Trinity Campus 180 Colchester Avenue
Delehanty Hall, Room 110
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- Ph.D. Geochemistry, Dartmouth College
- M.S. Geology, Northern Arizona University
- B.A. Geology, Colgate University
Water Resource Institute, Rubenstein School for the Environment and Natural Resources
Area(s) of expertise
- Low Temperature Geochemistry
- Environmental Mineralogy
BIO
Dr. Andrew Schroth is a low-temperature geochemist whose research lies at the intersection of geology, chemistry, biology, and hydrology. His work primarily focuses on understanding biogeochemical processes at the Earth’s surface, with particular attention to nutrient and pollutant mobility and cycling across present-day to glacial/interglacial timescales. Dr. Schroth has conducted research in a variety of regions including New England, New York, Montana, and Alaska, all within the broader context of environmental change.
His research aims to elucidate how biogeochemical systems respond to global and regional environmental shifts, such as acid and metal pollution, deglaciation, changing tree species distributions, atmospheric evolution, land use changes, and climate variability. Together with his students, Dr. Schroth employs a diverse suite of field and laboratory methodologies to investigate Earth surface processes. These include watershed-scale solute and solid mass balances, soil mineralogy and profile development, synchrotron-based speciation analysis of pollutants and nutrients, trace metal fractionation studies in freshwater and marine systems, and controlled laboratory experiments to support field observations.
A significant focus of Dr. Schroth’s recent work centers on the role of iron as a critical micronutrient in marine ecosystems. In high-latitude regions such as the Gulf of Alaska (GoA), iron availability can limit primary productivity, yet the mechanisms governing its supply and bioavailability remain poorly understood. Over the past five years, his research—conducted initially with the U.S. Geological Survey and now at the University of Vermont—has explored trace metal cycling in Alaskan watersheds and coastal environments. His team’s work has highlighted the important role glaciers play in delivering reactive iron to the GoA through both riverine and aeolian transport, a process likely vital to the ecosystem’s current functioning. This research continues to evolve, with an emphasis on understanding how iron dynamics may shift in response to continued climate warming and ice loss in Alaska.
Since joining the faculty at the University of Vermont in July 2012, Dr. Schroth has also played a leading role in a large interdisciplinary research initiative funded by NSF EPSCoR. This project investigates the dynamics of nutrients and algal blooms in the Lake Champlain Basin in the face of climate change and adaptive watershed management. As research team leader of the project's first research question—assessing the relative importance of internal lake processes versus external watershed drivers of eutrophication and algal blooms—he coordinates a collaborative team comprising faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and students from multiple institutions, including UVM, Middlebury College, Saint Michael’s College, and Johnson State College.
The project utilizes a robust network of sensor stations and sampling sites throughout the Missisquoi and Winooski watersheds and Missisquoi Bay in Lake Champlain. This integrated approach allows the team to monitor both external nutrient inputs and in-lake processes that influence bloom dynamics. The data collected over this multi-year effort are expected to offer key insights into nutrient behavior within the watershed-lake system and inform predictions of how such systems may evolve under future land use and climate scenarios.
Dr. Schroth is actively recruiting Master's and undergraduate students interested in geochemical research projects in both Alaska and Vermont. Prospective students are encouraged to contact him for more information.
Publications
Bio
Dr. Andrew Schroth is a low-temperature geochemist whose research lies at the intersection of geology, chemistry, biology, and hydrology. His work primarily focuses on understanding biogeochemical processes at the Earth’s surface, with particular attention to nutrient and pollutant mobility and cycling across present-day to glacial/interglacial timescales. Dr. Schroth has conducted research in a variety of regions including New England, New York, Montana, and Alaska, all within the broader context of environmental change.
His research aims to elucidate how biogeochemical systems respond to global and regional environmental shifts, such as acid and metal pollution, deglaciation, changing tree species distributions, atmospheric evolution, land use changes, and climate variability. Together with his students, Dr. Schroth employs a diverse suite of field and laboratory methodologies to investigate Earth surface processes. These include watershed-scale solute and solid mass balances, soil mineralogy and profile development, synchrotron-based speciation analysis of pollutants and nutrients, trace metal fractionation studies in freshwater and marine systems, and controlled laboratory experiments to support field observations.
A significant focus of Dr. Schroth’s recent work centers on the role of iron as a critical micronutrient in marine ecosystems. In high-latitude regions such as the Gulf of Alaska (GoA), iron availability can limit primary productivity, yet the mechanisms governing its supply and bioavailability remain poorly understood. Over the past five years, his research—conducted initially with the U.S. Geological Survey and now at the University of Vermont—has explored trace metal cycling in Alaskan watersheds and coastal environments. His team’s work has highlighted the important role glaciers play in delivering reactive iron to the GoA through both riverine and aeolian transport, a process likely vital to the ecosystem’s current functioning. This research continues to evolve, with an emphasis on understanding how iron dynamics may shift in response to continued climate warming and ice loss in Alaska.
Since joining the faculty at the University of Vermont in July 2012, Dr. Schroth has also played a leading role in a large interdisciplinary research initiative funded by NSF EPSCoR. This project investigates the dynamics of nutrients and algal blooms in the Lake Champlain Basin in the face of climate change and adaptive watershed management. As research team leader of the project's first research question—assessing the relative importance of internal lake processes versus external watershed drivers of eutrophication and algal blooms—he coordinates a collaborative team comprising faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and students from multiple institutions, including UVM, Middlebury College, Saint Michael’s College, and Johnson State College.
The project utilizes a robust network of sensor stations and sampling sites throughout the Missisquoi and Winooski watersheds and Missisquoi Bay in Lake Champlain. This integrated approach allows the team to monitor both external nutrient inputs and in-lake processes that influence bloom dynamics. The data collected over this multi-year effort are expected to offer key insights into nutrient behavior within the watershed-lake system and inform predictions of how such systems may evolve under future land use and climate scenarios.
Dr. Schroth is actively recruiting Master's and undergraduate students interested in geochemical research projects in both Alaska and Vermont. Prospective students are encouraged to contact him for more information.
Publications
Office Hours
110 Delehanty Hall by appointment only.