Francis Driscoll

I am a first-year master’s student in Dr. He’s Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Lab. Before USM, I spent time monitoring forest ecology in Maine and studied methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells in Louisiana. While working inland, I realized I belong by the water and joined Dr. He’s lab to apply my field work experience and interest in carbon dynamics to coastal research. Nothing is better than a day on the marsh.

I’m fascinated by carbon’s role in coastal ecosystems, ocean chemistry, and the atmosphere, as well as the critical position of wetlands at the land-sea interface. My research focuses on vertical methane and carbon dioxide fluxed in marshes in the Gulf Coast, using flux chambers to study carbon emission from the marsh and its influencing factors. I’m excited to contribute to the understanding of wetland carbon dynamics in the Gulf Coast at USM.