Post Doctoral Fellows

Chao Xu
Chao Xu
Postdoctoral Fellow | Ocean Sciences

Research: My research focuses on the key processes of the biological carbon pump across both global and regional scales. I am particularly interested in how climate change and biogeochemical processes regulate its efficiency and magnitude. I primarily use BGC-Argo float data and satellite remote sensing to address these open questions.

E: chao.xu@mun.ca |

Dr. Josephine Pierrat

Supervisor: Dr. Annie Mercier
Project: BenthArctic Phase 2: Community-based study of ecosystem services provided by Arctic benthos in coastal areas and at ice edges, with a focus on Qikiqtait. The project explores the nutritional profile of sea cucumbers, as well as the biology and ecology of early recruits in a coastal nursery. The project will provide foundational data to help Indigenous communities develop conservation areas, and the conditions under which any fishery might operate inside or near protected zones.

E: jdpierrat@mun.ca |

Dr. Verena Kalter
Dr. Verena Kalter

Supervisor: Dr. Uta Passow
Project: 
I study the capacity of bacterial communities in the Laurentian Great Lakes to biodegrade spilled oil. My research focuses on community shifts, changes in oil chemistry during biodegradation, and seasonal and site-specific variations in biodegradation potential. The goal is to improve our understanding of the fate and potential effects of oil spills in the Great Lakes, which are ecological, economic, and recreational hotspots in North America.

E: vakalter@mun.ca |

Dr. Xia (Alice) Zhu (Banting Post-doctoral Fellows)
Dr. Xia (Alice) Zhu (Banting Post-doctoral Fellows)

Supervisor: Dr. Uta Passow
Project: The transport, fate, and effects of plastic pollution in the North Atlantic Ocean. My research interests specifically include understanding how much plastic settles to the bottom of the North Atlantic every year or the settling flux of plastic pollution, and how plastics may be impacting the biological carbon pump.

E: xzhu13@mun.ca |