Aron Stubbins
Professor, Marine and Environmental Sciences
Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Contact
- a.stubbins@northeastern.edu
- Mailstop: 102 HT
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Social Media
Office
- 110D MU
- 617.373.5872
Lab
- 107/108 MU
Research Focus
Environmental chemistry; geochemistry; the carbon cycle; freshwater, coastal and ocean biogeochemistry; feedbacks between natural biogeochemical cycles and climate change; permafrost; black carbon; aquatic microplastics
About
I grew up in Wales and received my PhD in Marine Biogeochemistry from Newcastle University (Newcastle, England). After that I did a postdoc at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) before becoming a professor at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (UGA, Savannah, GA). Finally I moved to Northeastern in 2018. I study the natural carbon cycle, how humans are altering it, and plastics in the environment. I see plastics as a novel component of the carbon cycle as well as potential pollutants.
Education
- PhD, Newcastle University, 2002
Honors & Awards
- Fellow, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Teaching Interests
Earth’s Changing Cycles (ENVR 2200) provides an introduction to how humans have altered Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, including the carbon cycle, nutrient cycles, climate, and the advent of plastics as a global cycle.
Professional Affiliations
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
American Geophysical Union
American Chemical Society
Research Overview
Environmental chemistry; geochemistry; the carbon cycle; freshwater, coastal and ocean biogeochemistry; feedbacks between natural biogeochemical cycles and climate change; permafrost; black carbon; aquatic microplastics
The global cycles of carbon and plastics.
Research into the cycling of natural carbon focusses upon dissolved organic carbon in natural waters from the depths of the ocean to the Tibetan plateau. I have conducted fieldwork in the open ocean, at hydrothermal vents, on glaciers, on the Amazon River, and in the Siberian Arctic. The diversity of research sites is required to develop a coherent understanding of the global cycles of elements, particularly carbon. The focus upon carbon is due its central role in determining global climate, as the building block of life, and the food that fuels natural ecosystems.
Studying plastics is a natural extension of my work on the carbon cycle. Plastics are also formed predominantly from carbon. They are now also everywhere on Earth, including in the air we breathe. To understand the risk plastics pose, we need to understand where they are in the environment and what types of byproducts are formed when the degrade.
Selected Research Projects
- Evaluating Patterns and Controls on Microplastic Accumulation in Floodplains
- – co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- CBET: The Role of Sunlight in Determining the Fate and Microbial Impact of Microplastics in Surface Waters
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems
- Constraining the Source of Oceanic Dissolved Black Carbon Using Compound-Specific Stable Carbon Isotopes
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- RAPID: Extreme Water use Patterns and their Impact on the Microbial and Chemical Ecology of Drinking Water
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Full list of publications: Google Scholar
- , , , , Plastics in the Earth system, Science, 373 (6550), 51-55. DOI: 10.1126/science.abb0354.
- Van Stan, J. T. and Stubbins, A. (2018) Tree‐DOM: Dissolved organic matter in throughfall and stemflow. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 3: 199-214. doi:10.1002/lol2.10059.
- S. Wagner, J. Brandes, R.G. Spencer, K. Ma, S.Z. Rosengard, J.M.S. Moura, A. Stubbins (2019) Isotopic Composition of Oceanic Dissolved Black Carbon Reveals Non-Riverine Source, Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-8. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13111-7.
- Stubbins, A. (2016) A carbon for every nitrogen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1612995113.
- Moran, M. A., E. B. Kujawinski, A. Stubbins, R. Fatland and 13 others (2016) Deciphering Ocean Carbon in a Changing World. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1514645113.
- Hawkes, J. A., P. E. Rossel, A. Stubbins, D. Butterfield, D. P. Connelly, E. P. Achterberg, A. Koschinsky, V. Chavagnac, C. Hansen, W. Bach, T. Dittmar (2015) Efficient removal of recalcitrant deep-ocean dissolved organic matter during hydrothermal circulation. Nature Geoscience. doi:10.1038/ngeo2543.
- Jaffé, R., Ding, Y., Niggemann, J., Vähätalo, A.V., Stubbins, A., Spencer, R.G.M., Campbell, J., Dittmar, T. (2013) Global charcoal mobilization from soils via dissolution and riverine transport to the oceans. Science. doi: 1126/science.1231476.
- Stubbins, A., Hood, E., Raymond, P.A., Aiken, G.R., Sleighter, R.L., Hernes, P.J., Butman, D., Hatcher, P.G., Striegl, R.G., Schuster, P., Abdulla, H.A.N., Vermilyea, A.W., Scott, D.T., and Spencer, R.G.M. (2012) Anthropogenic aerosols as a source of ancient dissolved organic matter in glaciers. Nature Geoscience. doi: 10.1038/NGEO1403.
Jul 14, 2022
Investigating the Accumulation of Microplastics in the Environment
MES/CEE Assistant Professor Samuel Munoz, CEE Professor Edward Beighley, and MES/COS/CEE Professor Aron Stubbins were awarded a $530K NSF grant for “Evaluating Patterns and Controls on Microplastic Accumulation in Floodplains.”
Apr 28, 2022
FY23 TIER 1 Award Recipients
Congratulations to the 15 COE faculty and affiliates who were recipients of FY23 TIER 1 Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grants for 13 different projects.
Apr 26, 2022
Exploring the Dangers of Microplastics
MES/CEE Assistant Professor Samuel Munoz and MES/COS/CEE Professor Aron Stubbins are exploring how microplastics are accumulating in areas such as floodplains. Microplastics are everywhere, but their dangers largely remain a mystery, experts say Main photo: Samuel Munoz, Northeastern professor of marine and environmental sciences and civil and environmental engineering. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University They […]
Feb 04, 2022
Announcing Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.
Dec 23, 2021
COE Professors Selected in Stanford University List of Top 2% Scientists Worldwide
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2 percent of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above. The list below includes […]
Sep 23, 2021
Tracking How Black Carbon is Getting in the Oceans
MES/COS/CEE Professor Aron Stubbins is researching how black carbon is making its way to the depths of the oceans. Is wildfire soot leaving a mark on the world’s oceans? Main Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images When clouds of smoke and ash billow out over the ocean, stretching away from the wildfires that are their source, […]
Jul 22, 2021
Assessing the Plastic-Carbon Concentrations at the Ocean’s Surface
MES/COS/CEE Associate Professor Aron Stubbins is leading a $300K NSF EAGER grant, in collaboration with Jason Guo from the Barnett Institute, Kara Lavender Law from the Sea Education Association, and Valier Galy from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, for “Assessing the contribution of plastics to marine particulate organic carbon.”
Jul 07, 2021
Stubbins and Munoz Published in Science for Plastics in the Earth System
A research paper, titled, “Plastics in the Earth System” by Associate Professor Aron Stubbins, MES/COS/CEE, and Assistant Professor Samuel E. Muñoz, MES/CEE, was published in the journal Science.
May 04, 2021
Engaging Research from the Start
Curiosity and engagement are top traits of high-potential talented students. To tap into and nurture this excitement, the College of Engineering introduced an innovative program in Fall 2020: Undergraduate Program for Leaders In Future Transformation (UPLIFT). UPLIFT Scholars are paired with a faculty mentor and work in their mentor’s lab conducting research starting their first semester of their first year of study at Northeastern.
May 18, 2020
Effects of COVID-19 on Water Supply Usage
CEE Assistant Professor Ameet Pinto, MES/COS/CEE Associate Professor Aron Stubbins, and CEE Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper were awarded a $200K NSF RAPID grant for “Extreme water use patterns and their impact on the microbial and chemical ecology of drinking water.”