Principal Investigators
Dr. Francis Chan
Associate Professor
Oregon State University
Francis.Chan@oregonstate.edu
Francis is a marine ecologist who works on understanding how ocean hypoxia and ocean acidification impact marine ecosystems. He is also the Director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies (CIMERS) which supports partnerships research between OSU and NOAA scientists. Francis co-leads this project.
Dr. Richard Feely
Senior Scientist and leader of the PMEL Carbon Program
NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
richard.a.feely@noaa.gov
For more than five decades, Dick has studied carbon cycling and ocean acidification, the mechanisms controlling sources and sinks of CO2 in the oceans, and resulting impacts to ecosystems. Dick co-leads this project.
Co-PIs (alphabetical order)
Dr. Simone Alin
Supervisory Oceanographer
NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
simone.r.alin@noaa.gov
Simone is a chemical oceanographer who co-leads the West Coast ocean acidification observing program at NOAA. Her research focuses on understanding rates of ocean acidification in Pacific Northwest coastal and estuarine ecosystems and its impacts on valued marine resources.
Dr. Jack Barth
rofessor and Director of the Marine Studies Initiative
Oregon State University
jack.barth@oregonstate.edu
Jack is a physical oceanographer who works on understanding how coastal ocean circulation and water properties shape and influence coastal marine ecosystems. His present research includes a focus on the characteristics and formation of low-oxygen zones off the Pacific Northwest coast, including using autonomous underwater gliders to map near-bottom hypoxia.
Dr. Nina Bednarsek
Assistant Professor
Oregon State University
nina.bednarsek@oregonstate.edu
Nina is a biological oceanographer working on evaluating the impacts of multiple stressors, such as ocean acidification, warming and marine heat waves, deoxygenation on ecologically and economically important marine calcifiers. Her focus is on integrating observations, field and laboratory experimental work with model outputs and data synthesis with the aim to develop early-warning metrics, indicators and biological thresholds. This work has direct implications for the management and policy decisions across local, regional and global scales.
Dr. Brendan Carter
Senior Research Scientist
UW-CICOES
brendan.carter@noaa.gov
Brendan is a chemical oceanographer with the University of Washington and the PMEL Carbon Group. He leads several data analysis and synthesis projects. His role on this project will be quantifying anthropogenic carbon–or the fraction of the carbon found in seawater that is present due to human activities–and its impacts on seawater chemistry.
Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield
Assistant Professor
Oregon State University
S.ChisholmHatfield@oregonstate.edu
Samantha specializes in Traditional Ecological Knowledge, climate change impacts, Indigenous ecosystems, and Indigenous food systems. She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and is also Yurok and Cherokee.
Dr. Robert Cowen
Professor and Director of Hatfield Marine Science Center
Oregon State University
Robert.Cowen@oregonstate.edu
Bob is a biological oceanographer and co-leads OSU’s Plankton Ecology Lab. He developed and actively deploys new technology to collect high-resolution plankton imagery in coastal waters. He will be supplying in situ data on the distribution of early stages of Dungeness crabs off the Oregon, California, and Washington coasts.
Dr. Christopher Free
Quantitative Fisheries Ecologist
University of California at Santa Barbara
cfree@ucsb.edu
Chris is a quantitative fisheries scientist who works on designing and testing climate-resilient fisheries management strategies. He also serves on the Science and Statistical Committee for the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Chris will be leading the development of the climate-linked management strategy evaluation model for this project.
Dr. Maria Kavanaugh
Assistant Professor
Oregon State University
maria.kavanaugh@oregonstate.edu
Maria leads OSU’s Seascape Ecology Lab, using remote sensing and ocean observations towards understanding ocean changes occurring regionally in the PNW and globally.
Dr. Jan Newton
NANOOS Executive Director and Senior Principal Oceanographer
University of Washington
janewton@uw.edu
Jan is a biological oceanographer who studies the physical, chemical and biological dynamics of Puget Sound and coastal Washington. Jan is the director of NANOOS–the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems–and will support data synthesis and modeling, dissemination efforts, and MTAG engagement.
Dr. Kiva Oken
Research Mathematical Statistician
NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
kiva.oken@noaa.gov
Kiva is a stock assessment scientist focusing on West Coast groundfish. She also conducts research on the impact of climate and ecosystem factors on fisheries, and different ways to incorporate that into robust management practices. She will be working on the management strategy evaluation.
Dr. Kate Richerson
Research Fish Biologist
NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
kate.e.richerson@noaa.gov
Kate currently focuses on West Coast groundfish. She is interested in leveraging fishery-dependent data for sustainable fisheries management. She will contribute to the management strategy evaluation.
Dr. Samantha Siedlecki
Associate Professor
University of Connecticut
samantha.siedlecki@uconn.edu
Samantha is an expert in regional ocean modeling and forecasting of future ocean conditions and impacts to species. She will lead the modeling component of the project.
Dr. Su Sponaugle
Professor
Oregon State University
Su.Sponaugle@oregonstate.edu
Su is a marine ecologist studying the physical & biological processes underlying the recruitment dynamics of marine organisms. She co-leads OSU’s Plankton Ecology Lab and will be supplying in situ field data on the distribution of early stages of Dungeness crabs off the Oregon, California, and Washington coasts.
Dr. Vera L. Trainer
Marine Program Director and Research Scientist
UW Olympic Natural Resources Center
verat@uw.edu
She studies the ecology and oceanography of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and is the research lead of the Olympic Region HAB partnership. Her collaborations with coastal communities over the last 30 years have provided an understanding of the causes and solutions for HABs in the Pacific Northwest.
Jenny Waddell
Research Coordinator
NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
jenny.waddell@noaa.gov
In addition to contributing 24 years of ocean observations from the sanctuary’s long-term coastal mooring program towards the data synthesis effort, Jenny will help engage MTAG members and coordinate virtual and in-person gatherings.
Affiliated Students
Yifan Zhu
Postdoc
University of Connecticut
yifan.zhu@uconn.edu
Yifan will be mostly using LiveOcean model outputs to identify distribution, patterns, and long term trend of multi-stressors during 1993-present-2100, including OA, hypoxia, blooms etc.
Nyazia Sajdah-Bey
PhD Student
Oregon State University
sajdahbe@oregonstate.edu
Nyazia is working on the impacts of OA, hypoxia, and warming on Dungeness crabs with Drs. Chan and Bednarsek.
Luke Bobay
PhD Candidate
Oregon State University
bobayl@oregonstate.edu
Luke is working on the influence of ocean conditions on anchovy populations with Dr. Sponaugle,
Kristofer Bauer
PhD Student
Oregon State University
bauerkr@oregonstate.edu
Kristofer is working on hypoxia impacts on copepods with Dr. Baretto.
Elena Conser
PhD Candidate
Oregon State University
consere@oregonstate.edu
Elena is working on the impacts of hypoxia and other stressors on the structure of coastal pelagic food webs and the growth and survival of English sole with Dr. Sponaugle.
Savannah Clax
Master's Student
Oregon State University
claxs@oregonstate.edu
Savannah is working on the impacts of hypoxia and other stressors on Petrale Sole with Dr. Jessica Miller. Savannah completed an internship at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in 2023.
Cristian Swift
Undergraduate Student
University of Washington
cjswift@uw.edu
Cristian is working with Dr. Trainer on understanding the environmental factors that cause harmful algal blooms.
NOAA Program Managers
Kimberly Puglise
Oceanographer and Program Manager
NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Competitive Research Program (NCCOS/CRP)
kimberly.puglise@noaa.gov
Kimberly is the NOAA Program Manager and point of contact for this project. Her office, NCCOS/CRP along with NOAA’s Climate Program Office, Ocean Acidification Program, and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Office are funding this project.
Dr. Erica Ombres
Program Manager
NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program
erica.h.ombres@noaa.gov
Dr. Dan Barrie
Acting Director, Modeling, Analysis, Predictions And Projections Program (CPO/MAPP)
NOAA Climate Program Office
daniel.barrie@noaa.gov
Gabrielle Canonico
Manager of the US Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System
gabrielle.canonico@noaa.gov