Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • Associate Professor of Chemical Oceanography
    Earth Sciences
    Assistant Director, Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory


    I am a marine biogeochemist meaning I work to uncover and quantify the interrelated chemical, biological, and physical processes occurring within the ocean that result in transformations of the important bioactive elements carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and oxygen. My focus is understanding the production, transformation, and fate of biologically produced organic matter and the related cycling of chemical nutrients in the sea. My research program studies these processes at the largest scales – the global ocean, annual to millennial. I am particularly interested in studying the low nutrient ecosystems of the ocean subtropics. Covering 60% of the Earth’s surface they are the world’s largest biome, responsible for a quarter of all biological productivity. My group uses a variety of techniques and tools including collection of new chemical observations at sea, development of ocean biogeochemistry within Earth System Models, laboratory experiments, and analysis of data from autonomous platforms such as BGC-Argo.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2024 A simple method for the quantification of amidic bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in seawaterLimnology and Oceanography: Methods.  22:451-463. 2024
    2023 Biological carbon pump estimate based on multidecadal hydrographic data.Nature.  624:579-585. 2023
    2023 Global Patterns of Surface Ocean Dissolved Organic Matter StoichiometryGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  37. 2023
    2023 Biodiversity and Stoichiometric Plasticity Increase Pico‐Phytoplankton Contributions to Marine Net Primary Productivity and the Biological PumpGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  37. 2023
    2022 A global ocean dissolved organic phosphorus concentration database (DOPv2021).Scientific data.  9:772. 2022
    2022 Regionally Variable Contribution of Dissolved Organic Phosphorus to Marine Annual Net Community ProductionGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  36. 2022
    2022 Dissolved organic phosphorus concentrations in the surface ocean controlled by both phosphate and iron stressNature Geoscience.  15:651-+. 2022
    2022 Regionally variable contribution of dissolved organic phosphorus to marine annual net community production 2022
    2022 Marine phytoplankton resilience may moderate oligotrophic ecosystem responses and biogeochemical feedbacks to climate changeLimnology and Oceanography.  67:S378-S389. 2022
    2021 Simulations With the Marine Biogeochemistry Library (MARBL)Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems.  13. 2021
    2021 Simulations with the Marine Biogeochemistry Library (MARBL) 2021
    2021 Phosphate and iron stress control global surface ocean dissolved organic phosphorus concentrations 2021
    2020 The Dual Isotopic Composition of Nitrate in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida StraitsJournal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.  125. 2020
    2019 Relative contributions of sinking and non-sinking carbon to the downward carbon flux 2019
    2018 Evaluation of the seasonal formation of subsurface negative preformed nitrate anomalies in the subtropical North Pacific and North AtlanticBiogeosciences.  15:6461-6480. 2018
    2018 Response to Anonymous Referee #1 2018
    2018 Response to Anonymous Referee #3 2018
    2018 Does Marine Surface Tension Have Global Biogeography? Addition for the OCEANFILMS PackageAtmosphere.  9:216-216. 2018
    2018 Supplementary material to "Vertically migrating phytoplankton drive seasonal formation of subsurface negative preformed nitrate anomalies in the subtropical North Pacific and North Atlantic" 2018
    2018 Vertically migrating phytoplankton drive seasonal formation of subsurface negative preformed nitrate anomalies in the subtropical North Pacific and North AtlanticBiogeosciences Discussions.  1-40. 2018
    2018 Large Stimulation of Recalcitrant Dissolved Organic Carbon Degradation by Increasing Ocean TemperaturesFrontiers in Marine Science.  4:436. 2018
    2017 Does Marine Surface Tension Have Global Biogeography? Addition for the OCEANFILMS PackageAtmosphere2017
    2017 Modest net autotrophy in the oligotrophic oceanGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  31:699-708. 2017
    2017 N2O production and consumption from stable isotopic and concentration data in the Peruvian coastal upwelling systemGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  31:678-698. 2017
    2016 Nutrient budgets in the subtropical ocean gyres dominated by lateral transportNature Geoscience.  9:815-+. 2016
    2016 New nutrients exert fundamental control on dissolved organic carbon accumulation in the surface Atlantic Ocean.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA.  113:10497-10502. 2016
    2015 Microbial community composition and nitrogen availability influence DOC remineralization in the South Pacific GyreMarine Chemistry.  177:325-334. 2015
    2015 Global distribution and surface activity of macromolecules in offline simulations of marine organic chemistryBiogeochemistry: an international journal.  126:25-56. 2015
    2015 Preferential remineralization of dissolved organic phosphorus and non-Redfield DOM dynamics in the global ocean: Impacts on marine productivity, nitrogen fixation, and carbon exportGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  29:325-340. 2015
    2015 Variable C: N: P stoichiometry of dissolved organic matter cycling in the Community Earth System ModelBiogeosciences.  12:209-221. 2015
    2014 Variable C : N : P stoichiometry of dissolved organic matter cycling in the Community Earth System ModelBiogeosciences Discussions.  11:9071-9101. 2014
    2013 Dissolved organic nitrogen dynamics in the Arctic OceanMarine Chemistry.  148:1-9. 2013
    2013 Dissolved organic nitrogen in the global surface ocean: Distribution and fateGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global change.  27:141-153. 2013
    2011 Effect of Dissolved Organic Carbon and Alkalinity on the Density of Arctic Ocean WatersAquatic Geochemistry.  17:311-326. 2011
    2011 Rapid removal of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon over the Eurasian shelves of the Arctic OceanMarine Chemistry.  123:78-87. 2011
    Drivers of ocean iron stress variability in high nutrient-low chlorophyll regions from ocean colorOcean-Land-Atmosphere Research

    Article

    Year Title
    2024 Oligotrophic Ocean New Production Supported by Lateral Transport of Dissolved Organic Nutrients 2024
    2024 A time series analysis of transparent exopolymer particle distributions and C:N stoichiometry in the subtropical North Pacific: a key process in net community production and preformed nitrate anomalies? 2024
    2024 Phytoplankton variable stoichiometry modifies key biogeochemical fluxes and the functioning of the ocean biological pump 2024
    2023 Global patterns of surface ocean dissolved organic matter stoichiometry 2023
    2023 Pico-phytoplankton contribute half of global marine carbon export 2023

    Teaching Activities

  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course
  • Freshman Field Seminar Taught course
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course
  • Student Research Experience Taught course
  • Top/Ocean Biogeochemistry Taught course
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2024
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2024
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2024
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2024
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2024
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2024
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2024
  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course 2023
  • Advanced Research Experience Taught course 2022
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2022
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2022
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2022
  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course 2022
  • Student Research Experience Taught course 2022
  • Freshman Field Seminar Taught course 2021
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2021
  • Topics/Ocean Biogeochemistry Taught course 2021
  • Adv Rsrch Exp/Earth Sciences Taught course 2021
  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course 2021
  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course 2021
  • Adv Rsrch Exp/Earth Science Taught course 2020
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2020
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2020
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2020
  • Rsrch Exp/Earth Sciences Taught course 2020
  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course 2020
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2019
  • Top/Ocean Biogeochemistry Taught course 2019
  • Adv Rsrch Exp/Earth Sciences Taught course 2018
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2018
  • Aqueous Geochemistry Taught course 2018
  • Introduction to Oceanography Taught course 2018
  • Chemical Oceanography Taught course 2018
  • Education And Training

    Full Name

  • Robert Letscher
  • Mailing Address

  • University of New Hampshire

    142 Morse Hall

    8 College Rd

    Durham, NH  03824

    USA