ORE-CZ: Methane emission from wetlands surrounding Lake Pontchartrain

湿地会排放甲烷，这是一种强有力的温室气体。这种排放的特征取决于湿地的个体特征。在这项研究中，重点是庞恰特雷恩湖的湿地，这是北美墨西哥湾沿岸最大的湿地之一。由于侵蚀、堤坝和运河的建设、墨西哥湾的咸水入侵以及城市化，这些湿地面临着相当大的压力。在此背景下，具体的研究计划是使用红外光谱评估庞恰特雷恩湖沿岸不同地点土壤的甲烷排放，并将数据与文献中报告的其他湿地的数据进行比较。研究还将研究土壤特性和当地环境与观测到的气体排放模式的关系。这项工作的结果可以显示庞恰特雷恩湖周围的大型湿地如何对全球甲烷排放做出贡献，以及驱动被调查湿地释放气体的因素。此外，这些发现将提供能够更好地管理湿地的信息，并支持路易斯安那州在2050年前实现温室气体净零排放的努力，其中包括一项将恢复的湿地用作长期碳储存汇的计划。该项目为在历史悠久的黑人学院和大学注册的本科生提供了STEM研究机会，并得到了国家科学基金会HBCU-本科生计划的部分支持。湿地贡献了全球约30%的甲烷排放，因此是大气中这种温室气体积累的重要贡献者。尽管有许多研究报告，但理论和测量的甲烷估计值以及个别湿地的模式之间仍存在差异。不一致的产生是因为特定湿地的甲烷排放取决于水位、土壤特性、植被类型和地形。这项研究的重点是评估庞恰特雷恩湖周围湿地的甲烷气体，庞恰特雷恩湖是北美墨西哥湾沿岸最大的湿地之一，湿地面积不断减少，淡水植被类型逐渐转变为咸水植被类型。新奥尔良及其郊区的城市扩张是湿地的一个独特压力来源，其排放的污水影响了湿地。该计划是使用便携的、用户友好的红外线设备，从庞恰特雷恩湖周围的不同湿地位置收集不同条件下的土壤甲烷排放，并将发现整合到更大的湿地碳循环框架中。为此，研究将修改现有的甲烷收集方案，测试土壤特性，调查重金属污染情况，并评估湿地土壤的生物活性。目的是了解应激源与湿地气体排放模式之间的关系。这一结果有望带来更好的湿地管理，并支持路易斯安那州通过湿地恢复努力优化碳封存潜力的计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Wetlands emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The characteristics of this emission depend on the individual characteristics of the wetland. In this research, the focus is on the wetlands of Lake Pontchartrain, which is one of the largest wetlands along the Gulf Coast of North America. These wetlands are under considerable stress due to erosion, construction of levees and canals, saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico, and urbanization. Against this backdrop, the specific research plan is to assess methane emissions from the soil at different locations along Lake Pontchartrain using infrared spectroscopy and compare the data to those reported in the literature for other wetlands. The research will also study the relation of the soil characteristics and the local environment with the observed emission pattern of the gas. The outcome of this work can show how the large wetlands around Lake Pontchartrain contribute to global methane emissions and the factors that drive the release of the gas from the investigated wetlands. Furthermore, the findings will provide information that can enable better management of wetlands and support Louisiana’s effort toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which includes a plan to use restored wetlands as a sink for long-term carbon storage. This project provides research opportunities in STEM for undergraduate students enrolled at a Historically Black College and University, and it is supported in part by the HBCU-Undergraduate Program at the National Science Foundation.Wetlands contribute about 30% of global methane emissions and are thus a significant contributor to the accumulation of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Despite many research reports, discrepancies between theoretical and measured methane estimation and patterns from individual wetlands are observed. Inconsistencies arise because methane emission from a particular wetland is dependent on water level, soil characteristics, vegetation type, and topography. This research focuses on assessing methane gas from wetlands around Lake Pontchartrain, one of the largest along the Gulf Coast of North America, which has seen a steady loss of wetland area and a gradual conversion of freshwater to saltwater vegetation types. A unique stressor to the wetlands is the urban sprawl of New Orleans and its suburbs, whose effluents impacts the wetlands. The plan is to use portable, user-friendly infrared-based devices to collect soil methane emissions under different conditions from various wetland locations surrounding Lake Pontchartrain and integrate the findings into the larger framework of carbon cycling from wetlands. To this end, the research will modify existing methane collection protocols, test soil characteristics, survey heavy metal contamination and assess the biological activity of the wetland soil. The objective is to understand the relation between stressors and the emission pattern of the gas from the wetlands. The result is expected to lead to better management of wetlands and support Louisiana’s plan to optimize the carbon sequestration potential through wetland restoration efforts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.