Groundwater organic matter: carbon source or sink?

地下水中有机物对全球陆地碳收支的贡献尚不清楚。该项目旨在通过使用六个研究钻孔场和实验室设施来分析溶解和胶体有机质的浓度和特征，从而确定控制地下水有机质数量的过程。这是为了确定决定地下水有机物浓度的生物和物理化学过程的速率和程度。通过量化地下水作为碳源或碳汇的环境条件，该项目可以指导政策，使地下水资源的管理成为碳经济的一部分。

The contribution of organic matter in groundwater to the global terrestrial carbon budget is unknown. This project aims to determine the processes that control the amount of groundwater organic matter by using six research bore-fields and laboratory facilities to analyse the concentration and character of both dissolved and colloidal organic matter. This is designed to determine the rate and extent of both the biological and the physiochemical processes determining groundwater organic matter concentration. By quantifying the environmental conditions under which groundwater is a carbon source or sink, the project could guide policy to enable the management of the groundwater resource as part of the carbon economy.