Jacqueline Gerson
Cornell University, NY·Earth & Environmental Science
Human activity and global change are changing how chemical elements move from the air to land and then into streams. These changes are especially strong in northern regions.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
Ecology & Evolution
- Topics
trace elements
boreal streams
biogeochemistry
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2028
What they work on
- Quantify long-term trends in streamwater concentrations of 60 trace and ultratrace elements in boreal streams from 1985 to 2023, across decades and across nested catchments.
- Identify the main geochemical and hydrological drivers of changes over time and space in trace element concentrations and flux, the total amount carried by streams, by combining fieldwork and laboratory analysis.
- Use computational modeling to predict how streamwater trace element concentrations and flux will change under different land-cover and altered precipitation scenarios.
More about the research
Trace elements are present only in tiny amounts, and some are essential nutrients while others are toxic to people and wildlife. Even so, little is known about how changing conditions affect where these elements travel. This project studies long-term patterns of trace elements in boreal streams, which drain the cold northern forests. The goal is to understand how shifting environmental processes control the fate and transport of contaminants now and in the future.
Why it matters
Some trace elements reaching northern streams are toxic to people and wildlife, and changing climate and land use may change how much arrives. By finding what drives these patterns and predicting future concentrations, the work could inform how water managers and environmental agencies manage and reduce contaminants in boreal streams. This could help protect drinking water, fisheries and ecosystem health.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Matthew LaFevor
University of Alabama, AL·Earth & Environmental Science
Quantify the spatial distribution and design characteristics of existing water-harvesting earthworks in highland mountain areas using field surveys, mapping and remote sensing analysis.
Catalina Segura
Oregon State University, OR·Earth & Environmental Science·Early-career
Determine how burning of vegetation alone versus vegetation and soil changes snow accumulation, snowmelt, streamflow and underground water storage in burned Willamette National Forest watersheds, using snow surveys, geophysics and soil infiltration tests.
Jay Zarnetske
Michigan State University, MI·Earth & Environmental Science·Early-career
Test assumptions about how dissolved organic carbon (DOC) moves into and out of watersheds across diverse ecoregions and flow conditions, including floods, using data synthesis and new sensor technologies.
The school
Cornell University: 37 labs on PI Pages, $1.6B a year on research, 537 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.