I'm a marine biologist. I am a PhD
student
at the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in San Diego,
studying to get my doctorate. On a daily
basis,
I conduct research in the lab on corals
and how corals are affected by
a phenomenon in the ocean called
ocean acidification. Ocean acidification
is the gradual rise in acidity of the
seawater,
from the absorption of carbon dioxide
into seawater
and that's primarily caused by humans
burning fossil fuels.
Corals are organisms composed of many,
many little anemone like polyps that
build a skeleton
out of a rock called calcium carbonate
and corals
make beautiful homes and provide food
for
fish and crabs and oysters and a number
of different marine organisms but
corals are very sensitive to changes in
their environment
and so I study how corals respond
physiologically to ocean acidification
and whether there's a potential for them
to
adjust or adapt to changes in the future.
