Cindy Lee

Dr. Cindy Lee visited our Faculty last week. We had the opportunity to enjoy a very interesting talk about Ocean Acidification and the Role of Particles. She also inaugarated our modest conference room, especially designed to have a better arena to hear the dissertations of our master and doctoral students. Her research is concerned with the distribution and behaviour of biogenic organic compounds in the marine environment, and the role of these compounds in the global carbon cycle. Understanding how organic compounds behave requires knowledge of the biological, geological, and physical processes in the sea. Most biogenic organic compounds are produced in surface waters by phytoplankton as a result of photosynthesis. These compounds can enter the marine food chain by acting as food for bacteria or zooplankton. Organic compounds can also be affected by chemical and physical processes such as adsorption, photochemical degradation, and transport by currents. She is interested in the rates and mechanisms of the transformation reactions which occur as organic compounds are affected by these processes. To study transformation reactions, students identify and measure the amount of individual organic compounds present in the environment with analytical techniques like gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). They also use radiolabeled compounds as tracers to simulate the behavior of naturally occurring compounds. She is interested in organic compounds in all environments, particularly seawater, surface microlayer and sediments of open ocean and coastal areas.

Dr. Cindy Lee

Dr. Cindy Lee at work


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The paper of today is a very recent review by Buesseler and Boyd published in the last number Limnology and Oceanography about net primary production, gravitational flux at the base of the euphotic zone and flux leaving the mixed layer. Compulsory for those working in carbon flux and sediment traps.