Sankar Manalilkada Sasidharan, Ph.D.

Sankar is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Geospatial Sciences lab at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. His Ph.D. dissertation focused on understanding the influence of land use land cover, hydrology, and climate on water quality via dissolved organic matter (DOM), nutrients, pathogens, and trace element loading into the coastal and inland water bodies of the southern US. He uses a combination of data science, machine learning, and geochemical tools to estimate the natural and anthropogenic processes affecting water quality, phytoplankton dynamics, DOM, and acidification in various aquatic environments.

His current research at HRI includes the implementation of a harmful algal bloom monitoring program in Matagorda Bay and San Antonio Bay (Texas) using high-frequency water sampling and an automated, real-time HAB sensor (Imaging FlowCytobot).