Faculty Spotlight for October-November 2007
Most of the research in François Morel's group deals with metals and their roles in the global cycles of carbon and nitrogen in marine and terrestrial systems. For example metals such as iron, zinc and cadmium affect the growth of phytoplankton in the sea and hence the export of organic matter to the deep sea. Other metals such as molybdenum and vanadium control the fixation of nitrogen in soils and its availability for plant growth. In both cases metals play a key role in the response of the biosphere on land and in the ocean to increasing atmospheric CO2.
This research is carried out with a mix of laboratory and field experiments using a variety of chemical, microbiological, biochemical and genetic tools. It is also informed by theoretical considerations from a number of disciplines ranging from bioinorganic chemistry to geology and ecology.