Laura Lapham

The goal of my research group is to enhance our understanding of methane emissions from aquatic environments.  Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and there is considerable variability in emissions from the natural environment.  The causes for this variabity could be physical, chemical, or biological.  My group uses unique time-series sampling strategies to quantify the spatial and temporal variability in methane fluxes.  We use stable- and radio-carbon isotopes to tease apart sources of methane, with an ultimate goal of understanding the processes that could be affecting this flux.  We work in many environments like the Chesapeake Bay estuary, Arctic Freshwater lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seeps.