Jessica Fitzsimmons

Dr. Jessica Fitzsimmons is a chemical oceanographer who studies inorganic compounds in the ocean, including nutrients and trace metals. Fitzsimmons is an expert in multi-element metal concentration analysis in seawater, particles suspended in seawater, and sediments. She also specializes in the analysis of iron isotopes and the size and chemical composition of iron species in seawater, including partitioning into natural nanoparticulate phases and complexation by organic molecules. Her research has focused on four main areas: (1) the effects of climate change (ice melt, etc.) on seawater chemistry and the ecosystem in polar regions such as Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean; (2) the effects of deep-sea mining and other anthropogenic activities on seawater chemistry (both nutrients and toxin tracing, in the coastal and open ocean); (3) quantifying the sources, sinks, and distributions of trace metals across the global ocean; and (4) the metal fluxes from deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems and transformations within hydrothermal plumes across the globe.