Pierre Regnier

Full Professor

Chair in Biogeochemistry and Modelling of the Earth System
Department of Geosciences, Environment and Society
Faculty of Sciences (ULB)

Area of research:

Greenhouse Gases and Climate, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Earth System Modelling, Terrestrial Biogeochemistry and Limnology, Oceanography

Solbosch Campus (map)

Building D, wing B, 4th floor
Office DB4-135

Pierre.Regnier@ulb.be
+32 (2) 650 36 71

Research summary

My research line revolves around biogeochemical cycles-climate feedbacks with focus on the biogeochemistry of carbon and nutrients, global CO2, CH4 and N2O cycling and their controls on climate. I study the coupled physical-biogeochemical dynamics along the land-ocean continuum embracing terrestrial ecosystems, inland waters, estuaries and coastal vegetation, and the global coastal ocean. An important goal is understanding and quantifying how these interconnected ecosystems are impacted by human disturbances, in particular climate change, and contribute to the anthropogenic GHG budgets at regional to global scales. My expertise encompasses model-data fusion approaches, advanced statistical methods and machine-learning techniques, reactive-transport modelling and Earth system science. Pierre Regnier coordinates the land-to-ocean aquatic continuum (LOAC) activities for the Global Carbon Project (GCP).

Key publications

  1. Friedlingstein, P., Le Quéré, C., O’Sullivan, M. …. Regnier P. et al. Emerging climate impact on carbon sinks in a consolidated carbon budget. Nature  doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09802-5, 2025.
  2. Saunois M., … Regnier P., et al. Global Methane Budget 2000–2020, Earth System Science Data, 17, pp. 1873–1958 DOI: 10.5194/essd-2024-115, 2025.
  3. Liu M., Raymond P.A., Lauerwald R.,  … and  Regnier P. (2024) Global riverine land-to-ocean carbon export constrained by observations and multi-model assessment Nature Geoscience, 17 (9), pp. 896 - 904 DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01524-z, 2024.
  4. Resplandy L., (...) and Regnier P. A Synthesis of Global Coastal Ocean Greenhouse Gas Fluxes. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 38 (1), art. no. e2023GB007803, 2024.
  5. Battin T.J., Lauerwald R., Bernhardt E.S., Bertuzzo E., Gener L.G., Hall Jr R.O., Hotchkiss E.R., Maavara T., Pavelsky T.M., Ran L., Raymond P., Rosentreter J.A. and Regnier P. River ecosystem metabolism and carbon biogeochemistry in a changing world. Nature (613), 449-459, doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05500-8, 2023.
  6. Rosentreter J.A., Laruelle G.G., (...) Maavara T., (...) and Regnier, P. Coastal vegetation and estuaries collectively are a greenhouse gas sink. Nature Climate Change, doi: 10.1038/s41558-023-01682-9, 2023.
  7. Lauerwald R., (...) Maavara, T., (...) Hastie, A., (...) and Regnier P. Inland water greenhouse gas budgets for RECCAP2: 1. State-of-the-art of global scale assessments. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 37, e2022GB007657, doi: 10.1029/2022GB007657, 2023.
  8. Dai M., (...), Laruelle G.G., (...), Regnier P. et al. Carbon Fluxes in the Coastal Ocean: Synthesis, Boundary Processes and Future Trends. Annual review of Earth Planetary Sciences 50(1), doi: 10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-090746, 2022.
  9. Regnier, P., Resplandy, L., Najjar, R., and Ciais, P. The land-to-ocean loops of the global carbon cycle. Nature 603, doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04339-9, 2022.
  10. Terhaar J., Lauerwald R., Regnier P., Gruber N. and Bopp L. Around one third of current Arctic Ocean primary production sustained by rivers and coastal erosion. Nature Communications 12, 169, doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20470-z, 2021.
  11. Tian, H., Xu, R., …. Regnier P., et al. A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks. Nature 586, 248–256, doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2780-0, 2020.
  12. Laruelle, G. G., Cai, W.-J., Hu, X., Gruber, N., MacKenzie F.T. and Regnier P. Continental shelves as a variable but increasing global sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Nature Communications 9, 454 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02738-z, 2018.
  13. Maavara, T. Lauerwald, R., Regnier P. and Van Cappellen, P. Global perturbation of organic carbon cycling by river damming. Nature Communications 8, 15347 doi: 10.1038/ncomms15347, 2017.
  14. Bauer, J.E., Cai, W-J, Raymond, P., Bianchi, T., Hopkinson, C. and Regnier P.  The changing coastal carbon cycle. Nature, 504, 61–70, 2013.
  15. Regnier, P., Friedlingstein, P., Ciais, P., Mackenzie, F.T., Gruber, N. et al. Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean. Nature Geoscience, 6 (8), 597-607, 2013.

Short CV

  • Full Professor: Dept. Geoscience, Environment & Society, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, 2017-now
  • Senior Visiting Professor: Dept. Ocean Science & Dept Mathematics, The Hong-Kong University of Science and Tecnnology (HKUST), HongKong, 2025-now
  • Hess Distinguished Visiting Professor: Dept. Geoscience & High Meadows Environnemental Institute, Princeton University, USA, 2023-2025
  • Professor: Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, 2009-2016
  • Associate Professor: Utrecht University, The Netherlands, 2007-2011
  • Invited Professor: Université P. Sabatier – Toulouse, France 2007
  • Assistant Professor: Utrecht University, The Netherlands, 2000-2007
  • Research Scientist, Consultant: Danish Hydraulic Institute, Denmark, 1998-2000
  • Postoctoral-fellow: EU Marie-Curie, University College Cork, Ireland, 1996-1998
  • PhD: Université libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium, 1997
  • MSc: Yale University, USA, 1993
  • Bsc: Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, 1988