Pierre Regnier

Full Professor

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, Biogeochemistry, Limnology and Oceanography

Solbosch Campus (map)

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

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

Research summary

Pierre Regnier's research focuses on global carbon and nutrient cycles and their anthropogenic perturbation with a strong emphasis on inland waters, estuaries, blue carbon ecosystems, the global coastal ocean and the seafloor and their interaction with terrestrial ecosystems and the open ocean. His expertise encompasses the biogeochemistry of carbon and nutrients, greenhouse gases cycling (CO2, CH4, N2O), model-data fusion approaches and advanced statistical methods, 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. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Lauerwald R., (...) Maavara T., (...) Hastie, A., (...) and Regnier P. Inland water greenhouse gas budgets for RECCAP2: 2 Regionalization and homogenization of estimates following the RECCAP2 framework. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 37, e2022GB007658, doi: 10.1029/2022GB007658, 2023.
  6. Resplandy L., (...) and Regnier P. A Synthesis of Global Coastal Ocean Greenhouse Gas Fluxes. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi: 10.22541/essoar.168182303.39621839/v1, 2023.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Le Quéré, C., Moriarty, R., ….Regnier, P., et al. Global carbon budget 2014, Earth System Science Data7, 47-85, doi:10.5194/essd-7-47-2015, 2015.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. Saunois M., Stavert A.R., … Regnier P., et al. The Global Methane Budget 2000–2017. Earth System Science Data, 12, 1561–1623, doi: 10.5194/essd-12-1561-2020, 2020.
  14. 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.
  15. Tian, H., Xu, R., …. Regnier P., et al. (2020) A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks. Nature 586, 248–256, doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2780-0.
  16. Zhang H., Chuine I., Regnier P., Ciais P. & Yuan W. Deciphering the multiple effects of climate warming on the temporal shift of leaf unfolding. Nature Climate Change, 12(2), 193-199, doi: 10.1038/s41558-021-01261-w, 2022.

Short CV

  • Full Professor: Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, 2017-now
  • Hess Distinguished Visiting Professor: Princeton University, USA, 2023-2024
  • 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: 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