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COSEENOWPodcastEpisode2:HeidiSosik&RobOlsonAri:Hello!ThisisOceanGazing,thepodcastwhereweobserveandexploretheoceansonourplanet.I’mAriDanielShapiro.Thistimewe’llhearaboutaspecialunderwatercamerathattakespicturesoftinycellsintheocean.Sosik:Weliterallyhadmillionsofcellimages.Wewerejustabsolutelyoverwhelmedwiththeamountofdatathatwegot.Itwasexciting,butkindofintimidating.Ari:That’sHeidiSosik.SheandRobOlsonarebothbiologistsattheWoodsHoleOceanographicInstitution.They’lldescribehowasharedfrustrationledthemtodevelopatoolthathasrevolutionizedhowtheecologyoftheoceanisstudied.Inaddition,we’lltellyoutheanswertoourlastsonicstumper,giveyouanewone,andanswersomeofyourquestions.Staytuned!Ari:Everpullanall‐nighter?Whatabout4inarow,whileatsea?RobOlsonandHeidiSosikusedtodojustthat.Olson:Weweredoingalotofcruiseswherewewouldsample24hoursadayforseveraldaysatatimesometimes.Itwasjustexhausting,veryfrustratingbecausewecouldn’tkeepup.Sosik:Notonlythatbutwecouldn’tevendowhatwewantedto.Wegotapointevery2hours.Everytimewe’danalyzedthedata,wewishedwehadapointeveryhourorapointeveryhalfhour.Ari:SosikandOlsonwereparticipatingintheseresearchcruisestocollectphytoplankton–microscopicplant‐likecellslivingintheocean.Theymaybesmallbuttherearelotsofthemandtheyplayaratherbigroleinphotosynthesis.Thatis,theyuseenergyfromsunlighttoconsumecarbondioxideasfood.Theyalsoproduceabouthalftheplanet’sbreathableoxygen.AndSosikandOlsonhadaspecificinterestwhenitcametothephytoplankton.

Sosik:Thekindsofbasicecologyquestionsthatwe’retryingtoaskintheoceanarehowmanyofacertaintypeoforganismarethereandwhataretheirvitalrates:howfastaretheygrowing,tounderstandhowthey’rerespondingtotheenvironment,howtheymightbechangingovertime.Andforplankton,growthratesareextremelydifficulttoquantify.Ari:Andit’sthatdifficultythatledtothoseexhaustingall‐nightersoflookingthroughamicroscopeandcountingdifferenttypesofphytoplankton.Gettingtheirdatameantworkingaround‐the‐clock.Sotheybegantoconsideradifferentapproach.Sosik:Theideaoftryingtoautomateitandhaveitgobyitselfsoyou’dhaveveryhighresolutionobservationswhileyouwereasleephadalotofappeal.WewereinspiredtogodownthatroadoftryingtobuildanautomatedmicroscopebythecapabilitiesoftheMartha’sVineyardCoastalObservatory.Ari:ThisobservatoryisanchoredtotheseaflooramilesouthofMartha’sVineyard.Itextendsupwardsthroughtheoverlyingwaterandintotheair.CablesrunbetweentheobservatoryandtheVineyard,whichsupplybothpowerandanetworkconnectiontotransferdata.Suchasetupwascrucialbecauseanyautomatedcamerawouldbeverydemanding.Sosik:Theytakealotofpowerandtheygeneratealotofdata.Ari:Andso,overthecourseofseveralyears,SosikandOlsonturnedtheirimaginingsintoreality,andbuiltanautomatedunderwatermicroscopiccamera.Sosik:Yeah!Ari:Theywantedtotakepicturesofindividualphytoplanktoncells,likethisone.Ghinwa:Hello,I’maphytoplanktoncell.Ari:Orthisone.Evan:Hello.Ari:Orthese.Amanda:Thankyou.Kerry:Don’tworry.Ari:Phytoplanktontendtobemixedinwithlotsofsmalldebris,andthey’respreadout.Ghinwa:Overhere.

Evan:Hello,overthere.Ari:ButSosikandOlsonwereuptothechallenge,andtheireventualdesignforthecamerawaselegant.Sosik:Youtaketheseawatersamplein,andthenit’sflowingthroughtheinstrumentandit’sdrawnoutintoaverythinstream.Olson:Wetakeasyringefullofwater–5ml–andthenweslowlyinjectthatintothecenterofthisstreamsothatthecellsgetfunneleddown.Sosik:Andthecellsareinthewater,andyoudrawitoutthinenoughsothatthecellsareessentiallygoingsingle‐file—Evan:Excuseme.Amanda:I’msorry,sorry,sir.Evan:Comingthrough.Olson:OneatatimeGhinwa:Ibegyourpardon.Kerry:Oh,no,yougoahead.Ghinwa:No,no,please,afteryou.Olson:throughalaserbeam.Amanda:Oh,man,what’sthat?Sosik:Assoonasacellgoesthroughthelaserbeam,itscatterslight.Olson:Whichtellsyousomethingabouthowbigtheyare.Ari:Thebiggerthecell,themorelightitscatters,ordeflects.Inordertophotosynthesize,phytoplanktonrelyonchlorophyll.It’sthepigmentthatcapturessunlightandmakesplantsgreen.Whenthecamera’slaserbeamhitschlorophyllinthephytoplankton,thechlorophyllfluorescesorglows.Olson:Thelaserbeamexciteschlorophyllfluorescence.Sosik:Andthenwehaveaseriesofdetectorsthatarelookingforthisscatteredlightandfluorescence.

Olson:Ifit’saboveacertainthreshold,Sosik:Thattriggersthecameratograbapictureafractionofasecondlater.Andthenthenextcellcomesalongbehindit.Evan:Excuseme,yeah,excuseme.Ari:Andsoon.Here’swhatoneofthecamerassoundslike.Thisonedoesn’tjusttakephotos.We’rehearingtheapparatusthatcollectsparticularcelltypesofinterestandstoresthemforfutureanalysis.Thisisalsotheanswertolastweek’ssonicstumper.Everyday,hundredsofimagescomestreamingthroughthosecablesthatoriginateattheobservatory.SosikandOlson–dryandalertintheirlabs–downloadpicturesofthephytoplanktoncruisingbytheircamerainrealtime.Itcanbemesmerizing.Sosik:Assoonastheimagesstartflashingby,it’shardtodragyourselfaway,andwe’llgetcaughtup.Olson:Becauseyouseenewthings.Imean,westillseespeciesthatwehaven’tseenbefore.It’sjustalwaysdifferent.Andthepicturesare–they’rejustpretty.Thosecellsareveryinterestingtolookat.Ari:Thosepicturescontainmany,manydifferentkinds,orspeciesofphytoplankton.Sosik:Everytimeyouhitreturn,somethingnewpopsup.Olson:Thisisachaindiatom,chaetoceros.Andhere’sanotherdiatomthatgrowsinchains…Sosik:Thesearereallyamazing…Olson:Detritus.Sosik:That’s,uh…Olson:Guinardia.Sosik:Phaeocystis.Lookslikecatanellaorsomething.Olson:No,that’sacolonyofDitylum.Dinobrium.Sosik:Oh,lookthisisaciliate.Olson:Thisismadeupof…

Sosik:Gelatinousmatrix…Olson:8or10cells…Sosik:Gooey,mucousyalmost–yeah,there’stheedgeofit.Ari:Giventhemillionsofphotographsdocumentingallthisdiversity,Sosikcreatedsoftwarethatautomaticallyclassifiesthekindofphytoplanktoninthephotographs.Together,theautomatedcameraandautomaticclassifier…Sosik:…giveusthisreallyexcitingtoolfordoingecology.Ari:Andthistoolhasledtosomeinterestingdiscoveries.InFebruaryof2008,itallowedcollaboratorLisaCampbelltodetectanunforeseenbloomoftoxicalgaeintheGulfofMexico.HerdiscoveryledtoarecallonTexanshellfishandatemporaryclosureofthefishery.Inaddition,thecameracatcheslifeinaction.Sosik:Soyou’llseeanimageofsomecellsattackingadifferentkindofcell.Andwe’vefoundthingslikethisthatseemtoberevealingofpatternsofinteractionsbetweenorganismsthatwedidn’tanticipate.Ari:Eachphotographoffersachancetoturnonitsheadoneconventionalideaoranother.Sothere’salotofexcitementaboutwhatthefutureholds.Sosik:It’sveryexploratory.Weneverknowwhatwe’regoingtosee.Andit’snotalldrivenbyaspecifichypothesisthatwe’regoingouttotest.Ari:Sometimesscienceisaboutdevelopingareallygoodtool,andmakingsureyou’rewellrestedenoughtoappreciatetheresults.Olson:Wow,what’sthat?What’sthat?Lookatthat.Ari:Andnow,tooneofyourquestions.Onourlastpodcast,wespokewithoceanographerJohnDelaneyabouttheeventualavailabilityovertheInternetofdatacollectedintheocean.Here’saquestionfromLauraDunbar,amiddleschoolscienceteacherinSeaGirt,NewJersey.Dunbar:I'mexcitedthatinformationwillnowbeavailableinreal‐timebutdoyouanticipatethatchangingthecurrentstructureofscientificresearch?Delaney:ThisisJohnDelaney.Laura,that’sanexcellentquestion.Inevitably,itwillchangethestructureofscientificresearch.Thisnewobservatorywilldelivervastamountsofinformationtomillionsoffolksacrosstheworld.Anyonewhohasnewinsightsbasedon

thenewdatathattheyreceive–scientistsandnon‐scientists–itwouldbeappropriateforthemtosharetheirresults.Andasasociety,wewilllearnnewwaysofconductingscienceinreal‐timeoverlargevolumesoftheoceanwithmany,manydifferentpeoplecombingthedatafornewinsights.Scientistswillrapidlydistillthiscollectiveeffortintoevenmorepowerfulscientificresultsthanwhenindividualsworkalone.Ari:It’stimeforthisepisode’ssonicstumper.What’sthissound?Tosubmityourguess,visitusonlineatwww.coseenow.net/category/ocean.You’llfindashortvideoaboutjusthowsmallandbigphytoplanktoncanbe,additionalaudioclipsandphotographs,andinformationonhowtoaskRobOlsonandHeidiSosikyourquestion.Youcanalsoemailusatpodcast@coseenow.net.OceanGazingisaproductofCOSEENOW,whichstandsforCentersforOceanSciencesEducationExcellence,andisfundedbytheNationalScienceFoundation.SpecialthankstoJaniceMcDonnell,JimYoder,SageLichtenwalnerandAaronDevine.ThephytoplanktonwerevoicedbyGhinwaChoueiter,AmandaLevy,EvanSandersandKerryWeinberg.OurmusicwascomposedbyEvanSanders.Myname’sAriDanielShapiro.Seeyounexttime!