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Kimberly Wickland

Kimberly Wickland is a Research Ecologist for the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center.

I lead interdisciplinary studies that increase our understanding of the complexities of carbon cycling across terrestrial and aquatic environments; the impacts of climate, disturbance, and land use on coupled biogeochemical cycles; and the implications of changing carbon and nutrient dynamics for future climate and ecosystem conditions. My research covers a large range of ecosystems including wetlands, forests, tundra, lakes, streams, and rivers in temperate and high latitude regions. 

Professional Service

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Coordinating Lead Author - IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (2011-2014)
  • Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Board of Directors, Member-at-Large (2014-2020)
  • ASLO Awards Committee Chair (2015-2019)
  • Associate Editor, Limnology and Oceanography (2015-2019)
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2018-present)

Academic Service

  • Graduate student Research Advisor (University of Colorado-Boulder: Geological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering)
  • Graduate Thesis Committee Member (University of Colorado-Boulder; Florida State University; Northern Arizona University; University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  • PhD Opponent (Stockholm University, Sweden; Uppsala University, Sweden)
  • PhD External Examiner (Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada)
  • Postdoctoral Research Advisor (USGS Mendenhall Program; Marie Sklodovska Curie European Union Global Research Fellow Program)

 

Professional Experience

  • Research Ecologist, USGS (2001-present)

  • Biologist, USGS (1993-2001)

Education and Certifications

  • PhD (Geological Sciences), University of Colorado-Boulder (2006)

  • MA (Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology), University of Colorado-Boulder (1997)

  • BA (Zoology), Miami University, Ohio (1992)

Honors and Awards

  • Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Fellow (2017): For excellence in contributions to ASLO and the aquatic sciences.

  • US Department of Interior Unit Award for Excellence of Service (2017): Awarded to the USGS LandCarbon Team for work on biological carbon sequestration.

  • USGS Superior Service Award (2014): For work as a Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands.

  • US Department of Interior Partners in Conservation Award (2010): For cooperative work in association with the Indigenous Tribes/First Nations of the Yukon River Basin.

Science and Products

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Filter Total Items: 68

Negligible cycling of terrestrial carbon in many lakes of the arid circumpolar landscape

High-latitude environments store nearly half of the planet’s below-ground organic carbon (OC), mostly in perennially frozen permafrost soils. Climatic changes drive increased export of terrestrial OC into many aquatic networks, yet the role that circumpolar lakes play in mineralizing this carbon is unclear. Here we directly evaluate ecosystem-scale OC cycling for lakes of interior Alaska. This ari
Authors
Matthew J. Bogard, Catherine D. Kuhn, Sarah Ellen Johnston, Robert G. Striegl, Gordon W. Holtgrieve, Mark M. Dornblaser, Robert G. M. Spencer, Kimberly P. Wickland, David E. Butman
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Terrestrial wetlands

1. The assessment of terrestrial wetland carbon stocks has improved greatly since the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (CCSP 2007) because of recent national inventories and the development of a U.S. soils database. Terrestrial wetlands in North America encompass an estimated 2.2 million km2, which constitutes about 37% of the global wetland area, with a soil and vegetation carbon pool of ab
Authors
Randall Kolka, Carl Trettin, Wenwu Tang, Ken W. Krauss, Sheel Bansal, Judith Z. Drexler, Kimberly P. Wickland, Rodney A. Chimner, Dianna M. Hogan, Emily J. Pindilli, Brian Benscoter, Brian Tangen, Evan S. Kane, Scott D. Bridgham, Curtis J. Richardson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ice wedge degradation and stabilization impacts water budgets and nutrient cycling in Arctic trough ponds

Trough ponds are ubiquitous features of Arctic landscapes and an important component of freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Permafrost thaw causes ground subsidence, creating depressions that gather water, creating ponds. Permafrost thaw also releases solutes and nutrients, which may fertilize these newly formed ponds. We measured water budget elements and chloride, ammonium, and dissolved organic nitr
Authors
Joshua C. Koch, M. Torre Jorgenson, Kimberly P. Wickland, Mikhail Z. Kanevskiy, Robert G. Striegl
By
Alaska Science Center

Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen release from boreal Holocene permafrost and seasonally frozen soils of Alaska

Permafrost (perennially frozen) soils store vast amounts of organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) that are vulnerable to mobilization as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic and inorganic nitrogen (DON, DIN) upon thaw. Such releases will affect the biogeochemistry of permafrost regions, yet little is known about the chemical composition and source variability of active-layer (seasona
Authors
Kimberly P. Wickland, Mark P. Waldrop, George R. Aiken, Joshua C. Koch, M. Torre Jorgenson, Robert G. Striegl
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program

Permafrost stores a globally significant amount of mercury

Changing climate in northern regions is causing permafrost to thaw with major implications for the global mercury (Hg) cycle. We estimated Hg in permafrost regions based on in situ measurements of sediment total mercury (STHg), soil organic carbon (SOC), and the Hg to carbon ratio (RHgC) combined with maps of soil carbon. We measured a median STHg of 43 ± 30 ng Hg g soil−1 and a median RHgC of 1.6
Authors
Paul F. Schuster, Kevin Schaefer, George R. Aiken, Ronald C. Antweiler, John F. DeWild, Joshua D. Gryziec, Alessio Gusmeroli, Gustaf Hugelius, Elchin E. Jafarov, David P. Krabbenhoft, Lin Liu, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Cuicui Mu, David A. Roth, Tim Schaefer, Robert G. Striegl, Kimberly P. Wickland, Tingjun Zhang
By
Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

Biological and land use controls on the isotopic composition of aquatic carbon in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

Riverine ecosystems receive organic matter (OM) from terrestrial sources, internally produce new OM, and biogeochemically cycle and modify organic and inorganic carbon. Major gaps remain in the understanding of the relationships between carbon sources and processing in river systems. Here we synthesize isotopic, elemental, and molecular properties of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate org
Authors
Britta Voss, Kimberly P. Wickland, George R. Aiken, Robert G. Striegl

Methane emissions from oceans, coasts, and freshwater habitats: New perspectives and feedbacks on climate

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and atmospheric concentrations have risen 2.5 times since the beginning of the Industrial age. While much of this increase is attributed to anthropogenic sources, natural sources, which contribute between 35% and 50% of global methane emissions, are thought to have a role in the atmospheric methane increase, in part due to human influences. Methane emissions f
Authors
Leila J. Hamdan, Kimberly P. Wickland

Potential carbon emissions dominated by carbon dioxide from thawed permafrost soils

Increasing temperatures in northern high latitudes are causing permafrost to thaw, making large amounts of previously frozen organic matter vulnerable to microbial decomposition. Permafrost thaw also creates a fragmented landscape of drier and wetter soil conditions that determine the amount and form (carbon dioxide (CO2), or methane (CH4)) of carbon (C) released to the atmosphere. The rate and fo
Authors
Christina Schädel, Martin K.-F. Bader, Edward A.G. Schuur, Christina Biasi, Rosvel Bracho, Petr Čapek, Sarah De Baets, Kateřina Diáková, Jessica Ernakovich, Cristian Estop-Aragones, David E. Graham, Iain P. Hartley, Colleen M. Iversen, Evan S. Kane, Christian Knoblauch, Massimo Lupascu, Pertti J. Martikainen, Susan M. Natali, Richard J. Norby, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, Taniya Roy Chowdhury, Hana Šantrůčková, Gaius Shaver, Victoria L. Sloan, Claire C. Treat, Merritt R. Turetsky, Mark P. Waldrop, Kimberly P. Wickland
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire: an expert assessment

As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets.
Authors
Benjamin W. Abbott, Jeremy B. Jones, Edward A.G. Schuur, III F.S. Chapin, William B. Bowden, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Howard E. Epstein, Michael D. Flannigan, Tamara K. Harms, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Michelle C. Mack, A. David McGuire, Susan M. Natali, Adrian V. Rocha, Suzanne E. Tank, Merrit R. Turetsky, Jorien E. Vonk, Kimberly P. Wickland, George R. Aiken

Surface-air mercury fluxes across Western North America: A synthesis of spatial trends and controlling variables

Mercury (Hg) emission and deposition can occur to and from soils, and are an important component of the global atmospheric Hg budget. This paper focuses on synthesizing existing surface-air Hg flux data collected throughout the Western North American region and is part of a series of geographically focused Hg synthesis projects. A database of existing Hg flux data collected using the dynamic flux
Authors
Chris S. Eckley, Michael T. Tate, Che-Jen Lin, Mae S. Gustin, Stephen Dent, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Michelle A. Lutz, Kimberly Wickland, Bronwen Wang, John E. Gray, Grant Edwards, David P. Krabbenhoft, David B. Smith
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

Reviews and syntheses: Effects of permafrost thaw on Arctic aquatic ecosystems

The Arctic is a water-rich region, with freshwater systems covering about 16 % of the northern permafrost landscape. Permafrost thaw creates new freshwater ecosystems, while at the same time modifying the existing lakes, streams, and rivers that are impacted by thaw. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge regarding how permafrost thaw affects lentic (still) and lotic (moving) systems, ex
Authors
J.E. Vonk, S.E. Tank, W.B. Bowden, I. Laurion, W.F. Vincent, P. Alekseychik, Y. Amyot, M.F. Billet, J. Canario, R.M. Cory, B.N. Deshpande, M. Helbig, M. Jammet, J. Karlsson, J. Larouche, G. MacMillan, Milla Rautio, K.M. Walter Anthony, Kimberly P. Wickland

Biodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in permafrost soils and aquatic systems: a meta-analysis

As Arctic regions warm and frozen soils thaw, the large organic carbon pool stored in permafrost becomes increasingly vulnerable to decomposition or transport. The transfer of newly mobilized carbon to the atmosphere and its potential influence upon climate change will largely depend on the degradability of carbon delivered to aquatic ecosystems. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a key regulator o
Authors
Jorien E. Vonk, Suzanne E. Tank, Paul J. Mann, Robert G.M. Spencer, Claire C. Treat, Robert G. Striegl, Benjamin W. Abbott, Kimberly P. Wickland

Science and Products

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  • Publications
    Filter Total Items: 68

    Negligible cycling of terrestrial carbon in many lakes of the arid circumpolar landscape

    High-latitude environments store nearly half of the planet’s below-ground organic carbon (OC), mostly in perennially frozen permafrost soils. Climatic changes drive increased export of terrestrial OC into many aquatic networks, yet the role that circumpolar lakes play in mineralizing this carbon is unclear. Here we directly evaluate ecosystem-scale OC cycling for lakes of interior Alaska. This ari
    Authors
    Matthew J. Bogard, Catherine D. Kuhn, Sarah Ellen Johnston, Robert G. Striegl, Gordon W. Holtgrieve, Mark M. Dornblaser, Robert G. M. Spencer, Kimberly P. Wickland, David E. Butman
    By
    Water Resources Mission Area

    Terrestrial wetlands

    1. The assessment of terrestrial wetland carbon stocks has improved greatly since the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (CCSP 2007) because of recent national inventories and the development of a U.S. soils database. Terrestrial wetlands in North America encompass an estimated 2.2 million km2, which constitutes about 37% of the global wetland area, with a soil and vegetation carbon pool of ab
    Authors
    Randall Kolka, Carl Trettin, Wenwu Tang, Ken W. Krauss, Sheel Bansal, Judith Z. Drexler, Kimberly P. Wickland, Rodney A. Chimner, Dianna M. Hogan, Emily J. Pindilli, Brian Benscoter, Brian Tangen, Evan S. Kane, Scott D. Bridgham, Curtis J. Richardson
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

    Ice wedge degradation and stabilization impacts water budgets and nutrient cycling in Arctic trough ponds

    Trough ponds are ubiquitous features of Arctic landscapes and an important component of freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Permafrost thaw causes ground subsidence, creating depressions that gather water, creating ponds. Permafrost thaw also releases solutes and nutrients, which may fertilize these newly formed ponds. We measured water budget elements and chloride, ammonium, and dissolved organic nitr
    Authors
    Joshua C. Koch, M. Torre Jorgenson, Kimberly P. Wickland, Mikhail Z. Kanevskiy, Robert G. Striegl
    By
    Alaska Science Center

    Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen release from boreal Holocene permafrost and seasonally frozen soils of Alaska

    Permafrost (perennially frozen) soils store vast amounts of organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) that are vulnerable to mobilization as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic and inorganic nitrogen (DON, DIN) upon thaw. Such releases will affect the biogeochemistry of permafrost regions, yet little is known about the chemical composition and source variability of active-layer (seasona
    Authors
    Kimberly P. Wickland, Mark P. Waldrop, George R. Aiken, Joshua C. Koch, M. Torre Jorgenson, Robert G. Striegl
    By
    Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program

    Permafrost stores a globally significant amount of mercury

    Changing climate in northern regions is causing permafrost to thaw with major implications for the global mercury (Hg) cycle. We estimated Hg in permafrost regions based on in situ measurements of sediment total mercury (STHg), soil organic carbon (SOC), and the Hg to carbon ratio (RHgC) combined with maps of soil carbon. We measured a median STHg of 43 ± 30 ng Hg g soil−1 and a median RHgC of 1.6
    Authors
    Paul F. Schuster, Kevin Schaefer, George R. Aiken, Ronald C. Antweiler, John F. DeWild, Joshua D. Gryziec, Alessio Gusmeroli, Gustaf Hugelius, Elchin E. Jafarov, David P. Krabbenhoft, Lin Liu, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Cuicui Mu, David A. Roth, Tim Schaefer, Robert G. Striegl, Kimberly P. Wickland, Tingjun Zhang
    By
    Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

    Biological and land use controls on the isotopic composition of aquatic carbon in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

    Riverine ecosystems receive organic matter (OM) from terrestrial sources, internally produce new OM, and biogeochemically cycle and modify organic and inorganic carbon. Major gaps remain in the understanding of the relationships between carbon sources and processing in river systems. Here we synthesize isotopic, elemental, and molecular properties of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate org
    Authors
    Britta Voss, Kimberly P. Wickland, George R. Aiken, Robert G. Striegl

    Methane emissions from oceans, coasts, and freshwater habitats: New perspectives and feedbacks on climate

    Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and atmospheric concentrations have risen 2.5 times since the beginning of the Industrial age. While much of this increase is attributed to anthropogenic sources, natural sources, which contribute between 35% and 50% of global methane emissions, are thought to have a role in the atmospheric methane increase, in part due to human influences. Methane emissions f
    Authors
    Leila J. Hamdan, Kimberly P. Wickland

    Potential carbon emissions dominated by carbon dioxide from thawed permafrost soils

    Increasing temperatures in northern high latitudes are causing permafrost to thaw, making large amounts of previously frozen organic matter vulnerable to microbial decomposition. Permafrost thaw also creates a fragmented landscape of drier and wetter soil conditions that determine the amount and form (carbon dioxide (CO2), or methane (CH4)) of carbon (C) released to the atmosphere. The rate and fo
    Authors
    Christina Schädel, Martin K.-F. Bader, Edward A.G. Schuur, Christina Biasi, Rosvel Bracho, Petr Čapek, Sarah De Baets, Kateřina Diáková, Jessica Ernakovich, Cristian Estop-Aragones, David E. Graham, Iain P. Hartley, Colleen M. Iversen, Evan S. Kane, Christian Knoblauch, Massimo Lupascu, Pertti J. Martikainen, Susan M. Natali, Richard J. Norby, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, Taniya Roy Chowdhury, Hana Šantrůčková, Gaius Shaver, Victoria L. Sloan, Claire C. Treat, Merritt R. Turetsky, Mark P. Waldrop, Kimberly P. Wickland
    By
    Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

    Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire: an expert assessment

    As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets.
    Authors
    Benjamin W. Abbott, Jeremy B. Jones, Edward A.G. Schuur, III F.S. Chapin, William B. Bowden, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Howard E. Epstein, Michael D. Flannigan, Tamara K. Harms, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Michelle C. Mack, A. David McGuire, Susan M. Natali, Adrian V. Rocha, Suzanne E. Tank, Merrit R. Turetsky, Jorien E. Vonk, Kimberly P. Wickland, George R. Aiken

    Surface-air mercury fluxes across Western North America: A synthesis of spatial trends and controlling variables

    Mercury (Hg) emission and deposition can occur to and from soils, and are an important component of the global atmospheric Hg budget. This paper focuses on synthesizing existing surface-air Hg flux data collected throughout the Western North American region and is part of a series of geographically focused Hg synthesis projects. A database of existing Hg flux data collected using the dynamic flux
    Authors
    Chris S. Eckley, Michael T. Tate, Che-Jen Lin, Mae S. Gustin, Stephen Dent, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Michelle A. Lutz, Kimberly Wickland, Bronwen Wang, John E. Gray, Grant Edwards, David P. Krabbenhoft, David B. Smith
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

    Reviews and syntheses: Effects of permafrost thaw on Arctic aquatic ecosystems

    The Arctic is a water-rich region, with freshwater systems covering about 16 % of the northern permafrost landscape. Permafrost thaw creates new freshwater ecosystems, while at the same time modifying the existing lakes, streams, and rivers that are impacted by thaw. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge regarding how permafrost thaw affects lentic (still) and lotic (moving) systems, ex
    Authors
    J.E. Vonk, S.E. Tank, W.B. Bowden, I. Laurion, W.F. Vincent, P. Alekseychik, Y. Amyot, M.F. Billet, J. Canario, R.M. Cory, B.N. Deshpande, M. Helbig, M. Jammet, J. Karlsson, J. Larouche, G. MacMillan, Milla Rautio, K.M. Walter Anthony, Kimberly P. Wickland

    Biodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in permafrost soils and aquatic systems: a meta-analysis

    As Arctic regions warm and frozen soils thaw, the large organic carbon pool stored in permafrost becomes increasingly vulnerable to decomposition or transport. The transfer of newly mobilized carbon to the atmosphere and its potential influence upon climate change will largely depend on the degradability of carbon delivered to aquatic ecosystems. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a key regulator o
    Authors
    Jorien E. Vonk, Suzanne E. Tank, Paul J. Mann, Robert G.M. Spencer, Claire C. Treat, Robert G. Striegl, Benjamin W. Abbott, Kimberly P. Wickland