Research project

Nitrogen powering life in an active serpentinising system – analogue to early life on Earth

Staff

Lead researcher

Associate Professor

Dr. Lam's research interest lies in the functional roles of microorganisms in biogeochemical cycling, particularly the nitrogen and carbon cycles, in diverse marine and aquatic systems. In collaboration with researchers inside and outside the university, her work integrates state-of-the-art molecular ecological techniques, stable isotopic analyses, process rate measurements, hypothesis-driven experimentation and modelling, to disentangle complex microbial interactions and their impacts on biogeochemical environments especially in the context of global change.
Current research topics include:
Shortcuts in the nitrogen cycle – novel pathways and microbial players for nitrogen remineralisation in the ocean’s twilight zoneMicrobial carbon remineralisation pathways and fluxes in the mesopelagic oceanUsing proteomics tools to disentangle active microbial nitrogen and carbon cycling processes in oceanic oxygen minimum zonesImportance of particle-associated microeukaryotes on the efficiency of oceanic biological carbon pumpMicrobial production and consumption pathways of greenhouse gases

Email: p.lam@southampton.ac.uk

Other researchers

Professor of Geoengineering&Carbon Manag

Email: j.matter@southampton.ac.uk

We use advanced facilities to perform the precise and accurate analysis of the chemical and isotopic composition of Earth materials.

We research the biogeochemistry of marine systems, both in the open ocean and in shelf seas. We take on societal and global environmental issues.