Katherine A. Heckman

Title: Research Biologist
Unit: Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences
Address: Northern Research Station
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-397 - 700 East Ave
Livermore, CA 94550
Phone: 925-422-9556
E-mail: Contact Katherine A. Heckman

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Education

• Ph.D. Soil, Water & Environmental Science, University of Arizona
• B.S. Biology & Environmental Science, Drury University

Civic & Professional Affiliations

• Soil Science Society of America
• Association for Women in Soil Science
• Geological Society of America
• American Geophysical Union

Current Research

• I am part of a team who is using radiocarbon to expand our understanding of C cycle ecosystem processes including mechanisms of soil organic matter stabilization and transfer of organic C among different functional pools.
• Currently, I am also finishing up some projects looking at the influence of aggregate stability and abundance on soil organic matter characteristics with an emphasis on the occluded organic matter fraction.

Why is This Important

Radiocarbon dating is a unique and powerful tool for the analysis of ecosystem processes. Incorporation of radiocarbon analyses into a broader range of controlled experiments and field studies stands to vastly improve both our understanding of C cycling processes in ecosystems and the response of those ecosystems to changes in climate conditions.

Future Research

My goal for the immediate future is to provide excellent analysis of radiocarbon samples and interpretation of radiocarbon data for my colleagues in the Forest Service, while entering into collaborative projects with research groups when the opportunity and interest is present.