Contacts

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Principal Investigator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Co-Investigator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Co-Investigator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Co-Investigator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Co-Investigator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Collaborator

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

Core Modeller

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

HQP

My research studies the impact of the winter transition on the soil microbiome. It was historically thought that microbial communities were largely dormant and there was very little microbial activity over winter. This subsequently biased research towards studying the growing seasons. In recent years this assumption has been challenged and warrants further exploration.

The objectives of my research are to quantify and characterize the changes observed in microbial diversity and the accompanying bioenergetics of soil systems through freeze-thaw transitions. To this end, high-throughput sequencing in combination with metabolic assessments and cell counts will be used to characterize microbial diversity and metabolic potential across seasonal timelines. These results will be obtained from sampling of controlled soil column experiments that can dynamically simulate the winter transition and accompanying freeze-thaw cycles.

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

HQP

My research focuses on the role of winter soil processes in affecting soil microbial and geochemical dynamics and on the export of carbon and nutrients to groundwater under changing climate conditions. 

In cold climate regions, increased winter temperatures are expected to increase the frequency of soil freeze-thaw cycles and to alter snow cover conditions. The objectives of my research project are to 1) examine the rates and mechanisms of soil biogeochemical processes under variable freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content conditions and 2) to determine the effects on carbon and nutrient cycling under variable snow cover and winter conditions using laboratory-controlled soil column experiments. 

The insights gained through experimental and modeling activities will yield a better conceptual understanding of winter soil processes and strengthen their representation in coupled biogeochemical-hydrological catchment models. 

Winter Soil Processes Research Team:

My current project investigates the influence of snow cover on soil temperature, soil moisture, and the frequency of soil freeze-thaw cycles. Snow cover can act as an insulator to soil, so it has been hypothesized that reductions in snow cover may result in lower soil temperatures, more extensive soil freezing, and an increased frequency of soil freeze-thaw cycles. The objective of my project is to investigate whether recent soil and meteorological observations in regions of North America with seasonally freezing and thawing ground support these hypotheses.