I ask questions at the interface of aquatic ecology, socio-ecological systems, and data science. Broadly, my research examines how terrestrial-aquatic linkages moderate ecosystem response to environmental change to inform adaptive management strategies. My research questions are often co-developed with local communities.

Mountain Lakes as Sentinels of Environmental Change

Thermal Structure Phenology in Autumn

Identifying periods of seasonal mixing and stratification is important to understanding lake ecology and biogeochemistry. Despite the ecological significance of lake processes during autumn, our understanding of autumn thermal structure lags behind other seasons. In a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, we 10+ years of high-frequency temperature sensors in 9 mountain lakes to disentangle the climatic and lake-specific drivers of autumn thermal structure in small, dimictic lakes.

Recovery from Acidifcation

Recovery from acidification and climate change have been linked to increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in lakes across the U.S. Our paper in the Water Resources Research special issue on 'Responses to Environmental Change in Aquatic Mountain Ecosystems', we identified region-wide increases in DOC across Maine's mountian lakes. When compared to lower-elevation lakes, mountian lakes exhibited a stronger relationship between sulfate and DOC, which highlights the importance of mountain reference sites.

Northeastern Mountain Ponds as Sentinels of Change

Following up on Gavin et al. 2018, we compiled geochemical data for mountain ponds studied across the northeastern US from the late 1970s and 1980s, during the height of acidification, to 2019, when rapid acceleration in the rate of acidification recovery was occurring alongside intensifying climate change. Our paper published in Atmospheric Environment examines why Northeastern mountain ponds are key study sites for research and monitoring.

Lakes in Arctic Agroecosystems

Quantifying lake metabolism and carbon burial in an agricultural, drought-prone sub-Arctic landscape

I was awarded the NSF-Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvment Grant to use gradients in land- use and hydrologic connectivity in South Greenland to study the implications of abrupt climate change on carbon cycling in a managed, agricultural setting across multiple timescales.

Read more about this research at UMaine News.

Multi-scalar approach towards a holistic understanding of lake level in an

agricultural, sub-Arctic landscape

This work integrates fossil diatom inferred lake level reconstructions, three-dimensional diatom habitat modeling, high-frequency lake level sensors to examine the drivers of lake level across multiple scales.

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