2026 Internship Opportunities

Ocean life depends on phosphorus, a nutrient whose inventory can rise and fall over geologic time scales. Normally, phosphorus is removed from the ocean by getting buried in seafloor sediments. However, in very low-oxygen environments, sediments can leak phosphorus back into the ocean instead of storing it. This return of phosphorus can help sustain biological production, yet the magnitude of this release — and how it varies with environmental conditions such as temperature, bottom-water oxygen, and nutrient levels — is still not well quantified.

The intern will compile real measurements of phosphorus, oxygen, nutrients, temperature, and iron from pore water and bottom water reported in public datasets. By comparing sites with different conditions, the student will estimate how much phosphorus is likely to release from sediments at the seafloor. This dataset will provide a simple, observation-based way to estimate phosphorus release at measurement sites. These empirically derived fluxes will be analyzed using either statistical models or mechanistic sediment chemistry model, depending on student interests.

The student will assemble a new dataset of pore-water and bottom-water measurements of phosphate, oxygen, nutrients, temperature, and related variables from published papers and public repositories. A key responsibility will be careful documentation of data sources and processing steps. The student will standardize the data, perform quality checks, and create visualizations such as global maps and simple comparisons between high- and low-oxygen sites. Findings will be summarized in figures and short written explanations, with the potential for a student-authored presentation or publication.

The intern will learn how to locate and curate measurements of seafloor chemistry from published studies and ocean-observing systems. They will practice organizing data and preparing clean datasets for analysis. The intern will create maps and visualizations that compare pore-water measurements with phosphate, oxygen, nutrient, and temperature data just above the seafloor, and gain experience estimating phosphorus release using simple observation-based methods. Throughout the project, the intern will practice communicating scientific ideas clearly through figures, writing, and discussions with mentors.

Some exposure to chemistry, ocean or Earth science beneficial.

Some experience working with datasets in large spreadsheets or a programming language (e.g. R, Python, Matlab) is beneficial but not necessary.

Student must bring a laptop.

• Student will be assigned a few papers to read prior to the start of the internship.
• Students are responsible for securing accommodations for the duration of their internship. On-campus summer housing is typically available the first week of June until the first week of August (details to become available in Spring 2026). If the internship falls outside of on-campus housing availability, students will need to secure alternate housing.