After 36 years of federal service as a physical oceanographer, we celebrate the career of Elizabeth “Libby” Johns as she retires from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML). Libby began her career at NOAA in 1986 when she accepted a position at AOML as an Oceanographer.
Ocean chemistry is changing faster right now than at any time over the past 50 million years. “We are fundamentally altering marine ecosystems,” says NOAA oceanographer Simone Alin, Ph.D. With her colleagues at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), Alin is responsible for monitoring the rapidly changing chemistry of seawater and understanding the ramifications for the world’s oceans, particularly the highly productive, fisheries-rich coastal waters off the west coast of North America.
With a background in coastal hazards and community resilience, Washington Sea Grant's Jamie Mooney is active in helping Washington communities prepare for sea level rise and coastal hazards.
A skilled science communicator and media spokesperson, Dr. Ian Miller is the coastal hazards specialist for Washington Sea Grant, part of NOAA's National Sea Grant College Program. Dr. Miller collaborates with coastal communities on the Olympic Peninsula to increase their ability to plan for and manage coastal hazards, including tsunami, chronic erosion, coastal flooding and hazards associated with climate change.
The ocean plays a huge role in the carbon cycle, absorbing 25 percent of yearly carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Adrienne Sutton's research focuses on characterizing the extent of ocean acidification in the open ocean and coral reef environments, and how processes like the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affect variations in ocean carbon chemistry over time and space.
An oceanographer for the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Sharon Walker spends her time surveying the ocean floor and sampling the water column to identify sites of submarine volcanic activity and deep sea vents. By locating these vent sites, we can learn more about our earth’s crust, ocean circulation, and deep sea ecosystems.