We're excited to have Rebecca Frei join the group! She was awarded a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship by the National Park Foundation, and will be studying rivers and streams in Arctic Alaska impacted by permafrost thaw.
A new study by our group and members of the National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey (link) documents the widespread and sudden shifts in water quality in rivers in Alaska's Brooks Range. The study documents over 75 rivers and streams that have undergone recent changes in water chemistry, attributed to the weathering of sulfide minerals that releases sulfuric acid, iron, and a range of toxic trace metals.
In May 2024 Mark was awarded the prestigious NIEHS predoctoral fellowship that will provide training, networking and professional development opportunities, and 2 years of support for his graduate studies.
Dissolved organic sulfur is an important component of waters, influencing the cycling of many elements. Our recent study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters documents how sunlight selectively photo-oxidizes reduced dissolved organic sulfur (DOS) to inorganic sulfate. The results have implications for the cycling of carbon, sulfur, and trace metals (e.g., mercury) in aquatic environments, and documents a reaction that may be relevant in the atmosphere.
News from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility on research findings from our group. “From Antarctica to California: how water birds detoxify mercury”
