Sarah Kintner and Phil Steenstra Successfully Defend Their MS Theses; CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL-DONE!!
john_harrisonSarah Kintner (co-advised by Harrison and Moffett) and Phil Steenstra (co-advised by Harrison and Strigul) both successfully defended their MS theses last Friday (4/5; Big Day!) and were celebrated with now customary “thesis cakes.” A hearty congratulations, thanks, and best wishes to both Sarah and Phil as they move on to new challenges and adventures!!!
New(ish) papers from our group
john_harrisonIn the past few months, our group has published several papers, including:
- a novel demonstration of how redox dynamics and reservoir water level management can interact to affect water quality (See: Deemer and Harrison, 2019, Ecosystems)
- a letter to the editor at Nature, written with IPCC colleagues, responding to a Nature Commentary suggesting that dams should be considered a net benefit to greenhouse gas budgets (See: Harrison et al., 2019, Nature)
- a review of recent efforts to model phosphorus transport through rivers at the global scale (See: Harrison et al., 2019, COSUST)
- an effort to define a roadmap for the development of global lake eutrophication and HAB models (See: Janssen et al., 2019, COSUST)
- a paper laying out the argument for systematic intercomparisons of global nutrient transport models (See: van Vliet et al., 2019, COSUST); for a list of all articles appearing in this COSUST special issue on global modeling of water quality, click here
- and a paper led by graduate students in Harrison’s Watershed Biogeochemistry course, characterizing the geographic distribution and controls of harmful algae blooms in Pacific Northwest Lakes (See: Rose et al., 2019, Lake and Reservoir Management)
Ph.D. Student Sofia D’Ambrosio awarded 2018 WALPA Scholarship
john_harrisonCongratulations to Sofia, who has been awarded a Nancy Weller Scholarship from the Washington State Lake Protection Association (WALPA)! The funds will help support Sofia’s planned work on methane dynamics in lakes and reservoirs.
New Paper Highlights “Mystery Electron Acceptors”
john_harrisonMethane is an important greenhouse gas, and lakes and reservoirs account for roughly 10% of methane flux to the atmosphere globally. The contribution of aquatic sediments to atmospheric methane would be much greater if it were not for methane oxidation, the microbial process whereby methane is converted to CO2, a much more soluble, less potent greenhouse gas. A paper just out in Biogeochemistry by Dan Reed, Bridget Deemer, Sigrid Van Grinsven, and John Harrison, titled Are elusive anaerobic pathways key methane sinks in eutrophic lakes and reservoirs? provides new insight into this critical biogeochemical process. In the paper, Reed et al. show that concentrations of typical inorganic electron acceptors (compounds like oxygen, nitrate, and sulfate) are often insufficient to support observed rates of methane oxidation. To resolve this issue, we postulate that organic matter can serve as an important, though often-ignored, alternative electron acceptor in lakes and reservoirs, fueling high rates of methane oxidation, and urge the broader community to directly test this hypothesis.
Sofia D’Ambrosio wins award for Poster at Research Showcase
john_harrisonPhD student Sofia D’Ambrosio won an award for her poster on methane emissions from reservoirs at the WSU Vancouver Research Showcase. Congratulations Sofia!
Undergraduate Researcher Terryn Mitchell Awarded Summer REU Fellowship
john_harrisonUndergraduate research assistant Terryn Mitchell has been awarded a highly competitive National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates fellowship to work with the Global Change and Watershed Biogeochemistry group this summer. Congraulations Terryn!!
Editorial Board of Biogeochemistry Urges Increased Engagement by Environmental Scientists
john_harrisonIn a recent essay, Biogeochemistry’s editorial board led by Editor in Chief Kate Lajtha strongly urged environmental scientists to engage substantively with the ongoing policy dialogue. WSU School of the Environment’s John Harrison and Marc Kramer are both co-authors of this work.
Harrison to participate in IPCC national inventory guideline development for “flooded lands”
john_harrisonJohn will participate as a U.S. delegate and lead author in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s upcoming effort to update how countries account for their greenhouse gas emissions. Until recently, national greenhouse gas inventories have not included emissions from reservoirs, but recent work from our group and others has shown that this is a substantial oversight. In an effort to correct this, the UN has commissioned a chapter of their revised guidance to the national inventory development process focused on reservoirs. The first meeting for lead authors will occur in Bilbao Spain in June.
Corey Ruder Selected as Luce Scholar
john_harrisonPhD student Corey Ruder has been selected as a 2017-2018 Luce Scholar – Congratulations Corey!