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Matthew Larsen

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Matthew
Larsen

Hydrology Geology Geography and Biogeography

Inspired experiments and observation by STRI scientists and our many collaborators and students continue to improve our understanding of tropical ecosystems. This information continually changes the way we address environmental stewardship, resource management, and the many challenges ahead.

Research Focus

As Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a unit of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Panama City, Panama, I retired in June, 2020 from the job of managing more than 400 employees, an annual budget of $35 million, and the institute’s research facilities throughout Panama. In addition to our resident scientists, our facilities are used annually by more than 1,400 visiting scientists, fellows and interns who come from academic and research institutions in more than 50 nations. STRI furthers the understanding of tropical nature and its importance to human welfare, trains students to conduct research in the tropics, and promotes conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems.

During my tenure at STRI I increased the diversity of the leadership team, hired 7 new staff scientists, inaugurated new research facilities and supported innovations in communication and public outreach. There is more information about my achievements as Director of STRI here.

Previously, from 2010 to 2014, I was the U.S. Geological Survey Associate Director for Climate and Land Use Change, where I led science programs focused on climate change, land use change, and a national ecological carbon sequestration assessment. Additionally, I managed the Landsat satellite program and the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. Prior to 2010 I served in various scientific leadership roles at the U.S. Geological Survey, following an 18-year research career in that agency. My approximately 90 publications are in marine geology, natural hazards, water resources management, climate change, and ecosystem services.

Research Overview

How do we maximize our contributions as scientists and public servants?

STRI scientists offer unbiased information about tropical environments from rainforests to coral reefs — for the public good. Our science serves all sectors of society in the United States, in Panama where we are based, and throughout the tropics. As a premier tropical research platform, we host long-term, large-scale, studies and we convene scientists from around the world.

As a scientist who dedicated my career to public institutions, I believe that a strong civil service is the backbone of a democratic society. Civil servants are the stewards of information that serves the public good and we guarantee that institutional knowledge and capability are retained during political transition at the top level of national government.

Education

1997 Ph.D., Geography, University of Colorado

1976 BSc., Geology, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Selected Publications

Larsen, M.C., 2017, Forested watersheds, water resources, and ecosystem services, with examples from the United States, Panama, and Puerto Rico, In: Ahuja S. (ed.) Chemistry and water: the science behind sustaining the world's most crucial resource, p. 161-182, Elsevier, Amsterdam, ISBN: 978-0-12-809330-6.

Larsen, M.C., 2016, Contemporary human uses of tropical forested watersheds and riparian corridors: Ecosystem services and hazard mitigation, with examples from Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, Quaternary International, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.03.016.

Larsen M.C., 2014, Global change and water availability and quality: challenges ahead. In: Ahuja S. (ed.) Comprehensive Water Quality and Purification, vol. 1, p. 11-20. United States of America, Elsevier.

Larsen, M.C., 2012, Global change and water resources, where are we headed? Water Resources Impact, American Water Resources Association, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 3-7.

Larsen, M.C., 2012, Landslides and sediment budgets in four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico, ch. F in Murphy, S.F., and Stallard, R.F., eds., Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1789, p. 153-178.

Larsen, M.C., and Webb, R.M.T., 2009, Potential effects of runoff, fluvial sediment and nutrient discharges on the coral reefs of Puerto Rico, Journal of Coastal Research, v. 25, p. 189-208. ISSN 0749-0208.

Keefer, D.K., and Larsen, M.C., 2007, Assessing Landslide Hazards, Science, v. 316, p. 1136-1138.

Larsen, M.C., and Wieczorek, G.F., 2006, Geomorphic effects of large debris flows and flash floods, northern Venezuela, 1999, Tropical Geomorphology with Special Reference to South America, Latrubesse, Edgardo, ed., Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Suppl. Vol. 145, p. 147-175.

Larsen, M.C. and Santiago-Román, Abigail, 2001, Mass wasting and sediment storage in a small montane watershed: an extreme case of anthropogenic disturbance in the humid tropics, in Dorava, J. M., Palcsak, B.B., Fitzpatrick, F. and Montgomery, D., eds., Geomorphic Processes and Riverine Habitat, American Geophysical Union, Water Science & Application Series Volume 4, p. 119-138.

Larsen, M.C., 2000, Analysis of 20th century rainfall and streamflow to characterize drought and water resources in Puerto Rico, Physical Geography, v. 21, p. 494-521.

Larsen, M.C., Torres-Sánchez, A.J., and Concepción, I.M., 1999, Slopewash, surface runoff, and fine-litter transport in forest and landslide scars in humid-tropical steeplands, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 24, p. 481-502.

Brown, E. T., Stallard, R. F., Larsen, M. C., Bourlès, D. L., Raisbeck, G. M., and Yiou, F., 1998, Determination of predevelopment denudation rates of an agricultural watershed (Cayaguás River, Puerto Rico) using in situ-produced 10Be in river-borne quartz, Earth and Planetary Sciences Letterss, v. 160, p. 723-728.

Larsen, M.C., and Torres Sánchez, A.J., 1998, The frequency and distribution of recent landslides in three montane tropical regions of Puerto Rico, Geomorphology, v. 24, no. 4, p. 309-331.

Larsen, M.C. and Parks, J.E., 1997, How wide is a road? The association of roads and mass-wasting disturbance in a forested montane environment, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 22, p. 835-848.

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