Laura Bodensteiner

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My thesis work at MLML focuses on seagrass-sediment interactions. I am investigating the effects that seagrasses have on oceanic carbon dioxide concentrations. This research will improve our understanding of how these ecological and biogeochemical processes contribute to the global carbonate cycle.  Specifically, I am interested in how seagrass-mediated oxygen transport into sediments may explain the observed imbalance in the sediment dissolution budget. I have collected eelgrass (Zostera marina) locally in Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, and turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum) around Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas, to complete this research. Through this study we will learn how seagrasses ultimately may lower rising levels of greenhouse gases (i.e. carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere.