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Isaac Rodrigues Dos Santos

Professor

Department of Marine Sciences
Telephone
+46 31-786 31 46
+46 766-18 31 46
Mail
isaac.santos@gu.se
Visiting address
Medicinaregatan 7B
413 90 Göteborg
Room number
5281

About Isaac Rodrigues Dos Santos

Professor Isaac Santos is an AGU Medalist and Fellow working at the interface between coastal biogeochemistry, oceanography, and hydrology. His research focuses on quantifying carbon budgets in coastal ecosystems, groundwater–surface water exchange, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas fluxes. He has conducted fieldwork across a broad spectrum of environments - from headwater streams to the deep ocean, and from polar to tropical regions. Current experimental sites include the Baltic Sea, Iceland, Svalbard, Norwegian fjords, and Brazilian mangroves.

His major ongoing projects include a KAW funded research project focusing on groundwater discharge in northern Europe, and a VR Konsolidador to build carbon budgets in mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrass meadows and kelp forests.

Santos has received awards for excellence in research, teaching, and community engagement. He has >280 peer reviewed articles, including >40 papers in AGU journals and >140 papers first authored by his students. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, serves as the Editor in Chief of the premier biogeochemistry journal, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, and is the Vice Prefekt with responsibility for research in the Department of Marine Sciences.

Prof. Santos strongly values international collaboration and maintains active partnerships with researchers across disciplines and continents with ongoing projects in Europe, Australia, China, Brazil and USA. He particularly enjoys co‑developing ideas, building interdisciplinary teams, and working in settings where field observations, experiments, and modelling intersect.

He is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists. He has supervised students from undergraduate through postdoctoral levels who now work across academia, government, and industry worldwide. His supervisory style emphasizes independence, scientific curiosity, and a supportive, inclusive research environment.

 

Personal research group website – www.barefootbiogeochemistry.com

SELECTED HONOURS AND AWARDS

2025. Highly Cited Researchers list from ISI Clarivate. Lists that recognize the top 0.01% of researchers based on quantitative citation data from the Web of Science along with expert qualitative assessment reflecting significant and broad influence.

2022. GU’s Faculty of Science Research Award. Given annually for developing a research line that significantly contributes to novelty and excellence at GU.

2021. ASLO Fellow recognizing individuals who “…advanced the aquatic sciences via their exceptional contributions to the benefit of the society and its publications, meetings, and other activities”.

2019. Australian Academy of Sciences Anton Hales Medal for “distinguished research in the Earth Sciences” by an early career researcher within 10 years of PhD completion.

2019. The Educator Higher Education Hot List “30 individuals at the cutting edge of educational excellence going above and beyond to have a game-changing impact on Australia’s higher education landscape”.

2018: AGU’s James Macelwane medal recognising ‘significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding early career scientist’. This was the first time since 1962 that this medal was given to a scientist based in the Southern Hemisphere.

2018: SCU’s Excellence in Engagement Award – Engaged Research “For community-driven water quality research to protect, rehabilitate and manage iconic streams, estuaries and the Solitary Islands Marine Park.”

2017: ARC Future Fellowship. Australian funding scheme “to attract and retain the best and brightest mid-career researchers” within 5-15 years post PhD completion.

2015: SCU Vice Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning “for developing the foundations of scientific research skills using active learning strategies and inspirational student supervision leading to outstanding academic outcomes”.

2014: ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship. Australian’s funding scheme to “support excellent basic and applied research by early career researchers” within 5 years of PhD completion.

2013: SCU Excellence in Community Engagement Award. Awarded by the SCU Vice Chancellor “for performing community-driven research and using scientific evidence to enlighten the coal seam gas debate”.

2012: SCU Vice Chancellor’s Award for excellence for early career research performance.

2011: Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Cronin Award for early career research linking biogeochemistry to hydrology in coastal ecosystems.

2008: Outstanding graduate student award at Florida State University’s Department of Oceanography.