Science Speaker Series “Three Years of Buoy Monitoring in Nantucket Harbor” with Dr. Betsy Sherman

Signals, Surprises, and Better Questions: Three Years of Buoy Monitoring in Nantucket Harbor”

The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) invites the community to a presentation by Dr. Elizabeth “Betsy” Sherman, the MMA’s Senior Marine Science Advisor, as part of its September Science Speaker Series. The free presentation will take place on Wednesday, September 23, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., in person at 33 Washington Street and via Zoom.

?Tides, sunlight, storms, and biological activity shape Nantucket Harbor over hours, days, and seasons. Sherman will invite the audience to join her in investigating what three years of continuous buoy monitoring have revealed: how tidal and daily biological cycles differ, what happens when potentially stressful conditions converge, and how scientists decide whether an apparent pattern is real and useful. By following one particular investigation from an intriguing hypothesis to evidence that ultimately did not support it, she will show how scientists work amid uncertainty, and why good science sometimes means letting go of a compelling idea and asking a better question.