Germán Silva

Biography

Hey there! I'm Germán and I'm a Ph.D. student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow working with Dr. Jennifer King and Dr. Dar Roberts. I received my BA in Geography from California State University, Stanislaus and my MA in Geography here at UCSB. In my free time, I enjoy reading, binge watching Netflix, photography, and taking plenty of walks with the dog.

Research

I identify my work as telmatology – the geographic study of wetlands. More specifically, I study coastal wetland ecosystems from a spatial and temporal lens. My background is in biophysical geography, with an emphasis on remote sensing, biogeochemistry, and other landscape level processes. I largely research wetland landscape/spatial processes and how they respond to disturbance and environmental change, such as restoration, sea level rise, and seasonality. My current research focus is on wetland soil salinity and the potential links to salt marsh plant phenology and carbon sequestration. I am also particularly interested in the application and use of these data in managed and restored systems. Additionally, I have a strong interest in developing better data literacy, data systems, and data science for the betterment of the environment.

Selected Publications

2022 Silva, G.D., Roberts, D.A., McFadden, J.P., King, J.Y., “Shifts in Salt Marsh Vegetation Landcover after Debris Flow Deposition.” Remote Sensing 14(12):2819. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14122819