Christina Richardson


Post-doctoral Fellow

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

cmrichar[at]ucsc[dot]edu

Research interests: hydrology, biogeochemistry, anthropogenic stressors

Curriculum Vitae

Biography

I received a BS in Marine Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a MS in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In June 2020, I graduated with a PhD in Earth Sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and I am currently a postdoctoral fellow through California Sea Grant and the Delta Stewardship Council. My postdoctoral research uses long-term  stable isotope datasets to examine different temporal and spatial dimensions of carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay in central California.

Research

I am a water scientist broadly interested in understanding (1) connections between hydrologic and biogeochemical processes in coastal, estuarine, and riverine systems, and (2) how human impacts change solute sources, transport, transformations, and fate in aquatic environments. I use a multi-tracer approach to constrain physical and biogeochemical processes, and tracers I utilize commonly include  stable isotopes, radioisotopes, and more generic ancillary water geochemistry data.

My research is motivated by science that has real-world applications. My MS work contributed to state-wide policy changes in Hawaii regarding the new construction of cesspools, a common anthropogenic source of nutrients to downstream ecosystems, such as coral reefs, in developed tropical island environments. Ultimately, I hope to bridge the gap between scientific research and policy change by (1) conducting quantitative studies that have implications for how we manage our water resources, and (2) sharing results from these studies with appropriate decision makers and stakeholders.