Mariko Hatta, Graduate Student
Graduate School of Science and Engineering,
University of Toyama
Mariko Hatta is a student at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering of the University of Toyama in Japan. She is expected to graduate in September, 2006, from the doctoral program in Life and Environmental Science. Mariko is interested in the water circulation of the ocean. She studies the freshwater and nutrients coming into the ocean. She also studies how the variations in water circulation influence recent global climate change and estimates for the future. She is especially interested in the water circulation in marginal seas. In order to understand the circulation process, Mariko uses chemical tracers, including rare earth elements (REEs). When not working, Mariko enjoys reading, watching movies, and visiting hot-spring resorts.

William T. Hiscock, Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Hawaii
Bill is currently conducting research on trace elements in the ocean. He is interested in how these trace elements interact with the marine carbon cycle and with macronutrients. The trace elements can act as limiting nutrients, keeping plankton from growing. Furthermore, the biological and chemical history of the ocean and its response to climate change can be studied using trace elements. Bill has participated on research expeditions in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Southern Ocean, Black Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Bahama Banks. When not working, Bill enjoys every windy moment by kite-surfing or sailing. In fact, Bill can be found participating in most any outdoor activity, especially if it involves water.

Chris Measures, Professor of Oceanography
University of Hawaii
Chris’s research is focused on the location of trace elements in ocean waters. Trace elements, as their name suggests, are present in the ocean in extremely low concentrations but their effects can be very important. For example, the concentration of the trace element iron, Fe, in surface waters around Antarctica is so low that it scientists think it limits the ability of marine plants to grow in this area. Other trace elements such as aluminium, Al, can be used to tell how much dust from the atmosphere has been added to the ocean. Chris has been measuring these and other elements in most of the world’s ocean basins over the last few years. He and other members of his group are working with other scientists in a large international project. This project will produce a global map of iron and aluminium in the upper waters of all the world’s ocean basins. When not at sea, Chris likes to garden, and cook and hike in the mountains.

Karen Selph
University of Hawaii
Karen is a faculty member at the University of Hawaii in the oceanography department. On this cruise, her role is to collect samples for phytoplankton abundance. She hopes to find out how the phytoplankton are distributed in the study area. Karen will analyze these samples on board ship, using a flow cytometer. This instrument uses laser light to "excite" the natural pigment fluorescence of plants (chlorophyll and phycoerythrin, in this case). The signals are detected and counted for each cell. In her spare time at sea, Karen likes to watch movies (DVDs) and read. Back in Hawaii, Karen and her husband like to go hiking in the mountains. They also enjoy cooking (and eating) great meals!

Jingjing Yang, Ph.D. student
Oxford University, England
Jingjing is a graduate student in geochemistry in the Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University. She is interested in trace elements and Rare Earth Elements (REE) in the ocean. She uses REE patterns as tracers for the source of iron in the open ocean. Iron is an important limiting factor in the productivity of the ocean, which influences global climate change. Her study areas are mainly in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific and the Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean. When not working, Jingjing enjoys traveling and music.