Collaborative Research: An EarthCube Domain Workshop integrating the inland-waters biogeochemistry and fluvial sedimentology communities, April 22-24.

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

Continental surface waters represent distinct environments that are hot spots of biogeochemical storage and transformation, as well as conduits for large-scale material transport to the oceans and atmosphere. These systems are integral components of global geochemical cycles, are intertwined with human health and economic activity, and are highly sensitive to anthropogenic impacts. Without data from a wide variety of disciplines, such as organic and physical chemistry, ecosystem science, sedimentology, landscape evolution, water-rock interaction, and element and material cycles (weathering products, trace elements, carbon burial, nutrient fluxes, mineral particles, etc.), it is not possible to realistically model these important surface water systems and understand the complex interactions between their various physical and biological components. Data necessary to populate such models comes from field-based, experimental, laboratory, and theoretical work, involving short research projects, long-term research observatories, and water quality monitoring systems. The goal of this workshop is to surface requirements in the fields of river and fresh water biogeochemical studies for a major new NSF data and knowledge management initiative (i.e., EarthCube) that is dedicated to revolutionizing geoscience by providing easy access to, discovery of, and visualization of data from across the geo- and environmental sciences. This workshop will bring together ~60 geoscientists from across the US who come from relevant disciplines, including cyber/computer science experts, this coallition of parties will have a job to collectively define future science goals in this important arena. It will also be used to identify the most critical, widespread needs shared by those working on surface water and fresh water biogeochemical problems and to guide the development of NSF EarthCube cyberinfrastructure for this community. The workshop will also focus on strategies that help scientists and data that they need to cross sub-discipline barriers. Discussions will encompass all aspects of experimental, in-situ, geospatial, and modeling data as well as address issues related to quantitative analytical and scaling approaches that enable the integration of observations. Workshop participants will also address topics such as process rates along flow paths ranging from short scales such as sediment-water interfaces, to continental-scale basins. Progress addressing these needs in a coordinated fashion across sub-disciplines has the potential to lead to transformative advancements in this dispersed but critical intersection of research communities. Broader impacts of the work center primarily on building infrastructure for science.