Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

Profile

General Information

I am a biological oceanographer interested in the role of microbial trophic pathways in regulating the cycling of carbon and other climatically important elements in the World Ocean. I completed my honours degree and Ph.D. in Marine Science, looking at sea surface microlayer and neuston spreading dynamics, and the functional morphology of diatom frustule microstructures, respectively, under the supervision of Dr. Jim Mitchell at Flinders University of South Australia.  I have been at the University of Portsmouth since September 2006, before which I worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Richard Rivkin at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.

Teaching

I currently lecture and contribute to:

• Level 1: Introduction to Oceanography (2GS138)
• Level 1: Quantitative Methods (1GS134)
• Level 1: Planet Earth (1GS141)
• Level 2: Environmental Conservation (1GS251)
• Level 2: Oceanography (BGS273) and Oceanography for Marine Biologists (1GS283)
• Level 2: Scientific Techniques for Environmental Scientists (BGS257)
• Level 3: Coastal Navigation (1GS356)
• Level 3: Environmental Science Study Tour (Belize) (2GS359)
• Level 3: Research Proprosal Preparation (1GS382)
• Level X: Basic Diving Skills (2GS117)
• Level X: Scientific and Technical Diving Skills (2GS274)

Career History

• Sep. 2006 – Present Principal Lecturer: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth
• June 2006 – Present Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow: Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.
• Dec. 2002 - June 2006 Postdoctoral Fellow: Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.
• March 2001 - Nov. 2002 Research Officer (HEO6): Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (PHC RIS), School of Medicine, Flinders University, Australia.
• March 1996 -May 2002 Ph.D. Research Student:  The Functional Morphology of Diatom Frustule Microstructures.  School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Australia (degree conferred 2002).
• March 1996 Nov. 2002 Part-time Lecturer, Tutor and Laboratory Demonstrator: Flinders University, Australia.
•  Jan. – Feb. 2000 & 2001 Administrative Assistant: Staff Development and Training Unit, Flinders University, Australia.
• Oct. 1999 - Aug. 2000  Research Assistant (HEO5): Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care, Repatriation General Hospital, Flinders University, Australia.
• Sept. 1995 - March 1996  Research Assistant (HEO5):   Southern Regions Research Project – Bacterial Fluctuations and Transport in the Onkaparinga Estuary.  Flinders University, Australia.      
• July 1995 Research Assistant: Cool Water Carbonates and Phytoplankton Productivity, Great Australian Bight.  Flinders University, Australia.
• Aug. 1994 - May 1995 Honours Research Project:  Sea Surface Microlayer and Neuston Spreading Dynamics.  School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Australia.
• Dec. 1992 - Aug. 1994 Research Technician: Seagrass Cruises - Couplings of Plankton and Physical Processes in the Gulf St. Vincent.  Flinders University, Australia.

Professional Affiliations

• American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
• Member of the 2008 ALSO Summer Meeting Organising Committee

Research 

My main research interests include:

• The role of microbial trophic pathways in regulating the cycling of biogenic carbon.
• Regulation of growth and loss processes of marine bacteria in contrasting biogeochemical provinces.
• Effects of grazing and nutrient limitation on microbial community structure.
•  Importance of microbial diversity to ecosystem function in marine systems.

Current research projects:

The regulation of the growth of marine heterotrophic bacteria is ecologically and biogeochemically important to the cycling of energy and materials in the ocean. Working in collaboration with Dr. Richard Rivkin from Memorial University of Newfoundland, my research seeks to understand the spatial and seasonal variation in the processes determining microbial dynamics and community composition in different biogeochemical provinces.

I was involved in two field programs for the Canadian Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (C-SOLAS) Research Network, for which data are currently being analysed and prepared for publication:

Subarctic Ecosystem Response to Iron Enrichment Study (SERIES) Iron Enrichment Experiment: Response of bacteria, picophytoplankton, nanophytoplankton, and microzooplankton to a mesoscale in situ iron enrichment experiment in the NE subarctic Pacific. Study of Air-Sea Biogeochemical Interactions in the Northwestern Atlantic (SABINA): Seasonal variations in microbial dynamics in different biogeochemical provinces in the NW Atlantic.

I participated in two Atlantic Meridional Transect Program expeditions (AMT16 & AMT17) on the RRS Discovery, for which data are currently being analysed and prepared for publication. For more information please see my research pages.

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Publications Before 2000

• Hale, M. S., & Mitchell, J. G. 1997. Sea surface microlayer and bacterioneuston spreading dynamics.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 147, 269-276.
• Hale, M. S., & Mitchell, J. G. 1995. CLOD spreading in the sea surface microlayer.  Science 270, 897.