Maria Tzortziou

Maria Tzortziou serves as a Professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Science at the City University of New York (CUNY), with primary affiliation at City College of New York (CCNY) and additional ties to the CUNY-CREST Institute and Graduate Center. Her laboratory operates from the Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) in New York City.

Her research spans Aquatic Biogeochemistry and Ecology, Atmosphere-Land-Ocean Biogeochemical Exchanges, Marine Optics, and Climate Change impacts, with specialized focus on Arctic land-sea-ice interactions and coastal resilience. She employs interdisciplinary methods integrating satellite remote sensing, ground-based bio-optical tools, and coupled atmospheric-hydrodynamic models to study environmental stressors including urbanization, pollution, eutrophication, and permafrost thawing across spatial and temporal scales.

Professor Tzortziou actively mentors a diverse research team through her Bio-Optics Laboratory, supervising current students and collaborating with stakeholders to translate scientific findings into decision-support systems for ecosystem management. Her lab maintains the LIS Ocean Color Data Portal and publishes extensively on remote sensing applications for environmental monitoring.

The Tzortziou Bio-Optics Laboratory conducts field and modeling research on wetlands-climate interactions, atmosphere-ocean exchanges, and remote sensing validation. Located at CCNY's CDI facility, the lab fosters partnerships with environmental agencies and welcomes new researchers through structured recruitment channels for graduate and undergraduate opportunities.