arctic hydroclimate and water isotopes
As a Research Scientist I at INSTAAR, I work with Dr. Bradley Markle to understand Arctic hydroclimate. I develop machine learning models trained on Lagrangian back trajectories (the paths air parcels take through the atmosphere) coupled to water isotope distillation. This work connects atmospheric transport and the processes that change water isotopes to the climate signals we observe in polar environments. My research also spans permafrost methane, drone-based atmospheric sampling, and ice-core records. [Explore my publications and manuscripts in progress](/publications/).
posters
water vapor isotopes
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water" —Loren Eiseley
The isotopic composition of water evolves through phase changes and diffusion processes that each water parcel experiences. These isotopic signatures serve as a record of a water molecule's journey through thermodynamic space. My work focuses on understanding these atmospheric processes, connecting large-scale climate forcings with local effects to build a more complete picture of Earth's hydrological cycle. To study the atmosphere, I collect water vapor with drones. Here is what that looks like:
Water is fundamental everywhere, but some of its most revealing stories are written in ice. On polar ice sheets, snowfall is compressed into layers of ice that preserve a year‑by‑year archive of Earth’s climate, creating one of the largest and most informative reservoirs in the climate system. At the same time, these icy reservoirs are among the fastest changing parts of the planet. The Arctic is warming much more rapidly than the global average, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. This disproportionate warming arises from processes such as the loss of reflective sea ice, changes in heat transfer between the ocean, atmosphere, and land, and feedbacks involving clouds and water vapor. Studying how water is stored and transformed in ice within this rapidly changing region helps reveal both past climate variability and the trajectory of ongoing change.
In a rapidly changing Arctic, how do we study these governing processes? My tool is water isotopes. By measuring the isotopic composition of water, I gain a first line of observational constraints on its history, such as the conditions under which it evaporated, condensed, and fell as precipitation. When these isotope records are combined with traditional meteorological data and physical understanding of the atmosphere, they allow me to uncover new insights into the hydrological cycle and how it is evolving in a warming Arctic.
carbon isotopes of methane
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its carbon isotopes offer a kind of fingerprint that reveals where that methane comes from and how it is transformed in the Earth system. Methane isotopes distinguish emissions from thawing permafrost, wetlands, and other natural or human-driven sources. This isotopic perspective is essential for understanding how the carbon cycle responds to a rapidly warming climate and for anticipating how methane emissions may change in the future.
A core focus of my work is on permafrost regions, where long-frozen carbon is beginning to thaw and fuel methane production in boreal wetlands. Using drone-based sampling systems and advanced laboratory analyses, I collect methane directly from permafrost thaw features and measure both its concentration and carbon-isotopic composition. These measurements improve how global methane inversion models represent permafrost sources, helping to replace crude approximations with process-based constraints grounded in real geochemical data.
My manuscripts in review examine methane carbon isotopes in Arctic thermokarst systems and methane-emission measurements using uncrewed aircraft and laser beams. [See these manuscripts on my publications page](/publications/). My work is motivated by the need for an early warning signal of how Arctic carbon feedbacks will shape our climate trajectory. By treating methane carbon isotopes not just as a tool, but as a central object of study, the goal is to understand what isotopic “signals” boreal landscapes are sending today and how those signals will evolve with continued warming. To find the future of methane, we need to understand its fingerprints.
