Shawnee Traylor

Chemical Oceanographer

Dr. Shawnee Traylor is a chemical oceanographer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, where she focuses on advancing chemical sensor technologies to support sustained and autonomous ocean observation. Her work sits at the intersection of ocean chemistry, climate science, and engineering, with the central aim of understanding the ocean’s role in regulating Earth’s climate through the carbon cycle.

Dr. Traylor integrates traditional oceanographic approaches with novel tools such as autonomous underwater vehicles to improve observations in under-sampled environments. She earned her PhD at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and her thesis work ranged from sampling the coastal Arctic on the back of an ATV to sailing through 30 foot swells in the stormy North Atlantic. These observations advance our understanding of processes such as the ocean’s biological carbon pump and methane release from thawing permafrost.

Prior to graduate school, Dr. Traylor conducted research on topics from urban water quality to coral reef carbon dynamics at Columbia University and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Outside of her work, she remains committed to environmental stewardship, science communication, and spending time romping in the mountains with a heavy pack.