How did you end up in the field you are in today? Who or what inspired you to pursue this career? Who are some of the people you look up to or admire?
My first wetlands experience was running around in a seasonally flooded swamp in back of my childhood home. It was the wildest place in my neighborhood and town. I used to disappear in there for hours with my dog, exploring the mysteries of the swamp.
My first professional environmental interest was design of energy efficient houses, but in undergraduate school I saw very quickly that that I was more suited to biology than slide rules and drafting tables. My ecology professor, the late Dr. Martin Nauman, challenged our undisciplined minds to understand how the study of complex ecosystems could only be understood through a systematic study of individual elements in strict accordance with the standards of the scientific method. The discovery of aquatic biology through a course in limnology really brought the whole thing together: my childhood love of the swamp and the possibility of understanding those systems down to the microscopic level. My major professor in graduate studies at UMASS (Dr. Carl Carlozzi) gave me a piece of advice which guided my career development choices: “keep your feet wet.” His rationale was that issues related to water are so critical to the world (the staff of life) that “keeping your feet wet” is a sound guiding principle for career development choices.
What research/work projects are you currently involved in? How do you conduct your research/work and what tools/technology do you use? How does math factor into your work? What have you learned so far?
I don’t do research in the classic sense. Coastal restoration is an emerging science, and so much of what we do is use others’ research findings to further our understanding of the factors contributing to coastal wetlands losses so that we can try to address those loss processes and restore wetlands. After design and construction of a project, we enter into an “applied research” phase where we assess the success of the project and re-evaluate the assumptions and tools we used to do the design.
Most of my current projects are barrier island restoration projects, and research on the geomorphology of island formation and evolution plays heavily in trying to address maintain island function through application of engineering solutions. Louisiana barrier island loss is related almost solely to an undersupply of sand, resulting in islands “drowning.” Barrier island restoration begins with evaluating the rates and patterns of island degradation, which is accomplished through the review of historical aerial photographs, pertinent literature, review of site specific topographic and bathymetric data. Once the rates and patterns of change are established, it becomes a fairly simple engineering exercise to apply mathematics and physical principles to design a project which will offset the rates of loss. Development of a sediment budget through a mass balance approach and use of computer models (which are really high speed mathematical computations) to “predict” island performance help tell us what needs to be built to maintain island structure and function. Finding the sandy materials needed for island restoration is one of our biggest challenges in coastal Louisiana. The use of remote sensing techniques such as seismic surveys, which use acoustical signals to map buried sediment layers, helps guide the search for suitable sand.
Math: I can’t think off much that I do that I don’t use math in. Math and physics, physics and math. The types of math I use are almost endless. I still have to solve for “x” and it’s not a nice neat problem in a math book. Geometry: I use it at least every week. What is the area of the irregular polygon of a shoreline protection dike, and then, if the irregular polygon is made up of a certain class of rock, how much will that polygon weigh? How many 48-inch circular culverts will it take to move 12 inches of water off of 2,000 acres of marsh in less than 7 days if I know that water will move at 20 cubic feet per second through each square foot of culvert drainage area? And what was the difference between the median and the mean, and which measure is most appropriate for estimating the grain size of sand on an island shoreface? And how was it that one converts cubic feet to cubic yards? Simple enough, but if you bust the calculations, your project is a failure and your costs are an order of magnitude higher than predicted. The good news is that most of what your teachers are trying to teach you won’t be on a test in 15 years; the better news is that you will actually use much of what you’re learning (and you’ll wish you remembered more!).
What do you like best about your job?
The challenge of addressing a devastating loss of coastal wetlands is the best part about my job. The best (and hardest) part is figuring out how to do things we haven’t done before. When we’re successful in accomplishments of applying new ideas or technologies, or making something work in a predictable, reproducible way, I feel like my work can make a difference.
What were your favorite books as a kid? Why?
My favorite books were very predictable: Island of the Blue Dolphins and My Side of the Mountain. The natural settings and emphasis on personal achievement in both books really appealed to me.
What was your favorite subject when you were in middle school? What did you think you were going to be when you grew up? What advice do you wish someone would have given you at the time?
My favorite subject was math because even if I couldn’t figure out the problem, there was always a solution. I really didn’t know what I would be when I grew up, but if anyone had showed me my future I would have said they were very wrong! And perhaps that’s some good advice: don’t limit yourself by where you are now, but focus on where you want to go.
Why do you think it is important for students to learn about wetlands in general? Why do you think it is important for students to learn about Louisiana’s wetlands? What can we learn from studying this region?
Wetlands are some of the most productive ecosystems on earth, and some of the most pressured by development. Coastal Louisiana is a national treasure, and is imperiled. The Nations’ seafood stock, oil and gas supply, and the transportation of materials and goods through the Mississippi River are all sensitive to the health of the largest wetland complex in the continental US.
Coastal restoration is the art and science of recreating, conserving, and replenishing a complex system. The lessons learned from past mismanagement of the Louisiana coastal plain can help us avoid making similar mistakes in the future. The lessons learned from planning, engineering and implementing large scale restoration projects provide knowledge and experience which may well be needed in the future to restore and conserve other complex ecosystems.
What one thing would you most like students to learn from participating in the JASON Wetlands Project?
I would like students to learn how complex, and fascinating coastal wetlands and south Louisiana are. I also hope that students will appreciate how important it is to conserve our natural and environmental resources, and to believe that ecosystem restoration can be accomplished using science as a basis.
What advice would you give to students who are interested in studying science? What are some of the diverse careers associated with the work that you do?
The careers in coastal and marine sciences are very diverse, ranging from hurricane prediction to management of endangered species. My advice is to be willing to try new things, follow your own interest when a subject appeals to you, and of course, keep your feet wet.
Any final thoughts, words of advice, personal philosophy?
Good writing and speaking skills are as, if not more, important, than strong technical skills. Do not underestimate the importance of people skills.