Research Interests
Follow the links and Recent News section below to explore research projects in which I have been involved or work that I find particularly interesting. Please see below for links to publications.
Permafrost CarbonThe Arctic is characterized by permafrost, in which perennially frozen ground stores vast amounts of ice, minerals, and carbon. As climate change intensifies permafrost thaw and land-freshwater linkages, the release and processing of permafrost material can enhance the production and release of the greenhouse gases CO2 and CH4, with significant implications for feedbacks to climate change. Studying these processes is key to the future of our biosphere.
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Arctic MercuryOver thousands of years, large amounts of the toxicant mercury accumulated in permafrost. Modern warming is enhancing thaw and release of permafrost mercury, with significant implications for aquatic ecosystems. Superimposed on these thaw effects, changes in human polluting activities have significantly altered northern mercury cycling in recent decades. Constraining the effects of direct human perturbation to mercury cycling and changes due to permafrost thaw are both critical for understanding potential future trajectories of mercury cycling and northern ecosystem health.
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Remote Sensing
Forests support life. Mapping forest structure is critical for understanding the influence of environmental and land use change on global carbon stocks and biodiversity.
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Earth Science
Geology rocks. Eruptions at seemingly benign volcanoes can be punctuated by episodes of violent activity. Such was the case at Kilauea Volcano (Hawai'i) in 1790, when a lethal explosive event wiped out a band of nearby warriors. Today, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitors and studies the Hawaiian volcanoes.
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Conservation
Landscape and climate change influence ecosystems and consequently biodiversity. Assessing ecological vulnerability to these stressors is critical for developing management strategies and providing decision support to assist ecological conservation.
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Selected publications (full list on Google Scholar)
Zolkos, S., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Suslova, A., Tank, S.E., McClelland, J.W., Spencer, R.G.M., Shiklomanov, A., Zhulidov, A.V., Gurtovaya, T., Zimov, N., Zimov, S., Mutter, E.A., Kutny, L., Amos, E., Holmes, R.M. (2020). Mercury export from Arctic great rivers. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(7), 4140-4148.
Zolkos, S., Zhulidov, A. V., Gurtovaya, T. Y., Gordeev, V. V., Berdnikov, S., Pavlova, N., Kalko, E. A., Kuklina, Y. A., Zhulidov, D. A., Kosmenko, L. O., Shiklomanov, A. I., Suslova, A., Geyman, B. M., Thackray, C. P., Sunderland, E. M., Tank, S. E., McClelland, J. W., Spencer, R. G. M., Krabbenhoft, D. P., Robarts, R., & Holmes, R. M. (2022). Multidecadal declines in particulate mercury and sediment export from Russian rivers in the pan-Arctic basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(14), e2119857119.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S. E., Kokelj, S. V., Striegl, R. G., Shakil, S., Voigt, C., Sonnentag, O., Quinton, W. L., Schuur, E. A. G., Zona, D., Lafleur, P. M., Sullivan, R. C., Ueyama, M., Billesbach, D., Cook, D., Humphreys, E. R., & Marsh, P. (2022). Permafrost landscape history shapes fluvial chemistry, ecosystem carbon balance, and potential trajectories of future change. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36(9), e2022GB007403.
St. Pierre*, K.A., Zolkos*, S., Shakil*, S., Tank, S., St. Louis, V.L., Kokelj, S.V. (2018). Unprecedented increases in total and methyl mercury concentrations downstreamof permafrost thaw slumps in the western Canadian Arctic. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(24), 14099-14109. *Co-lead
Zolkos, S., MacDonald, E., Hung, J. K., Schade, J. D., Ludwig, S., Mann, P. J., Treharne, R., & Natali, S. (2022). Physiographic Controls and Wildfire Effects on Aquatic Biogeochemistry in Tundra of the Yukon‐Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 127(8), e2022JG006891.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S.E., Kokelj, S.V.(2018). Mineral weathering and the permafrost carbon-climate feedback. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(18), 9623-9632.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S. E., Striegl, R. G., Kokelj, S. V., Kokoszka, J., Estop-Aragonés, C., & Olefeldt, D. (2020). Thermokarst amplifies fluvial inorganic carbon cycling and export across watershed scales on the Peel Plateau, Canada. Biogeosciences, 17(20), 5163-5182.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S.E., Striegl, R.G., Kokelj, S.V. (2019). Thermokarst effects on carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in streams on the Peel Plateau (NWT, Canada). Journal of Geophysical Research- Biogeosciences, 124(7), 1781-1798.
Zolkos, S.G., Goetz, S.J., & Dubayah, R. (2013). A meta-analysis of terrestrial aboveground biomass estimation using lidar remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment, 128, 289-298.
Zolkos, S., Zhulidov, A. V., Gurtovaya, T. Y., Gordeev, V. V., Berdnikov, S., Pavlova, N., Kalko, E. A., Kuklina, Y. A., Zhulidov, D. A., Kosmenko, L. O., Shiklomanov, A. I., Suslova, A., Geyman, B. M., Thackray, C. P., Sunderland, E. M., Tank, S. E., McClelland, J. W., Spencer, R. G. M., Krabbenhoft, D. P., Robarts, R., & Holmes, R. M. (2022). Multidecadal declines in particulate mercury and sediment export from Russian rivers in the pan-Arctic basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(14), e2119857119.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S. E., Kokelj, S. V., Striegl, R. G., Shakil, S., Voigt, C., Sonnentag, O., Quinton, W. L., Schuur, E. A. G., Zona, D., Lafleur, P. M., Sullivan, R. C., Ueyama, M., Billesbach, D., Cook, D., Humphreys, E. R., & Marsh, P. (2022). Permafrost landscape history shapes fluvial chemistry, ecosystem carbon balance, and potential trajectories of future change. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36(9), e2022GB007403.
St. Pierre*, K.A., Zolkos*, S., Shakil*, S., Tank, S., St. Louis, V.L., Kokelj, S.V. (2018). Unprecedented increases in total and methyl mercury concentrations downstreamof permafrost thaw slumps in the western Canadian Arctic. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(24), 14099-14109. *Co-lead
Zolkos, S., MacDonald, E., Hung, J. K., Schade, J. D., Ludwig, S., Mann, P. J., Treharne, R., & Natali, S. (2022). Physiographic Controls and Wildfire Effects on Aquatic Biogeochemistry in Tundra of the Yukon‐Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 127(8), e2022JG006891.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S.E., Kokelj, S.V.(2018). Mineral weathering and the permafrost carbon-climate feedback. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(18), 9623-9632.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S. E., Striegl, R. G., Kokelj, S. V., Kokoszka, J., Estop-Aragonés, C., & Olefeldt, D. (2020). Thermokarst amplifies fluvial inorganic carbon cycling and export across watershed scales on the Peel Plateau, Canada. Biogeosciences, 17(20), 5163-5182.
Zolkos, S., Tank, S.E., Striegl, R.G., Kokelj, S.V. (2019). Thermokarst effects on carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in streams on the Peel Plateau (NWT, Canada). Journal of Geophysical Research- Biogeosciences, 124(7), 1781-1798.
Zolkos, S.G., Goetz, S.J., & Dubayah, R. (2013). A meta-analysis of terrestrial aboveground biomass estimation using lidar remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment, 128, 289-298.
Recent News
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