CLIVARI6S, Southern Ocean, approaching Antarctica: FSU’s Bill Landing works on deck in the driving sleet of austral summer. Photo by Brett LongworthHi, again, from your outreach coordinator and the whole FSU Oceanography team. Though we’ve been “off the radar” for some time now, having traded our sea legs for terra firma, our IPY work is far from over. We’ve introduced part of our team and shared some experiences from our ship time collecting samples on the outbound leg of our CLIVARI6S transect, Longitude 30° E, from S. Africa to Antarctica (FSU Blog posts #1 – 13). We do hope you’ve enjoyed our reporting so far and that you’ve found it educational. We have much more to share with student impressions of the cruise and about half our team members remaining to be introduced. We’ll resume today, introducing Professor Bill Landing:
Hi, I’m Bill Landing. I’m a chemical oceanographer, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, 1983.
My work focuses on the chemical, biological, and physical processes affecting trace element distributions and behavior in marine and freshwater environments. Due to their involvement in biochemical processes, trace elements may limit biological productivity at low concentrations but can be toxic at only slightly elevated concentrations.
For many elements, atmospheric deposition can be the dominant source to the land or to a body of water. This has led to our work on the CLIVAR-Repeat Hydrography Project, collecting sections through the major ocean basins for dissolved iron and aluminum. Along with aerosol solubility measurements, we will demonstrate the relative importance of atmospheric deposition to the biogeochemical cycles of these elements (and carbon) in the oceans.
I am also involved in the new Biogeochemical Dynamics Program at FSU. The Biogeochemical Dynamics Program is an interdisciplinary research-oriented, graduate-only program within the FSU College of Arts and Sciences which focuses on environmental biogeochemistry.
Outreach coordinator’s note: In his scientific work, Professor Landing spends much time in the field, a lot of it on shipboard, generating a large volume of samples for analysis, keeping his FSU lab really humming. When he can find the time, Professor Landing, an accomplished musician, is also a powerful presence in our local arts community. He plays tenor saxophone with several popular musical groups, including the Tallahassee Swing Band and Acme Rhythm and Blues. Daughter Alexandra follows in his footsteps. Attending FSU, she plays French horn in our marching band, the FSU Marching Chiefs. Many folks in the Tallahassee area really enjoy listening to both — and dancing, and cheering on our Seminoles, of course! (Linda Jamison)