Rob Striegl
Biography
Recent Accomplishments
Education
- PhD: University of Wisconsin - Madison; Oceanography and Limnology
- MSc: Univeristy of Illinois - Urbana; Biology / Aquatic Ecology
- BSc: Western Illinois Univeristy - Macomb; Zoology / Botany
Professional Studies/Experience
I am a Research Aquatic Biogeochemist / Hydrologist located in Boulder, Colorado. My research focuses on the role of inland waters in the global carbon cycle and on hydrologic, climatic, and disturbance controls on the biogeochemical cycling, sequestration, transport, and surface-atmosphere exchange of aquatic carbon. Investigations conducted by me and my research group address a broad range of field, laboratory and modeling studies, including the transport of inorganic and organic carbon by surface and subsurface waters; the production, consumption, and atmospheric exchange of carbon dioxide and methane by streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and soils; the effects of climate warming, permafrost thaw, and other disturbances on the carbon cycle of subarctic and boreal regions; and extrapolation of inland waters carbon biogeochemical processes and rates of carbon exchange from site to regional, continental, and global scales. I lead USGS LandCarbon investigations of Ecosystem Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Exchange by Inland Waters of the USA and am also the Principal Investigator of the NASA Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) project "Aquatic Vulnerabilites of Inland Waters and the Aquatic Carbon Cycle to Changing Permafrost and Climate across Boreal North America".
Mentorship/Outreach
Professional societies/affiliations/committees/editorial boards
- Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Group,
- U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program,
- U.S. Global Change Research Program
- Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, American Geophysical Union
Honors, awards, recognition, elected offices
Scientific/Oral Presentations, Abstracts
PUBLICATIONS: 2016-2005:
Butman, D., Stackpoole, S., Stets, E., McDonald, C.P., Clow, D.W., and Striegl, R.G., 2016, Aquatic carbon cycling in the conterminous United States and implications for terrestrial carbon accounting, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, v. 113 (1), pp. 58-63.
Dornblaser, M.M., and Striegl, R.G., 2015, Switching predominance of organic versus inorganic carbon exports from an intermediate-size subarctic watershed, Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1002/2014GL062349.
Drake, T.W., Wickland, K.P., Spencer, R.G.M., McKnight, D.M., and Striegl, R.G., 2015, Ancient low-molecular-weight organic acids in permafrost fuel rapid carbon dioxide production upon thaw, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, V. 112 (45), pp. 13946-13951.
Vonk, J.E., Tank, S.E., Mann, P.J., Spencer, R.G.M., Treat, C.C., Striegl, R.G., Abbott, B.W., amd Wickland, K.P., 2015, Biogedradability of dissolved organic carbon in permafrost soils and aquatic systems: A meta-analysis, Biogeosciences, v. 12 (23), pp.6915-6930.
Jorgenson, M.T., Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Moskalenko, N., Brown, D.R.N., Wickland, K., Striegl, R., and Koch, J., 2015, Role of ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks in recent ice wedge degradation and stabilization, Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, doi: 10.1002/2015JF003602.
Green, C.T., Walvoord, M.A., Andraski, B.J., Striegl, R.G., and Stonestrom, D.A., 2015, Multimodal analysis of anisotropic diffusive tracer-gas transport in a deep arid unsaturated zone, Water Resources Research, doi:10.1002/2014WR016055.
Ewing, S.A., Paces, J.B., O'Donnell, J.A., Jorgenson, M.T., Kenevskiy, M.Z., Aiken, G.R., Shur, Y., Harden, J.W., and Striegl, R., 2015, Uranium isotopes and dissolved organic carbon in loess permafrost: Modeling the age of ancient ice, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, doi:10.1016/gca.2014.11.008.
Crawford, J.T., Dornblaser, M.M., Stanley, E.H., Clow, D.W., and Striegl, R.G., 2015, Source limitation of carbon gas emissions in high-elevation mountain streams and lakes, Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, doi:10.1002/2014JG6002861.
Clow, D.W., Stackpoole, S.M., Verdin, K.L., Butman, D.E., Zhu, Z., Krabbenhoft, D.P., and Striegl, R.G., 2015, Organic carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs of the conterminus United States, Environmental Science and Technology, doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b00373.
Creed, I.F., McKnight, D.M., Pellerin, B.P., Green, M.B., Bergamaschi, B.A., Aiken, G.R., Burns, D.A, Findlay, S.E.G., Shanley, J.B, Striegl, R.G., Aulenbach, B.T., Clow. D.W., Laudon, H., McGlynn, B.L., McGuire, K.J., Smith, R.A., and Stackpoole, S.M., 2015, The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, doi:10.1139/cjfas-2014-0400.
Stackpoole, S., Stets, E., and Striegl, R., 2014, The impact of climate and reservoirs on longitudinal riverine fluxes from two major watersheds in the Central and Intermontane West, Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, doi:10.1002//2013JG002496.
Walvoord, M.A., Andraski, B.J., Green, C.T., Stonestrom, D.A., and Striegl, R.G., 2014, Field-scale sulfur hexafluoride tracer experiment to understand long distance gas transport in the deep unsaturated zone, 2014, Vadose Zone Journal, doi:10.2136/vzj2014.04.0045.
Crawford, J.T., Lottig, N.R., Stanley, E.H., Walker, J.F., Hanson, P.C., Finlay, J.C., and Striegl, R.G., 2014, CO2 and CH4 emissions from streams in a lake-rich landscape: Patterns, controls and regional significance, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi:10.1002/2013GB004661.
Stackpoole, S., Butman, D., Clow, D., McDonald, C., Stets, E., and Striegl, R., 2014, Chapter 5 - Carbon sequestration, transport, and emission from inland aquatic ecosystems in the Eastern United States, in Z. Zhu and Reed, B.C., eds., Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the Eastern United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1804, 204 p.
Aiken, G.R., Spencer, R.G.M., Striegl, R.G., Schuster, P.F., and Raymond, P.A., 2014, Influences of glacier melt and permafrost thaw on the age of dissolved organic carbon in the Yukon River basin, 2014, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi:10.1002/2013GB004764.
Crawford, J.T., Stanley, E.H., Spawn, S.A., Finlay, J.C., Loken, L.C., and Striegl, R.G., 2014, Ebullitive methane emissions from oxygenated wetland streams, Global Change Biology, doi:10.1111/gcb.12614.
Raymond, P.A., Hartmann, J., Lauerwald, R., Sobek, S., McDonald, C., Hoover, M., Butman, D., Striegl, R., Mayorga, E., Humborg, C., Kortelainen, P., Dürr, H., Meybeck, M., Ciais, P., and Guth, P., 2013, Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland water, Nature, doi:10.1038/nature12760.
Jorgenson, M.T., Harden, J., Kanevskiy, M., O'Donnell, J., Wickland, K., Striegl, R., and Koch, J., 2013 Reorganization of vegetation, hydrology and soil carbon after permafrost degradation across heterogeneous boreal landscapes, Environmental Research Letters, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035017.
Koch, J.C., Runkel, R.L., Striegl, R.G., amd McKnight, D.M., 2013, Hydrologic controls on the transport and cycling of carbon and nitrogen in a boreal catchment underlain by permafrost, Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, doi://10.1002/jgrg.20058.
Crawford, J.T., Striegl, R.G., Wickland, K.P., Dornblaser, M.M., and Stanley, E.H., 2013, Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from a headwater stream network of interior Alaska, Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, doi://10.1002/jgrg.20034/1.
Burkett, V. R., D.A. Kirtland, I.L. Taylor, J. Belnap, T.M. Cronin, M.D. Dettinger, E.L. Frazier, J.W. Haines, T.R. Loveland, P.C.D. Milly, R. O’Malley, R.S. Thompson, A.G. Maule, G. McMahon, and R.G. Striegl, 2013, U.S. Geological Survey Climate and Land Use Change Science Strategy - A Framework for Understanding and Responding to Global Change, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1383-A, 43 p.
McDonald, C.P., Stets, E.G., Striegl, R.G., and Butman, D., 2013, Inorganic carbon loading as a primary driver of dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations in the lakes and reservoirs of the contiguous United States, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi://10/1002/gbc.20032.
Wickland, K.P., Aiken, G.R., Butler, K., Dornblaser, M.M., Spencer, R.G.M. and Striegl, R.G., 2012, Biodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in the Yukon River and its tributaries: Seasonality and importance of inorganic nitrogen, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, v.26, GB0E03, doi: 10.1029/2012GB004342.
Downing, J.A., Cole, J.J., Duarte, C.M., Middelburg, J.J., Melack, J.M., Prairie, Y.T., Kortelainen, P., Striegl, R.G., McDowell, W.H., and Tranvik, L.J., 2012, Global abundance and size distribution of streams and rivers, Inland Waters, v.2, pp. 229-236, doi: 10.5268/IW-2.4.502.
Kelsey, K.C., Wickland, K.P., Striegl, R.G., and Neff, J.C., 2012, Variation in soil carbon dioxide flux at two spatial scales in a topographically complex boreal forest, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-44.4.457.
Koch. J.C., Ewing, S.A., Striegl, R.G., and McKnight, D.M., 2012, Rapid runoff via shallow throughflow and deeper preferential flow in a boreal catchment underlain by frozen silt (Alaska, USA), Hydrogeology Journal, doi: 10.1007/s10040-012-0934-3.
McDonald, C.P., Rover, J.A., Stets, E.G., and Striegl, R.G., 2012, The regional abundance and size distribution of lakes and reservoirs in the United States and implications for estimates of global lake extent, Limnology and Oceanography, v.57, no.2 597-606.
Stackpoole, S., Butman, D., Clow, D., McDonald, C., Stets, E., and Striegl, R., 2012, Chapter 10 - Baseline carbon sequestration, transport, and emission from inland aquatic ecosystems in the western United States, in Z. Zhu and Reed, B.C., eds., Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the Western United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1797, 192 p.
Stets, E. G., and Striegl, R.G., 2012, Carbon export by rivers draining the coterminous United States, Inland Waters, v.2, pp. 177–184, doi: 10.5268/IW-2.4.510.
Striegl, R.G., Dornblaser, M.M., McDonald, C.P., Rover, J.R., and Stets, E.G., 2012, Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the Yukon River system, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 26, GB0E05, doi: 10.1029/2012GB004306.
Stubbins, A., Hood, E., Raymond, P.A., Aiken, G.R., Sleighter, R.L., Hernes, P.J., Butman, D., Hatcher, P.G., Striegl, R.G., Schuster, P., Abdulla, H.A.N., Vermilyea, A.W., Scott, D.T., and Spencer R.G.M., 2012, Anthropogenic aerosols as a source of ancient dissolved organic matter in glaciers, Nature Geosciences, v. 5, no. 3, p. 198-201, doi:10.1038/NGEO1403.
Tank, S. E., Frey, K.E., Striegl, R.G., Raymond, P.A., Holmes, R.M., McClelland, J.W., and Peterson, B.P., 2012, Landscape-level controls on dissolved carbon flux from diverse catchments of the circumboreal, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, v.26, GB0E02, doi: 10.1029/2012GB004299.
Tank, S. E., Raymond, P.A., Striegl, R.G., Raymond, P.A., McClelland, J.W., Holmes, R.M., Fiske, G.J., and Peterson, B.P., 2012, A land-to-ocean perspective on the magnitude, source and implication of DIC flux from major Arctic Rivers to the Arctic Ocean, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 26, GB4018, doi: 10.1029/2011GB004192.
Frederick, Z.A., Striegl, R.G., and Anderson, S.P., 2011, Annual estimates of water and solute export from 42 tributaries to the Yukon River, Hydrological Processes, doi: 10.1002/hyp.8255.
Grosse, G., Harden, J., Turetsky, M., McGuire, A.D., Camill, P., Tarnocai, C., Frolking, S., Schuur, E., Jorgenson, T., Marchenko, S., Romanovsky, V., Wickland, K., French, N., Waldrop, M., Bourgeau-Chavez, L., and Striegl, R., 2011, Vulnerability of high latitude soil carbon in North America to disturbance, Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, v. 116, G00K06, doi:10.1029/2010JG001507.
Pellerin, B.A., Bergamaschi, B.A., Murdoch, P.S., Downing, B.D., Saraceno, J. F., Aiken, G.R., and Striegl, R.G., 2011, The aquatic real-time monitoring network - in-situ optical sensors for monitoring the Nation’s water quality: U.S. Geological Survey Factsheet 2011-3061.
Riggins, S., Striegl, R., and McHale, M., 2011, A whole ecosystem approach to studying climate change in interior Alaska, EOS, v. 92, n.18, p. 155.
Holmes, R. M., J.W. McClelland, B.J. Peterson, S.E. Tank, E. Bulygina, T.I. Eglinton, V.V. Gordeev, T.Y. Gurtovaya, P.A. Raymond, D.J. Repeta, R. Staples, R.G. Striegl, A.V. Zhulidov, and S.A. Zimov. 2012. Seasonal and annual fluxes of nutrients and organic matter from large rivers to the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas, Estuaries and Coasts, v. 35, no. 2, p. 369-382, doi: 10.1007/s12237-011-9386.
Schuster, P.F., Striegl, R.G., Aiken, G.R., Krabbenhoft, D.P., DeWild, J.F., Butler, K., Kamark, B., and Dornblaser, M., 2011, Mercury export from the Yukon River basin and potential response to a changing climate: Environmental Science & Technology, v. 45, no. 21, p. 9262-9267.
Striegl, R., del Giorgio, P., Karlsson, J., Tranvik, L., and Prairie, Y., 2011, Role of aquatic networks in the boreal carbon cycle, Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, v.20, no.18, p. 36-37.
Zhu, Z., ed., Bergamaschi, B., Bernknopf, R., Clow, D., Dye, D., Faulkner, S., Forney, W., Gleason, R., Hawbaker, T., Liu, J., Liu, S., Prisley, S., Reed, B., Reeves, M., Rollins, M., Sleeter, B., Sohl, T., Stackpoole, S., Stehman, S.,Striegl, R., Wein, A., and Zhu, Z., 2010, A method for assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5233, 187 p.
Stets, E.G., Winter, T.C., Rosenberry, D.O., and Striegl, R.G., 2010, Quantification of surface water and groundwater flows to open- and closed-basin lakes in a headwaters watershed using a descriptive oxygen stable isotope model: Water Resources Research, v. 46, W03515, doi:10.1029/2009WR007793.
Stets, E.G., Striegl, R.G., and Aiken, G.R., 2010, Dissolved organic carbon export and internal cycling in small, headwater lakes: Global Biogeochemical Cycles, v. 24, GB4008, doi:10.1029/2010GB003815.
Spencer, R., Aiken G., Butler, K., Dornblaser M., Striegl R., Hernes, P., 2009, 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, 2009, Geophysical Research Letters, v. 34, L12402, doi:10.1029/2008.
Stets, E. G., Striegl, R.G., Aiken, G.R., Rosenberry, D. O., and Winter, T.C., 2009, Hydrologic support of carbon dioxide flux revealed by whole-lake carbon budgets, J. Geophys. Res., 114, G01008, doi:10.1029/2008JG000783.
Dornblaser, M. M. and Striegl, R.G. 2009, Suspended sediment and carbonate transport in the Yukon River basin, Alaska: Fluxes and potential future responses to climate change: Accepted by Water Resources Research. 45, W06411, doi:10.1029/2008WR007546.
Tranvik, L.J., Downing, J.A., Cotner, J.B., Loiselle, S.A., Striegl, R.G., Ballatore, T.J., Dillon, P., Finlay, K., Fortino, K., Knoll, L.B., Kortelainen, P.L., Kutser,T., Larsen,S., Laurion, I., Leech, D.M., McCallister,S.L., McKnight,D.M., Melack, J.M., Overholt, E., Porter, J.A., Prairie, Y., Renwick, W.H., Roland, F., Sherman, B.S., Schindler, D.W., Sobek, S., Tremblay, A., Vanni, M.J., Verschoor, A.M., von Wachenfeldt, E., and Weyhenmeyer, G.A., 2009, Lakes and reservoirs as regulators of carbon cycling and climate: Limnology and Oceanography, v. 54, no. 6, part 2, 2298-2314.
Riggs, A.C., Stannard, D.I., Maestas, F.B., Karlinger, M.R., and Striegl, R.G., 2009, Soil CO2 flux in the Amargosa Desert, Nevada, during the El Niño 1998 and La Niña 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5061, 25 p.
Walvoord, M.A., Andraski, B.J., Krabbenhoft, D.P., and Striegl, R.G., 2008, Transport of elemental mercury in the unsaturated zone from a waste disposal site in an arid region: Applied Geochemistry, v. 23, p. 572–583, doi: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2007.12.014.
McClelland, J.W., Holmes, R.M., Peterson, B.J., Amon, R., Brabets, T., Cooper, L.,. Gibson, J., Gordeev, V.V., Guay, C.,. Milburn, D., Staples, R., Raymond, P.A., Shiklomanov, I., Striegl, R., Zhulidov, A., and Gurtovaya, T., 2008, Development of a Pan-Arctic Database for River Chemistry: EOS, v. 89, n. 24, p. 217-218.
Downing, J.A., Cole, J. J., Middelburg, J.J., Striegl, R.G., Duarte, C.M., Kortelainen, P., Prairie, Y.T., and Laube, K.A., 2008, Sediment organic carbon burial in agriculturally eutrophic impoundments over the last century: Global Biogeochem. Cycles, v. 22, GB1018, doi:10.1029/2006GB002854.
Spencer, R.G., Aiken, G.R., Wickland, K.P., Striegl, R.G., and Hernes, P.J., 2008, Seasonal and spatial variability in dissolved organic matter quantity and composition from the Yukon River basin, Alaska: Global Biogeochem. Cycles, v. 22, GB4002, doi:10.1029/2008GB003231.
Duarte, C.T., Prairie, Y.T., Montes, C., Cole, J.J., Striegl, R.G. Melack, J., and Downing., J.A., 2008, CO2 emissions from saline lakes: A global estimate of a surprisingly large flux: J. Geophys. Res., v. 113, G04041, doi:10.1029/2007JG000637.
Cole, J., Prairie, Y., Caraco, N., McDowell, W., Tranvik, L., Striegl, R., Duarte, C., Kortelainen, P., Downing, J., Middleburg, J., and Melack, J., 2007, Plumbing the global carbon cycle: Integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget: Ecosystems, doi: 10.1007/s10021-006-9013-8.
Dornblaser, M.M., and Striegl R.G., 2007, Nutrient (N, P) loads and yields at multiple scales and subbasin types in the Yukon River basin, Alaska: Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, doi: 10.1029/2006JG000366.
Raymond, P. A., McClelland, J.W., Holmes, R.M., Zhulidov, A.V., Mull, K., Peterson, B.J., Striegl, R.G.,. Aiken, G.R., and Gurtovaya, T.Y., 2007, Flux and age of dissolved organic carbon exported to the Arctic Ocean: A carbon isotopic study of the five largest arctic rivers: Global Biogeochemical Cycles, v. 21, GB4011, doi: 10.1029/2007GB002934.
Striegl, R.G., Dornblaser, M.M., Aiken, G.R., Wickland, K.P., and Raymond, P.A., 2007, Carbon export and cycling by the Yukon, Tanana, and Porcupine Rivers, Alaska, 2001-2005, Water Resources Research, v. 43, W02411, doi: 10.1029/2006WR005201.
Walvoord, M.A., and Striegl, R.G., 2007, Increased groundwater to stream discharge from permafrost thawing in the Yukon River basin: Potential impacts on lateral export of carbon and nitrogen: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 34, L12402, doi:10.1029/2007GL030216.
Downing, J.A., Prairie, Y.T., Cole, J.J., Duarte, C.M., Tranvik, L.J., Striegl, R.G., McDowell, W.H., Kortelainen, P., Caraco, N.F., Melack, J.M., and Middelburg, J.J., 2006, The global abundance and size distribution of lakes, ponds, and impoundments: Limnology and Oceanography, v. 51, no. 5, p. 2388-2397.
King, S.A., Behnke, S., Slack, K., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Nordstrom, D.K., Burr, M.D., and Striegl, R.G., 2006, Mercury in water and biomass of microbial communities in hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, USA: Applied Geochemistry, v.21, p. 1868-1879.
Striegl, R.G. and Dornblaser, M.M., 2006, Dissolved gases and dissolved inorganic carbon, in Schuster, P.F., ed., 2006, Water and sediment quality in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, during water year 2004: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1258, chapter 6, p. 45-46.
Wickland, K.P., Striegl, R.G., Neff, J.C., and Sachs, T., 2006, Effects of permafrost melting on CO2 and CH4 exchange of a poorly drained black spruce lowland: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 111, G02011, doi: 10.1029/2005JG000099.
Walvoord, M.A., Striegl, R.G., Prudic, D.E., and Stonestrom, D.A., 2005, CO2 dynamics in the Amargosa Desert: Fluxes and isotopic speciation in a deep unsaturated zone: Water Resources Research, v. 41, W02006, doi: 10.1029/2004WR003599.
Striegl, R.G. and Dornblaser, M.M., 2005, Dissolved gases and dissolved inorganic carbon, in Schuster, P.F., ed., Water and sediment quality in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, during water year 2002: U.S. Geological Survey Report 2005-1199, p. 56-57.
Striegl, R.G. and Dornblaser, M.M., 2005, Dissolved gases and dissolved inorganic carbon, in Schuster, P.F., ed., Water and sediment quality in the Yukon River Basin, Alaska, during water year 2003: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1397, p. 49-50.
Striegl, R.G., Aiken, G.R., Dornblaser, M.M., Raymond, P.A., and Wickland, K.P., 2005, A decrease in discharge-normalized DOC export by the Yukon River during summer through autumn: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 32, L21413, doi:10.1029/2005GL024413.
Science and Products
Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP)
The Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP) brings together scientists from the USGS along with students and professors from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and California for a unique study opportunity. This diverse group of scientists research the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at local and watershed scales....
Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)
ABoVE: Vulnerability of inland waters and the aquatic carbon cycle to changing permafrost and climate across boreal northwestern North America.
Carbon released from thawing permafrost may fuel terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems or contribute to greenhouse gas emission, leading to a potential warming feedback and further thaw.
Nome Creek Experimental Watershed
The Nome Creek Experimental Watershed (NCEW) has been the site of multiple studies focused on understanding hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem changes related to permafrost thaw and fire in the boreal forest.
Transport of dissolved organic matter by river networks from mountains to the sea: a re-examination of the role of flow across temporal and spatial scales
The transport of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by rivers is an important component of the global carbon cycle, affects ecosystems and water quality, and reflects biogeochemical and hydrological processes in watersheds. Understanding the fundamental relationships between discharge and DOM concentration and composition reveals important information about watershed flow paths, soil flushing,...
Patterns and isotopic composition of greenhouse gases under ice in lakes of interior Alaska
Arctic and boreal lake greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are an important component of regional carbon (C) budgets. Yet the magnitude and seasonal patterns of lake GHG emissions are poorly constrained, because sampling is limited in these remote landscapes, particularly during winter and shoulder seasons. To better define patterns of under ice GHG...
O'Dwyer, Madeline; Butman, David; Striegl, Robert G.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Kuhn, Catherine D.; Bogard, Matthew J. Satellite and airborne remote sensing of gross primary productivity in boreal Alaskan lakes
In terrestrial and marine ecosystems, remote sensing has been used to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP) for decades, but few applications exist for shallow freshwater ecosystems.Here we show field-based GPP correlates with satellite and airborne lake color across a range of optically and limnologically diverse lakes in interior Alaska. A...
Kuhn, Catherine D.; Bogard, Matthew J.; Johnston, Sarah Ellen; John, Aji; Vermote, Eric; Spencer, Rob; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Striegl, Robert G.; Butman, David Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost
Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that bonds with organic matter and, when converted to methylmercury, is a potent neurotoxicant. Here we estimate potential future releases of Hg from thawing permafrost for low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios using a mechanistic model. By 2200, the high emissions scenario shows annual...
Schaefer, Kevin; Elshorbany, Yasin; Jafarov, Elchin; Schuster, Paul F.; Striegl, Robert G.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Sunderland, Elsie M. Hydrologic connectivity determines dissolved organic matter biogeochemistry in northern high-latitude lakes
Northern high‐latitude lakes are undergoing climate‐induced changes including shifts in their hydrologic connectivity with terrestrial ecosystems. How this will impact dissolved organic matter (DOM) biogeochemistry remains uncertain. We examined the drivers of DOM composition for lakes in the Yukon Flats Basin in Alaska, an arid region of low...
Johnston, Sarah Ellen; Striegl, Robert G.; Bogard, Matthew J.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Butman, David E.; Kellerman, Anne M.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Podgorski, David C.; Spencer, Robert G. M. 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-...
Bogard, Matthew J.; Kuhn, Catherine D.; Johnston, Sarah Ellen; Striegl, Robert G.; Holtgrieve, Gordon W.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; Spencer, Robert G. M.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Butman, David E. Inland waters
1. The total flux of carbon—which includes gaseous emissions, lateral flux, and burial—from inland waters across the conterminous United States (CONUS) and Alaska is 193 teragrams of carbon (Tg C) per year. The dominant pathway for carbon movement out of inland waters is the emission of carbon dioxide gas across water surfaces of streams, rivers,...
Cavallaro, N.; Shrestha, G.; Birdsey, R.; Mayes, M. A.; Najjar, R.G.; Reed, S.C.; Romero-Lankao, P.; Zhu, Z.; Butman, David E.; Striegl, Robert G.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Del Giorgio, Paul; Prairie, Yves; Pilcher, Darren; Raymond, Peter; Paz Pellat, Fernando; Alcocer, Javier 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...
Koch, Joshua C.; Jorgenson, M. Torre; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Kanevskiy, Mikhail Z.; Striegl, Robert G. Assessing historical and projected carbon balance of Alaska: A synthesis of results and policy/management implications
We summarize the results of a recent interagency assessment of land carbon dynamics in Alaska, in which carbon dynamics were estimated for all major terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for the historical period (1950–2009) and a projection period (2010–2099). Between 1950 and 2009, upland and wetland (i.e., terrestrial) ecosystems of the state...
McGuire, A. David; Genet, Hélène; Lyu, Zhou; Pastick, Neal J.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Birdsey, Richard; D'Amore, David; He, Yujie; Rupp, T. Scott; Striegl, Robert G.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhuang, Qianlai; Zhu, Zhiliang 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...
Wickland, Kimberly P.; Waldrop, Mark P.; Aiken, George R.; Koch, Joshua C.; Jorgenson, M. Torre; Striegl, Robert G. 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...
Schuster, Paul F.; Schaefer, Kevin; Aiken, George R.; Antweiler, Ronald C.; DeWild, John F.; Gryziec, Joshua D.; Gusmeroli, Alessio; Hugelius, Gustaf; Jafarov, Elchin E.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Liu, Lin; Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Mu, Cuicui; Roth, David A.; Schaefer, Tim; Striegl, Robert G.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Zhang, Tingjun Size, age, renewal, and discharge of groundwater carbon
Groundwater carbon (C) supply to lakes and streams is important to understanding the role of inland waters in global and regional cycles and in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. We provide new estimates of the size and discharge of the groundwater C pool using data from a broad survey of groundwater C, information on the depth distribution of...
Downing, John A.; Striegl, Robert G. 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...
Voss, Britta; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Aiken, George R.; Striegl, Robert G.