Professor Burke Hales

Burke Hales is a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. He obtained both his M.Sc and PhD in Chemical Oceanography from the University of Washington, where he also studied as an undergraduate in chemical engineering. Prof Hales is also an adjunct professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.

His main research focuses on ocean carbon cycling, from the perspective of observational biogeochemistry, at the primary boundaries of the oceans: atmospheric, sea-floor, and continental. This includes study of nutrient, O2, organic and inorganic carbon cycling via in-water and remote sensing. Recent efforts have focused on the carbon transfers and transformations in the continental margins, with particular focus on the linked problems of ocean acidification and hypoxia.

He is involved in several international initiatives such as the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) initiative and the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) as well as many national and state activities. Prof Hales is also a Climate and Carbon section member of PICES, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization.

As a chemical oceanographer, Prof Hales is no stranger to the sea, having spent over 500 days in field work on board over a dozen different vessels. His work has also taken him to a wide number of locations, being based at several ports around the world and as far afield as New Zealand and the Antarctic.