Principal Investigators

	Dr. Alan Shiller has been the driving force for this project. He's participated in many cruises to this area, and was the lead author for the overall NSF proposal. Alan's specialty is trace element geochemistry: he uses the chemistry of elements in water to track physical, biological, chemical and geological processes. He will be accompanied by Kjell Gundersen (a visiting scientist at USM), and by a number of graduate students. To learn more, please go to Dr. Shiller's website.
	Dr. Jim Krest is really excited to be going back on the Pelican again. Last time onboard, Jim was a M.S. student at the University of South Carolina, and before that he worked as a technician for Alan Shiller. Since then, the Pelican has been lengthened, the crew has mostly changed, and Jim has gotten a little grayer. This project will be a continuation of the work he did for his Master's thesis, hopefully allowing him to answer a couple of questions that arose from that work. His specialty is measuring radium. There are four natural isotopes of radium that can be measured in environmental samples, and these isotopes make useful tracers for looking at how water moves and mixes in the coastal ocean. To learn more, please go to Dr. Krest's website.
	Dr. Kyeong Park was recruited by Alan and Jim to help them do a better job explaining the mixing processes on the coast. Wheras Alan and Jim are chemists, Kyeong is a physical oceanographer, and he specializes in modelling transport processes and water quality in the coastal ocean. As a modeler, he has been invaluable in planning the sampling for the cruise to make sure we get enough data to describe the system. To learn more, please go to Dr. Park's website.

Research Assistant & Students

	Kevin Martin is a technician for the University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Marine Science. He received his Bachelors degree in Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry back in 2002 from Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. In 2006 he received his masters in Marine Science with a concentration in Geological Oceanography. During his time as a graduate student at USM he conducted research in the Ross Sea, Antarctica and in the Gulf of Mexico. After graduating from USM he worked for Sea Education Association as an assistant scientist, only to find his way back to USM in the spring of 2007 to become a technician. His role on the cruise is to assist in the deployment of instrumentation, primarily the optical package and trace metal pumping systems, and the collection of water samples.
	Jade Shiller is a research assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi's Department of Marine Science. She works in Alan's lab, analyzing water samples from all over the country for trace metals. On this cruise, however, she is helping collect biological samples that will help characterize the algae present in this part of the Gulf. She also has a BSc in Marine Biology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. To learn more, please visit Department of Marine Science, University of Southern Mississippi.
	Ashley Lojek received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinnati. She is currently a Master student at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Marine Science. She is studying biological oceanography under Dr.Steve Lohrenz.
	Philip Riekenberg is currently working for Dr. Brian Fry at Louisiana State University in the stable isotope laboratory. His B.S is in biology with a concentration in freshwater and marine systems, from the University of Texas, Austin. He is interested in pursuing a masters degree in the next 2-3 years in oceanography.
	Leslie Wallace is a M.S. student under the advice of Dr. Jim Krest and Dr. Kent Fanning at the USF College of Marine Science. Leslie's first experience at sea was on the Pelican at age 15 when she joined a group from Dauphin Island Sea Lab researching jellyfish in the Gulf. Leslie has since graduated from Eckerd College with a B.S. in marine geology, finished a year of grad school, and has somehow found herself back at the Pelican, this time with a hefty stash of seasickness medication. Leslie's research interests include understanding the role humans play in introducing elements like Radium to seawater and sediment on the Louisiana shelf, specifically the role offshore oil production plays in this process.
	Alanna Lecher is an undergraduates student at USF. She is majoring in environmental science, and hopes to minor in chemistry. She is the author of the mag-mix blog, and can be contacted through the comments link of the blog. In addition to assisting Dr. Krest in his research, Alanna is particularly interested in how nutrients and radium vary with salinity. She is very excited, about this trip, as this will be a good opportunity to get out of the lab and into the field. Some times you can forget what sunlight is when only working in a lab without windows. Alanna hopes you will enjoy tracking the crew on this trip, and that you will participate in the blog.
	Erik Oij is an environmental science graduate student at USF. He also received his B.S. in environmental science from USF. Erik has been working with Dr. Krest for the past few years. In addition to Erik's assistance on this research trip, Erik is currently researching aquatic entomology in Georgia for his master's thesis. To learn more, please visit Environmental Science & Policy, University of South Florida St Petersburg.