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Joanna Carey

  • Associate Professor
  • Debi and Andy Butler Term Chair
Academic Division: Mathematics, Analytics, Science, and Technology
Dr. Carey joined Babson in 2017 as an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics, Analytics, Science, and Technology Division. She currently teaches Case Studies in Ecological Management (NST 2020), and Oceanography (NST 1060). Her research focuses on answering fundamental questions regarding ecosystem processes in the context of rapid global change. She examines how human activities are altering carbon, nitrogen, and silicon cycling along the land-ocean continuum (forests, rivers, salt marshes, and estuaries) in temperate and Arctic ecosystems. Dr. Carey received her Ph.D. in Earth Science from Boston University (2013), her M.S. in Environmental Science from Yale University (2007), and her B.S. in Environmental Policy & Planning from Virginia Tech (2005). Before joining Babson in 2017, Dr. Carey completed several post-doctoral fellowships, including an NSF Earth Science Fellowship and a USGS Powell Center Fellowship, both hosted at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Boston University
  • MS, Yale University
  • BS, Virginia Tech

Academic Interest / Expertise

Biogeochemistry, climate change, land cover change, Arctic ecology, rivers, salt marshes, forests, soils, silicon, carbon

Awards & Honors

  • 2016 — NSF Earth Science (EAR) Postdoctoral Fellow, National Science Foundation
  • 2010 — EPA STAR Fellow, US Environmental Protection Agency
  • 2010 — NOAA NERR Graduate Research Fellow, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2025

    • SES 2000 SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

  • Degree Courses 2024

    • SES 2000 SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
    • NST 1070 Climate and Human Health - LAB
    • NST 1020 Energy and the Environment - LAB
    • NST 1060 OCEANOGRAPHY

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Johnson, K., Jankowski, K.J., Carey, J.C., Sethna, L., Bush, S., McKnight, D., McDowell, W., Wymore, A., Kortelainen, P., Jones, J., Lyon, N., Laudon, H., Poste, A., Sullivan, P. (2024). Climate, hydrology, and nutrients control the seasonality of Si concentrations in rivers. Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences.
  • Johnson, K., Jankowski, K.J., Carey, J.C., Lyon, N., McDowell, W., Shogren, A., Wymore, A., Sethna, L., Wolheim, W., Poste, A., Kortelainen, P., Heindel, R., Laudon, H., Raike, A., Jones, J., McKnight, D., Julian, P., Bush, S., Sullivan, P. (2024). Establishing fluvial silicon regimes and their stability across the Northern Hemisphere.. Limnology & Oceanography Letters.
  • Cooke, J., Carey, J.C. (2023). Stress alters the role of silicon in controlling plant water movement. Functional Ecology. Vol: 37, Issue: 12, Page: 14.
  • Jankowski, K., Johnson, K., Julian, P., Sethna, L., Wymore, A., Shogren, A., Thomas, P., Sullivan, P., McKnight, D., McDowell, W., Heindel, R., Jones, J., Wolheim, W., Abbott, B., Degan, L., Carey, J.C. (2023). Long-term changes in concentration and yield of riverine dissolved silicon from the poles to the tropics. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. Vol: 37, Issue: 9.
  • Wittyngham, S., Carey, J.C., Johnson, D. (2023). Resource availability and plant age drive defense against herbivory in salt marshes. Oikos. Vol: 2023, Issue: 8.
  • Williams, O., Kurtz, A., Kroeger, K., Tamborski, J., Gonneea, M., Carey, J.C. (2022). Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release in a New England salt marshes.. Biogeochemistry: an international journal.
  • Abbott, B., Brown, M., Carey, J.C., Ernakovich, J., Frederick, J., Guo, L., Hugelius, G., Lee, R., Loranty, M., Macdonald, M., Mann, P. (2022). We must stop fossil fuel emissions to protect permafrost ecosystems. Frontiers in Environmental Science.
  • Carey, J.C., Kroeger, K., Tang, J. (2022). Higher temperatures sensitivity of ecosystem respiration in low marsh compared to high elevation marsh ecosystems. Limnology & Oceanography. Vol: 127, Issue: 11.
  • Johnston, S., Carey, J.C., , A.K., Podgorski, D., Gewirtzman, J., Spencer, R. (2021). Spatial and temporal controls on arctic riverine dissolved organic matter composition across a latitudinal gradient. JGR-Biogeoscience. Vol: 126, Issue: 9. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. link
  • Elizondo, E., Carey, J.C., Al-Haj, A., Lugo, A., Fulweiler, R.W. (2021). High productivity indicates mangroves are important players in the tropical silicon cycle. Frontiers in Marine Science. Vol: 8, Page: 450. link
  • Carey, J.C., Beitelspacher, L.S., Tosti-Kharas, J., Swanson, E. (2021). A resource-efficient modular course design for co-teaching integrated sustainability in higher education: Developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. Vol: 4, Issue: 2, Page: 169-193.
  • Carey, J.C. (2020). Soil age alters the global silicon cycle. Science. Vol: 369, Issue: 6508, Page: 1161-1162.
  • Carey, J.C., Gewirtzman, J., Vieillard, A., Kurtz, A., Johnston, S., Tang, J., Spencer, R. (2020). Arctic river dissolved and biogenic silicon exports - current conditions and future changes with warming.. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. Vol: 34, Issue: 3. AGU.
  • Huntzinger, D., Schaefer, K., Schwalm, C., Fisher, J., Hayes, D., Stofferahn, E., Carey, J.C., Michalak, A., Wei, Y., Jain, A., Kolus, H., Mao, J., Poulter, B., Shi, X., Tang, J., Tain, H. (2020). Evaluation of simulated soil carbon dynamics in Arctic-Boreal ecosystems. Environmental Research Letters. Vol: 15, Issue: 2, Page: 025005.
  • Carey, J.C., Jankowski, K., Julian, P., Sethna, L., Thomas, P., Rohweder, J. (2019). Exploring silica stoichiometry on a large floodplain riverscape. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Vol: 7, Issue: 346.
  • Gewirtzman, J., Tang, J., Melillo, J., Werner, W., Kurtz, A., Fulweiler, R.W., Carey, J.C. (2019). Soil warming accelerates biogeochemical silica cycling in a temperate forest. Frontiers in Plant Science. Vol: 10, Issue: 1097.
  • Carey, J.C., Abbott, B., Rocha, A. (2019). Plant uptake offsets silica release from a large Arctic tundra wildfire. Earth's Future. Vol: 7, Page: 1044–1057. American Geophysical Union.
  • Carey, J.C., Kroeger, K., Zafari, B., Tang, J.J. (2018). Passive experimental warming decouples air and sediment temperatures in a salt marsh. . Limnology and Oceanography Methods. link
  • Crowther, T., Machmuller, M., Carey, J.C., Alison, S., Blair, J.M. (2018). More data but no new answers. Nature.
  • Watson, E., Raposa, K., Carey, J.C., Wigand, C., Warren, R. (2017). Anthropocene Survival of Southern New England’s Salt Marshes. Estuaries and Coasts. Vol: 40, Issue: 3, Page: 617–625. Springer US.
  • Carey, J.C., Parker, T.C., Fetcher, N., Tang, J. (2017). Biogenic silica accumulation varies across tussock tundra plant functional type. Functional Ecology. Vol: 31, Issue: 11.
  • Carey, J.C., Raposa, K., Wigand, C., Warren, R. (2017). Contrasting decadal-scale changes in elevation and vegetation in two Long Island Sound salt marshes. Estuaries and Coasts. Vol: 40, Issue: 3, Page: 651–661. Springer US.
  • Carey, J., Moran, S., Kelly, R., Kolker, A., Fulweiler, R. (2017). The declining role of organic matter in New England salt marshes. Estuaries and Coasts. Vol: 40, Issue: 3, Page: 626–639. Springer US.
  • Moseman-Valtierra, S., Abdul-Aziz, O.I., Tang, J., Ishtiaq, K.S., Morkeski, K., Mora, J., Quinn, R.K., Martin, R.M., Egan, K., Brannon, E.Q., others, . (2016). Carbon dioxide fluxes reflect plant zonation and belowground biomass in a coastal marsh. Ecosphere. Vol: 7, Issue: 11.
  • Humphries, A.T., Ayvazian, S.G., Carey, J.C., Hancock, B.T., Grabbert, S., Cobb, D., Strobel, C.J., Fulweiler, R.W. (2016). Directly measured denitrification reveals oyster aquaculture and restored oyster reefs remove nitrogen at comparable high rates. Frontiers in Marine Science. Vol: 3, Page: 74. Frontiers.
  • Carey, J.C., Fulweiler, R.W. (2016). Human appropriation of biogenic silicon–the increasing role of agriculture. Functional Ecology. Vol: 30, Issue: 8, Page: 1331–1339.
  • Crowther, T.W., Todd-Brown, K., Rowe, C., Wieder, W.R., Carey, J.C., Machmuller, M.B., Snoek, B., Fang, S., Zhou, G., Allison, S.D., others, . (2016). Quantifying global soil carbon losses in response to warming. Nature. Vol: 540, Issue: 7631, Page: 104–108. Nature Research.
  • Carey, J.C., Tang, J., Templer, P.H., Kroeger, K.D., Crowther, T.W., Burton, A.J., Dukes, J.S., Emmett, B., Frey, S.D., Heskel, M.A., others, . (2016). Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol: 113, Issue: 48, Page: 13797–13802. National Acad Sciences.
  • Conley, D.J., Carey, J.C. (2015). Biogeochemistry: Silica cycling over geologic time. Nature Geoscience. Vol: 8, Issue: 6, Page: 431–432. Nature Publishing Group.
  • Fulweiler, R.W., Maguire, T.J., Carey, J.C., Finzi, A.C. (2015). Does elevated CO2 alter silica uptake in trees?. Frontiers in Plant Science. Vol: 5, Page: 793. Frontiers.
  • Carey, J., Fulweiler, R. (2014). Salt marsh tidal exchange increases residence time of silica in estuaries. Limnology and Oceanography. Vol: 59, Issue: 4, Page: 1203–1212.
  • Carey, J., Fulweiler, R. (2014). Silica uptake by Spartina–evidence of multiple modes of accumulation from salt marshes around the world. Frontiers in Plant Science. Vol: 5, Page: 1–23.
  • Carey, J., Fulweiler, R. (2013). Nitrogen enrichment increases net silica accumulation in a temperate salt marsh. Limnology and Oceanography. Vol: 58, Issue: 1, Page: 99–111.
  • Carey, J., Fulweiler, R. (2013). Watershed land use alters riverine silica cycling. Biogeochemistry. Vol: 113, Page: 525–544. Springer Netherlands.
  • Carey, J., Fulweiler, R. (2012). Human activities directly alter watershed dissolved silica fluxes. Biogeochemistry. Vol: 111, Page: 125–138. Springer Netherlands.
  • Carey, J.C., Fulweiler, R.W. (2012). The Terrestrial Silica Pump. PLoS ONE. Vol: 7, Issue: 12, Page: e52932. Public Library of Science.
  • Vieillard, A.M., Fulweiler, R.W., Hughes, Z.J., Carey, J.C. (2011). The ebb and flood of Silica: Quantifying dissolved and biogenic silica fluxes from a temperate salt marsh. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Elsevier.

Book Chapters

  • Carey, J.C., Hunt, J.M. (2023). Emotional competency in the interdisciplinary classroom: A systems thinking perspective: Business Schools, Leadership and Sustainable Development Goals: The Future of Responsible Management Education. Page: 15. Taylor & Francis.
  • Carey, J.C. (in press). Saving Humanity: The Courage to Act on Climate Change: The Entrepreneurial Humanities: The Crucial Role of the Humanities in Enterprise and the Economy. Routledge.
  • Tang, J., Carey, J.C., Bradford, M., Machmuller, M., Crowther, T., Todd-Brown, K. (2019). The temperature sensitivity of soil carbon: A global approach.. Academic Press.

Other

  • Johnson, K., Jankowski, K.J., Carey, J.C., Lyon, N., McDowell, W., Shogren, A., Wymore, A., Sethna, L., Wolheim, W., Poste, A., Kortelainen, P., Heindel, R., Laudon, H., Raike, A., Jones, J., McKnight, D., Julian, P., Bush, S., Sullivan, P. (2023). Monthly dissolved silicon concentrations from 198 rivers in the Northern Hemisphere. Science Base.
  • Jankowski, K., Johnson, K., Julian, P., Sethna, L., Wymore, A., Shogren, A., Thomas, P., Sullivan, P., McKnight, D., McDowell, W., Heindel, R., Jones, J., Wolheim, W., Abbott, B., Degan, L., Carey, J.C. (2023). Dissolved silicon concentration and yield estimates from streams and rivers in North America and Antarctica,1964-2021. Science Base. link
  • Lyon, N., Carey, J.C., Jankowski, K., Johnson, K., De La Rosa, G. (2023). HERON: Helpers for River Observation. . Vol: 1.0.0.. link

Presentations

  • Notable results from a synthesis of river silicon dynamics over space and time Carey, J. Johnson, K. Jankowski, K. Bush, S. Lyon, N. Sethna, L. Sullivan, P. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC (2024)
  • The science of climate change; the art of transformative action Carey, J. Alford, M. Boykoff, M. Sugla, R. Tai, S. Council on International Education Exchange , Rome, Italy (2024)
  • An undergraduate curriculum with a required, non-majors ecology course designed using the 4DEE framework Rodgers, V. Blodgett, D. Winrich, C. Carey, J. Foster, S. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Long Beach, California (2024)
  • Decadal shifts in high latitude river silicon stoichiometry across continents Carey, J. Johnson, K. Jankowski, K. Bush, S. Lyon, N. Sethna, L. Sullivan, P. Association of Sciences for Limnology and Oceanography, Madison, WI (2024)
  • Spatial Controls on Global Silicon Concentrations and Yields from Rivers and Streams Bush, S. Johnson, K. Jankowski, K. Carey, J. Sethna, L. Sullivan, P. WaterSciCon24, St. Paul, MN (2024)
  • Progress update on a global synthesis of river silicon behavior over time Carey, J. Johnson, K. Jankowski, K. Lyon, N. Shogren, A. Sethna, L. Kortelainen, P. Heindel, R. Laudon, H. McKnight, D. Sullivan, P. Babson Research Day, Wellesley, MA (2024)
  • A global scale evaluation of decadal shifts in high latitude river silicon stoichiometry Carey, J. Johnson, K. Jankowski, K. Lyon, N. Shogren, A. Sethna, L. Poste, A. Kortelainen, P. Heindel, R. Laudon, H. Raike, A. McKnight, D. Sullivan, P. American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA (2023)
  • Plant silicon: costs and benefits from two very different studies Cooke, J. Carey, J. Schoelynck, J. De Block, P. British Ecological Society, Dublin, Ireland (2023)
  • Can trees regulate the flux of silicon from land to sea? Carey, J. Stonehill College Biology Department Seminar Series, Easton, MA (2023)
  • River silicon concentrations and exports are highly dynamic over time and across seasons Jankowski, K. Johnson, K. Sullivan, P. Carey, J. Goldschmidt, Lyon, France (2023)
  • Developing Typologies of River Silicon Seasonality Across Biomes to Understand Controls on Changing Exports Johnson, K. Carey, J. Jankowski, K. Julian, P. Sethna, L. Thomas, P. McDowell, W. McKnight, D. Heindel, R. Jones, J. Abbott, B. Sullivan, P. American Geophysical Union, Chicago, Il (2022)
  • Getting to harmonious: Lessons learned from synthesizing long-term riverine silica data from across the globe Jankowski, K. Carey, J. Long Term Ecological Research All Scientists Meeting, Monterey, CA (2022)
  • Outstanding questions about silicon across ecosystems Carey, J. Silicon in the critical zone: soils, cells, plants, and the planet, Arad, Israel (2022)
  • Meet the American Geophysical Cryosphere Science Section Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Carey, J. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Open Science Conference, Virtual (2022)
  • Stress exposure alters the role of silicon in controlling plant water movement Carey, J. Cooke, J. Isotopes in Biogenic Silica, Lund, Sweden (2022)
  • A multibiome synthesis investigating the controls on river Si exports. Carey, J. Jankowski, K. NCEAS Roundtable, Santa Barbara, CA (2022)
  • From Poles to Tropics: A multibiome synthesis investigating the controls on river Si exports Carey, J. Jankowski, K. NSF Long Network Office Webinar Series, Virtual (2022)
  • Long-term change in river silicon from the poles to the tropics Jankowski, K. Johnson, K. Julian, P. Sethna, L. Thomas, P. McDowell, W. Wymore, A. McKnight, D. Heindel, R. Sullivan, P. Shogren, A. Abbott, B. Deegan, L. Wolheim, W. Jones, J. Carey, J. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA & virtual (2021)
  • Mangroves represent an important, yet overlooked, coastal silicon reservoir Elizondo, E. Carey, J. Al-Haj, A. Lugo, A. Fulweiler, R. Coastal Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Meeting, virtual (2021)
  • Exploring linkages between dissolved organic matter and dissolved silicon in Arctic rivers influenced by a gradient of permafrost degradation Carey, J. Gewirtzman, J. Johnston, S. Spencer, R. American Geophysical Union Meeting , Virtual (2020)
  • Mechanisms of Silica Availability in a New England Salt Marsh Williams, O. Kurtz, A. Gonneea, M. Kroeger, K. Carey, J. American Geophysical Union Meeting , Virtual (2020)
  • Transpiration and transporters: teasing apart passive and active transport of plant silicon Cooke, J. Carey, J. British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, Virtual (2020)
  • Let’s include Si in fluvial stoichiometry: results from a longitudinal analysis of the Upper Mississippi River Carey, J. Jankowski, K. Julian, P. Sethna, L. Thomas, P. Rohweder, J. Association of Sciences for Limnology and Oceanography/Society of Freshwater Science joint meeting, Virtual (2020)
  • Transpiration and transporters: teasing apart passive and active transport of plant silicon Cooke, J. Carey, J. European Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, Virtual (2020)
  • Synthesis as a Tool for Research and Scholarship: A Cross-Disciplinary Examination Carey, J. Goldstein, M. Karst, N. Pinard, M. Babson Research Day, Babson College (2020)
  • "Research for a Long Poem about Prairies: Military History, Botany, and Photography” Goldstein, M. Karst, N. Carey, J. Pinard, M. Babson Faculty Research Day, Babson College (2020)
  • The changing tides of climate change – an opportunity to unite Carey, J. Eureka Science Museum Fundraiser, Grand Junction, CO (2019)
  • Arctic land cover change alters silica retention in terrestrial biomass and export rates to aquatic systems. Carey, J. European Geophysical Union, Vienna, Austria (2019)
  • The role of land cover change in shifting silica exports from land to aquatic systems Carey, J. Mount Holyoke College Science Seminar Series , Northampton, MA (2019)
  • A near doubling of Arctic plant silicon accumulation following a decade of post-fire succession Carey, J. Abbott, B. Rocha, A. Arctic LTER Annual Meeting, Woods Hole, MA (2019)
  • Climate change: through the lenses of science, economics, and finance. Panel presentation and discussion. Carey, J. Harrity, M. Majbouri, M. Babson Research Day, Babson College (2019)
  • Plant uptake offsets silica release from a large Arctic tundra wildfire Carey, J. Abbott, B. Rocha, A. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC (2018)
  • The Accidental Chill: A ‘warming’ experiment that cooled a salt marsh. Carey, J. Kroeger, K. Zafari, B. Tang, J. Babson Research Day, Babson College (2018)
  • Examining the role of shrub expansion and fire in Arctic plant silica cycling. Carey, J. Tang, J. Fetcher, N. Rocha, A. Parker, T. American Geophysical Union, New Orleans, LA (2017)
  • Permafrost and Land Cover change may alter silica exports to Arctic coastal receiving waters. Carey, J. Gewirtzman, J. Coastal Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Biennial Meeting, Providence, RI (USA) (2017)
  • Uniform responses of soil respiration to experimental warming Carey, J. Tang, J. Templer, P. Kroeger, K. Soil Ecology Society Annual Meeting, Fort Collins, CO (USA) (2017)
  • Biogenic silica accumulation varies across tussock tundra plant functional type. Carey, J. Tang, J. Parker, T. Fetcher, N. Arctic LTER Winter Meeting, Woods Hole, MA (USA) (2017)
  • Glass content of Arctic plants: shifting biogenic silica accumulation with shrub expansion Carey, J. Babson Research Day, Babson College (2017)
  • Biogenic silica accumulation shifts with tussock tundra plant functional type Carey, J. Tang, J. Parker, T. Fetcher, N. Toolik All Scientists Meeting. , Portland, OR (USA) (2017)
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