Grantee Research Project Results
The Effect of Elevated Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Concentrations and Vegetation Mortality on Mineral Weathering in Soils
EPA Grant Number: U915625Title: The Effect of Elevated Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Concentrations and Vegetation Mortality on Mineral Weathering in Soils
Investigators: Stephens, Jennie C.
Institution: California Institute of Technology
EPA Project Officer: Lee, Sonja
Project Period: September 1, 1999 through September 1, 2002
Project Amount: $99,167
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Earth Sciences , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Academic Fellowships
Objective:
The primary objective of this research project is to determine the response of mineral weathering to both elevated soil carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and varying organic acid concentrations in soils from Mammoth Mountain, CA.
Approach:
This research involves field sampling and analysis that compares the mineralogical and organic acid characteristics of soil samples from a high CO2 site on Mammoth Mountain to control soil samples collected from the same area that have not been exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations. This field work will be complemented with laboratory studies that assess weathering rates of soil minerals under controlled partial pressures of CO2 and varied organic acid concentrations.
Expected Results:
Research of the Mammoth Mountain high CO2 site will provide data about the response of mineral weathering in soils to high CO2 concentrations, in conjunction with changes in organic acid concentrations caused by vegetation mortality.
Supplemental Keywords:
mineral weathering, carbon dioxide, organic acids, soil chemistry, mineral dissolution, Sierra Nevada, Mammoth Mountain, soil science., RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Ecology, Environmental Chemistry, Monitoring/Modeling, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Monitoring, ecosystem health, vegetation, weathering rates, environmental measurement, monitoring, analytical chemistry, soil chemistryProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.