I graduated magna cum laude in 1998 with a B.Sc. in marine science and chemistry from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. After a one-year stint working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, I began graduate school in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University. Graduating with a Ph.D. in 2004, I subsequently became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington with a fellowship from the Joint Institute for Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO). I joined the faculty at Brown in 2008, and continue to pursue my varied research interests in the global N cycle, the biogeochemical record in ice cores and global connections between atmospheric chemistry and climate.
| Hastings, Meredith G., Barnes, Rebecca T., Berry, Jessica, Kimiecik, Jacob, Ryals, Rebecca, Lantz-Trissel, Jonathan. "Calculating Institution Nitrogen Footprints Creates Connections across Campus." Sustainability: The Journal of Record, vol. 10, no. 2, 2017, pp. 74-78. |
| Carter, Therese S., Clark, Christopher M., Fenn, Mark E., Jovan, Sarah, Perakis, Steven S., Riddell, Jennifer, Schaberg, Paul G., Greaver, Tara L., Hastings, Meredith G. "Mechanisms of nitrogen deposition effects on temperate forest lichens and trees." Ecosphere, vol. 8, no. 3, 2017, pp. e01717. |
| Castner, Elizabeth A., Leach, Allison M., Leary, Neil, Baron, Jill, Compton, Jana E., Galloway, James N., Hastings, Meredith G., Kimiecik, Jacob, Lantz-Trissel, Jonathan, Reguera, Elizabeth de la, Ryals, Rebecca. "The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network: A Multi-Institution Program To Reduce Nitrogen Pollution." Sustainability: The Journal of Record, vol. 10, no. 2, 2017, pp. 79-88. |
| Miller, David J., Wojtal, Paul K., Clark, Sydney C., Hastings, Meredith G. "Vehicle NO x emission plume isotopic signatures: Spatial variability across the eastern United States." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 122, no. 8, 2017, pp. 4698-4717. |
| Fibiger, Dorothy L., Dibb, Jack E., Chen, Dexian, Thomas, Jennie L., Burkhart, John F., Huey, L. Gregory, Hastings, Meredith G. "Analysis of nitrate in the snow and atmosphere at Summit, Greenland: Chemistry and transport." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 121, no. 9, 2016, pp. 5010-5030. |
| Wojtal, Paul K., Miller, David J., O'Conner, Mary, Clark, Sydney C., Hastings, Meredith G. "Automated, High-resolution Mobile Collection System for the Nitrogen Isotopic Analysis of NOx." Journal of Visualized Experiments, no. 118, 2016. |
| Fibiger, Dorothy L., Hastings, Meredith G. "First Measurements of the Nitrogen Isotopic Composition of NOx from Biomass Burning." Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 21, 2016, pp. 11569-11574. |
| Altieri, Katye E., Fawcett, Sarah E., Peters, Andrew J., Sigman, Daniel M., Hastings, Meredith G. "Marine biogenic source of atmospheric organic nitrogen in the subtropical North Atlantic." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 113, no. 4, 2016, pp. 925-930. |
| Dahal, Bigyan, Hastings, Meredith G. "Technical considerations for the use of passive samplers to quantify the isotopic composition of NO x and NO 2 using the denitrifier method." Atmospheric Environment, vol. 143, 2016, pp. 60-66. |
| Wasiuta, Vivian, Norman, Ann-Lise, Lafrenière, Melissa J., Hastings, Meredith G. "Background atmospheric sulfate deposition at a remote alpine site in the Southern Canadian Rocky Mountains." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 120, no. 21, 2015, pp. 11,352-11,367. |
| Shi, G., Buffen, A. M., Hastings, M. G., Li, C., Ma, H., Li, Y., Sun, B., An, C., Jiang, S. "Investigation of post-depositional processing of nitrate in East Antarctic snow: isotopic constraints on photolytic loss, re-oxidation, and source inputs." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 15, no. 16, 2015, pp. 9435-9453. |
| Wasiuta, Vivian, Lafrenière, Melissa J., Norman, Ann-Lise, Hastings, Meredith G. "Summer deposition of sulfate and reactive nitrogen to two alpine valleys in the Canadian Rocky Mountains." Atmospheric Environment, vol. 101, 2015, pp. 270-285. |
| Fibiger, Dorothy L., Hastings, Meredith G., Lew, Audrey F., Peltier, Richard E. "Collection of NO and NO 2 for Isotopic Analysis of NO x Emissions." Analytical Chemistry, vol. 86, no. 24, 2014, pp. 12115-12121. |
| Buffen, Aron M., Hastings, Meredith G., Thompson, Lonnie G., Mosley-Thompson, Ellen. "Investigating the preservation of nitrate isotopic composition in a tropical ice core from the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 119, no. 5, 2014, pp. 2674-2697. |
| Shi, G., Buffen, A. M., Hastings, M. G., Li, C., Ma, H., Li, Y., Sun, B., An, C., Jiang, S. "Investigation of post-depositional processing of nitrate in East Antarctic snow: isotopic constraints on photolytic loss, re-oxidation, and source inputs." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, vol. 14, no. 23, 2014, pp. 31943-31986. |
| Altieri, K. E., Hastings, M. G., Peters, A. J., Oleynik, S., Sigman, D. M. "Isotopic evidence for a marine ammonium source in rainwater at Bermuda." Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 2014, pp. n/a-n/a. |
| Louiseize, Nicole L., Lafrenière, Melissa J., Hastings, Meredith G. "Stable isotopic evidence of enhanced export of microbially derived NO 3 - following active layer slope disturbance in the Canadian High Arctic." Biogeochemistry, vol. 121, no. 3, 2014, pp. 565-580. |
| Sofen, E. D., Alexander, B., Steig, E. J., Thiemens, M. H., Kunasek, S. A., Amos, H. M., Schauer, A. J., Hastings, M. G., Bautista, J., Jackson, T. L., Vogel, L. E., McConnell, J. R., Pasteris, D. R., Saltzman, E. S. "WAIS Divide ice core suggests sustained changes in the atmospheric formation pathways of sulfate and nitrate since the 19th century in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 14, no. 11, 2014, pp. 5749-5769. |
| Gobel, Amy R., Altieri, Katye E., Peters, Andrew J., Hastings, Meredith G., Sigman, Daniel M. "Insights into anthropogenic nitrogen deposition to the North Atlantic investigated using the isotopic composition of aerosol and rainwater nitrate." Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 40, no. 22, 2013, pp. 5977-5982. |
| Altieri, K. E., Hastings, M. G., Gobel, A. R., Peters, A. J., Sigman, D. M. "Isotopic composition of rainwater nitrate at Bermuda: The influence of air mass source and chemistry in the marine boundary layer." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 118, no. 19, 2013, pp. 11,304-11,316. |
| Hastings, M. G., Casciotti, K. L., Elliott, E. M. "Stable Isotopes as Tracers of Anthropogenic Nitrogen Sources, Deposition, and Impacts." Elements, vol. 9, no. 5, 2013, pp. 339-344. |
| Fibiger, Dorothy L., Hastings, Meredith G., Dibb, Jack E., Huey, L. Gregory. "The preservation of atmospheric nitrate in snow at Summit, Greenland." Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 40, no. 13, 2013, pp. 3484-3489. |
| Sofen, E. D., Alexander, B., Steig, E. J., Thiemens, M. H., Kunasek, S. A., Amos, H. M., Schauer, A. J., Hastings, M. G., Bautista, J., Jackson, T. L., Vogel, L. E., McConnell, J. R., Pasteris, D. R., Saltzman, E. S. "WAIS Divide ice core suggests sustained changes in the atmospheric formation pathways of sulfate and nitrate since the 19th century in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, vol. 13, no. 9, 2013, pp. 23089-23138. |
| Altieri, K. E., Hastings, M. G., Peters, A. J., Sigman, D. M. "Molecular characterization of water soluble organic nitrogen in marine rainwater by ultra-high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 12, no. 7, 2012, pp. 3557-3571. |
| Altieri, K. E., Hastings, M. G., Peters, A. J., Sigman, D. M. "Molecular characterization of water soluble organic nitrogen in marine rainwater by ultra-high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, vol. 11, no. 11, 2011, pp. 31283-31321. |
| Hastings, Meredith G. "Evaluating source, chemistry and climate change based upon the isotopic composition of nitrate in ice cores." IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 9, 2010, pp. 012002. |
| Knapp, Angela N., Hastings, Meredith G., Sigman, Daniel M., Lipschultz, Fredric, Galloway, James N. "The flux and isotopic composition of reduced and total nitrogen in Bermuda rain." Marine Chemistry, vol. 120, no. 1-4, 2010, pp. 83-89. |
| Hastings, M. G., Jarvis, J. C., Steig, E. J. "Anthropogenic Impacts on Nitrogen Isotopes of Ice-Core Nitrate." Science, vol. 324, no. 5932, 2009, pp. 1288-1288. |
| Jarvis, Julia C., Hastings, Meredith G., Steig, Eric J., Kunasek, Shelley A. "Isotopic ratios in gas-phase HNO 3 and snow nitrate at Summit, Greenland." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 114, no. D17, 2009. |
| Alexander, B., Hastings, M. G., Allman, D. J., Dachs, J., Thornton, J. A., Kunasek, S. A. "Quantifying atmospheric nitrate formation pathways based on a global model of the oxygen isotopic composition (Δ17O) of atmospheric nitrate." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 9, no. 14, 2009, pp. 5043-5056. |
| Alexander, B., Hastings, M. G., Allman, D. J., Dachs, J., Thornton, J. A., Kunasek, S. A. "Quantifying atmospheric nitrate formation pathways based on a global model of the oxygen isotopic composition (Δ17O) of atmospheric nitrate." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, vol. 9, no. 3, 2009, pp. 11185-11220. |
| McNeill, V Faye, Hastings, Meredith G. "Ice in the environment: connections to atmospheric chemistry." Environmental Research Letters, vol. 3, no. 4, 2008, pp. 045004. |
| Jarvis, Julia C., Steig, Eric J., Hastings, Meredith G., Kunasek, Shelley A. "Influence of local photochemistry on isotopes of nitrate in Greenland snow." Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 35, no. 21, 2008. |
| Kunasek, S. A., Alexander, B., Steig, E. J., Hastings, M. G., Gleason, D. J., Jarvis, J. C. "Measurements and modeling of Δ 17 O of nitrate in snowpits from Summit, Greenland." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 113, no. D24, 2008. |
| Dibb, Jack E., Albert, Mary, Anastasio, Cort, Atlas, Elliot, Beyersdorf, Andreas J., Blake, Nicola J., Blake, Donald R., Bocquet, Florence, Burkhart, John F., Chen, Gao, Cohen, Lana, Conway, Thomas J., Courville, Zoe, Frey, Markus M., Friel, Donna K., Galbavy, Edward S., Hall, Samuel, Hastings, Meredith G., Helmig, Detlev, Greg Huey, L., Hutterli, Manuel A., Jarvis, Julia C., Lefer, Barry L., Meinardi, Simone, Neff, William, Oltmans, Samuel J., Sherwood Rowland, F., Sjostedt, Steve J., Steig, Eric J., Swanson, Aaron L., Tanner, David J. "An overview of air-snow exchange at Summit, Greenland: Recent experiments and findings." Atmospheric Environment, vol. 41, no. 24, 2007, pp. 4995-5006. |
| Kaiser, Jan, Hastings, Meredith G., Houlton, Benjamin Z., Röckmann, Thomas, Sigman, Daniel M. "Triple Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Nitrate Using the Denitrifier Method and Thermal Decomposition of N 2 O." Analytical Chemistry, vol. 79, no. 2, 2007, pp. 599-607. |
| Hastings, Meredith G., Sigman, Daniel M., Steig, Eric J. "Glacial/interglacial changes in the isotopes of nitrate from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core." Global Biogeochem. Cycles, vol. 19, no. 4, 2005, pp. n/a-n/a. |
| Hastings, Meredith G. "Seasonal variations in N and O isotopes of nitrate in snow at Summit, Greenland: Implications for the study of nitrate in snow and ice cores." J. Geophys. Res., vol. 109, no. D20, 2004. |
My research draws on principles from different individual disciplines, bringing a novel set of skills to the challenge of understanding the impacts humans have had on the composition of the atmosphere, the biosphere and climate. My research is driven by questions such as: what is the impact of anthropogenic emissions on the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere? What are the current impacts of acid deposition on streams, lakes, and the terrestrial biosphere? How has the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen changed through time? What are the connections and feedbacks between the air quality, the physical climate system, and the health of the biosphere? To address these questions, I am currently utilizing novel isotopic measurement and modeling studies in the present environment, as well as characterizing how the environment has changed though time based on the interpretation of ice core measurements.
My recent focus has been on the reactive nitrogen cycle, with emphasis on nitrate deposition. Nitrate deposition in rain, snow, ice and aerosols is the main sink of reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the atmosphere. My interest in NOx extends from its connection to the oxidizing efficiency of the atmosphere through its impact on ozone and hydroxy (OH) concentrations to the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in the earth system via formation of nitric acid (or nitrate), a major component of acid rain and a source of biologically available nitrogen. Using the isotopic composition of nitrate, I am investigating variations in the sources, chemistry, and transport of NOx. On short time scales, this has implications for studying air quality and acid deposition impacts. On longer time scales, I am interested in the natural variability of NOx sources, and the connection between climate, atmospheric composition, and the biosphere.
Because humans have significantly altered the biogeochemistry of nitrogen in the recent past, I am especially interested in exploring this cycle in the modern environment. The isotopic composition of nitrate represents an exciting new tool that can be used to characterize anthropogenic versus natural sources of nitrate, as well as the oxidant composition of the atmosphere.
Current Awards:
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | PhD | Princeton University |
| 1998 | BS | University of Miami |
American Geophyiscal Union Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Award (2014)
NSF CAREER grant awardee (2014)
Joukowsky Family Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences (2011-present)
Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean Postdoctoral Fellowship (2005-2008)
Department of Energy Graduate Research Education Fellowship recipient (2002-2004)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship recipient (1999-2002)
Dean’s Fund for Scholarly Travel Award (2001)
Phi Beta Kappa (1998)
Henry King Stanford Scholarship Recipient (1994-1998)
Florida Scholar's Award Recipient (1994-1998)
Florida Resident Access Grant Recipient (1994-1998)
GEOL 0030: Climate and Climate Change
GEOL 1350: Weather and Climate
GEOL 2920-V: Terrestrial Nitrogen and Carbon Cycling
GEOL 2910-C: The Global Nitrogen Cycle
ADVISING
Current Graduate Students:
Current Postdocs:
Alumni:
| EEPS 0850 - Weather and Climate |
| ENVS 1245 - Air Pollution & Chemistry |
| ENVS 1247 - Clearing the Air: Environmental Studies of Pollution |
| GEOL 0850 - Weather and Climate |
| GEOL 1950B - Atmospheric Chemistry |
| GEOL 1950M - Special Topics in Geological Sciences: Geoengineering Or, The Unnatural World |
