https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0100-3783
Overview
Nicolas Cassar's research focuses on environmental biogeochemistry and physiology, with the objective of constraining the mechanisms governing carbon cycling and climate. Current research interests include ocean carbon cycles and productivity; carbon acquisition mechanisms in marine phytoplankton and implications for climate change and paleo-CO2 reconstruction; and global carbon cycle and ocean-atmosphere fluxes. His scientific approach is interdisciplinary, integrating field observations, laboratory experiments, modeling and theory.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Lee Hill Snowdon Professor of Biogeochemistry
·
2025 - Present
Earth and Climate Sciences,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Professor of Biogeochemistry
·
2019 - Present
Earth and Climate Sciences,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Recent Scholarly Works
Revisiting the Ocean's Metabolic Balance: Correcting Biases in Bottle Incubations Reveals a More Autotrophic and Dynamic Ocean
Journal article Global Biogeochemical Cycles · June 1, 2026 The ocean's metabolic state—reflecting the balance between organic carbon production and consumption—is fundamental to understanding carbon sequestration potential. Yet, whether the ocean is net autotrophic or heterotrophic remains actively debated. Classi ... Full text CiteEcosystem technology (ecotech): Harnessing natural processes to address global challenges.
Journal article Science advances · May 2026 Over the past 80 years, biotechnology has advanced agriculture, health care, and economic development by harnessing biological processes from the organism inward, i.e., from the organ system to the molecular scale. Today's global challenges, including biod ... Full text CiteAuthor Correction: Emergent patterns of patchiness differ between physical and planktonic properties in the ocean.
Journal article Nature communications · April 2026 Full text CiteRecent Grants
Development of a New Instrument for Underway High-Resolution Estimates of Aquatic Gross Primary Production
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2021 - 2027Nutrition as a BOOST for corals in the face of marine heat waves
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement · 2025 - 2027Response of Nitrogen Fixation in Lichens and Mosses to a Rapidly Changing Arctic Environment
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Army Research Office · 2023 - 2027View All Grants
Education
University of Hawaii, Manoa ·
2003
Ph.D.
McGill University (Canada) ·
1997
B.S.