Here’s a new paper from our team led by Olivia Mason at FSU

“The northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) hypoxic zone is a shallow water environment where methane, a potent greenhouse gas, fluxes from sediments to bottom water and remains trapped due to summertime stratification. When the water column is destratified, an active planktonic methanotrophic community could mitigate the efflux of methane, which accumulates to high concentrations, to the atmosphere. To investigate the possibility of such a biofilter in the nGOM hypoxic zone we performed metagenome assembly, and metagenomic and metatranscriptomic read mapping”. Read more…

New group of bacteria named for Samantha Joye – meet the Joyebacterota

In a recently released journal article published in Nature Communications, the Baker Lab discovered five new bacterial phyla from the deep sea. The team decided to name these phyla after female scientists that have made substantial contributions to deep sea research. The scientists include Dr. Raquel Negrete Aranda (Schmidt Ocean Institute), Dr. Ruth Blake (Yale University), Dr. Victoria Orphan (Caltech), and Dr. Samantha Joye (University of Georgia). Read more…

Our latest paper is out in Nature Communications

Our latest paper is out in Nature Communications describing how “Aerobic oxidation of methane significantly reduces global diffusive methane emissions from shallow marine waters

“Here we investigate methane sources and fates in the East China Sea and map global MOx rates in shallow waters by training machine-learning models. We show methane is produced during methylphosphonate decomposition under phosphate-limiting conditions and sedimentary release is also source of methane”. Read more…

Samantha Joye named 2022 Winner of the Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration

The Walsh Award recognizes outstanding, sustained, international contributions to the development, application, and propagation of marine technology toward the advancement of ocean exploration. Read more…

Our latest paper is out in Geophysical Research Letters

“We visited a remote, extremely cold, and salty desert pond in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, an environment that is considered to be among the most similar to Mars that can be found on Earth. There, we studied the production of nitrous oxide in the absence of microbial life. We show that this gas is produced through the interaction between rock and chemical precursors in water at extremely cold temperatures (−40°C) that are similar to those observed on Mars”. Read more…

Samantha Joye participates in Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Ocean Rising: The Quest to Inspire the Public Virtual Workshop

The ocean is the backbone of climate and life on this planet. Resources in the ocean enable life to thrive across Earth, but this is taken for granted and rarely recognized for the role it plays in planetary and human health. To change this status quo, we need to inspire the public about the ocean as they are inspired by space and this workshop, organized by the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Nekton, aims to do that. Read more…

Samantha Joye featured in Knowable Magazine -- “Eyes on the Deep”

“Decades of exploring the seafloor have helped oceanographer Samantha Joye tackle marine issues — from the underwater movement of oil from Deepwater Horizon to the biology of remote microbial communities” Read more…

Samantha Joye participates in Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Virtual Science Symposium

“The Extreme Exploration keynote address and panel discussion focused on new insights gained and how this shifts our exploration of extreme ocean environments, such as deep sea methane seeps, underwater volcanic settings, and hydrothermal vents. Better characterization of the microbial life and species that thrive in these extreme settings have led to fine-scale understanding of these unique environments in surprising and unprecedented ways.” Read more…

Samantha Joye recognized Physical Sciences winner at Falling Walls, a European science symposium

Samantha Joye recognized Physical Sciences winner at Falling Walls, a European science symposium. Falling walls helps bring recognition to important topics related to science and technology. Dr. Joye’s presentation discusses challenges and opportunities related to deep sea research. Read more…

Samantha Joye advises E-Line media team on “Beyond Blue” video game, to be released on PC, Xbox and PS4 in June

“Across multiple dives, “Beyond Blue” draws players into a science-driven adventure that is a meld of E-Line Media’s gaming expertise and the incredible insight from scientists like Dr. Samantha Joye, one of the foremost oceanographers in the world. “Beyond Blue” is also inspired by and features content from the BBC’s Blue Planet II.” Read more…

SAMANTHA JOYE CO-AUTHORS 'microbial genomics of the global ocean system'

This workshop report describes the application of genomics to track and identify changes in microbial community structure function in the face of environmental perturbations, including climate change. Read more…

Life Sciences Suffrage Science Awardee 2020: Professor Samantha ‘Mandy’ Joye

The Life Sciences branch is the inaugural branch of the Suffrage Science award scheme, founded in 2011. Every awards season there are 10 awardees from research backgrounds and 1 awardee for communication. Read more…

Chasing the methane dragon that lurks in the deep sea

No human had ever explored this particular underwater world. Samantha Joye, an oceanographer and microbiologist, was about to change that. Read more…

Scientists Share Personal Experiences with Deepwater Horizon Research

Researchers who have spent a decade studying impacts from the Deepwater Horizon incident offered their personal perspectives as they reflected upon the oil spill’s 10th anniversary in an engaging series titled “Deepwater Diaries,” including a touching dedication and perspective by Director Dr. Samantha Joye. Read more…

Scientists Describe Breakthroughs in Genomic Techniques Since Deepwater Horizon

Scientists Joel Kostka, Samantha Joye, and Rita Colwell authored a feature article for the special edition titled “Deepwater Horizon and the Rise of OMICS” that describes breakthroughs in microbial genomics stemming from research funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

Will History Repeat Itself?

Ten years ago SkyTruth analyzed satellite imagery to show the world that the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill was vastly larger than estimates provided to the public. On April 14, 2020, SkyTruth’s President John Amos led a panel, including Dr. Joye, examining the implications of this disaster 10 years later, and exploring the risk of similar disasters occurring again. The webinar has ended, but the recorded version can be viewed here.

UGA also boasts valuable players on the research field

“At times such as these,” UGA President Jere W. Morehead says, “I am reminded how important it is that some of the very best scientists in the world are members of our faculty.” Read more…

Scientists Race To Track Oil From Capsized Ship

The capsized cargo ship Golden Ray is still trapped in St. Simons Sound. And, while trapped, it has repeatedly leaked oil. Teams of scientists are working to trace the oil and limit its impact on the delicate marsh ecosystem. But there could be disagreement about just how far the oil is spreading. Read more…

THE EXPERT IS IN - SPECIAL EVENT AT THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

UGA Marine Sciences professor Dr. Mandy Joye and colleague Dr. Erik Cordes from Temple University will be speaking at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History “The Expert is In” on October 8th, 2019. They will be discussing their work on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the effects oil spills have on marine mammals, the deep sea, fisheries, and more. Read more…

UGA SCIENTIST: THERE IS OIL IN MARSHES NEAR ST. SIMONS

There is definitely oil in the marshes near St. Simon’s island where a shipping vessel capsized this month (September 2019). That’s the conclusion of UGA Marine Scientist Dr. Mandy Joye and others who sampled the marshes. Read more…

Deep Ocean Exploration: Microbial Foundations and Connectivity

Samantha Joye discussed the use of novel modes of ocean exploration to explore the dynamics and connectivity of the ocean microbial communities that underpin Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Read more…

9 Athens art exhibitions to visit this fall

Fall in Athens is has many things to offer, whether it be University of Georgia football, Autumn-themed food or its array of musicians to perform downtown but the city also has a wide range of art showcases to explore over the season, including art inspired by Dr. Samantha Joye’s deep sea research. Read more…

Beyond Blue, a new ocean exploration video game, is coming soon to PCs and consoles

Set in the near future, players will explore the mysteries of our ocean…E-Line media (the game's creators) partnered with BBC Studios (developers of the acclaimed Blue Planet II), world class game makers, and some of the field’s leading ocean experts, including significant input from Dr. Samantha Joye, to craft an experience that reflects the awesome wonder and unbounded mystery that infuses our planet’s beating blue heart. Read more…

graduate student successfully defends thesis

Cathrine Shepard, a Masters student in the Joye lab, successfully defended her thesis on July 22nd, 2019, entitled “Nutrient Availability Modulates the Effects of Corexit 9500A on Oil Biodegradation". Read more…

Joye lab members attend Gordon Research Conference

Dr. Samantha Joye and graduate student Hannah Choi attended the Applied and Environmental Microbiology Gordon Research Conference. This year’s theme was Shaping the Earth's Microverse. Read more…

Scientist Samantha Joye named Regents’ Professor

Samantha Joye, an internationally recognized University of Georgia marine scientist who studies the complex interplay between microbes and large-scale ecological processes in the oceans, has been named Regents’ Professor, effective July 1. Read more…

Ocean researcher explores an underwater world

Underwater geysers spewing out boiling hot fluids. Little invertebrate worms colonizing the hot vents that release these fluids into the deep ocean. Charred giant tube worms littering the landscape after the underwater chimney they lived on collapsed—and that’s just what Mandy Joye saw on one 14-hour dive in the Gulf of California. Read more…

SPECTACULAR 'MIRROR POOLS' AND LARGE 'LIVING ROCKS' DISCOVERED DURING DEEP-SEA EXPEDITION IN GULF OF CALIFORNIA

According to Mandy Joye from the University of Georgia, who led the expedition, the towers are biological hotspots for life and could potentially contain previously undiscovered species, despite the fact that the hydrothermal fluids contained high levels of sulfide, which can be harmful to living organisms. Read more…

Knowledge gap closed in our understanding of degradation of ethane

Ethane is the second most common component of natural gas and is present in deep-seated land and marine gas deposits all around the world. Up to now, it was unclear how ethane is degraded in the absence of oxygen. A team of researchers, including Dr. Samantha “Mandy” Joye, have solved this mystery, after more than fifteen years of research work. Read more…

A sense of the sublime

When Samantha Joye and Rebecca Rutstein talk about diving in the deep ocean, it can be difficult to tell who is the scientist and who is the artist. Read more…

Artist, professor combine arts and sciences in deep sea

For Samantha Joye and Rebecca Rutstein, the point where the arts, the sciences and the humanities meet is thousands of meters beneath the sea. Read more…

Out of the darkness - light in the sea of cortez

Dr. Samantha Joye and artist Rebecca Rutstein embark together on a deep sea expedition in November 2018 to the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) with a group of scientists aboard the R/V Atlantis. While the scientists study hydrothermal vents and the unique carbon-cycling processes occurring in Mexico’s Guaymas Basin in the Sea of Cortez, Rutstein will set up her studio on the ship and create new works inspired by the data they’re collecting in real time. Read more…

Professor explores brine pools on ocean floor in documentary

Samantha Joye, Georgia Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences, is one of the very few humans who have seen the mysterious brine pools of the ocean floor, and her expertise informs the new BBC documentary, "Planet Earth: Blue Planet II." Read more...

BBC's Planet Earth: Blue Planet II Features Deep Ocean Research and Scientists

"Magical discovery moments" is how Dr. Samantha "Mandy" Joye describes scenes at the bottom of the ocean. Now, thanks to the BBC-produced documentary series Blue Planet II, we can get a glimpse of these discovery moments and join discussions about the ocean's important. Read more...

This badass woman explores the deep sea to help us save it

Samantha Joye has been exploring the deep sea for more than 20 years. The microbiologist at the University of Georgia has seen what can happen when this hidden part of our world is not protected. Read more...