The A.G. Huntsman Foundation announced that the 2021 A.G. Huntsman Medal will be awarded to Dr. Shubha Sathyendranath in recognition of her outstanding research achievements in the development of the use of optics and satellites in marine science as well as her dedication to developing international cooperation and capacity building in oceanography and ocean colour remote sensing.
Dr. Shubha Sathyendranath is a merit scientist in the Remote Sensing Group at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK. Her research focuses on understanding the interaction of light with the ocean biota and the consequences for marine ecology, biogeochemistry and climate. She applies marine optics and ocean colour remote sensing to topics such as development of algorithms for interpretation of satellite data, light penetration underwater, phytoplankton functional types, ecological provinces in the ocean, marine primary production, biological-physical feedbacks in the ocean, phytoplankton phenology, carbon cycling, the use of ocean colour data in climate studies and the dynamics of waterborne diseases. Her work with the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) and other international initiatives, such as the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) has advanced international collaborations in remote sensing.
Above, are pictures from the 2021 ceremony, courtesy of Jonathon White
Prof. Trevor Platt is the fifteenth recipient of the A.G. Huntsman Award, in 1992. Prof. Platt was recognized for his extensive and clear-sighted contributions to our understanding of the functioning of the pelagic ecosystem, especially of plankton in the open ocean. His studies progressed logically from investigations of the spatial inhomogeneity of plankton distribution in response to the power spectrum of turbulence, through the physiological responses of the growth of cells in response to light and nutrients, to dimensional analysis and the size structure of pelagic food chains. In recent years, he has joined his accumulated understanding of physics and algal physiology to the new possibilities offered by satellites remote sensing of the ocean.
Together with his wife, Dr.Shubha Sathyendranath, he has developed techniques for the critical computation of the productivity of oceanic plant cells on a global scale. The analytical solutions and algorithms to compute integrated plant production through the water column, advanced by Dr. Platt, place the critical calculation of annual global production by marine plants within reach for the first time.
Above, are pictures from the 1992 ceremony, courtesy of Dr.Sathyendranath
*Click here for more information regarding the award.
