Elemental Oceanography

at the University of Hawai'i Mānoa

Metals are a critical resource for life. When abundant, these micronutrients bolster the metabolism of phytoplankton and other ocean microbes.

When absent, they limit growth and shrink ecosystems.

In the Hawco Lab, we examine the invisible processes that deliver essential elements to the ecosystems that need them most, and how life in the oceans have evolved to cope with widespread scarcity of metal micronutrients.

Meet the Hawco Lab Team

Want to learn more?

--> Here's why metals are important to ocean life...

--> Here are the tools we use to conduct research...

--> Here are some projects that we're just wrapped up... 

--> Here are some projects that are just spinning up...