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Measuring mercury levels in the ocean: A scientist at sea on the Research Vessel Endeavor

By Colin Thackray, Nereus Fellow at Harvard University

The oceans are very expansive. Their enormous size and distance from where people stay long term presents a challenge for scientists monitoring the oceans. Unlike many atmospheric measurements for meteorology which we can make just outside of cities, often at airports, to get good measurements for ocean science, a journey on the sea is often required. Around the world, there are many ships designed or outfitted specifically for bringing scientists to the ocean – so called Research Vessels (RVs).

Inaugural Planetary Health/GeoHealth Annual Meeting

Nereus Fellow Tiff-Annie Kenny (University of Ottawa) attended the Inaugural Planetary Health/GeoHealth Annual Meeting at Harvard University from April 29 to 30, 2017. Planetary Health is defined as “the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends” (Rockefeller Foundation – Lancet Planetary Health Commission Report), and is related to GeoHealth, which stands for Global Environmental and Occupational Health.

Green College seminar: Impacts of climate change on contaminants in fisheries

“Our energy choices have ramifications for many other types of pollutants,” said Elsie Sunderland, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard University and Nereus Program collaborator. “Hydroelectric: when we flood our reservoirs we actually cause a dramatic pulse in methylmercury production, which is neurotoxic, and we also cause a pulse in CO2 and methane.”