ABOUT US
In the Coastal Biogeochemical Dynamics Laboratory in the Department of Marine Science at the University of Connecticut we use models to study ocean processes, coastal biogeochemistry, better understand the impacts of changing biogeochemical cycles on local ecosystems, and understand future scenarios. We see models as tools to integrate observations and theory. Our interests include:
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Understanding the role of the coastal ocean in global biogeochemical cycles
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Determining what governs spatial variability of hypoxia and ocean acidification
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How will those governing processes change in the future ocean
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Understanding predictability of ocean health measures important to fisheries
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Quantifying exposure to hypoxia and ocean acidification for vulnerable ecosystems now and in the future ocean
Looking for motivated, hard working group members – email Samantha Siedlecki for more information. Please include your CV (resume) with prior research and educational experience information and make sure to follow up with me if you don't hear back from me right away. If you are interested in graduate school, learn more about how to compose an email to a potential advisor in this blog and about our department's application process here.
As an oceanographer, Samantha focuses on coastal regions where she investigates and identifies processes within that environment responsible for the biogeochemical dynamics in both the modern and future oceans.
Halle Berger
PhD Student
Halle worked on a vulnerability assessment for Dungeness crab to changing ocean conditions in Washington and Oregon waters for her masters. She used a literature review, regional ocean model projections, and larval transport models to score the consequence, exposure, and vulnerability of crab life stages to present and future low pH, low oxygen, and high temperature conditions on seasonal and annual timescales. She received her MS in 2020 and she plans to extend this approach along with new tools to sea scallops on the Atlantic coast of the US as part of her PhD. She is also a former Knauss Fellow.
Halle is co-advised by Catherine Matassa
Zhuomin was trained as a coastal oceanographer through my PhD study with Dr. Enrique Curchitser at Rutgers University, and has investigated the dynamics and spatio-temporal variability of the Mid-Atlantic Bight Cold Pool, as well as its potential connections with the meridional fluctuations of the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Oscillation. In addition, she recently finished a postdoc at WHOI developing and evaluating a statistical forecasting system for oceanographic conditions and living marine resources over the Northeast U.S. shelf. At UConn, she is working with a team of collaborators and NCAR, GFDL, and Scripps to understand decadal predictability of oxygen and metabolic indices relevant to fisheries in large marine ecosystems of the ocean.
Yifan Zhu
Postdoctoral researcher
Yifan has received training in both the United States and China, specializing in the nitrogen biogeochemistry within Estuaries and Marginal Seas. She is learning and utilizing ROMS (LiveOcean) model to characterize the trends and spatial patterns of biogeochemical variables, including oxygen, carbon, nutrients, phytoplankton described as multi-stressors, respond to climate change in the marine environments along the Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State coastlines. Yifan collaborates with scientists from NOAA-PMEL, University of Washington, and Oregon State University for her research.
Liz, Brendon, Sarah, Jill
Undergraduate Students
Several marine science majors as well as other undergraduates are working in our lab measuring aspects of scallop shells from an archive on the east coast of the US
Hung Nguyen
PhD Student
Hung is working on simulating oxygen for the northwest Atlantic shelves. He is working with a team at GFDL and Rutgers on implementing a regional downscaled climate projection of biogeochemical conditions for the northwest Atlantic shelves using MOM6. Using local data sets collected in the region he is evaluating the oxygen fields in this new simulation. He plans to investigate the spatial evolution and decadal trends in oxygen in the region.
Alex Frenzel
MS Student
Alex is working on characterizing the chemistry of sediment exchange across the east coast of the US from a series of benthic core incubations performed on ECOA3 in the summer of 2022. This data is critical to this interface in our regional simulations.
Alex is co-advised by Craig Tobais
Mengyang Zhou
PhD Student
Mengyang is interested in how physical processes influence ocean biogeochemistry. He is currently investigating the mechanisms leading to seasonal hypoxia in the Southern Benguela Upwelling System using the CROCO model, collaborating with scientists from University of Cape Town. He also worked on nitrogen biogeochemistry in mesoscale eddies in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, and the sample volume effect of the denitrifier method for analyzing nitrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios in nitrate.
Mengyang is co-advised by Julie Granger
Felipe Soares
Research Assistant
Felipe is an oceanographer with decades of experience in the private sector setting up regional simulations as a consultant. He works on many if not all the projects in the lab supporting research activities broadly.
Pablo Armijo
Undergraduate Student
Pablo is working on generating movies and helping with model evaluation for the J-SCOPE system
Partial group photo during the Feng Symposium in May 2023
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Former Lab Members
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Annette Carlson, MS 2022
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Rebha Raviraj (former undergraduate researcher)
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Kelly McGarry, MS 2021
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Mackenzie Blanusa (former undergraduate researcher), current graduate student at UConn
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Sulagna Ray (former postdoctoral associate), Global coupled model developer, NOAA/EMC/NCWCP
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Shaina Harkins (former undergraduate researcher), current graduate student at URI