Recent Faculty Research Highlights Interactions between Humans and our Environment
Professors Kimberly Van Meter and Gavin McNicol are both interested in exploring the environment and impacts related to climate change and/or human interactions . Their recent publications highlight important regions of study, including wetlands and coastal regions.
As co-author, Professor Van Meter's recent publication in Nature, "Maximizing US nitrate removal through wetland protection and restoration" investigates fertilizer use and agricultural runoff producing water pollution, specifically nitrate hotspots in groundwater, rivers, and coastal areas. The research authors used National Wetland Inventory data to explore trends throughout the U.S. and found possible solutions to the high levels of nitrate through wetland protections and restoration.
You can read more about Professor Van Meter's work:
- Nature, Maximizing US nitrate removal through wetland protection and restoration
- ScienceInsider, Targeting U.S. wetland restoration could make cleaning up water much cheaper
- UIC News, Restoring wetlands near farms would dramatically reduce water pollution
As part of a collaborative team, Professor Gavin McNicol also recently published "Climate-Mediated Changes to Linked Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems across the Northeast Pacific Coastal temperate Rainforest Margin" in BioScience. The paper focuses on examining coastal regions and how the transport of water, nutrients, and other materials from land-to-sea influences marine ecosystems and how those regions will be further impacted by global climate change. In particular, these coastal regions are of interest as climate changes because of their unknown potential as carbon source or sink.
You can read more about Professor McNicol's work:
- BioScience, Climate-Mediated Changes Linked to Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems across the Northeast Pacific Coastal temperate Rainforest Margin
- UIC News, What climate-driven changes await coastal temperate rainforest ecosystems?