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Melinda Martinez, Ph.D.

Melinda Martinez is a Mendenhall Post-Doctorate/Research Ecologist at USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Lafayette, LA.

Her research focuses on coastal wetland resilience in response to extreme events, including hurricanes, droughts, saltwater intrusion, and freeze events.

RESEARCH

  • Remote Sensing Time Series Analysis

    • Disturbance and Recovery

  • Wetland Methane Emissions

    • Tree-stems (standing dead and live)

    • Soils

    • Bald cypress knees

EDUCATION

Ph.D, Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University

M.S., Environmental Science, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (Harte Research Institute)

B.S., Marine and Freshwater Biology, The University of Texas at Austin (Marine Science Institute)

PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

2021-present, Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana

2017 - 2021, Graduate Student Research Assisstant, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

2016 - 2017, Sr. Laboratory Technician, Florida International University, Miami, Florida

2015, Data Science Intern, E/V Nautilus, Offshore - Gulf of Mexico & California

2013-2015, Graduate Student Research Assisstant, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX

2013, Marine Mammal Observer, RPS Group, Offshore - Gulf of Mexico

 

Science and Products

Non-USGS Publications**

Martinez, M., & Ardón, M. (2021). Drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from standing dead trees in ghost forests. Biogeochemistry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00797-5
Martinez, M., Ardón, M., & Carmichael, M. J. (2022). Identifying Sources and Oxidation of Methane in Standing Dead Trees in Freshwater Forested Wetlands. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenvs.2021.737379
Gundersen, G., Corbett, D. R., Long, A., Martinez, M., & Ardón, M. (2021). Long-Term Sediment, Carbon, and Nitrogen Accumulation Rates in Coastal Wetlands Impacted by Sea Level Rise. Estuaries and Coasts. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-00928-z

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Mangrove distribution in the southeastern United States in 2021

Global climate change is leading to large-scale shifts in species' range limits. For example, rising winter temperatures are shifting the abundance and distributions of tropical, cold sensitive plant species towards higher latitudes. Coastal wetlands provide a prime example of such shifts, with tropical mangrove forests expanding into temperate salt marshes as winter warming alleviates past geogra
By
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Science and Products

  • Publications

    Non-USGS Publications**

    Martinez, M., & Ardón, M. (2021). Drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from standing dead trees in ghost forests. Biogeochemistry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00797-5
    Martinez, M., Ardón, M., & Carmichael, M. J. (2022). Identifying Sources and Oxidation of Methane in Standing Dead Trees in Freshwater Forested Wetlands. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenvs.2021.737379
    Gundersen, G., Corbett, D. R., Long, A., Martinez, M., & Ardón, M. (2021). Long-Term Sediment, Carbon, and Nitrogen Accumulation Rates in Coastal Wetlands Impacted by Sea Level Rise. Estuaries and Coasts. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-00928-z

    **Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

  • Data

    Mangrove distribution in the southeastern United States in 2021

    Global climate change is leading to large-scale shifts in species' range limits. For example, rising winter temperatures are shifting the abundance and distributions of tropical, cold sensitive plant species towards higher latitudes. Coastal wetlands provide a prime example of such shifts, with tropical mangrove forests expanding into temperate salt marshes as winter warming alleviates past geogra
    By
    Wetland and Aquatic Research Center