Karen earned a B.A. (1998) in Geological Sciences from Cornell University, as well as an M.A. (2000) and a Ph.D. (2005) from the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests involve the combined use of field measurements, satellite remote sensing, and GIS to study large-scale linkages between land, atmosphere, ocean, and ice in polar environments. Over the past decade, she has conducted field-based research in West Siberia and East Siberia, as well as in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. Her most recent work focuses on impacts of permafrost thaw on river biogeochemistry and impacts of sea ice decline on biological productivity in polar shelf environments.