Marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry

In a highly collaborative environment using a convergence of methods that include laboratory experiments, expeditions at sea around the world, satellite remote sensing, and sophisticated numerical simulations of the global ocean, ESS oceanographers are working to understand the fundamental biological, chemical, and physical processes that shape Earth’s vast marine ecosystems and it’s global biogeochemical cycles.

Research Groups
Marine Biogeochemistry and Phytoplankton Biogeography Group
Faculty
Kate Mackey

How photosynthesis shapes, and is shaped by, biological, chemical, and physical processes in the ocean

Microbial Biogeochemistry Group
Faculty
Adam Martiny

Structure, function, and biogeochemical significance of marine microbial communities in a changing ocean

Moore Group
Faculty
Keith Moore

Role of marine biota in global biogeochemical cycles and Earth's climate system

Primeau Group
Faculty
François Primeau

The ocean's role in the climate of the Earth

Druffel Group
Faculty
Ellen Druffel

Investigate why the 14C age of marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is thousands of years old, despite evidence that most of it is produced in the surface ocean during photosynthesis

Southon Group
Faculty
John Southon

Radiocarbon (14C) measurements to support C cycle research.

K. Davis Group
Faculty
Kristen Davis

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Faculty & Researchers
Kate Mackey
Associate Professor of Earth System Science
kmackey@uci.edu
Adam Martiny
Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
amartiny@uci.edu
Keith Moore
Professor of Earth System Science
jkmoore@uci.edu
François Primeau
Professor of Earth System Science
fprimeau@uci.edu
Ellen Druffel
Professor of Earth System Science
edruffel@uci.edu
John Southon
Researcher
jsouthon@uci.edu
Kristen Davis
Principal Investigator Coastal Dynamics Lab
davis@uci.edu

News

In the Santa Ana foothills high above Irvine, you'll find some small patches of land beneath hoop houses that've been deliberately kept in drought for the past 17 years.
The UCI Earth system science grad student recounts the stories of how she fell into science, and how they discovered their queer identity.
The Doomsday Glacier, predicted to raise global sea level by more than half a meter, could be exposed to more warm ocean water than previously thought.

The Department of Earth System Science acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva peoples, who still hold strong cultural, spiritual and physical ties to this region.