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Education
PhD, Optical Oceanography, University of Strathclyde, Scotland, 2011 – 2015.
Thesis: Remote Sensing of Inherent and Apparent Optical Properties in Optically Complex Shelf Seas.
Advisors: Prof Alex Cunningham, Dr David McKee
MSci (Integrated Masters), Physics and Mathematics, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 2006 –2011
Masters Project: Infinities in quantum electrodynamics. Advisor: Dr David Miller
BSc Project: Modelling the flow of glaciers. Advisor: Prof Nick Hill
Research Appointments
Research Scientist, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Maine, USA, 2019-present.
Lead scientist on ocean optics projects and research.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Maine, USA, 2015-2019.
Project 1: Use Of Suomi NPP For Deriving Science Data Records Of Ocean Particulate Inorganic Carbon Concentration: Algorithm Improvements, Product Validation And Achieving Continuity With The EOS Product
Project 2: Extending the Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series (GNATS) to measurements throughout the water column using Slocum Gliders
Mentor: Dr William Balch.
Summer Internship, Physics Department, University of Glasgow and SUERC (Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre), 2009.
Project: Radioactivity surveying in urban environments
Supervisors: Dr Eric Yao (University of Glasgow) and Dr David Sanderson (SUERC).
Grants
2020-2022. Development of Unmanned Aerial System Survey Methods. Maine Economic Investment Fund Small Campus Initiative, Co-I.
2019 – 2022. Remote sensing methods to characterize, quantify and monitor carbon in a continental shelf sea. NASA Carbon Monitoring System, Lead PI.
Selected Publications
For full list, see Google Scholar
Balch, W.M., B. Bowler, D. Drapeau, L. Lubelczyk, E. Lyczkowski, C. Mitchell, and A. Wyeth. 2018. Coccolithophore distributions of the North and South Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research Part I, 151, 103066.
Mitchell, C., H. Gordon, B. Bowler, D. Drapeau & W. M. Balch, (2018). Optical inversions of the water column based on glider measurements. Optics Express., 26(25), https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.032824
Dall’Olmo, G., R. J. W. Brewin, F. Nencioli, E. Organelli, K. Lefering, D. McKee, R. Rottgers, C. Mitchell, E. Boss, A. Bricaud & G. Tilstone, (2017). Determination of the absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter from underway spectrophotometry. Optics Express, 25(24), A1079-A1095.
Mitchell, C., C. Hu, B. Bowler, D. Drapeau & W. M. Balch, (2017). Estimating particulate inorganic carbon concentration from ocean color data using a reflectance difference approach. Journal of Geophysical Research. 122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013146.
Balch, W. M., N. R. Bates, P. J. Lam, B. S. Twining, S. Z. Rosengard, D. T. Drapeau, B. C. Bowler, R. Garley, L. C. Lybelczyk, C. Mitchell and S. Rauschenberg (2016). Factors regulating the Great Calcite Belt in the Southern Ocean and its biogeochemical significance, Global Biogeochem. Cycles., 30, 1124-1144, doi:10.1002/2016GB005414.
*Mitchell, C., & Cunningham, A., (2016). Derivation of the specific optical properties of suspended mineral particles and their contribution to the attenuation of solar irradiance in offshore waters by ocean colour remote sensing, Journal of Geophysical Research. 121, 104–117, doi:10.1002/2015JC011056.
**Mitchell, C., & Cunningham, A (2014). Determination of the absorption coefficients of phytoplankton and mineral particles from remote sensing reflectance, Ocean Optics XXII Extended Abstract, Portland, ME.
*This publication was featured in the Journal of Geophysical Research Journal Highlights and in the AGU EOS Buzz newsletter (February 2016).
**This paper won the Best Student Paper Award at the Ocean Optics XXII conference (October 2014).
Teaching
Course Instructor for ES383 The Ocean Environment: A Cross-Disciplinary Foundation, Colby at Bigelow Semester: Changing Oceans
Instructor for the Maine School of Science and Math’s J-term, a week long, immersive program hosted at Bigelow Laboratory. (January 2020).
Scientific advisor to NGSX (Next Generation Science Exemplar) for the development of a climate science professional development pathway for middle school and high school educators. (ongoing).
Guest lecture and lab at Maine Maritime Academy on “Satellite Oceanography”. (October 2019).
Guest lecture at NASA Calibration & Validation for Ocean Color Remote Sensing School on “Optics with gliders: methods, measurements and maths”. (June 2019).
Laboratory Instructor for The Ocean Environment course as part of the Changing Ocean semester for Colby College held at Bigelow Laboratory. (Fall 2018)
Developing and running a “Learn Python Programming” semester long class for 5th grade students at Great Salt Bay School, Damariscotta, ME (January 2017- May 2017).
Laboratory teaching assistant for 1st year physics undergraduates (2011-2013)
Students Mentored:
Ben Gustafson, Colby College capstone 2020: “Relationship between surface and water column phytoplankton biomass in the Gulf of Maine”
Taylor Rouse, REU 2020: “Evaluating the performance of standard ocean color algorithms for carbon in the Gulf of Maine”
Halley Steinmetz, REU 2017: “Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Forel-Ule Data: Conversions using Colorimetry and Implications for Ocean Color Analysis”
Clara Bird, REU 2016: “Seasonal Gulf of Maine CDOM variability as determined by satellite and ships”
Roseanne Clement, undergraduate intern, 2013: “Seasonal variability of suspended sediment using ocean colour remote sensing”
Field Work
Gliders in the Gulf of Maine: A complement to the GNATS measurements.
Main responsibilities: assistance in the planning of missions and the deployment and recovery of two autonomous underwater vehicles (gliders). (2016-present).
Atlantic Meridional Transect 25 (AMT25).
Solely responsible for the collection of samples for PIC, POC, cell count, BSi and SEM analysis, maintaining and operating both a flow-through bio-optical system and a solar tracking radiometric system. (October 2015).
GNATS (Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series): Long-running time series to measure physical, optical and biogeochemical properties of the Gulf of Maine.
Main responsibilities: collecting samples for PIC, POC, cell counts, BSi and SEM analysis and monitoring the optical underway system. (2015-present).
West coast of Scotland: Submicron particle aggregation and bio-optical properties of different regimes in shelf seas.
Main responsibilities: collecting and running samples for absorption due to chlorophyll-a, total and inorganic suspended matter using the filter pad method and spectrophotometer and CDOM using a liquid waveguide. (June 2012).
Service
- Guest Editor for the Environmental Research Letters focus issue on Carbon Monitoring Systems Research and Applications (2020)
- Member of the organizing committee for OceanHackWeek
- Reviewer for NASA programs
- Reviewer for Remote Sensing, Sensors, Remote Sensing of Environment, Deep-Sea Research – Part I, Frontiers in Marine Science, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Journal of Sea Research, Journal of Marine Systems & Remote Sensing
- Member of the reviewer board for the MDPI Remote Sensing Jounral
Presentations
2020 NASA Carbon Monitoring System Science Team Meeting
2019 NASA Carbon Monitoring System Science Team Meeting, La Jolla, California
2018 Ocean Optics XXIV, Dubrovnik, Croatia
2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Portland, Oregon
2017 Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Seminar Series
2017 Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Workshop, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
2017 International Ocean Colour Science Meeting, Lisbon, Portugal
2016 Ocean Optics XXIII, Victoria, BC
2016 NASA Ocean Color Research Team Meeting, Silver Spring
2015 International Ocean Colour Science Meeting, San Francisco
2014 Ocean Optics XXII, Portland, Maine
2014 Challenger Society Biennial Meeting, Plymouth, UK
2014 Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland ASM, Edinburgh, UK
2014 EGU Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria
2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii
2013 Challenger Society Marine Optics Special Interest Group Meeting, Plymouth, UK
2013 Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland ASM, Edinburgh, UK
2013 Wavelength Conference, Glasgow, UK
2012Ocean Optics XXI, Glasgow, UK
Outreach
- Starting, organising and facilitating a Girls Who Code club at Great Salt Bay School, Damariscotta, ME (January 2018 – present).
- Organised the hands-on laboratory activities as part of Bigelow Laboratory Open Day (July 2018, 2017, 2016).
- Judge at the Maine State Science Fair in the Environmental Sciences: Energy, Climate and Weather category (March 2017).
- Mentoring 8 high school students on scientific programming, which involved the development and running of a 2 hour Python programming class (March 2017).
- Presentation on ocean colour at Gizmo Garden Water Park (a 5-day STEM event for 6th- 9th graders on robotics) (February 2017).
- Giving talks to visitors on tour at Bigelow Laboratory (June 2016-present).
- Demonstrator at the hands-on laboratory activities as part of Bigelow Laboratory Open Day (July 2015).
- Participation at the various primary school Science Evenings around Glasgow, where we ran a series of series of scientific activities for children aged 7 – 13 years (2014).
- Participation in the EU Explorathon, where we ran a small workshop building spectroscopes (September 2014)
- Invited speaker to Glasgow’s Galilean Society, “Ocean Colour from Space” (February 2014)
- Participation in the University of Strathclyde Research Day “Engaging the Public in Research”, which had a special focus on schools engagement (June 2013).
- Presentation to the Glasgow Association of University Women on “Ocean Colour Remote Sensing” (February 2013)
- Organisation of “Science Busking” events as part of Glasgow Science Festival, where participants perform scientific demonstrations in the streets (June 2012, 2013).
- Laboratory Demonstrator at the Glasgow Science Festival for 1st and 2nd year high school students (June 2010)
- Presentation at the University of Glasgow Open Day, “Why study Physics & Astronomy at the University of Glasgow?” (September 2009)