James L. Falter

Tel: 808-277-3651 ∙ Fax: 808-236-7443 ∙ Email: falter@hawaii.edu

Education

Ph.D.

2002

University of Hawaii

Oceanography (Marine Geochemistry)

 

 

 

M.S.

1998

University of Hawaii                            

Oceanography (Marine Geochemistry)

 

 

 

B.S.

1995

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  (4.8/5.0)

Civil and Environmental Engineering (minor in Chemistry)

 

Current Research Interests

I am generally interested in how the growth and metabolism of benthic communities vary as a function of their physical and chemical environment.  My current research is focused on  understanding how fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus to coral reef communities are differentially forced by light, water motion, and nutrient availability through the C:N:P of the benthic primary producers via Net Primary Production.  More recently, I am using a numerical hydrodynamic model (Delft-3D) to build numerical biogeochemical models of benthic systems.

 

Professional Experience

Assistant Researcher, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (2003 – 2008)

·   Develop approaches for the continuous in situ measurement of carbon fluxes to reef communities in addition to monitoring of important physical and chemical environmental variables.

·   Conduct targeted experiments on how changing physical and chemical conditions regulate the metabolism of experimental reef communities in vitro using a novel wave-current flume which I developed and built (see publications).

·   Developed laboratory facilities for the routine analysis of 15 different water quality and benthic tissue parameters.

·   Hired, trained, and supervise a Junior Researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology

·   Use a numerical hydrodynamic model (Delft-3D) to model fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus to a coral reef ecosystem.

Technical coordinator, Alliance for Coastal Technology (2002 - 2006)

·   Tested and evaluated emerging sensor technologies designed for monitoring the physical, chemical, and biological properties of coastal waters with funding made available from NOAA through the Coastal Services Center.

·   Assisted in the development of protocols for the evaluation of dissolved oxygen sensors.

·   Primary data analyst for the evaluation of dissolved oxygen sensors.

·   Organized a workshop on the use of Optical Particle Counters in coastal observing systems (April 2004).

·  Organized a workshop on technologies for the autonomous measurement of dissolved inorganic carbon speciation and abundance in natural waters (Feb 2005).

· Organized a workshop on technologies for the measurement of turbidity in coastal waters (Sep 2005).

Columbia University’s Biosphere II Center (1999-2003)

·   Responsible for the collection, management, and analysis of data from the ocean mesocosm.

Additional Professional Experience

·   Provided expertise on data management and analysis to the Alaska Sea Life Center (2003-2004).

·   Co-convened a session at the 2005 ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City: Hydrodynamics of Coral Reef Systems.

·   Participated in a workshop on the hydrodyanmics of coral atolls hosted by the French Institut de Recherche pour la Developpement (IRD) in Papeete, Tahiti (2004).

·   Led a field expedition to study the biogeochemistry of the Ningaloo Reef system with colleagues at the University of Western Australia

 

Educational/Teaching Experience

·   Co-instructed two semesters of a graduate-level course on data analysis and presentation for earth  scientists using the MATLAB programming language, Introduction to MATLAB for scientists (fall of 2003 and 2004)

·   Guest lecturer on subjects of thermodynamics, aqueous speciation models, and chemistry of the dissolved carbon dioxide-carbonate system for two semesters of the graduate-level course Chemical Oceanography (spring of 2002 and 2003)

·   Two semesters as a teaching assistant for a graduate-level course, Chemical Oceanography (1998, 2000)

·   One semester as a teaching assistant for a graduate-level course, Chemical Oceanography Lab Methods (1999)

·   Co-instructor for a seminar on data analysis using the MATLAB programming language at the Biosphere II Center (spring 2000)

·   Supervised and mentored the thesis research of a masters student in the Dept. of Oceanography, University of Hawaii receiving her degree in 2003 (M. Bos)

·  Currently serve on the PhD dissertation committee of a graduate student in the Dept. of Ocean Engineering (Marion Bandet)

·  Supervised the training of five undergraduate students

Other skills

·   Measurement of hydrodynamic parameters including tides, wave height spectra, current profiles, free-stream turbulence, and water column stratification using wavegauges, ADCPs, ADVs, and CTDs.

·   Continuous, instrumentation-based measurement of dissolved oxygen, pCO2, and light.

·   Routine sample collection and in-house analysis of water column phosphate, nitrate, ammonium, silicate, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll a, total alkalinity, dissolved oxygen (via wet chemistry), salinity and pH.

·   Survey, collection and analysis of benthic reef macrophytes for biomass density and elemental analysis.

·   Management of physical and chemical databases from near-shore environments and coral reef mesocosms.

·   Construction of instrument platforms and experimental flumes/mesocosms and basic machining skills.

·   Conducting small boat operations and deploying instrumentation in coastal environments.

·   Certified AAUS diver with INTD Nitrox certification having completed more than 500+ dives.

 

Grants and Awards

·   Co-Principal Investigator of a collaborative National Science Foundation grant between the University of Hawaii and Stanford University ‘Collaborative Research: Coupled Carbon and Phosphorus Cycling in Benthic Reef Communities’, OCE #0453117, $635,913 (2005-2008)

·   Co-authored (as graduate student) a collaborative National Science Foundation grant between the University of Hawaii and Stanford University ‘Collaborative Research: Mass Transfer due to Oscillatory Flow over Coral Reefs’, OCE #0118172, $314,736 (2001-2004)

Collaborators (alphabetically)

·   Serge Andréfouët – Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France

·   Marlin Atkinson - University of Hawaii

·   Shannon Atkinson, University of Alaska

·   Mark Baird - University of New South Wales, Australia

·   Robert Carpenter - California State University at Northridge

·   Carlos Coimbra - University of California, Merced

·   Rafel Coma - Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes, Spain

·   Pascal Cuet - Université de la Réunion, France

·   Clifford Hearn - USGS St. Petersburg

·   Eric Hochberg – University of Hawaii

·   Jeff Koseff - Stanford University

·   Chris Langdon - University of Miami

·   Ryan Lowe - University of Western Australia

·   Mark Merrifield - University of Hawaii

·   Stephen Monismith - Stanford University

·   Geno Pawlak – University of Hawaii

·   Marta Ribes – Institut de Ciènces del Mar, Spain

·   Frank Sansone - University of Hawaii

·   Yoshimi Suzuki – Shizuoka University, Japan

·   Aline Tribollet - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France

·   Anya Waite – University of Western Australia

 

Publications

Peer-reviewed

1.       Falter JL, Sansone FJ (2000) Hydraulic control of pore water geochemistry within the oxic-suboxic zone of a permeable sediment. Limnology and Oceanography,  45:550-557.

2.       Falter JL, Sansone FJ (2000) Shallow pore water sampling in reef sediments, Coral Reefs, 19:93-97.

3.       Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Langdon C (2001) Production-respiration relationships at different time-scales within the Biosphere 2 coral reef biome, Limnology and Oceanography, 46:1653-1660.

4.       Hearn CJ, Atkinson MJ, Falter JL (2001) A physical derivation of nutrient-uptake rates in coral reefs: effects of roughness and waves, Coral Reefs, 20:347-356.

5.       Atkinson MJ, Falter JL, Hearn CJ (2001) Nutrient dynamics in the Biosphere 2 coral reef mesocosm: water velocity controls NH4 and PO4 uptake, Coral Reefs, 20:341-346.

6.       Hearn CJ, Atkinson MJ, Falter JL (2002) Response to the comments by G. Symonds, K.P. Black, and I.R. Young on ‘A physical derivation of nutrient-uptake rates in coral reefs: effects of roughness and waves’, Coral Reefs, 21:319-321.

7.       Atkinson MJ, Falter JL (2003) Biogeochemistry of Coral Reefs. In: Biogeochemistry of Marine Systems. Black KP, Shimmield GB [eds], CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, p 40-64.

8.       Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Merrifield MA (2004) Mass transfer limitation of nutrient uptake by a wave-dominated reef flat community, Limnology and Oceanography, 49:1820-1831.

9.       Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Coimbra CF-M (2005) Effects of surface roughness and oscillatory flow on dissolution of plaster forms: evidence for nutrient mass transfer to coral reef communities, Limnology and Oceanography, 50: 246-254.

10.   Lowe RJ, Falter JL, Bandet MD, Pawlak G, Atkinson MJ, Monismith SG, Koseff JR (2005) Spectral wave dissipation over a barrier reef, Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 100: C04001.

11.   Lowe RJ, Koseff JR, Monismith SG & Falter JL (2005) Oscillatory flow through submerged canopies. Part 2.  Canopy mass transfer, Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 110, C10016, DOI: 10.1029/2004JC002789.

12.   Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Fleming JH, Bos MM, Lowe RJ, Koseff JR, Monismith SG (2006) A novel flume for simulating the effects of wave-driven water motion on the biogeochemistry of benthic reef communities. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 4: 68-79.

13.   Andrefouet S, Ouillon S, Brinkman R, Falter J, Douillet P, Wolk F, Smith R, Garen P, Martinez E, Laurent V, Lo C, Remoissenet G, Scourzic B, Gilbert A, Deleersnijder E, Steinberg C, Choukroun S, Buestel D (2006) Review of solutions for 3D hydrodynamic modeling applied to aquaculture in South Pacific atoll lagoons. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 52(10): 1138-1155.

14.   Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Lowe RJ, Monismith SG, Koseff JR (2007) Effects of non-local turbulence on the mass transfer of dissolved species to reef corals. Limnology and Oceanograhpy, 52: 274-285.

15.   Lowe RJ, Falter JL, Koseff JR, Monismith SG & Atkinson MJ (2007) Spectral wave flow attenuation within submerged canopies: implications for wave energy dissipation, Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 112, C05018, DOI: 10.1029/2006JC003605.

16.   Lowe RJ, Shavit U, Falter JL, Koseff JR & Monismith SG (in press) Modeling flow in coral communities with and without waves: a synthesis of porous media and canopy flow approaches, Limnology and Oceanography

17.   Falter JL, Lowe RJ, Atkinson MJ, Monismith SG, & Schar DW (in press) Continuous measurements of net production over a shallow reef community using a modified Eulerian approach, Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans

Submitted

Lowe RJ, Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Monismith SG. Wave-driven circulation of a coastal reef-lagoon system, Journal of Physical Oceanography

 

In Preparation

Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Lowe RJ, & Monismith SG.  Physical, biological, and biogeochemical constraints on Net Primary Production by an algal-dominated reef-flat community.

Falter JL and Atkinson MJ.  Seasonal changes in light-utilization efficiency in a wave-dominated reef flat community.

Lowe RJ, Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Monismith SG. Numerical model of wave transformation and circulation within a barrier reef-lagoon system: Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Falter JL & Atkinson MJ.  Seasonal, spatial and taxonomic differences in the C:N:P of reef-flat macrophytes.

Lowe RJ, Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Monismith SG. Wind, wave, tide, and bouyancy-driven flushing of barrier reef-lagoon system.

Cuet P, Atkinson MJ, Blanchot J, Cordier E, Falter JL, Frouin P, Fujimura H., & Suzuki Y. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus budgets of a coral-dominated fringing reef in Reunion Island: constraints of groundwater nitrogen on coral reef metabolism.

Cuet P, Atkinson MJ, Tribollet A, & Falter JL.  Effects of nutrients on the functional relationship between coral calcification and aragonite saturation state.

Meeting abstracts

Sansone FJ, Falter JL & Haberstroh PR (1999) Wave-Induced Porewater-Seawater Mixing in Permeable Sediments.  ASLO Aquatic Sciences, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Falter JL & Sansone FJ (1999) Factors Controlling Pore Water Geochemistry And Redox Structure Within A Wave-Driven Sediment. ASLO Aquatic Sciences, Santa Fe, New Mexico (invited)

Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Langdon C (2000) Production and Respiration in the Biosphere 2 Reef Mesocosm. 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali, Indonesia

Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Coimbra CF-M (2004) Effects of Roughness Scale and Flow Environment On Nutrient Mass Transfer To Coral Reef Communities: Evidence From The Dissolution Of Plaster Forms. ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii

Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Merrifield MA (2004) Mass Transfer Limitation of Nutrient Uptake By A Wave-Dominated Reef Flat Community. 10th International Coral Reef Symposium, Okinawa, Japan

Atkinson MJ & Falter JL (2004) Nutrient Dynamics of the Kaneohe Bay Barrier Reef, Hawaii. 10th International Coral Reef Symposium, Okinawa, Japan

Lowe RJ, Koseff JR, Monismith SG, & Falter JL (2005) Wave-Driven Flow And Mass Transfer Through Coral Reef Canopies. ASLO Aquatic Sciences, Salt Lake City, Utah

Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, & Merrifield MA (2005) Mass Transfer Limitation of Nutrient Uptake By A Wave-Dominated Reef Flat Community. ASLO Aquatic Sciences, Salt Lake City, Utah

Falter JL, Atkinson MJ, Lowe RJ, Monismith SG, & Koseff JR (2007) Effects of non-local turbulence on the mass transfer of dissolved species to reef corals. ASLO Aquatic Sciences, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Reports

Measures of turbidity in coastal waters (2005) Alliance for Coastal Technologies, Aug. 31-Sep. 2, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Coconut Island, Hawaii.

In-situ measurement of dissolved inorganic carbon speciation in natural waters: pH, pCO2, TA, and DIC (2005) Alliance for Coastal Technologies, Feb. 15-18, Honolulu, Hawaii.

State of technology and application of optical particle counters (2004) Alliance for Coastal Technologies, April 21-23, Waikiki, Hawaii.

Performance verification statements for the Aanderaa Instruments, Greenspan Technology, In-Situ, and YSI dissolved oxygen sensors (2004) Alliance for Coastal Technologies, www.act-us.info