Margaret Estapa, Ph.D.

Education: PhD, University of Maine, 2011

Email address:  margaret.estapa@maine.edu

Phone:  207.581.5176

Office Location:  UMaine Darling Marine Center Marine Culture Lab, Rm

Mailing Address:  Darling Marine Center, 193 Clarks Cove Rd., Walpole ME, 04573

Website: https://umaine.edu/estapalab/

 

Research Area: Ocean biogeochemistry with a focus on particle-mediated carbon cycling; the biological carbon pump; observations from autonomous platforms

 

Research:  My broad research focus is on the chemical transformations and physical fluxes of naturally-occurring particles in the ocean, with an emphasis on rapid processes that alter these particles as they cross major earth system boundaries—e.g., into the ocean across coastlines, downward from the sunlit surface ocean through the “twilight zone”, and upward from the bottom through sediment resuspension, or through hydrothermal vents into cold, deep waters. The unambiguous observation of these processes in the ocean requires measurements at spatiotemporal resolutions that are sufficient to separate physical gradients, biological processes, and chemical transformations of particles. My research involves development of novel applications for in situ, optical particle sensors; process models incorporating the results of laboratory experiments under controlled conditions; interdisciplinary field observations; and synoptic, remote-sensing observations.

For current publications, please see Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EDoXtvAAAAAJ&hl=en)