Christopher Martens

About

Christopher Martens is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University, obtained in 1972. His research focuses on aquatic biogeochemical processes, biological oceanography, and marine ecology. His work encompasses global and regional cycles, coastal resources, conservation, and the development of emerging tools for environmental research. Martens is actively involved in advancing understanding of Earth's chemical cycles, fluid processes, and ecosystem health, contributing significantly to the field through his research and academic leadership.

Research topics

• Biology
• Oceanography
• Ecology
• Geography
• Chemistry
• Environmental chemistry
• Meteorology
• Environmental science
• Geology

Selected publications

• Do associated microbial abundances impact marine demosponge pumping rates and tissue densities?

  Oecologia · 2007-11-20 · 334 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• In situ fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from the sponge community on Conch Reef, Key Largo, Florida

  Limnology and Oceanography · 2008-05-01 · 178 citations

  articleOpen access

  We measured ammonium and nitrate plus nitrite fluxes from 14 common sponge species on a Florida Keys reef (Conch Reef) using a combination of incubation experiments and an in situ method that requires no manipulation of the sponge. On a 600‐m 2 section of Conch Reef, species‐specific biomass for all nonencrusting sponges was measured. The biomass data combined with species‐specific dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) flux rates yielded the benthic DIN flux from 14 species, and allowed us to extra…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Nitrification controls on fluxes and isotopic composition of nitrate from Florida Keys sponges

  Marine Chemistry · 2007-12-04 · 76 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Microbial activity in surficial sediments overlying acoustic wipeout zones at a Gulf of Mexico cold seep

  Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems · 2008-06-01 · 75 citations

  articleOpen access

  Down core concentration gradients of dissolved methane and sulfate; isotope gradients of methane, dissolved inorganic carbon, and authigenic carbonate; and organic matter elemental ratios are incorporated into a vent evolution model to describe spatial and temporal variability of sedimentary microbial activity overlying acoustic wipeout zones at Mississippi Canyon (MC) 118, Gulf of Mexico. We tested the hypothesis that these zones indicate areas where sediments are exposed to elevated fluid flux…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Consumption of dissolved organic carbon by Caribbean reef sponges

  Limnology and Oceanography · 2017-08-01 · 73 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Sponges are conspicuous and abundant within the benthic fauna on Caribbean reefs. The ability of these organisms to efficiently capture carbon from particulate sources is well known and the importance of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) uptake has been recognized for several species. We surveyed DOC ingestion by seven sponge species common to Florida Keys reefs using nondisruptive sampling methods on undisturbed individuals. Three of the seven species exhibited significant DOC removal ran…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Biogeochemical Cycling in the Organic-Rich Coastal Environment

  NSF · $247k · 1982–1985

• Collaborative Research: The Role of Sponges in the Coastal Nitrogen Cycle

  NSF · $973k · 2011–2015

• Collaborative Proposal: In Situ Quantification of Sponge N Cycling in Coastal Ecosystems

  NSF · $647k · 2006–2010

Frequent coauthors

• Jeffrey P. Chanton

  Florida State University

  39 shared

• L. Lapham

  Aarhus University

  22 shared

• Marc J. Alperin

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  21 shared

• J. Robert Woolsey

  17 shared

• Daniel B. Albert

  Infineon Technologies (Germany)

  16 shared

• Paul Higley

  Specialty Devices (United States)

  16 shared

• Hans W. Jannasch

  Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

  16 shared

• Nancy B. Dise

  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

  10 shared

Labs

• Earth, Marine and Environmental SciencesPI

Similar researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Chao Wangh-113
• Xiaoming Liuh-83
• Rachel T. Nobleh-58