GERG team participates in 2008 Relay for Life as a tribute to Dr. Guy Denoux
created 5/13/2008
Second Meeting of the Coastal Monitoring Program: "Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua - Reducing Pesticide Run-off into the Caribbean Sea" (GEF-REPCar)
created 5/7/2008
AMETEC/APEC Workshop on Analytical Chemistry of [legacy] Agrochemicals in Environmental Safety
created 5/7/2008
Regional Training Course on the Use of Nuclear Techniques to Address the Management Problems of Coastal Zones in the Caribbean Region
created 5/7/2008
The MSC OPAS students presented the award for superior achievement in community / student relations during their annual banquet to Debz DeFreitas
created 5/2/2008
Workshop on the Regional Organization for the Protection of the marine Environment (ROPME) Mussel Watch Program
created 6/20/2007
Contaminant Analysis Training Course in Qatar
created 5/2/2007
April Croxton Visits GERG to Perform Analysis
created 3/29/2007
Egyptian Visiting Scholar to Study Carbonate, Gas Hydrate, and Source Rocks at GERG
created 3/08/2007
Debra A. DeFreitas receives College of Geosciences Distinguished Achievement Award for Technical Staff
created 10/27/2006
Diamondoids Discovered Offshore Maryland Dr. Roger Sassen in collaboration with Paul Post of the U.S. Minerals Management Service discovered a major deposit of three-dimensional organic compounds called diamondoids. The diamondoids are fascinating naturally-occurring organic minerals with valuable properties. The diamondoid deposit was discovered in Jurassic and Cretaceous sandstones of the Hudson Canyon area offshore Maryland at depths between 8,000 and 13,000 feet below the seafloor. created 10/6/2006
EXPLORING AT “HYDRATE BRIDGE” IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
created 9/25/2006
GERG Scientist wins Gold Medal in Texas Senior Games Swimming Competition Dr. Les Bender just returned from Austin, Texas after swimming to one gold and two silver medals in the 2006 Texas Senior Games. The competition was held in Austin, Texas on September 15th at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Dr. Bender competed in the 50 – 54 year age group where he took first place in the 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 3:04.72, second place in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:25.62, and second place in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:50.09. All three times were national qualifying times. Athletes who finish in the top three places or meet the national qualifying times are invited to the national games. The national games will be held in Louisville, Kentucky on June 29 – July 2, 2007. Over the course of the next year Dr. Bender will be in the pool training from 6:00 to 7:30 am three to five days a week. He plans to improve his times and place in the top ten nationally. created 9/20/2006
Johnson Sea-Link Dives to Missisippi Canyon The Johnson Sea-Link (JSL) research submersible will be used to study one of the most enigmatic gas hydrate sites in the Gulf of Mexico from 11-17 September 2006. The site is the only known occurrence of gas hydrate in the eastern half of Mississippi Canyon. The site is in Mississippi Canyon Block 118; it was first discovered in 2002 during a JSL dive and then Dr. Roger Sassen spent 6 consecutive days there at 2,900 ft water depth in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine NR-1 in 2003. Dr. Sassen will be supporting the research of his collaborators by doing a reconnaissance dive between two active seafloor vents with gas hydrate, gas seeps, authigenic carbonate rock, and chemosynthetic communities with tube worms. One of the biggest surprises in recent years is that gas hydrate appears to be more abundant in mud than in sands on a global basis. The objective of the present dives in collaboration with Dr. Rudy Rogers of Mississippi State University will be new methods to synthesize gas hydrate at the seafloor in a mud-prone environment. Another dive with be with Dr. John Noakes of the University of Georgia to study unusual microbes that proliferate in an extreme environment for life. Funding is via the University of Mississippi from the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology (NIUST-NOAA). created 9/8/2006
Ms. Natalia Cappelletti, Visiting Scholar
created 9/5/2006
Dr. Les Bender visits USM and NDBC to discuss wave processing Dr. Les Bender was at Stennis Space Center on Tuesday August 22, 2006 to visit with Dr. Stephan Howden of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and scientists at the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). In 1994 GERG scientists designed and integrated a three meter discus buoy for USM Central Gulf Ocean Observing System (CenGOOS) and we are currently building a second three meter discus buoy for CenGOOS. Both buoys are equipped with 6 axis accelerometers and solid state heading, pitch and roll sensors. Dr. Bender is developing the on-board software to analyze the sensor data and turn it into two-dimensional spectra. He was at Stennis to discuss the progress of his efforts with Dr. Howden. Dr. Bender also met at NDBC with Dr. Don Conlee, Dr. Chung-Chu Teng, Mr. Richard Brouchard, and Mr. Dick Crout to discuss how wave data from NOAA buoys is analyzed. created 8/24/2006
John Walpert leads buoy deployment and service cruise on R/V Longhorn John Walpert is serving as Chief Scientist aboard the R/V Longhorn
August 23-August 26. During this research cruise we have already deployed Buoy H with the FlowCam flow cytometer off Port Aransas.
created 8/23/2006
Woodong Jung Returns from Historical Cruise Woodong Jung, a Ph.D. student from GERG and the Department of Geology and Geophysics returned today from a historical research cruise that resulted in the first discovery of subsurface gas-hydrate offshore India. GERG has through various gr ants supported Wooding for over a year prior to his cruise. We are very pleased to see him back.
created 8/21/2006
"Altered Ocean" is topic of week long Multimedia presentation by LA Times The LA Times has put together a wakeup call on man's impact on the ocean. The effects of overfishing and harmful algal blooms are are among those topics addressed. The series include fifteen flash movies and five long articles. created 7/31/2006
Physical Oceanography Graduate Student Enjoys Summer Internship at GERG Howdy! My name is Sudeshna Lahiry and I am pursuing my summer internship at GERG. I am a Master of Science student in the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University. I am working on a University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Project under the guidance of Dr. Les Bender. This major part of this project involves the integration and testing of a three meter discus buoy that will deployed in CeNGOOS. This buoy will be the second that GERG has provided to CeNGOOS. Part of this project involves writing the software for 2D spectral wave analysis using Matlab. The data comes from a 6-axis accelerometer from the first USM buoy that has been deployed in the Gulf of Mexico. In the first part of the project, I performed a 1D spectral wave analysis of the accelerometer data which I compared with results from a nearby NDBC buoy. The next step is to perform a 2D analysis to calculate direction wave spectra from the buoy data. My internship with GERG ends in August 2006 and my graduation is expected in December 2006. created 7/31/2006
Dr. Guy Denoux invited to attend U. S. Fish and Wildlife Workshop Dr. Guy J. Denoux will attend the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Environmental Contaminants Training Meeting held in Colorado Springs, Colorado over the week of July 31 to August 4, 2006. Two hundred members of the Fish and Wildlife http://www.fws.gov/ environmental staff will attend this annual meeting. A purpose of the meeting is presentation of the new strategic plan for the Environmental Contaminants Program with sessions for review and comments from F&W staff and selected contractors. Other sessions of the meeting will have presentations of various environmental projects from the regional programs of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. created 7/26/2006
Eddie Webb leaves for Cruise on R/V Gyre Mr. Eddie Webb left Sunday July 23, 2006 for Brazil where he will join the R/V Gyre for a week long cruise in Brazilian waters. On the cruise, which is scheduled to last about a week, he will train and assist other technicians aboard the ship in use of CTDs, ADCPs, and the underway flow through system. created 7/26/2006
Stephen T. Sweet Promoted to Senior Research Associate Stephen Sweet will be promoted to Senior Research Associate effective September 1, 2006. He has been an employee of Texas A&M University for over 25 years. He received his Masters in Chemical Oceanography from Texas A&M in 1988. Steve served as Research Assistant at GERG from 1985 to 1989 and Research Associate at GERG from 1990 to present. Steve is the Principal Investigator (PI) on over $50,000 in applied research contracts annually and is Co-PI on many of GERG’s other programs. With funding from the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (http://www.cbbep.org/), he has been responsible for establishing air deposition monitoring stations for the National Air Deposition Program (NDAP) (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/ ). The NADP site at Corpus Christi has been in operation for over six years. Sweet is responsible for planning for GERG’s field programs in Antarctica and has participated in six expeditions to that continent. Steve supervises many unique analytical streams in our chemistry laboratory (e.g. biomarkers, 3-D fluorescence, bile metabolites, pigments, TOC, TPH, etc.). Sweet also established GERG sample tracking process and supervises GERG’s sample collection. Steve was awarded GERG Employee of the quarter in 2001, Distinguished Service Award from the College of Geosciences in 2000, TAMU President’s Meritorious Service Award in 1998 and the Antarctic Service Award in 1989. Dr. Terry Wade, Deputy Director at GERG for Environmental Sciences, says “…Steve’s promotion is in recognition of his continuing contributions to GERG and his importance to our programs.” created 7/26/2006
Antarctic Feature Named for Former GERG Director
Dr. Kennicutt was the Director of GERG from April 1998 until August 2004 created 6/22/2006
Atmospheric Deposition Monitoring of Contaminants to Texas Coastal Bays created 6/12/2006
Deep-ocean Gas Hydrate Exploration In Gulf of Mexico Dr. Roger Sassen presented a paper in May at the 2006 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston on a major discovery of gas hydrate offshore Louisiana. The Mississippi Canyon 118 site in about 890 meters of water and contains unusual orange gas hydrate that crystallizes from venting gas bubbles on the seafloor. Dr. Sassen helped discover the site using the Johnson Sea Link Dr. Sassen presented much previously unpublished data on the gas hydrate at a site where a seafloor observatory is about to be emplaced by a consortium of government and university researchers. Dr. Sassen is collaborating with other scientists from the University of Mississippi and the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology, a federal funding agency. Because gas hydrate is a potentially enormous future energy source, he was interviewed for a newspaper article showing that GERG scientists care about the nation's energy problems. created 6/1/2006
Filling In the Global Map of Gas Hydrates In April, the journal Organic Geochemistry accepted a paper by Drs. Roger Sassen of GERG and Joseph A. Curiale of Chevron on unusual gas hydrate found for the first time in deep equatorial waters offshore Indonesia. The unique The discovery refutes previous suggestions that no gas hydrate would be discovered in the ocean so near the equator. The hydrate has an unusual composition suggesting the methane and ethane of the hydrate is from the biosphere in sediment deep below the seafloor where microbes appear to flourish in an unusually extreme environment for life. This paper provides the strongest evidence yet that certain microbes adapted to harsh conditions generate biogenic ethane. The gas hydrate was discovered during GERG research supported by Chevron and showcases the science-value of GERG collaborative research with the energy industry. created 6/1/2006 |
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GERG employees first participated in the Relay for Life in 2000 and have fielded a team every year since that time. Team members conduct various fund raisers throughout the year and all of the money raised is donated to the American Cancer Society. This year, we raised almost $1,800 and were recognized, once again, as a Bronze level team. The event took place from 7 P.M. on Friday, May 2nd, through 7 A.M. on Saturday, May 3rd. Our efforts were dedicated to the memory of Guy Denoux. Guy was a GERG employee for over 20 years. He lost his mother to cancer and has always given generously to the American Cancer Society. Even before he joined the GERG team, he was one of our most benevolent contributors. We believed it was appropriate, therefore, to honor his memory by dedicating this year's Relay for Life to him. Guy lost his battle with leukemia on December 7, 2007. He will be missed.
Dr. José Sericano, Associate Research Scientist with the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG) at Texas A&M University, was invited as an expert to the Second Meeting of the Coastal Monitoring Program: "Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua - Reducing Pesticide Run-off into the Caribbean Sea" held in Kingston, Jamaica, on 27-28 March, 2008.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss the progress made in developing the Pesticides Coastal Monitoring Program, review the capacity of participating institutions, define the most appropriate sampling techniques, select the matrices, compounds and methods of analysis to be used as well as the quality control standards to be developed, assess monitoring alternatives in the marine environment, and complete the general framework for the Program. Representatives from the research institutes involved in the program (INVEMAR, CIMAR-CICA and CIRA/UNAN), as well as four external experts (Dr. Sericano, Texas A&M University, United States; Dr. Gerardo Gold, CINVESTAV, Mexico; Dr. Carlos Alonso, CEAC, Cuba; Dr. Fernando Ruiz, CIMAB, Cuba) participated at the meeting. The external experts, together with the experts from participating institutions, make up the advisory panel on the coastal monitoring of pesticides. Also participating in the meeting were persons linked to the REPCar Project, through UNEP -RCU/CAR. Dr. Sericano will be responsible for compiling a manual on sampling, analysis and reporting to be used in the three countries and ensure that they are conducted comparable manner and delivering lectures and guiding practical exercises during a training to guarantee the quality of the results to be held at the University of Costa Rica between 30 June and July 4, 2008.
Dr. José Sericano, Associate Research Scientist with the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG) at Texas A&M University, was invited as Instructor, together with Dr. R.F. Addison (Canada), Dr. F. S-C Lee (China), and Dr. N. Kannan (South Korea), in a training course held in Jangmok, South Korea on 15-26 October, 2007 and sponsored by the APEC Marine Environmental Training and Education Center (AMETEC), Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI), Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), and United Nations University (UNU). Ten participants, with qualifications at the M.Sc. level or higher, from Asian countries from Russia to Papua-New Guinea spent, two weeks at the AMETEC South Sea Research Institute in Jangmok training in the analytical chemistry of agrochemical using KORDI's clean laboratory facilities and advanced instrumentation. In addition to several lectures, practical work carried out by the participants included sampling, sample extraction and clean-up, and instrumental analysis, measurement, and calculations.
Dr. José Sericano, Associate Research Scientist with the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG) at Texas A&M University, was invited as a Lecturer during the "Regional Training Course on the Use of Nuclear Techniques to Address the Management Problems of Coastal Zones in the Caribbean Region" held in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on 10-21 September, 2007. The Regional Course, jointly organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos (CEAC), aimed to develop and improve capabilities of national and regional capacity to reduce the degradation of the coastal ecosystems of the wider Caribbean region by using nuclear techniques to support integrated coastal zone. This Regional training Course will be complemented by a "Regional Training Course on Quantification of Organic Contaminants in Marine Sediments" to be held at the University of Costa Rica on 7-18 July, 2008. Dr. Sericano will deliver lectures and guide practical exercises during that training event.
Each year, the MSC's Opera and Performing Arts Society (OPAS) student committee presents the Connie Wortham award to an individual serving on the Board of Directors in recognition of their exemplary efforts to promote the relationship between the community and student volunteers. The season 35 award was presented to Debz DeFreitas at the student banquet on April 18, 2008. The students expressed their appreciation of her outstanding contribution and dedication to the advancement of the performing arts at Texas A&M University.
A Regional Workshop on ROPME Mussel Watch Program was held in Tehran, in cooperation with the National Focal Point in the I.R.Iran (NFP-I.R.Iran), during 26-29 May 2007. The main objective of the Workshop was to develop a Regional Action Plan through the participation of concerned Experts from the Member States, ROPME designated Consultants, representatives of ROPME and NFP-I.R.Iran to widen the scope of the presently ongoing Pilot Project on Mussel Watch by NFP-I.R.Iran to the entire ROPME Sea Area. The ROPME Mussel Watch Program will launch its sampling program on November 2007 with a second sampling on May 2008. A Second Regional Experts Workshop is scheduled for October 2008. Dr. Jose L. Sericano, Associated Research Scientist with the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG) at Texas A&M University and invited ROPME Mussel Watch Expert, is pictured with Dr. Hassan Awad, ROPME representative, Dr. Ali Mashinchian, Pilot Project on Mussel Watch by NFP-I.R.Iran, and Dr. Uğur Sunlu, ROPME Consultant.
Dr. José Sericano, Associate Research Scientist at GERG, conducted a National Training Course on the Analysis of Chlorinated Organic Contaminants and Sterols in Qatar on 15-26 April, 2007. The 12-day course was organized by the Trace Analysis Section (TAS) of the Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Resources (SCENR) of Qatar and supported jointly by the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Eleven participants representing different national laboratories, including the Central Environmental Laboratory, the Environmental Study Center of Qatar University, the Agricultural Laboratory at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, the Forensic Laboratory of the Ministry of Interior, the Food laboratory of the National Health Authority, and the Water Laboratory of Kahramaa, took part of the training course held at the Central Environmental Labora to ry (CEL) at Abu Hamour. Expert chemist and environmentalist at the SCENR, Dr. Aarif H. el-Mubarak, CEL director, Mr. Ibrahim Salim al-Darwish, Secretary General, Mr. Khalid G. Al-Ali, and director of human resources and work systems at the SCENR, Mr. Sultan Hassan al-Jamali, are shown with Dr.
Sericano at the closing ceremony of the event.
"Ms. April Croxton (pictured center) is a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration Fellowship holder at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center,
Milford Laboratory, Milford, CT visited GERG from March 5 to 7. GERG will
perform some contaminant analyses on samples she has collected as part of
her Ph.D. studies in Environmental Sciences at Florida A&M University.
During her visit April participated in many aspects of GERG analytical
procedures and had discussions of her research plan with GERG researchers."
As part of increasing collaboration between Texas A&M University and the Alexandria University in Egypt, a visiting scholar has joined GERG for the next nine months. 
Debz DeFreitas was presented the Dean’s Distinguished Achievement Award by Dean Björn Kjerfve on October 18, 2006 when she was given a framed certificate and a check for $1200.
Figure 1. Three different diamondoid configurations (After Wingert, 1991)
In Hudson Canyon the smallest molecular unit is adamantane, two units make
diamantane, and three make triamantane. Further building of the diamond-like
crystal lattice results in "organized" configurations to include hollow
Bucky-balls. 
Roger Sassen was on the R.V. Seward Johnson diving to a gas hydrate site in Mississippi Canyon in mid-September. He dived to a depth of 890 meters in the Johnson Sea-Link research submersible. 
Dr. José L. Sericano, Associate Research Scientist at GERG, hosted Ms. Natalia Cappelletti, a visiting scholar from Argentina, between August 22 and September 7, 2006. Ms. Cappelletti is an environmental chemist pursuing her doctoral degree under the direction of Dr. Juan C. Colombo from Laboratorio de Química Ambiental y Biogeoquímica (LAQAB) at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina. She is conducting research on the presence of selected toxicants in Prochilodus lineatus, a detritivorous fish from Río de la Plata, Argentina.