Erik Duarte
University of California San Diego
Research Mentor: Mariela White
Project: Validated Long Term Time Series Measurements Are Crucial for Detecting Environmental Trends
My name is Erik Duarte, and I am a Computer Engineering major at UC San Diego. This summer I got to work with Wendi Ruef and Dr. Mariela White modeling profiler readings, CTD readings, and discrete samples.
The NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative Regional Cabled Array (OOI-RCA) offers high-resolution ocean data, including continuous salinity and oxygen measurements. This study validates these data by comparing high-frequency OOI-RCA readings with discrete samples. Annual CTD samples are collected on an expedition while discrete samples are stored and then analyzed in a lab to meet a more precise reading. The lab results from the discrete samples are our gold standard for validating both CTD readings and instrument profilers.
My project was focused on the statistical analysis of the values captured within these readings and samples with a plethora of data being layered onto a graph to visualize the differences between each of the data sets. More importantly, it showed the accuracy of each data set when standardized by the discrete samples. We need to ensure the accuracy of data for a myriad of reasons, with these data sets specifically requiring accuracy to ensure the cost of the instruments does not go to waste and to provide everyone an accurate representation of how oceanic components have changed over a long period of time.
This was an incredibly fun project to work on and I had the best time working with my mentors alongside researchers, data analysts, lab technicians, engineers, interns, and more! I learned a lot about lab work and how to keep the accuracy of samples in addition to spending more time coding for a bigger purpose. Getting to meet so many grad students and postdocs through the office I worked in alongside CICOES seminars provided me with an abundance of information I wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else. On top of the data analysis, I got the opportunity to go out on a research expedition after the internship to collect data to be used for following years and to get more time working in different labs doing their own research!
I cannot describe how much this internship has greatly benefited me, and I will cherish my time spent at the University of Washington alongside the other interns! Thank you so much to everyone at CICOES and OOI for such an incredible internship experience!
Project Introduction
Research Poster
