Tessa M. Hill Explained

Tessa Michelle Hill
Birth Place:Tacoma, Washington, USA
Fields:
Workplaces:University of California, Davis
Alma Mater:University of California, Santa Barbara
Doctoral Advisor:James P. Kennett
Known For:ocean acidification, methane cycle in the ocean, climate change and the ocean, outreach to the public and K-12
Awards:National Science Foundation CAREER Awards
US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers PECASE

Tessa Michelle Hill is an American marine geochemist and oceanographer. She is a professor at the University of California, Davis, and a resident professor at its Bodega Marine Laboratory. She is a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and in 2016 was named a Leshner Public Engagement Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In that year she also received the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Her research and wider public influence focuses on the effects of climate change on the global ocean, including ocean acidification.

Early life and education

Hill was born in Tacoma,Washington, U.S. and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she attended Stadium High School. She gained a Bachelor in Science degree in marine science from Eckerd College.[1] After graduating she studied marine micropaleontology and climate change at UC Santa Barbara. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2004 she was given a University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis for two years, before joining its faculty of the Earth and Planetary Sciences department.[2] [3]

Research areas

Hill's research includes methane in the ocean (methane in hydrocarbon seeps, and clathrate dissociation), changing ocean oxygenation and the effects of a warmer more acidic ocean on bivalves, coral, and foraminifera.

Methane in the Ocean

Early in her career, Hill investigated the role of oceanic methane sources in modifying environments at the sea floor and releasing methane to the water column and atmosphere.[4] [5] This work utilized modern methane seep environments to investigate the biological and chemical responses to methane. It included reconstructing past intervals of methane and hydrocarbon seepage on the California margin.

Ocean acidification

At Bodega Marine Laboratory (near Bodega Head), Hill and colleagues studied the effect of ocean acidification in the natural laboratory of the California continental margin.[6] Here, upwelling of carbon dioxide-rich water seasonally decreases the pH in local marine environments. One theory about this region is that local fauna would be well adapted to acidic (low pH) water. Hill and colleagues have shown that acidic waters have an adverse impact on growth characteristics of the protozoan zooplankton foraminifera,[7] oysters,[8] and mussels.[9] Oysters and mussels play an important role as foundation species in marine ecosystems, and zooplankton are an important source of food for many organisms. These findings indicate that ocean acidification may have a significant impact on California marine ecosystems.

Hill has been a contributing author to several governmental reports on ocean acidification and climate impacts, including the West Coast Ocean Acidification & Hypoxia Panel,[10] [11] Indicators of Climate Change in California,[12] and the Fourth Climate Assessment for California.[13]

Past climate change and the ocean

Hill has utilized records of climate to understand how temperature, productivity, and oxygen changes in the past have influenced ocean ecosystems. Hill utilizes deep sea corals to reconstruct changes in the ocean through hundreds of years.[14] [15] Hill uses microfossils in sediment cores to understand how the ocean has changed over thousands of years, including dramatic temperature and oxygen[16] [17] changes associated with the transition from Earth's most recent glaciation to the modern, warmer climate.

Awards and honors

Tessa Hill earned a US National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2013 for her research on marine ecosystem shifts due to climate change, and her work to integrate climate science into K-12 education.

In 2014 she was elected Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences.[18] She was named a Leshner Public Engagement Fellow[19] of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016.

Also in 2016, Hill received the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The PECASE citation reads:[20]

For her transdisciplinary research that places modern ocean acidification and ocean oxygenation into a long-term Earth-system context, and for training and outreach to K-12 teachers and students that offers them a better understanding of ocean science and climate change through inquiry-based learning.

Public engagement on scientific research

Outreach

In May 2017, Hill was invited to give the Rosenburg Institute Public Forum lecture[21] at San Francisco State University and in May 2018 she gave the Riser Lecture[22] at Northeastern University.

As part of a program supported by the National Science Foundation, Hill leads a program that trains future K-12 teachers in ocean, environmental and climate science. This program has supported curriculum development and research experiences for students in the Math and Science Teaching Program at UC Davis.[23]

Hill serves on the Advisory Council for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary,[24] the Board of Trustees[25] for the California Academy of Sciences and the Board of Trustees[26] for the Society for Science and the Public.

Media

Tessa Hill's research has been featured in print and radio media on topics concerning climate science, deep sea corals, and ocean acidification. These include a New York Times opinion article,[27] a radio interview on Science Friday,[28] and an interview about the impacts of ocean acidification on shellfish on US National Public Radio (NPR).[29] In addition, she has been profiled in a program featuring climate scientists on NPR.[30]

An interview on corals appeared in Al Jazeera America.[31] Hill published an Op Ed in the Santa Rosa, CA Press Democrat on the role of federal science funding in supporting innovation in the United States.[32] She was profiled as a Scientist-to-Watch in The Scientist magazine,[33] and is a regular contributor of essays and blogs[34] [35] [36] including for the Union of Concerned Scientists.[37]

Selected works

References

  1. Web site: ECAlum:Academic Grads - Eckerd Academic Wiki. academics.eckerd.edu. en. 2018-08-14.
  2. Web site: Tessa M. Hill UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences. geology.ucdavis.edu. 27 February 2018. en. 2018-08-16.
  3. Web site: Tessa Hill - Bio. Hill Biogeochemistry Lab. en-US. 2018-08-16.
  4. Hill. T.M. Kennett. J.P. Spero. H.J. 2003. Foraminifera as indicators of methane-rich environments: A study of modern methane seeps in Santa Barbara Channel, California. Marine Micropaleontology. 49. 1–2. 123–138. 10.1016/s0377-8398(03)00032-x. 0377-8398. 2003MarMP..49..123H.
  5. Hill. T. M.. Kennett. J. P.. Valentine. D. L.. Yang. Z.. Reddy. C. M.. Nelson. R. K.. Behl. R. J.. Robert. C.. Beaufort. L.. 2006-09-12. Climatically driven emissions of hydrocarbons from marine sediments during deglaciation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103. 37. 13570–13574. 10.1073/pnas.0601304103. 1564264. 16945904. 2006PNAS..10313570H. free.
  6. Web site: Home. Hill Biogeochemistry Lab. en-US. 2018-08-14.
  7. Davis. Catherine V.. Rivest. Emily B.. Hill. Tessa M.. Gaylord. Brian. Russell. Ann D.. Sanford. Eric. 2017-05-22. Ocean acidification compromises a planktic calcifier with implications for global carbon cycling. Scientific Reports. En. 7. 1. 2225. 10.1038/s41598-017-01530-9. 2045-2322. 5440396. 28533519. 2017NatSR...7.2225D.
  8. Hettinger. Annaliese. Sanford. Eric. Hill. Tessa M.. Russell. Ann D.. Sato. Kirk N. S.. Hoey. Jennifer. Forsch. Margaux. Page. Heather N.. Gaylord. Brian. 2012. Persistent carry-over effects of planktonic exposure to ocean acidification in the Olympia oyster. Ecology. en. 93. 12. 2758–2768. 10.1890/12-0567.1. 23431605. 0012-9658. free.
  9. Gaylord. Brian. Hill. Tessa M.. Sanford. Eric. Lenz. Elizabeth A.. Jacobs. Lisa A.. Sato. Kirk N.. Russell. Ann D.. Hettinger. Annaliese. 2011-08-01. Functional impacts of ocean acidification in an ecologically critical foundation species. Journal of Experimental Biology. en. 214. 15. 2586–2594. 10.1242/jeb.055939. 0022-0949. 21753053. free.
  10. Book: Chan, F., Boehm, A.B., Barth, J.A., Chornesky, E.A., Dickson, A.G., Feely, R.A., Hales, B., Hill, T.M., Hofmann, G., Ianson, D., Klinger, T., Largier, J., Newton, J., Pedersen, T.F., Somero, G.N., Sutula, M., Wakefield, W.W., Waldbusser, G.G., Weisberg, S.B., and Whiteman. The West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel: Major Findings, Recommendations, and Actions. California Ocean Science Trust. 2016. Oakland, California.
  11. Web site: West Coast Ocean Acidification & Hypoxia Panel.
  12. Web site: Indicators of Climate Change in California.
  13. Web site: Fourth Climate Assessment for California.
  14. Hill. T. M.. LaVigne. M.. Spero. H. J.. Guilderson. T.. Gaylord. B.. Clague. D.. 2012-07-04. Variations in seawater Sr/Ca recorded in deep-sea bamboo corals. Paleoceanography. en. 27. 3. n/a. 10.1029/2011pa002260. 0883-8305. 2012PalOc..27.3202H. free.
  15. Hill. T. M.. Myrvold. C. R.. Spero. H. J.. Guilderson. T. P.. 2014-07-22. Evidence for benthic–pelagic food web coupling and carbon export from California margin bamboo coral archives. Biogeosciences. 11. 14. 3845–3854. 10.5194/bg-11-3845-2014. 1726-4189. 2014BGeo...11.3845H. free.
  16. Hill. T.M.. Kennett. J.P.. Pak. D.K.. Behl. R.J.. Robert. C.. Beaufort. L.. 2006. Pre-Bølling warming in Santa Barbara Basin, California: surface and intermediate water records of early deglacial warmth. Quaternary Science Reviews. 25. 21–22. 2835–2845. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.03.012. 0277-3791. 2006QSRv...25.2835H.
  17. Moffitt. Sarah E.. Hill. Tessa M.. Roopnarine. Peter D.. Kennett. James P.. 2015-04-14. Response of seafloor ecosystems to abrupt global climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112. 15. 4684–4689. 10.1073/pnas.1417130112. 4403169. 25825727. 2015PNAS..112.4684M. free.
  18. News: Academy Fellows. California Academy of Sciences. 2018-08-14. en.
  19. News: 2016-2017 Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellows: Climate Change. 2015-09-08. AAAS - The World's Largest General Scientific Society. 2018-08-14. en.
  20. Web site: The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: Recipient Details NSF - National Science Foundation. www.nsf.gov. en. 2018-08-14.
  21. Web site: Video Presentations Estuary & Ocean Science Center. eoscenter.sfsu.edu. en. 2018-08-14.
  22. News: Riser Lecture - Northeastern University College of Science. Northeastern University College of Science. 2018-08-14. en-US.
  23. Web site: Match and Science Teaching UC Davis.
  24. Web site: Advisory Council Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. cordellbank.noaa.gov. en. 2018-08-14.
  25. News: Leadership. California Academy of Sciences. 2018-08-14. en.
  26. Web site: Board of Trustees Society for Science & the Public. www.societyforscience.org. 2018-08-14.
  27. News: Opinion 'What Oysters Reveal About Sea Change'. The New York Times . 21 July 2015 . 2018-08-14. en. Bittman . Mark .
  28. News: For Oysters, Challenges and Hope in the Changing Ocean - Science Friday. Science Friday. 2018-08-14. en-US.
  29. News: Can Shellfish Adapt to More Acidic Water?. NPR.org. 2018-08-14. en.
  30. News: Meet Climate Scientists Tessa Hill And Jessica Hellmann. NPR.org. 2018-08-14. en.
  31. Web site: Coral catastrophe: The fight to save our dying reefs. www.aljazeera.com. 2018-08-16.
  32. News: Close to Home: Science and innovation desrve robust funding. 2017-06-25. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 2018-08-14.
  33. Web site: Tessa Hill Wants to Save the Bivalves. The Scientist Magazine®. en. 2018-08-16.
  34. Web site: Tessa M. Hill. Medium. en. 2018-08-14.
  35. News: Stand up for science: More researchers now see engagement as a crucial part of their job. Rochman. Chelsea. The Conversation. 2018-08-14. en.
  36. News: The deep sea holds secrets that need our protection On the Tide. Marine Conservation Institute. 2018-08-14.
  37. News: UCS at Chevron shareholder meeting. The Equation . 7 June 2018.

External links

T. M. Hill essay

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