Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Investigation Of Biogeochemical Mechanisms Of Greenhouse Gas Production In The Urban Hudson River Estuary, Brian Alan Brigham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Coastal megacities deposit significant amounts of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and other pollutants into surrounding waters. These inputs, including wastewater and surface water runoff, may affect estuarine and adjacent wetland biogeochemical cycles, microbial production and ultimately greenhouse gas (GHG) efflux. In many megacities pollutant loading is typically greatest after periods of precipitation when the volume of wastewater and storm water runoff exceeds local sanitation capacity, resulting in the discharge of raw sewage into adjacent waters. These combined sewage overflow (CSO) events have received considerable attention primarily due to their potential impact on human health and eutrophication. However, whether these events …

The Impact Of Decadal Land Cover Change On The Global Warming Potential Of Beringian Arctic Tundra, David Hwei-Len Lin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Arctic terrestrial ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle. If arctic warming continues to rise as projected, large amounts of soil carbon stored in these ecosystems could be released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane and positively enhance greenhouse warming. Thus, improving understanding of the likely future state and fate of arctic soil carbon, and the carbon uptake potential of arctic terrestrial ecosystems are well recognized research priorities.

At the pan-arctic scale, decadal increases in NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), an index of vegetation productivity, have been observed from satellite imagery, indicating a general greening …

Implications Of Decade Time Scale Arctic Plant Community Change On Ecosystem Function, Mark Jason Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Almost half the global soil organic carbon pool is found in northern high latitudes. The majority of this soil carbon is stored in a greenhouse inert state within permafrost. As pronounced warming of high northern latitudes ensues, there is a strong likelihood that this substantial soil organic carbon pool will be mobilized to the atmosphere where it is likely to positively enhance greenhouse warming. Modeling studies suggest this positive feedback could alter future climate states of the Arctic and the globe, and affect how humans may need to adapt to climate change. Accordingly, understanding the patterns and controls and the …