Biogeochemistry Lab
Overview
Welcome to the Biogeochemistry lab at USF College of Marine Science
The Biogeochemistry lab led by Weiyi Tang investigates how global ocean ecosystems, particularly the biogeochemical cycling of elements, will change in the future due to natural variability, climate change, and direct human impacts. We are also interested to characterize the impact of these changes on the ocean life, ecosystem service, human welfare, and the Earth鈥檚 climate. Nitrogen is an essential element of all living organisms, and its availability regulates primary production and carbon sequestration on Earth. The nitrogen cycle is substantially perturbed by anthropogenic activities including fossil fuel burning and fertilizer production, causing a cascade of environmental effects such as aerosol production, biosphere fertilization, and eutrophication. Nitrogen-carbon-climate interaction becomes increasingly important in determining future changes of the Earth system. Our current research areas are:
- Global nitrogen cycle
- Marine carbon cycle and biological productivity
- Global biogeochemical data compilation and meta-analysis
- Method and instrument development for biogeochemical observations
Our approach to study the biogeochemical cycling of elements is interdisciplinary including laboratory experiments and field observations with various isotopic and molecular methods (e.g., nitrogen and carbon isotopes, metagenomics), remote sensing, machine learning and numerical modeling.