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Research Interests

My work investigates the impact of climate change on polar marine ecosystems.  In particular, my research uses satellite remote sensing and oceanographic fieldwork to explore topics related to:

  1. Physical-biological interactions
  2. Phytoplankton and nutrient dynamics
  3. Under-ice phytoplankton blooms
  4. Arctic circulation and sea ice
  5. Antarctic coastal polynyas

Dr. Kate E. Lowry

Guest Investigator (2018-present)
Postdoctoral Scholar (2016-2018)

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Contact Information:
Work: 650-285-3564
klowry@whoi.edu

Mailing Address:
480 California Avenue #304
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Selected Publications

Lowry, K. E., R. S. Pickart, V. Selz, M. M. Mills, A. Pacini, K. M. Lewis, H. J. Warren, C. Nobre, G. L. van Dijken, P. L. Groundin, J. Ferland, K. R. Arrigo, 2018. Under-ice phytoplankton blooms inhibited by spring convective mixing in refreezing leads. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120: 90-109. Featured on journal cover.

Lowry, K. E., R. S. Pickart, M. M. Mills, Z. W. Brown, G. L. van Dijken, N. R. Bates, K. R. Arrigo, 2015. The influence of winter water on phytoplankton blooms in the Chukchi Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part II, 108A: 53-72.

Lowry, K. E., G. L. van Dijken, K. R. Arrigo, 2014. Evidence of under-ice phytoplankton blooms in the Chukchi Sea from 1998 to 2012. Deep-Sea Research Part II, 105: 105-117.

Arrigo, K. R., D. K. Perovich, R. S. Pickart, Z. W. Brown, G. L. van Dijken, K. E. Lowry, et al., 2012. Massive phytoplankton blooms under Arctic sea ice, Science, 336: 1408.

Selected Awards

  • Weston Howland Jr. Postdoctoral Scholar, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2016-2018)
  • Scholarly/Academic Achievement in Earth System Science, Stanford University (2016)
  • Gerald J. Lieberman Fellow, Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Stanford University (2015-2016)
  • Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring, Stanford University (2015)
  • Group Achievement Award to ICESCAPE Team, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2012)
  • Antarctic Service Medal, National Science Foundation (2011)
  • Arctic Service Medal, United States Coast Guard (2010, 2011, 2014)
  • Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation (2011-2016)
  • Finalist, Intel Science Talent Search (2006)

Education

Ph.D.: Stanford University, 2017.
Environmental Earth System Science.

M.S.: Stanford University, 2011. Earth Systems.

B.S.: Stanford University, 2011. Earth Systems.

Biography

Kate Lowry is an interdisciplinary oceanographer whose research investigates the impacts of climate change on phytoplankton in polar marine ecosystems. She has extensive experience with fieldwork and satellite remote sensing in the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica and has spent over a year at sea during nine oceanographic expeditions.

Kate completed her B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems and her Ph.D. in Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford University, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and a Gerald J. Lieberman Fellow in the Ocean Biogeochemistry Lab led by Professor Kevin R. Arrigo.

Kate conducted postdoctoral research as a Weston Howland Jr. Postdoctoral Scholar in the Departments of Physical Oceanography and Biology at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), receiving mentorship from Senior Scientists Amala Mahadevan, Carin Ashjian, and Robert S. Pickart. Kate is now appointed as a Guest Investigator in the Biology Department at WHOI.

Kate is currently completing a two-year fellowship in ocean and climate science philanthropy at the Science Philanthropy Alliance in Palo Alto, CA. The fellowship is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.