Personal Summary

Mike DeGrandpre obtained his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Washington in 1990. He carried out postdoctoral research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts from 1990 to 1993 and held a research associate position there from 1993 through 1995. He joined the chemistry faculty at UM in January of 1996. Mike is an analytical/environmental chemist specializing in developing and using autonomous sensors to study aquatic biogeochemistry and the ocean carbon cycle. 

Courses Taught

Applied Spectroscopy CHMY 544

Aquatic Chemistry CHMY 442

Advanced Instrumental Analysis CHMY 421 Syllabus and Lab Manual

Research Interests

My research focuses on the development of autonomous chemical sensors for applications in aquatic (marine and freshwater) chemistry. One of our primary goals is to further our understanding of CO2’s sources and sinks within the world's oceans. Our research has resulted in the development of autonomous CO2 and pH sensors (the Submersible Autonomous Moored Instruments or SAMIs), a technology that won the 2015 Ocean Health XPRIZE.  By deploying the SAMI sensors on ocean moorings and other unmanned platforms, we have determined to what extent processes such as photosynthesis and air-sea gas exchange control CO2 variability.  These results will help develop models to predict the effects of global warming and ocean acidification (the decrease in ocean pH caused by anthropogenic CO2). Our recent field work has primarily focused on the processes that control CO2 in both freshwater (rivers and lakes) and marine environments. Our current field efforts are focused on the Arctic Ocean, where we have found that sea surface CO2 levels are increasing as ice cover diminishes, the first clear evidence that warming in the Arctic is altering the Arctic Ocean carbon cycle. Closer to home, we are also working closely with other aquatic scientists studying the biogeochemical cycling in local and regional rivers.

Check out these links documenting our Arctic research expeditions! 

https://youtu.be/QMmQ0mMycXE. 

https://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2020/1/article/30996?utm_source=wtav24i1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wta

https://youtu.be/zkRhrjhYSyI

https://youtu.be/YqhTAuUN708

Here is a Do It Yourself manual describing how to build our ocean acidification exhibit developed for UM's science museum spectrUM Discovery Area!

Selected Publications

DeGrandpre, M.D. (2023). Tools of the Trade: Remote Autonomous Titration, Nature Reviews Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-023-00547-1.

Richaud, B., Fennel, K., Oliver, E. C. J., DeGrandpre, M.D., Bourgeois, T., Hu, X., and Y. Lu (2023). Underestimation of oceanic carbon uptake in the Arctic Ocean: Ice melt as predictor of the sea ice carbon pump, The Cryosphere, 17, 2665–2680, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2665-2023.

Pezner A.K, Courtney, T.A., Barkley, H.C., Chou, W-C., Chu, H-C., Clements, S., Cyronak, T., DeGrandpre, M.D., Kekuewa, S.A.H., Kline, D.I., Liang, Y-B., Martz, T., Mitarai, S., Page, H.N., Rintoul, M.S., Smith, J.E., Soong, K., Takeshita, Y., Tresguerres, M., Wei, Y., Yates, K.K., and A.J. Andersson. (2023). Increasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming. Nature Climate Change,  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01619-2. The paper made the cover of the April 2023 issue: https://tinyurl.com/38mpd8zw.

Pardis, W., Grabb, K.C., DeGrandpre, M.D., Spaulding, R., Beck, J., Pfeifer, J.A. and D.M. Long (2022).  Measuring protons with photons: A hand-held, spectrophotometric pH analyzer for ocean acidification research, community science and education, Sensors, 22, 7924. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22207924.

Lee, C.M., M. DeGrandpre, J. Guthrie, V. Hill, R. Kwok, J. Morison, C.J. Cox, H. Singh, T.P. Stanton and J. Wilkinson (2022). Emerging technologies and approaches for in situ, autonomous observing in the Arctic. Oceanography, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2022.127.

Young, F.L., Shangguan, Q., Beatty, C. M., Gilsdorf, M. D., and M.D. DeGrandpre (2022). Comparison of spectrophotometric and electrochemical pH measurements for calculating freshwater pCO₂, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10501.

Shangguan, Q., Prody, A., Wirth, T. S., Briggs, E. M., Martz, T. R., and M. D. DeGrandpre (2022). An inter-comparison of autonomous in situ instruments for ocean CO₂ measurements under laboratory-controlled conditions, Mar. Chem.,  240, 104085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2022.104085.

DeGrandpre, E. L., DeGrandpre, M. D., Colman, B. P. and H. M. Valett (2021). Observations of river solute concentrations during ice formation, Env. Sci. Technol. Water, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.1c00064.

Shangguan, Q., Lai, C., Beatty, C.M., Young, F.L., Spaulding, R.S., and M.D. DeGrandpre (2021). Autonomous in situ measurements of freshwater alkalinity, Limnol. Oceanog. Methods, https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lom3.10404.

For a full list of publications, please view DeGrandpre CV or Googe Scholar