Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
@afloback.bsky.social
🌊🧪 Post-Doc at UH Manoa thinking about how to link trace metal biogeochemistry to microbial biogeography • PhD from USC • proud cat mom • PADI divemaster • amateur photographer
Underway for HOT361!
November 21, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Underway for HOT361!
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
The amount of ice flowing from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica has doubled in the span of three decades. These satellite images from 2001 and 2019 show the fracture and retreat of the glacier ice tongue floating on the Amundsen Sea, as it's melted from below.
🛰️ NASA
🛰️ NASA
November 19, 2025 at 3:48 AM
The amount of ice flowing from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica has doubled in the span of three decades. These satellite images from 2001 and 2019 show the fracture and retreat of the glacier ice tongue floating on the Amundsen Sea, as it's melted from below.
🛰️ NASA
🛰️ NASA
It's been a whirlwind of the last few months simultaneously sailing on HOT cruises and preparing to ship things for a S. Atl cruise.
Honestly.... I'd rather rewrite my thesis than wash another bottle right now 🤣🙃. But today, I loaded for another HOT cruise AND moved my last items into acid. 💃🏻🥳
Honestly.... I'd rather rewrite my thesis than wash another bottle right now 🤣🙃. But today, I loaded for another HOT cruise AND moved my last items into acid. 💃🏻🥳
November 18, 2025 at 11:37 PM
It's been a whirlwind of the last few months simultaneously sailing on HOT cruises and preparing to ship things for a S. Atl cruise.
Honestly.... I'd rather rewrite my thesis than wash another bottle right now 🤣🙃. But today, I loaded for another HOT cruise AND moved my last items into acid. 💃🏻🥳
Honestly.... I'd rather rewrite my thesis than wash another bottle right now 🤣🙃. But today, I loaded for another HOT cruise AND moved my last items into acid. 💃🏻🥳
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
This week, I cleaned 100L of carboys, 36 L of bottles, and 360 McLane pump filters 🙀. Trying to catch up on desk work today, and...
#CatsOfScience
#CatsOfScience
November 9, 2025 at 2:43 AM
This week, I cleaned 100L of carboys, 36 L of bottles, and 360 McLane pump filters 🙀. Trying to catch up on desk work today, and...
#CatsOfScience
#CatsOfScience
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
💥California marine biogeochemists!
So Cal BOOM* is at UCLA on November 22, 2025 (*Biogeochemical Ocean Obs & Models). This is an event for grad student and post-doc marine biogeochemists of all kinds. More senior peeps (like me) are also welcome!
💥
Register here: socalboom.wordpress.com
So Cal BOOM* is at UCLA on November 22, 2025 (*Biogeochemical Ocean Obs & Models). This is an event for grad student and post-doc marine biogeochemists of all kinds. More senior peeps (like me) are also welcome!
💥
Register here: socalboom.wordpress.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:22 PM
💥California marine biogeochemists!
So Cal BOOM* is at UCLA on November 22, 2025 (*Biogeochemical Ocean Obs & Models). This is an event for grad student and post-doc marine biogeochemists of all kinds. More senior peeps (like me) are also welcome!
💥
Register here: socalboom.wordpress.com
So Cal BOOM* is at UCLA on November 22, 2025 (*Biogeochemical Ocean Obs & Models). This is an event for grad student and post-doc marine biogeochemists of all kinds. More senior peeps (like me) are also welcome!
💥
Register here: socalboom.wordpress.com
Check out this write up describing what we're working on to understand biogeochemical cycling across different layers of the euphotic zone. The SUBSEA team is currently out on HOT-360 deploying SIX sediment trap crosses and McLane pumps this time 🎉
nautil.us/modeling-the...
nautil.us/modeling-the...
Modeling the Deep
Modeling the Deep: An ambitious mission seeks to map the flow of crucial chemicals through marine food webs in far-flung oceanic gyres.
nautil.us
October 23, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Check out this write up describing what we're working on to understand biogeochemical cycling across different layers of the euphotic zone. The SUBSEA team is currently out on HOT-360 deploying SIX sediment trap crosses and McLane pumps this time 🎉
nautil.us/modeling-the...
nautil.us/modeling-the...
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
NASA unit JPL to lay off about 550 workers, citing restructure
NASA unit JPL to lay off about 550 workers, citing restructure
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a research and development lab funded by NASA — the federal space agency — and managed by the Caltech.
cnb.cx
October 13, 2025 at 7:23 PM
NASA unit JPL to lay off about 550 workers, citing restructure
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
11 days into a government shutdown.
This is where we are:
This is where we are:
Eleven Days Into a Shutdown. This Is Where We Are | Sen. Bernie Sanders
YouTube video by Senator Bernie Sanders
youtu.be
October 11, 2025 at 8:22 PM
11 days into a government shutdown.
This is where we are:
This is where we are:
Some views from HOT-359! 🌊
October 9, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Some views from HOT-359! 🌊
Getting ready for HOT-359, featuring double the niskins! Working on testing a new rosette before shipping it off 🎉
October 6, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Getting ready for HOT-359, featuring double the niskins! Working on testing a new rosette before shipping it off 🎉
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
Photosynthetic electron, carbon, and oxygen fluxes within a mosaic of Fe limitation in the California Current upwelling system bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/... #jcampubs 🌊
Photosynthetic electron, carbon, and oxygen fluxes within a mosaic of Fe limitation in the California Current upwelling system
Abstract. We compare primary productivity estimates based on different photosynthetic “currencies” (electrons, O2, and carbon) measured in the dynamic coastal upwelling waters of the California Curren...
bg.copernicus.org
October 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Photosynthetic electron, carbon, and oxygen fluxes within a mosaic of Fe limitation in the California Current upwelling system bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/... #jcampubs 🌊
Well that's a new one for me... 🤣 (No Niskins were irreparably harmed)
September 30, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Well that's a new one for me... 🤣 (No Niskins were irreparably harmed)
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
California! Set a reminder in your phone to call the gov’s office to tell Newsom to sign these five bills.
The guy’s mercenary as hell so if he thinks the wind is shifting in favor of trans rights (it never shifted! Trans rights are human rights!) we could flip him. Info below.
Call: 916.445.2841
The guy’s mercenary as hell so if he thinks the wind is shifting in favor of trans rights (it never shifted! Trans rights are human rights!) we could flip him. Info below.
Call: 916.445.2841
A huge win for trans people in California: the state legislature passed five bills protecting our rights!
Now it's time to call on Governor Gavin Newsom to sign them. Contact him before October 12th: transfamilysos.org/action-neede...
#TransRights #TransYouth #TransCalifornia
Now it's time to call on Governor Gavin Newsom to sign them. Contact him before October 12th: transfamilysos.org/action-neede...
#TransRights #TransYouth #TransCalifornia
Action Needed: Urge Governor Newsom to Sign Five Critical Trans Rights Bills
TransFamily Support Services is proud to co-sponsor five critical trans rights bills that have officially passed the California Legislature. This is a major victory—one made possible through a powerfu...
transfamilysos.org
September 28, 2025 at 9:26 PM
California! Set a reminder in your phone to call the gov’s office to tell Newsom to sign these five bills.
The guy’s mercenary as hell so if he thinks the wind is shifting in favor of trans rights (it never shifted! Trans rights are human rights!) we could flip him. Info below.
Call: 916.445.2841
The guy’s mercenary as hell so if he thinks the wind is shifting in favor of trans rights (it never shifted! Trans rights are human rights!) we could flip him. Info below.
Call: 916.445.2841
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
If you are American faculty and aren't loudly speaking out against what's happening at @tamu.bsky.social right now, I suggest you read the news. Absolutely despicable actions by their admin and true loss for reliable, unbiased higher education.
Acknowledging trans people exist is not "ideology".
Acknowledging trans people exist is not "ideology".
September 19, 2025 at 8:27 PM
If you are American faculty and aren't loudly speaking out against what's happening at @tamu.bsky.social right now, I suggest you read the news. Absolutely despicable actions by their admin and true loss for reliable, unbiased higher education.
Acknowledging trans people exist is not "ideology".
Acknowledging trans people exist is not "ideology".
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
Breaking News: The EPA moved to stop requiring polluters to report their emissions of greenhouse gases. The proposal would end a key tool the government uses to track carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that are driving climate change.
E.P.A. to Stop Collecting Emissions Data From Polluters
The data, from thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities, is the country’s most comprehensive way to track greenhouse gases.
nyti.ms
September 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Breaking News: The EPA moved to stop requiring polluters to report their emissions of greenhouse gases. The proposal would end a key tool the government uses to track carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that are driving climate change.
That's a wrap on HOT358! Featuring the... fun... wire angle on my last trace metal cast post hurricane Kiko passing through
September 11, 2025 at 10:59 PM
That's a wrap on HOT358! Featuring the... fun... wire angle on my last trace metal cast post hurricane Kiko passing through
Successfully recovered our 5 sediment trap crosses (60 PITs!) and spent the rest of the day homogenizing, subsampling, and filtering for macronutrients, trace metals, organics, DNA, et al. 🌊
September 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Successfully recovered our 5 sediment trap crosses (60 PITs!) and spent the rest of the day homogenizing, subsampling, and filtering for macronutrients, trace metals, organics, DNA, et al. 🌊
Another day at ALOHA, feat. a glider search party and recovery 🌊
September 9, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Another day at ALOHA, feat. a glider search party and recovery 🌊
Lots of tricho out here at station ALOHA 🦠🌊
September 8, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Lots of tricho out here at station ALOHA 🦠🌊
Busy day of deployments on the R/V Kilo Moana at station ALOHA. Seaglider, wire walker, and 5 sediment trap crosses spanning 75-300 m (including two optical sed traps ‼️). We're working to understand export and recycling across the euphotic zone 🌊🧪
September 7, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Busy day of deployments on the R/V Kilo Moana at station ALOHA. Seaglider, wire walker, and 5 sediment trap crosses spanning 75-300 m (including two optical sed traps ‼️). We're working to understand export and recycling across the euphotic zone 🌊🧪
After much delay, HOT358 is officially underway 🌊👩🏻🔬
September 6, 2025 at 4:06 PM
After much delay, HOT358 is officially underway 🌊👩🏻🔬
Finally loading for HOT358 tomorrow (after it's been continuously delayed since April), and I'm beginning to think this cruise is cursed 🤣🤷🏻♀️
September 4, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Finally loading for HOT358 tomorrow (after it's been continuously delayed since April), and I'm beginning to think this cruise is cursed 🤣🤷🏻♀️
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
🌊With the Fall semester upon us, it's time to start thinking about recruiting/applying to grad school for 2026.
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
Oceanography MS/PhD Positions for Fall 2026
This is an effort to collect the **contact information of potential advisors** for MS/PhD students in Oceanography.
Please note that if you answer **you are agreeing to have your contact information...
docs.google.com
August 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
🌊With the Fall semester upon us, it's time to start thinking about recruiting/applying to grad school for 2026.
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
📢 New paper in @nature.com
Microbes rock 🎸🤘 with sulfide and iron minerals
I am very excited to share our recent study, which describes a previously unknown microbial energy metabolism ⚡⚡⚡🦠🧫⚡⚡⚡
🆕 Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - MISO
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbes rock 🎸🤘 with sulfide and iron minerals
I am very excited to share our recent study, which describes a previously unknown microbial energy metabolism ⚡⚡⚡🦠🧫⚡⚡⚡
🆕 Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - MISO
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - Nature
Genomic and biochemical analyses of prokaryotic sulfur metabolism identify diverse microorganisms with the capacity to oxidize sulfide using iron(iii).
www.nature.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:17 PM
📢 New paper in @nature.com
Microbes rock 🎸🤘 with sulfide and iron minerals
I am very excited to share our recent study, which describes a previously unknown microbial energy metabolism ⚡⚡⚡🦠🧫⚡⚡⚡
🆕 Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - MISO
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbes rock 🎸🤘 with sulfide and iron minerals
I am very excited to share our recent study, which describes a previously unknown microbial energy metabolism ⚡⚡⚡🦠🧫⚡⚡⚡
🆕 Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation - MISO
www.nature.com/articles/s41...