PhD research projects

Two of our team members from Florida Tech are here not only to assist with the expedition's science, but to also collect data that is specific to their PhD research.

Jessie Schiferl, a first year PhD student, is collecting latitude and longitude data for each seafloor image we find a king crab in.  Using the crab's exact locations, along with environmental and ocean currents data, she plans to produce a model that will show where king crabs are most likely present throughout the entire continental slope off the Western Antarctic Peninsula.  She also plans to produce a model that will predict where the king crabs have the potential to move to in the face of warming ocean temperatures.

All of her models will be made using GIS (Geographic Information System) and an analysis software called Maxent.  The environmental data as well as the ocean currents data she will obtain from online databases, peer reviewed journals, and fisheries observer reports.

By knowing the exact location of each king crab we find, Jessie will be able to model where
king crabs are present in a much larger area than we have actually imaged

Dan Ellis, a second year PhD student, is interested in assessing the amount of trace pollutants present in organisms living on the Antarctic seafloor.  He has been collecting seafloor invertebrates like amphipods and urchins, which he will later analyze to see whether or not they hold any human-made pollutants.  By studying pollutant levels in the Antarctic seafloor, one of the most remote areas of the world, Dan hopes to assess to what extent pollution is affecting the natural world.

Dan, left, and Ryan look at some of the amphipods collected from the seafloor
that Dan will analyze for his PhD research.

Our whole team is excited to see what these two PhD students will discover as they analyze the data and samples they collect while here in Antarctica!