PhD Candidate
Department of Ocean Sciences
jmurray1[at]ucsc[dot]edu
Research interests: submarine groundwater discharge and the cycling of nitrogen and trace metals
Biography
I was born and raised in the desert in Phoenix, Arizona, where I attend Arizona State University as an undergraduate. As a student I studied both chemistry and geology, and was involved in a variety of undergraduate research projects focusing on environmental science. This inspired me to become interested in marine sciences as well. I had my first experience with oceanography as a guest student at WHOI, and I have been hooked ever since. I am now a Ph.D. candidate in the Ocean Sciences Department here at UC Santa Cruz. My main research interests include aquatic biogeochemistry, the influences of anthropogenic activity on coastal marine chemistry, and the use of stable isotope systems and novel analytical instrumentation to better understand biogeochemical cycles.
Research
My dissertation research will focus on the impacts of human activity on water quality and nutrient cycling in the coastal ocean. Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients and other pollutants to surface waters has become a major environmental problem. Submarine groundwater discharge has increasingly been recognized as an important source of such contaminants to the ocean. I plan to use a set of radionuclide and stable isotope tracers to study the impacts of these nutrients on coastal nitrogen cycling and ecosystem health in a variety of locations, including Monterey Bay, Alaska and the Gulf of California. In addition, I plan to explore the use of nitrogen isotopes in calcifying corals as a proxy for nutrient loading to the coast of Hawaii.