UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For several Penn State students taking a course on marine biogeochemistry, the coastal waters of the Florida Keys became an extension of their laboratory.

They spent weeks working in the lab with Lee Kump, John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and class time with Raymond Najjar, professor of oceanography, in preparation for the spring break trip.

In Florida, both undergraduate and graduate students split into four groups, each assessing a key component of the Keys. Students spent time snorkeling, studying fossilized coral reefs, spotting wildlife, examining mud and sediments, and even investigating whitings, a phenomenon where massive amounts of the ocean — so large it’s visible from space — suddenly and inexplicably turn cloudy white. They looked at the impact the wastewater system is having on the region.

They also volunteered at Crane Point Hammock, a nonprofit natural history museum and nature center in Marathon, Florida, to fulfill Kump’s mantra of Penn Staters always leaving places better than they found them. There, students help rid the sanctuary of invasive plant species.

In the classroom, Kump said, students learned about things such as marine life, ocean circulation, dissolved gases, and ocean sediments. But in the field is where they get to see the interaction between these processes playing out in real time.

A great example of that, he said, is found in the coral reef. The corals produce the limestone rock on which they grow, and serve as the home to the algae that live inside their tissue and give the corals their iconic and vivid colors. It’s a symbiotic relationship that involves photosynthesis and the cycling of carbon of nutrients.

“The course is all about interconnectedness,” said Kump, who created the course about 30 years ago. “We can’t possibly understand how reefs function naturally, and then how they respond to human induced stress unless we incorporate all those physical, chemical, biological and geological processes into a comprehensive understanding of how that system works. From the labs to the lectures to the field work, this course highlights the interdisciplinary interconnectedness of systems and the resilience but susceptibility of these systems to being impacted by human activity.”

Students stayed and conducted research out of the Keys Marine Lab, which is a full-service marine research and education center serving undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and researchers from the state, national and international scientific communities.

For Hanna Leapaldt, whose group studied the relationship between the ocean and a nearby wastewater treatment facility, the experience was a chance for her to better grasp the holistic picture of what’s going on in the ocean. She’s seeking a master’s degree in geosciences under Miquela Ingalls, assistant professor of geosciences, and plans to enter in the doctoral program next year. Through an EPA grant, Penn State researchers are studying the flow of groundwater in the Keys.

Leapaldt’s group recorded data at several well sites created through the ongoing research. Specifically, they’re looking at how the well composition changes with the tides and if and how the salty groundwater interacts with freshwater injections from the treatment plant.

It’s funny she’s on a path to becoming a scientist, Leapaldt said, because she wasn’t interested in science as a kid. But research that interplays geological processes over long spans of time with the immediacy of pressing issues for the planet drew her into the field.

“I fell in love with the environment as an undergraduate student, particularly the geologic record and how it has so many secrets that it can teach us about the Earth,” Leapaldt said.

For Kate Meyers, a doctoral candidate in geosciences, the course was a chance to catch up on her ongoing research projects in the Keys. She also works with Kump and Ingalls on Marathon’s wastewater treatment system.

Meyers is seeking a career with the United States Geological Survey to work on coastal hazards, so the course was a chance to spend time near a delicate coastal system that’s home to one of the largest coral reefs and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which protects about 3,800 square miles of waters surrounding the Keys.

Meyers’ group used a sonde — an instrument that can measure things like water pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen while geolocating and timing the data — to capture the chemical processes playing out day and night in the ocean. They recorded processes such as photosynthesis and exchanges of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Travis Krivitski, an undergraduate student majoring in geobiology, became interested in the class for its aquatics component. The scuba diving enthusiast relished the chance to do some snorkeling along the Keys’ coral reef while advancing skills for his major.

He loved paleontology — particularly dinosaurs — as a kid. But his experience in this course really opened his eyes to the possible career paths for a geobiologist. He’s also working towards becoming a scientific diver and wants that to be part of his career.

“My scientific view has broadened, but my professional view has narrowed after coming to Penn State,” Krivitski said. “This class has definitely solidified that I want to continue working in a marine environment or working in some sort of aquatic environment.”

Najjar, who has been teaching the course for several years, said it often attracts geosciences-minded students who tend to think of processes in longer time scales. He said students are often excited to see processes they learn in the classroom playing out in real time. The ocean’s profound impact on life and the carbon cycle, he said, can be a powerful experience as they gather data along the coast. 

“Students leave with an appreciation for the profound impact that life has on the chemistry of the sea, and then by extension, the climate of the planet because the ocean is a massive reservoir of carbon that interacts with the atmosphere,” Najjar said. “In terms of carbon dioxide, the atmosphere is like the tail of the dog and the ocean is the dog.”