ISB News

Monica Orellana Promoted to Principal Scientist

In her 11 years as a senior scientist in the Baliga lab at ISB, Monica has successfully developed a rigorous program on marine and oceanographic systems, and has been a pioneer in transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries and transferring systems methodology developed at ISB to explorecomplex oceanographic problems of global importance. Her highly collaborative and cross-disciplinary work involves laboratory and field studies that integrate physiological, molecular and physical-chemical approaches to understand…

ISB in Antarctica: Pancake Ice & Algae Snot

This pancake ice is unreal! The brown water is all algae (phytoplankton), which is what I study. I look at the mucous (or microgels) that the algae produce. Scientists suspect that microgels make up about 10 percent of the carbon that exists as dissolved organic matter in the oceans. You also can see how the Katabatic winds (about 70 mph) lift the sea spray off the waves. (All photos by…