Global Change and Watershed Biogeochemistry LabSample Photo

John Harrison Ph.D.

Room 230B, Engineering and Life Sciences Building
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Washington State University, Vancouver Campus
Vancouver, WA 98686
Phone: (360) 546-9210
Fax: (360) 546-9064
email: harrisoj@vancouver.wsu.edu

 

 

Curriculum Vitae (pdf format)

 

Research Interests

Due largely to human activities associated with food and energy production, the world is experiencing an un-precedented mobilization of bio-active nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). A substantial portion of mobilized N and P flows into streams and rivers, and eventually down to coastal waters, where nutrient over-enrichment has been associated with a host of environmental impacts, including increased frequency and severity of low-oxygen events, increased frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms (e.g. red and brown tides), and loss of biodiversity. En route to the ocean, these nutrients can strongly impact ecosystem function and can also affect the balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

In my research I use experimental, remote sensing, and modeling approaches to elucidate processes governing the mobilization, transport, transformation and ecosystem/biogeochemical impacts of land-based N and P. Current and past projects focus on regional nutrient and greenhouse gas dynamics in the Mexico's Yaqui Valley and in California's Central Valley. I also work at the global scale, and have developed spatially explicit, global models of nutrient and organic matter export as part of a UNESCO-IOC-funded research project called Global Nutrient Export from Watersheds (Global NEWS). In addition to these projects, I am currently working to develop a research focus on the biogeochemistry of Pacific Northwest watersheds.

Selected Recent Publications

  1. Harrison, J.A., R. Maranger, R.B. Alexander, J. Cornwell, A. Giblin, P.-A. Jacinthe, E. Mayorga, S.P. Seitzinger, and W. Wollheim (In Revision) Controls and significance of N retention in lakes and reservoirs. Biogeochemistry.
  2. Glibert, P., et al. (J.A. Harrison 30th of 55 authors) (In Press) Fertilizing the tropical or subtropical oceans with urea will not reduce greenhouse gases and should not be conducted to gain carbon offsets. Marine Pollution Bulletin.
  3. Ahrens T., M.Beman, J. A. Harrison, P.Jewett, P.Matson (In Press) Nitrogen transformations and transfers from land to the sea in the Yaqui Valley agricultural region. Water Resources Research.
  4. Ahrens, T., J.A. Harrison, J.M. Beman, P.A. Matson, P. Jewett, and I. Ortiz-Monasterio (In Press) Nitrogen in the Yaqui Valley: Sources, Transfers, and Consequences, Chapter 6 in The Yaqui Valley as a Template for Interdisciplinary Research, P.A. Matson, R. Naylor, and W.P. Falcon, Eds., NRC Press, Washington D.C.
  5. Wolheim, W.M., C.J. Vorosmarty, A.F. Bouwman, P. Green, J.A. Harrison, M. Meybeck, B.J. Peterson, S.P. Seitzinger, and J.P. Syvitski (In Press) A spatially distributed framework for aquatic modeling of the Earth system (FrAMES). Global Biogeochemical Cycles.
  6. Chow, A., R.A. Dahlgren, J. Harrison (2007) Watershed sources of disinfection byproduct precursors in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, California. Environmental Science & Technology, 41(22), 8645-7652. (pdf).
  7. Liu, K.-K., S. Seitzinger, E. Mayorga, J. Harrison, and V. Ittekkot (In Press) Fluxes of nutrients and selected organic pollutants carried by rivers, Chapter 8 in: E. Urban & S. Greenwood (Eds.) PACKMEDS - Dynamics and vulnerability of semi-enclosed marine systems: the integrated effects of changes in sediment and nutrient input from land. Scientific Committee on Progress in the Environment (SCOPE), New York.
  8. Seitzinger, S. P. and J. A. Harrison, (In Press) Sources and Delivery of Nitrogen to Coastal Systems, Chapter 8 in Nitrogen in the Marine Environment, 2nd edition. D. Capone, D.A. Bronk, M. R. Mullholland, E. Carpenter Eds., Academic Press, New York (pdf).
  9. Seitzinger, S. P., J. A. Harrison, J. K. Bohlke, A. F. Bouwman, R. Lowrance, B. J. Peterson, C. Tobias, and G. Van Drecht (2006) Denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes: a synthesis, Ecological Applications, 16, (6), 2064–2090 (pdf).
  10. Glibert, P. M., J. A. Harrison, C. Heil and S. P. Seitzinger (2006) Escalating worldwide use of urea: a global change contributing to coastal eutrophication, Biogeochemistry, doi:10.1007/S10533-3070-0, 1-23 (pdf).