COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 19 “What we learn will be crucial in determining worldwide efforts to protect the essential resources our oceans provide,” she says. How Organisms Are Responding to the Changing Ocean John Paul Balmonte says he wears two hats in his lab. As a microbial ecologist, he investigates why different microorganisms live in certain parts of the ocean but not others—like the ocean’s surface but not the deep sea—and how they’ve adapted to the varying conditions associated with each place. He’s especially interested in asking these questions in underexplored areas, like the Arctic Ocean and deep maritime environments. “We’re starting to get a lot more access to the Arctic Ocean as the sea ice melts,” he says. “And as technology improves to withstand pressure, we can obtain samples from the deepest parts of the ocean.” When he’s focusing on the biogeochemistry side of his work, he’s interested in how life cycles through different environmental elements, like carbon or nitrogen. “These elements are essential for life,” he explains. “I’m trying to understand how microorganisms are involved in processing these elements, so we can understand phenomena that’s happening naturally or as a function of various aspects of global climate change.” He explains that much of the research across both microbial ecology and biogeochemistry is related to how organisms respond to the changing ocean. His work focuses on examining how microorganisms are responding to different parameters within the changing oceans, like increasing temperature, decreasing pH or emerging contaminants that flow from rivers to coastal oceans. He points to sea ice as an example. When temperatures rise, sea ice melts, and it changes aspects of that part of the ocean. A thin layer of freshwater forms on the surface of the ocean, creating a density gradient and exposing the surface layer to sunlight. Balmonte studies how organisms respond to the changes in the environment and the production of biomass caused by more sunlight. He also studies how changes on land are affecting the ocean—like the thawing of permafrost. This thawing can release organic carbon from the soil, which can turn into inorganic carbon or methane or can get flushed into the ocean. “We have to understand how the ocean is responding to the changing climate, and to broad global change, because we as humans depend on it,” he says. “That’s why it’s so important for Lehigh Oceans to exist and support ocean research. Oceans are the lifeblood of our planet.” ● Left to right: McDermott lab equipment, PhD student Nicole Pittoors with a sample, postdoctoral fellow Sam Vohsen in mission control, working on a submersible, undergraduate student Mia Yagodich works in the Layden lab, Balmonte team in the field, Jill McDermott in mission control.
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