Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Mark P Waldrop, Ph.D.

Mark's research expertise is in soil microbial ecology and biogeochemistry in response to global change phenomenon. He leads a team focused on studies of microbial, chemical, and biophysical controls on carbon cycling in permafrost, boreal, and wetland ecosystems of Alaska as well as forest and grassland ecosystems of the Western U.S. 

Synergistic Activities

USGS Menlo Park Science Advisory Council Member

US Permafrost Association President

Affiliate/Graduate Faculty, University of Alaska Fairbanks & University of Guelph

Bonanza Creek LTER and Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX), Principal Investigator 

International Soil Carbon Network (NSCN) member

Integrated Ecosystem Model data contributor, AK Climate Science Center

Permafrost Research Coordination Network contributor

Environmental Microbiome Project (EMP) member

North American Carbon Program (NACP), affiliated project lead

Professional Experience

  • 2013- current Project Chief, Mechanisms of Soil Carbon Sequestration

  • 2007- current  Research Soil Scientist, USGS, Menlo Park, CA.

  • 2005-2007   Mendenhall Research Fellow, USGS, Menlo Park, CA.

  • 2002-2004   Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Michigan

Education and Certifications

  • 2002-University of California at Berkeley, Ph.D., Soil Science

  • 1997-University of California at Berkeley, M.S., Soil Science

  • 1995-New Mexico State Univ, B.S. Biology/Ecology, and B.S. Soil Science

Science and Products

Below are Mark's related science projects

link
Image: Studying Old Organic Carbon in the Yukon River

Understanding the Impacts of Permafrost Change: Providing Input into the Alaska Integrated Ecosystem Model

Ongoing climate change has the potential to negatively impact Alaska’s ecosystems and the critical services that they provide. These ecosystem services include supplying food and fiber for Alaskan communities, offering opportunities for recreational, cultural, and spiritual activities, and regulating temperature and water flow (runoff, flooding, etc.). Scientists build models to better...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
link

Understanding the Impacts of Permafrost Change: Providing Input into the Alaska Integrated Ecosystem Model

Ongoing climate change has the potential to negatively impact Alaska’s ecosystems and the critical services that they provide. These ecosystem services include supplying food and fiber for Alaskan communities, offering opportunities for recreational, cultural, and spiritual activities, and regulating temperature and water flow (runoff, flooding, etc.). Scientists build models to better understan
Learn More
Filter Total Items: 13

Permafrost greenhouse gas and microbial data from the Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX) 2017 to 2019

These data include permafrost gas concentration data from the Alaska Peatland Experiment at various depths, times, and locations
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Permafrost characterization at the Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX) site: Geophysical and related field data collected from 2018-2020

Geophysical measurements and related field data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX) site in Interior Alaska from 2018 to 2020 to characterize subsurface thermal and hydrologic conditions along a permafrost thaw gradient. The APEX site is managed by the Bonanza Creek LTER (Long Term Ecological Research). In April 2018, seven...
By
Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Flux and Soil Data from the Alaska Peatland Experiment 2014 to 2016

This dataset supports a published study on the effects of permafrost thaw on greenhouse gas fluxes and microbial activities at the Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX), part of the Bonanza Creek LTER, in interior Alaska. The dataset includes autochamber CO2 and CH4 fluxes, net ecosystem exchange, ecosystem respiration, soil temperatures, climate data, microbial qPCR data, soil physical...
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program

Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism Across a Late Pleistocene Permafrost Chronosequence

This data release includes all of the data presented in the peer-reviewed publication "Life at the frozen limit: Microbial Carbon Metabolism Across a Late Pleistocene Permafrost Chronosequence". We collected permafrost from a Pleistocene chronosequence (19 ka to 33 ka) to examine (1) changes in the functional genetic potential of extant microbial communities to metabolize polysaccharides...
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Permafrost Mapping in Two Wetland Systems North of the Tanana River in Interior Alaska 2014

Surface-based 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys were used to investigate the distribution of permafrost at wetland sites on the alluvial plain north of the Tanana River, 20 km southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska, in June and September 2014. The sites contained habitat types characteristic of interior Alaska, including thermokarst bog, forested permafrost plateau, and a rich...
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Batch sorption data, respired CO2, extractable DOC, and Raman spectra collected from an incubation with microbial necromass on feldspar or amorphous aluminum hydroxide

These datasets are from an incubation experiment with a combination of two minerals (feldspar or amorphous aluminum hydroxide), one living species of bacteria (Escherichia coli), and one added form of C (Arthrobacter crystallopoietes necromass). We characterized the sorptive properties of the minerals with batch sorption experiments using four low molecular weight C substrates (glucose...
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
No results found.

Below are Mark's related publication

Filter Total Items: 62

Permafrost microbial communities and functional genes are structured by latitudinal and soil geochemical gradients

Permafrost underlies approximately one quarter of Northern Hemisphere terrestrial surfaces and contains 25–50% of the global soil carbon (C) pool. Permafrost soils and the C stocks within are vulnerable to ongoing and future projected climate warming. The biogeography of microbial communities inhabiting permafrost has not been examined beyond a small number of sites focused on local...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Chris Chabot, Susanne Liebner, Sheila Holmes, Marcía N. Snyder, Martin L. Dillon, S Dudgeon, Thomas A. Douglas, Mary-Catherine Leewis, K.M. Walter Anthony, Jack W. McFarland, Christopher D. Arp, Allen C. Bondurant, Neslihan Taş, Rachel Mackelprang
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Variation in carbon and nitrogen concentrations among peatland categories at the global scale

Peatlands account for 15 to 30% of the world’s soil carbon (C) stock and are important controls over global nitrogen (N) cycles. However, C and N concentrations are known to vary among peatlands contributing to the uncertainty of global C inventories, but there are few global studies that relate peatland classification to peat chemistry. We analyzed 436 peat cores sampled in 24 countries...
Authors
Shaun A. Watmough, Spencer Gilbert-Parkes, Nathan Basiliko, Louis J. Lamit, Erik A. Lilleskov, Roxanne Andersen, Jhon del Aguila-Pasquel, Rebekka E. Artz, Brian W. Benscoter, Werner Borken, Luca Bragazza, Stefani M. Brandt, Suzanna L. Bräuer, Michael A. Carson, Xin Chen, Rodney A. Chimner, Bev R. Clarkson, Alexander R. Cobb, Andrea S. Enriquez, Jenny Farmer, Samantha P. Grover, Charles F. Harvey, Lorna I. Harris, Christina Hazard, Alison Hoyt, John Hribljan, Jyrki Jauhiainen, Sari Juutinen, Evan S. Kane, Klaus-Holger Knorr, Randy K Kolka, Mari Könönen, Anna M. Laine, Tuula Larmola, Patrick A. Levasseur, Carmody K. McCalley, Jim McLaughlin, Tim R. Moore, Nadia Mykytczuk, Anna E. Normand, Virginia Rich, Bryce W. Robinson, Danielle L. Rupp, Jasmine Rutherford, Christopher W. Schadt, Dave S. Smith, Graeme Spiers, Leho Tedersoo, Pham Q. Thu, Carl C. Trettin, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Merritt R. Turetsky, Zuzana Urbanová, Ruth K. Varner, Mark P. Waldrop, Meng Wang, Zheng Q. Wang, Matt Warren, Magdalena M. Wiedermann, Shanay T. Williams, Joseph B. Yavitt, Zhi-Guo Yu, Geoff Zahn
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

The biogeography of relative abundance of soil fungi versus bacteria in surface topsoil

Fungi and bacteria are the two dominant groups of soil microbial communities worldwide. By controlling the turnover of soil organic matter, these organisms directly regulate the exchange of carbon between the soil and the atmosphere. Fundamental differences in the physiology and life history of bacteria and fungi suggest that variation in the biogeography of soil fungal and bacterial...
Authors
Kailiang Yu, Johan van den Hoogen, Zhiqiang Wang, Colin Averill, Devin Routh, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Kate M. Scow, Fei Mo, Mark P. Waldrop, Yuanhe Yang, Weize Tang, Franciska T. de Vries, Richard D. Bardgett, Peter Manning, Felipe Bastida, Sara G. Baer, Elizabeth Bach, Carlos M. García, Qingkui Wang, Linna Ma, Baodong Chen, Xianjing He, Sven Teurlinex, Amber Heijboer, James A. Bradley, Thomas W. Crowther
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Microbiome assembly in thawing permafrost and its feedbacks to climate

The physical and chemical changes that accompany permafrost thaw directly influence the microbial communities that mediate the decomposition of formerly frozen organic matter, leading to uncertainty in permafrost–climate feedbacks. Although changes to microbial metabolism and community structure are documented following thaw, the generality of post-thaw assembly patterns across...
Authors
Jessica G. Ernakovich, Robyn A. Barbato, Virginia Rich, Christina Schadel, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Stacey Doherty, Emily Whalen, Benjamin Abbott, Jiri Barta, Christina Biasi, Chris Chabot, Jenni Hultman, Christian Knoblauch, Maggie Chui Yim Lau Vetter, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Susanne Liebner, Rachel Mackelprang, Tullis Onstott, Andreas Richter, Ursel M. E. Schütte, Henri Siljanen, Neslihan Taş, Ina Timling, Tatiana Vishnivetskaya, Mark P. Waldrop, Matthias Winkel
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

A model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss applied to a Louisiana salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain

The potential for carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands is high due to protection of carbon (C) in flooded soils. However, excessive flooding can result in the conversion of the vegetated wetland to open water. This transition results in the loss of wetland habitat in addition to the potential loss of soil carbon. Thus, in areas experiencing rapid wetland submergence, such as the...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, Camille L. Stagg, Courtney Creamer, Claudia Laurenzano, Eric Ward, Mark P. Waldrop, Melissa Millman Baustian, Tiong Gim Aw, Sergio Merino, Rachel Katherine Villani, Laura Celeste Scott
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Land Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Gulf of America

Mechanisms for retention of low molecular weight organic carbon varies with soil depth at a coastal prairie ecosystem

Though primary sources of carbon (C) to soil are plant inputs (e.g., rhizodeposits), the role of microorganisms as mediators of soil organic carbon (SOC) retention is increasingly recognized. Yet, insufficient knowledge of sub-soil processes complicates attempts to describe microbial-driven C cycling at depth as most studies of microbial-mineral-C interactions focus on surface horizons...
Authors
Jack W. McFarland, Corey Lawrence, Courtney Creamer, Marjorie S. Schulz, Christopher Conaway, Sara E. Peek, Mark P. Waldrop, Sabrina N. Sevilgen, Monica Haw
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Science and Products

Was this page helpful?