Collaborative Research: ITR/AP (DEB) Stochastic Synthesis: Simulating the Environmental Transformations of Natural Organic Matter

Kent State University, Kent OH

Investigators

Abstract

The waters and soils of our environment contain naturally-occurring organic matter (NOM), which helps to regulate soil fertility, pollutant toxicity, ecosystem behavior and carbon cycling. These in turn affect agricultural production, public and ecosystem health, and global climate change. However, the processes which produce NOM from plant and animal matter are poorly understood, due to the complex nature of NOM and the multitude of possible reactions in the environment. This project will combine the efforts of ecologists, geochemists and computer scientists in an attempt to model this complex system using a novel stochastic approach. In this approach, millions of individual molecules are simulated and reacted together 'in silico' to provide a computer model of the complex natural processes. The model will be developed and tested via an internet collaboration, and ultimately will be accessible to agricultural, environmental and earth scientists via a simple web browser interface.