Carol Arnosti

Professor

Arnosti Lab Website

Education

Ph.D., MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1993
B.A. Lawrence University, 1984

Research Interests

• Organic carbon cycling by microbial communities in marine sediments and seawater
• Structural characterizations and transformations of macromolecular organic matter
• Development/application of novel methods to measure microbial enzyme activities
• Relationships between microbial community composition and function

Research and Activities

We use chemical and microbiological methods to investigate the chemical structure and reactivity of high molecular weight organic matter, and the role of microbial communities in organic matter degradation in sediments, seawater, and rivers. Our work fits into the larger framework of carbon cycling on a global scale: heterotrophic microbes play key roles in the transformations, decomposition, and recycling of marine organic carbon, and are believed to be active in nearly all known marine environments, ranging from surface waters to sea ice to anoxic sediments, hydrothermal systems, and the deep biosphere. We conduct laboratory studies to investigate specific carbon degradation processes, and we develop new methods to study specific aspects of carbon cycling in the field under a wide range of conditions. Much of our work is carried out in collaboration with colleagues abroad.