Lori Ziolkowski

Lori Ziolkowski is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Director in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of South Carolina. She holds an affiliation with the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on biogeochemistry and geochemistry, particularly in Arctic soils, microbial carbon cycling in extreme environments, and climate change impacts on environmental systems. She has published extensively on topics such as glacier surface biogeochemistry, endolithic microbial communities, and carbon sequestration mechanisms in polar regions.

Ziolkowski's work integrates field studies, laboratory analyses, and isotopic techniques to understand carbon dynamics in permafrost regions, glacial ecosystems, and coastal environments. Her recent studies investigate microbial adaptations to environmental change, including drivers of microbial community shifts in high-latitude soils and the role of endolithic microbes in Antarctic ecosystems. She also explores the translation of climate science into actionable policy frameworks at municipal levels.

Key areas of contribution include:

• Quantifying black carbon in marine and terrestrial systems
• Studying microbial carbon usage in Arctic and Antarctic environments
• Examining climate-driven changes in soil and glacial biogeochemistry
• Developing methods for radiocarbon analysis in environmental matrices

Her publications span journals in environmental science, geochemistry, and microbiology, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding Earth system processes. Ziolkowski collaborates on projects addressing climate change mitigation and the intersection of science with policy implementation.