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
- James, B.D., Sun, Y., Pate, K., Irving, B., & Ward, C.P. Designing circular, sustainable, and non-persistent consumer plastic products: a case study of drinking straws. 2025. Environmental Science & Technology. 59, 34, 18177-18189.
- Sun, Y., James, B.D., Houston, K., Edwards, B., Izallalen, M., Mazumder, Shankur, R., Reddy, C.M., & Ward, C.P. Temperature Controls the Lifetimes and Microbial Communities Degrading Cellulose Diacetate in the Coastal Ocean. 2025. Environmental Science & Technology. 59, 36, 19468-19478.
- Messenger, S.A., Pate, K.M., Quiroz, C.S., Longnecker, K., Sylva, S.P., & Ward, C.P. Initial evaluation of high-pressure ceramic nanofiltration for dissolved organic carbon isolation from surface waters across the land-to-ocean continuum. 2025. Limnology & Oceanography: Methods. 23, 8, 562-577.
- Walsh, A.N., Dunlea, A.G., Reddy, C.M., & Ward, C.P. Characterization of inorganic additives in and photochemically liberated from consumer plastics: Implications for global and local biogeochemical cycles. 2025. ACS Environmental AU. 5, 298-307.
- James, B.D., Sun, Y., Pate, K., Shankur, R., Izallalen, M., Mazumder, S., Perri, S.T., Houston, K., Edwards, B., De Wit, J., B., Reddy, C.M., & Ward, C.P. Foaming enables material-efficient bioplastic products with minimal persistence. 2024. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. 12, 16030-16040.
- 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. 2024. Environmental Science & Technology. 58, 34, 15236-15245.