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
Research Focus
2020-present: Geologist, USGS, 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 physicochemical drivers of coral reef health. I also created the Unmanned Aerial System Coastal Aquifer Project, which develops new drone-based technologies to investigate permafrost stability, 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. As part of my older research interests I also continue to collaborate and advise on research focusing on the geological and geochemical consequences of bottom trawling.
2016, Mendenhall Postdoctoral Researcher, USGS
2014, Visiting Professor, Quest University, Squamish (Vancouver), BC, Canada
2013, Visiting Scientist at the USGS, Santa Cruz and 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
Science and Products
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.
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.
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.
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.
Near-shore seawater-column measurements of excess radon (Rn-222) and water levels, Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa, August 2018
This data table includes in-situ near-shore seawater measurements of excess radon (Rn-222) and water levels collected in Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa. Radon (Rn-222) data were collected to characterize the advection rate of groundwater onto the near-shore reef. When analyzed in conjunction with measurements of changing water levels from tides and waves, the data can be used to assess...
Observations of coral reef oceanographic and groundwater properties off Makua, Kauai, HI, USA, August 2016
This data release includes measurements of circulation and waves, profiles of seawater properties, and profiles of resistivity on the shoreline, which can be used to assess the potential for terrestrial groundwater intrusion on the reef and the sources and fate of these water masses. The recent discovery of coral Black Band Disease at Mākua Reef on Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi prompted an investigation...
UAV-based methane data from Barter Island, Northern Alaska, September 2017
Here we present methane data from along the coast of Barter Island, Alaska that was produced with an unmanned aerial system and an off-the-shelf, cost-effective methane sensor. The data was recorded in September of 2017 as part of a larger Arctic coastal erosion investigation study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The datasets contain latitude, longitude and CH4 (ppm).
Physicochemical controls on zones of higher coral stress where Black Band Disease occurs at Mākua Reef, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Pervasive and sustained coral diseases contribute to the systemic degradation of reef ecosystems, however, to date an understanding of the physicochemical controls on a coral disease event is still largely lacking. Water circulation and residence times and submarine groundwater discharge all determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed...
Oberle, Ferdinand; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Takesue, Renee K.; Hoover, Daniel J.; Logan, Joshua B.; Runyon, Christina M.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Johnson, Cordell; Swarzenski, Peter W. 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. What a drag: Quantifying the global impact of chronic bottom trawling on continental shelf sediment
Continental shelves worldwide are subject to intense bottom trawling that causes sediment to be resuspended. The widely used traditional concepts of modern sedimentary transport systems on the shelf rely only on estimates for naturally driven sediment resuspension such as through storm waves, bottom currents, and gravity-driven flows but they...
Oberle, Ferdinand K. J.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Hanebuth, Till J.J. Wave-driven sediment mobilization on a storm-controlled continental shelf (Northwest Iberia)
Seafloor sediment mobilization on the inner Northwest Iberian continental shelf is caused largely by ocean surface waves. The temporal and spatial variability in the wave height, wave period, and wave direction has a profound effect on local sediment mobilization, leading to distinct sediment mobilization scenarios. Six grain-size specific...
Oberle, Ferdinand; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Hanebuth, TillPre-USGS Publications
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.