At Ecoss we seek to understand ecosystems, how and why they change, and their implications for society, now and in the future.
Ecosystems are communities of interacting organisms and their environment, and fascinating ecosystems occur everywhere. At the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, we study ecosystems from soils to streams, from food to forests, from tall trees to tundra, and from hot springs to humans. We seek to understand ecosystems, how and why they change, and their implications for society, now and in t
he future. Our work in ecosystem science spans small scales, molecules to cells to microbial communities, using state-of-the art techniques in genomics, fluxomics, and environmental analytics like stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry. And we work on the large scales of ecosystem science, from river watersheds, to the tallest trees in the world, to the expanse of frozen carbon in permafrost, to the globe, using large-scale experiments, data synthesis, and mathematical modeling. At Ecoss, we investigate the processes that connect these scales of ecosystem science, from the cell to the globe.
09/22/2025
Writing Class Radio has joined forces again with the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society to present: Science through Story, an evening of stories about and by scientists and writers about science. Stories will be performed live. Come support our courageous storytellers!
Come see this amazing film and join a conversation with the people who created it. 25 years old and not just relevant today, the film confronts the legacies of uranium extraction for energy and weapons, a legacy that's ongoing as uranium mining and transport pick back up in the region. Later that afternoon, meet and discuss with a panel of experts led by Tommy Rock about the state of the science and community health. Screening starts Sunday 21 Sep at 1 PM. All panels in Cline Library Assembly Hall on the NAU Campus.
Livestream links:
The Return of Navajo Boy: film legacy and impact forum- https://www.youtube.com/live/Jq9ZFiPzZio
Uranium Science and Community Health forum- https://www.youtube.com/live/IeaeP5_tohk
09/18/2025
Come see this amazing film and join a conversation with the people who created it. 25 years old and not just relevant today, the film confronts the legacies of uranium extraction for energy and weapons, a legacy that's ongoing as uranium mining and transport pick back up in the region. Later that afternoon, meet and discuss with a panel of experts led by Tommy Rock about the state of the science and community health. Screening starts Sunday 21 Sep at 1 PM. All panels in Cline Library Assembly Hall on the NAU Campus.
Join us at the Flagstaff Festival of Science. Explore the legacy and impacts of the movie The Return of Navajo Boy. THIS IS AN HISTORIC GATHERING of expert voices with both professional and lived experience, brought to the public in a live forum. At a time when Uranium mining is suddenly set for a national renaissance, this is a special chance to both HEAR and JOIN the conversation with those who are working to understand and manage risks of past, present, and future exposure set against a history of widespread Uranium contamination on Indigenous lands.: https://www.youtube.com/live/Jq9ZFiPzZio
09/10/2025
Join us at the Flagstaff Festival of Science and support ECOSS faculty Dr. Tommy Rock, whose work explores the issues of uranium contamination and the impacts to our community. Watch the discussion forum live here: https://www.youtube.com/live/IeaeP5_tohk