Research outside of B2 and linkages to non-model ecosystems
Research at B2 is both cutting edge and interdisciplinary. The strength of the facility is that it offers the ability to conduct controlled research and experiments at spatial and temporal scales unprecedented in the wild. This unique feature allows the connection of mechanism and process and linkages between scales as the result of B2 research. That said, the biomes of B2 represent large-scale model systems, and the understanding generated within will have its greatest strength when linked with research conducted in wild ecosystems outside the glass. Collaborations with southwestern research initiatives such as the Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) and the Southwestern Ecohydrology Array (SECA) provide the real-world analogs for research conducted within Biosphere 2.
Current projects:
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Soil moisture and flux measurements outside of the B2
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Developing a Critical Zone Observatory in the Jemez River Basin (NM) and the Santa Catalina Mountains (SCM)
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Climate variation and western mountain forest carbon exchange
- Vegetative and climatic change influences on carbon balance
Soil moisture and flux measurements outside of the B2
UA scientists have set up a small tower for turbulent flux measurements and a COSMOS probe for soil moisture measurements outside the Biosphere 2 glass. The COSMOS project was recently funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) for $5.45M/4 yr to measure soil moisture at the intermediate horizontal scale of ca. 700 m and 20-50 cm depth and to test the feasibility of measuring water above the ground surface (snow, canopy).
For questions please contact Shirley Kurc Papuga kurc@cals.arizona.edu.
Developing a Critical Zone Observatory in the Jemez River Basin (NM) and the Santa Catalina Mountains (SCM)
An interdisciplinary team of researchers is establishing a "Critical Zone Observatory" in the Southwest with the help of a five-year, $4.35 million grant to The University of Arizona from the National Science Foundation. The UA-led effort is called the Jemez River Basin-Santa Catalina Mountains Critical Zone Observatory. The observatory is designed as a natural laboratory for the earth science community to test hypotheses related to critical zone function in relation to climatic and water cycle variation.
For questions contact Jon Chorover chorover@cals.arizona.edu.
Climate variation and western mountain forest carbon exchange
B2 is managing an eddy covariance flux-tower system that monitors carbon and water exchange between a high-elevation, forested mountain and the atmosphere. The tower also logs a variety of micrometeorological data to supplement the understanding of these fluxes within this complex terrain. The tower data are used to evaluate how western mountain forests are influenced by climatic variation and if they are sources or sinks of atmospheric CO2 in the short- and longer-term.
For questions contact Greg Barron-Gafford gregbg@email.arizona.edu.
Vegetative and climatic change influences on carbon balance
Since the early 1900s, woody plants have been encroaching into native grasslands, and this transition in the dominant vegetative cover can have profound effects on the carbon source/sink status of ecosystems, as well as directly influence rates of water use. B2 is managing a series of eddy covariance flux-towers that monitor carbon and water exchange between these ecosystems (grasslands, mixed shrublands, and fully-encroached woodlands) and the atmosphere, within both riparian and upland settings. The data from this network of towers are used to investigate the ecohydrological consequences of woody plant encroachment within semiarid regions.
For questions contact Greg Barron-Gafford gregbg@email.arizona.edu.