Rate My Professor Sandy Thomalla

Dr Sandy Thomalla is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town. She holds a BSc from the University of Cape Town, where she majored in marine biology and oceanography in her third year and completed honours in biological oceanography. She obtained her PhD in oceanography from the University of Cape Town in association with the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, in 2007.

Thomalla’s research focuses on phytoplankton dynamics and carbon export in the Southern Ocean, employing satellite ocean colour observations, in situ bio-optics, and autonomous platforms such as gliders and floats. She serves as Chief Scientist and Research Group Leader of the Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO) hosted at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Her work contributes to understanding iron limitation of phytoplankton and the role of the Southern Ocean in the global carbon cycle. Thomalla teaches and supervises students at the University of Cape Town while maintaining her primary research affiliation with CSIR SOCCO.