Follow the Glowing Water

CMOP researchers use dye tracking to better understand how the Columbia River outflow mixes with the coastal water. The photo shows the green fluorescein dye being released from the research vessel Point Sur about 20 km west of the mouth of the Columbia River. The research team aboard the research vessel Horizon, seen in the background, collected water samples to measure a variety of biogeochemical quantities.

CMOP scientists, Byron Crump and Murray Levine, use the dye to learn more about the physical processes responsible for modifying the plume water as it spreads. They study the associated variability in the chemistry, microbial community and gene expression in the plume.