OceanExpert ID : 18651
Ocean Tester, LLC
(Ocean Tester Limited Liability Corporation)
381 Gillikin Road
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516-7299
United States
Type
NGO
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Telephone
+1 252 241 2342
Activities
RESEARCH INTERESTS
For more than 30 years, Dr. Tester’s research efforts have focused on phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions and effects of toxic or harmful phytoplankton on the marine food web. She helped pioneer the early use of remote sensing in oceanography.
As a result of the research initiated by Dr. Tester at NOAA’s Beaufort Laboratory during the 1987-88 Red Tide bloom off North Carolina the need for real-time satellite imagery of coastal waters was clearly demonstrated and the COASTWATCH program was instituted within NOAA.
It currently provides remotely sensed data for coastal regions throughout the US, Alaska and Hawaii (http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/).
She also presented testimony to the Small Business Administration that helped change the definition of "disaster". The amendment now includes red tides, allowing the SBA to render assistance when "customary fishing waters are closed due to red tides".
Watermen from Maine to Florida have applied for assistance from the SBA seven times since the legislation was changed.
Dr. Tester was named to the National Organizing Committee in 2000 and to the International Organizing Committee 2006-2008 and 2012-2014, for the International Conferences on Harmful Algae and she served as the President of the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae from 2004-08. In 2002 Pat was the keynote speaker at the 1st National HAB meeting in Mexico and the 10th Canadian National HAB Conference in 2007. She received the Provasoli Award from the Phycological Society of America in 2002 for the outstanding publication in the Society’s journal, NOAA’s Administrator Award in 2004 and the Technology Transfer Award in 2007. In 2009 Pat was the co recipient of the Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award for the development and implementation of a monitoring tool that safeguards marine resources.
From 2010 to 2013 she was served on the GEOHAB (Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms IOC-SCOR) science advisory panel. She helped initiate the National Research Council's post doctoral program at the Beaufort Laboratory and sponsored five post docs through the NRC. In addition to her work with harmful algae, she has served as a science panel member of the North Pacific Research Board from 2002-2017 developing the annual call for proposals and reviewing NPRB proposals. Her publications include more than 150 journal articles and book chapters and her work has been cited by more than 5,600 other authors.
In 2013, Pat retired from NOAA but continues to publish, edit and work on the biology and ecology of harmful algae as a consultant to NOAA and UNESCO-IAEA.
She established Ocean Tester, LLC in 2013 to provide opportunities for research partners and to facilitate marine research and education.
