Planning for Wekiwa, Deleon, Sulfur, and Palm Springs – February 18, 2010
Amy Giannotti
Everyone has arrived in Orlando and is ready to begin diving! Amy traveled to the airport this morning to retrieve Drs. Rima Franklin (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Aaron Mills (University of Virginia) and welcome them to sun and palm trees. Dr. Franklin is the PI for this project, and she is examining the changes in biodiversity within several springs systems throughout the state of Florida. It is nice to have rescued them from the cold winter weather up north! Karl Shreeves flew in later in the afternoon from California, and we all gathered at Amy’s house for an evening of pizza, planning, and project preparation! It is great to be together again!
Several new faces are joining us this weekend. Jenny Sherwood is interning with us this semester, and we welcome aboard Bob Dehler and Jef Frank who are excited to learn about dive operations and project objectives. Suhavi Kaur is a high school student, and she will be with us at DeLeon Springs to learn more about what it is that we do! A big thank you to Sartek Industries and Seminole Scuba for their continued support! We are very grateful that Dr. Rima Franklin’s research project is now supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, thanks in part to a dedicated team of divers, scientists, and field support crew!
Team members:
Bob Dehler
Jef Frank
Rima Franklin
Amy Giannotti
Bob Giguere
Kelli Gladding
Suhavi Kaur
Aaron Mills
Renee Power
Marissa Rodriguez
Kris Shannon
Jenny Sherwood
Karl Shreeves
Terrence Tysall
Nathalie Visscher