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Biogeochemist
Margaret Torn is an ecologist at
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory known for her research on carbon cycling, especially with respect to the interactions between soils and the atmosphere.
Torn grew up in Marin county and worked in the family's food business, the Torn Ranch, where they handled nuts and dried fruits. She started college at the
College of Marin before transferring to
University of California, Berkeley .
[1] She earned a B.S. (1984), an M.S. (1990), and a Ph.D. (1994) from the
University of California, Berkeley .
[2] From 1994 until 1998, Torn was a postdoctoral fellow at University of California Irvine and Stanford University. In 1998, she joined the Earth Sciences Division at
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , and was promoted to senior scientist in 2013. Beginning in 2018, she is also an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
[2] In 2015 she received an honorary doctorate from the
University of Zurich .
[3]
In 2017, Torn was named a fellow of the
American Geophysical Union who cited her as follows:
[4]
For fundamental contributions to understanding
soil carbon stabilization and sustained leadership in quantifying feedbacks between the carbon cycle and climate
Torn's research combines observational data and experimental manipulations to examine the impact of changing climate conditions on the carbon cycle, with a focus on the interactions between soils and atmosphere. Torn has experimentally warmed soils and then measured the impact of changing conditions on gas fluxes from the soils.
[5]
[6]
[7] She works on the factors controlling the release of
greenhouse gases from the tundra in the north slope of Alaska,
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11] how climate change impacts the severity of forest fires,
[12] the carbon sequestered in fungi found in soils,
[13] and the decomposition of
black carbon using archived soil samples from Russia.
[14]
[15] One theme in her research is assessing the factors that govern the persistence of organic carbon in soil.
[16]
[17]
[18]
Hicks Pries, Caitlin E.; Castanha, C.; Porras, R. C.; Torn, M. S. (2017-03-31).
"The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming" . Science . 355 (6332): 1420–1423.
Bibcode :
2017Sci...355.1420H .
doi :
10.1126/science.aal1319 .
ISSN
0036-8075 .
PMID
28280251 .
S2CID
206654333 .
Torn, Margaret S.;
Trumbore, Susan E. ; Chadwick, Oliver A.; Vitousek, Peter M.; Hendricks, David M. (September 1997).
"Mineral control of soil organic carbon storage and turnover" . Nature . 389 (6647): 170–173.
Bibcode :
1997Natur.389..170T .
doi :
10.1038/38260 .
ISSN
1476-4687 .
S2CID
4408395 .
Schmidt, Michael W. I.; Torn, Margaret S.; Abiven, Samuel; Dittmar, Thorsten; Guggenberger, Georg; Janssens, Ivan A.; Kleber, Markus; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid; Lehmann, Johannes; Manning, David A. C.; Nannipieri, Paolo; Rasse, Daniel P.; Weiner, Steve; Trumbore, Susan E. (October 2011).
"Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property" . Nature . 478 (7367): 49–56.
Bibcode :
2011Natur.478...49S .
doi :
10.1038/nature10386 .
ISSN
1476-4687 .
PMID
21979045 .
S2CID
3461265 .
^
The Carbon Cycle with Margaret Torn , October 13, 2011, retrieved 2021-07-28
^
a
b
"Margaret S. Torn" . Earth and Environmental Sciences Area . Retrieved 28 July 2021 .
^
"Margaret Torn Receives Honorary Doctorate" . Earth and Environmental Sciences Area . 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
^
a
b
"Torn" . Honors Program . Retrieved 23 July 2021 .
^ Harte, John; Torn, Margaret S.; Chang, Fang-Ru; Feifarek, Brian; Kinzig, Ann P.; Shaw, Rebecca; Shen, Karin (1995).
"Global Warming and Soil Microclimate: Results from a Meadow-Warming Experiment" . Ecological Applications . 5 (1): 132–150.
Bibcode :
1995EcoAp...5..132H .
doi :
10.2307/1942058 .
ISSN
1939-5582 .
JSTOR
1942058 .
^ Saleska, Scott R.; Harte, JohN; Torn, Margaret S. (1999).
"The effect of experimental ecosystem warming on CO2 fluxes in a montane meadow" . Global Change Biology . 5 (2): 125–141.
Bibcode :
1999GCBio...5..125S .
doi :
10.1046/j.1365-2486.1999.00216.x .
ISSN
1365-2486 .
S2CID
56231360 .
^ Hicks Pries, Caitlin E.; Castanha, C.; Porras, R. C.; Torn, M. S. (2017-03-31).
"The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming" . Science . 355 (6332): 1420–1423.
Bibcode :
2017Sci...355.1420H .
doi :
10.1126/science.aal1319 .
ISSN
0036-8075 .
PMID
28280251 .
S2CID
206654333 .
^ Torn, Margaret Susan; Chapin, F.Stuart (1993-01-01).
"Environmental and biotic controls over methane flux from Arctic tundra" . Chemosphere . 26 (1–4): 357–368.
Bibcode :
1993Chmsp..26..357T .
doi :
10.1016/0045-6535(93)90431-4 .
ISSN
0045-6535 .
^ Wainwright, Haruko M.; Dafflon, Baptiste; Smith, Lydia J.; Hahn, Melanie S.; Curtis, John B.; Wu, Yuxin; Ulrich, Craig; Peterson, John E.; Torn, Margaret S.; Hubbard, Susan S. (2015).
"Identifying multiscale zonation and assessing the relative importance of polygon geomorphology on carbon fluxes in an Arctic tundra ecosystem" . Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences . 120 (4): 788–808.
Bibcode :
2015JGRG..120..788W .
doi :
10.1002/2014JG002799 .
ISSN
2169-8961 .
^ Vaughn, Lydia J. S.; Conrad, Mark E.; Bill, Markus; Torn, Margaret S. (2016).
"Isotopic insights into methane production, oxidation, and emissions in Arctic polygon tundra" . Global Change Biology . 22 (10): 3487–3502.
Bibcode :
2016GCBio..22.3487V .
doi :
10.1111/gcb.13281 .
ISSN
1365-2486 .
PMID
26990225 .
S2CID
36418786 .
^ Huber, Jennifer (September 12, 2013).
"The Great Escape: How Soil Protects Us from Carbon Emissions" . KQED . Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
^ Fried, Jeremy S.; Torn, Margaret S.; Mills, Evan (2004-05-01).
"The Impact of Climate Change on Wildfire Severity: A Regional Forecast for Northern California" . Climatic Change . 64 (1): 169–191.
doi :
10.1023/B:CLIM.0000024667.89579.ed .
ISSN
1573-1480 .
S2CID
154385611 .
^ Rillig, Matthias C.; Wright, Sara F.; Nichols, Kristine A.; Schmidt, Walter F.; Torn, Margaret S. (2001-06-01).
"Large contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to soil carbon pools in tropical forest soils" . Plant and Soil . 233 (2): 167–177.
doi :
10.1023/A:1010364221169 .
ISSN
1573-5036 .
S2CID
2403693 .
^
"Berkeley Lab: Did You Ever Wonder?" . www2.lbl.gov . Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
^ Torn, Margaret S.; Lapenis, Andrei G.; Timofeev, Anatoly; Fischer, Marc L.; Babikov, Boris V.;
Harden, Jennifer W. (2002).
"Organic carbon and carbon isotopes in modern and 100-year-old-soil archives of the Russian steppe" . Global Change Biology . 8 (10): 941–953.
Bibcode :
2002GCBio...8..941T .
doi :
10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00477.x .
ISSN
1365-2486 .
S2CID
86254812 .
^ Schmidt, Michael W. I.; Torn, Margaret S.; Abiven, Samuel; Dittmar, Thorsten; Guggenberger, Georg; Janssens, Ivan A.; Kleber, Markus; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid; Lehmann, Johannes; Manning, David A. C.; Nannipieri, Paolo (2011).
"Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property" . Nature . 478 (7367): 49–56.
Bibcode :
2011Natur.478...49S .
doi :
10.1038/nature10386 .
ISSN
1476-4687 .
PMID
21979045 .
S2CID
3461265 .
^ Mikutta, Robert; Kleber, Markus; Torn, Margaret S.; Jahn, Reinhold (2006-01-01).
"Stabilization of Soil Organic Matter: Association with Minerals or Chemical Recalcitrance?" . Biogeochemistry . 77 (1): 25–56.
Bibcode :
2006Biogc..77...25M .
doi :
10.1007/s10533-005-0712-6 .
ISSN
1573-515X .
S2CID
96127027 .
^ Torn, Margaret S.; Trumbore, Susan E.; Chadwick, Oliver A.; Vitousek, Peter M.; Hendricks, David M. (1997).
"Mineral control of soil organic carbon storage and turnover" . Nature . 389 (6647): 170–173.
Bibcode :
1997Natur.389..170T .
doi :
10.1038/38260 .
ISSN
1476-4687 .
S2CID
4408395 .
^
"Berkeley Lab View -- September 17, 2004" . www2.lbl.gov . Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
^
"Berkeley Lab soil scientist Margaret Torn receives Presidential Early Career Award" . EurekAlert! . Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
^
"White House Announces 2003 Awards for Early Career Scientists and Engineers" . georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov . Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
^
"Laureates" . recognition.lbl.gov . Retrieved 2021-07-28 .
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