David Butman is an ecologist and biogeochemist whose research focuses on freshwater environments. In particular, he examines the influence of humans on climate and carbon cycling and water quality. To identify environmental stressors and better understand how we might mitigate resource degradation, David uses chemical and biological tracers, as well as satellites to look at how natural systems can change as a result of anthropogenic carbon emissions, alteration of the landscape and climate change. David is part of the the UW Freshwater Initiative, an interdisciplinary research program that explores ways to measure, quantify and understand the impacts of climate, land use, and management of water resources.