Oscar Serrano

Oscar Serrano is a Principal Researcher in Coastal Ecology at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), part of the Spanish National Research Council. He holds a prestigious Ramón y Cajal research position at CEAB since May 2021, following approximately 10 years of research work in Australia at Edith Cowan University and The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute.

Dr. Serrano completed his PhD in Biology at the University of Barcelona in 2011. His research focuses on climate-human-landscape interactions in coastal and terrestrial ecosystems using multidisciplinary approaches that bridge paleoecology, contemporary ecology, climate change research, and biogeosciences. He has pioneered the use of seagrass sedimentary archives from the Mediterranean Sea to reconstruct past environmental changes.

His scientific contributions center on Blue Carbon ecosystems, particularly seagrass meadows, which store significant amounts of carbon dioxide. His work demonstrates how these ecosystems serve as carbon sinks while also preserving underwater cultural heritage like shipwrecks through their sediment-trapping capabilities. His research has established seagrass ecosystems as vital components in climate change mitigation strategies and cultural heritage preservation.

Dr. Serrano's published research reveals important connections between human civilizations and seagrass meadows spanning 180,000 years, documenting how these underwater ecosystems have provided food, building materials, and cultural significance throughout human history. His work on carbon sequestration quantifies Australia's blue carbon ecosystems as absorbing 20 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.

• Premio Fundación Banc Sabadell a la sostenibilidad marina (Bank Sabadell Foundation Award for marine sustainability)

Dr. Serrano has successfully guided undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers in Australia and Spain, helping them publish in high-impact scientific journals. He leads multiple research projects including the Spanish Group of Experts on Blue Carbon Ecosystems (G3ECA), HOLOCENE project on environmental change during the Holocene, MEDCHANGE project on Mediterranean coastal ecosystems, and SIREC project using intelligent robots for seafloor exploration.

His current research spans multiple geographic regions including South America, Australia, and the Mediterranean, addressing critical questions about climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and developing solutions for ecosystem conservation and restoration.