Mark M Dornblaser
Biography
I have been a research chemist with the USGS National Research Program since 1998. My focus is on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in aquatic systems.
Education:
B.A., Environmental Studies, Middlebury College, VT, 1984
M.Sc., Marine Science, State University of New York, Stony Brook, 1986
Science and Products
Switching predominance of organic versus inorganic carbon exports from an intermediate-size subarctic watershed
Hydrologic exports of dissolved inorganic and organic carbon (DIC, DOC) reflect permafrost conditions in arctic and subarctic river basins. DIC yields in particular, increase with decreased permafrost extent. We investigated the influence of permafrost extent on DIC and DOC yield in a tributary of the Yukon River, where the upper watershed has...
Dornblaser, Mark M.; Striegl, Robert G. Using dissolved organic matter age and composition to detect permafrost thaw in boreal watersheds of interior Alaska
Recent warming at high latitudes has accelerated permafrost thaw, which can modify soil carbon dynamics and watershed hydrology. The flux and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils to rivers are sensitive to permafrost configuration and its impact on subsurface hydrology and groundwater discharge. Here, we evaluate the utility of...
O'Donnell, Jonathan A.; Aiken, George R.; Walvoord, Michelle Ann; Raymond, Peter A.; Butler, Kenna D.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Heckman, Katherine Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from a headwater stream network of interior Alaska
Boreal ecosystems store significant quantities of organic carbon (C) that may be vulnerable to degradation as a result of a warming climate. Despite their limited coverage on the landscape, streams play a significant role in the processing, gaseous emission, and downstream export of C, and small streams are thought to be particularly important...
Crawford, John T.; Striegl, Robert G.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Stanley, Emily H. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter export from U.S. rivers
Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluxes and yields from 15 major U.S. rivers draining an assortment of terrestrial biomes are presented. A robust relationship between CDOM and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) loads is established (e.g., a350 versus DOC; r2 = 0.96, p < 0.001). Calculated CDOM yields are also correlated to watershed...
Spencer, Robert G. M.; Aiken, George R.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Butler, Kenna D.; Holmes, R. Max; Fiske, Greg; Mann, Paul J.; Stubbins, Aron Biodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in the Yukon River and its tributaries: Seasonality and importance of inorganic nitrogen
Northern high-latitude rivers transport large amounts of terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) from boreal and arctic ecosystems to coastal areas and oceans. Current knowledge of the biodegradability of DOM in these rivers is limited, particularly for large rivers discharging to the Arctic Ocean. We conducted a seasonally...
Wickland, Kimberly P.; Aiken, George R.; Butler, Kenna D.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; RGM Spencer; Striegl, Robert G. Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the Yukon River system
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions are important, but poorly quantified, components of riverine carbon (C) budgets. This is largely because the data needed for gas flux calculations are sparse and are spatially and temporally variable. Additionally, the importance of C gas emissions relative to lateral C exports is not well known...
Striegl, Robert G.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; McDonald, Cory P.; Rover, Jennifer R.; Stets, Edward G. Suspended sediment and carbonate transport in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska: Fluxes and potential future responses to climate change
Loads and yields of suspended sediment and carbonate were measured and modeled at three locations on the Yukon, Tanana, and Porcupine Rivers in Alaska during water years 2001–2005 (1 October 2000 to 30 September 2005). Annual export of suspended sediment and carbonate upstream from the Yukon Delta averaged 68 Mt a−1 and 387 Gg a−1,...
Dornblaser, Mark M.; Striegl, Robert G. Utilizing chromophoric dissolved organic matter measurements to derive export and reactivity of dissolved organic carbon exported to the Arctic Ocean: A case study of the Yukon River, Alaska
[1] The quality and quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) exported by Arctic rivers is known to vary with hydrology and this exported material plays a fundamental role in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon at high latitudes. We highlight the potential of optical measurements to examine DOM quality across the hydrograph in Arctic rivers...
Spencer, R.G.M.; Aiken, G.R.; Butler, K.D.; Dornblaser, M.M.; Striegl, Robert G.; Hernes, P.J.
Water and Sediment Quality in the Yukon River and its Tributaries Between Atlin, British Columbia, Canada, and Eagle, Alaska, USA, 2004
The Yukon River basin is the fourth largest watershed in North America at 831,400 square kilometers (km2). Approximately 126,000 people live within the basin and depend on the Yukon River and its tributaries for drinking water, commerce, subsistence, and recreational fish and game resources. Climate warming in the Arctic and Subarctic regions...
Halm, Douglas R.; Dornblaser, Mark M. Carbon export and cycling by the Yukon, Tanana, and Porcupine rivers, Alaska, 2001-2005
Loads and yields of dissolved and particulate organic and inorganic carbon (DOC, POC, DIC, PIC) were measured and modeled at three locations on the Yukon River (YR) and on the Tanana and Porcupine rivers (TR, PR) in Alaska during 2001–2005. Total YR carbon export averaged 7.8 Tg C yr−1, 30% as OC and 70% as IC. Total C yields (0.39–1.03 mol C m−2...
Striegl, Robert G.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Aiken, George R.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Raymond, Peter A. Water and sediment quality of the Yukon River and its tributaries, from Eagle to St. Marys, Alaska, 2002-2003
The Yukon River basin is a vast and diverse ecosystem covering more than 330,000 square miles, an area larger than Texas. Approximately 126,000 people live within the basin and depend on the Yukon River and its tributaries for drinking water, commerce, and recreational and subsistence fish and game resources. Much of the Yukon River basin is...
Dornblaser, Mark M.; Halm, Douglas R.