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| WayCoolWomen.com's Misheel and Dr. Anastasia Romanou |
Misheel: What led you to become a scientist working in applied physics and mathematics?
Dr. Romanou: When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a physicist. I studied physics at the University of Athens, which means I studied everything from classical mechanics to general relativity, wave mechanics…things like that. I decided to do a PhD in the United States because of better opportunities for work than in Greece. That's when I shifted from general physics to more applied physics. In addition to physics, I studied numerical analysis during my PhD and on my own because computer modeling is important to understand large-scale phenomena such as complex climate interactions. This is what I work on every day now, and although I'm a physical oceanographer, I spend a lot of time in front of a computer simulating the climate and the oceans to see how much the ocean is changing because of natural processes and because of anthropogenic [human based] impact on the environment, and to understand how the oceans change atmospheric climate.
Misheel: Can you explain what you're working on now in a way that people not in your field can understand?
Dr. Romanou: We’re in the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which was created in the 1960s to study planetary science, mostly astrophysics and astronomy. But in the 1980s many of the professors who worked here realized that our own planet needed to be understood better, so the Institute was gradually converted from planetary physics to mostly earth sciences. Now there are only a few people here doing planetary science. Most of the people here work on the NASA climate modeling program to produce current and future climate projections. My role is studying how the oceans are influenced by climate and how they influence systems, both of which constitute what we call "feedbacks". The ocean, atmosphere, climate and other systems feedback on each other. The ocean plays a very important role that was largely ignored until recently. Today we have more observations and better understand its importance, so we are able to model it. The climate model now simulates processes that take place in the oceans such as evaporation, sinking and deep water motions and biogeochemistry. They all affect carbon dioxide and how much the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and how much oxygen it releases. I use numerical models and that's where my applied physics and mathematics background comes in.
Misheel: What would happen if the oceans become unstable beyond repair?
Dr. Romanou: In addition to the ocean absorbing greenhouse gases, the ocean takes up heat from the atmosphere. If the ocean becomes so unstable that the climate of Earth warms by several degrees, that would be catastrophic for human life. Generally and under natural conditions the oceans are not static, they circulate and that circulation moves heat from where it's hotter on earth, for example, from the tropics to higher latitudes where it’s colder. That's why humans can live in higher latitude places like Canada and Britain and Russia. So if something happens to that circulation, which is called thermohaline circulation, and it stops carrying heat, then areas and people in higher latitudes will get very cold. With regards to the ocean, that is a major concern and there are many ways that this collapse can take place, for example as a result of melting the ice at high latitudes from heating the ocean too much and disrupting the ocean’s circulation. But there are other ways that the ocean can change besides climate change which can also be catastrophic for humans. For example, if the oceans become unlivable because of pollution, then we won't have seafood, or they will not provide oxygen to the atmosphere etc. The ocean is a physical system, and as an ecosystem, it’s crucial for the health of the entire planet, so we can’t disregard it.
Misheel: What advice can you give to young women about being involved in STEM or in other challenging careers?
Dr. Romanou: When I was a teenager, there were fewer women in academia and in research at higher levels. But as more women came into research science, we saw more and more women at higher levels. One thing that I’d like to stress to students and young professionals who read this is that they shouldn’t internalize that there are not many women at higher levels. Things have changed and are changing. At the same time, always remember that you are just as good as any other colleague, male or female. What matters 90% of the time is resilience and hard work, and 10% percent of the time it’s extraordinary features like extreme concentration or a mathematical mind or things like that. You don't have to be Einstein to become a scientist and reach high levels. Also, not all your grades have to be A’s. You can get a B or C sometimes and still learn and improve. Some students think, “I don't have all A’s in my science classes, so I can’t go into science.” That's not true. As you progress in your career, colleagues, mentors and support groups can help you. You need to love what you do, have an inquisitive mind and persevere. It’s important for young women to understand that a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is no different than any other career in this respect. I tell my children that they don't have to be straight-A students. But they do need to work hard, be dedicated, do extra reading and go the extra mile to learn. Eventually they can become A-level scientists!
Misheel: What is the most challenging problem or issue that you're working on?
Dr. Romanou: I would say there are a lot of difficult problems. I think the number one challenge that we have in our field is the need for more observations. For example, let's say we simulate the interactions between the carbon cycle in the ocean and phytoplankton but we don't really have observations to know what is right and what is wrong, so we hypothesize. It’s like trying to find your way in the dark. I try to base my models on observations that we have and try to guess what I should be doing differently or what other kinds of observations we need to make our models better. Another thing I’m working on is how the ocean is absorbing carbon dioxide and how this is going to change in the future and how soon. We know that the process is going to slow down, the ocean is going to stop breathing in all these harmful greenhouse gases that we humans emit into the atmosphere, but how soon is that going to be, and how critical will it be for the climate? This is the most interesting problem for me right now.
Misheel: What excites you about your work?
Dr. Romanou: What originally excited me about applied physics versus high energy physics or relativity, which was also one of my favorite subjects in college, is that it’s practical and involves going out and conducting experiments and helps explain the world around me. When I started my studies in the 1980s and 1990s, oceanography became much more popular in the civil sector and people started paying attention to it. It interested me because the ocean’s waters can be described by simple equations, and sometimes you can predict how sea water will move by using theoretical arguments and a simple pen-and-paper. So there is a nice mix of theory and application, which I thought was very exciting. And it can have an impact. When I started my studies, many people didn't believe in our work on climate change. But slowly they started to understand. Witnessing that has made me even more attached to the field, so I feel being a part of that understanding is what I find exciting about my work. Additionally, since we’re predominantly research focused at the NASA Institute at Columbia University rather than a teaching faculty, that means that I perform research and have discussions and meetings with colleagues, and have some interaction with young scientists and students. My work can be very specialized, and sometimes it can be difficult helping people without a high-level background in climate science to understand the research. However, researchers, teaching faculty and students could all benefit from more interaction by sharing findings and being able to think about the research in ways that more people can understand.
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