Ferdinand Oberle
Biography
EDUCATION
2015 MARUM-IODP Center, University of Bremen, Germany, Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.)
2012 - 2014 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Ph.D. study with Chris Reddy
2005 University of Bremen, Germany – M.S. Environmental and Marine Geology
2002 Bowdoin College, USA – B.A. Geology
2000 - 2001 (SOEST) School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Hawaii
WORK EXPERIENCE
2016-present Mendenhall Postdoctoral Researcher, USGS (United States Geological Survey), Santa Cruz, CA, USA. I am currently involved in three fields of research: groundwater discharge through coastal aquifers; conceptualizing hydrologically and cryogenically driven permafrost erosion; and a national assessment of the stability of coastal wetlands . I also created the Unmanned Aerial System Coastal Aquifer Project, which develops new drone-based technologies to investigate wetlands and aquifers. All projects have a strong interdisciplinary nature focusing on anthropogenic versus natural disturbances that rely on a multitude of oceanographic, marine geological, hydrogeological, and geochemical methods.
2014 Visiting Professor, Quest University, / Squamish (Vancouver), BC, Canada.
2013 Visiting Scientist at the USGS, Santa Cruz & Menlo Park, CA, USA.
2008-2011 Adjunct Professor, Chabot-Las Positas College, Livermore, CA, USA.
2007-2011 Sedimentologist/Hydrogeologist, Garcia & Associates, San Anselmo, CA, USA
2006-2007 Middle School Oceanography Teacher, San Francisco Maritime Assoc., CA, USA
2002-2003 Staff Geologist, German Environmental Protection Agency, Rheinfelden, Germany
2000-2001 NASA Space Grant Fellowship, Hawaii Space Consortium, Honolulu, HI, USA
PUBLICATIONS
Please see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ferdinand_Oberle/publications
Oberle, F.K.J., Gibbs, A.E., Richmond, B.M., Erikson, L.H., Waldrop, M.P., Swarzenski, P.W., 2019. Towards determining spatial methane distribution on Arctic permafrost bluffs with an unmanned aerial system. SN Appl. Sci. 1, 236. doi:10.1007/s42452-019-0242-9
Hanebuth, T.J.J., King, M.L., Mendes, I., Lebreiro, S., Lobo, F.J., Oberle, F.K.J., Antón, L., Ferreira, P.A., Reguera, M.I., 2018. Hazard potential of widespread but hidden historic offshore heavy metal (Pb, Zn) contamination (Gulf of Cadiz, Spain). Sci. Total Environ. 637–638, 561–576. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.352
Oberle, F.K.J., Puig, P., Martín, J., 2018. Fishing Activities, in: In Book: Submarine Geomorphology, Chapter: 25, Publisher: Springer Nature, Editors: Micallef A., Krastel S., Savini A., Pp.503-534. pp. 503–534. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-57852-1_25
Oberle, F.K.J., Swarzenski, P.W., Storlazzi, C.D., 2017. Atoll Groundwater Movement and Its Response to Climatic and Sea-Level Fluctuations. Water 9, 650. doi:10.3390/w9090650
Baasch, B., Müller, H., von Dobeneck, T., Oberle, F.K.J., 2017. Determination of grain-size characteristics from electromagnetic seabed mapping data: A NW Iberian shelf study. Cont. Shelf Res. 140, 75–83. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2017.04.005
Oberle, F.K.J., Storlazzi, C.D., Hanebuth, T.J.J., 2016a. What a drag: Quantifying the global impact of chronic bottom trawling on continental shelf sediment. J. Mar. Syst. 159, 109–119. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.12.007
Oberle, F.K.J., Swarzenski, P.W., Reddy, C.M., Nelson, R.K., Baasch, B., Hanebuth, T.J.J., 2016b. Deciphering the lithological consequences of bottom trawling to sedimentary habitats on the shelf. J. Mar. Syst. 159, 120–131. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.12.008
Hanebuth, T.J.J., Zhang, W., Oberle, F.K., Cui, Y., Santos, A.I., 2016. Mud depocenters on continental shelves and storm-driven bottom transport controlling their formation, in: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. p. 121. doi:10.1130/abs/2016SE-273264s
Oberle, F.K.J., Storlazzi, C.D., Hanebuth, T.J.J., 2014b. Wave-driven sediment mobilization on a storm-controlled continental shelf (Northwest Iberia). J. Mar. Syst. 139, 362–3ss72. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.07.018
Baasch, B., Muller, H., Oberle, F.K.J., Dobeneck, T. von, Müller, H., Oberle, F.K.J.J., Dobeneck, T. von, 2014. Inversion of marine multifrequency electromagnetic profiling data: a new approach to resolve surficial sediment stratification. Geophys. J. Int. 200, 438–451. doi:10.1093/gji/ggu406
Oberle, F.K.J., Hanebuth, T.J.J., Baasch, B., Schwenk, T., 2014a. Volumetric budget calculation of sediment and carbon storage and export for a late Holocene mid-shelf mudbelt system (NW Iberia). Cont. Shelf Res. 76, 12–24. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2013.12.012
Hanebuth T.J.J, Oberle, F.K.J., Reinecke, A., 2005. The Inner Boundary oft he Mekong Delta-Paleo-Environmental Implications for Archaeological Data and Modern Soil Acidification., in: Proceedings of the International Conference on DELTAS: Geological Modeling and Management. AIST, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Sweeney, E., Oberle F., 2003. GLACIOMARINE SEDIMENTS BENEATH EASTERN CASCO BAY , MIDCOAST, in: Geological Society of America, Northeastern Section, 38th Meeting. pp. 1–4.
Oberle, F., 2001. Monitoring of easterly Saharan dust storm. NASA Space Consortium, HI, Spacegrant Rep. 10SP01-FA01, 18–23.s
Science and Products
Coral Reef Project
Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
Hydrogeology and Reef Health
We are conducting geophysical and geochemical research to address questions about coastal groundwater-to-reef flow and coral reef health, with the goal of informing management decisions related to planning and implementing activities in priority watershed-coral reef systems.
Science Seminar Series
Upcoming public seminars at the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California will be listed here. Get directions to our Center.
Also, check out our archive of past seminars.
Climate impacts to Arctic coasts
The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else in the nation. Understanding the rates and causes of coastal change in Alaska is needed to identify and mitigate hazards that might affect people and animals that call Alaska home.
Science Seminar Series Archives
Here are our past science seminars at the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California. Please check out our upcoming seminars.
Submarine Groundwater Discharge
We define submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to consist either of fresh groundwater, re-circulated seawater, or a composite thereof. We evaluate and present SGD in terms of a vector for nutrient delivery to coastal waters.
Towards determining spatial methane distribution on Arctic permafrost bluffs with an unmanned aerial system
Arctic permafrost stores vast amounts of methane (CH4) in subsurface reservoirs. Thawing permafrost creates areas for this potent greenhouse gas to be released to the atmosphere. Identifying ‘hot spots’ of methane flux on a local scale has been limited by the spatial scales of traditional ground-based or satellite-based methane-sampling methods....
Oberle, Ferdinand K. J.; Gibbs, Ann E.; Richmond, Bruce M.; Erikson, Li H.; Waldrop, Mark P.; Swarzenski, Peter W. Fishing activities
Unlike the major anthropogenic changes that terrestrial and coastal habitats underwent during the last centuries such as deforestation, river engineering, agricultural practices or urbanism, those occurring underwater are veiled from our eyes and have continued nearly unnoticed. Only recent advances in remote sensing and deep marine sampling...
Micallef, Aaron; Krastel, Sebastian; Savini, Alessandra; Oberle, Ferdinand K. J.; Puig, Pere; Martin, Jacobo Atoll groundwater movement and its response to climatic and sea-level fluctuations
Groundwater resources of low-lying atoll islands are threatened due to short-term and long-term changes in rainfall, wave climate, and sea level. A better understanding of how these forcings affect the limited groundwater resources was explored on Roi-Namur in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As part of a 16-month study, a rarely recorded...
Oberle, Ferdinand K. J.; Swarzenski, Peter W.; Storlazzi, Curt D.
USGS collaborates with National Park Service to study threatened coral reefs in American Samoa
USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center and the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center are cooperating with the National Park Service to better understand links between coastal groundwater and coral reef health on the island of Ofu in the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA).
A Tale of Two Drones
Unmanned Aircraft Used to “Sniff” Methane Gas Escaping from Thawing Permafrost
USGS Uses Drone to Measure Methane Escaping from Arctic Permafrost: Low-Cost Method Fills Gap in Detection Techniques
The USGS has developed a low-cost technique for making detailed measurements of methane escaping from thawing permafrost in coastal Arctic bluffs.