OCEANOGRAPHY PROFESSOR QUOTED IN INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

Eileen Hofmann, professor of oceanography in the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University was quoted in more than 90 international and national news outlets Wednesday and Thursday regarding a study just published in the journal Nature.

The story was first reported by the Associated Press and then ran in newspapers around the world including USA Today, New York Newsday, Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, Sydney Morning Herald and Independent UK. Networks ABC News, CNN, CNN International, MSNBC and CTV in Canada also picked up the story.

The study purports that the main food source for Antarctic seals, whales and penguins has declined 80 percent since the 1970s in ocean waters near the Antarctic Peninsula. Hofmann has worked with the lead researcher, Angus Atkinson of the British Antarctic Survey, during her more than twenty years in the field.

"This is a high-profile news story because it has a lot of implications for the Antarctic," said Hofmann. "The paper has been in review at Nature for two years because they wanted to make sure they got it right."

You can view the story at http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-11-03-krill-decline_x.htm.