Toby Westberry

Ocean color remote sensing and bio-optics; Marine phytoplankton, primary production, physiology, biogeochemical cycling

• My research investigates the role and functioning of marine algae (phytoplankton) in the ocean ecosystem.  What controls their distributions, patterns of productivity, and how are they changing with time?  To answer these broad questions, I work in the field of bio-optics and ocean color remote sensing, which can provide insight from the cellular sub-micron scale all the way up to the planetary scale through the use of satellites.  This latter aspect has become especially invaluable, as many of the questions we ask as earth system scientists are related to understanding the ocean's role in climate change and must be answered at these large scales (regional to global).

Research Group Members

• Robert O'Malley (Programmer)
• Gregory Sislbe (PostDoc)