Chris Martens

Chris Martens, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor holding joint appointments in the Department of Marine Sciences and Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He is affiliated with the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Department of Geology. His research focuses on biogeochemical processes in marine and estuarine sediments, emphasizing carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling, methane dynamics, and microbial transformations. He leads the Martens Lab and co-founded the CHAOS Biogeochemistry Laboratories.

Education: PhD in Marine Sciences from Florida State University (1972). Awards include the Aycock Distinguished Professor title. Research is funded by NSF, ONR, DOE, and NASA, with projects in coastal ecosystems, deep-sea vents, Amazonian forests, and coral reef nitrogen cycles. Notable contributions include radon-based CO2 flux measurements in the Amazon basin and investigations of methane hydrates in Gulf of Mexico sediments.

Collaborations include the Teske Lab (UNC), Stanford University, and international institutions. He advises graduate students and postdocs in biogeochemistry and marine microbiology. His work bridges geochemistry, microbiology, and environmental science to address global climate and ecosystem challenges.