Andrea Fassbender, Principal Investigator

Phytoplankton bloom in the Tasman Sea captured by the NASA MODIS-Aqua satellite on 21 November 2017. White patches are clouds. Credit: NASA/Ocean Biology Processing Group, Goddard Space Flight Center.

Marine biogeochemistry is the study of carbon and nutrients being transformed by biological, geological, and chemical processes in the ocean. We study these transformations over timescales that range from seconds to millennia. The distribution of carbon and nutrients in the ocean is integral to sustaining and tracing the signatures of marine life.

The Marine Biogeochemistry Group investigates how carbon is cycled within the upper ocean by marine organisms, how this influences the exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and ocean, and how rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may impact the marine carbon cycle, now and in the future. We use observations collected from ships, sensors on autonomous platforms, and satellites, along with numerical model data, to study various aspects of the ocean carbon cycle at coastal, regional, and global scales. Our group is also interested in the role of ocean physics in transporting carbon away from the sea surface to depth where it remains sequestered from the atmosphere for long timescales.

To advance the study of marine biogeochemistry, our lab develops and applies new technologies and methods to collect and interpret data. Through these efforts we are gaining new understanding of the ocean’s role in global climate and how ongoing changes to the marine carbon cycle may influence ocean ecosystems.