Leadership

Dr. Scott Saleska

katherinemorgan — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 18:29:43 +0000

Dr. Scott Saleska katherinemorgan Tue, 09/21/2021 - 11:29

My research focuses on what might be called “biogeochemical ecology,” asking questions about how climate interacts with plant physiology, demography, and ecological processes to influence or control biogeochemical cycling from local to global scales. Just one example of the need for more complete understanding in this area is the lack of species interactions in modern global climate models, even though such interactions can be critically important in controlling ecosystem carbon cycling and hence, feedbacks to climate. Progress has been limited by the difficulty of bridging the gap between local-scale ecological interactions and broader biogeochemical processes. I use multidisciplinary approaches that combine classical techniques of field ecology and forestry with advanced technological methods (e.g., the micrometeorological eddy covariance method, isotopic techniques) and modeling to integrate biogeochemical processes to ecosystem scales.

Dr. Scott Saleska

520-626-1500

Director of Landscape Evolution Observatory Research

saleska@arizona.edu

Saleska Lab Website

Dr. Greg Barron-Gafford

katherinemorgan — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 18:21:45 +0000

Dr. Greg Barron-Gafford katherinemorgan Tue, 09/21/2021 - 11:21

Greg is a Biogeographer, which means his science sits at that exciting nexus of understanding how external forces (like environmental and human factors) and internal characteristics (like leaf biochemistry) determine where species can live and thrive. For the last 8 years, the Barron-Gafford research group has been building the field of 'agrivoltaics' -the concept of co-locating agriculture and photovoltaics (renewable energy from solar panels). We began this work in southern Arizona to study the benefits across the food-energy-water nexus, and over the years have developed a national and international program connecting with researchers in Colorado and Oregon (USA), and in Africa and the Middle East. Helping develop science-based solutions to help people adapt to the increasing pressures that come from a changing climate is a personal and professional goal.

Dr. Greg Barron-Gafford

Director of Food, Water, Energy Research

gregbg@arizona.edu

Barron-Gafford Lab Website

Dr. Katerina Dontsova

katherinemorgan — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 17:53:13 +0000

Dr. Katerina Dontsova katherinemorgan Mon, 09/20/2021 - 10:53

I am a soil scientist with interest in interactions between physical, chemical, and biological processes that take place in the soils. My primary focus is in soil chemistry, including dissolution, precipitation, and sorption reactions in the soils with both basic science applications including critical zone processes, mineral-organic interactions and applied research looking at fate and transport of organic contaminants and nano-particles in soils that is relevant to environmental quality.

My research in Biosphere 2 is focused on weathering processes and carbon cycling under influence of abiotic and biological factors. Specifically, we examine inorganic carbon sequestration during dissolution of basalt covering Landscape Evolution Observatory slopes and formation of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the slopes due to its incongruent weathering. We also study biological weathering, how plants and microorganisms influence rock weathering and soil formation and how products of the weathering are compartmentalized within the ecosystem, as well as effect of climate change on these processes. I lead Biosphere 2 biogeochemistry lab that supports LEO and other Biosphere 2 and University of Arizona projects.

I also serve as a director of the NSF funded the Environmental and Earth Systems Research Experience (REU) for Undergraduates Program at Biosphere 2.

Current Projects

ROCK-PLANT INTERACTIONS DRIVING EARLY SOIL DEVELOPMENT AND LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION. $270,000. Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) & University of Arizona International Research Center (IRC). 09/01/2021-08/31/2025. PIs (Dontsova and Abiven), Co-PIs (Saleska and Dlugosch).
REU SITE: ENVIRONMENTAL AND EARTH SYSTEMS RESEARCH AT BIOSPHERE 2. $868,269. National Science Foundation. 09/01/2021-08/31/2026. PI (Dontsova), Co-PI (Bonine).
INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO QUANTIFYING FATE OF MUNITIONS CONSTITUENTS ON TRAINING RANGES. $970,309. DOD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. 5/1/19-1/31/22. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (Beal, Brusseau, Meixner, Taylor).
Primary succession of plant and microbial life: untangling inter-organismal interactions on a model early-successional landscape. $0 (Access to the JGI facility). Joint Genome Institute. 10/1/2022–9/31/2024. PI (Saleska), Co-PIs (Arnold, Dlugosch, Dontsova, Sengupta, Tfaily), Senior Personnel (Meredith).
Collaborative Research: GCR: Growing a New Science of Landscape Terraformation: The Convergence of Rock, Fluids, and Life to form Complex Ecosystems Across Scales $3,513,801 PI (Saleska) Senior personnel (Dontsova).
Enhanced weathering and soil carbon sequestration in Arizona agricultural systems - towards a scalable climate change solution. $70,929. CALS Innovation Venture Investment Program. 8/1/2022–7/31/2024. PI (Rasmussen), Co-PIs (Dontsova, Fehmi).

Past Projects

A “Local” Remote Sensing capability to enhance the science of Landscape Terraformation at UArizona’s Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) at Biosphere 2. $137,948 2021-12-17 -2022-12-17 PI (Saleska) Co-PIs (Tuller Pauli Arnold Dontsova).
REU SITE: EARTH SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS. $454,770. National Science Foundation. 04/1/17-3/31/22. PI (Dontsova), Co-PI (Bonine).
Stabilization of Organic Carbon by Complexation with Iron Colloids Formed During Biogeochemical Weathering of Basalt. $86,036 (Pacific Northwest National Lab Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory facility use time and technical support). 10/01/17-9/30/18. PI (Chorover), Co-PI (Dontsova).
Collaborative research: Coupled hydrological and geochemical process evolution at the Landscape Evolution Observatory. $486,256. National Science Foundation. 09/1/14-08/31/17. PI (Troch), Co-PIs (Niu, Dontsova, Chorover).
Use of high resolution mass spectrometry to assess the role of molecular structure in organic matter phase partitioning during basalt weathering. $0 (Pacific Northwest National Lab Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory facility use time and technical support). 03/15/17-04/15/17. PI (Chorover), Co-PI (Dontsova).
Abiotic and biologically-driven basalt weathering and C sequestration under changing climate. $0 (ECOTRON IleDeFrance facility use time and technical support). French National Center for Scientific Research (CNSR). 05/01/14-08/31/15. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (van Haren, Barre, Gélabert, Daval, Pavao-Zuckerman, Niu, Meunier).
REU SITE: THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND EARTH SYSTEMS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES PROGRAM AT BIOSPHERE. $405,000 National Science Foundation. 01/01/13 – 4/31/18. PI (Pavao-Zuckerman), Co-PI (Dontsova).
DISSOLUTION OF NTO, DNAN AND INSENSITIVE MUNITIONS FORMULATIONS AND THEIR FATES IN SOILS. $1,350,466. DOD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. 3/1/12-9/01/17. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (Taylor, Brusseau, Pesce-Rodriguez, Simunek).
Acquisition of an instrumentation array to monitor and model land-atmosphere water, carbon and energy fluxes at the hillslope scale in the Biosphere 2 Landscape Evolution Observatory. $188,266. National Science Foundation. 09/1/14-08/31/15. PI (Troch), Co-PIs (Niu, Barron-Gafford, Tuller, van Haren, Dontsova).
ETBC: PLANT-MICROBE-MINERAL INTERACTION AS A DRIVER FOR ROCK WEATHERING AND CHEMICAL DENUDATION. $424,623. National Science Foundation. 08/01/10 – 07/31/13. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (Chorover, Huxman, Maier).
REU Site: Environmental and Earth Systems Research at Biosphere 2. $401,727 National Science Foundation. 01/01/10 – 12/31/12. PI (Pavao-Zuckerman), Co-PI (Dontsova).
Dissolution and transport of propellants in soils. $202,175. Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. 12/16/09 - 11/22/11. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (Huxman, Chorover, Simunek).
Environmental Reactivity and Mobility of Carbon and Metal Nanoparticles in Soils. $370,000. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Quality Technology Program. FY08-FY09. PI (Dontsova).
Perchlorate fate in soils. $120,000. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Quality Technology Program. FY08. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (Chappell, George).
Mechanisms of Sorption and Colloidal Transport of High Explosives in Soils. $700,000. ERDC Basic Research Program. FY06-FY08. PI (Pennington), Co-PIs (Dontsova, Simunek).
PHOTOTRANSFORMATION, SORPTION, TRANSPORT, AND FATE OF MIXTURES OF NTO, DNAN, AND TRADITIONAL EXPLOSIVES AS A FUNCTION OF CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. $735,675. DOD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. 5/1/17-7/16/21. PI (Dontsova), Co-PIs (Taylor, Brusseau, Simunek).

Outreach

Biosphere 2 Summer Research Institute (B2-SRI), an internship program for students from Mexico (2014, 2022).
Biosphere 2 Science Academy (July 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM (June 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)
Arizona Center for STEM teachers (April 2010, March 2011)
Tucson Gear Up Project (March 2011)
MC2 STEM HIGH SCHOOL, CLEVELAND, OHIO (September 2009, March-April 2011)
Biosphere 2/TUSD Teacher Retention Workshop (March 2009)

Degrees

PhD, Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2002
MS, Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1998
Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, National Agricultural University, Kyiv, Ukraine, 1995

Dr. Katerina Dontsova

601-868-0279

Director of Analytical lab

Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Biosphere 2, University of Arizona

dontsova@email.arizona.edu

Dr. Joost van Haren

katherinemorgan — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 17:26:58 +0000

Dr. Joost van Haren katherinemorgan Mon, 09/20/2021 - 10:26

Dr. Joost van Haren is an earth scientist, who conducts his research on ecosystem responses to climate change in the Biosphere 2 rainforest and the rainforests of the Amazon basin. He also has an appointment with the honors college as a professor of practice to teach honors specific course and run the honors internships at Biosphere 2.During the practice of science, we try to better understand how the world around us functions and responds to changes. In the Biosphere 2 rainforest, the research focusses on tropical forest ecosystem and individual plant responses to climate change: increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, increasing temperature, and stronger and more frequent droughts. The research is inherently social in nature, because it is impossible for any human being to fully understand how the world around us functions. For optimal ecosystem research, we also need to understand how we can better communicate and work together.

Dr. Joost van Haren

Director of Rain Forest Research

Assistant Research Professor

jvanhare@arizona.edu

Dr. Diane Thompson

katherinemorgan — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 18:27:16 +0000

Dr. Diane Thompson katherinemorgan Sat, 09/18/2021 - 11:27

Diane Thompson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences and the Director of Marine Research at the Biosphere 2. With a background in Marine Ecology (B.S. and M.S. from Florida Institute of Technology) and Geosciences (PhD, University of Arizona; Postdoctoral Fellow, National Center for Atmospheric Research), Diane applies her interdisciplinary expertise to (1) quantify tropical climate change(s) using corals, lake sediments, and models;(2) assess factors promoting reef resilience to climate change;(3) test novel solutions for reef restoration in the Biosphere 2 to ensure their benefits for generations to come. Her work spans a range of scales from local (e.g., reef-scale circulation) to global (e.g., climate change) and capitalizes on a blend of field and laboratory, observational and modeling, and experimental approaches.

Dr. Diane Thompson

Director of Marine Research

thompsod@arizona.edu

Thompson Lab Website

Kai Staats

katherinemorgan — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 18:12:27 +0000

Kai Staats katherinemorgan Sat, 09/18/2021 - 11:12

Kai is a veteran developer of platforms for research and science education. He was co-founder and CEO of the world-renowned Yellow Dog Linux operating system for ten years. The YDL platform was used extensively in Department of Energy, NASA, and University research across a full spectrum of sciences. Kai designed and developed iConji, an icon-based language for international communication; wrote the machine learning algorithm Karoo GP which has been used at LIGO for classification of glitches and supernovae; and was principal designer of the Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory in Tanzania, the first of its kind in East Africa. At Arizona State University Kai led the development of SIMOC, a research-grade computer simulation and educational interface hosted by National Geographic that enables citizen scientists to explore the complexity of a human habitat on Mars. Now, Kai and his team are constructing SAM, a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed Mars habitat analog with greenhouse, living quarters, airlock, pressure suits, and half acre Mars yard located at the iconic University of Arizona Biosphere 2.

Degrees

BSc: Industrial Design, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Arizona State University
MSc: Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Kai Staats

Research Director of SAM

kstaats@arizona.edu

SAM Website

John Adams

katherinemorgan — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 18:24:06 +0000

John Adams katherinemorgan Sat, 07/17/2021 - 11:24

For two decades, John Adams has helped drive the evolution of Biosphere 2 through positions of progressive responsibility and oversight. Starting in 1995 he lead the terrestrial research initiatives exploring the effect of elevated CO2 on the complex mesocosms of Biosphere 2. Building on his deep knowledge of the facility and its science, Adams became Biosphere 2's Media Coordinator and Public Spokesperson in 1999, fielding inquiries from around the world, building public understanding of the University's groundbreaking earth systems science research and developing its K-12 education programs (Passport to Learning™). Adams' experience and vision filled critical roles throughout that period in several key positions, culminating in his being named Assistant Director of Planning and Facilities, a mantle he held for seven years. In 2014, Adams advanced to his current leadership role of Biosphere 2 Deputy Director. In part, the promotion marked a return to his roots, engaging as a key member of the team that plans and directs all research and related activities inside Biosphere 2 and the surrounding campus.

John Adams

520-621-3955

Deputy Director

Chief Operations Officer

jadamsb2@arizona.edu

Dr. Joaquin Ruiz

katherinemorgan — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 18:07:24 +0000

Dr. Joaquin Ruiz katherinemorgan Sat, 07/17/2021 - 11:07

Joaquin Ruiz received his B.S. (1977) in Geology and Chemistry from the University of Miami and his M.S.(1980) and Ph.D. (1983) in Geology from the University of Michigan. He was Assistant Professor at the University of Miami from 1982 to 1983. In 1983, he joined the University of Arizona Geosciences Department as Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1989 and Professor in 1993, serving as head of the Department of Geosciences from 1995 to 2000. He served as Dean of the College of Science from 2000-2019, Executive Dean of the Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science from 2009-2018, and Vice President for Innovation from 2013-2019. He was appointed Vice President of Global Environmental Futures in 2019 and has served as the Thomas R. Brown Chair and Director of Biosphere 2 since 2013. Dr. Ruiz served as President of the Geological Society of America (2010-2011). He is also a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, and a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Chemical Society, the Geochemical Society, and the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science. He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and was named a National Researcher by the Mexican government in 2010, when he was recognized for his outstanding scientific contributions and efforts to enhance Mexico's scientific and technological capacity through collaborations with the UA and research institutions in Mexico. In 2018, the Mexican Secretary of State named Dr. Ruiz one of forty distinguished Mexican citizens living abroad who have brought distinction to the country. He has served as Secretary of the Volcanology Section of the American Geophysical Union, Councillor of the Geological Society of America, and as a National Science Foundation Panel Member for the Instrumentation and Facilities Program and the Centers for Excellence in Science and Technology Program. He has served as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Science, Geology, Revista, and Geofísica International of the Institute of Geology, UNAM. As a scientist with equal abilities in chemistry and in geology, Dr. Ruiz addresses many first-order problems in the Earth Sciences, such as the development of new isotope systems for studying ore deposits and the tectonic processes involved in the growth and evolution of Mexico. His research team addresses problems ranging from the origins of life to present-day climate change.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Ruiz, please contact Bernadette Olson at bernadettem@arizona.edu.

Dr. Joaquin Ruiz

Director, Biosphere 2

jruiz@arizona.edu