Pat Kelly

How did you get into your polar oceanic career?

When Pat (Roger) Kelly went to high school he loved science. He spent family vacations by oceans, and he had a lot of jobs outside. Pat had an uncle who was his role model. He worked for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Pat thought he had a "cool" job because he worked outside with volcanoes. In college Pat received a bachelors of science degree in oceanography in Florida. He felt that "everything made sense," and then went back to school to get a masters degree in oceanography. Pat, like many scientists, got a lot of experience in college that helped him get a lifetime career. The lab where Pat worked didn't have a technician so he got the job because of his college experience. Pat started his polar oceanic career in 1994 and he still loves it today.

If students are interested in getting into a career like yours, what do they need to do?

• Be good at math and science
• Be good at writing
• Take lots of chemistry, physics and oceanography classes
• Get a master's degree
• Work during college in the field you are studying

What is the best part of your job?

There are many things that Pat loves about his job. He loves all the travel (international), and he loves working with graduate students as a role model. With his job Pat has traveled to: Alaska, Turkey, The Bering Sea, The Mediterranean Sea, Greece, Bermuda, and many coasts off the American continent.

Where have you studied sediments?

Pat has studied sediments in: the Bering Sea, the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea, Sargasso Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the North Atlantic.

The Bering Sea is covered with ice for half the year and dark. This means that it is not as productive in winter, but makes up for it with lots of productivity in the summer months because of continual sunlight. Because of the summer productivity a sediment trap deployed in the Bering Sea would only be deployed for 24 hours. The Mediterranean Sea is dry and has a high level of salinity. There is not a lot of precipitation so not a lot of nutrients, though lots of light. The Sargasso Sea is like an ocean desert with little particle flux. The temperatures are also warm most of the year. Because of limited sediments and productivity, a sediment trap deployed in the Sargasso Sea would be deployed for three to four days.

Pat has also worked on writing proposals to do scientific research, sediments traps, off the coast of British Columbia, Washington State and in the Pacific Ocean.

What is your favorite place to study sediments?

Pat loves to study sediments all over the world, but he especially loves the Arctic. Pat feels that the Arctic and Bering Sea are constantly changing, that each trip is new and exciting as the landscape is always changing.

Why are sediments in water scientifically important?

Pat first spoke about the Bering Sea, and the importance of sediments in the water column. These sediments provide a food supply for animals, and they are part of the global carbon cycle.

Phytoplankton grow, die and then sink. They go all the way to the sediments on the bottom and become a part of the benthic system (crabs, clams). A changing climate in the Bering Sea could change this food transfer to the sediments. If these sediments from the water column do not make it to the bottom, they then become consumed by the pelagic fish. The reason why this is important is because the changing place of sediments, affects the fishing industry; do fisherman harvest more fish, or benthic species? Pat also discussed how sediment samples in water differ depending on where the water sample is from.

What is collected in a sediment trap?

Scientists like Pat are looking for Carbon and Nitrogen. They are also looking at the element thorium. Particles in sea water stick to the thorium as it sinks to the benthic zone, since scientists know the amount of thorium in a control sample, they can then determine the movement of sediments based on thorium amounts. According to Pat, the thorium deficit is in relationship to particles sinking to the bottom. Phytoplankton is also collected in sediment traps, and scientists are able to identify the different species by using a High Performance Liquid Chromatography Machine.

Pat also works with radioactive elements; he uses Radium to estimate ground water impacts in costal zones.

What role does phytoplankton play in the Bering Sea ecosystem?

Phytoplankton are important to the global carbon cycle. Phytoplankton take carbon dioxide from the water and when they die the carbon in their bodies sinks to the bottom sediments. This carbon is then part of the benthic ecosystem. That carbon stays at the bottom for hundreds to thousands of years.

What do scientists do with data they collect?

One of the main goals of scientists is to produce data for publication. The information they collect is given to the greater scientific community so that a hypothesis can be made about changes on the planet Earth. Scientists want to publish the information they have collected, and they often report to governments who might have the resources to make changes based on the research the scientists have collected.

Pat clarified the common misconception that scientists do not stop global climate change. Scientists make recommendations to governments who have the power and resources to make changes. Scientists can give advice and they can provide compelling evidence to show that the planet is not the same now as it was 20 years ago. Scientists can provide evidence showing that human activity is the possible cause to global ecological changes. Pat's advice is to keep an open mind, and use science as evidence. He added that historically there was no ice in the arctic, so who knows what the future will hold?