Researcher Spotlight
Meet Maureen Conte, Adjunct Associate Scientist, and JC Weber, Senior Research Assistant
The Ecosystems Center, Starr 121
A wire walkway high above the South American rainforest may not be a place you’d expect to find Ecosystems Center scientists Maureen Conte and J.C. Weber conducting field research. For more than a decade, Maureen has been the Principal Investigator of the Oceanic Flux Program, a 30-year time-series study of deep ocean particle flux in the Sargasso Sea waters off Bermuda. The OFP project, one of the longest oceanographic time-series in the world, is focused on understanding the interdisciplinary processes controlling ocean fluxes which will lead to a better prediction of the ocean’s response to changing climate patterns.
Last October, however, Maureen and J.C. traded in saltwater and sea breezes for the wet and muggy South American rainforest. The pair, who have worked together since 1996, traveled to Nouragues, a remote research station in French Guiana, located between Brazil and Suriname. Almost all of French Guiana (98%) is comprised of dense, undeveloped rainforest.
This dimension of Maureen and J.C.’s research (and why they traveled to the rainforest) focuses on using natural organic compounds (“biomarkers”) in atmospheric aerosols that are emitted by terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., plant leaf waxes and by-products from biomass burning) to study the terrestrial carbon cycle. The isotopic composition of leaf wax aerosols can be used to measure terrestrial photosynthetic discrimination, an important parameter for modeling the global carbon cycle and understanding the roles of land and ocean in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Over the years, the team has measured aerosols from ecosystems including western Canadian prairies, Maine and Florida conifer forests, Alaskan tundra, as well as continental scale emissions by collecting aerosols at the ocean islands of Bermuda and Barbados.
Their research in French Guiana will measure the chemical signal of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. The team made the trip to the Nouragues station to set up their aerosol sampling gear above the forest canopy, train the camp’s scientific technician on how to maintain the sampling program over the next year, and to take vegetation samples from representative species of the forest.
Since the area around the Nouragues station is uninhabited, Maureen and J.C. flew to the site by helicopter. “It was an amazing panorama,” says Maureen. “Forest as far as you could see in every direction, then suddenly the camp’s small landing pad and canvas-covered carbets appeared tucked in at the base of an inselberg (a large granite hill).”
Some Nouragues carbets—essentially cabins without walls—were dedicated as field labs, one was a common kitchen/living area, and others were sleeping carbets with hammocks. “It was very surreal and peaceful to wake up in the night and be looking out at the forest all around you,” says J.C. “There was a steady symphony of birds during the day and then the frogs took over at night. More than one morning, the howler monkeys acted as our alarm clock. One troop was camped out pretty close to Maureen’s carbet.”
Besides its unconventional living accommodations, Maureen and J.C. say Nouragues was a very unique place to conduct research on a system with minimal effect from people. “There is a very green infrastructure in place that provides us with the resources to do science but has very little impact on the environment,” says Maureen. As remote as the camp was, it had surprising and clever amenities including limited solar and hydroelectric power and unlimited running water supplied by runoff from the inselberg.
To collect their aerosol samples, Maureen and J.C.’s sampling equipment was mounted from a platform located high in the trees near the camp and accessible only by using a series of canopy walkways. The walkways were made of thick cable and were essentially horizontal ladders extending into the forest canopy from a ridge. “As with most remote field projects, we ended up adapting and evolving our sampler as we became more familiar with the environment,” says Maureen. “The scientist who founded Nouragues has just an amazing knowledge of all aspects of the forest and of working in the canopy, and his personality and willingness to share with us made the experience very stress-free and enjoyable.”
Besides their work going extraordinarily well, Maureen and J.C. feel very fortunate to have met some truly remarkable people during their trip. “It was such a special and relaxing atmosphere and a very cleansing sensation to be somewhere for weeks with no e-mail, no phones, and no contact with the outside world,” says J.C. “We didn’t find out about the Democrats taking full control of Congress until the plane ride home!”
According to Maureen and J.C., samples from Nouragues are being periodically shipped back to the MBL for analysis and a return trip to Nouragues is scheduled this fall to retrieve the equipment and, hopefully, conduct additional sampling of the forest canopy using a tethered hot air balloon. The synthesis of results from Nouragues with data from other sites sampled by the pair will provide new information on variations in terrestrial ecosystem processes on a continental scale.
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Employee Spotlight
Meet Richard Cutler, Director, Facilities, Services, and Projects, Broderick House 23
Much of Richard Cutler’s job at the MBL involves bringing the laboratory’s buildings and systems into the 21st century. By incorporating the latest technologies into projects such as the construction of the MRC and Starr Building, and, most recently, the complete renovation of the Rowe Laboratory, Richard and his staff help advance the MBL’s research and education programs through their work.
But when he’s not at the MBL, Richard is happy to take a step back in time through his hobby of restoring and touring vintage automobiles. Richard and his wife Gini first became interested in antique cars in 2000 after being invited to tour Martha’s Vineyard with a group of antique car enthusiasts. Not long after, they became the owners of their very own 1914 Ford Model T.
Henry Ford made 15 million Model Ts between 1908 and 1927. “These were cars for the common man,” says Richard. Originally sold for about $500, Model Ts were generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, due in part to Ford’s invention of the assembly line. Today 300,000 are registered worldwide and, according to Richard, at least that many more are unregistered but are still running.
Richard’s 1914 Model T was built during the “Brass Era,” the first period of automotive manufacturing named for the common use of brass for things such as lights and radiators.
These early automobiles were called horseless carriages, as they were capable of transporting people and freight faster and longer distance without the need of a horse to pull them.
Richard’s Model T was in semi-working condition when he bought it. More than two years of driving and repairs has yielded a reliable machine. Keeping his vintage car tuned up isn’t as difficult as one might imagine. “There are so many companies that specialize in parts, it is not hard to keep running,” Richard says. Plus Model Ts are straightforward in their design, with no water pump, oil pump, or fuel pump and a hand crank for starting the engine. Originally the Model T was designed to run on ethanol, but gas was so cheap, Henry Ford modified the engine. Richard’s car has been further modified with a rebuilt engine that runs on unleaded gasoline. Electric headlights and brake lights instead of gas and kerosene make it bit safer on the road.
Richard puts about 2,000 miles a year on his Model T, driving mostly along the scenic back roads of New England. As a member of the Horseless Carriage Club of America (HCCA) touring club, he has visited Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in antique automobiles and next summer is planning to attend the Model Ts 100th birthday celebration in Indiana. Last fall, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the HCCA, whose goal is to preserve originality or restore any pioneer gas, steam, and electric motor vehicle built prior to 1916 to their original condition and use them for the purpose of driving and completing tours, and promote the preservation of their historical value. “I’ve always been very interested in cars and very interested in history,” Richard says. “Once I bought an antique car, it all kind of fell into place.”
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