Research at the Barker Lab focuses on understanding biogeochemical processes in alpine and polar ecosystems.  High altitude and latitude environments are experiencing, and are projected to continue to experience, the most profound rates of climate warming on Earth.  

Biogeochemical investigations examine the diverse interactions between biological and geological ecosystem components.  Our current research activities examine how sensitive alpine and polar ecosystems respond to physical, climatic, and hydrologic changes on time scales ranging from days to millions of years.  Three main research themes have evolved from this overall theme.  Please click on the menu to read a description of each project or to see some photos.