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On September 26, 2011, Richard Ferrero, Associate Regional Executive in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southwest Area Office, sent the following email message to announce the selection of Bob Rosenbauer as the new Director of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) in Santa Cruz, California.

I am very pleased to announce the selection of Bob Rosenbauer as the new PCMSC Director. Bob will transition from his Acting Center Director role to the permanent position, effective immediately. Please join me in providing best wishes and support for Bob as we welcome him into this critical leadership responsibility.

Robert "Bob" Rosenbauer is a geochemist who joined the PCMSC of the USGS in Menlo Park, California, in 1974, then known as the Branch of Pacific and Arctic Marine Geology. He soon established the USGS rock/water/gas interaction laboratory and worked closely with Jim Bischoff on theoretical and experimental studies of submarine hydrothermal, volcanic, and geothermal systems for over 22 years. In 1996, he teamed up with Keith Kvenvolden to develop an integrated organic, inorganic, experimental laboratory capability to facilitate research investigations of geologic processes to help understand natural and human-induced stresses on the environment. His diverse research interests include the use of signature lipid biomarkers and stable isotopes to study nearshore ecosystem processes, changes in microbial diversity in marine sediment linked to contaminants, and the paleo-occurrence of hypoxia in deltaic systems. He has led efforts to assess the risk of contaminated floodwater sediment to human and ecosystem health in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the potential environmental and human-health impacts of the mud volcano in East Java at Sidoarjo. He participated in studies on saline encroachment in the Los Angeles Basin and on hydrocarbon occurrence along the California coast and in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. He led the effort to chemically fingerprint and determine the persistence and degradation pathways of oil from recent spills in San Francisco Bay from the merchant vessel Cosco Busan and in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Currently, Bob is leading studies on the experimental investigation, theoretical modeling, and environmental impacts of CO2 sequestration in geologic formations with colleagues from the national and international scientific community. He is also a part of a large effort to quantify sediment-transport pathways in the San Francisco Bay coastal system by utilizing a combination of Sr and Nd isotopes and rare-earth-element distributions. Bob is the author or coauthor of over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications. Bob is known for his tireless and balanced approach to critical science and management excellence and will bring these elements to the Center Director's Office.

I also want to acknowledge the previous PCMSC Acting Directors, Jill McCarthy, Debbie Hutchinson, and Bill Schwab, for their many contributions over the past year.