CWSS News

September Congratulations to Alan Innes in the Ahmed Geophysics lab! The Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists (SIPES) awarded Alan the Bobby M. Greenwood scholarship. Alan was one of eight undergraduate and graduate students to be awarded a SIPES academic scholarship this year with awards totaling over $30,000.
SIPES is a national organization of more than 700 self-employed geologists, geophysicists and engineers engaged primarily in domestic energy exploration and development and has twelve chapters located in oil and gas centers of the United States.

September PUBLICATION ALERT:  The Murgulet Hydrogeology Lab published a paper titled "Influence of submarine groundwater discharge on the nutrient dynamics of a fringing-reef lagoon" in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies.  

August Congratulations to Skylar Meehan for completing her Master's in Coastal and Marine System Science and graduating.  Skylar's defended her thesis on "Coastal Karst Groundwater Dynamics: A Geochemical Analysis of the Yucatán's Karst Aquifer Vulnerability" in July. Skylar has accepted a position as a hydrologist at the Texas Water Development Board.

May-August CWSS welcomed several SURF REU students for the summer. The students engaged in multidisciplinary research with the Center labs that focuses on current critical topics, such as climate change, coastal and oceanographic environmental issues, water resource management, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development.  The students presented the projects they worked on over the summer to the faculty, staff, and students from all REU labs.

May PUBLICATION ALERT: The Murgulet Hydro Lab were co-authors on a paper titled "Global subterranean estuaries modify groundwater nutrient loading to the ocean" published in Limnology and Oceanography Letters.

May PUBLICATION ALERT: The Murgulet Hydro Lab and research collaborators published a paper titled "Occurrence of fecal indicator bacteria and microbial source tracking markers along the Texas Gulf Coast adjoining two barrier islands" in the journal Science of the Total Environment (STOTEN).

April Congratulations! Kaiya Shealy successfully defended her MS thesis on "NOx Source Apportionment and Oxidation Chemistry in a Coastal Urban Airshed Using Stable Isotope Techniques". She will be starting a PhD program in Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University-College Station in the fall.

February PUBLICATION ALERT: The Murgulet Hydro Lab and Felix Lab published a paper titled "Determining organic nitrogen emission sources and secondary formations in an urban coastal airshed via stable isotope techniques" in the journal Environmental Pollution.

February Dr. Felix is initiating an NSF funded REU program this summer titled "Summer Undergraduate Research Focus (SURF): Anthropogenic Impacts on Coastal and Marine Systems". Applications close 3/15/2024. Program Link: https://reutamucc.weebly.com/ 

January PUBLICATION ALERT: The Murgulet Hydro Lab published a paper titled "Nitrogen and carbon cycling and relationships to radium behavior in porewater and surface water: Insights from a dry year sampling in a hypersaline estuary" in the journal Marine Chemistry.

January CWSS students, Ifeanyi Anyanwu, Laura Button, and Allyson Girard start their NRT STAGES training. Congratulations and good luck with your traineeship!

October CWSS master's student, Laura Button (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet), and PhD student Allyson Girard (faculty advisors: Dr. Felix and Dr. Abdulla) have been selected to join the second NRT STAGES trainee cohort. They will begin their training year January 2024.  Congratulations Laura and Allyson!

October Kaiya Shealy won first prize for graduate presentation at the fall NADP meeting.
Shealy, K., Felix., J.D. Qiu, Y. NOx Source Apportionment and Oxidation Chemistry in a Coastal Urban Airshed Using Stable Isotope Techniques: An Approach to Intermittent Sources. National Atmospheric Deposition Program Fall Meeting. Madison, Wisconsin. 

May Congratulations!  Dr. Yixi Qui, MS Anthony Cox, and MS Erin Taylor (faculty advisor: Dr. Felix) successfully defended their doctoral dissertation and master's theses to graduate from the CMSS program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.  We are so proud of you. Good luck on your future endeavors!

May A Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems (DISES) National Science Foundation (NSF) project grant was awarded to Dr. Dorina Murgulet (PI) and her co-PIs (Drs. Frauke Seemann, Ioana Pavel, Vikram Kapoor [University of Texas at San Antonio], and Isabel Araiza [Del Mar College]) to explore the intricate relationship between extreme wet events, groundwater pollution, and socio-economic well-being.  The project aims to provide actionable insights and strategies to mitigate risks and enhance the well-being of unincorporated communities.

April A Texas General Land Office (TGLO) Project of Special Merit (PSM) on Hydroclimatic Modulations of Bacteria/Nutrient Input to Texas Coastal Water was awarded to Dr. Dorina Murgulet (PI) and her co-PIs, Drs. J. David Felix and Vikram Kapoor (University of Texas at San Antonio).  This project will evaluate the vulnerability of on-site sewage facilities-OSSFs (septic systems) and other buried sewage structures to tidal fluctuations, hydrologic conditions, and other factors that link bacteria and nitrogen inputs to nearshore waters near Freeport, TX, using groundwater-seawater interaction analyses and source tracking.

December Congratulations!  Dr. Sagar Shrestha (faculty advisor: Dr. Abdulla) and MS Christopher Vickers (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet) successfully defended their doctoral dissertation and master's thesis to graduate from the CMSS program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.  We are so proud of you. Good luck on your future endeavors!

October CWSS master's student, Skylar Meehan (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet), has been selected to join the first NRT STAGES trainee cohort.  She will begin her training year January 2023.  Congratulations Skylar!

September Congratulations to CMSS alumni Dr. Audrey Douglas and her co-authors (Dr. Dorina Murgulet, Megan Greige [undergrad researcher], Dr. Kousik Das, Dr. J. David Felix, and Dr. Hussain Abdulla) on the publication of their Hurricane Harvey study of the response of inorganic nitrogen and dissolved organic matter composition to the storm's negative storm surge in Corpus Christi Bay. Find the open access article here: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.961206. 
Graphical Abstract: Conceptual model of change in hydrological system and occurrence of studied dissolve inorganic and organic compounds before and during/after Hurricane Harvey.
Figure 1: (A) The Hurricane Harvey path and Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale categories (Blake and Zelinsky, 2018) and precipitation totals. (B) The geographic location of the study area with major river basins, stream gauges (Nueces River at Calallen, TX [08211500], and Oso Creek at Corpus Christi [08211520]), salinity stations (Nueces Bay [NUDE3, 043] and Bird Island [NPSBI, 171]), waste water treatment plants (WWTP), and Harvey storm track shown. Samples were collected from the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi beach on Ward Island (University Beach). (C) Overhead view of Ward Island (credit:TAMUCC MARCOM, CCBY-SA 4.0) showing the location of the sampling transect for the vertical crosssectional representation of the study site with the sampling locations of groundwater and porewater shown. Surface water was collected inline with the groundwater and porewater within 10m of the waterline.

August CWSS welcomes new CMSS MS student Meghan Bygate (faculty advisor: Dr. Ahmed) and PhD student Mohamed Mousa (faculty advisor: Dr. Ahmed).

Summer Congratulations Dr. Gyawali!  Bimal Gyawali (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet) successfully defended his doctoral dissertation to graduate from the CMSS program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.  Bimal will be moving into a postdoctoral research associate position at Rice University.  We are so proud of your accomplishments and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

May A National Science Foundation-funded Research Traineeship (NRT) project grant was awarded to Drs. Dorina Murgulet (PI), Xinping Hu (co-PI), Chuntao Liu (co-PI), Jennifer Pollack (co-PI), and Philipe Tissot (co-PI). This NRT project will train students from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields of study to be part of a workforce of interdisciplinary environmental scientists capable of harnessing the data revolution (HDR) for Stakeholder-Guided Environmental Science (STAGES). Coastal climate change is a grand challenge and there is a need to generate actionable new knowledge and solutions to address this challenge using convergent approaches. The CMSS program will house the STAGES program and offer a convergent training experience. This experience will connect innovative research to practitioner and community needs to answer stakeholder-guided questions of national concern. The project anticipates training up to forty (40) Master's and Ph.D. students, including twenty-one (21) funded trainees from the TAMU-CC's CMSS program, over four years.

STAGES will generate new knowledge: (1) from big data at the nexus of land-water-atmospheric connections to understand complex processes driving coastal environmental systems, and (2) regarding the integration of stakeholders and big data into academic research in ways that boost trainee involvement in convergent research and occupational readiness. CMSS faculty's long-standing relationships with stakeholders will be used for a new training model that is sustainable and scalable. This model will co-develop research projects suitable for trainee teams to tackle using Machine Learning (ML) methods. Stakeholders include government agencies on all levels, non-governmental organizations, and community groups, with a common goal to improve the resiliency of Gulf Coast communities and environment. STAGES will provide a curricular foundation for convergent environmental science that is data intensive, starting each spring with coursework and a week-long field trip to experience the interaction of land-water-atmospheric events firsthand. Late Spring Stakeholder Workshops pair trainees and stakeholders to formulate data-focused research questions. Summer Big Data Blitzes prepare trainees for team efforts to answer questions, culminating in Fall Capstones to refine and communicate research results. Trainees will benefit from an interdisciplinary cadre of deeply experienced faculty researchers with extensive field, data science, and student training experience. Anticipated findings are expected to include best practices for engaging stakeholders to identify data-intensive challenges and co-develop research questions; assimilation of the challenges by trainees with various backgrounds; and identification of problems appropriate for the trainees' different fields of study. During the training process, trainees will become better science communicators who can engage stakeholders and grasp the ethical dimensions of their decisions for long-term collaborations. STAGES will establish and disseminate transformative STEM training, research, and evaluation advances in coastal and marine system science that produce a sustainable and scalable graduate education model.

Congratulations to Dr. Murgulet (PI) and her co-PIs (Drs. Jennifer Beseres-Pollack, Xinping Hu, Chuntao Liu, and Philippe Tissot) on their NRT-HDR STAGES proposal being selected. The first trainee cohort will begin January 2023.  For more information on the STAGES program please visit the website: https://www.tamucc.edu/cmss-NRT-stages.
    

Spring MS William Wolfe (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet) successfully defended his master's thesis to graduate from the CMSS program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Congratulations for the achievement and we wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors!

August CWSS welcomes new CMSS MS student Erin Taylor (faculty advisor: Dr. Felix) and PhD students Ramadan Gamal Abouelmagd Abdelrehim (faculty advisor: Dr. Ahmed) and Yuting Xiao (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet).

January 29  The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) recently funded Dr. Mohamed Ahmed to study the parched landscape of one of the most arid regions in the world in search for water resources. Using geophysical technology the team will map a new fresh groundwater source for an Egyptian Bedouin community. The story is featured here: https://www.tamucc.edu/news/2021/01/012921-egyptian-water.html#.YBR_juhKhaQ.

Congratulations!!

January 11 CWSS welcomes new ESCI MS student William Wooten (faculty advisor: Dr. D. Murgulet).

December 18 Congratulations to our own Ryan Turner, graduate research assistant (faculty advisor: Dr. Mohamed Ahmed), on his recognition as an outstanding Fall 2020 graduate!!!

Outstanding Graduate Ryan Turner Follows His Passion for Coastal Bend Geology, Geophysics

December 12 Doctoral student Audrey Douglas (left, faculty advisor: Dr. Dorina Murgulet) and master's student Ryan Turner (right, faculty advisor: Dr. Mohamed Ahmed) completed their dissertation and thesis during the COVID-19 pandemic and graduate this fall term. Congratulations to you both!!!

December 1-17 Faculty and students from the Center for Water Supply Studies attend the American Geophysical Union Conference (AGU) Fall Meeting online. High school student Ioana Murgulet and graduate students Christopher Vickers, William Wolfe, and Bimal Gyawali presented their research.

August 17 CWSS welcomes new CMSS PhD student Chrissy Barrera (CMSS, faculty advisor: Dr. Dorina Murgulet), a recent graduate of St, Mary's University and former McNair Scholar.

August 15 Congratulations to our own Megan Greige, undergraduate research assistant and McNAir Scholar (mentor Dr. Dorina Murgulet), on her recognition as an outstanding Spring 2020 graduate!!!

Outstanding Graduate Megan Greige Follows Passion for Coastal Environment

June 10 Undergraduate research assistants and McNAir Scholars, Megan Greige (left) and Loren Walker (right) (mentor Dr. Dorina Murgulet) graduate honoring Dr. Ronald McNair’s legacy through their research and persistence and provide hope for the future of an educated world. Congratulations to you both!!! Here is their virtual graduation recognition information:

https://spark.adobe.com/video/o8gOO4Ozu8ACs

May 8 PhD candidate, Audrey Douglas (faculty advisor Dr. Dorina Murgulet) successfully defended her doctoral research on "the importance of submarine groundwater discharge on nutrient fluxes and dissolved organic matter molecular composition in a semiarid, highly disturbed estuary" (i.e. Nieces Bay). Congratulations Dr. Audrey Douglas!

April 21 Undergraduate research assistant and McNAir Scholar, Megan Greige (mentors Dr. Dorina Murgulet, Dr. Hussain Abdulla, and PhD candidate Audrey Douglas) has been selected as an outstanding graduate for the Spring 2020 semester! Congratulations Megan! We are all proud of you!

March 25 The Center for Water Supply Studies received a two-year $863,921 grant from the Texas General Land Program (GLO), Coastal Management Program (CMP) as part of a Special Merit Project to study the nonpoint source pollution – or pollution coming from many different sources rather than one central one – loading to Baffin Bay.

January 7, CWSS welcomes a new MS graduate student, Chris Vickers (CMSS, faculty advisor: Dr. Dorina Murgulet). He will expand on existing work begun by CWSS into constraining submarine groundwater discharge inputs to Baffin Bay.

December 14 Joseph Stearns, (MS, faculty advisor Dr. Dorina Murgulet), graduates from the Environmental Science Program at TAMUCC. He has accepted a position with TDI-Brooks International Inc., a marine scientific services company headquartered in College Station, TX. Congratulations Joe, and thanks for all your hard work with CWSS!  

December 9-13 Faculty and students from the Center for Water Supply Studies attend the American Geophysical Union Conference (AGU) in San Francisco, CA. 

Undergraduate Research Assistant and McNair Scholar, Loren Walker, presents her research into temporal changes in radiogenic signatures of groundwater at the Hydrology poster session.

Graduate Research Assistant and PhD Candidate, Audrey Douglas, presents her research into dissolved organic matter at the Biogeosciences poster session.

PhD Candidate, Bimal Gyawali, presents his poster: "Quantifying the Change in Groundwater Storage in the Coastal Region of Texas" at the Hydrology poster session.

Megan Greige, (CWSS undergraduate research asst. and McNair Scholar) delivers an oral presentation at the Biogeosciences session, covering Hurricane Harvey's impact on Dissolved Organic Nitrogen in Corpus Christi Bay.

November 14 Joseph Stearns (MS graduate research assistant with CWSS), defends his thesis, titled: "AN EVALUATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THE TIME-LAPSE ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY TOMOGRAPHY METHOD IN QUANTIFYING SUBMARINE GROUNDWATER DISCHARGE IN FINE SEDIMENT AND HIGHLY SALINE, SHALLOW EMBAYMENTS" Committee Chair: Dr. Dorina Murgulet

September 30 Improvements are being made to the CWSS's coastal monitoring research platform at University Beach. This project investigates seasonal changes in groundwater-surface water interactions on a basin wide scale by detecting levels of radon dissolved in the bay water. Radon, along with other naturally occurring radio-isotopes such as radium and thoron, serve as useful tracers for quantifying submarine groundwater discharge. Additional solar panels, pumps and a fixed water inlet have been installed to improve measurement reliability. 

Coastal Monitoring Platform at University Beach, the gas exchangers, water pump and battery bank.

September 7 CWSS welcomes a new MS graduate student, Will Wolfe (CMSS, faculty advisor: Dr. Dorina Murgulet). He will expand on existing work begun by CWSS into long-term continuous monitoring of submarine groundwater discharge.