Michael Gooseff

About

Michael Gooseff is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research interests include stream-groundwater interactions, contaminant transport and fate, polar earth system responses to climate change, ecosystem processes in polar landscapes, aquatic biogeochemical cycling, and water quality modeling. He has contributed to understanding hydrologic processes in polar environments, particularly in Antarctica, and has been involved in long-term ecological research projects such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR). Dr. Gooseff holds a PhD and MS from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BCE from Georgia Institute of Technology. He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Robert L. Stearns Award, Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and the Penn State Engineering Alumni Association Outstanding Teaching Award. His work integrates hydrology, ecology, and environmental science to address complex questions related to water systems and climate change.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Biology
• Ecology
• Geography
• Geology
• Environmental engineering
• Geomorphology
• Oceanography
• Geophysics
• Chemistry

Selected publications

• Seasonal Subsurface Thaw Dynamics of an Aufeis Feature Inferred From Geophysical Methods

  Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface · 2020 · 45 citations

  Abstract Aufeis are sheets of ice unique to cold regions that originate from repeated flooding and freezing events during the winter. They have hydrological importance associated with summer flows and winter insulation, but little is known about the seasonal dynamics of the unfrozen sediment layer beneath them. This layer may support perennial groundwater flow in regions with otherwise continuous permafrost. For this study, ground penetrating radar (GPR) were collected in September 2016 (maximum…

  DOI

• Cross-Site Comparisons of Dryland Ecosystem Response to Climate Change in the US Long-Term Ecological Research Network

  BioScience · 2021 · 24 citations

  Long-term observations and experiments in diverse drylands reveal how ecosystems and services are responding to climate change. To develop generalities about climate change impacts at dryland sites, we compared broadscale patterns in climate and synthesized primary production responses among the eight terrestrial, nonforested sites of the United States Long-Term Ecological Research (US LTER) Network located in temperate (Southwest and Midwest) and polar (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. All sites…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Response of a Terrestrial Polar Ecosystem to the March 2022 Antarctic Weather Anomaly

  Earth s Future · 2024-07-31 · 15 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Record high temperatures were documented in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, on 18 March 2022, exceeding average temperatures for that day by nearly 30°C. Satellite imagery and stream gage measurements indicate that surface wetting coincided with this warming more than 2 months after peak summer thaw and likely exceeded thresholds for rehydration and activation of resident organisms that typically survive the cold and dry conditions of the polar fall in a freeze‐dried state. This we…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Role of Hyporheic Connectivity in Determining Nitrogen Availability: Insights From an Intermittent Antarctic Stream

  Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences · 2021 · 15 citations

  Abstract Due to widespread manipulation of nitrogen (N), much research has focused on processes controlling the fate of anthropogenic N in streams. Yet, in a variety of oligotrophic systems, N fixed by periphyton is a significant driver of ecosystem metabolism. Due to difficulties partitioning allochthonous and autochthonous sources, there is limited information regarding how the latter is processed. Autochthonous N may be particularly important in alpine, arid, or polar environments. We test th…

  DOI

• The Distribution of Surface Soil Moisture over Space and Time in Eastern Taylor Valley, Antarctica

  Remote Sensing · 2023-06-18 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access

  Available soil moisture is thought to be the limiting factor for most ecosystem processes in the cold polar desert of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica. Previous studies have shown that microfauna throughout the MDVs are capable of biological activity when sufficient soil moisture is available (~2–10% gravimetric water content), but few studies have attempted to quantify the distribution, abundance, and frequency of soil moisture on scales beyond that of traditional field work or loca…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: How do interactions of transport and stoichiometry maximize stream nutrient retention?

  NSF · $309k · 2017–2022

• LTER: Ecosystem Response to Amplified Landscape Connectivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

  NSF · $7.0M · 2017–2025

• Collaborative Research: Spatial and Temporal Influences of Thermokarst Features on Surface Processes in Arctic Landscapes

  NSF · $416k · 2008–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Diane M. McKnight

  University of Colorado Boulder

  129 shared

• Peter T. Doran

  Louisiana State University

  106 shared

• John C. Priscu

  Montana State University

  88 shared

• Maciej K. Obryk

  87 shared

• Sharon Stammerjohn

  University of Colorado Boulder

  73 shared

• A. N. Wlostowski

  University of Colorado Boulder

  70 shared

• Rachael M. Morgan‐Kiss

  Miami University

  67 shared

• Oscar Schofield

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  64 shared

Labs

• Civil, Environmental and Architectural EngineeringPI

Education

• Ph.D.

  University of Colorado Boulder

  2001

• M.S.

  University of Colorado Boulder

  1998

• Other

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  1996

Awards & honors

• Robert L. Stearns Award, CU Boulder Alumni Association, 2022
• Research Development Award, Department of Civil, Environment…
• Fellow of the Geological Society of America, 2017
• Penn State Engineering Alumni Association Outstanding Teachi…
• National Academy of Engineering Frontiers in Engineering Edu…

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• Gregor P. Henzeh-46
• Mark Hernandezh-43