Welcome! My teaching and research interests are in Oceanography, Earth System Science, Climate Science, Remote Sensing, Snow Science, Environmental Geography, and related areas. For details, browse through the various sections (below and linked on the left).

PhD, Marine Science
UC Santa Barbara, 2009

MA, Geography
UC Santa Barbara, 2005

I am a broadly trained quantitative Earth System scientist, interested in various topics of Oceanography, Remote Sensing/GIS and Environmental Geography. My main expertise is in marine bio-optics and ocean color remote sensing. I work on satellite algorithm development that aims to improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems and biogeography. I also conduct research in snow remote sensing in conifer forests. Water and remote sensing are common unifying themes of my research. A third line of research I pursue is related to Earth’s orbital cycles that affect climate (Milankovitch cycles) and related astronomical visualizations. I also have interests in related disciplines, e.g. physical basis of climate and climate change, paleoclimatology, botany and plant systematics (focusing on trees), forest ecology & vegetation remote sensing, and positional astronomy. My research makes heavy use of scientific computing, modeling, and data processing and visualization; I am interested in scientific and technical computing per se.

GEOG 110: Introduction to Physical Geography
GEOG 210: Introduction to Oceanography
GEOG 311: Earth: The Habitable Planet

Peer-reviewed publications: (* - student co-author)

Kostadinov, T. S., Robertson Lain, L., Kong, C. E., Zhang, X., Maritorena, S., Bernard, S., Loisel, H., Jorge, D. S. F., Kochetkova, E., Roy, S., Jonsson, B., Martinez-Vicente, V., and Sathyendranath, S. (2023). Ocean color algorithm for the retrieval of the particle size distribution and carbon-based phytoplankton size classes using a two-component coated-sphere backscattering model, Ocean Sci., 19, 703–727. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-703-2023 

Brewin, R. J. W., Sathyendranath, S., Kulk, G., Rio, M.-H., Concha, J. A., Bell, T. G., Bracher, A., Fichot, C., Frölicher, T. L., Galí, M., Hansell, D. A., Kostadinov, T. S., Mitchell, C., Neeley, A. R., Organelli, E., Richardson, K., Rousseaux, C., Shen, F., Stramski, D., … Woolf, D. K. (55 total co-authors) (2023). Ocean carbon from space: Current status and priorities for the next decade. Earth-Science Reviews, 104386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104386

Safa, H., Krogh, S. A., Greenberg, J., Kostadinov, T. S., & Harpold, A. A. (2021). Unraveling the controls on snow disappearance in montane conifer forests using multi-site lidar, Water Resources Research, 57, e2020WR027522. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027522 

Muhuri A., S. Gascoin, L. Menzel, T.S. Kostadinov, A. Harpold, A. Sanmiguel-Vallelado, J.I. Lopez Moreno (2021), Performance Assessment of Optical Satellite Based Operational Snow Cover Monitoring Algorithms in Forested Landscapes, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3089655 

Brewin, R. J.W., S. Sathyendranath, T. Platt, H. Bouman, S. Ciavatta, G. Dall'Olmo, J. Dingle, S. Groom, B. Jönsson, T. S. Kostadinov, G. Kulk, M. Laine, V. Martínez-Vicente, S. Psarra, D. E. Raitsos, K.  Richardson, MH. Rio, C. S. Rousseaux, J. Salisbury, J.D. Shutler, P. Walker (2021), Sensing the ocean biological carbon pump from space: A review of capabilities, concepts, research gaps and future developments, Earth-Science Reviews, 217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103604 

Pestana, S., Chickadel, C. C., Harpold, A., Kostadinov, T. S., Pai, H., Tyler, S., Webster, C., and Lundquist, J.D. (2019), Bias correction of airborne thermal infrared observations over forests using melting snow. Water Resources Research, 55, 11,331-11,343.  https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR025699 

P. Sharma*, A. Singh, I. Marinov and T. Kostadinov (2019), Contrasting ENSO types with satellite derived ocean phytoplankton biomass in the Tropical Pacific, Geophysical Research Letters, 46. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080689 

P. Sharma*, I. Marinov, A. Cabre, T. Kostadinov and A. Singh (2019), Increasing biomass in the warm oceans: Unexpected new insights from SeaWiFS, Geophysical Research Letters, 46. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079684  

Kostadinov, T.S., R. Schumer, M. Hausner, K. J. Bormann, R. Gaffney, K. McGwire, T. H. Painter_, S.Tyler and A.A. Harpold (2019), Watershed‐Scale Mapping of Fractional Snow Cover Under Conifer Forest Canopy Using Lidar, Remote Sensing of Environment, 222, 34–49, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.11.037  

Martínez-Vicente V, Evers-King H, Roy S, Kostadinov T.S., Tarran GA, Graff JR, Brewin RJW, Dall’Olmo G, Jackson T, Hickman A, Röttgers R, Krasemann H, Marañón E, Platt T and Sathyendranath S (2017), Intercomparison of Ocean Color Algorithms for Picophytoplankton Carbon in the Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:378. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00378  

Evers-King, H., V. Martinez-Vicente, V., R. J. W. Brewin, G. Dall’Olmo, A. Hickman, T. Jackson, T. S. Kostadinov, H. Krasemann, H. Loisel, R. Rottgers, S. Roy, D. Stramski, S. Thomalla, T. Platt, S. Sathyendranath (2017), Validation and intercomparison of ocean color algorithms for estimating particulate organic carbon in the oceans, Front. Mar. Sci. 4:251, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00251

Mouw CB, Hardman-Mountford NJ, Alvain S, Bracher A, Brewin RJW, Bricaud A, Ciotti AM, Devred E, Fujiwara A, Hirata T, Hirawake T, Kostadinov T.S., Roy S and Uitz J (2017), A Consumer's Guide to Satellite Remote Sensing of Multiple Phytoplankton Groups in the Global Ocean, Front. Mar. Sci., 4:41, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00041

Kostadinov, T.S., A. Cabré, H. Vedantham, I. Marinov, A. Bracher, R. Brewin, A. Bricaud, T. Hirata, T. Hirawake, N. Hardman-Mountford, C. Mouw, S. Roy and J. Uitz (2017), Inter-Comparison of Phytoplankton Functional Types Derived from Ocean Color Algorithms and Earth System Models: Phenology, Remote Sensing of Environment, 190, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.11.014 

Cabré A., D. Shields*, I. Marinov and T.S. Kostadinov (2016), Phenology of size-partitioned phytoplankton carbon-biomass from ocean color remote sensing and CMIP5 models, Front. Mar. Sci., 3:39, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00039 

Kostadinov, T. S., Milutinović, S., Marinov, I., and Cabré, A. (2016), Carbon-based phytoplankton size classes retrieved via ocean color estimates of the particle size distribution, Ocean Sci., 12, 561-575, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-561-2016

Kostadinov, T. S. and T. R. Lookingbill (2015), Snow cover variability in a forest ecotone of the Oregon Cascades via MODIS Terra products, Remote Sensing of Environment, 164C, pp. 155-169, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2015.04.002

Kostadinov, T. S. and R. Gilb* (2014), Earth Orbit v2.1: a 3-D visualization and analysis model of Earth's orbit, Milankovitch cycles and insolation, Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 1051–1068;  https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1051-2014 

Kostadinov, T.S., D.A. Siegel, S. Maritorena, and N. Guillocheau (2012), Optical assessment of particle size and composition in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, Applied Optics, 51, 3171-3189, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.51.003171

Swan, C.M., N.B. Nelson, D.A. Siegel, and T.S. Kostadinov (2012), The effect of surface irradiance on the absorption spectrum of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in the global ocean, Deep Sea Research I, 63, 52-64, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2012.01.008

Antoine, D., D.A. Siegel, T.S. Kostadinov, S. Maritorena, N.B. Nelson, B. Gentili, V. Vellucci, and N. Guillocheau (2011), Variability in optical particle backscattering in contrasting bio-optical oceanic regimes, Limnology & Oceanography, 56(3), 955-973, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2011.56.3.0955

Kostadinov, T.S., D.A. Siegel, and S. Maritorena (2010), Global variability of phytoplankton functional types from space: assessment via the particle size distribution, Biogeosciences, 7, 3239-3257, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-3239-2010

Kostadinov, T.S., D.A. Siegel, and S. Maritorena (2009), Retrieval of the particle size distribution from satellite ocean color observations, J. Geophys. Res., 114, C09015, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005303

Kostadinov, T.S., D.A. Siegel, S. Maritorena, and N. Guillocheau (2007), Ocean color observations and modeling for an optically complex site: Santa Barbara Channel, California, USA, J. Geophys. Res., 112, C07011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JC003526