Marine Science

Degrees

• Ph.D., Chemical Oceanography, University of South Florida
• B.S., Marine Science (Geology), Eckerd College

Courses taught

• • Geological Oceanography
  • Introduction to Oceanography
  • Earth System History
  • Marine Invertebrate Paleontology
  • Chemical and Physical Oceanography
  • Natural History of the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador (Winter Term)
  • Deep Sea Exploration (Winter Term)
  • Marine Pollution
  • Scientist at Sea
  • Marine Research in Tobago (Winter Term)

Research interests

My research program addresses societally relevant and globally significant issues concerning the assessment of diverse human activities including land-use development impacts, deep sea mining, oil spills, and the distribution and impacts of microplastics on marine systems. I currently have multiple projects in progress with undergraduate student involvement at all stages from proposal to fieldwork, laboratory and publication.  Some selected outreach products can be viewed here:  Why Did ‘Shocking’ Amounts of BP Oil Fall to the Seafloor?, National Geographic, April 18, 2015 and Little Critters that tell a BIG Story: Benthic Foraminifera and the Gulf Oil Spill, Smithsonian, June 2014.

Select publications

• Schwing, P.T., Montagna, P.A., Joye, S.B., Paris, C.B., Cordes, E.E., McClain, C.R., Kilborn, J.P., Murawski, S.A. (2020). A Synthesis of Deep Benthic Faunal Impacts and Resilience Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.560012.
• Schwing PT, Montagna PA, Machain-Castillo ML, Escobar-Briones E, Rohal M (2020) Benthic faunal baselines in the Gulf of Mexico: a precursor to evaluate future impacts (Chapter 6). In: Murawski SA, Ainsworth C, Gilbert S, Hollander D, Paris CB, Schlüter M, Wetzel D (eds).  Scenarios and responses to future deep oil spills – fighting the next war. Springer, Cham.
• Schwing PT, Hollander DJ, Brooks GR, Larson RA, Hastings DW, Chanton JP, Lincoln SA, Radović JR, Langenhoff A (2020) The sedimentary record of MOSSFA events in the Gulf of Mexico: a comparison of the Deepwater Horizon (2010) and Ixtoc 1 (1979) oil spills (Chapter 13). In: Murawski SA, Ainsworth C, Gilbert S, Hollander D, Paris CB, Schlüter M, Wetzel D (eds) Deep oil spills: facts, fate, effects. Springer, Cham.
• Schwing PT, Machain-Castillo ML (2020) Impact and resilience of benthic foraminifera in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1 oil spills (Chapter 23). In: Murawski SA, Ainsworth C, Gilbert S, Hollander D, Paris CB, Schlüter M, Wetzel D (eds) Deep oil spills: facts, fate, effects. Springer, Cham.