Anne E. Giblin
Interim Director, Ecosystems Center
Senior Scientist
Tel: 508 289-7488 | Fax: 508-457-1548
E-mail: agiblin@mbl.edu
B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1975
Ph.D., Boston University 1982
Links: Full CV
Research Statement
My major research interest has been on the cycling of elements in the environment, especially the biogeochemistry of nitrogen, sulfur, iron, and phosphorus. Much of my work has been focused in soils and sediments where element cycling takes place under different conditions of oxidation and reduction. A major theme of my research has been to examine how sediment processes either ameliorate or augment the effects of anthropogenic inputs of elements to ecosystems. For example, I have worked on topics such as the effects of acid deposition on the sulfur cycle of lakes, the mobility of trace metals in salt marsh sediments, the controls on the availability of phosphorus in tundra soils (Arctic LTER), and the controls of denitrification in marine and lake sediments. Much of my current research is examining how increased nitrogen inputs, hydrologic disturbances, and sea-level rise are altering nitrogen and carbon cycling in estuaries in the Plum Island marsh system (PIE LTER) north of Boston. I am also investigating the controls on nitrogen removal pathways in places ranging from the New England continental shelf to arctic lakes on the north slope of Alaska.
Research Projects
Plum Island Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research (PIE LTER)
I am currently the lead PI of the Plum Island Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research site (PIE LTER). This site, located north of Boston, is an integrated research, education and outreach program with the goal of developing a predictive understanding of the long-term response of watershed, marsh, and estuarine ecosystems to changes in climate, land use and sea level. We work with partners to apply this knowledge to the wise management and development of policy to protect the natural resources of the coastal zone.
Arctic Long Term Ecological Research (ARC LTER)
I work on lake ecosystems within the Arctic LTER on the north slope of Alaska. The goal of the ARC LTER is to understand and predict the effects of environmental change on arctic landscapes, both natural and anthropogenic. We have just completed a long-term fertilization experiment in a pair of lakes and are currently studying their recovery. Also, working collaboratively with scientists at Brown, have advised two students looking a paleoclimate on the north slope using biogeochemical markers as climate proxies in sediment cores. In 2017, I began a new study in collaboration with Phaedra Budy (Utah State University) and Byron Crump (Oregon State) to experimentally warm two arctic lakes to determine how a longer growing season will impact lake primary production and lake food webs (https://arcticlakewarming.weebly.com/).
Other projects include an investigation of how the Macondo Oil spill has impacted salt marshes in the Gulf of Mexico, and a study of nitrogen cycling on the continental shelf.
Selected Recent Publications
Daniels, W.C., G.W. Kling, A.E. Giblin. 2015. Benthic community metabolism in deep and shallow arctic lakes during 13 years of whole-lake fertilization. Limnology and Oceanography 60: 1604-1618.
Forbrich, I. and A.E. Giblin. 2015. Marsh-atmosphere CO2 exchange in a New England salt marsh. J. of Geophysical Research 120:1825-1838.
Hardison, A. K., C.K. Algar, A.E. Giblin, J. Rich. 2015. Influence of organic carbon and nitrate loading on partitioning between dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and N2 production. Geochemica Cosmochemica Acta 164:146-160. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.04.049.
Christopher J. Graves, Elizabeth Makrides, Victor Schmidt, Anne Giblin, Zoe Cardon, David Rand. 2016. Functional responses of salt marsh microbial communities to long-term nutrient enrichment. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 82:2862–2871. doi: 10.1128/AEM.03990-15.
Longo, W.M., S. Theroux, A.E. Giblin, Y. Zheng, J.T. Dillon, Y. Huang. 2016. Temperature Calibration and phylogenetically distinct distributions for freshwater alkenones: Evidence from northern Alaska lakes. Geochemica Cosmochemica Acta 180:177-196.
Bernhard, A.E., R. Sheffer, A.E. Giblin, B.J. Roberts, J. Marton. 2016. Population Dynamics and Community Composition of Ammonia Oxidizers in Salt Marshes after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers of Microbiology. 7:1-13.
Brin, L.D., A.E. Giblin, J.J. Rich. 2016. Similar temperature responses suggest future climate warming will not alter partitioning between denitrification and anammox in temperate marine sediments. Global Change Biology. Doi: 10.1111/gcb.13370.
Giblin, A. E. (2016) Mysteries in the marsh. In: Willig,M.R. and Walker, L.R.(eds) Long-Term Environmental Research: Changing the Nature of Scientists. Oxford University Press
Gough, L. N.D. Bettez, K.A. Slavik, W.B. Bowden, A.E. Giblin, G.W. Kling, J.A. Laundre, G.R. Shaver. (2016). Effects of long-term nutrient additions on artic, tundra, stream and lake ecosystems: Beyond NPP. Oecologia 182: 653-665.
Daniels, W., J.M. Russell, A. E. Giblin; J. M. Welker, E. S. Klein; Yongsong Huang. (2017) Leaf wax hydrogen isotope fractionation from synthesis to sedimentation in the Arctic tundra, North Slope. Geochemica Cosmochima Acta 213:216-236.
