Research Projects
Crude Oil
Sunlight alters the physical and chemical properties of crude oil spilled at sea. We study how these alterations impact oil spill fate and trajectory models and response operations.
Plastics
Plastics are ubiquitous in the environment. We want to understand what controls their breakdown so that we can inform designs of new materials that breakdown quicker.
Dissolved Organic Matter
Sunlight can completely oxidize DOM into CO2, a greenhouse gas, and partially alter DOM into new compounds. We study the rates and controls of these reactions.
Instrument Development
We’re building tools that make it easier for folks to study how organic carbon cycles in surface waters.
The Ward Lab
Our facility is housed in Fye Laboratory as part of the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at WHOI. We are broadly interested in characterizing the rates and pathways of organic carbon degradation in aquatic ecosystems. We study lots of different types of organic carbon, including naturally derived organic carbon, like dissolved organic matter, and organic pollutants, like crude oil and plastics.
Recent Publications
- Freeman, D.H, Nelson, R.K., Pate, K., Reddy, C.M., & Ward, C.P. Forecasting photo-dissolution for future oil spills at sea: Effects of oil properties and composition. In Press at Environmental Science & Technology.
- Ward, C.P., Reddy, C.M., Edwards, B., Perri, S.T. To curb plastic pollution, industry and academia must unite. 2024. Nature. 65, 658-662.
- Rieb, E.C., Polik, C.A., Ward, C.P., Kling, G.W., and Cory, R.M. Controls on the Respiration of Ancient Permafrost Carbon in Sunlit Arctic Surface Waters. 2024. JGR-Biogeosciences. 129, e2023JG007853.
- James, B.D., Sun, Y., Izallalen, M., Mazumder, S., Perri, S.T., Edwards, B., De Wit, J., B., Reddy, C.M. Ward, C.P. Strategies to reduce the environmental lifetimes of drinking straws in the coastal ocean. 2024. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 12, 6, 2404–2411.
- James, B.D., Ward, C.P., Hahn, M.H, Thorpe, S., Reddy, C.M. Minimizing the environmental impacts of plastic pollution through eco-design of products with low environmental persistence. 2024. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 12, 3, 1185-1194.
- Sun, Y., Mazzotta, M.G., Miller, C.A., Apprill, A., Izallalen, M., Mazumder, S., Perri, S.T., Edwards, B., Reddy, C.M., Ward, C.P. Distinct Microbial Communities Degrade Cellulose Diacetate Bioplastics in the Coastal Ocean. 2023. Applied & Environmental Microbiology. 89, 12, e01651-23.