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
Phew, have spent the last few months grinding away at cruise prep and am officially packed in containers and done for the year!
Some acid washing stats:
~800 L of bottles / carboys
~7 m² of filters
Some acid washing stats:
~800 L of bottles / carboys
~7 m² of filters
December 20, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Phew, have spent the last few months grinding away at cruise prep and am officially packed in containers and done for the year!
Some acid washing stats:
~800 L of bottles / carboys
~7 m² of filters
Some acid washing stats:
~800 L of bottles / carboys
~7 m² of filters
180 L of trace metal clean sediment trap brine packed away today! 🤞🏻 For a safe shipment
December 18, 2025 at 3:47 AM
180 L of trace metal clean sediment trap brine packed away today! 🤞🏻 For a safe shipment
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
Exclusive: The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado
The Trump administration is breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
bit.ly
December 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Exclusive: The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
Spent the last two weeks in a workshop on ocean primary production funded by the @schmidtsciences.bsky.social as part of the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute. Now time to finish cruise prep!
December 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Spent the last two weeks in a workshop on ocean primary production funded by the @schmidtsciences.bsky.social as part of the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute. Now time to finish cruise prep!
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
Localized nutrient colimitation of phytoplankton growth rates across the subtropical South Pacific Ocean www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Localized nutrient colimitation of phytoplankton growth rates across the subtropical South Pacific Ocean | PNAS
The simultaneous depletion of multiple nutrients in seawater potentially leads to
colimitation of phytoplankton growth across large oceanic extents...
www.pnas.org
December 12, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Localized nutrient colimitation of phytoplankton growth rates across the subtropical South Pacific Ocean www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Reposted by Alexis Floback, PhD (she/her)
Iron release into the Southern Ocean from thinning Antarctic glaciers could boost carbon absorption.
Iron leached into seawater from exposed mountain tops boosts phytoplankton which take up CO2 through photosynthesis. The question is how much and over what timescales.
#climate 🧪
Iron leached into seawater from exposed mountain tops boosts phytoplankton which take up CO2 through photosynthesis. The question is how much and over what timescales.
#climate 🧪
Thinning Antarctic glaciers expose high-altitude nunataks delivering more bioavailable iron to the Southern Ocean - Nature Communications
Iron-rich sediments are transferred from Antarctic mountains to the coast by glacial systems. Sediments that reach ice shelf fronts provide iron to ocean phytoplankton, increasing CO2 uptake; this cou...
www.nature.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Iron release into the Southern Ocean from thinning Antarctic glaciers could boost carbon absorption.
Iron leached into seawater from exposed mountain tops boosts phytoplankton which take up CO2 through photosynthesis. The question is how much and over what timescales.
#climate 🧪
Iron leached into seawater from exposed mountain tops boosts phytoplankton which take up CO2 through photosynthesis. The question is how much and over what timescales.
#climate 🧪
Last HOT cruise of the year (for me) ✅
November 25, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Last HOT cruise of the year (for me) ✅
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. 🌊