My primary research interests are in the areas of (1) catchment hydrology, focusing on hydrological and geochemical transport processes, and (2) land-atmosphere interaction, including the exchange of water, energy, and gaseous compounds such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane between the terrestrial surface and the atmosphere. I seek to develop an integrated understanding of how the hydrological cycle, vegetation processes, and atmospheric dynamics are linked as well as how these connections are manifest in terms of nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. My research combines a balance of field, remote sensing, and numerical modeling methods to address these issues over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. Current field locations for my research include Shenandoah National Park, Ireland, and southern Africa.

Selected Recent Publications

Scanlon, T. M., K. K. Caylor, S. A. Levin, and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe, Positive feedbacks promote power-law clustering of Kalahari vegetation, Nature, 449 (7159), 209-U4, 2007.

D’Odorico, P., K. Caylor, G. S. Okin, and T. M. Scanlon, On the soil moisture ~V vegetation feedbacks and their possible effects on the dynamics of dryland ecosystems, Journal of Geophysical Research ~V Biogeosciences, 112, G04010, doi:10.1029/2006JG000379, 2007.

Grady, A. E., T. M. Scanlon, and J. N. Galloway, Declines in dissolved silica concentrations in western Virginia streams (1988-2003): Gypsy moth defoliation stimulates diatoms?, Journal of Geophysical Research ~V Biogeosciences, 112, G01009, doi:10.1029/2006JG000251, 2007.

Williams, C. A., T. M. Scanlon, and J. D. Albertson, Influence of surface heterogeneity on scalar dissimilarity in the roughness sublayer, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 122, 149-165, doi:10.1007/s10546-006-9097-x, 2007.

Scanlon, T. M., K. K. Caylor, S. Manfreda, S. A. Levin, and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe, Dynamic response of grass cover to rainfall variability: Implications for the function and persistence of savanna ecosystems, Advances in Water Resources, 28, 291-302, 2005.

Scanlon, T. M., G. Kiely, and R. Amboldi, Model determination of non-point source phosphorus transport pathways in a fertilized grassland catchment, Hydrological Processes, , 19, 2801-2814, 2005.

Leahy, P., G. Kiely, and T. M. Scanlon, Managed grasslands: A greenhouse gas source or sink?, Geophysical Research Letters, 31, L20507, doi:10.1029/2004GL021161, 2004.

Caylor, K. K., T. M. Scanlon, and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe, Feasible optimality of vegetation patterns in river basins, Geophysical Research Letters, 31, L13502, doi:10.1029/2004GL020260, 2004.

Scanlon, T. M., G. Kiely, and X. Quishi, A nested catchment approach for defining the hydrological controls on phosphorus transport, Journal of Hydrology, 291(3-4), 218-231, 2004.

Scanlon, T. M., and J. D. Albertson, Canopy scale measurements of CO2 and water vapor exchange along a precipitation gradient in southern Africa, Global Change Biology, 10(3), 329-341, 2004.