Introducing: Mariana Miracca Lage
What is your qualifying background?
My background has always been Oceanography, although my interests changed a lot within the years. I did my Bachelors in Oceanography at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil and at that time I was particularly interested in physical-biological coupling, so I studied tropical waves and their influence in phytoplankton. For my Masters also at USP, I decided to focus more in physics and studied the role played by density in upper ocean dynamics, and how we could infer the water movement by looking at one single density snapshot. Currently I’m doing my PhD at the Institute of Coastal Dynamics at Hereon and I am part of the Small-Scale Physics and Turbulence group. Using glider-based measurements, my main interests are to understand what processes drive turbulence in the upper layer of the ocean and how the energy is dissipated into heat.
How would you describe your working daily routine?
My daily routine starts with a nice and hot cup of coffee. I rather work from my office for so many reasons, but the most important is being able to talk about science with my colleagues and supervisor. I arrive at the office in the morning and start the day by checking my emails. Then, I proceed with tasks that demand my immediate attention, whether because of a close deadline or because they are steps of my current outline. After that, I start programming and analyzing data from my two datasets: the Gulf of Lions (Mediterranean, France) and the Cape Town (South Africa). Sometimes I like to intersperse reading and writing with programming, so that I can be constantly in contact with my main topic.
What has been your biggest success so far?
I would say my biggest success so far was to deploy and pilot a glider during the research cruise I participated between 21-02-2022 and 15-04-2022. I received extensive training before and during the cruise, and being able to operate the glider by myself was really rewarding. I cannot wait to share with the scientific community the amazing data we collected during the last months.
Do you have a big goal?
My big goal is to keep challenging myself with new ideas, new datasets, and new equipment. I would like to be able to balance work and personal life and continue to produce valuable results, helping ourselves and others to understand the most beautiful aspects of the world.
Do you have any personal distinctive mark?
I believe that what makes me unique is my resilience. Even though science sometimes put up a challenging fight, I keep going towards my objectives and life goals.
