Dr. Bob Collier is a professor of Ocean Ecology and Biogeochemistry at Oregon State University.  Basically, he’s a chemist who is fascinated by the ocean – its chemistry, how it develops and what it shows us about processes in the marine environment.   He has been part of the evolution of the field of chemical oceanography starting with just figuring out the chemistry of seawater and now thinks about bigger issues such as the effect of chemical changes in the earth’s atmosphere and what these may do to life in the ocean.  One of the tools he is developing to look at big and small questions is the Ocean Observing System, an ambitious project that will support cabled, moored, and mobile observation stations on the seafloor off of Oregon and Washington.  These stations will allow scientists to collect data 24/7 and share it so many scientists and students can interpret what we find and inform policy and management decisions.  Additionally, Bob has long used Crater Lake as an accessible ‘lab’ that allows long-term monitoring of the physics, geology, biology and human presence as these factors interact.  

For more information:

Bob Collier’s web site

http://ceoas.oregonstate.edu/profile/collier/

Ocean Observing from OSU’s perspective:
http://www.coas.oregonstate.edu/OOIatOSU.html
http://www.coas.oregonstate.edu/EnduranceArrayatOSU.html

Ocean Observing in general:
http://www.oceanobservatories.org/   

Crater Lake Project:

http://chemoc.coas.oregonstate.edu/~bobcollier/CLhydrothermalSite/

A very cool map: http:/pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2832