The SonTek Sound Stream: Recent Episodes
SonTek - a Xylem Brand
We are a team of educators who like to communicate a whole lot about the jobs they love, and what they observe happening in this broad and rapidly evolving industry we call water monitoring.
It’s called the “Smartfin” and it’s barely distinguishable from a fin you might see on a standard surfboard. This translucent, custom designed fin contains small, flat electronic boards that allow surfers to collect data while doing what they love the most, while also helping oceanographic researchers understand nearshore temperature variability in Southern California.
Avid Surfer and Research Engineer, Dr. Phil Bresnahan, leads the Smartfin Project at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In this podcast, he talks with SonTek Application Engineers Dr. Xue Fan and Dr. Michael Hughes about his team that is working to see if Smartfins can be used to contribute to coastal climate change studies. He also talks about how Smartfins are being distributed to other scientists, ocean activists, surfers and the general public to build an engaged community of data-collecting citizen-scientists.
MORE RESOURCES:
About Smartfin: https://smartfin.org/
San Diego Surf Rider Foundation: https://sandiego.surfrider.org/
Scripps Fjord Phyto Project: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/fjordphyto/
Hurricane seasons are getting more severe, with weather systems growing larger - faster - and becoming increasingly destructive.
So we ask - should we start to look at Category 5 and Super Typhoons less of an anomaly and more the norm? What does the data and predictive modelling tell us?
SonTek works with scientists and experts to better understand the trends, but there is a very human side of these global weather events that we touch upon in this podcast. Application Engineer, Dr. Xue Fan and Product Manager, Janice Yasui, sit down with Professor Rosa Leon-Zayas whose family survived the power of Cat-5 Hurricane Maria that devastated Puerto Rico, Dominica, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in September 2017. Rosa tells the story of what her family went through in Puerto Rico, the challenges they continue to face, and what could have been done to mitigate the damage from this powerful natural disaster.
Have questions about this podcast or like to suggest a topic in the future? Send us at note at inquiry@sontek.com - we would love to hear from you!
OTHER RESOURCES:
- Quantifying Flooding Events with Acoustic Data Scientific Response in a Changing Climate (https://www.sontek.com/quantifying-flooding-events-acoustic-data-scientific-response-changing-climate)
- or DOWNLOAD the presentation (PDF) (https://info.xylem.com/quantifying-flood-events.html)
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There is a lot of debate around the importance of job titles. Titles have obvious relevance in terms of hierarchy and being able to determine roles within an organization. But in the water monitoring community, a job title can sometimes get "muddied" with confusion.
So, what do you call yourself in the professional world? Is a hydrometrist the same thing as a hydrologist? What are they history behind these titles? Do they mean the same everywhere in the world?
Join us in this discussion with Senior Hydrologist, Dr. Michael Hughes, and Product/Applications Manager, Janice Yasui, about the different "H's" and what they mean, what they do, and what sets them apart. Learn about the different professions in the water industry and why the title is important to so many people.
Have questions about this podcast or like to suggest a topic in the future? Send us a note at inquiry@sontek.com - we would love to hear from you!
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SonTek has a team of talkers. Ok, let’s say more of a team of educators who like to communicate a whole lot about the jobs they love, and what they observe happening in this broad and rapidly evolving industry we call water monitoring.
In this maiden voyage podcast, Senior Hydrologist Michael Hughes, and Product Manager, Janice Yasui, talk about why SonTek has taken the plunge in to the podcast pool (aka “ sound stream”) and some of the things we hope to accomplish over the next year. Michael will share a recent experience at the KICT testing facility in Korea, and how an “aha” moment served as a poignant reminder on why we all here at SonTek - and our parent company Xylem - have made the commitment to “solve water”.
But in the meantime, our goal is to entertain, educate and ask some of the same questions you may have regarding some of the higher level challenges facing our planet. We also hope to work on our story telling skills and engage others as passionate about the science as we are.
And because our level of expertise is in the area of acoustic Doppler technology, we will often times invite guests to share some of their insight and knowledge specific to data collection, water science, and on hot-topics of general interest that our research and monitoring colleagues are talking about today.
So join us for this new adventure and tell us how we’re doing! We aim to improve with each broadcast, so if you have suggestions, questions or ideas for future topics, please feel free to contact us at inquiry@sontek.com.
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Climate change - it's one of those sticky subjects you might try to avoid at the dinner party. But with defensible data and increasing global impact, scientists are working hard to prove we need to come to terms with the phrase and what it means in the future.
California Sea Grant's Dr. Joe Tyburczy is studying the effects of climate change on our oceans, specifically what is causing ocean acidification and how to promote sustainable use of marine resources, environmental conservation, and long-term security and prosperity of coastal communities.
Dr. Tyburczy's study focuses on eelgrass - a vibrant green marine plant similar to those that grow on land, that thrives in the estuaries of Humbolt Bay, California - one of the largest areas in the state, and a major spot for migratory birds. The species is in danger because of rising ocean temperatures, Dr. Tyburczy's study it to better understand the repercussions of its decline.
His team, which includes other state researchers, has deployed oceanographic instruments in the eelgrass beds to analyze movement and water samples to understand the capacity of eelgrass to chemically modify seawater as it moves through eelgrass beds with the tidal cycles. The greater the acidification, the more difficult it is to build and maintain shell—directly related to the growth and development of shellfish.
Join our hosts, Product Manager, Janice Yasui, and Applications Engineer, Dr. Xue Fan, as they speak with Dr. Tyburczy's, and learn more about this important study.
Have questions about this podcast or like to suggest a topic in the future? Send us at note at inquiry@sontek.com - we would love to hear from you!
OTHER RESOURCES:
- Ocean Acidification a Challenge for Shellfish in Humboldt Bay (http://now.humboldt.edu/news/research-shows-ocean-acidification-is-a-challenge-for-shellfish-hatchery-ev/)
- Changing Waters in Humboldt Bay: Extension Specialist Joe Tyburczy Awarded Funds to Track Ocean Acidification (https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/news/changing-waters-in-humboldt-bay-extension-specialist-joe-tyburczy-awarded-funds-to-track-ocean)
- Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) (for real-time seawater carbonate chemistry data for Humboldt Bay) (https://data.cencoos.org/?&sensor_version=v2#metadata/100009/station/data)
- More about the SonTek Argonaut-ADV (https://www.sontek.com/argonaut-adv)
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