Walker O. Smith, Jr.
• Professor, Department of Biological Sciences (since July, 1998)
• B.S., University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
• Ph.D., Duke University
• Phone: 804-684-7709;  Email: wos@vims.edu
•CURRICULUM VITA
  

Our laboratory interests center on the controls of phytoplankton growth and the factors which control the fate of the photosynthetic material in the surface layer of the ocean.  To that end we are interested in the interactions between various pools of organic carbon in the surface of the ocean, including dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, total particulate organic carbon, and living matter (bacteria, micro- and mesozooplankton).  We have primarily focused on processes occurring in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, largely because the Antarctic is known to be critical in controlling the marine carbon cycle due to its interaction with the atmosphere and its role in producing deep water.  We quantify the contribution of phytoplankton to the particulate organic carbon pool using a number of procedures, and then analyze the fluxes to and from this pool.  I have been active in the organization and completion of the Southern Ocean JGOFS field study.  I have a strong interest on the role of community structure on the vertical flux of material from the ocean’s surface, and  also have a strong interest in the role of iron in structuring the ocean’s phytoplankton productivity and growth.

• Primary production in the Southern Ocean (JGOFS/NSF)
• Phytoplankton growth and carbon dynamics in the Ross Sea (OPP/NSF)
• Effects of iron on phytoplankton-bacterial interactions (OCE/NSF; funded, starting 3/1/00 with H. Ducklow)
• Community composition in the Ross Sea and its effects on vertical flux (pending at OPP/NSF)
• Comparative modeling and data analysis for the Ross SEa and West Antarctic Peninsula (pending at OCE/NSF)

Smith, W.O., Jr.and D.M. Nelson.  1985.  Phytoplankton bloom produced by a receding ice edge in the Ross Sea: Spatial coherence with the density field. Science 227: 163-166.

Smith, W.O., Jr. Editor. 1990. Polar Oceanography. Parts A and B. Academic Press, San Diego.  760 p.

Smith, W.O., Jr., L.A. Codispoti, D.M. Nelson, T. Manley, E.J. Buskey, H.J. Niebauer and G.F. Cota. 1991. Importance of Phaeocystis blooms in the high-latitude ocean carbon cycle. Nature 352: 514-516.

Smith, W.O., Jr., D.M. Nelson, G.R. DiTullio and A.R. Leventer. 1996. Temporal and spatial patterns in the Ross Sea: Phytoplankton biomass, elemental composition, productivity and growth rates. J. Geophys. Res. 101: 18,455-18,466.

Daly, K.L., D.W.R. Wallace, W.O. Smith, Jr., A. Skoog, R. Lara, M. Gosselin, E. Falk, and P.L. Yager. Anomalous carbon and nitrogen cycling in the Arctic: effects of ecosystem structure and dynamics.  J. Geophys. Res. 104: 3185-3200.

Smith, W.O., Jr., C.A. Carlson,  H.W. Ducklow, and D.A. Hansell. 1998. Growth dynamics of Phaeocystis antarctica-dominated plankton assemblages from the Ross Sea.  Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 168: 229-244.

Carlson, C.A., H.W. Ducklow, D.A. Hansell and W.O. Smith, Jr.  1998. Organic carbon partitioning during spring phytoplankton blooms in the Ross Sea polynya and the Sargasso Sea. Limnol. Oceanogr.  43: 375-386.

Smith, W.O., Jr., D.M. Nelson and S. Mathot. 1999. Phytoplankton growth rates in the Ross Sea determined by independent methods: temporal variations. J. Plankton Res. 21: 1519-1536.

Moore, J.K., M.R. Abbott, J.G. Richman, W.O. Smith, T.J. Cowles, K.H. Coale, W.D. Gardner, and R.T. Barber. 1999. SeaWiFS satellite ocean color data at the U.S. Southern Ocean JGOFS line along 170W. Geophys. Res. Letters 26: 1465-1468.

Smith, W.O., Jr., R. T. Barber, M. R. Hiscock and J. Marra. The Seasonal Cycle of Phytoplankton Biomass and Primary Productivity in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.  Deep-Sea Res. II (in press).

Sweeney, C., D.A. Hansell, F.D. Millero, T.Takahashi, L.I. Gordon, C.A. Carlson, L.A. Codispoti, W.O. Smith, and J. Marra.  The carbon budget for the Ross Sea: a model for the Southern Ocean.  Deep-Sea Res. II (in press).

Fitzwater, S.E., K.S. Johnson, R.M. Gordon, K.H. Coale and W.O.Smith, Jr. Trace metal concentrations in the Ross Sea and their relationship with nutrients and growth.  Deep-SeaRes. II (in press).