Visualizing the Unseen

Above: “Coastal Surface: Community” — Heather E. Stivison

Visualizing the unseen: Cellular Metabolites in Ocean Ecology is a series of paintings that represents some of the ocean’s diverse ecological zones.

The four 48” x 60” paintings (two of which are currently viewable above) were inspired by the four distinct Atlantic Ocean collection zones of Noah’s research: Coastal Surface, Ocean Surface, Deep Chlorophyll Maximum, and Mesopelagic. Each is informed by high-resolution chemical measurements from that locale, as well as knowledge about the contemporaneous physical and microbial characteristics.

We often view microbial ecosystems as networks that are relatively tight with respect to metabolites, which theoretically are produced by microbes, released into the environment, diffuse, and are then picked up by other microbes. What Noah is trying to figure out is what happens to a few vitamins, amino acids, and parts of DNA that might stick to the ions in seawater, react with sunlight, or are cleaved by the water itself. This would change our view of how tight the microbial network operates, and where some compounds might transform into something that no longer looks like the initially valuable cellular building blocks.