Caitlin Hall

When I was eight, I decided I would become a marine biologist and only wavered for the few months during which I wanted to be a pirate. I completed my undergraduate degree in my home state of North Carolina and began my master's studies at San Francisco State University in the 2017 fall semester.

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In my master's project, I will analyze phytoplankton collected from particulate organic matter samples taken from a long-term study of an abyssal region 220 kilometers off of the California coast.

 

The Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has collected data since 1989 at Station M, the offshore station providing the samples for my research. Little analysis has been performed on the samples collected from a sediment trap set at 50 meters above the sea floor.

 

I am looking to answer questions about the supply of particulate organic matter to the seafloor as it pertains to the global carbon cycle and the ocean's crucial role in carbon sequestration.