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Carbon Balance in Warming and Drying Tundra

Hi John,

I'm really excited about your project. I'm sure you'll be doing some hard manual labor! But once that's done, do you know what kinds of sampling methods you'll be using to find out about the carbon amounts?

  • Mark
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 11:03

John Wood

Hello Mark,Thank you for the question. The experiments center around changing the temperature and moisture of the tundra. We will have some sites that have been insulated with deeper snow due to snow fences that were installed last year. Other areas we will clear of snow early and begin to warm them. For warming we have clear boxes that are placed over the site to trap the sun's rays. Some boxes will be closed at all times while other boxes have lids that can open and close as needed. We will also be doing some digging beneath the tundra and installing a sort of moisture barrier that will separate the tundra from the permafrost below.