Collaborative Proposal: WCR - Hydrologic Regulation of Dissolved Organic Matter Biogeochemistry from Forests through River Networks

每年，大量的有机碳以溶解分子的形式被河流输送到世界的海洋中。其中大部分碳的来源是小流域内的上层土壤，水在土壤中的运动控制着有机碳从地貌到溪流的输送。站在河岸上，调查人员同时观察上坡和下游，重点关注水分运动和有机碳供应的相互作用，调查山坡土壤、个别溪段和整个河网内的过程。这项提议将整合描述陆地和水环境中有机碳运动、转化、数量和质量的动态数学模型，并将产生第一个将水循环和河流流域的碳循环联系起来的模型。这项研究将对饮用水资源的管理产生重要成果，因为流域被认为是处理的第一阶段。此外，对水中有机分子动力学的进一步了解将提供关于潜在有害的人为化合物的去向和运输的宝贵信息，这些化合物附着在这些自然产生的分子上，并与这些分子一起运输。最后，为了加深对小溪在大河碳循环中的累积作用的理解，研究人员将向社会提供有关源头溪价值的信息。

0450331KaplanEach year, massive amounts of organic carbon, in the form of dissolved molecules, are transported to the oceans of the world by rivers. The source of most of that carbon is the upper layer of soils within small watersheds, and the movement of water through soils controls organic carbon delivery from the landscape to streams. Standing on the streambank, the investigators look both upslope and downstream, focusing on the interactions of water movement and organic carbon supply, investigating processes within the hillslope soils, individual stream reaches, and the entire river network. This proposal will integrate dynamic mathematical models that describe organic carbon movement, transformation, quantity and quality in terrestrial and aquatic environments and will generate the first model that links the water cycle and the carbon cycle of river catchments. The research will have important outcomes for the management of drinking water resources, where watersheds are recognized as the first stage of treatment. Additionally, an increased understanding of the dynamics of organic molecules in water will provide valuable information about the fate and transport of potentially harmful anthropogenic compounds that stick to and are transported with those naturally occurring molecules. Lastly, in developing an understanding of the cumulative role of small streams in the carbon cycle of large rivers, the researchers will contribute information concerning the value of headwater streams to society.