CNIC: US-Switzerland-Australia Site Visits to Advance Black Carbon Research through New International Collaborations

在国家科学基金会的支持下，首席研究员Francesca Cotrufo将与瑞士苏黎世大学和澳大利亚凯恩斯的詹姆斯库克大学的合作伙伴开展新的合作，以扩大和加强科罗拉多州立大学的黑碳（BC）研究项目。目标是确定最适合大规模，准确量化环境中BC的方法。炭黑是由有机物在火灾中燃烧产生的，是土壤中普遍存在的成分。虽然我们对土壤中的BC动力学及其通过溶解进入河流和海洋的运动的机理理解正在迅速发展，但我们对模型中使用的参数进行大规模准确估计的能力仍然受到现有方法的限制。与科罗拉多州立大学的同事合作，PI开发了苯聚羧酸（BPCA）方法，用于精确定量土壤，沉积物和水中的BC，并分析了来自这些不同基质的200多个样品。在国外，美国团队将与他们的同行合作，通过另外两种方法分析这些样品，从而增加整体努力：苏黎世大学的中红外法和詹姆斯库克大学的氢热解（Hy-Py）法。这两种方法都有潜力为大规模的BC研究做出重大贡献，因为它们相对便宜且具有高通量。最后，在科罗拉多举行的数据综合会议上，美国、瑞士和澳大利亚的合作伙伴将共同分析和整合他们的数据，以考虑下一步的长期合作BC研究工作。如果成功，他们的初步结果将有助于确定在一系列环境矩阵中进行大规模BC分析的改进方法，从而进一步增强我们对BC动力学的理解和建模。这种催化伙伴关系将通过国际研究访问和参与多国合作，促进一名美国学生和一名来自科罗拉多州立大学的早期职业科学家的教育和专业发展。为了产生更广泛的影响，将开发一个关于土壤中的黑碳和全球碳循环的教学模块，并将其纳入高级在线课程，可通过科罗拉多州立大学在线+系统在全球范围内注册。此外，完成后，该模块将成为苏黎世大学土壤科学和生物地球化学硕士研究框架下的在线视频讲座的一部分。

With NSF support, prinicpal investigator Francesca Cotrufo will initiate new collaboration with partners at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and the James Cook University, in Cairns, Australia, to expand and enhance Colorado State University's Black Carbon (BC) research program. The goal is to identify the most suitable method for large-scale, accurate quantification of BC in the environment. Black Carbon is produced by combustion of organic matter during fire, and is a ubiquitous component of soils. While our mechanistic understanding of BC dynamics in soil and its movement via dissolution into rivers and the ocean is advancing rapidly, our ability to produce large-scale accurate estimates for the parameters used in models is still limited by the available methods. In concert with CSU colleagues,the PI has developed the Benzene Polycarboxylic Acid (BPCA) method for accurate quantification of BC in soils, sediments and water and analyzed over 200 samples from these different matrices. While abroad, the US team will add to the overall effort by working with their counterparts to analyze these samples by two other methods: the Mid-IR method at the University of Zurich, and the Hydrogen-Pyrolysis (Hy-Py) method at James Cook University. Both methods have the potential to significantly contribute to large-scale BC studies, as they are relatively inexpensive and have high throughput. Finally, at a data-synthesis meeting in Colorado, the U.S., Swiss and Australian partners will collectively analyze and integrate their data for the purpose of considering next steps toward a longer-term cooperative BC research effort. If successful, their preliminary results should help identify an improved method for large-scale BC analyses in a range of environmental matrices and therefore further enhance our understanding and modelling of BC dynamics. This catalytic partnership will promote the education and professional development of one U.S. student and an early career scientist from CSU, through international research visits and engagement in multi-national collaboration. For broader impact, a teaching module on Black Carbon in Soils and in the Global Carbon Cycle will be developed and included in a senior level on-line class, available for registration world-wide through the CSU On-line Plus system. Furthermore, when completed, this module will become part of the online video lectures in the framwork of master studies in soil science and biogeochemistry at the University of Zurich.