Ron Sletten
Research Associate Professor
Research Associate Professor, UW Quaternary Research Center
Office: JHN-363
Phone: 206-543-0571
Fax: 206-543-0489 (shared)
Email: [javascript protected email address]
Website: http://depts.washington.edu/icylands/
Interests: Permafrost physical and chemical processes; periglacial geomorphology; natural water chemistry, Mars planetary science
Research Groups: Cosmogenic/Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Quaternary Research
Ron Sletten studies chemical and physical processes in surficial deposits including how they are influenced by biological processes. His primary interest is in permafrost-influenced soil and has worked extensively in Alaska, High Arctic field sites (Svalbard, Devon Island, Greenland) and the Dry Valleys, Antarctica. His active research includes carbon cycling in Greenland soils; ground ice and surface stability of the Dry Valleys; and diffusion in frozen porous media.
Sletten also conducts research on diverse topics in soil and water chemistry including natural organic matter, heavy metals; and diffusion of water in frozen soils. His laboratory includes an ICP-OES, ICP-MS, laser diffraction particle size, carbon analyzer. He develops instruments for automatic monitoring of soil processes using data loggers and ground water sampling equipment.
Recent Publications:
Toner, J. D. and R. S. Sletten (2013). The formation of Ca-Cl-rich groundwaters in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica: Field measurements and modeling of reactive transport. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 110(0): 84-105.
Toner, J. D., R. S. Sletten and M. L. Prentice (2013). Soluble salt accumulations in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: Implications for paleolakes and Ross Sea Ice Sheet dynamics. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. DOI: 10.1029/2012jf002467
Hagedorn, B., R. S. Sletten, B. Hallet, D. F. McTigue and E. J. Steig (2010). Ground ice recharge via brine transport in frozen soils of Victoria Valley, Antarctica: Insights from modeling delta O-18 and delta D profiles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 74(2): 435-448.
Burnham, J. H. and R. S. Sletten (2010). Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon in northwest Greenland and underestimates of high Arctic carbon stores. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 24: 14p.
Ng, F., B. Hallet, R. S. Sletten and J. O. Stone (2005). Fast-growing till over ancient ice in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Geology 33(2): 121-124.
Sletten, R. S., B. Hallet and R. C. Fletcher (2003). Resurfacing time of terrestrial surfaces by the formation and maturation of polygonal patterned ground. Journal of Geophysical Research 108(E4): 8044, doi:10.1029/2002JE001914.