CAREER: Climate Change Impacts on the Interrelationship between Iron Cycling and Organic Carbon: Environmental Biogeochemical Research and Education from Molecular to Field Scale

职业：气候变化对铁循环和有机碳之间相互关系的影响：从分子到现场尺度的环境生物地球化学研究和教育

• 批准号: 0847683
• 负责人: Thomas Borch
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0847683&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Climate; Change; Impacts; Interrelationship

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Intensification of hydrologic regimes due to climate change will have important impacts on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem services, but quantifying these impacts experimentally remains a key challenge for earth scientists. My research goal is to investigate the potential impacts of increased precipitation on the interrelationship between biogeochemical cycling of iron and organic matter. In pursuit of this goal, the objectives of this CAREER proposal are to: 1) determine the impact of increasing water content on the iron mineralogy and chemical structure of humic substances along subalpine moisture gradients, 2) Elucidate the role of chemical structure and concentration of humic substances on iron biomineralization along these moisture gradients and in detailed laboratory studies, and 3) Reveal the influence of aqueous geochemistry on the spatial distribution and macromolecular structure of humic substances at the mineral?water interface. The research approach is integrative and will investigate biogeochemical transformations of iron minerals, humic substance structures, and iron organic matter interactions along subalpine moisture gradients at the USDA FS Fraser Experimental Forest in Colorado. In addition, well-characterized iron minerals will be inserted into the soil at multiple depths along the moisture transects to provide more information about the impact of moisture on iron biomineralization pathways under natural conditions. Microbial iron reduction and the spatial distribution, macromolecular structure and chemical composition of humic substances at the iron-water interface will be studied for the first time at the nanometer-scale by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. My long-term educational goals are to: 1) educate and train future scientists with a tool box of analytical and problem solving skills to address the most complex challenges in environmental biogeochemistry, and 2) to get more woman and minorities interested in the field of Earth sciences. In pursuit of these goals, the objectives of this CAREER proposal are to: 1) Integrate today's Environmental Biogeochemistry topics into the environmental science curriculum in a real time format, and 2) Launch MEB (Mentoring Environmental Biogeochemistry): an undergraduate research program that brings together multi-disciplinary participants to increase diversity in environmental science and enhance the pipeline for graduate studies. The educational approach is to develop a set of new courses that integrate the need for responsive environmental biogeochemistry topics in the environmental science curriculum and that will be evaluated and assessed professionally. Inquiry-based learning and peer-learning with a laboratory component will be especially valuable for training of scientists in an interdisciplinary field. MEB activities will also specifically address the need for representation of woman and minorities by focusing on topics that have demonstrated to attract underrepresented groups. Intellectual Merit: It is important that we know the impact of climate change on biogeochemical cycling of iron because this could have significant impact on the fate and transport of pollutants and organic carbon. In fact, it was recently concluded that iron minerals are a major control in long-term organic carbon sequestration in soils. This study challenges that conclusion since a change in soil redox potential due to flooding could potentially lead to a release of ?sequestered? carbon due to reductive dissolution of iron. Broader Impacts: Improved education and training of a diverse group of students, teachers, and researchers including underrepresented in environmental biogeochemistry will help solve complex environmental problems. Advancing the understanding of climate impacts on biogeochemical cycling of iron benefits society by providing knowledge about potential costly environmental problems that have not been considered up to now and that could lead to increased pollution and further threaten the global water and food supply. Dissemination of results will be conducted broadly at four main levels: 1) Publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international conferences are obvious but important routes of dissemination. The PI is a guest editor for an Environmental Science & Technology focus issue on Biogeochemical Redox Processes and their Impact on Contaminant Dynamics. 2) Outreach to High School Teachers and Younger Students: The PI and his students will participate in K12, Building Bridges, and ?High School Day programs at CSU. 3) Workshops and International Outreach: The PI will organize the next Telluride Science Research Center workshop on environmental biogeochemistry and will conduct a workshop in Germany discussing synchrotron radiation based tools in environmental biogeochemistry. 4) Cooperative Extension and Community Outreach: Current research of the PI with the agricultural experiment station has provided an ideal vehicle for dissemination of results to the agricultural community. The PIs research will also be communicated to the public via radio stations and news papers. The CSU School of Global Environmental Sustainability will help meet the ambitious goals of this project.

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏与再投资法》（公法111-5）资助的。由于气候变化而引起的水文制度的强化将对生物地球化学过程和生态系统服务产生重要影响，但是对这些影响进行实验量化仍然是地球科学家的关键挑战。我的研究目的是研究增加降水对铁与有机物生物地球化学循环之间相互关系的潜在影响。为了实现这一目标，这项职业提议的目标是：1）确定增加水含量对铁矿物学的影响和沿亚钙碱水分潮汐沿亚高山水分梯度的化学结构的影响，2）阐明腐殖质的化学结构的作用以及腐殖质浓度的作用矿物质腐殖质的结构？该研究方法是综合性的，将研究沿着科罗拉多州USDA FS Fraser实验森林的亚高山水分梯度沿亚高山水分梯度的铁矿物质，腐殖质物质结构和铁有机物相互作用的生物地球化学转化。此外，沿水分样带的多个深度将良好的特征化铁矿物插入土壤中，以提供有关在自然条件下水分对铁生物矿化途径的影响的更多信息。通过扫描X射线显微镜扫描X射线显微镜，将首次研究微生物铁还原和铁水界面上腐殖质物质的空间分布，大分子结构和化学成分。我的长期教育目标是：1）使用一个分析和解决问题的技巧来教育和培训未来的科学家，以应对环境生物地球化学中最复杂的挑战，以及2）使更多对地球科学领域感兴趣的女性和少数民族。为了实现这些目标，这项职业建议的目标是：1）将当今的环境生物地球化学主题融入以实时格式纳入环境科学课程中，以及2）启动MEB（指导环境生物地球化学）：一项不科学的研究计划，使多学科的研究参与者融合了多学科的研究，以使环境科学的多样性和培训能力融合了各种能力，以使各能力融合了各种能力。教育方法是开发一系列新课程，以整合环境科学课程中响应式环境生物地球化学主题的需求，并将进行专业评估和评估。基于询问的学习和与实验室组件的同伴学习对于在跨学科领域的科学家培训中特别有价值。 MEB活动还将专门解决妇女和少数民族代表的需求，通过专注于表明吸引代表性不足的群体的主题。智力优点：重要的是，我们必须知道气候变化对铁的生物地球化学循环的影响，因为这可能会对污染物和有机碳的命运和运输产生重大影响。实际上，最近得出的结论是，铁矿物是土壤中长期有机碳固相的主要控制。这项研究挑战了这一结论，因为由于洪水造成的土壤氧化还原潜力的变化可能会导致隔离的释放吗？由于铁的还原性溶解而引起的碳。更广泛的影响：改善了多种学生，教师和研究人员的教育和培训，包括环境生物地球化学中代表性不足的人，将有助于解决复杂的环境问题。通过提供有关潜在昂贵的环境问题的知识，这些问题尚未被考虑到现在，这可能会导致污染增加并进一步威胁全球水和食品供应，从而促进对气候对铁益处社会生物地球化学的影响的理解。结果的传播将在四个主要层面上进行广泛进行：1）在国家和国际会议上进行同行评审期刊和演讲中的出版物是显而易见但很重要的传播途径。 PI是环境科学与技术重点问题的客座编辑，这些问题涉及生物地球化学氧化还原过程及其对污染动力学的影响。 2）向高中老师和年轻的学生推广：PI和他的学生将参加K12，在CSU建造桥梁和？高中日计划。 3）研讨会和国际宣传：PI将组织下一个关于环境生物地球化学的校尿素科学研究中心研讨会，并将在德国举办一个研讨会，讨论基于同步加速器的辐射工具在环境生物地球化学方面。 4）合作扩展和社区外展：与农业实验站对PI进行的当前研究为农业社区提供了将结果传播的理想工具。 PIS研究还将通过广播电台和新闻报纸传达给公众。 CSU全球环境可持续性学校将有助于实现该项目的雄心勃勃的目标。