EMES Graduate student, Melanie Cohn, studying Marine Microbiology and Carbon Cycling is leading a research seminar scheduled for Oct 25 from 1:30-2:30 pm in the Murray 3rd floor conference room. It will also be streamed on
Zoom: https://unc.zoom.us/s/99205016603
Description of their research:
Microbes play a critical role in the transformation and flux of nutrients from estuaries, into coastal waters, and out to the open ocean. Microbial respiration, the consumption of oxygen and production of carbon dioxide by cellular metabolism, is a major loss pathway in the oceanic carbon cycle. Measuring respiration is particularly challenging in oligotrophic systems where respiration rates are low and background concentrations are high. Microbial respiration measurements from contrasting ecosystems, the oligotrophic 2021 EXPORTS field campaign in the Northeastern Atlantic and the coastal, eutrophic Neuse River Estuary (2019-2021), show how we have overcome such challenges allowing us to describe microbial community responses to shifts in their environment. In field and lab-based ecocosm experiments, additional microscopy, omics, model bacterium, and chemical-based approaches were employed to study the implications of microbial metabolism in carbon cycling. The combination of these techniques allows us to glimpse into the microbial world and add to our understanding of organic carbon and energy transformation and flux in the marine environment.