Rob Striegl
Rob Striegl is an Emeritus Research Hydrologist with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
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".
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
Education and Certifications
Education
PhD: University of Wisconsin - Madison; Oceanography and Limnology
MSc: Univeristy of Illinois - Urbana; Biology / Aquatic Ecology
BSc: Western Illinois Univeristy - Macomb; Zoology
Science and Products
Constraining the inferred paleohydrologic evolution of a deep unsaturated zone in the Amargosa Desert
Response to comment on "A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils"
A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils
Changes in the chemistry of lakes and precipitation in high-elevation national parks in the western United States, 1985–1999
Chemistry of selected high-elevation lakes in seven national parks in the western United States
Mercury loading and methylmercury production and cycling in high-altitude lakes from the Western United States
Carbon dioxide partial pressure and 13C content of north temperate and boreal lakes at spring ice melt
Carbon gas exchange at a southern Rocky Mountain wetland, 1996-1998
Soil respiration and photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide by ground-cover plants in four ages of jack pine forest
Loch Vale, Colorado: A Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets Program Site
Chamber measurement of surface-atmosphere trace gas exchange: Numerical evaluation of dependence on soil interfacial layer, and source/sink products
Plants as indicators of focused ground water discharge to a northern Minnesota lake
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 142
Constraining the inferred paleohydrologic evolution of a deep unsaturated zone in the Amargosa Desert
Natural flow regimes in deep unsaturated zones of arid interfluvial environments are rarely in hydraulic equilibrium with near-surface boundary conditions imposed by present-day plant–soil–atmosphere dynamics. Nevertheless, assessments of water resources and contaminant transport require realistic estimates of gas, water, and solute fluxes under past, present, and projected conditions. MultimillenAuthorsMichelle Ann Walvoord, David A. Stonestrom, Brian J. Andraski, Robert G. StrieglResponse to comment on "A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils"
We appreciate the comment by Jackson et al. (1), which underscores two points made in our recent paper (2): (i) that desert subsoil nitrate (NO–3) inventories are spatially highly variable, and thereby warrant substantial measurement efforts to reduce uncertainty in global extrapolations, and (ii) that Chihuahuan Desert subsoil NO–3 inventories tend to be much smaller than inventories in other wesAuthorsMichelle Ann Walvoord, Fred M. Phillips, David A. Stonestrom, R. Dave Evans, Peter C. Hartsough, Brent D. Newman, Robert G. StrieglA reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils
A large reservoir of bioavailable nitrogen (up to ∼104 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare, as nitrate) has been previously overlooked in studies of global nitrogen distribution. The reservoir has been accumulating in subsoil zones of arid regions throughout the Holocene. Consideration of the subsoil reservoir raises estimates of vadose-zone nitrogen inventories by 14 to 71% for warm deserts and ariAuthorsMichelle Ann Walvoord, Fred M. Phillips, David A. Stonestrom, R. Dave Evans, Peter C. Hartsough, Brent D. Newman, Robert G. StrieglChanges in the chemistry of lakes and precipitation in high-elevation national parks in the western United States, 1985–1999
High-elevation lakes in the western United States are sensitive to atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen due to fast hydrologic flushing rates, short growing seasons, an abundance of exposed bedrock, and a lack of well-developed soils. This sensitivity is reflected in the dilute chemistry of the lakes, which was documented in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Western Lake Survey oAuthorsDavid W. Clow, James O. Sickman, Robert G. Striegl, David P. Krabbenhoft, John G. Elliott, Mark M. Dornblaser, David A. Roth, Donald H. CampbellChemistry of selected high-elevation lakes in seven national parks in the western United States
A chemical survey of 69 high-altitude lakes in seven national parks in the western United States was conducted during the fallof 1999; the lakes were previously sampled during the fall of 1985, as part of the Western Lake Survey. Lakes in parks in the Sierra/southern Cascades (Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks) and in the southern RockyMountains (Rocky Mountain NationaAuthorsDavid W. Clow, Robert G. Striegl, Leora Nanus, Alisa Mast, Donald H. Campbell, David P. KrabbenhoftMercury loading and methylmercury production and cycling in high-altitude lakes from the Western United States
Studies worldwide have shown that mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous contaminant, reaching even the most remote environments such as high-altitude lakes via atmospheric pathways. However, very few studies have been conducted to assess Hg contamination levels of these systems. We sampled 90 mid-latitude, high-altitude lakes from seven national parks in the western United States during a four-week periodAuthorsDavid P. Krabbenhoft, Mark L. Olson, John F. DeWild, David W. Clow, Robert G. Striegl, Mark M. Dornblaser, Peter C. Van MetreCarbon dioxide partial pressure and 13C content of north temperate and boreal lakes at spring ice melt
Carbon dioxide (CO2) accumulates under lake ice in winter and degasses to the atmosphere after ice melt. This large springtime CO2 pulse is not typically considered in surface-atmosphere flux estimates, because most field studies have not sampled through ice during late winter. Measured CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) of lake surface water ranged from 8.6 to 4,290 Pa (85-4,230 ??atm) in 234 north tempAuthorsRobert G. Striegl, Pirkko Kortelainen, J. P. Chanton, K.P. Wickland, G.C. Bugna, M. RantakariCarbon gas exchange at a southern Rocky Mountain wetland, 1996-1998
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) exchange between the atmosphere and a subalpine wetland located in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, at 3200 m elevation were measured during 1996-1998. Respiration, net CO2 flux, and CH4 flux were measured using the closed chamber method during snow-free periods and using gas diffusion calculations during snow-covered periods. The ranges of measured flAuthorsK.P. Wickland, Robert G. Striegl, M.A. Mast, D. W. ClowSoil respiration and photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide by ground-cover plants in four ages of jack pine forest
Soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emission (soil respiration), net CO2 exchange after photosynthetic uptake by ground-cover plants, and soil CO2 concentration versus depth below land surface were measured at four ages of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) forest in central Saskatchewan. Soil respiration was smallest at a clear-cut site, largest in an 8-year-old stand, and decreased with stand age in 20-yeaAuthorsRobert G. Striegl, K.P. WicklandLoch Vale, Colorado: A Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets Program Site
No abstract available.AuthorsD. W. Clow, K. Campbell, M.A. Mast, Robert G. Striegl, K.P. Wickland, G.P. IngersollChamber measurement of surface-atmosphere trace gas exchange: Numerical evaluation of dependence on soil interfacial layer, and source/sink products
We employed a three-dimensional finite difference gas diffusion model to simulate the performance of chambers used to measure surface-atmosphere tace gas exchange. We found that systematic errors often result from conventional chamber design and deployment protocols, as well as key assumptions behind the estimation of trace gas exchange rates from observed concentration data. Specifically, our siAuthorsG.L. Hutchinson, G.P. Livingston, R. W. Healy, Robert G. StrieglPlants as indicators of focused ground water discharge to a northern Minnesota lake
Determining the discharge of ground water to Shingobee Lake (66 ha), north-central Minnesota, is complicated by the presence of numerous springs situated adjacent to the lake and in the shallow portion of the lakebed. Springs first had to be located before these areas of more rapid discharge could be quantified. Two methods that rely on the distribution of aquatic plants are useful for locating spAuthorsD. O. Rosenberry, Robert G. Striegl, D.C. Hudson