Sebastian Cantarero is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geological Sciences and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at CU Boulder. His research centers around the impacts of marine microorganisms on the cycling of key elements in low oxygen environments. Sebastian is investigating these impacts by measuring intact polar lipid biomarkers from naturally anoxic waters in the eastern tropical South Pacific, as well as in controlled mesocosm experiments to better disentangle the microbial community structure in these extreme environments. His research is motivated by growing concerns over oxygen loss in the global ocean as a result of climate change and coastal eutrophication, and hopes to help develop plans of action to preserve our coastlines and marine biodiversity.