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An
interview with:
University of Miami,
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science |
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 his
month, in-cites talks with Dr. Otis Brown, the Dean of the
University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and
Atmospheric Science, about the School’s citation record in
the field of Geosciences. According to Essential Science Indicators ,
the School’s record in this field includes 972 papers cited
a total of 17,010 times to date, and ranks at #40 out of the
362 institutions comprising the top 1% in Geosciences. Within
the University of Miami itself, Geosciences ranks at #4
according to total cites among the 13 fields in the database
in which the University of Miami has published papers.
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What would you say is responsible for the University of Miami’s
high impact in the fields of Geosciences in recent years?
There are multiple reasons: 1) aggressive recruitment of
outstanding faculty, 2) encouragement of risk-taking in scientific
research, 3) development of strong interdisciplinary team behavior,
and, 4) linkage of natural, social science and policy at the
Rosenstiel School.
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“Our multidisciplinary approach has garnered relationships with some of the world’s leading researchers as well as establishing innovative traveling laboratories aboard the
Explorer of the Seas”
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Our multidisciplinary approach has garnered relationships with
some of the world’s leading researchers as well as establishing
innovative traveling laboratories aboard the Explorer of the Seas.
State-of-the-art remote sensing capabilities with CSTARS (Center for
Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing) have increased the
satellite imagery and near real-time climate change data available
to scientists.
What factors or circumstances led to the creation of Miami’s
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science?
Dr. Bowman F. Ashe, president of the University of Miami from its
beginning, and Dr. F.G. Walton Smith, a 31-year-old British marine
scientist who was working on sponge fishery problems for the
Colonial Office in the Bahamas Islands, met by chance in the
quadrangle of the Anastasia Building on the University's old North
Campus in central Coral Gables. They discovered a mutual interest in
developing an institution for tropical marine research in Miami.
At President Ashe's invitation, Dr. Smith came to the University
in the fall of 1940 to be an assistant professor in the Department
of Zoology and begin organizing a marine laboratory, although at the
time the University could provide neither the necessary physical
plant nor financial support for it. The University Board of Trustees
formally established the UM Marine Laboratory on February 1, 1943,
with a resolution that read in part: "it is further proposed
that leaders in the field of oceanographic research, as well as
institutions devoted thereto, be invited to associate themselves
with this laboratory." The Marine school began in a Miami Beach
boathouse, eventually moving to Virginia Key where it currently
resides.
What are the School’s key research areas, in your view?
Key research areas map much of marine and atmospheric sciences,
with a strong interest in blending field and laboratory observations
with numerical simulation of Earth system components. Areas of
interest include: ocean and atmospheric currents/winds, land
subsidence, carbonate sedimentology, tropical cyclone behavior and
impacts, ocean acoustics, Arctic processes, the carbon system,
climate change on seasonal to inter-annual and longer time scales,
coastal ocean observing, open-ocean aquaculture, coral reef ecology,
coastal management, fisheries science, oceans and human health,
marine genomics, and paleoclimate observations and analyses.
What research fields or capabilities do you see as critical for
the future of the School?
The linkage of science and policy, and the connection of process
understanding to numerical simulation of the Earth system are key
areas for the future of the School. The key research areas noted
above are all of major importance, if we are to play a significant
role in scientific research and education in the future.
What is your prediction for the state of our knowledge about
Geosciences 10 years from now?
The state of our knowledge in Geosciences will increase over the
next decade. Technology, like wind/wave tanks that simulate air-sea
interaction and machines that can analyze earth core and sediment
samples to learn about prehistoric climate change, accelerate our
understanding considerably. Because Geosciences are paramount to
addressing climate change, we have no choice but to grow. This
knowledge will become increasingly imbedded in Earth system models,
as we improve our understanding of the Earth system and our ability
to forecast its future state and improve general society’s
preparedness for natural disasters.
What are the implications of the School’s work for the future
of this particular field of neighboring fields?
The School's work is critical to improve how well we forecast
future states of the Earth system, as well as observing it and
validating the underlying models, be they physical, biological,
chemical, or biogeochemical in their origin. It’s this work that
sets the foundation for building sensible policy and management
approaches.
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
University of Miami
Miami, FL, USA
| University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science's
most-cited paper with 967 cites to date: |
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Petit
JR, et al., "Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica,"
Nature 399(6735): 429-36, 3 June 1999. |
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Source:
Essential Science Indicators |
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cites
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