Button to scroll to the top of the page.

Highlights

 
Sally Palmer is the Communications Coordinator for The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. She received a bachelor of science in marine biology from the University of Rhode Island and earned a masters degree in marine science from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Prior to her position handling communications, Sally served as the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve Manager. She also has research experience with benthic ecology, hypoxia, and ecosystem dynamics. Since 2006, Sally has help secure over $16 million in funding for administration, research and construction of educational facilities.
Teacher Workshop this Summer

Teacher Workshop this Summer

JULY 5-7, 2023 PORT ARANSAS, TX $100 STIPEND 16 CONTACT HOURS The Mission-Aransas NERR is hosting a Teachers on the Estuary workshop for middle and high school teachers. This year the workshop will look at estuarine ecology focusing on food-web...
Positive Feedback Loop Suggested for Ocean Acidification and Global Warming

Positive Feedback Loop Suggested for Ocean Acidification and Global Warming

Understanding how ocean acidification can change nitrogen cycling is critical to determining future impacts. Waters with lower pH can change what chemical reactions take place, and to date, there has been little information about how it will change complex nitrogen processes....
New Fish Study Presents Optimal Times for Channel Activities

New Fish Study Presents Optimal Times for Channel Activities

The creation of shipping channels for industry has, as a byproduct, also created an important habitat for fish – both in habitat for spawning aggregations and providing a refuge during extreme weather. New research published in Estuaries and Coasts presents evidence...
Summer Science Registration

Summer Science Registration

PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS   UT Summer Science is an exciting, inquiry-based learning experience for youth entering 3rd through 8th grade. Throughout the week, participants will be immersed in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) engagements that take them outside...
Fewer Abandoned Crab Traps Found This Year

Fewer Abandoned Crab Traps Found This Year

Every February, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department closes the bays to commercial and recreational crabbing for a 10-day period. This temporary closure enables a coordinated effort by agencies and organizations to remove derelict crab traps which continue to entrap and...
Lurking below the surface: unknown energy sources

Lurking below the surface: unknown energy sources

Hydrothermal vents and submarine volcanos can support abundant life, as shown in many nature documentaries. The same compounds from the Earth’s Mantle and Earth’s Crust that support the large tube worm colonies at vents are also slowly trickling through large areas...
JD Carlton Selected as Finalist for Prestigious Fellow

JD Carlton Selected as Finalist for Prestigious Fellow

Just this week, graduate student J.D. Carlton was selected as a finalist for a 2023 Presidential Management Fellow. Of the more than 10,000 individuals worldwide who applied for the program, 850 Finalists were chosen. The large number of applications to this...
Tags:
Three New Environmental Projects to Begin

Three New Environmental Projects to Begin

The Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust recently announced funding for 15 environmental projects along the Texas Coast, and researchers from UTMSI will lead three of them. The Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust solicited requests for coastal environmental projects in five categories: habitat restoration,...
Winter Programs

Winter Programs

We have several free educational programs this Winter (2023).  Port Aransas Patton Center, 855 East Cotter Ave.  Our Public Lecture Series is back at UTMSI in our newly renovated Patton Center - Thursdays from Jan 12 - Feb 23rd. Doors open...
Behind the Names

Behind the Names

In a recently released journal article published in Nature Communications, the Baker Lab discovered five new bacterial phyla from the deep sea. The team decided to name these phyla after female scientists that have made substantial contributions to deep sea research....
Holiday Hours for our Visitor Centers

Holiday Hours for our Visitor Centers

Happy Holidays! The week of December 18th, the Patton Center in Port A and the Bay Education Center in Rockport will be open Dec 20-22 from 10 am - 4 pm. Both centers will be closed for the winter break, Dec...
Newly discovered bacteria and their proteins could advance our understanding of global nutrients

Newly discovered bacteria and their proteins could advance our understanding of global nutrients

The power of metagenomics strikes again. Marine microbiologists discovered five new bacteria phyla (four never described and one poorly described) from the ocean floor that contain an unusually large number of novel protein families. An international group of researchers led by...
Captain Ernst Honored by CBBF

Captain Ernst Honored by CBBF

Last night, Captain Frank Ernst was honored and received the Coastal Steward Professional award at the 2022 Coastal Bend Bays Foundation Conservation and Stewardship Environmental Awards banquet. Frank Ernst has been with the University as the small boat captain for 20...
Hitching a ride to the deep sea

Hitching a ride to the deep sea

First in-situ measurements of microplastic fluxes help answer the “missing plastic” question 150 million tons of plastic are polluting the ocean today – and because of its slow decay, the amount keeps growing. Current model calculations indicate that only about one...
Mystery No More – formation of refractory DON pool unmasked

Mystery No More – formation of refractory DON pool unmasked

In the oceans lurks a stubborn pool of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) that no one had a clue how it formed – until now. A recent study in the Geophysical Research Letters provides the first discovery of how and why this...
Patton Center is Open!

Patton Center is Open!

The newly renovated Patton Center for Marine Science Education is open to the public starting October 18, 2022. The Center features eight large aquaria and engaging interactive displays, that will provide opportunities for people of all ages to learn about the...
New Microbiologist Joins UTMSI Faculty

New Microbiologist Joins UTMSI Faculty

As the school year begins, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute welcomes a new Associate Professor, Dr. Mark Lever. Dr. Lever uses highly-sophisticated instruments and techniques to understand the role of microorganisms in the global carbon cycle. His research has...
Texas Bays and Estuaries Meeting Returns to Campus

Texas Bays and Estuaries Meeting Returns to Campus

UTMSI was happy to host and bring back the 14th annual Texas Bays and Estuaries Meeting (TBEM) to its campus and the newly renovated Patton Center for Marine Science Education. After Hurricane Harvey damaged the visitor center, the meeting was held...
Patton Center for Marine Science Education Ribbon Cutting - Center opening to public this fall

Patton Center for Marine Science Education Ribbon Cutting - Center opening to public this fall

The University of Texas Marine Science Institute hosted a ribbon-cutting event on Saturday, Aug. 14, for the sponsors and donors who supported its newly renovated visitor center, now renamed the Patton Center for Marine Science Education, to commemorate contributions by Bobby...
Hurricane Harvey 5-year anniversary

Hurricane Harvey 5-year anniversary

It's been five years to the day that Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast. While a significant number of repairs to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) facilities and buildings have been completed, reconstruction from Hurricane Harvey is 85%...