Microbial Biogeochemistry

There are half a billion microorganisms in a glass of seawater, and for the most part we have no idea what most of these organisms ‘do’ - what they 'eat,' how they survive, or how they interact.  We do know that the collective activities of these tiny cells drive global cycles of biologically-essential elements such as nitrogen and carbon, and that global biogeochemical cycles have subsequently been heavily altered by human activities.  The overarching goal of our research is to develop an integrative and predictive understanding of microbial ecology and biogeochemical cycling in changing aquatic ecosystems, especially the 'Anthropocene Sea.'