SGER: Effect of Soufriere Hills Volcanic Eruptions on the Plant and Soil Environment of Montserrat

该项目将调查苏弗里尔山火山喷发对蒙特塞拉特植物和土壤环境的影响。苏弗里尔山火山位于西印度群岛蒙特塞拉特岛的中南部。1997年，在一次大喷发之后，由于严重的火山灰和浮石沉积，岛南部三分之二的地区遭到严重破坏，迫使岛上这一部分人撤离。火山灰的极端高温和酸性造成的生态破坏是毁灭性的。2003年7月，火山穹顶再次坍塌。这导致更广泛的火山灰沉积，并对住房和植被造成严重破坏。火山喷发是大气和陆地生态系统中金属和类金属的自然来源。目前，人们越来越关注向环境中释放潜在有毒金属的问题。因此，我们的目标是研究苏弗里尔山火山对土壤生物地球化学/矿物学的影响，重点是高温、火山灰的酸度和金属沉积对土壤特性的影响。此外，还对植物抗酸基因和金属(铝等)的表达产生了影响。这一建议的理论价值在于，据我们所知，还没有关于新沉积的火山灰对土壤环境的生物地球化学/矿物学的时序影响的研究报道(这就是SGER的原因)。同样，据我们所知，还没有研究调查植物对酸性火山灰沉积的抗性基因。此外，还将使用X射线荧光微探针、Micro-XANES和EXAFS等尖端技术在原子水平上调查火山灰的化学性质。更广泛的影响来自HBCU的少数族裔学生将有机会参与尖端研究，其中的信息可能具有全球意义。

This project will investigate the effect of Soufriere Hills volcanic eruptions on the plant and soil environment of Montserrat. The Soufriere Hills volcano lies in the south-central part of Montserrat island, West Indies. In 1997, following a major eruption, there was significant damage to the southern 2/3 of the island because of heavy ash and pumice deposition, forcing evacuation of this part of the island. The ecological damage caused by the extreme high temperature and acidity of the ash was devastating. The volcano's dome collapsed again in July 2003. This resulted in even more widespread deposition of ash and serious damage to housing and vegetation. Volcanic eruptions are a natural source of metals and metalloids in both the atmosphere as well as terrestrial ecosystems. At present there is increasing concern with regard to the release of potentially toxic metals into the environment. Therefore, we aim to study the effect of the Soufriere Hills volcano on the biogeochemistry/mineralogy of the soils, concentrating on the impact of high temperatures, acidity of the ash, and metal deposition on soil characteristics. Additionally, the impact of the same on the expression of plant genes resistant to acidity and metals (aluminum etc.) will be investigated.The INTELLECTUAL MERIT of this proposal lies in the fact that, to our knowledge, no study has been reported that follows the time sequence effect of freshly deposited volcanic ash (hence the reason for SGER) on the biogeochemistry/mineralogy of the soil environment. Similarly, to our knowledge, no studies have investigated plant gene resistance to acidic volcanic ash deposition. In addition to this, cutting edge technology such as X-ray fluorescence microprobe, micro-XANES, and EXAFS will be employed to investigate the chemical nature of the ash at the atomic level.The BROADER IMPACT stems from the fact that minority students from an HBCU will get the opportunity to participate in cutting edge research, the information from which may have global significance.