Rotary hosted guest speaker Dr. Deborah Bronk, director of the Bigelow Labs, Nov. 8. Dr. Bronk lives on Barters Island, finding Maine much like her beloved native Wisconsin.

She reported that an encounter with Jacques Cousteau changed her life. Her educational background is impressive. She attended or taught at the University of Miami, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Maryland, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and William and Mary. She left a very senior position as director of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation to join Bigelow.

Bigelow Labs, she reports is cutting edge in research, and what she really likes about it is that, in close proximity to each other’s workspace, people talk to each other. In other words, communication among colleagues leads to better results in one’s work product.

Dr. Bronk’s research specialty is the concentration of nitrous oxide in the ocean. She reports that there is less nitrous oxide in the water here in Maine than in other areas of the ocean. There is, however, NO2 in waste water treatment plants.

One interesting research trip she took was to Barrow, Alaska. Barrow is at the very top of Alaska, on the Bering Sea. Her research took her out on the sea ice to see the effects of global warming on concentration of NO2 in the Bering Sea. At 42 degrees below zero, she and her crew lived in tents and sampled the water below the ice.

Finally, she reported, the average annual precipitation is up 10 percent in the 20th century, and since 1958, extremely heavy storms are up 70 percent, and organic matter discharge has increased.

Prospective members, visiting Rotarians and guests are always welcome to join the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club at our weekly meetings, held Thursday nights, 6 to 8, at the Rotary Clubhouse, 66 Montgomery Road in Boothbay Harbor. If interested contact Alice Neily Mutch 410-353-3861. Conviviality at 6, dinner at 6:30, followed by a short business meeting and a special speaker. To learn more about Rotary and our Club and all the good things we do, visit our website: www.boothbayharborrotary.org, or “friend” us on Facebook.