About

Christina M. Richardson will join UC Agriculture and Natural Resources as an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension on June 1, 2026, with an affiliation in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, where she is currently an Assistant Researcher. She is a coastal hydrologist and biogeochemist whose work examines how climate change, land use, and other human stressors shape water quantity and quality across diverse aquatic systems.

She holds a BS in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, an MS in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research uses geochemical tracers, ranging from elemental and molecular composition to radioisotopes and stable isotopes, along with chemical sensors and hydrologic measurements, to better understand water, nutrient, and trace element cycling. She applies these tools across diverse landscapes, including systems shaped by wildfire, wastewater, and agriculture, with a focus on understanding impacts and informing practical solutions.