About Me

Current projects revolve around improving our constraints on organic matter transfer in pelagic ecosystems with Dr. Andrew McDonnell, and previously under Dr Mike Stukel in the Plankton Ecology and Biogeocehmistry Lab. My work includes field work, laboratory analysis and computer modeling, specifically the integration of multiple data sources into unified models. My dissertation research is centered on the biological pump in the California Current Ecosystem as part of the CCE-LTER program, but a significant portion of my time is spent on side projects and collaborations.

Contact Details

Thomas Bryce Kelly
EOA Office 5040
1011 Academic Way
Tallahassee, FL 32306 US

tbk14@fsu.edu
http://tkelly.org/

Education

Florida State University

PhD in Oceanography ongoing

Continuing research.

Master of Science in Oceanography April 2018

My master's thesis was titled "Spatial and inter-annual variability in export efficiency and the biological pump in an eastern boundary current upwelling system with substantial lateral advection" and analyzed the primary modes of variability in export efficiency throughout the CCE region. This projects compared export models (using remote sensing) against in situ data collected on our cruises to develop a novel approach for regions dominated by coastal upwelling and/or strong advection.

Boston College

B.S. in Biochemistry May 2014

Work

California Current Ecosystem

CCELTER Program March 2010 - Present

The bulk of my dissertation will be based on data I and others have collected as part of the CCE-LTER program. This program revolves around a series of lagrangian drifter cycles whereby we monitor the biogeochemistry and ecology of a single water parcel for 3-5 days. Such a framework allows us to answer such questions as how particle production and export relate, to assess satellite algorithms in an upwelling regime, and to better understand epipelagic-mesopelagic coupling in ecosystems.

See more about the CCE projects here.


Gulf of Mexico

Bluefin Tuna Ecology Program March 2017 - March 2019

This cruise focused on identifying the dominate lower ecosystem pathways supporting the larval Bluefin Tuna within the Golf of Mexico

CSOMIO Feb 2018 - Feb 2020

Consortium for Simulation of Oil-Microbial Interactions in the Ocean is a Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative funded project to explicitly model oil degradation processes in the water column and sediments.

See more about the GoM projects here.


Process Modeling

Net Community Production July 2017 - ongoing

Using an autonomous sampling system we can continuously monitor mixed layer gas concentrations in order to calculate the Net Community Production across various dimensions: diurnal, sub-mesoscale, and regionally.

Trace Element Residence Time February 2016 - December 2016

The sea-surface microlayer is a thin, organic rich film that covers virtually the entire ocean's surface. Previous research has found the microlayer to be a zone of large chemical gradients and may be important in metal complexation. This project developed a theoretical 3-specie model against which to compare results from a microcosm. Residence times were calculated for each trace metal.

Remineralization Length Scale of Trace Elements May 2017 - ongoing

Preferential remineralization of biolimiting nutrients is a well document phenomenon. In this project we seek to measure the RLS and residence time for trace elements in the euphotic zone as part of a CCE-LTER process cruise.

See more about these projects here.


New Zealand & Antarctica

Salp POOP October 2018 - December 2018

The NSF/NIWA collaborative project focused on identifying the ecological and biogeochemical role of salps in coastal water masses.

Palmer LTER 234Th 2014 - 2020

Annual LTER survey curisees have been conducted in order to identify changes in ecological drivers and biogeochemical processes at the Palmer LTER site off the Western Antarctic Penninsula. My role in the project has been to process the 234Th samples collected from the cruises. I also participated in the 2019-2020 LTER cruise (Dec 29 - Feb 12).

See more about these projects here.

Training

  • Sediment Trap Deployment and Recovery
  • Thorium Disequilibrium
  • Linear Inverse Modeling
  • ICP-MS
  • Oxygen-Argon derived NCP
  • In situ incubations
  • Regional Ocean Model & LTRANS

Experience

* peer reviewed

For a detailed list of experiences, see here.

Photos

  • Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

    Kant
  • We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.

    John F. Kennedy
  • We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.

    John F. Kennedy