Adrian Wackett

I use an array of geochemical, isotopic, and spectroscopic tools to assess how soils and landscapes respond to disturbances over timescales ranging from days to millennia.

My research investigates how landscapes record and respond to a range of disturbances––from biological invasions to extreme storm events to wildfires––by coupling geochemical, isotopic, and spectroscopic tools. These techniques have allowed me to resolve the molecular architecture of mineral-associated organic matter, show that earthworms have profound but time-dependent impacts on soil carbon storage, and demonstrate that worms seemingly accelerate silicate weathering by 1,000–10,000x. These findings have significant implications for understanding Earth’s carbon cycle over both long and short timescales. My work on burned landscapes suggests soils in the Sierra Nevada felt the impacts of the severe 2021 Caldor fire more than 15 meters below the ground surface! These projects collectively reveal the myriad processes and feedback(s) that underlie landscape responses to diverse disturbances, which will be increasingly critical to inform policy, restoration, and land management strategies as earth surface dynamics continue to shift during the Anthropocene.