Nguyen Thi Thai Hoa

Finally, I chose the largest island in the southern hemisphere to acquire further educaƟ on and implement my PhD research project at CurƟ n University, in Western Australia (WA). Here, I have fallen in love with a fantasƟ c marine environment and their conservaƟ on works. ParƟ cularly, Shoal water Marine Parks and RoƩ nest Island, which are part of one of the largest A Class Reserves in the Indian Ocean. This is a unique habitat for a range of fl ora and fauna such including approximately 10 thousand quokkas, 16 species of buƩ erfl ies and 360 species of fi sh, of which some cannot be found in WA coastal waters (RoƩ nest FoundaƟ on Inc. 2014). In parƟ cular, they have abundant and large Sargassum beds around these areas. Sargassum is one of the seaweeds distributed globally and is considered an important source for food, ferƟ lizers and bioenergy extracƟ ons. Sargassum also plays a vital role in CO 2 absorpƟ on, contribuƟ ng in reducƟ on of greenhouse gases (Fig. 2).

Figure 2 - Sargassum beds around RoƩ nest Island, Western Australia

NF-POGO alumni appreciaƟ on

Memories of HABs training course in Bolinao, Philippines Nguyen Thi Thai Hoa

InsƟ tute for Environment and Resources, Vietnam

Wikispage: hƩ p://www.nf-pogo-alumni.org/~Nguyen+Hoa

It is said that there are events that have a power to change one’s life. I had always doubted that unƟ l I had one myself. The event – being in HABs training course held in Bolinao Marine Laboratory, Philippines – is actually a turning point in my scienƟfi c career and leŌ in my heart unforgeƩ able feelings. In three weeks, we were introduced to a wide range of fi elds include taxonomy and phylogeneƟ cs, physiology and toxins, geology, physical and chemical oceanography, ecology, hydrodynamics, modeling and remote sensing by enthusiasƟ c professors. All this knowledge is really new to me. Although someƟ mes I could not deny that it made me stressful, overall I had to thank the teachers on this programme for enlightening me to such useful subjects. One of unforgeƩ able periods is when we did our group fi nal project and to experiment many unnamed emoƟ onal levels. In an eff ort to include as much as possible the informaƟ on and methods we were taught in the fi nal project, in addiƟ on to other knowledge, we decided to do undertake a modeling project. We managed many hours to extract sea bathymetry data from Google Earth. AŌ er that, we faced the challenge raised by the lack of boundary condiƟ ons. Following many googling hours, fi nally, we found some data that could be used. However, we then found we had a serious problem, although we could set up a model, we could not run it. As the Ɵ me for the presentaƟ on became ever closer, someƟ me we thought to give up, but as we had worked so hard to collect the data, the thought of giving up really hurt us. So, we kept trying, try-and-fail, each Ɵ me this happened, we all worried and felt disappointed. But then no word can express our happiness when we ran it successfully in the last second. We burst with happiness, we were the only group who used modeling techniques. We got congrats from organizers, professors and other friends. It was really a fantasƟ c moment. Seeing our result was highly esƟ mated, to me, I felt so proud and felt more confi dent about what I am able to do. Apart from knowledge and works, I will never forget the meaningful and joyful Ɵ me we Bolinao Pogonians had together, and the friendship we built. Now, it seems that every Ɵ me I close my eyes I sƟ ll see everything in Bolinao. The view deck where we have meals and exciƟ ng pingpong games aŌ er intense learning hours. It was also the place where Pogonians taught me my fi rst ping-pong lesson, where I had fi rst match and fi rst feeling of winning a game. Ping-pong matches were so exciƟ ng that we actually someƟ me talked that we should ask the organizers for POGO ping-pong cerƟfi cates. I also sƟ ll remember a path from the classroom to the dorm with many trees along two sides, it was so peaceful that made me feel like I was at home. Especially, pavement/side walk of the path to dorm, where I spent evenings with a dear Thailand girl, laying down, looking to the sky, looking for stars and enjoying the sea breeze. I will not forget the cultural trip, an unplanned journey and the ocean nursery which actually raised my love to ocean. All experiments and emoƟ ons in Bolinao together are my moƟ vaƟ on and encourage me to live and work beƩ er and go further in oceanic science.