Contact details
Email cliff.law@niwa.co.nz
Research
Cliff is the Co-Director of the Research Centre for Oceanography, Leader of the NIWA Oceanic Control of Atmospheric Composition Programme, and a Professor in the Department of Marine Chemistry, University of Otago.
Cliff is also a member of the Coastal People: Southern Skies collaboration that connects communities with world-leading, cross-discipline research to rebuild coastal ecosystems.
Coastal People: Southern Skies
His research focuses on the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere; how biogeochemical cycling in the surface ocean influences atmospheric composition, and how climate variability feedbacks to ocean biogeochemistry. Specific research areas include the production and exchange of trace gases, controls of phytoplankton productivity and biodiversity, and the impact of ocean acidification and climate variability on the structure and functioning of pelagic ecosystems.
He was a member of the International SOLAS Steering Committee for six years, the NZ delegate on the IMO Working Group on Ocean Fertilization for the London Convention, and was awarded the Hutchinson Medal by the Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2013.
Courses
Postgraduate students
- Wayne Dillon, PhD: Advancing analytical approaches for marine calcium carbonate saturation state characteristics
- Alexander Hayward, PhD: Next-generation observation, modelling and forecasting of microbial community composition and function in the Southern Ocean
- Antonia Cristi, PhD: Phytoplankton diversity and contribution to elemental and trophic cycling in the Southern Ocean
- Habibeh Hashimi, PhD: Development of new sensors to measure dimethyl sulfide (DMS) gas in marine surface water
Completed Postgraduate students
- Fenella Deans, PhD: The influence of climate change on marine bacterioplankton communities and greenhouse gases in New Zealand waters
- Alexia Saint-Macary, PhD: Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) dynamics in the surface ocean
- Jesse Vance, PhD: Examining the drivers of co2 exchange and ocean acidification in coastal and shelf waters around new Zealand
Publications
Publications
Rickard, G. J., Behrens, E., Chiswell, S., Law, C. S., & Pinkerton, M. H. (2023). Biogeochemical and physical assessment of CMIP5 and CMIP6 ocean components for the southwest Pacific Ocean. Biogeosciences, 128, e2022JG007123. doi: 10.1029/2022JG007123
Journal - Research Article
Seabrook, S., Law, C., Druce, M., Cummings, V., Deppeler, S., Cox, S., … Safi, K. (2023). Antarctic subglacial flux: A driver of climate sensitivity on coastal margins. Proceedings of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly. EGU23-2517. doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-2517
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Chamba, G., Peltola, M., Barthelmeβ, T., Rissanen, M., Rose, C., Iyer, S., Saint-Macary, A., … Law, C., & Sellegri, K. (2023). Nighttime atmospheric nucleation driven by marine microorganisms. Proceedings of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly. EGU23-8058. doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8058
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Sellegri, K., Harvey, M., Peltola, M., Saint-Macary, A., Barthelmeß, T., Rocco, M., … Cristi, A., … Dillon, W., … Law, C. S. (2023). Sea2Cloud: From biogenic emission fluxes to cloud properties in the South West Pacific. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 104(5), E1017-E1043. doi: 10.1175/bams-d-21-0063.1
Journal - Research Article
Saint-Macary, A. D., Marriner, A., Barthelmeß, T., Deppeler, S., Safi, K., Costa Santana, R., … Law, C. S. (2023). Dimethyl sulfide cycling in the sea surface microlayer in the southwestern Pacific. Part 1: Enrichment potential determined using a novel sampler. Ocean Science, 19(1), 1-15. doi: 10.5194/os-19-1-2023
Journal - Research Article
Law, C. S. (2019). Air–sea gas transfer: Nitrous oxide and methane. In S. A. Elias (Ed.), Encyclopedia of ocean sciences (Vol. 6). (3rd ed.) (pp. 14-20). Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.11408-3
Chapter in Book - Research
MacDiarmid, A. B., Law, C. S., Pinkerton, M., & Zeldis, J. (2013). New Zealand marine ecosystem services. In J. Dymond (Ed.), Ecosystem services in New Zealand: Conditions and trends. (pp. 238-253). Lincoln, New Zealand: Manaaki Whenua Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Law, C. S. (2001). Air-sea interaction: N2O, NO, CH4, CO. In J. H. Steele, S. A. Thorpe & K. K. Turekian (Eds.), Encyclopedia of ocean sciences. (pp. 137-144). London, UK: Academic Press. doi: 10.1006/rwos.2001.0064
Chapter in Book - Research
Rickard, G. J., Behrens, E., Chiswell, S., Law, C. S., & Pinkerton, M. H. (2023). Biogeochemical and physical assessment of CMIP5 and CMIP6 ocean components for the southwest Pacific Ocean. Biogeosciences, 128, e2022JG007123. doi: 10.1029/2022JG007123
Journal - Research Article
Saint-Macary, A. D., Marriner, A., Barthelmeß, T., Deppeler, S., Safi, K., Costa Santana, R., … Law, C. S. (2023). Dimethyl sulfide cycling in the sea surface microlayer in the southwestern Pacific. Part 1: Enrichment potential determined using a novel sampler. Ocean Science, 19(1), 1-15. doi: 10.5194/os-19-1-2023
Journal - Research Article
Sellegri, K., Harvey, M., Peltola, M., Saint-Macary, A., Barthelmeß, T., Rocco, M., … Cristi, A., … Dillon, W., … Law, C. S. (2023). Sea2Cloud: From biogenic emission fluxes to cloud properties in the South West Pacific. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 104(5), E1017-E1043. doi: 10.1175/bams-d-21-0063.1
Journal - Research Article
Meyers, M., Décima, M., Law, C. S., Gall, M., Barr, N., Miller, M. R., … Sabadel, A., Wing, S., & Hoffmann, L. (2022). No evidence of altered relationship between diet and consumer fatty acid composition in a natural plankton community under combined climate drivers. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology, 551, 151734. doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2022.151734
Journal - Research Article
Sabadel, A. J. M., Décima, M., McComb, K., Meyers, M., Barr, N., Gall, M., … Law, C. S. (2022). Amino acid nitrogen stable isotopes as biomarkers of coastal phytoplankton assemblages and food web interactions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 690, 1-13. doi: 10.3354/meps14046
Journal - Research Article
Saint-Macary, A. D., Marriner, A., Deppeler, S., Safi, K. A., & Law, C. S. (2022). Dimethyl sulfide cycling in the sea surface microlayer in the southwestern Pacific. Part 2: Processes and rates. Ocean Science, 18, 1559-1571. doi: 10.5194/os-18-1559-2022
Journal - Research Article
Turco, F., Ladroit, Y., Watson, S. J., Seabrook, S., Law, C. S., Crutchley, G. J., … Gorman, A. R. (2022). Estimates of methane release from gas seeps at the southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10, 834047. doi: 10.3389/feart.2022.834047
Journal - Research Article
Vance, J. M., Currie, K., Zeldis, J., Dillingham, P. W., & Law, C. S. (2022). An empirical MLR for estimating surface layer DIC and a comparative assessment to other gap-filling techniques for ocean carbon time series. Biogeosciences, 19, 241-269. doi: 10.5194/bg-19-241-2022
Journal - Research Article
Kremser, S., Harvey, M., Kuma, P., Hartery, S., Saint-Macary, A., McGregor, J., … Law, C. S., … Parsons, S. (2021). Southern Ocean cloud and aerosol data: A compilation of measurements from the 2018 Southern Ocean Ross Sea Marine Ecosystems and Environment voyage. Earth System Science Data, 13, 3115-3153. doi: 10.5194/essd-13-3115-2021
Journal - Research Article
Rocco, M., Dunne, E., Peltola, M., Barr, N., Williams, J., Colombo, A., … Saint-Macary, A., … Law, C., & Sellegri, K. (2021). Oceanic phytoplankton are a potentially important source of benzenoids to the remote marine atmosphere. Communications Earth & Environment, 2, 175. doi: 10.1038/s43247-021-00253-0
Journal - Research Article
Saint-Macary, A. D. N., Barr, N., Armstrong, E., Safi, K., Marriner, A., Gall, M., McComb, K., Dillingham, P. W., & Law, C. S. (2021). The influence of ocean acidification and warming on DMSP & DMS in New Zealand coastal water. Atmosphere, 12(2), 181. doi: 10.3390/atmos12020181
Journal - Research Article
Sellegri, K., Nicosia, A., Freney, E., Uitz, J., Thyssen, M., Grégori, G., … Saint-Macary, A., … Law, C. S. (2021). Surface ocean microbiota determine cloud precursors. Scientific Reports, 11, 281. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-78097-5
Journal - Research Article
Allen, R., Hoffmann, L. J., Law, C. S., & Summerfield, T. C. (2020). Subtle bacterioplankton community responses to elevated CO2 and warming in the oligotrophic South Pacific Gyre. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 12(4), 377-386. doi: 10.1111/1758-2229.12844
Journal - Research Article
Cravigan, L. T., Mallet, M. D., Vaattovaara, P., Harvey, M. J., Law, C. S., Modini, R. L., … Ristovski, Z. (2020). Sea spray aerosol organic enrichment, water uptake and surface tension effects. Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics, 20, 7955-7977. doi: 10.5194/acp-20-7955-2020
Journal - Research Article
Ellwood, M. J., Boyd, P. W., Cornwall, C. E., Croot, P., Currie, K. I., Frew, R. D., … Law, C., … McGraw, C. M., … Stirling, C., & Zitoun, R. (2020). Keith Hunter's legacy to marine science in New Zealand. Marine & Freshwater Research, 71(3), i-iii. doi: 10.1071/MFv71n3_ED
Journal - Research Article
Feng, Y., Roleda, M. Y., Armstrong, E., Summerfield, T. C., Law, C. S., Hurd, C. L., & Boyd, P. W. (2020). Effects of multiple drivers of ocean global change on the physiology and functional gene expression of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Global Change Biology, 26, 5630-5645. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15259
Journal - Research Article
Lawson, S. J., Law, C. S., Harvey, M. J., Bell, T. G., Walker, C. F., de Bruyn, W. J., & Saltzman, E. S. (2020). Methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide and acetone over biologically productive waters in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics, 20(5), 3061-3078. doi: 10.5194/acp-20-3061-2020
Journal - Research Article
Lennartz, S. T., Marandino, C. A., von Hobe, M., Andreae, M. O., Aranami, K., Atlas, E., … Law, C. S., … Xu, X. (2020). Marine carbonyl sulfide (OCS) and carbon disulfide (CS2): A compilation of measurements in seawater and the marine boundary layer. Earth System Science Data, 12(1), 591-609. doi: 10.5194/essd-12-591-2020
Journal - Research Article
Vance, J. M., Currie, K. I., Law, C. S., Murdoch, J., & Zeldis, J. (2020). NZOA-ON: The New Zealand Ocean Acidification Observing Network. Marine & Freshwater Research, 71, 281-299. doi: 10.1071/MF19222
Journal - Research Article
Ellwood, M. J., Bowie, A. R., Baker, A., Gault-Ringold, M., Hassler, C., Law, C. S., … Sander, S., … Boyd, P. W. (2018). Insights into the biogeochemical cycling of iron, nitrate, and phosphate across a 5,300 km South Pacific zonal section (153°E–150°W). Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 32(2), 187-207. doi: 10.1002/2017GB005736
Journal - Research Article
Feng, Y., Roleda, M. Y., Armstrong, E., Law, C. S., Boyd, P. W., & Hurd, C. L. (2018). Environmental controls on the elemental composition of a Southern Hemisphere strain of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Biogeosciences, 15, 581-595. doi: 10.5194/bg-15-581-2018
Journal - Research Article
Law, C. S., Bell, J. J., Bostock, H. C., Cornwall, C. E., Cummings, V. J., Currie, K., … Hepburn, C. D., Hurd, C. L., Lamare, M., … Smith, A. M., & Tracey, D. M. (2018). Ocean acidification in New Zealand waters: Trends and impacts. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 52(2), 155-195. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2017.1374983
Journal - Research Article