Dr. Havalend Steinmuller

Dr. Havalend Steinmuller

Assistant Professor
[email protected]
985-851-2876

Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab

Education

  • Ph.D. in Conservation Biology, University of Central Florida, 2019
  • M.S. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 2015
  • B.S. in Coastal Environmental Science, Louisiana State University, 2013

Research Interests

  • Biogeochemical cycling
  • Coastal geomorphology
  • Sea-level rise
  • Saltwater intrusion
  • Carbon stability
  • Mangrove encroachment
  • Surface elevation dynamics
  • Extreme events

Current Projects

  • Poleward expansion of mangroves into tidal marshes
  • The role of geomorphology in mediating ecosystem function in mangroves and tidal marshes
  • Biogeochemical responses to sea-level rise
  • Role of intertidal oysters in nutrient cycling
  • Carbon quality in ‘blue’ carbon storage
  • Refining rates of carbon and nitrogen burial in global mangrove and tidal marsh ecosystems

Research Group

Cameron Donofrio is a M.S. student in the Ecotoxicology program within the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama. He received a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of West Florida in 2022. Cameron is interested in coastal eutrophication and the impacts of nutrient cycling on coastal water quality and is working on a collaborative project with the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Selected Publications

  • Steinmuller, H.E., et al. Using loss-on-ignition to estimate total nitrogen content of mangrove soils. Geoderma. Accepted 2024.
  • Steinmuller, H.E., et al. 2022. Comparing Vertical Change in Riverine, Bayside, and Barrier Island Wetland Soils in Response to Acute and Chronic Disturbance in Apalachicola Bay, FL. Estuaries and Coasts.
  • Breithaupt, J.L., and Steinmuller, H.E. 2022. Refining the global estimate of mangrove carbon burial rates using sedimentary and geomorphic settings. Geophysical Research Letters 49(18): e2022GL100177.
  • Steinmuller, H.E., et al. 2022. Coastal wetland soil carbon storage at mangrove range limits in Apalachicola Bay, FL. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 5: 852910.
  • Steinmuller, H.E., et al. 2020. Tipping points in the mangrove march: characterization of biogeochemical cycling along the mangrove–salt marsh ecotone. Ecosystems 23: 417-434.
  • Steinmuller, H.E., and Chambers, L.G. 2019. Characterization of coastal wetland soil organic matter: Implications for wetland submergence. Science of the Total Environment 677: 648-659.