Sarah Fawcett

Sarah Fawcett is a South African oceanographer and climatologist. A senior lecturer in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town, she is particularly interested in the role of oceans in regulating biogeochemical cycles and how their dysregulation contributes to climate change. She was honoured in the World Economic Forum Young Scientists Class of 2020, and a P-Rating from the National Research Foundation, which recognizes that the scientist's work will likely have high impact. Early life Fawcett was born in Benoni, Gauteng, and attended Benoni High School. She went on to study Earth and planetary science at Harvard University (2006) and completed a PhD at Princeton (2012) where she later held a postdoctoral fellowship (2012-2015). Career In 2015, Fawcett was appointed a lecturer in oceanography at the University of Cape Town. She has worked to build up a diverse research group, aware of the discrimination still faced by female scientists. From 2016, she has participated in the SEAmester scheme that aims to train up postdoctoral oceanography researchers. In her doctorate Fawcett investigated the relationship between nitrogen and populations of phytoplankton in upwelling ecosystems of the Sargasso Sea. She has continued to work on these relationships, concentrating on the subpolar North Atlantic and Southern Ocean as areas of particular importance. The sequestration of carbon through the biological pump in these regions may be an important regulatory of the global ocean system, but the dynamics of the nitrogen-phytoplankton system limit its efficiency. Much of Fawcett's works is based on measurements of stable nitrogen isotopes. Fawcett is also addressing the lack of research in the Benguela Upwelling System, which is important for the biodiversity and economy of the region. She is also primary investigator for the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE).