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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:

  • Understanding the role of the coastal ocean in global biogeochemical cycles

  • Determining what governs spatial variability of hypoxia and ocean acidification

  • How will those governing processes change in the future ocean

  • Understanding predictability of ocean health measures important to fisheries

  • 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.

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Samantha Siedlecki 
Principal Investigator

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. 

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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

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Zhuomin Chen
Research Scientist

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.

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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.

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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.

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Madi Sobol
PhD Student

Madi graduated in 2024 from Arizona State University with an environmental chemistry degree.  She is interested in understanding how biogeochemical processes change alongside ocean acidification. She will be working with a team at URI to investigate a potential alkalinity enhancement method through terrestrial liming as a mechanism for mCDR. Outside of research, she enjoys hiking and water sports!

Julia Lara Navarrette
PhD Student

Julia graduated with a degree in Oceanography from UABC in Mexico.  Julia is working on developing biological indicators within the J-SCOPE system.  

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

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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

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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.

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Partial group photo during the Feng Symposium in May 2023

Former Lab Members

  • Annette Carlson, MS 2022, currently working for the DOH for the state of Colorado

  • Rebha Raviraj (former undergraduate researcher)

  • Kelly McGarry, MS 2021

  • Mackenzie Blanusa (former undergraduate researcher), MS from UConn in 2024, current grad student at Lamont -Doherty in NY 

  • Sulagna Ray (former postdoctoral associate), Global coupled model developer, NOAA/EMC/NCWCP

  • Shaina Harkins (former undergraduate researcher),  current graduate student at URI

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