“From Killala Bay to exploring the ocean along the Wild Atlantic Way “- the story of NUIG Science ambassador and Marine Biologist Catherine Jordan
We are delighted to be working with Catherine Jordan. She is NUIG Science ambassador and has worked with Galway Aquraium in the past and is currently on-board the research vessel the Celtic Voyager . Catherine and the team are working on a Nephrops/Dublin Bay prawn larvae survey
Since she was a young child she has always dreamt of working to make our world a better place. Catherine has now started her PhD in NUIG Catherine is well on her way to living her dream. We will would love to see what work you or your school is doing to make our world a better place. In the meantime thanks to Catherine for her writing about her inspiring journey to marine biologist:
“My name is Catherine Jordan, I grew up in the North of Mayo and from a very young age I was happiest when I was outdoors. I spent a lot of my time exploring the seashore, forests or anywhere with nature and my family. Many of our weekends were spent on the River Moy or Killala Bay on my Dad’s boat. My parents always encouraged me to go and do what makes me happy. After my leaving cert I went to study Earth and Ocean Science in NUIG.
On completing my school that I was extremely lucky to get a job in The National Aquarium of Ireland. This gave me the platform to show lots of people how amazing our native sea-life can be. It afforded me the opportunity and to spread very important messages about how we can work together to protect our seas.
A few years I decided to return to university and study my Masters in Marine Biology in University College Cork which gave me the platform for my job as a scientific officer for the Loughs Agency in Derry for over 2 years. I spent the majority of my time on boats in Lough Foyle monitoring the native oyster fishery, I worked on a research vessel and with local fishermen. I returned to Galway to work once again with Galway Atlantaquaria and had the honor of getting to work with the Explorers Education team who travel to primary schools to teach all about Ocean Literacy.
Before Christmas I was then given the opportunity to begin my PhD with the Marine Institute and NUIG. My PhD project focuses on using satellite technology to observe Phytoplankton blooms in the ocean.
This area of science is extremely cool the way we can use satellites in space to see processes going on in our ocean. I will be spending lots of time on the Irish research vessels the Celtic Explorer and the Celtic Voyager. We will be collecting data on different surveys, each survey has a specific purpose. I will be helping other scientists collect their data while I collect my own. At the moment will be focusing on collecting Nephrop larvae from areas around the Aran Islands and in Dublin Bay and is being led by a PhD student Ryan McGeady.”
We will be releasing blogs of our progress so follow us for more!
If you want us to share your work simply Contact Us and we will share the link to your school blog, website or Facebook page and we will post it from there. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @Inspiringyouirl also.
Inspiring You In Real Life #IYIRL
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