Changing climate patterns and surface hydrology are altering nearshore nutrient cycling and circulation. This work examines how wind-driven mixing and riverine influence regulate biogeochemical gradients, air–water gas exchange, and ice–ocean interactions across coastal environments.
About
I am a coastal biogeochemical and hydrology researcher studying the impacts of climate change on rapidly changing coastal environments. My research focuses on Arctic aquatic ecosystems and coastlines, where thermal and hydrologic change are reshaping hydrologic connectivity, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystem resilience.
My work combines field measurements, geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and environmental sensing datasets to examine how ecological processes, nutrient fluxes, and physical forces interact to drive ecosystem response.
In my current appointment at WHOI in the Guimond Group I am studying hydrothermal impacts and ecological consequences of coastal inundation and saltwater intrusion on permafrost associated coastlines.
Projects
Ice-ocean Interactions in Nearshore Arctic
Coastal Inundation & Tundra Hydrology
Coastal inundation is becoming more prevalent across Alaskan coastlines, with poorly understood hydrothermal and ecological consequences. This research investigates how salinization reshapes subsurface thermal regimes, hydrologic connectivity, and ecosystem vulnerability along Arctic coastlines.
Biogeochemical Impacts of Thermal Alteration
Accelerating peramfrost thaw is mobilizing biogeochemical constituents and disrupting surface-subsurface connectivity on the Arctic coastal plain. I study how shifts in surface–subsurface connectivity influence carbon cycling, ecosystem metabolism, and biogeochemical fluxes in small aquatic systems undergoing environmental change.
Selected Publications
Full list of publications available on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
Spera, A.C., Peterson, S., Tweedie, C., Lougheed, V., 2026.
Wind-driven Circulation Impacts Water Quality and pCO2 Over an Estuarine Gradient in an Arctic Lagoon.
Estuaries and Coasts.
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Spera, A.C., McClelland, J.W., Demir, C., Cardenas, M.B., Guimond, J.A., 2025.
Saltwater inundation’s concurrent effects on below-ground thermal hydrology and above-ground properties of Arctic coastal tundra.
Science of The Total Environment.
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Spera, A.C., Lougheed, V.L., 2025.
CO2 Emissions From Low Order Tundra Streams Stimulated by Surface‐Subsurface Connectivity Following Extreme Rainfall Events.
JGR Biogeosciences.
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Contact
Email: alina.spera@whoi.edu