Upgrade of Weighing Lysimeter Facility for Studying Ecosystem and Vadose Zone Dynamics in Arid Environments

本提案寻求资金来升级亚利桑那大学的称重溶析仪设备。该设施旨在测量植物的吸水和溶质运输，并将教学，研究和推广。目前配置的设施（建于20世纪90年代初）有三个45,000公斤的溶析仪，可以以±200克的精度称重。由于长期使用，该系统目前需要修复腐蚀损坏，重新校准和升级，以提供数据记录和现代传感器功能。升级后的系统将允许研究包括美国西南部相当大区域的干旱环境中的土壤水文地质过程。该设施将用于研究中尺度的生态系统和土壤水文耦合过程。将与沙漠研究所（DRI）的研究人员合作评价干旱环境中水资源的可持续性。植被和水文对不同降水模式的响应将在不同的沙漠环境中进行评估（例如马约夫沙漠与索诺兰沙漠）。该设施将与亚利桑那大学的大规模研究相结合。“生物圈2号”将有助于预测景观过程。升级将包括维修、实时渗湿仪数据流的仪器仪表、创建一个网络资源，该资源将创建一个教学环境观测站（IEO），并为干旱环境中耦合土壤水文和生态系统过程的合作研究奠定基础。资金将与pi的启动资金共享。土壤、水与环境科学系将提供一名兼职技术人员。西南沙漠地区的水问题带来了巨大的社会影响。干旱地区的抽水速率大大超过敏感含水层的补给速率。通过研究工作以及土壤与环境科学、水文学、生态学、自然资源和工程学等课程，将建立一个面向本科生和研究生的IEO，促进教育和推广。独立评估报告亦会提供给公众及环保人士。***

0744310TullerThis proposal seeks funding to upgrade the Weighing Lysimeter Facility at the University of Arizona. The facility is designed to measure plant water uptake and solute transport and will teaching, research and outreach. The currently-configured facility (built in the early 1990s) has three 45,000 kg lysimeters which can be weighed with an accuracy of ±200g. Due to long use, the system is currently in need of repair for corrosion damage, recalibration and upgrades to provide data logging and modern sensor capabilities. The upgraded system will allow research on soil hydrogeologic processes in arid environments which comprise a considerable area of the US southwest. The facility will be used to study the coupled ecosystem and soil hydrological processes - at the mesoscale. The sustainability of water resources in arid environments will be evaluated in collaboration with researchers at the Desert Research Institute (DRI). Vegetation and hydrologic responses to varying precipitation patters will be evaluated in different desert environments (e.g. Majove vs. Sonoran desert). The facility will interface with large-scale studies at the University of Arizona?s Biosphere 2 which will be instrumental in predicting landscape processes. The upgrade will consist of repairs, instrumenting real-time lysimeter data streams, producing a web resource which will create an Instructional Environmental Observatory (IEO), and create a foundation for collaborative research on coupled soil hydrological and ecosystem processes in arid environments. Funding will be shared with PIs' startup monies. A part-time technician will be provided by the Department of Soil, Water & Environmental Science. Water issues in the desert southwest carry tremendous societal impacts. Pumping rates in arid regions vastly exceed recharge rates for sensitive aquifers. Education and outreach will be fostered through the creation of an IEO accessible by undergraduate and graduate students through research efforts and through courses in Soil & Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Ecology, Natural Resources, and Engineering. The IEO will also be made available to the public and environment stakeholders.***