Towards Filling a Major Gap in the Greenhouse Gas Balance From the Arctic: Defining the Importance of N2O Emission in the North Slope of Alaska

San Diego State University Foundation, San Diego CA

Investigators

Abstract

The emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), from arctic soils to the atmosphere is unknown, but long thought to be negligible. New data suggests otherwise, especially in areas subjected to disturbance where vegetation cover has been lost. To better constrain these numbers and appraise the large-scale importance of this GHG, the researchers will make measurements across the coastal plain of Alaska. This project will continue the advancing of a well-established outreach activities that involve local communities and students in the North Slope of Alaska. Given that northern wetland ecosystems are N limited, the research community has assumed the soil emissions of N2O, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG), is negligible. However, this assumption ignores the large N pool associated with dead organic matter that can be released upon disturbance. The investigator’s preliminary data from Alaska suggest substantial N2O fluxes can occur, especially in terrain where ground slumping has occurred, resulting in unvegetated areas. The investigators will measure N2O fluxes using chambers across the North Slope of Alaska in vegetated and unvegetated areas to quantify the large-scale importance of this GHG. The investigators expect the results to be a step toward constraining the GHG budget. This project will continue the development of a well-established outreach component involving local communities and students in the North Slope of Alaska. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.