Dr. Fernanda Santos

Fernanda Santos

R & D Associate

Fernanda Santos (she, hers) is an interdisciplinary staff scientist working in the Environmental Sciences Division at ORNL. Dr. Santos' has experience in soil science, biogeochemistry, and fire ecology, and currently conducts research that intersects ecosystem ecology and soil biogeochemistry. Her research focuses on the impacts of ecosystem disturbances (such as wildfires, insect outbreak, logging, etc.) on belowground processes. Specifically, Dr. Santos is interested in how disturbances and their interactions affect the response trajectory of soil carbon cycling and dynamics across various ecosystem types with the ultimate goal of improving the way Earth System models represent the impact of disturbances on belowground carbon storage in a changing world. She conducts empirical research in laboratory and in the field, and uses a suite of molecular and ecosystem-level methods to examine decomposition rates, biogeochemical transformations, mobilization, and transport of organic matter within the soil profile. 

Dr. Santos is currently involved in the following projects: Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments - Arctic (NGEE-Arctic), Pilot BESSD LDRD (Pioneering multi-scale biological and environmental solutions for a
sustainable Earth.), and SoilCosm.

NGEE Arctic Phase 4: synthesis, soil properties, fire history, fire regime.

Pilot BESSD LDRD: automated soil CO2 fluxes, soil warming, moisture,  temperature

SoilCosm: laboratory incubation, soil incubation, stable-isotope 13C-tracing of carbon compounds, priming effect

To learn more about Fernanda's past research and bio, visit her personal website at https://www.fsantosresearch.com/

2014 Ph.D., Earth and Environmental Sciences, The Graduate Center, City University of NY

2007 MA, Physical Geography, Hunter College, City University of NY

2004 BS, Geography, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil