Team
Nick Ward
Email: nickward@u.washington.edu
Educational Background:
Sept 2004-June 2008: University of California San Diego: Environmental Systems(Earth Science) major, Biological Sciences minor.
Research Interests:
River carbon cycling and the fate of terrestrial organic carbon
Biography:
Nick spent his early years in Monterey, California and graduated from UC San Diego in 2008 with a BS in Environmental Systems/Earth Science and a minor in Biological Sciences. He is now pursuing a PhD in Chemical Oceanography at the University of Washington, and is interested in unraveling the role of river systems in the global carbon cycle. Prior to joining the River Systems Research Group, he performed research at both the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). At SIO he spent several years working with Dr. Lihini Aluwihare, studying the relationship between the expression of specific genes involved in nitrogen metabolism in phytoplankton to in situ nitrogen conditions. He spent the summer of 2007 researching the degradation of dissolved organic matter in arctic rivers with Professors Daniel Repeta, Benjamin Van Mooy, Max Holmes, and Tim Eglinton at WHOI. Currently, he is studying the mobilization sequence of nitrogen and carbon species on short time scales to determine the potential effects of watershed nutrient loading on low dissolved O2 concentrations in Hood Canal, a branch of Puget Sound, Washington, USA; results of such local studies can be applied to a global perspective. Future research goals include a comprehensive comparison of riverine carbon cycling across latitudes and biomes to gain a better understanding of how carbon is transported from terrestrial to marine systems and what happens to it along the way. Different approaches in geospatial modeling, geochemistry, and microbiology will be integrated to address unresolved questions about riverine carbon biogeochemistry. What microorganisms drive these carbon fluxes? What biomarkers can be used to trace these processes, and how does prior history (e.g. age, degradation state) of organic matter influence its fate to either CO2 or deposition in the ocean? How are these processes influenced by large scale changes to climate, anthropogenic perturbations, and land use changes?
Current projects:
Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program-storm effects on watershed nutrient loading
