SBCLTER People

Craig Carlson (Homepage)

Research interests: Marine microbial ecology, bacterioplankton, dissolved organic carbon, marine biogeochemistry

My research focuses on the interaction between microbial processes and dissolved organic matter in marine systems. The SBC LTER reaches across a large gradient of inorganic and organic nutrients and productivity and is an ideal location to investigate the sources and fate of organic matter and how its quality both affects and is affected by microbial community composition and associated processes. As an associate investigator I have participated in several of the oceanographic cruises, have studied rates of DOC production by giant kelp and am currently a Co- investigator (w/ Brzezinski) on the Cross Shelf Time Series (CSTS) campaign. The objective of the CSTS campaign is to resolve development of the temporal and spatial gradients in organic and inorganic nutrients in the near shore environment and to determine if those gradients are related to microbial activity and resulting community structure.