Cynthia Garcia

Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago

About Me

Hi! My name is Cynthia Garcia.

I recently received my Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. I was an ACM SIGHPC/Intel Computational and Data Science Fellow, 2022 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, and a member of the Atmosphere, Climate, and Ecosystems Lab group, led by Prof. Max Berkelhammer.

My research focuses on understanding carbon cycle changes along the coastal margins of our planet. I use satellite datasets to help improve our understanding of the roles of ocean, land, and atmosphere interactions in such changes. By understanding large-scale coastal couplings and their mechanistic links, we can help assess how the terrestrial and marine carbon sinks may act in tandem with one another to mitigate the buildup of carbon dioxide.

Ph.D. Earth & Environmental Sciences (2018-2023)

University of Illinois at Chicago, U.S.A.

M. Eng. Environmental Engineering (2010-2012)

Catholic University of Korea, South Korea

B.S. Biology (2003-2007)

University of the Philippines, Philippines

Prof. Cert. Data Management and Analytics (2017)

Illinois Institute of Technology, U.S.A.

Appointments

Past Roles

February 2022 - Feb 2023

Arctic Observing Fellow - Knauss Marine Policy Fellow
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Assists the Arctic Research Program (ARP) Program managers in advancing GOMO’s and OAR’s Arctic mission; Leads the ARP Data Landscape Assessment by working with all the Program’s Arctic PIs and data analysts. Provides data management policy and technical guidance for ARP PIs to ensure that the Program’s data assets are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable; Helps develop, maintain, and advance cross-NOAA OAR Arctic activities and partnerships by coordinating the OAR Arctic All-Hands quarterly meeting and updates; Contributes to the Arctic Report Card 2022 as a co-author on the essay on Ocean Primary Productivity from Satellites, Vital Signs as well as on the Value Tree Assessment for key Arctic data products; As a member of the US Arctic Observing Network (AON) Expert Committee on Methods, engages with US AON tools and methods, as well as other Committee members across NOAA and Alaska;

Leads the Sea Ice Collaboration Team (SICT) of the Interagency Arctic Research Committee (IARPC). As a SICT lead, collaborates with a variety of stakeholders and contributes to the IARPC Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026 and Biennial Implementation Plan; Created and implements the annual plan for the team; Represents the team on interagency Staff Group meetings; Manages the IARPC Field Operations Working Group activities. For example, I led the annual research expedition compilation and communication outreach as well as this year’s pre- and post-field season meeting. Contributes to the annual plan for the team which includes expansion of the research expedition outreach and use of existing technologies to make dissemination of field work information more accessible and equitable; and Contributes to the AON Congressional report and the NOAA-NSF Leadership Roundtable Summit.

1200px-University_of_Illinois_at_Chicago

January 2018 - Present

Research /Teaching Assistant

University of Illinois at Chicago

Processes near-real time environmental data from the Array of Things Project in the City of Chicago; and Mentoring and development of data analysis tools for UIC undergraduate learners studying urban atmosphere, climate, and contamination.

Led weekly laboratory classes on Global Environmental Change (EaES 101) and

Earth Systems (EaES 285);

August 2015 - December 2017

Visiting Scientist (Code 615),

Goddard Space Flight Center

Analyzed sea surface salinity (SSS) measurements from Aquarius, Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) in polar oceans; Produced polar-gridded SSS products (https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/cryo/data/high-latitude-sea-surface-salinity); Performed validation and calibration studies using quality-controlled in-situ data

July 2007 - July 2015

Science Legislative Researcher and Projects Manager

Office of Sen. Edgardo Angara

Prepared research materials for the Senate Ctte on Science and Technology and the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering, which pushed for the passage of the Biofuels Act, Technology Transfer Law, Renewable Energy law, Data Privacy, among others.

Managed national and local programs on sustainable development and environmental protection. Examples of projects successfully implemented include establishment of a Marine Research and Breeding Center in the Province of Aurora; and Planning and implementation of the e-Village Project, which improved farmers’ and fisherfolks’ access to market and weather information, thereby enhancing productivity, increasing family income, and improving quality of life in the community.

September 2010 - October 2012

Research Assistant

Catholic University of Korea

Assisted in research projects on biofuels, wastewater treatment technologies, and precision farming of Prof. Young-Jun Kim in South Korea and the Philippines; and Lead lab activities on Bioenergy Engineering and Environmental Toxicology in English and Korean.

Research

Publications and Presentations

Garcia, C., Berkelhammer, M., and L. Stock. (2023). Trajectories of land-ocean primary productivity across the Arctic coastal margins and sensitivity to coastal sea ice decline. JGR Global Biogeochemical Cycles. Submitted - In review.

Frey, K.E, Comiso, J., Cooper, L.W., Garcia, C., Grebmeier, J.M. and L.V. Stock (2022). Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity: The Response of Marine Algae to Climate Warming and Sea Ice Decline. In: Arctic Report Card 2022, NOAA, DOI: 10.25923/0je1-te61.

D'Angelo, A., Garcia, C., Knowlton, C., Gingras, A., Morin, H., Coleman, D., Kaelblein, J., Raziuddin, H., VanKeersbilck, N., Rivera, T. J., Kopka, K., Boleaga, Y., Estes, K., Nodal, A., Schulze, E., Ewa, T., Shaban, M., Umar, S., Santana, R., Strock, J., Gruebel, E., Digilio, M., Ludkin, R., Gong, D., Kerrigan, Z., Otokiak, M., Crable, F., Trenholm, N., Millstone, T., Montenegro, K., Kim, M., Porter, G., Ketter, T., Berkelhammer, M., King, A. L., Gonzalez-Meler, M. A., and Loose, B.: Water masses distribution in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Implementation of the Optimal MultiParameter analysis (OMP), Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-306, In Review, 2022.

Garcia, C., Uhlig, K., and D. Allen. The Arctic Report Card: Its benefits, impacts, and the way forward. Poster presented at Arctic Observing Summit 2022; 30 Mar-01 Apr 2022; Tromsø, Norway.

Garcia C., Berkelhammer, M., and L. Stock. Opposing trajectories of land-ocean primary productivity across the Arctic coastal margins. Oral Presentation at AGU Fall 2021 Meeting; 13-17 December 2021; New Orleans, LA

Garcia, C., J.C. Comiso, M. Berkelhammer, and L. Stock. (2021). Interrelationships of Sea Surface Salinity, Chlorophyll-a Concentration, and Sea Surface Temperature Near the Antarctic Ice Edge. J. Climate, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0716.1.

Garcia, C., Berkelhammer, M., Bellagamba, A., et al., (2021). Water stable isotopes and associated salinity measurements in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from 17 July – 04 August 2019. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.937543.

Garcia, C., IllinoisX Space Technology Talks: Please don’t pass the salt: Progress on ocean salinity monitoring from space. Presentation on 14 April 2021.

Ritter, F., Berkelhammer, M. & Garcia, C. (2020). Distinct response of gross primary productivity in five terrestrial biomes to precipitation variability. Commun Earth Environ 1, 34 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00034-1.

Crable, F., C. Garcia-Eidell, T. Ewa, H. Raziuddin, S. Umar (2020), Once again into the Northwest Passage, Eos, 101, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EO144059

Garcia, C., J. C. Comiso, E. Dinnat, L. Brucker (2019). Sea surface salinity distribution in the Southern Ocean as observed from space. J.G.R. Oceans, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014510

Garcia, C., J. C. Comiso, E. Dinnat, L. Brucker. Sea surface salinity distribution in the Southern Ocean as observed from space. Poster presented at: AGU Fall 2018 Meeting; 10-14 December 2018; Washington, D.C. https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/prelim.cgi/Paper/365169

Garcia, C., J. C. Comiso, E. Dinnat, L. Brucker (2017). Satellite observed salinity distributions at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere: A comparison of four products, J.G.R. Oceans, 122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013184.

Garcia, C. & Y. J. Kim. Studies on bioenergy status and the potential of algae-derived biodiesel in the Philippines. Poster presented at: 10th Chongqing China High-tech Meeting; 12-15 April 2012; Chongqing, P.R.C.

Garcia, C., S. Ganchua, M. Parungao. Probiotic activities of microorganisms isolated from two coffea arabica wine preparations: berries and roasted ground beans inoculated with saccharomyces cerevisiae and lactobacillus plantarum. Poster presented at: 36th Annual Convention and Scientific Meeting of Philippine Society for Microbiology, Inc. 7-8 May, 2007; Manila, Philippines.