FT ICRMS porewater analysis to quantify dissolved organic carbon lability and microbial activity in a coastal salt marsh
EMSL Project ID
48713
Abstract
It is imperative to understand the processes that govern greenhouse gas and dissolved organic carbon production in environments that currently operate as global carbon sinks. Salt marshes store large amounts of carbon as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and as gaseous carbon (CO2 and CH4), but may release vast quantities to the atmosphere and surrounding ecosystems as the climatic conditions are altered . Increasing temperatures, shifting vegetation patterns, and rising sea-levels can all affect these sensitive environments. The amount of CH4 emissions reported from these areas varies widely from negligible to similar to amounts released from northern peatlands (1.7–18 mmol m-2 d-1) depending on sulfate concentrations, tidal cycles, and vegetation types. In this study, we will quantify the amount of CH4 and CO2 produced and emitted from a coastal salt marsh with previously developed isotope-mass balance calculations. These measurements will be done at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. In conjunction with these measurements, the use of high resolution mass spectrometry at EMSL will aid in the identification of DOC degradation pathways that leads to greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., fermentations, methylation/demethylation).
Project Details
Start Date
2015-01-05
End Date
2015-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Smith AP, B Bond-Lamberty, BW Benscoter, MM Tfaily, R Hinkle, C Liu, and VL Bailey. 2017. "Shifts in pore connectivity from precipitation versus groundwater rewetting increases soil carbon loss after drought." Nature Communications 8:Article No. 1335. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01320-x