Erika Marin-Spiotta

Dr. Erika Marin-Spiotta is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research focuses on biogeochemical processes in ecosystems, particularly how human and climate-driven disturbances impact carbon and nutrient dynamics across spatial and temporal scales. She leads the Marin-Spiotta BiogeoLab, investigating interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem function using field and laboratory geochemical techniques. Her work spans from microscopic mineral-organic matter interactions to regional soil carbon inventories. Dr. Marin-Spiotta has a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and a B.S. from Stanford University.

Her teaching includes courses like GEOG 120 (Earth System Science), GEOG 526 (Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes), and GEOG 338 (Environmental Biogeography). She emphasizes inclusive mentorship and has developed training programs for safe, diverse fieldwork environments. Recent research highlights include soil carbon dynamics in buried paleosols, impacts of fire on Arctic tundra, and advancing equity in geoscience education through critical pedagogy.

Her lab’s research is supported by grants addressing anthropogenic influences on the Earth system, including projects on soil hydrology in loess tablelands and microbial responses to root inputs. She actively promotes DEI initiatives in academia, such as the ADVANCEGeo Partnership’s bystander intervention training.