Fall Seminar: Phaeocystis antarctica and the Marine Sulfur Cycle by Dr. Joanna Kinsey Nov. 7, 2019 1:00 pm Buckman Theatre

Fall Seminar: Phaeocystis antarctica and the Marine Sulfur Cycle by Dr. Joanna Kinsey

Dr. Joanna Kinsey, Assistant Professor Chemistry
Nov. 7, 2019 1:00 pm Buckman Theatre

The marine sulfur cycle has been studied extensively since the 1987 hypothesis that Earth’s radiative budget and climate was influenced by the ocean-atmospheric coupling of dimethylsulfide (DMS). The primary source of DMS is from the enzymatic lysis of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur-containing compound produced by several taxa of algae and corals. Phaeocystis antarctica, a high-DMSP producing algal species found in the Southern Ocean, can form blooms covering hundreds of km2 and ~23% of the primary production in high latitude (>60°S) waters. Coinciding with these blooms are high concentrations of sulfur and carbon compounds, that once in the dissolved phase, are readily consumed by heterotrophic bacteria, photolyzed, or vented to the atmosphere. This seminar will review the marine sulfur cycle and present current and future research on DMS and related compounds.

Dr. Kinsey joined the QU Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences in August 2018. She received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Environmental Chemistry in 2014 and was a post-doctoral student at North Carolina State University. She has participated on several coastal field projects and six research cruises that include cruises to Antarctica and diving on the HOV Alvin submersible. Her research focuses on sulfur and carbon cycling in coastal and open ocean regions.