Farooq Azam wins 2026 Kyoto Prize for microbial loop discovery that reshaped ocean carbon cycle science

Marine microbiologist Farooq Azam has been awarded the 2026 Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences for his discovery of the microbial loop, a concept that changed how scientists understand the ocean carbon cycle. Azam showed that dissolved organic carbon in the ocean is not lost but is recycled by bacteria and microbes, placing marine microorganisms at the center of global carbon movement between the ocean and atmosphere. The award comes with a 100 million yen prize and a ceremony in Kyoto in November 2026. Azam, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, first proposed the microbial loop in 1983. His work has direct implications for climate modeling and carbon accounting, as it explains how microscopic life regulates ocean health and carbon storage. He is only the second UC San Diego faculty member to receive the Kyoto Prize, following oceanographer Walter Munk in 1999.