Professor Patricia Yager (Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996) is a Professor of Marine Science at the University of Georgia. Her interdisciplinary research combines oceanography, marine ecology, and biogeochemistry, and concentrates on the interactions between climate and marine ecosystems. Recent projects investigate the effects of melting ice sheets on Arctic and Antarctic coastal productivity, but she has also examined carbon fluxes in the Amazon River plume. She recently served as co-chief scientist onboard the Research Icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer to the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. She currently serves as the Director of the Georgia Climate Project. Education Ph.D. 1996, University of Washington, School of Oceanography M.S. 1988, University of Washington, School of Oceanography B.S. 1985, Brown University, Dept of Geology Research Labs: Yager Lab Research Areas: Climate Change Biological Oceanography Microbial Ecology Biogeochemistry Chemical Oceanography Research Interests: Research Emphasis: Yager's interdisciplinary research approach includes oceanography, marine microbial ecology and biogeochemistry. Her work concentrates on the interactions between climate and marine ecosystems, and includes both fieldwork and modeling. Recent projects include investigating the effects of melting ice sheets on Arctic and Antarctic coastal productivity, and carbon sequestration by microbial communities in the Amazon River plume. Labs (via personnel): Leslie Townsell Sierra Bartlett Grants: 2021 National Science Foundation. NSFGEO-NERC: Collaborative Research: Accelerating Thwaites Ecosystem Impacts for the Southern Ocean (ARTEMIS). $800K, Yager is lead PI with 5 co-PIs for a total of $2.3M. 2021 Ray C. Anderson Foundation. Georgia Climate Project. $300K, 3 yr. Yager is co-director of the project and Lead PI for UGA. 2020 Private donor. The Climate Rescue Project Fund. $100k. Yager is PI. A perpetual fund to motivate and support research, teaching, and service at the University of Georgia on how to solve the global climate crisis. Supports the Georgia Initiative for Climate and Society. 2018 Ray C. Anderson Foundation. Georgia Climate Project. $100K, 3 yr. Yager is PI for UGA subcontract. Project led by D. Rochberg (Emory University) with 5 co-PIs for a total of $650K; 2017 National Academy Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI). Mapping Deep Blue Habitats in a Changing Climate. $100K, 2 yr. Yager is lead PI with 2 co-PIs: J. Spivey (UGA) and C. Deutsch (UW). 2015 National Science Foundation – Office of Polar Programs. Collaborative research: investigating the role of mesoscale processes and ice dynamics in carbon and iron fluxes in a changing Amundsen Sea (INSPIRE; ANT-1443604). $50K, 3 yr. Project led by P. St-Laurent (ODU) with 5 co-PIs for total of $300K. 2010 Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation – Marine Microbiology Initiative. The River Ocean Continuum of the Amazon (ROCA; GBMF-2293). $2.4 million, 3 yr. Yager was lead PI for the project with 9 co-PIs on subcontracts. 2009 National Science Foundation – Emerging Topics in Biogeochemistry. Collaborative Research: ETBC: Amazon influence on the Atlantic: carbon export from nitrogen fixation by diatom symbioses (ANACONDAS; OCE-0934095). $478K, 4 yr. Yager was lead PI for the project and sole PI at UGA, with 9 co-PIs for a total of $3.2 million. 2009 National Science Foundation – Office of Polar Programs. Collaborative Research: does competition for nitrogen between autotrophs and heterotrophs control carbon fluxes in the western coastal Arctic (ARC-0910252)? $314K, 3 yr. Yager was lead PI and sole PI at UGA, with 2 co-PIs for a total of $950K. 2009 National Science Foundation – Office of Polar Programs. Collaborative Research onboard Icebreaker Oden: ASPIRE: Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ANT-0839069). $290K, 30 mo. Yager was lead PI and sole PI at UGA, with 4 co-PIs for a total of $1.5 million. Selected Publications 2021 Mu, L., H. R Gomes, S. M. Burns, J. I. Goes, V. J. Coles, C. E. Rezende, F. L. Thompson, R. L. Moura, B. Page, and P. L. Yager (2021). Temporal variability of air–sea CO2 flux in the western tropical North Atlantic influenced by the Amazon River plume. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. GBC21132. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GB006798. Oliver, H.,P. St-Laurent, R. M. Sherrell, and P. L. Yager (2019). Modeling iron and light controls on the summer Phaeocystis antarctica bloom in the Amundsen Sea Polynya. Global Biogeochem. Cyc. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GB006168 St-Laurent, P., Yager, P. L., Sherrell, R. M., Oliver, H., Dinniman, M. S., & Stammerjohn, S. E. (2019). Modeling the seasonal cycle of iron and carbon fluxes in the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica. Journal Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014773 Richert, I., P. L. Yager, J. Dinasquet, R. Logares, L. Riemann, A. Wendeberg, S. Bertilsson, D. G. Scofield (2019). Summer comes to the Southern Ocean: how surface phytoplankton shapes bacterioplankton communities far into the deep dark sea. Ecosphere.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2641 Rudd MA, Moore AFP, Rochberg D, Bianchi-Fossati L, Brown MA, et al. 2018. Climate research priorities for policy-makers, practitioners, and scientists in Georgia, USA. Environmental Management. DOI. Oliver H, Luo H, Castelao R, van Dijken G, Mattingly K, Rosen JJ, Mote TL, Arrigo KR, Rennermalm AK , Tedesco M, Yager PL. 2018. Exploring the Potential Impact of Greenland Meltwater on Stratification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, and Primary Production in the Labrador Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML St-Laurent P, Yager PL, Sherrell RM, Stammerjohn SE, Dinniman MS. 2017. Pathways and supply of dissolved iron in the Amundsen Sea (Antarctica). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 122(915-16C11353):7135-7162. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Yager PL, Sherrell RM, Stammerjohn SE, Ducklow HW, Schofield OME, et al. 2016. A carbon budget for the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica: Estimating net community production and export in a highly productive polar ecosystem. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 4:000140. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Moura RL, Amado-Filho GM, Moraes FC, Brasileiro PS, Salomon PS, et al. 2016. An extensive reef system at the Amazon River mouth. Science Advances. 2(4):e1501252-e1501252. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Seidel M, Yager PL, Ward ND, Carpenter EJ, Gomes HR, Krusche AV, Richey JE, Dittmar T, Medeiros PM. 2015. Molecular-level changes of dissolved organic matter along the Amazon River-to-ocean continuum. Marine Chemistry. 177:218-231. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Mu L, Stammerjohn SE, Lowry KE, Yager PL. 2014. Spatial variability of surface pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux in the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 2:000036. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Garay L, Wotkyns AM, Lowry KE, Warburton J, Alderkamp A-C, Yager PL. 2014. ASPIRE: Teachers and researchers working together to enhance student learning. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 2:000034. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Yager P, Sherrell R, Stammerjohn S, Alderkamp A-C, Schofield O, et al. 2012. ASPIRE: The Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition. Oceanography. 25(3):40-53.DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Yager PL, Wallace DWR, Johnson KM, Smith WO, Minnett PJ, Deming JW. 1995. The Northeast Water Polynya as an atmospheric CO 2 sink: A seasonal rectification hypothesis. Journal of Geophysical Research. 100(C3):4389. DOI Google Scholar BibTex XML Courses Regularly Taught MARS 1020 MARS 1025H MARS 8050 MARS 4200 MARS 6200 MARS 4100 Awards, Honors and Recognitions Of note: Dr. Yager was recently elected to be a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for outstanding work on climate-driven processes and their impact on marine ecosystems. She has also been awarded a Visiting Professorship (Ciência sem Fronteiras) in Brazil, and the Antarctic Service Medal. Her research has been funded by the US National Science Foundation, NASA, DOE, NOAA, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Keck Foundation. She has over 76 peer-reviewed publications, and has been cited over 5200 times. She is the Director of the Georgia Initiative for Climate and Society at the University of Georgia, and a co-Director of the statewide Georgia Climate Project.
