Naomi S. Wells
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15nswells.bsky.social
Naomi S. Wells
@15nswells.bsky.social
290 followers 350 following 140 posts
Biogeochemistry, often using stable isotopes, trying to figure out where nitrogen goes (& sometimes also carbon). Working at Lincoln University (New Zealand). Wellesley College alum. Homepage: https://sites.google.com/view/wells-soil-and-water/home
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
mehr.nz
Auckland Uni has responded to my OIA request re consultancy spending in 2024-2025

$600k to PWC and $500k to Nous Group for "strategic design, organisational change, transformation
services" etc

This is roughly what our whole faculty of science spent on internally funded postdocs in the same years
What consulting companies is Auckland Uni working with and how much are the companies being paid? - a Official Information Act request to University of Auckland
Could you please provide a list of contracts the University entered into, in 2024 and 2025, with external consulting firms; the topic of the work undertaken (e.g., strategic planning); and the total c...
fyi.org.nz
December 2, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
johanrooryck.bsky.social
But did NZ consider the cost of transporting all those pixels all the way there?
November 28, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
kathrinrousk.bsky.social
Still time to apply to work on #symbioses #mosses #cyanobacteria! Join us in #Copenhagen! @voltcenter.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
hansonmark.bsky.social
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
tacaro.bsky.social
this is a nightmare and i love it
hadley.nz Hadley Wickham @hadley.nz · 25d
Do you teach #rstats? Do your students complain about how lame and old-fashioned dplyr is? Don't worry: I have the solution for you: github.com/hadley/genzp....

genzplyr is dplyr, but bussin fr fr no cap.
GitHub - hadley/genzplyr: dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap
dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap. Contribute to hadley/genzplyr development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:29 PM
15nswells.bsky.social
Pretty nice day for exploring field sites in Arthur’s Pass National Park 👩‍🔬This summer we’re kicking off some new work using a braided river spring complex to figure out how (if?) invasive plants affect stream energy
Small stream with clear water green macrophytes growing in it. The stream run through a tussock grassland with mountains on either side.
November 4, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
martin-nunez.bsky.social
a century of glaciers melting 🧪🌐
November 3, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
eos.org
A greater focus on the nitrogen cycle could improve climate modeling, suggests new research.
Global Climate Models Need the Nitrogen Cycle—All of It - Eos
Nitrogen plays important roles in areas including climate change, human health, and agriculture. A researcher argues that climate models would benefit from more fully incorporating its influence.
eos.org
November 2, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
kathrinrousk.bsky.social
We are organising a session on #Nitrogen biogeochemistry - links to other elements and biodiversity at #BIOGEOMON 2026 in Umeå! Join us! @benhoulton.bsky.social
October 9, 2025 at 6:31 AM
15nswells.bsky.social
🤔 not super inspiring really. Usually I like my chemically suppliers to be able to differentiate between chemical compounds. Now I’m doubting myself. Has nitrite really just been a synonym for nitrate all along, missing oxygen be damned????
Screenshot from sigma Aldrich website, listing 15N labelled potassium nitrate. And also listing ‘15N labelled potassium nitrite’ as its synonym.
October 7, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
vargaslab.bsky.social
⭐️Nominate an Impactful Dataset

@agu.org invites you to nominate an impactful dataset!

📊Submissions will be considered for inclusion in an upcoming featured commentary published in AGU Advances.

Submit nominations by 20 October.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

@agubiogeosciences.bsky.social
Nominate an Impactful Dataset
You are invited to nominate a dataset to be included in a commentary about the impact of Earth, space, and environmental data using the dimensions of people, planet, and prosperity. Selected submitter...
docs.google.com
October 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
markrubin.bsky.social
Report on Australian Higher Education finds:

🔹️ Council members have no lived experience of universities

🔹️ Council members have COIs with consultancy firms

🔹️ Council meetings are closed affairs that lack transparency

🔹️ Leaders' exorbitant salaries could not be justified
One submission said leaders’ salaries could not be “justified by the quality of executive decision-making, nor by the scope of executive duties. The core business of a university – teaching and research – is co-ordinated virtually entirely by ordinary non-executive staff”.
September 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
15nswells.bsky.social
Science conferences next year: should I go to ASLO-SIL aquatic sciences in Montreal or BIOGEOMON in Umea??

Timing for the latter is much better with my teaching calendar, so really the question is: BIOGEOMON - as great as I imagine it to be? (I’ve never been to one)
September 26, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
friedmanlab.bsky.social
With the extinction of dinosaurs, dense, closed-canopy forests could proliferate, leading to shifts in fluvial structure and accumulation of organics. This represented a profound change in the landscape, illustrated here by the incomparable Julius Csotonyi.
Two-panel illustration showing sparse trees in a Cretaceous landscape (bottom) and densely forested Paleocene landscape.
September 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
agu.org
Today we celebrate the 20th anniversary AGU’s JGR: Biogeosciences!🎉

For two decades, the journal has published original research, methods, and data articles on the biogeosciences of the Earth system.

🔗 Learn how to submit: buff.ly/RcwG5Ty

#AGUPubs @jgrbiogeo.bsky.social
Graphic with journal statistics.
September 12, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
benbondlamberty.bsky.social
Join our COMPASS-FME project! U-Toledo seeks a postdoctoral research associate to study methane cycling in coastal ecosystems under different flooding regimes careers.utoledo.edu/en-us/job/49...
Postdoctoral Research Associate
The Department of Environmental Sciences, at the University of Toledo, OH seeks a postdoctoral research associate to study the methane cycling in coastal ecosystems under different flooding regime.
careers.utoledo.edu
August 12, 2025 at 9:35 AM
15nswells.bsky.social
New work out in GRL: greenhouse gas emissions across human-modified land-to-ocean aquatic continuums. We show how storms shift aquatic emission magnitude & pattern. This arose from (completely unplanned!) estuary sampling during a winter storm.

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Two scientists wearing waterproof outdoor gear standing on the shore holding a large metal object. The sea behind them has small choppy waves and the beach is covered in green seaweed wrack.
August 6, 2025 at 3:45 AM
15nswells.bsky.social
Today was spent exploring new potential alpine river study sites with Helen, Angus, & Saskia. Back and brimming with so many exciting ideas 🤗👩‍🔬

(Now just to figure out how to make these ideas happen…)
August 5, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
agu.org
📢Call for Papers!📢

A new #AGUPubs special collection seeks submissions that advance our understanding of human-altered nutrient and carbon cycles along the land-to-ocean continuum.

🔗 Learn how to submit: buff.ly/ZgVTHsm

#AOGS2025 #Geoscience #SDGs #Nutrients #Biogeochemistry
Special Collection Call for Papers! Changing biogeochemical cycles along the land-to-ocean aquatic continuum Now open for submissions in Earth's Future, Geophysical Research Letters, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, JAMES, JGR: Biogeosciences, or JGR: Oceans.
July 29, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
bioprotection.bsky.social
Recognised as a changemaker, our Director, Professor Amanda Black opens a brand-new series from the Nature podcast team — and how science, Indigenous knowledge, and leadership can shape the future of our ecosystems.

🎧 Listen now: zurl.co/aV3mu
The Māori values that make good sense in science
The Indigenous beliefs underpinning soil chemist Amanda Black's approach could deliver a more inclusive research culture, she says. The Indigenous beliefs underpinning soil chemist Amanda Black's approach could deliver a more inclusive research culture, she says.
www.nature.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
taylorecolab.bsky.social
Excited to share our new global estimate of nitrogen fixation out now in Nature! This work sets a new gold standard for understanding how much nitrogen is fixed in the terrestrial biosphere. Huge thanks so Carla Reis Ely for leading this incredible work! urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=htt...
Global terrestrial nitrogen fixation and its modification by agriculture - Nature
Biological nitrogen fixation may impose stronger constraints on the carbon sink in natural terrestrial biomes and represent a larger source of agricultural nitrogen than is generally considered in ana...
urldefense.proofpoint.com
July 17, 2025 at 12:24 PM
15nswells.bsky.social
Tfw you submitted your manuscript revisions >2 months ago and the revised manuscript is STILL listed as ‘awaiting reviewer assignment’ 🤯😩😭🙏
July 2, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
limnologylauren.bsky.social
New @agu.org session! Reduced nitrogen from source to impact: an interdisciplinary session on reduced nitrogen's complex environmental role. Invited speakers include USGS limnologist Dr. Michael Meyer @mishafredmeyer.bsky.social & Georgia Tech atmospheric scientist Da Pan #AGU2025 🧪🔥⚒️
A flyer for an AGU 2025 session titled, "A082: New Perspectives on the Exchange of Reduced Nitrogen Between the Atmosphere, Land, and Water from Remote Sensing, in situ Measurements, and Modeling Approaches" The description reads, "Reduced nitrogen from source to impact! From wildfires to agricultural inputs, diverse sources of reactive nitrogen drive significant ecological changes including eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and aquatic food web disruption across multiple environmental systems. Submit an abstract to our interdisciplinary session exploring atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic perspectives. We welcome contributions using remote sensing, field measurements, and modeling approaches that span complexity and spatiotemporal scales. Sections: Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeosciences" The conveners are Dr. Matthew Davis, Dr. Kimberley Corwin, and Dr. Lauren Magliozzi of Colorado State University. There is a QR code for the submission link, and the deadline is listed as 30 July 2025. The text is black on white boxes with blue accents, and the background features a blue sky with large, white clouds.
July 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Naomi S. Wells
michaelemann.bsky.social
Important editorial in @nature.com.
As I said a decade ago in an op-ed in the @nytimes.com (back when they were publishing stuff like that), "If You See Something, Say Something" (www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/o...)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
In the face of anti-science politics, silence is not without cost
More scientific leaders need to speak out about anti-science agendas and threats to academic freedom across the world.
www.nature.com
June 26, 2025 at 12:44 PM