Research interests:

I am interested in role of fog in hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles. Fog is a common meteorological phenomenon, but its importance to ecosystems is rarely considered. My thesis research will try to tease apart the contributions of fog to ecosystem processes through a combination of ecohydrological modelling, lab experiments involving fog machines and fieldwork. Many of my field sites are along the Pacific coast of South America, where simple but natural ecosystems depend partially or entirely on fog-water. These "fog oases" are notable for their high biomass and diversity of epiphytes, mainly lichens, that I think may contribute significantly to fog-related processes at the ecosystem scale, and may provide a model for the much more complex epiphytic communities of montane cloud forests. I am also interested in the collection of fog water for human use and the potential of fog-vegetation restoration as a tool for development in impoverished arid areas of Latin America.

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