Carlos Moffat

@carlosmoffat

Associate Professor of oceanography at the University of Delaware. Interested in icy places. Views my own. Old posts are deleted regularly.

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Bluesky

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Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· 15d

“Immigrants have been awarded 40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000, according to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).” nfap.com/wp-content/u...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Immigrants have been awarded 40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000, according to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).' In 2025, three of the six U.S. winners in the three Nobel Prize science categories were immigrants to the United States. In 2025, the only U.S. winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry was an immigrant, and two of the three U.S. recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics were immigrants. In 2023, four of the six U.S. recipients of Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry and physics were immigrants to the United States. In 2021, three of the four U.S. recipients of Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry and physics were immigrants to America. Between 1901 and 2025, immigrants have been awarded 36%
of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics.

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· 16d

Meanwhile, along the Mediterranean:

BBC headline: “More than 220,000 evacuated in France and
Spain due to wildfires”

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Sep 4

5. 🌊 ❄️ I spoke to @evanbush.bsky.social from NBC News about the potential loss of the Palmer. Read this excellent article here: www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...

Moffat said decommissioning the Palmer and pausing the push for a new ship at the same time all but ensure the U.S. will create a decadelong data gap for polar marine scientists. Scientists have rallied against the cuts. Last month, more than 170 researchers, including Moffat, Leventer and Wellner, signed a petition aimed at reversing the decision.

“It’s not a faucet of water you can turn on or off,” Moffat said. “Are we really going to depend on other countries to collect the observations we need to know how sea level is changing in the United States?”

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Aug 22

🌊 Research ships are a critical research platform but are also classrooms and training grounds. As @polarrobs.bsky.social says here, losing the Palmer would mean losing the ability to train the next generation of polar ocean scientists for a decade or more. An entire generation.

"I just think it's tragic, really, for U.S. science," said Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey. Graduate students and younger scientists will be hit hardest, Dr. Larter said. Unable to do field work and publish research, many of them will simply quit polar science, he said.

"Effectively, you've lost a whole generation, a lot of expertise that will be lost and difficult to restart, Dr. Larter said.

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Jul 25

More than 100 scientists who work in Antarctica or care about having a strong U.S. research presence there have signed a letter calling for the U.S. to keep the Palmer in operation. (4/n)

We write as deeply concerned members of the Antarctic research community after learning of the plan, by the National Science Foundation, to terminate the lease of the Research Vessel/ IceBreaker Nathaniel B.
Palmer in October of this year.

The United States Antarctic Program has had at least one dedicated research vessel operating in the Southern Ocean since 1968.
For those nearly six decades, the N.B.
Palmer and its predecessors have supported world-class science that helped grow the U.S.'s standing as a leader of international scientific research. At the same time, these vessels have provided critical logistical support for the U.S. Antarctic scientific bases. Even as automation and remote observations have increased our
observational capabilities in this harsh region of the world, there's no replacement for a dedicated research vessel that can access remote sea ice-covered regions of Antarctica and that allows sampling of the

of the world, there's no replacement for a dedicated research vessel that can access remote sea ice-covered regions of Antarctica and that allows sampling of the full depth of the ocean and coastal regions on land.
The early loss of the N.B. Palmer is troubling, especially at a time when other nations, including China, Korea, Japan, Britain, and Australia, among others, are increasing their marine capability for Antarctic waters. This decision forecasts the decline of an exceptional history of U.S. scientific contributions. Maintaining a continued US ship-based presence also has strong, strategic and national security geopolitical implications. Antarctica remains a model for international cooperation and peace, with all activities, marine and terrestrial, south of 60°S governed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. The treaty, signed by 58 nations, committed all parties to a civilian presence guiding scientific investigation of this remote
and fragile part of the world Today many

Treaty. The treaty, signed by 58 nations, committed all parties to a civilian presence guiding scientific investigation of this remote and fragile part of the world. Today, many nations operate research stations and vessels in the Antarctic. While Antarctica remains remote and a difficult place to access, the modern world allows easier access each year and the number of groups there grows each year, for research, for tourism, for exploitation of fishery stocks, and simply for exerting national presence.

We urge reconsideration of the decision to terminate the lease of the RVIB Nathaniel B.
Palmer, and the continued forward-looking development of the next generation of Antarctic research vessels that will continue US leadership, scientifically and
geopolitically, in the high southern latitudes.

Sincerely,

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Mar 22

Here's the bibliography, b/c I'm a huge nerd: The recollection of the case from Joe himself: www.whoi.edu/science/PO/d... (see Appendix A) MA Teacher's Oath in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massach... Pedlosky vs. MIT, 1967: law.justia.com/cases/massac... 6/n

A newspaper article with the headline "High Court Voids Oaths of Teachers"

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Mar 22

If you're not an oceanographer, you wouldn't necessarily know Joe Pedlosky's name. He's one of the most celebrated oceanographers of our time, author of a famous textbook and too many papers to count. But back in the day, before all of that, he was a young professor who said "No". 5/n

The cover of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, by Joe Pedlosky.

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Mar 22

Eventually, the case made it all the way to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which found the law unconstitutional in 1967. 3/n

One of my proudest moments of that difficult time was when the case was
heard in the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The notion that the action in the court
that I observed from the back of the courtroom, an unknown, impecunious Assistant
97 Professor, could have such an influence on the law struck me as a vindication of the
American system. Even before the decision came down, I was satisfied I had done
the right thing. This 79 year-old man is happy the 26 year-old took the heat for his
beliefs. Although, I was frightened of the possible consequences it might entail,
again it was one of those things I did largely because I was frightened, i.e. frightened
of what I would think of myself it I hadn't done it.

Carlos Moffat@carlosmoffat· Mar 22

In 1966 a young assistant professor at MIT refused to sign the oath. This was just 3 years out of finishing his Ph.D. and a month after starting his job. His name is Joseph Pedlosky. He rightly recognized the oath as an attempt at intimidation.