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。欣克利被授予美国国家科学基金会地球科学博士后奖学金，在博尔德的科罗拉多大学开发研究和教育的综合计划。该项目解决了水文学和氮地球化学之间的相互作用的过程水平的理解的主要差距。通过直接的实地工作，这些相互作用将在博尔德溪临界区观测站（BcCZO），在博尔德，CO。三个子流域在BcCZO代表一系列的发展状态-从最近的冰川基岩深土壤剖面-和生态区-从山地到高山-导致水文响应，营养状况和植被群落的变化。 这两个部分的研究将集中在两个山区子流域：（1）调查如何流径变化沿着山坡和影响的命运和运输的N种子流域内;和（2）评价两个子流域之间的关键区发展的差异如何影响水文-地球化学耦合。 为了解决这些未知因素，双同位素示踪剂（15 N和氘）将在冬季降雪和模拟夏季风暴期间应用，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质、植被养分供应和矿物风化有关-这些是支持生命的生态系统的基本运作过程。 在研究活动的同时，将为在博尔德的科罗拉多大学教授的临界区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由大学运行的K-12科学发现计划的小学年龄的儿童的谈话和活动。

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.