The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Scientific Steering Committee (OCB SSC) was formed in February 2006. The OCB SSC was created jointly by NSF, NASA and NOAA to provide critical leadership to the OCB community by helping to identify research priorities and promote, plan, and coordinate collaborative, multidisciplinary research opportunities in ocean biogeochemistry. SSC members serve a term of three years. Parentheses indicate term end (end of calendar year) for each member.
Jeff Bowman (SIO) (2024) - microbial ecology, bioinformatics, coastal and high latitude ecosystems, modeling
Randelle Bundy (UW) (2027) (Vice Chair) - cycling of bioactive trace metals, chemical speciation of iron, copper, nickel and cobalt, impacts on microbial community structure in the ocean, connecting trace metals with productivity and the carbon cycle
Dreux Chappell (USF) (2025) (Chair)- molecular microbial ecology, phytoplankton cultivation/physiology, and trace metal biogeochemistry
Anela Choy (Scripps Inst. Oceanography) (2025) - Deep-sea biological oceanography, water column food web ecology, pelagic ecosystem dynamics, biochemical tracers
Susanne Craig (NASA GSFC) (2024) - satellite RS, bio-optics, machine learning techniques and ocean color algorithm development
Tim DeVries (UCSB) (2024) - carbon cycle modeling (bio & solub pumps), inverse modeling of ocean circulation and mixing, carbon sequestration/Ocean CDR
Zachary Erickson (NOAA PMEL) (2024) - biophysical interactions
Kristen Krumhardt (NCAR) (2026) - marine biological, ocean ecosystem modeling, Southern Ocean ecosystem dynamics
Jessica Luo (NOAA/GFDL) (2025) - plankton ecology, food webs, biogeochemical dynamics, global-scale marine ecosystem models
Kanchan Maiti (Louisiana State Univ.) (2026) - biogeochemical cycling along aquatic continuum, deep ocean and benthic fluxes, geochemical tracers, autonomous observation platforms
Melissa Meléndez (early career) (Univ. Hawai'i) (2026) - marine carbonate chemistry, ocean acidification, net ecosystem metabolism, marine carbon dioxide removal
David “Roo” Nicholson (Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.) (2025) - global biogeochemical cycles in the context of a changing climate, cycling of dissolved gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane and the noble gases
Shaily Rahman (Univ Colorado, Boulder) (2024) - marine biogeochemistry and sedimentary processes
Rachel Stanley (Wellesley College) (2026) - inorganic chemistry, mass spectrometry, gas tracers, air-sea gas exchange
Yige Zhang (Texas A&M University) (2025) - paleoceanography and paleoclimatology; organic and stable isotope geochemistry; global biogeochemical cycles
View OCB SSC Charge and OCB SSC Terms of Reference
View history of OCB SSC membership (2006-present)
View recent SSC minutes - 2024 SSC minutes, 2023 SSC minutes (to view SSC minutes prior to 2023, please contact Heather Benway)
