Dr. Aubrey K. Fine is a soil biogeochemist whose research integrates microbial ecology, soil biogeochemistry, and quantitative modeling to understand how microbial processes regulate soil organic matter cycling and persistence in terrestrial ecosystems. Her work focuses on developing and evaluating mechanistic, trait-informed process-based modeling frameworks that improve representation of microbial biomass, necromass, and carbon turnover in ecosystem and Earth system models. By combining theory, modeling, and controlled laboratory experiments, she advances understanding of how key environmental drivers—particularly temperature and soil moisture—interact to shape microbial metabolism and emergent soil carbon dynamics across spatial and temporal scales.
Dr. Fine is a member of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Scientific Focus Area (TES SFA) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she uses controlled incubation experiments and model–data integration to improve representation of microbial responses to drought stress and water availability at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux site.