Research

Research Areas

Ecosystem disturbances and coastal carbon cycling

Coastal ecosystems are hotspots of biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling and provide abundant natural resources, yet they experience high levels of pressure from human development and sea-level rise.  We seek to define the resiliency and trajectory of recovery from disturbances of these valuable landscapes by measuring ecosystem functioning as indicated by plant physiological health and ecosystem carbon cycling.  Past work has focused in the mangrove forests of the Florida Everglades and we are currently developing new projects in coastal South Carolina, including an NSF-funded project to understand the impacts of Hurricane Matthew on species recovery after a storm surge mortality event.

Environmental controls on the forest carbon cycle

What do climate scientists and timber companies have in common?  They both want to know what makes trees grow.  We provide that understanding by quantifying the sensitiving of ecosystem productivity (carbon sequestration) to environmental variability (like extreme weather events) using state-of-the-art technology like high frequency sonic anemometers and infrared gas analyzers (i.e. eddy covariance).

New particle (aerosol) formation in the atmosphere

Atmospheric aerosols (particulate matter) are tiny droplets or solid particles suspended in air, and depending on their properties, can have very important influences on weather, climate, visibility and human health.  We are interested in the role forests play in creating these particles, and the potential for two-way interactions between forests and aerosols.  To date our work has focused on aerosol production in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a global hotspot for natural aerosol production, as indicated by the eponymous blue haze, shown above.

Albedo radiative forcing and land surface biophysics

A strong determinant of Earth's equilibrium climate is the albedo, or reflectivity, of the planet.   Since the invention of agriculture humans have modified Earth's albedo and we continue to do so by changing the composition of the atmosphere, the qualities of clouds, and distributions of different land cover types.  Our group seeks to improve our understanding of the processes that control planetary albedo with particular focus on land use and land cover change, including natural disturbances.  We are developing new ways to measure albedo at the landscape scale, to model albedo radiative forcing in climate-relevant ways, and to relate albedo change to other ecosystem services.