EAR-PF: Critical Zone Controls on Hydrology and the Fate of Nitrogen in Montane Forests of the Colorado Front Range, U.S.

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。Eve-Lyn S.Hinckley被授予美国国家科学基金会地球科学博士后奖学金，在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校开发一个综合研究和教育项目。该项目解决了在过程一级理解水文学和氮素生物地球化学之间相互作用方面的主要差距。通过定向野外工作，这些相互作用将在科罗拉多州博尔德市的Boulder Creek临界区天文台(BcCZO)进行研究。BcCZO的三个子流域代表了一系列的发育状态--从最近的冰川基岩到深层土壤剖面--以及生态带--从山地到高山--导致了水文响应、营养状况和植被群落的变化。这项由两部分组成的研究将集中于两个山地分流域：(1)调查径流路径如何沿山坡变化并影响一个分流域内N物种的去向和迁移；(2)评估两个分流域之间临界区发展的差异如何影响水文-生物地球化学耦合。为了解决这些未知问题，将在冬季降雪和模拟夏季风暴期间使用双同位素示踪剂(15N和氘)，以跟踪这些不同水文条件下土壤、水和微生物池中氮的命运和转化。这些知识与了解土壤和水的质量、对植被的养分供应和矿物风化有关--这些都是维持生命的正常生态系统的基本过程。在开展研究活动的同时，还将为科罗拉多大学博尔德分校开设的关键地带科学研究生课程编写一系列讲座。此外，这些信息将被提炼成适合参加大学举办的K-12科学发现计划的小学儿童的演讲和活动。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Dr. Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley is awarded an NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship to develop an integrated program of research and education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This project addresses the major gaps in the process-level understanding of the interactions between hydrology and nitrogen biogeochemistry. Through directed field efforts, these interactions will be studied at the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (BcCZO), in Boulder, CO. Three sub-catchments in the BcCZO represent a range of developmental states - from recently glaciated bedrock to deep soil profiles - and ecological zones - from montane to alpine - leading to variation in hydrologic response, nutrient status, and vegetation communities. This two-part study will focus on the two montane sub-catchments to: (1) Investigate how flow paths vary along a hillslope and affect the fate and transport of N species within a sub-catchment; and (2) Evaluate how differences in critical zone development between two sub-catchments affect hydrologic-biogeochemical coupling. To address these unknowns, dual isotopic tracers (15N and deuterium) will be applied during winter snowfall and simulated summer storms to track the fates and transformations of nitrogen in soil, water, and microbial pools under these different hydrologic conditions. This knowledge is relevant for understanding soil and water quality, nutrient supply to vegetation, and mineral weathering - the basic processes of functioning ecosystems that support life. In conjunction with the research activities, a series of lectures will be developed for a graduate-level course on Critical Zone Science to be taught at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In addition, this information will be distilled into talks and activities appropriate for elementary-aged children that participate in the K-12 Science Discovery Program run by the University.