David Hastings is a marine geochemist and chemical oceanographer. He has worked in the Gulf of Mexico since he landed on the shores of Tampa Bay in 2000 to teach marine science, environmental science, and chemistry at Eckerd College. Dave's research interests focus on deciphering how humans are impacting coastal ecosystems, with a current emphasis on understanding the role of oil and gas industry wastewater discharges in altering the microbial ecology of estuarine sediments.