Bio
Ms. Rachael Young is a marine scientist with extensive experience both leading and supporting field and offshore projects. Specializing in remote and polar research, she has maintained and operated a diverse suite of oceanographic and atmospheric instrumentation with applications in aquatic biogeochemistry, fisheries, ocean technology, and long-term environmental monitoring. She has been involved with most aspects of projects, including protocol development, planning and logistics, field sampling, laboratory processing, data analysis, reporting, and outreach. Ms. Young has also overseen research and teaching laboratories where she gained a thorough understanding of environmental health and safety protocols, QA/QC assessments, and standard operating procedures.
Relevant Experience
Environmental Monitoring
Greenland Environmental Observatory at Summit (GEOSummit), Summit Station, Greenland — Provided in-the-field polar science support to a long-term monitoring program observing baseline components of climate change. Supported the Integrated Characterization of Energy, Clouds, Atmospheric state, and Precipitation at Summit (ICECAPS) and Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) projects by gathering meteorological and atmospheric data using aerosol and gas analyzers, meteorological sensors, radars, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, radiometers, and spectrometers. Collected and characterized snow samples with microscopy. Performed spatial surveys and used GIS background to update guiding maps in protocols.
Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER), Palmer Station, Antarctica — Led field teams performing long-term monitoring of the West Antarctic Peninsula focusing on food-web dynamics in the context of climate change. Conducted routine field collections and laboratory processing of water chemistry, phytoplankton, and zooplankton samples. Performed ecological acoustic surveys to analyze krill aggregates and identify and characterize the behavior of Antarctic seabirds, penguins, pinnipeds, and cetaceans.
Marine Science
Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER), Palmer Station, Antarctica — Led field teams performing long-term monitoring of the West Antarctic Peninsula focusing on food-web dynamics in the context of climate change. Conducted routine field collections and laboratory processing of water chemistry, phytoplankton, and zooplankton samples. Performed ecological acoustic surveys to analyze krill aggregates and identify and characterize the behavior of Antarctic seabirds, penguins, pinnipeds, and cetaceans.
Ocean Technology, Ross Sea, Antarctica — Used an autonomous underwater vehicle fitted with an acoustic sensor to study phytoplankton, zooplankton, and small-fish interactions. Collected, sorted, and quantified local organisms using deployed net tows and trawls to ground-truth acoustic measurements.
Coastal Science
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Commercial Species, Northeast Shelf, United States — Investigated potential climate change effects on the physiology and thermal habitat of two key commercial species in the U.S. Northeast Shelf. Performed respirometry experiments on black sea bass and spiny dogfish and collected blood samples to analyze blood lactate and sex hormones.
Fisheries
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Commercial Species, Northeast Shelf, United States — Investigated potential climate change effects on the physiology and thermal habitat of two key commercial species in the U.S. Northeast Shelf. Performed respirometry experiments on black sea bass and spiny dogfish and collected blood samples to analyze blood lactate and sex hormones.
Climate Change
Greenland Environmental Observatory at Summit (GEOSummit), Summit Station, Greenland — Provided in-the-field polar science support to a long-term monitoring program observing baseline components of climate change. Supported the Integrated Characterization of Energy, Clouds, Atmospheric state, and Precipitation at Summit (ICECAPS) and Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) projects by gathering meteorological and atmospheric data using aerosol and gas analyzers, meteorological sensors, radars, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, radiometers, and spectrometers. Collected and characterized snow samples with microscopy. Performed spatial surveys and used GIS background to update guiding maps in protocols.
Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (PAL-LTER), Palmer Station, Antarctica — Led field teams performing long-term monitoring of the West Antarctic Peninsula focusing on food-web dynamics in the context of climate change. Conducted routine field collections and laboratory processing of water chemistry, phytoplankton, and zooplankton samples. Performed ecological acoustic surveys to analyze krill aggregates and identify and characterize the behavior of Antarctic seabirds, penguins, pinnipeds, and cetaceans.
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Commercial Species, Northeast Shelf, United States — Investigated potential climate change effects on the physiology and thermal habitat of two key commercial species in the U.S. Northeast Shelf. Performed respirometry experiments on black sea bass and spiny dogfish and collected blood samples to analyze blood lactate and sex hormones.
Education & Credentials
B.S., Marine Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2019
Continuing Education
OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER
First Aid/CPR/AED Certified
Global Wind Organisation (GWO) Sea Survival, Fire Awareness, First Aid and Manual Handling Training (2024; current)
OGUK Medical Certification (current)