High Arctic Biocomplexity Research - Thule, Greenland
The project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation
(0221606) titled "Coupling of carbon and water cycles in a cold, dry
ecosystem: Integrative physical, chemical and biological processes and
their controls on CO2 exchange". Logistical support is provided by VECO
Polar Resources.
Project overview: We are working to quantify the coupling of the carbon and water cycles and the interacting physical, chemical, and biological (PCB) processes that control C exchange between cold, dry terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Our work focuses on High Arctic ecosystems because our understanding of carbon and water relationships and net C exchange is only rudimentary for this extreme environment, making it impossible to predict the vulnerability of this ecosystem to the expected anthropogenically-exacerbated warming.