Professor Receives $368K DOI Grant to Study Impact of Human Activities in Arctic

MELBOURNE, FLA.—John Trefry, Florida Institute of Technology professor in the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, earned a $368,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to study the Hanna Shoal ecosystem in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. Trefry will join colleagues from the University of Texas, Old Dominion University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Maryland, University of Rhode Island and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. More than $5.6 million, including ship time, has been awarded for the study, which is ongoing until 2014.

“One of our goals in studying the Arctic is to improve our understanding of natural biological and chemical processes so that we can identify impacts from local human activities,” said Trefry. “This includes oil exploration as well as impacts from global climate change.”

The DOI funding complements $417,000 in recent funding to Trefry from Shell Exploration and Production Company Alaska for environmental studies in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.