Clara Fuchsman
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Washington

Academic Background
PhD in Chemical Oceanography at the University of Washington

Current Area of Interest
I am interested in the role of sinking particles in the N cycle in Oxygen Minimum Zones. There are many hypoxic basins in the area off the Southern California coast. If Oxygen Minimum Zones expand in the future, hypoxia and anoxia in this region will increase. How much will a switch from hypoxia to anoxia change the system? I am interested in comparing biogeochemical cycling in particles in hypoxic waters, seen on this cruise, to that in anoxic waters, which I will sample off of Mexico in December. I will deploy sediment traps and filter seawater for proteomic and genomic analyses.

Why did you sign up for cruise?
My collaborators and I have a grant to go to the ETNP Oxygen Minimum Zone three times between 2016-2018. I may have to be Chief Scientist on a leg of one of the cruises, and I wanted to know what exactly that entails.