Maureen Hatcher Conte is biogeochemist known for her work using particles to define the long-term cycling of chemical compounds in seawater.

Education and career

Conte has a B.A. from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

(1975), and an M.A. (1982), M.Phil. (1987), and Ph.D. (1989) from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Her Ph.D. examined lipids found in particles in the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...

. Following her Ph.D. she conducted postdoctoral work at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

before joining

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

in 1994. As of 2022 Conte is a senior scientist at the

Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (known as BIOS) is an independent, non-profit marine science and education institute located in Ferry Reach, St. George's, Bermuda, St. George's, Bermuda. The institute, founded in 1903 as the Bermuda Bio ...

and a fellow at the

Marine Biological Laboratory The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...

. Conte is the lead investigator for the Ocean Flux Program, a program that has been examining particles in the

Sargasso Sea The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its charac ...

since 1978.

Research

Conte is known for her work on the organic compounds found in particles. Her early work examined the consumption of organic matter, and the development of methods to analyze lipids from seawater. Subsequently, she examined the different types of lipids found in organisms such as

coccolithophore Coccolithophores, or coccolithophorids, are single celled organisms which are part of the phytoplankton, the autotrophic (self-feeding) component of the plankton community. They form a group of about 200 species, and belong either to the kingdo ...

s. At the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site, Conte has used long-term measurements of particles to quantify changes in the flux of organic carbon to the seafloor over time, and used the presence of

alkenones Alkenones are long-chain unsaturated methyl and ethyl ''n''-ketones produced by a few phytoplankton species of the class Prymnesiophyceae.Marlowe, I.T., Green, J.C., Neal, A.C., Brassell, S.C., Eglinton, G. and Course, P.A. (1984) "Long-chain (''n ...

in particles to track changes in ocean temperatures over time. Through her research she has characterized how hurricanes impact the flow of organic carbon to the seafloor, and examined the impact of cold shock on sea turtles that are trapped in cold waters off Cape Cod. Conte's research involves spending extended periods of time on research ships, and in 2020, her research was delayed because she could not collect her samples due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Selected publications

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References

External links

Ocean Flux Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conte, Maureen Living people Women climatologists Johns Hopkins University alumni Columbia University alumni Women oceanographers Women chemists Year of birth missing (living people)