News Release
MEDIA ADVISORY
SF State scientists available to comment on long and short-term effects of Cosco Busan spill
SAN FRANCISCO, November 27, 2007 -- In the wake of the Cosco Busan oil spill, a number of marine biologists at San Francisco State University's Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies (RTC) are collecting and analyzing samples from San Francisco Bay to determine the long-term effects on the Bay's ecosystem. SF State's scientists can comment on their involvement in analyzing the spill's effects and on restoration work underway. They can be contacted directly.
Toby Garfield, Ph.D.
An oceanographer and Director of the Romberg Tiburon Center, Garfield provided
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with current models
to predict oil spill movement and distribution during the response.
(415) 338-3713
garfield@sfsu.edu
Katharyn Boyer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology, Boyer is monitoring, assessing and recording
any damage to the eelgrass beds that she had been working to restore in SF
Bay. She can comment on the Bay's ecology, particularly habitat that feeds
and facilitates the reproduction of numerous plant and animal species. In
addition, she is sampling Bay water and sediments for hydrocarbon concentration
and providing samples from the RTC Bay water reservoir to the NOAA oil spill
response center.
(415) 338-3751
katboyer@sfsu.edu
Sarah Cohen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology, she monitors selected invasive and native
animal and plant populations in heavily oil-impacted sites within SF Bay
and distant sites outside the Bay. She can comment on the genomic response
of Bay plant and animal species to human influences including contaminants.
(415) 338-3750
sarahcoh@sfsu.edu
Jaime Kooser, Ph.D.
SF Bay National Estuarine Reserve (NERR) Manager, she is a member of the
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Team. She monitors salt marshes, mudflats and coastal lagoons, particularly
the China Camp NERR site. She can speak on the effects and ecological implications
of oil spills on wetland habitat.
(415) 338-3703
jkooser@sfsu.edu
Matt Ashby, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Biology, he collects water samples to profile resident
microbial communities to assess the proliferation of marine microbes known
to biodegrade petroleum. He can comment on the SF Bay microbial ecosystem
as a whole, as well what mechanisms can biodegrade petroleum.
(415) 435-5116
ashbym@taxon.com
Chela Zabin, Ph.D.
A postdoctoral researcher, she is collecting oysters and sediment for NOAA,
RTC and University of California, Davis analysis. She can comment on injury
to native oyster populations.
(415) 435-7128
zabinc@si.edu
In addition to faculty research:
Marine Operations Superintendent David Bell and Marine Operations Manager
David Morgan of RTC's research vessel Questuary are collecting samples of
Bay and ocean plants, animals and bacteria for NOAA throughout the San Francisco
Bay, the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.
They can comment on the up-to-the-minute conditions of the Bay and how long
they will continue to collect fresh samples from the Bay, post-spill.
(415) 435-7123
dbell@sfsu.edu
dmorgan@sfsu.edu
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