Congratulations to Milo Johnson (Michael Desai Lab) who has successfully defended his PhD and is now officially Dr. Johnson!

Methane is a strong greenhouse gas that plays a key role in Earth’s climate. Anytime we use natural gas, whether we light up our kitchen stove or barbeque, we are using methane.

Only three sources on Earth produce methane naturally: volcanoes, subsurface water-rock interactions, and microbes. Between these three sources, most is generated by microbes, which have deposited hundreds of gigatons of methane into the deep seafloor. At seafloor methane seeps, it percolates upwards toward the open ocean, and microbial communities consume the majority of this...

Read more about Microbes in Ocean Play Important Role in Moderating Earth’s Temperature

Congratulations to PhD candidate, Jacob Suissa, received Honorable Mention for the Donald R. Kaplan Award in Comparative Morphology for his proposal, "Bumps in the node: the effects of vascular architecture on hydraulic integration in fern rhizomes"! Read more about Jacob Suissa Receives Honarable Mention for the Donald R. Kaplan Award in Comparative Morphology

Water availability is essential to terrestrial plants, especially tall canopy trees. Satellite observations at microwave frequencies make it possible to assess total canopy water content and plant stress. However, leaf surface water -- water coming from dew, fog and rainfall -- is often overlooked when interpreting changes in canopy water content. An increasing body of evidence, though, indicates that plants might rely more than originally thought on these nonconventional water sources.

In a recent study in ...

Read more about New Study Finds Leaf Surface Water Contributes to Total Canopy Water Content

Congratulations to Catherine Chamberlain (N. Michele Holbrook Lab) who has successfully defended her PhD and is now officially Dr. Chamberlain!