Woods Hole Research Center

Assistant Scientist
Woods Hole Research Center
149 Woods Hole Road
Falmouth, MA 02540-1644

Phone:

508-444-1572

Fax:

508-444-1872

Email:

Education

Ph.D. – Tied studentship Universities of Newcastle and Edinburgh (U.K.), 2005

B.Sc. (Hon’s) – University of Newcastle (U.K.), 2000

Professional Experience

• 2010 – Present: Assistant Scientist, The Woods Hole Research Center
• 2009 – 2010: Assistant Project Scientist, University of California, Davis
• 2009 – 2009: Lecturer, University of Reading (U.K.)
• 2005 – 2009: Post-Doctoral Researcher. University of California, Davis

Research Interests

Carbon cycle biogeochemistry, nutrient cycles in aquatic ecosystems, land to ocean fluxes of carbon, molecular characterization of organic matter to assess sources and degradation histories, the fate of terrestrial carbon in aquatic ecosystems, development of in-situ sensors, water quality.

Selected publications

Spencer, R.G.M., Hernes, P.J., Aufdenkampe, A.K., Baker, A., Gulliver, P., Stubbins, A., Aiken, G.R., Dyda, R.Y., Butler, K.D., Mwamba, V.L., Mangangu, A.M., Wabakanghanzi, J.N., Six, J. 2012. An initial investigation into the organic matter biogeochemistry of the Congo River. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 84: 614-627.

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., Spencer, R.G.M. 2012. Anthropogenic aerosols as a source of glacier derived dissolved organic matter. Nature Geoscience 5: doi:10.1038/NGEO1403.

Mann, P.J., Davidova, A., Zimov, N., Spencer, R.G.M., Davydov, S., Bulygina, E., Zimov, S., Holmes, R.M. 2012. Controls on the composition and lability of dissolved organic matter in Siberia’s Kolyma River Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 117: G01028, doi:10.1029/2011JG001798.

Krupa, M., Spencer, R.G.M., Tate, K.W., Six, J., van Kessel, C., Linquist, B.A. 2012. Controls on dissolved organic carbon composition and export from rice-dominated systems. Biogeochemistry 108: 447-466, doi: 10.1007/s10533-011-9610-2.

Murphy, K.R., Butler, K.D., Spencer, R.G.M., Stedmon, C.A., Boehme, J.R., Aiken, G.R. 2010. Measurement of dissolved organic matter fluorescence in aquatic environments: An interlaboratory comparison. Environmental, Science and Technology 44: 9405-9412.

Spencer, R.G.M., Hernes, P.J., Ruf, R., Baker, A., Dyda, R.Y., Stubbins, A., Six, J. 2010. Temporal controls on dissolved organic matter and lignin biogeochemistry in a pristine tropical river, Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 115: G03013, doi:10.1029/2009JG001180.

Fellman, J., Hood, E., Spencer, R.G.M. 2010. Fluorescence spectroscopy opens new windows into dissolved organic matter dynamics in freshwater ecosystems: A review. Limnology and Oceanography 55: 2452-2462.

Stubbins, A., Spencer, R.G.M., Chen, H., Hatcher, P.G., Mopper, K., Hernes, P.J., Mwamba, V.L., Mangangu, A.M., Wabakanghanzi, J.N., Six, J. 2010. Illuminated darkness: the molecular signatures of Congo River dissolved organic matter and its photochemical alteration as revealed by ultrahigh precision mass spectrometry. Limnology and Oceanography 55: 1467-1477.

Fellman, J., Spencer, R.G.M., Hernes, P.J., Edwards, R., D’Amore, D., Hood, E. 2010. The impact of glacier runoff on the biodegradability and chemical quality of terrigenous dissolved organic matter in near-shore marine ecosystems. Marine Chemistry 121: 112-122.

Spencer, R.G.M., Aiken, G.R., Dyda, R.Y., Butler, K.D., Bergamaschi, B.A. Hernes, P.J. 2010. Comparison of XAD with other dissolved lignin isolation techniques and a compilation of analytical improvements for the analysis of lignin in aquatic settings. Organic Geochemistry 41: 445-453

Pellerin, B.A., Hernes, P.J., Saraceno, J.F., Spencer, R.G.M., Bergamaschi, B.A. 2010. Microbial degradation of plant leachate alters lignin phenols and trihalomethane precursors. Journal of Environmental Quality 39: 946-954.

Steenwerth, K.L., Pierce, D.L., Carlisle, E.A., Spencer, R.G.M., Smart, D.R. 2010. A vineyard agroecosystem: Disturbance and precipitation affect soil respiration under Mediterranean conditions. Soil Science Society of America Journal 74: 231-239.

Hood, E., Fellman, J., Spencer, R.G.M., Hernes, P.J., Edwards, R., D’Amore, D., Scott, D. 2009. Glaciers as a source of ancient, labile organic matter to the marine environment. Nature 462: 1044-1047, doi:10.1038/nature08580.

Hernes, P.J., Bergamaschi, B.A., Eckard, R.S., Spencer, R.G.M. 2009. Fluorescence-based proxies for lignin in freshwater dissolved organic matter. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 114: G00F03, doi:10.1029/2009JG000938.

Spencer, R.G.M., Stubbins, A., Hernes, P.J., Baker, A., Mopper, K., Aufdenkampe, A.K., Dyda, R.Y., Mwamba, V.L., Mangangu, A.M., Wabakanghanzi, J.N., Six, J. 2009. Photochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter and dissolved lignin phenols from the Congo River. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 114: G03010, doi:10.1029/2009JG000 968.

Spencer, R.G.M., Aiken, G.R., Butler, K.D., Dornblaser, M.M., Striegl, R.G., Hernes, P.J. 2009. Utilizing chromophoric dissolved organic matter measurements to derive export and reactivity of dissolved organic carbon exported to the Arctic Ocean: A case study of the Yukon River, Alaska. Geophysical Research Letters 36: L06401, doi:10.1029/ 2008GL036831.

Pellerin, B.A., Downing, B.D., Kendall, C., Dahlgren, R.A., Kraus, T.E.C., Spencer, R.G.M., Bergamaschi, B.A. 2009. Assessing the sources and magnitude of diurnal nitrate variability in the San Joaquin River (California) with an in-situ optical nitrate sensor and dual nitrate isotopes. Freshwater Biology 54: 376-387.

Hernes, P.J., Spencer, R.G.M., Dyda, R.Y., Pellerin, B.A., Bachand, P.A.M., Bergamaschi, B.A. 2008. The role of hydrologic regimes on dissolved organic carbon composition in an agricultural watershed. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72: 5266-5277.

Spencer, R.G.M., Aiken, G.R., Wickland, K.P., Striegl, R.G., Hernes, P.J. 2008. Seasonal and spatial variability in dissolved organic matter quantity and composition from the Yukon River Basin, Alaska. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 22: GB4002, doi:10.1029/ 2008GB003231.

Kraus, T.E.C., Bergamachi, B.A., Hernes, P.J., Spencer, R.G.M., Stepanauskas, R., Kendall, C., Losee, R., Fujii, R. 2008. Assessing the contribution of wetlands and subsided islands to dissolved organic matter and disinfection byproduct precursors in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta: A geochemical approach. Organic Geochemistry 39: 1302-1318.

Ahad, J.M.E., Barth, J.A.C., Ganeshram, R., Spencer, R.G.M., Uher G. 2008. Controls on carbon cycling in two contrasting temperate zone estuaries: the Tyne and Tweed, U.K. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 78: 685-693.

Baker, A., Bolton, L., Newson, M., Spencer, R.G.M. 2008. Spectrophotometric properties of surface water dissolved organic matter in an afforested upland peat catchment. Hydrological Processes 22: 2325-2336.

Spencer, R.G.M., Pellerin, B.A., Bergamaschi, B.A., Downing, B.D., Kraus, T.E.C., Dahlgren, R.A., Smart D.R., Hernes, P.J. 2007. Diurnal variability in riverine dissolved organic matter composition determined by in-situ optical measurements (San Joaquin, California, U.S.A.). Hydrological Processes 21: 3181-3189.

Spencer, R.G.M., Ahad, J.M.E., Baker, A., Cowie, G.L., Ganeshram, R., Upstill-Goddard, R.C., Uher, G. 2007. The estuarine mixing behaviour of peatland derived dissolved organic carbon and its relationship to chromophoric dissolved organic matter in two North Sea estuaries (U.K.). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 74: 131-144.

Spencer, R.G.M., Bolton, L. Baker A. 2007. Freeze/thaw and pH effects on freshwater dissolved organic matter fluorescence and absorbance properties at a number of U.K. locations. Water Research 41: 2941-2950.

Spencer, R.G.M., Baker, A., Ahad, J.M.E., Cowie, G.L., Ganeshram, R., Upstill-Goddard, R.C., Uher, G. 2007. Discriminatory classification of natural and anthropogenic waters in two U.K. estuaries. Science of the Total Environment 373: 305-323.

Ahad, J.M.E., Ganeshram, R., Spencer, R.G.M., Uher, G., Upstill-Goddard, R.C., Cowie, G.L. 2006. Evaluating the sources and fate of anthropogenic dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in two contrasting North Sea estuaries. Science of the Total Environment 372: 317-333.

Ahad, J.M.E., Ganeshram, R., Spencer, R.G.M., Uher, G., Gulliver, P., Bryant, P.L. 2006. Evidence for anthropogenic 14C-enrichment in estuarine waters adjacent to the North Sea. Geophysical Research Letters 33: L08608, doi:10.1029/2006GL025991.

Baker, A., Spencer, R.G.M. 2004. Characterization of dissolved organic matter from source to sea using fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy. Science of the Total Environment 333: 217-232.