“Underwater Gardens” — Short Film by Smith Lab Volunteer

One of our talented volunteers, Nicole Lopez (mentored by Dr. Adi Khen), put together this film about the Smith Lab’s efforts to re-establish an herbarium collection at Scripps Oceanography. “Underwater Gardens” is a short exploration of the often overlooked but beautiful world of seaweeds, and the unexpected ways they intersect with art, science, and climate solutions: Stay tuned for future … Read More

Now Published: Decade-Long Study on Palmyra’s Coral Reefs

Although many coral reefs are facing devastating declines due to global climate change, some reefs, such as at the remote Palmyra Atoll, are able to withstand and recover from bleaching. This recently-published paper, led by Ph.D. candidate Adi Khen and co-authored by lab alumni/staff with senior author Dr. Jennifer Smith, demonstrates the remarkable resilience of Palmyra’s reefs over the past … Read More

Smith Lab participates in first-annual (virtual) California Seaweed Festival

Smith Lab will be involved in the first-annual “California Seaweed Festival” taking place virtually from Nov. 16-21, 2020. This is a free event bringing together scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, farmers, and seaweed-enthusiasts alike to celebrate the importance, diversity, and beauty of seaweeds. Professor Jennifer Smith will be a panelist for Seaweed Science; staff member Brant Chlebowski will be presenting on Seaweed as Food, and PhD … Read More

“Scientific Illustration as a Tool to Communicate, Educate, and Motivate” by PhD student Adi Khen

Smith lab PhD candidate, Adi Khen, recently wrote a blog post for Climate Science Alliance (an organization associated with the Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation at Scripps Oceanography) in which she discusses the intersection of science & art; or more specifically, the use of scientific illustration as a tool for communicating research, educating people, and motivating change. Click … Read More

Adi Khen on The Importance of Art to Communicate Science

Smith lab PhD candidate, Adi Khen, recently wrote a blog post for the Climate Science Alliance in which she discusses the importance of art in communicating science to a broad audience. Click here to read her post! For more great artwork by Adi, check out her website here!

Smith lab & colleagues publish new paper looking at zooplankton on coral reefs

Most coral reef scientists study charismatic organisms, such as corals and fish, while very few scientists focus on plankton. Since coral reefs have an abundance of beautiful and colorful creatures, small and inconspicuous plankton may be less attractive to many coral reef scientists. Of the few existing coral reef plankton studies, most of them are either bacterioplankton or phytoplankton, which are “relatively” … Read More

The CAU Slaughterhouse Chronicles

By Adi Khen   As a first-time volunteer at the Smith lab, I got to be involved in one of the most exciting parts of data processing: drying, weighing, acidifying and, basically, slaughtering CAUs! Let me explain… CAU stands for Calcification Accretion Unit, or in this case a set of two stacked PVC tiles that are used to measure carbonate … Read More