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Diana Oviedo Vargas, Ph.D.

500 500 Stroud Water Research Center
Diana Oviedo-Vargas, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Scientist, Principal Investigator

Watershed Biogeochemistry Group

Contact

doviedo@stroudcenter.org
tel. 610-268-2153, ext. 1263
970 Spencer Road, Avondale, PA 19311

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9333-0962

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Interests and Expertise

Diana Oviedo Vargas’s research seeks to improve knowledge of the elemental cycles in streams, rivers, and estuaries and how they are linked to each other, the water cycle, and the terrestrial ecosystem at the surface and the subsurface level. Some of her current research interests include the nitrogen and phosphorus transport and transformation in fluvial systems and how human activities such as agriculture and urbanization can affect these processes; the quantification and characterization of the multiple carbon pools and fluxes in aquatic ecosystems and their role in global climate change; and the effects of emerging contaminants, like pharmaceutical products and microplastics, on the health of streams and rivers. Oviedo Vargas’s expertise includes aquatic ecosystems in temperate and tropical zones and along the full river continuum — from headwaters to large rivers to estuaries and the coastal ocean.

Education

  • Ph.D., environmental sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
  • M.S., environmental sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
  • B.S., chemistry, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.

Professional Experience

  • Assistant research scientist, Stroud Water Research Center, 2017–present.
  • Postdoctoral research associate, Department of Marine Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 2013–2017.
  • Associate instructor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 2011–2013.
  • Teaching assistant, Analytical and organic chemistry laboratories, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica, 2004–2007.
  • Research assistant, Natural Products Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica, 2004–2007.

Publications

Seasonal variation in land cover estimates reveals sensitivities and opportunities for environmental models

Myers, D.T., D. Jones, D. Oviedo-Vargas, J.P. Schmit, D.L. Ficklin, and X. Zhang. 2024. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 28(23): 5295–5310.

Synergistic water quality and soil organic carbon sequestration benefits of winter cover crops

Zhang X., Y. Wang, S. Lee, K. Liang, K. Zhao, G.W. McCarty, J.G. Alfieri, G.E. Moglen, W.D. Hively, D.T. Myers, D. Oviedo-Vargas, T.V. Nguyen, A.L. Hinson, L. Du, and X.X. Romeiko. 2024. Journal of Environmental Management 371: 123104.

Advancing freshwater science with sensor data collected by community scientists

Oviedo-Vargas, D., M. Peipoch, S.H. Ensign, D. Bressler, D.B. Arscott, and J.K. Jackson. 2024. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 22(6): e2748.

Agricultural soil microbiomes differentiate in soil profiles with fertility source, tillage, and cover crops

Bier, R.L., M. Daniels, D. Oviedo-Vargas, M. Peipoch, J.R. Price, E. Omondi, A. Smith, and J. Kan. 2024. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 368: 109002.

To achieve the Clean Water Act’s goals, prioritize upstream ecology

Ensign, S.H., D.B. Arscott, M. Daniels, C. Dow, J.K. Jackson, D. Oviedo-Vargas, and M. Peipoch. 2024. Water Resources IMPACT 26(3): 19–21.

See publications by all Stroud Center authors

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