Journal of Phycology, 59(6), 1202-1216. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.13388

I am a biogeochemical oceanographer studying drivers of the strength and efficiency of the biological carbon pump in the global ocean. I am a U.S. Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) Postdoctoral Fellow in GOBOP with joint appointments at the University of Washington and NOAA PMEL and collaborators at the University of California Irvine. Carbon is fixed by phytoplankton and can sink into the deep sea, where it is sequestered from the atmosphere through the natural process called the Biological Carbon Pump (BCP). I will calculate carbon export using Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP) data collected with the GO-SHIP and Bio GO-SHIP programs. I will use inverse modeling and hydrography to calculate modeled annual carbon export by constraining the nitrogen and phosphorous cycles with climatological phosphate, nitrate, and hydrography. The goal of this project is to identify drivers of the BCP to improve models of global carbon export in the ocean and help better constrain the global carbon budget.

1. O’Daly, S. H., Hennon, G. M. M., Kelly, T. B., Strom, S. L., & McDonnell. Andrew MP. (2024). Strong and efficient summertime carbon export driven by aggregation processes in a subarctic coastal ecosystem. Limnology and Oceanography, 69, 1187–1203. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12561;

2. O’Daly, S. H., Danielson, S. L., Hardy, S. M., Hopcroft, R. R., Lalande, C., Stockwell, D. A., & McDonnell, A. M. P. (2020). Extraordinary Carbon Fluxes on the Shallow Pacific Arctic Shelf During a Remarkably Warm and Low Sea Ice Period. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.548931

We have observed veils of enhanced total particle abundance (#/L, red boxes) reaching mesopelagic in the (a) North Pacific, (b) Southern Ocean’s Pacific sector, (c) Southern Ocean’s Indian sector, and (d) North Atlantic

I am a Physical Oceanographer, working with Drs. Wei Cheng and Albert J. Hermann (CICOES, also affiliated with NOAA PMEL) and Dr. Phyllis Stabeno (NOAA PMEL) on implementation and refinement of a regional Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6) for the Northeast Pacific domain (MOM6-NEP), spanning from Baja California to the Chukchi Sea. MOM6-NEP incorporates ocean biogeochemical, sea ice, and tidal dynamics. The goal of the research is to perform multi-decadal simulations using MOM6-NEP under historical atmospheric and oceanic forcing conditions, evaluate the results against in-situ and satellite observations, identify model biases, and develop methods to reduce those biases. This work will support the NOAA cross-line office Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI) to assist NOAA Fisheries management.

1. Seelanki, V., Nigam, T., & Pant, V. (2022). Unravelling the roles of Indian Ocean Dipole and El-Niño on winter primary productivity over the Arabian Sea. Deep-Sea Research. Part I, Oceanographic Research Papers, 103913, 103913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103913

2. Seelanki, V., Nigam, T., & Pant, V. (2022). Inconsistent response of biophysical characteristics in the western Bay of Bengal associated with positive Indian Ocean Dipole. Oceanologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2022.04.003

3. Seelanki, V., & Pant, V. (2021). An Evaluation of the Impact of Pandemic Driven Lockdown on the Phytoplankton Biomass Over the North Indian Ocean Using Observations and Model. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.722401

4. Seelanki, V., Nigam, T., & Pant, V. (2021). Upper-ocean physical and biological features associated with Hudhud cyclone: A bio-physical modelling study. Journal of Marine Systems, 215, 103499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2020.103499

5. Seelanki, V., & Pant, V. (2021). Diversity in the Simulation of Chlorophyll Concentration by CMIP5 Earth System Models over the Indian Ocean. Marine Geodesy, 44(6), 505–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490419.2021.1909193

6. Seelanki, V., Sreenivas, P., & Prasad, K. V. S. R. (2018). Impact of Aquarius Sea-Surface Salinity Assimilation in Improving the Ocean Analysis Over Indian Ocean. Marine Geodesy, 41(2), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490419.2017.1422817s

MOM6 model domain (left) and The comparison of PAPA mooring (right upper) and model simulated (right below) upper-ocean profiles of Temperature, Salinity and Brunt vaisala frequency

I am an Afro-Latina American with Belizean and Caribbean heritage, who has observed that the Global South suffers from a lack of research infrastructure to confront anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems. As a Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow based at the Padilla-Gamiño Lab at the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, I draw on my background as performing artist and environmental filmmaker to weave my expertise in eco-physiology and science communication in engaging community stakeholders in climate solutions development in Placencia, Belize. My inclusive science and storytelling work will honor cultural perspectives on environmental challenges while engaging stakeholders in scientific discovery.

Clare, X. S., Kui, L., & Hofmann, G. E. (2022). Larval Thermal Tolerance of Kellet’s Whelk (Kelletia kelletii) as a Window into the Resilience of a Wild Shellfishery to Marine Heatwaves. Journal of Shellfish Research, 41(2), 283-290.