About My Science

I recently joined the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) as the new Technical Services Manger. UNOLS is an organization of 58 academic institutions and National Laboratories involved in oceanographic research and joined for the purpose of coordinating oceanographic ships' schedules and research facilities. 

Prior to joining UNOLS I worked at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) and the University of Washington's, Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) as the Field Operations Manager for the Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array (GTMBA) Program. The GTMBA program is a multi-national effort to provide data in real-time for climate research and forecasting. In this role I managed, coordinated, supported project personnel, field operations and the research objectives of the GTMBA Program in collaboration with our partners in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.  

Preceding my time at PMEL I worked at the University of Hawai'i as the Program Operations Manager for the Hawaii Ocean Time series (HOT) and The Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE) programs, two collaborative oceanographic field programs investigating the temporal and spatial variability of the hydrography, chemistry and biology of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. I simultaneously worked as the Lab Manager for the Center for Microbial Oceanography Research and Education, C-MORE Hale, a state-of-the-art, LEED platinum facility that supports the comprehensive research of the biological and ecological diversity of marine micro-organisms. 

I received my M.Sc. degree in Biological Oceanography from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where I studied the spatial variability in plankton size structure and community composition along biogeochemical gradients in the Pacific Ocean, supervised by Dr. David M. Karl.  To date I have participated on over ninety research cruises with the HOT program and dozens of other research cruises between Hawaii, Alaska, California, American Samoa, Chile, Rapa Nui, Grand Canaria, Mauritius, Maldives and Antarctica, totaling 1500+ days at sea. I've lead, planned and organized oceanographic research data collection and have served as chief scientist on numerous oceanographic expeditions.

Outside of studying, researching and teaching about the sea, I love to spend my time sailing, kayaking, hiking and exploring the world's infinite wonders.  Most recently I've been enjoying my adventures in the Pacific Northwest.

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Tara M. Clemente, MSc.

UNOLS Technical Services Manager

University of Washington  

1501 NE Boat Street  

Seattle, WA 98195-7940

(808) 389-0544 (Cell)

tara@unols.org

taraclem@uw.edu

www.unols.org

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