RII Track-4:@NASA: Methane Dynamics Described Through the Fusion of Site and Satellite Data in Bottomland Hardwood Forested and Non-forested Wetlands

This Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-4 EPSCoR Research Fellows (RII Track-4) project will provide a fellowship to an Associate Professor and training for a graduate student at Murray State University. This work will be conducted in collaboration with researchers at NASA Ames Research Center. Through the fellowship, the PI aims to study the effects of changing climate on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in wetland ecosystems. The main goal of this fellowship is to better understand the dynamics of GHGs within wetland ecosystems by measuring GHG fluxes in mineral soil forested wetlands that are not well studied. The project will aim to improve the detection of GHG emissions from wetlands using satellites, reduce uncertainties in the GHG fluxes across larger spatial extents, and validate satellite-based GHG emission data. The project design allows for the quantification of GHG fluxes from all major pools (i.e., soils, stems, knees), and for the investigation of soil-vegetation interactions. The fellowship will strengthen the principal investigator’s ability to attract diverse students (women, first-generation, and minority students) to the field and provide them with opportunities to develop the research skills that can lead them to successful future careers. In addition, the fellowship will have a broader impact on the jurisdiction. Forested ecosystem carbon flux dynamics have a tremendous impact on global climate. In this project, the PI will extend knowledge of carbon dynamics by establishing a new site for measuring GHGs fluxes in mineral soil forested wetlands that are not well studied. The overarching objectives are to (1) improve understanding of the controls on GHG fluxes in mineral soil wetlands, and (2) to better understand the effects of landscape position and forest composition on the GHG fluxes between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The proposed methodology is designed to use both empirical measurements to identify hot spots and hot moments of GHG fluxes in these systems and improve regional GHG predictions. The strategy of linking the field campaign with remote sensing activities is aimed at providing new insights into the mapping of the controls of mineral soil wetland CH4 fluxes. NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) facilities will be essential for the processing and analysis of the satellite imagery needed to accomplish the task of fellowship. Furthermore, host collaborators will offer experience in methane modeling using remote sensing, flux tower, and field observations as input variables. The PI will be advised in the research associated with aquatic system satellite and airborne remote sensing expertise as well as associated aligned aquatic field observations to assist in accomplishing the proposed tasks. The information gained from this fellowship will provide insights about drivers of tree stem and bald cypress knees GHG emissions. 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.