By Tiffany Wardman

Dr. Juliet Hermes represents a new generation of marine researchers who have participated in research projects across the globe. Her studies and participation in seminars and workshops have taken her to Antarctica, France, Brazil, India, Mauritius, Australia, Namibia, Hawaii, the Prince Edward Islands, Zanzibar, and now Bermuda. This new generation of young researchers are determined to tackle environmental issues such as climate change in a coordinated way for maximum impact.

Dr. Hermes is the manager of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) in Cape Town, South Africa, that establishes and maintains environmental observatories, field stations or sites for marine-offshore systems. The SAEON mandate of data dissemination fits in perfectly with the goals of the Centre of Excellence programme. "By sharing data we all learn more," she says, "so let's talk and work together and we will in-turn create new opportunities." The guiding principles behind Partnership for the Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) and the Centre of Excellence is for scientists and institutions to work together to provide the infrastructure and training necessary for detailed study of the worlds oceans.

As a surfer, Dr. Hermes has always been interested in coastal oceanography and wave dynamics. Besides being a Post-doctorate at the University of Cape Town's oceanography department where she obtained her PhD, she has participated in a number of oceanographic cruises, including one in the Southern Ocean and various others in the UK. She is currently an investigator on the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) funded project "Antarctic impacts on South African climate". In a START/PACOM award program she has run a series of workshops based on modelling the impact of large scale climate variability on sensitive East African coastal areas. And she is a Nippon Foundation-POGO instructor and a POGO-Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Fellow. The POGO-SCOR Visiting Fellowship program is open to scientists, technicians, graduate students and Post Doctoral Fellows involved in oceanographic work at centers in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

Dr. Hermes comes to BIOS and the Centre of Excellence to lead the program module Physical and Climate Modeling: MATLAB. She is keen to be involved in a program to develop a new generation of marine researchers and establish a critical mass of local marine scientists. "Oceanography is becoming increasingly important and there are so many career opportunities for people studying it," she says. As oceanography comes to the forefront of science, through the increase in interest in climate change, the necessity of long term observations are being realized. And in many cases such long-term observations are just beginning, with the realization they should have started many years ago. Dr. Hermes explains.

"BIOS did start such observations many years ago." She said. "Many countries, including developing countries, are focusing more funding on sea based oceanography, yet there is often little capacity in their institutions. The option of visiting scientists leading cruises in developing countries is there, but it is more important to empower the local scientists to perform the long-term measurements in their oceans. By spending ten months at BIOS these scientists will gain a holistic view of observational oceanography, as well as gaining sea-time and hands on experience." It is rare for scientists to be able to spend this much time at sea in a short period and to combine this with data analysis skills of long-term observations. The scientists are also able to work outside of their disciplines, allowing them to have a better understanding of how the many different oceanographic disciplines interact.

Dr. Hermes explains, "Although every country is different, coming from a place with limited resources and various problems allows me to understand what kind of situations some of the scientists are in. Given that the first few weeks I am spending with the scholars pretty much 24 hours a day, I?have quickly gained an idea of their skills and preferences. This will allow me to modify the module to best suit their needs. During this time we will have worked on better understanding different aspects of oceanography that are of interest to us, reading the literature and explaining to each other. This way we are able to draw from each other's strengths. Throughout the course the scientists will work together, explore Bermuda together and go to sea together. Predictably such interactions will lead to close relationships and life-long support networks."

Often the network of scientists in specific fields is small, in particular in less developed countries. Having peers in other countries allows for the interchange of ideas. It further opens opportunities to get involved with different projects and with different scientists coming to POGO from different disciplines.

In the spirit behind the mandate of the program Dr. Hermes believes that the skills she can offer will be useful to the scientists taking part in the NF-POGO program, building relationships with scientists from all over the world and learning about the work being done. She also intends to expand her knowledge to other disciplines learning from BIOS and her faculty while involved in the program of long-term oceanic observations.