Breadcrumb
Pronouns: she/her
Bio
Modeling and observation of ocean biogeochemistry; polar climate change and its impact on the oceans; global carbon cycle dynamics; global climate modeling.
Education
- PhD: University of California at Los Angeles, 2007
- MS: University of California at Los Angeles, 2003
- BA: Washington University in St. Louis, 2001
Awards
- Provost’s Faculty Achievement Award, University of Colorado Boulder, 2023
- Ocean Sciences Early Career Award, American Geophysical Union, 2019
- Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, 2018
- Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, National Science Foundation, 2018
- Citation for Excellence in Refereeing, American Geophysical Union (Geophysical Research Letters), 2015
- Citation for Excellence in Refereeing, American Geophysical Union (Global Biogeochemical Cycles), 2012
- Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, NOAA, 2007
- Bjerknes Memorial Award, University of California at Los Angeles, 2006
- Earth System Science Graduate Research Fellowship, NASA, 2005
- Brian Lance Bosart Memorial Award, University of California at Los Angeles, 2004
Research
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased exponentially, driving increases in global atmospheric temperature. Only about half of the CO2 emitted from anthropogenic activities has remained in the atmosphere; the other half has been taken up by natural carbon sinks: the ocean and the terrestrial biosphere. The global ocean has absorbed ~35% of the CO2 released by human activities since 1765. In the absence of this oceanic CO2 uptake, atmospheric CO2 concentrations would likely be much higher, and atmospheric temperatures would likely be warmer. Quantifying and understanding the uptake of CO2 by the ocean is a necessary step for making accurate predictions of future climate change.
My research aims to improve our understanding of the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle by investigating the physical, chemical, and biological processes controlling air-sea CO2 exchange. I study how these processes operated in the past, how they function today, and how they might respond to anthropogenic climate change in the future. To do this, I employ a hierarchy of ocean and Earth system models along with satellite and in situ observations.
The major focus of my research thus far has been the exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and the Southern Ocean, a large oceanic region stretching from the Antarctic continent to the subtropics of the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Ocean is a region of critical importance to the global carbon cycle, as it is responsible for approximately half of the oceanic CO2 uptake. My research has helped to show that the absorption of CO2 by the Southern Ocean may have slowed in recent decades, due to anthropogenic changes in the climate system.
Publications
Recent publications
The Disproportionate Role of Ocean Topography on the Upwelling of Carbon in the Southern Ocean
Type: Journal Article
Summer High-Wind Events and Phytoplankton Productivity in the Arctic Ocean
Publication Date: 2020-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Twenty-first century ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and upper-ocean nutrient and primary production decline from CMIP6 model projections
Kwiatkowski L; Torres O; Bopp L; Aumont O; Chamberlain M; Christian JR; Dunne JP; Gehlen M; Ilyina T; John JG...
- Kwiatkowski L
- Torres O
- Bopp L
- Aumont O
- Chamberlain M
- Christian JR
- Dunne JP
- Gehlen M
- Ilyina T
- John JG
Publication Date: 2020-07-06
Type: Journal Article
Insights from Earth system model initial-condition large ensembles and future prospects (vol 89, pg 516, 2020)
Deser C; Lehner F; Rodgers KB; Ault T; Delworth TL; DiNezio PN; Fiore A; Frankignoul C; Fyfe JC; Horton DE...
- Deser C
- Lehner F
- Rodgers KB
- Ault T
- Delworth TL
- DiNezio PN
- Fiore A
- Frankignoul C
- Fyfe JC
- Horton DE
Publication Date: 2020-06-26
Type: Journal Article
External Forcing Explains Recent Decadal Variability of the Ocean Carbon Sink
Publication Date: 2020-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Finding the Fingerprint of Anthropogenic Climate Change in Marine Phytoplankton Abundance
Publication Date: 2020-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Potential Predictability of Net Primary Production in the Ocean
Publication Date: 2020-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Internal Variability Dominates Over Externally Forced Ocean Circulation Changes Seen Through CFCs
Publication Date: 2020-05-16
Type: Journal Article
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System
Publication Date: 2020-05-01
Type: Journal Article
External forcing explains recent decadal variability of the ocean carbon sink
Type: Journal Article
Insights from Earth system model initial-condition large ensembles and future prospects
Deser C; Lehner F; Rodgers KB; Ault T; Delworth TL; DiNezio PN; Fiore A; Frankignoul C; Fyfe JC; Horton DE...
- Deser C
- Lehner F
- Rodgers KB
- Ault T
- Delworth TL
- DiNezio PN
- Fiore A
- Frankignoul C
- Fyfe JC
- Horton DE
Publication Date: 2020-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Southern Annular Mode Influence on Wintertime Ventilation of the Southern Ocean Detected in Atmospheric O2 and CO2 Measurements
Publication Date: 2020-02-28
Type: Journal Article
The Potential Impact of Nuclear Conflict on Ocean Acidification
Publication Date: 2020-02-16
Type: Journal Article
External forcing explains recent decadal variability of the ocean carbon sink
Type: Journal Article
High predictability of terrestrial carbon fluxes from an initialized decadal prediction system
Publication Date: 2019-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Variability of Sea Level and Upper-Ocean Heat Content in the Indian Ocean: Effects of Subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole and ENSO
Publication Date: 2019-11-01
Type: Journal Article
How an India-Pakistan nuclear war could start-and have global consequences
Robock A; Toon OB; Bardeen CG; Xia L; Kristensen HM; McKinzie M; Peterson RJ; Harrison CS; Lovenduski NS; Turco RP...
- Robock A
- Toon OB
- Bardeen CG
- Xia L
- Kristensen HM
- McKinzie M
- Peterson RJ
- Harrison CS
- Lovenduski NS
- Turco RP
Publication Date: 2019-10-25
Type: Journal Article
Observational Needs Supporting Marine Ecosystems Modeling and Forecasting: From the Global Ocean to Regional and Coastal Systems
Capotondi A; Jacox M; Bowler C; Kavanaugh M; Lehodey P; Barrie D; Brodie S; Chaffron S; Cheng W; Dias DF...
- Capotondi A
- Jacox M
- Bowler C
- Kavanaugh M
- Lehodey P
- Barrie D
- Brodie S
- Chaffron S
- Cheng W
- Dias DF
Publication Date: 2019-10-15
Type: Journal Article
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System
Type: Journal Article
Rapidly expanding nuclear arsenals in Pakistan and India portend regional and global catastrophe
Toon OB; Bardeen CG; Robock A; Xia L; Kristensen H; McKinzie M; Peterson RJ; Harrison CS; Lovenduski NS; Turco RP...
- Toon OB
- Bardeen CG
- Robock A
- Xia L
- Kristensen H
- McKinzie M
- Peterson RJ
- Harrison CS
- Lovenduski NS
- Turco RP
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Coccolithophore Growth and Calcification in an Acidified Ocean: Insights From Community Earth System Model Simulations
Publication Date: 2019-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Sudden emergence of a shallow aragonite saturation horizon in the Southern Ocean
Publication Date: 2019-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Detecting Regional Modes of Variability in Observation-Based Surface Ocean pCO2
Publication Date: 2019-03-16
Type: Journal Article
On the role of climate modes in modulating the air-sea CO2 fluxes in eastern boundary upwelling systems
Publication Date: 2019-01-24
Type: Journal Article
Predicting near-term variability in ocean carbon uptake
Publication Date: 2019-01-24
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
Past courses
- FYSM 1000: Controversies and Revolutions in the Earth Sciences
- A first-year seminar course that explores the evolution of scientific ideas in the atmospheric, oceanic, and Earth sciences.
- ATOC 1060: Our Changing Environment
- Discusses Earth's climate for non-science majors.
- ATOC/GEOL 3070: Introduction to Oceanography
- Investigates the broad-scale features of the Earth's oceans. Covers physical, chemical, and biological oceanography.
- ATOC 4200/5200: Biogeochemical Oceanography
- Provides a large-scale synthesis of the processes impacting ocean biogeochemistry.
- ATOC 5300: The Global Carbon Cycle
- Covers the role of the ocean, land surface, and atmosphere in the global carbon cycle.
Current students and postdoc
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Outreach
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