Organic carbon (OC) is exported from terrestrial to freshwater ecosystems where, not only is it being degraded and eventually lost as CO2, but such degradation occurs faster than in soils or marine systems. The flux from terrestrial to aquatic systems is increasing associated to anthropogenic perturbations, but despite the relevance of these fluxes for the global C cycle, Earth System Models (ESMs) are just starting to consider them. A particularly crucial region deserving urgent attention is the Arctic, as permafrost soils hold a massive C stock that is vulnerable to being mobilized towards freshwaters. Such transfer could turn that vulnerable C stock from a sink into a CO2 source. Determining the reactivity of that OC flux and incorporating it in surface models is key at the moment. The foundation of CHROME is the idea that the chemical diversity of OC explains its reactivity and, as such, should be considered in biogeochemical models. The main research objectives and matching hypothesis of CHROME are:
- To define and validate DOM chemical diversity indices based on functional traits that better represent the biodegradation function
- To improve the understanding on aquatic terrestrial linkages by determining DOM chemodiversity and biodegradation patterns in the circumpolar permafrost region.
- To implement 1) and 2) in a land surface model branch that considers chemical diversity and lateral C fluxes at that regional scale.
LAST UPDATES ON CHROME:
October 2021
We are just back from an amazing sampling campaign in Zackenberg Research Station, NE Greenland. Together with Ada Pastor and Cecilie Holmboe, from the team of the Rock-N-Role project at Aarhus University, we sampled streams, soils, snow and precipitation across different geologies in Zackenberg area to determine the sources of nutrients and carbon to the streams.
Samples are now spread all over the world, in our labs but also to collaborators at ETH (Switzerland), Uppsala University (Sweden), ENS (France) and Florida State University (USA) to perform analyses that help us further understand the molecular composition and availability for the riverine communities of those sources as well as the interplay between N and C. Keep posted! and meanwhile, some pics to share our adventures. Enjoy :) !
October 2021
We are just back from an amazing sampling campaign in Zackenberg Research Station, NE Greenland. Together with Ada Pastor and Cecilie Holmboe, from the team of the Rock-N-Role project at Aarhus University, we sampled streams, soils, snow and precipitation across different geologies in Zackenberg area to determine the sources of nutrients and carbon to the streams.
Samples are now spread all over the world, in our labs but also to collaborators at ETH (Switzerland), Uppsala University (Sweden), ENS (France) and Florida State University (USA) to perform analyses that help us further understand the molecular composition and availability for the riverine communities of those sources as well as the interplay between N and C. Keep posted! and meanwhile, some pics to share our adventures. Enjoy :) !