Postdoctoral Position in Kelp Thermal Tolerance

Postdoctoral Opportunity: Thermal tolerance, population variability and experimental restoration of kelp in Southern CA in the Smith Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Smith lab is looking to recruit a new postdoctoral researcher in early 2024 to work on an exiting new project focused on thermal tolerance in habitat forming and understory kelp taxa in southern California as related … Read More

Another year, another Maui trip!

Aloha! Our lab just got back from our annual field work trip to Maui, and we have a lot to report! We’ve been visiting Maui for over a decade to monitor coral reefs along the island’s leeward (sheltered from the wind) coast. We return to the same sites year after year and take thousands of pictures of each reef. When … Read More

“From the Ocean, a Cure for Cow Burps”

Check out this press release from the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) on the potential of the red seaweed, Asparagopsis taxiformis, to significantly reduce methane emissions from the livestock industry! The article includes an interview with Dr. Jennifer Smith and other experts on the large-scale cultivation and commercialization of this nature-based climate solution.

Adi Khen featured affiliate artist with Climate Science Alliance

Adi Khen, a PhD candidate in the Smith Lab, was recently featured in an interview with the Climate Science Alliance. She is the newest affiliated artist with the Alliance, and her work will be featured in their upcoming “Art of Change” show. Adi is passionate about art and using illustration to communicate complex scientific topics to a variety of audiences. … Read More

SIO Scientist Spotlight: A day in the life of Dr. Jen Smith

Dr. Jennifer Smith was recently interviewed for a Scientist Spotlight in Explorations Now. The article, “A Scientist’s Life: Dr. Jennifer Smith,” highlights Dr. Smith’s research with emphasis on the technological advances that influence how we study coral reefs. See the full interview here. Check out the interview video below:

Smith Lab & colleagues march (& swim) for science on Earth Day 2017!

This year on Earth Day (4/22/17) scientists, researchers, and science-supporters marched in 600 cities worldwide to show support for scientific research and scientifically informed public policies. During the Science March Dr. Jennifer Smith was conducting field research in Maui Nui along with Smith Lab members Dr. Emily Kelly and Samantha Clements, and Sandin Lab researcher, Nicole Pedersen, to collect coral reef … Read More

Palmyra Atoll Bleaching Update (May 2016)

The abnormally warm water event associated with El Niño has been pummeling coral reefs worldwide. Last week the Sandin and Smith labs from Scripps Institution of Oceanography embarked on a rapid response expedition to survey the damage of the warm sea surface temperatures at one of our long term monitoring sites. Palmyra Atoll, a tiny island in the central Pacific, … Read More

Smith lab and colleagues publish new paper looking at microbes on coral reefs

Global microbialization of coral reefs Abstract: Microbialization refers to the observed shift in ecosystem trophic structure towards higher microbial biomass and energy use. On coral reefs, the proximal causes of microbialization are overfishing and eutrophication, both of which facilitate enhanced growth of fleshy algae, conferring a competitive advantage over calcifying corals and coralline algae. The proposed mechanism for this competitive … Read More