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Carbon Storage in Wetlands and Lakes of the Eastern USCarbon stored underground may participate in a positive feedback with climate warming, as higher temperatures accelerate decomposition reactions and hence CO2 release. Assessing how below-ground carbon storage varies with modern climate and paleoclimate will advance understanding of this feedback in two ways. First, it will estimate the sensitivity of carbon storage to temperature and precipitation changes. Second, it will help quantify the size of carbon stocks available for the feedback, by indicating how current regional climate differences affect carbon storage. Whereas many studies of below-ground carbon storage concentrate on soils, this investigation focuses on the saturated and primarily organic material stored in wetlands and lake sediments. This study surveys research done on organic sediment depth and organic content at 50-100 sites in the eastern U.S., integrating our own research with the work of others. Storage depth is evaluated for sediments from the past 10,000 years, a date reflected in pollen profiles. Organic content is measured chiefly by loss-on-ignition (101). These variables are compared to characteristics of the sites such as latitude, altitude, and vegetation as well as local climate. Preliminary results suggest a strong relationship between latitude and depth of organic material stored over the last 10,000 years, with more accumulation in the northeastern US than the southeastern US. Linking the percent organic matter to actual carbon content is in progress with wetlands from Black Rock Forest and Alpine Swamp.
Document ID
20010087666
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Renik, Byrdie
(NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY United States)
Peteet, Dorothy
(NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies New York, NY United States)
Hansen, James E.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 6, 2001
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union Meeting
Location: Boston, MA
Country: United States
Start Date: May 29, 2001
End Date: May 31, 2001
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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