Major themes in the Hill lab:

For more information, click over to the Outreach and Publications links!

Students heading into Bodega Bay for a day of sampling

Ocean Acidification & Coastal Carbon Flux

The impact of ocean acidification on West Coast ecosystems and native species.
- Laboratory and field based experiments to understand future impacts
- Collaboration with Hog Island Oyster Co. to understand the natural geochemical variability of Tomales Bay, CA
Research on seagrass ecosystems and how they modify estuarine geochemistry, store carbon (e.g., "blue carbon"), and ameliorate ocean acidification.
Collaborative studies with social, natural and physical scientists to understand the geographic patterns of ocean acidification, and how they will impact human communities along the coast. This includes our new project with the Lenfest Ocean Program to connect oceanographic & ecological insights about ocean acidification to decision makers

Dr. Sarah Moffitt (Ph.D. 2014) analyzing species assemblages in sediment cores to understand paleoecology

Utilizing past climate events to understand how ocean currents, temperatures, oxygenation and marine ecosystems respond
A focus on recent geologic intervals - the Holocene and Anthropocene - as key time periods to understand how ecosystems respond to change.
Emphasis on understanding paleoecology, environmental change, and linkages to modern climate issues, including outreach to policymakers, publics, and educators.

Ph.D. student Melissa Ward installing a monitoring system in Tomales Bay, CA

Utilizes coral archive of ocean climate and environmental change, much like 'tree rings'
Record of both surface and deepwater processes through different aspects of the coral skeleton
Collaboration with Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary to understand impacts of global change on deep sea ecosystems