Turetsky

A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework

Daniel Morton — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:39:52 +0000

A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework Daniel Morton Thu, 07/24/2025 - 13:39

CURRENT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORTS, 2025, 11, 7

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Plant Community Shifts as Early Indicators of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw and Associated Carbon Release in an Interior Alaskan Peatland

Daniel Morton — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:46:11 +0000

Plant Community Shifts as Early Indicators of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw and Associated Carbon Release in an Interior Alaskan Peatland Daniel Morton Tue, 07/22/2025 - 13:46

JGR BIOGEOSCIENCES, 2025, 130, 7, e2024JG008639

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The effects of drought on Sphagnum moss species and the implications for hydrology in peatlands

Daniel Morton — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:20:11 +0000

The effects of drought on Sphagnum moss species and the implications for hydrology in peatlands Daniel Morton Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:20

NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 2025, 247, 5, 2003-2021

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Collaborative Research explores new approaches to the development of bio-plastics

Daniel Morton — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 23:05:55 +0000

Collaborative Research explores new approaches to the development of bio-plastics Daniel Morton Thu, 06/26/2025 - 17:05

Daniel Morton

In an inter-institute collaboration RASEI Fellow Merritt Turetsky teams up with Carson Bruns from ATLAS to explore a productive way to deal with the plastic waste problem. Awarded a CU Boulder 2025 Research & Innovation Seed Grant, the team are excited to get started!

Plastics are a huge problem. Plastic waste can now be found at the bottom of the deepest ocean and on top of the tallest mountains, and the environmental and health impacts are only starting to be understood. In 2024 the world generated an estimated 240 million tons of plastic waste, of which less than 10% was recycled, the rest going to landfill, or worse, polluting the environment. That is the equivalent of 50 million elephants.

One of the key reasons for the difficulty in recycling plastics is that they are made from petroleum and don’t easily breakdown in nature. Plastics can be made from bio-based feedstocks, but adoption has been slow. There are a number of reasons for this, including low stability, cost, and ability to compost. This research from the Bruns and Turretsky team aims to change that. This work, that will be primarily based in Bruns’ Emergent Nanotechnology Lab will be focused on turning agricultural materials into bio-based plastics that are strong enough for their applications, but can be readily recycled, more easily composted, or even used as a fertilizer.

The Turetsky lab specializes in exploring and understanding ecosystems, in particular northern ecosystems, looking at permafrost degradation and how this impacts the environment and communities. What is her team doing investigating polymers? They are more at home looking at boglands and moss!

One of the hurdles in figuring out how well a bio-plastic degrades is getting good conditions for composting. It is hard to characterize the biodegradability of the bio-plastics under accurate conditions. That is where the Turetsky lab plugs in to this project. Working with the Bruns team the Turetsky group are developing systems to more accurately investigate and characterize the biodegradability of the new bio-plastics being developed.

Excited to see the results of this developing collaboration!

June 2025

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Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes

Daniel Morton — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 19:17:52 +0000

Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes Daniel Morton Thu, 06/26/2025 - 13:17

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA, 2025, 17, 6, 2887-2909

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An expert survey on chamber measurement techniques and data handling procedures for methane fluxes

Daniel Morton — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 17:28:11 +0000

An expert survey on chamber measurement techniques and data handling procedures for methane fluxes Daniel Morton Wed, 06/04/2025 - 11:28

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA, 2025, 17, 6, 2331-2372

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The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of Sphagnum moss.

Daniel Morton — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 22:05:53 +0000

The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of Sphagnum moss. Daniel Morton Sun, 06/01/2025 - 16:05

NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 2025, ASAP

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A new habitat map of the Lena Delta in Arctic Siberia based on field and remote sensing datasets

Daniel Morton — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:28:02 +0000

A new habitat map of the Lena Delta in Arctic Siberia based on field and remote sensing datasets Daniel Morton Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:28

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA, 2025, 17, 4, 1707-1730

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The Net GHG Balance and Budget of the Permafrost Region (2000-2020) From Ecosystem Flux Upscaling

Daniel Morton — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 21:59:52 +0000

The Net GHG Balance and Budget of the Permafrost Region (2000-2020) From Ecosystem Flux Upscaling Daniel Morton Thu, 04/03/2025 - 15:59

GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES, 2024, 38, 4, e2023GB007953

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Overwintering fires can occur in both peatlands and upland forests with varying ecological impacts

Daniel Morton — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:33:48 +0000

Overwintering fires can occur in both peatlands and upland forests with varying ecological impacts Daniel Morton Mon, 03/24/2025 - 13:33

NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2025

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