Carbonate Equilibria in Tropical Coastal Environments

Melissa Meléndez is a graduate student finishing her Master of Science degree in Chemical Oceanography at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Department  of Marine Sciences, under advisors Dr. Jorge E. Corredor (Committee Chairman), Prof. Julio Morell and Dr. Wilson Ramírez. She holds a  degree of Bachelor of Science from the UPR, Río Piedras Campus in Environmental Science.  Prior to entering the graduate program, she participated in NSF-Research Experience for Undergrads programs at both Pennsylvania State University and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). 

As a graduate student she collaborates with research groups at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science, the PR Center for Environmental Neuroscience, the PR Climate Change Council, and the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CariCOOS). She implements the CariCOOS Ocean Acidification field program, which provides carbonate chemistry data for La Parguera Marine Reserve online through the CariCOOS website  (www.caricoos.org). 

Her current research interests include: 

• Development of a method for the direct determination of Ca⁺² and Mg⁺² concentrations in seawater to investigate the non-conservative nature of these species and the consequence in deriving carbonate mineral saturation states. 

• Study of environmental dynamics and controls of carbonate chemistry and Ca⁺² and Mg⁺² carbonate equilibria in nearshore tropical waters.

Publications:

Nesterenko E P, Nesterenko P N, Paull B, Meléndez M and Corredor J (in press). Fast direct determination of strontium in seawater using high performance chelation ion chromatography. Microchemical Journal. 

Presentations:

Gledhill D, Langdon C, McGillis W, Corredor J, Loose B, Meléndez M, Manzello D, Piniak G, Moyer R, Viehman S, Enochs I, Venti A, Sabine C, Musielewicz S (2012) Time-series and Process Investigations at the Atlantic Ocean Acidification Test-bed. 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia, July 9-13, 2012. ORAL PRESENTATION

Gledhill D, Corredor J, Meléndez M, Sabine C, and Musielewicz S and Hendee J (2012) Three year time-series of carbonate chemistry dynamics and biogeochemical processes within a tropical Atlantic coral reef environment. 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, February 20-24, 2012. POSTER


Meléndez M, Gledhill D, Langdon C, Loose B, McGillis W, Morell J and Corredor JE (2012) Estimates of sediment calcium carbonate dissolution rates in a coral reef environment. 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, February 20-24, 2012. POSTER

Meléndez M (2012) Calcium and Magnesium Carbonate Equilibria in Coastal Environments. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), February 3, 2012,Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. ORAL PRESENTATION