Featured Images

Food Web Dynamics
CMOP Intern Aric Washines from Heritage University inspects rotifers he grew as a part of his summer project to study the food web dynamics in the Columbia River.

Genes in the Sediment
Undergraduate intern Kiley Seitz collects sediment samples to characterize biological hotspots in an estuary.

'A' Is for Adaptive
CMOP scientists have succeeded in performing autonomous adaptive sampling of microbial communities in the Columbia River estuary.

It's A Long Way To The Top
Before António Baptista became director of CMOP, he started out as a young, pioneering scientist trying to establish an observation system in the Columbia River estuary and adjacent coast.

Lab in a Box
It may look like a simple, gray box but inside is one of the most sophisticated portable laboratories.

Inside SATURN
SATURN observation stations allow CMOP's collaborative team of engineers, scientists, and modelers to understand the metabolic processes in three major bays of the Columbia River estuary.

Run Red, Run Deep
A team of CMOP scientists deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle during a red algae bloom in the Columbia River estuary.


Sensors in Tow
Kivuiq is a specially equipped kayak that collects valuable biogeochemical data in difficult-to-access areas of the estuary.


Lateral Bay Exchange
CMOP scientists are studying the biogeochemical exchange between lateral bays and the Columbia River estuary.


Summer of Microbial Detection
Meet Roopa, a junior at West View High School. She is spending her summer at CMOP involved in assay development for microbial detection.


Winched Profiler
A comprehensive winched profiler has been developed by CMOP to observe the velocity, temperature, salinity, turbulence, and sediment content of the water column.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My CTD
The Columbia River estuary currents are so strong that CMOP scientists use an extremely heavy CTD frame to assist in taking water samples.

Buoy Wrangling
The R/V Oceanus and crew sail rough seas to recover oceanographic buoys.

Fast, Accurate, and Oh-So-Sharp
CMOP students are using state-of-the-art molecular biological techniques to analyze the performance of a sensor array.


So cool, I wear sunglasses
Undergraduate intern Nathan Hinkle performs research with a solar simulator to determine the rate at which components of crude oil are degraded by sunlight.


Tale of a Bioswale
High school students at the Native American Youth Association’s Early College Academy build a bioswale.


Have You Hugged Your Glider Today
Phoebe is prepared for her first mission of the year to collect data in the waters off the Washington coast as a collaborative research effort with the Quinault Indian Nation.


If Moorings Had Wings
Well of course moorings don't have wings, which means someone has to go get them for servicing. Murray Levine lead a research cruise to retrieve the mooring called Sitka.


Sometimes Oil and Water Do Mix
CMOP scientists are working with industry to develop instruments that can specifically detect the aging oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


Intern Return
Alex Rios's summer internship experience at CMOP gave her the tools she needed to be a successful undergraduate student at the University of Southern California.


Follow the Glowing Water
Fluorescent green dye helps CMOP scientists understand the physical processes of the Columbia River as it mixes with the coastal water.


Plastic Coastal Waters
The CMOP underwater glider named Phobe became filled with plastic particles on a recent mission off the Washington coast.


Visualizing Phytoplankton
CMOP scientists are using a flow-through imaging system to capture and store information about live cells.


Tracking Elusive Harmful Algae
Thin, slender and in stepped chains, Pseudo-nitzschia is not just another common diatom in coastal waters. Certain species produce a potent neurotoxin.


Biofouling
A large biomass of gooseneck barnacles has biofouled a sensor that has been attached to a mooring for the past six months.


Field Work
Katie Rathmell performs field work on a SATURN Observation Network station.


The Hunt for Red Water
For several decades massive red tides have been observed in the Columbia River estuary. CMOP scientists are trying to learn if it could be used as a sentinel for environmental change.