Michael A. McCarthy

About

Michael A. McCarthy is a critical social theorist and political sociologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work focuses on addressing the complex challenges posed by finance capitalism, including its role in worsening social inequality, deepening poverty, increasing macroeconomic instability, and accelerating climate degradation. Through his scholarship, activism, and policy design, McCarthy seeks to develop democratic processes for investing that prioritize social and environmental well-being. He advocates for rebuilding systems of investment and debt allocation by creating institutions that enhance economic democracy. His research and collaborations span topics such as democratic finance, economic populism, and the political philosophy of liberalism, reflecting a commitment to integrating critical social theory with practical solutions for economic and environmental justice.

Research topics

• Biology
• Environmental science
• Geology
• Environmental chemistry
• Oceanography
• Ecology
• Chemistry
• Paleontology
• Mineralogy
• Biochemistry

Selected publications

• Low Molecular Weight Dissolved Organic Carbon: Aging, Compositional Changes, and Selective Utilization During Global Ocean Circulation

  Global Biogeochemical Cycles · 2020 · 49 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Abstract The composition and cycling dynamics of marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) have received increased interest in recent years; however, little research has focused on the refractory, low molecular weight (LMW) component that makes up the majority of this massive C pool. We measured stable isotopic (δ 13 C), radioisotopic (Δ 14 C), and compositional (C/N, 13 C solid‐state NMR) properties of separately isolated high molecular weight (HMW) and LMW DOC fractions collected using a coupled u…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Amino acid and amino sugar compositional changes during in vitro degradation of algal organic matter indicate rapid bacterial re-synthesis

  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · 2020 · 40 citations

  Amino acids (AA) and, more recently, amino sugars (AS) in marine or lacustrine sediments have been increasingly used as paleoproxies. In order to assess AA and AS compositional changes during simulated microbial degradation, as well as to understand the importance of amino-compound re-synthesis by microbes during early diagenesis, decomposition experiments (300 days) were performed with algal (Fragilaria crotonensis) organic matter (OM)/quartz-sand mixtures under controlled redox conditions. Des…

  DOI

• Amino acid δ13C and δ15N patterns from sediment trap time series and deep-sea corals: Implications for biogeochemical and ecological reconstructions in paleoarchives

  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · 2020 · 30 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Dominant heterocyclic composition of dissolved organic nitrogen in the ocean: A new paradigm for cycling and persistence

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2023-11-28 · 27 citations

  articleOpen access

  Marine dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is one of the planet’s largest reservoirs of fixed N, which persists even in the N-limited oligotrophic surface ocean. The vast majority of the ocean’s total DON reservoir is refractory (RDON), primarily composed of low molecular weight (LMW) compounds in the subsurface and deep sea. However, the composition of this major N pool, as well as the reasons for its accumulation and persistence, are not understood. Past characterization of the analytically more…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Variable aging and storage of dissolved black carbon in the ocean

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2024-03-22 · 21 citations

  articleOpen access

  During wildfires and fossil fuel combustion, biomass is converted to black carbon (BC) via incomplete combustion. BC enters the ocean by rivers and atmospheric deposition contributing to the marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool. The fate of BC is considered to reside in the marine DOC pool, where the oldest BC 14 C ages have been measured (>20,000 14 C y), implying long-term storage. DOC is the largest exchangeable pool of organic carbon in the oceans, yet most DOC (>80%) remains mol…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• The Microobial Nitrogen Pump: Coupling 14C and Compound-specific Amino Acids to Understand the Role of Microbial Transformations in the Refractory Ocean DON Pool

  NSF · $600k · 2014–2018

• The Use of Nitrogen Isotopes of Amino Acids To Understand Marine Sedimentary 15N Records

  NSF · $350k · 2011–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Ana Christina Ravelo

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  67 shared

• Melanie J. Davies

  NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre

  57 shared

• Petra Dekens

  55 shared

• T. P. Guilderson

  55 shared

• Marcelo Barreiro

  Universidad de la República

  49 shared

• А. В. Федоров

  49 shared

• S. George Philander

  Princeton University

  49 shared

• Peter B deMenocal

  Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

  42 shared

Awards & honors

• Paul Sweezy Award
• Honorable Mention for the Labor and Labor Movements Award

Similar researchers at University of California, Santa Cruz

• Katharyne W Mitchellh-38
• Jennifer E Reardonh-17
• Hillary L Angeloh-14