Dr. Merritt Turetsky
Principal Investigator
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Dr. Turetsky has more than 20 years of experience working in boreal and arctic ecosystems. Her work contributes to theoretical predictions of ecosystem structure and function, but it also applies to regulation of carbon in a global change world.
Dr. Turetsky has provided leadership to the Permafrost Carbon Network, NASA's ABoVE campaign, and the Canadian Permafrost Network. She sits on the executive committees of several international research networks, was a AAAS Leshner Science Engagement Fellow, and a USC Wrigley Storymaker. She sits on the National Academies' Polar Research Board.
She is passionate about northern ecosystems and the people who depend on them. Through her research and teaching, she hopes to train the next generation of scientists in the interdisciplinary skills required to tackle ongoing challenges in the north related to food and water security, energy sustainability, carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, and landscape change. She currently serves as the Director for Arctic Security serving the University of Colorado.
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A complete list of papers and publications can be viewed here.
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Postdocs
Dr. Matthias Fuchs
Post-Doctoral Researcher
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Matthias received his PhD from University of Potsdam in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Potsdam, Germany studying soil carbon stocks from thermokarst-affected soils and spent many field seasons in Alaska and Siberia for collecting data and samples from permafrost soils. His most recent work focused on methane fluxes from coastal wetlands in Alaska. He is interested in the environmental impacts of thawing permafrost soils and combines field and laboratory data with GIS analyses.
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Dr. Jason Shabaga
Post-Doctoral Researcher
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Jason has deep experience working in the Boreal forest both as a PhD student at the University of Toronto as well as through post PhD work at the University of Florida where he engaged in work related to the impacts of fire frequency on forest soils. Jason's research focuses on ecosystem ecology and how vegetation and soil characteristics govern aspects of carbon and nitrogen cycling and ultimately fluxes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. As part of our team, he is leading work linking boreal disturbance to structural and ecological changes in forests and peatlands.
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Dr. Emily Stuchiner
Post-Doctoral Researcher
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Emily's interests include biogeochemistry, trace gas emissions, and agroecology systems. She has tremendous expertise in the nitrogen cycle and how microbes cycle nutrients within and between ecosystems. On our team, Emily is leading research on sustainable agricultural development on northern organic soils. Check out more details about Emily and her research on her own website (link here).
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Dr. Alan Gorchov Negron
Post-Doctoral Researcher.
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Alan recently joined our team after defending his PhD on atmospheric methane and soil and gas development from the University of Michigan. During the global pandemic, Alan stumbled into a fascinating connecting between NOx emissions, northern soil warming, and peatland fires. His ideas were recently funded through a National Science Foundation postgraduate fellowship and we can't wait to see where this work takes him. Alan's fellowship also will be collaborative with NOAA scientists located here in Boulder.
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Ph.D. Students
Will Cox
Ph.D. Student
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Will's research is focused on the many varied impacts of permafrost thaw on plant communities in boreal peatlands. Working out of the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research network near Fairbanks, Alaska, he's spent the last few summers tracking changes in plant community composition and greenhouse gas flux rates along a rapidly changing permafrost thaw gradient. He hopes to use these concurrent changes in the surface vegetation community and the subsurface permafrost integrity as an early warning system to identify potential hotspots of current and future thaw.
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​​ William.Cox-2@colorado.edu
Hailey Webb
Ph.D. Student
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Hailey received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Montana State University in 2020 and then worked as a research assistant for the Woodwell Climate Research Center before deciding to pursue a Ph.D. She is interested in the socioecological impacts of abrupt permafrost thaw and the vulnerability of permafrost carbon post-thaw. She enjoys using a combination of field and GIS skills to answer these questions.
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​​ hailey.webb@colorado.edu @ArcticWebb
Future
Thinking about graduate school?
Obtaining a MSc. or Ph.D can be an exciting and challenging step forward in your career. Ideally, prospective students will demonstrate enthusiasm, a background in ecology or relevant field, an understanding of the research method and basic statistics, and the ability to troubleshoot and be a good team member. If you think these qualities describe you, please take the time to read about our research projects and some of our recent publications. Then feel free to contact us by email with a description of your background and research interests.
Students are expected to form novel and independent hypotheses that capitalize on opportunities in the lab. Dr. Turetsky's goal as a mentor is to provide students with the guidance, encouragement and resources to complete this research. Current lab members are working on a wide variety of topics within carbon management and ecosystem ecology, including plant-soil feedbacks, nutrient limitations on plant and microbial productivity, controls on greenhouse gas fluxes, and the effects of disturbances (fire, permafrost thaw, plant invasions) on ecosystem function. We also conduct work related to food and water security.
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Are you an undergrad interested in research?
Mentoring undergraduate students in the research method is an important and valued part of our jobs. We routinely hire undergraduate students as research assistants. There are also opportunities for committed students to develop thesis projects. If you are interested in gaining research experience, please look through the information on this website prior to contacting Dr. Turetsky by email with a description of your coursework, any relevant background, and career interests.
Former
Members of the Turetsky lab are trained broadly in field ecology, statistics, vegetation ID, soil sampling and permafrost characterization. Because we have skills in plants, water, soil, and gas fluxes, scholars from the lab are well placed for a diversity of career options. In addition to pursing science, members of the Turetsky lab are now practicing medicine, law, city planning, journalism, and education.
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Past members of the Turetsky lab include:
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Dr. Catherine Dieleman
Dr. Carolyn Gibson
Dr. Brian Benscoter
Dr. Evan Kane
Dr. Tobi Oke
Dr. Jason Martina
Dr. Kevin Wyatt
Dr. Alison Rober
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