Collaborative Research: Testing for nutrient limitation in alpine snow algae ecosystems

合作研究：测试高山雪藻生态系统的养分限制

• 批准号: 2113783
• 负责人: James Elser
• 金额: $ 79.31万
• 依托单位: University of Montana
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2113783&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Testing; nutrient; limitation

Climate change is driving massive changes in the amount of frozen water present on Earth (the cryosphere). An increasingly well-recognized factor that interacts with climate change to amplify the melting of ice and snow is the proliferation of algae that bloom on the snow surface (snow algae). Current understanding of the factors that control the abundance of snow algae, and thus their impact on snow and ice melt, is incomplete, especially in alpine environments where glaciers and snowfields are critical components of the water supply and are particularly susceptible to climate change. This project will examine an important but understudied driver of snow algae abundance – the variable input of key nutrient elements (nitrogen and phosphorus) via atmospheric deposition (in snow, rain, and dust). This project leverages and develops the capacities of an interdisciplinary team involving faculty, a postdoctorate, a graduate student, and undergraduates in a project of broad societal relevance given the crucial role of mountain snow in water supplies globally. Collectively, these studies will be among the first to explicitly test for nutrient limitation of alpine snow algae, significantly enhancing current understanding of how nutrient supplies drive large-scale ecosystem dynamics in the cryosphere. In particular, this information is critical for understanding and forecasting the role of snow algae in driving cryosphere loss, a process that ultimately has major impacts on sea level rise and freshwater supply. Project personnel will develop and deliver a unique “Cryosphere Ecology” undergraduate field class that will integrate key topics and concepts in ecosystem ecology, microbiology, and snow science. Public outreach will include contacts with water resource stakeholders and managers as well as communication to broader audiences via existing public outreach channels.This research will examine the impacts of nitrogen and phosphorus inputs on snow algae in six study regions in the western USA across a gradient of atmospheric nutrient deposition. The project has three focal questions: 1) How are snow algae biomass, productivity, and carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus ratios related to patterns of nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus) deposition and availability in mountains of the western USA? 2) How do these snow algae ecosystems respond to experimental nutrient enrichment? 3) How does proliferation of nutrient-driven snow algae affect albedo properties of snow and thus accelerate snow melt? To answer these questions, this project will assess how snow algae proliferate in snow formed from meltwater from the six study regions (using the unique capacity of the Subzero Research Laboratory at Montana State University) and test how nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment affect snow algae growth and its impact on albedo and melting under both field and laboratory conditions. Answering these questions will produce novel fundamental knowledge of the role of nutrient limitation in snow algae ecosystems and the connection between nutrient inputs and biological albedo reduction, facilitating better forecasting of snowmelt-driven water supplies in mountain regions and providing a basis for mitigating processes that drive inputs and transport of atmospheric pollutants. The project will also support development of an interdisciplinary course in cryosphere ecology, encompassing snow science, biogeochemistry, microbiology, and phycology.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.

气候变化正在推动地球上存在的冷冻水的量发生巨大变化（冰冻圈）。与气候变化相互作用以扩大冰和雪的融化的越来越公认的因素是藻类在雪表面上盛开的藻类的增殖（雪藻）。目前，对控制雪藻抽象的因素以及其对雪和冰融化的影响是不完整的，尤其是在高山环境中，冰川和雪地是供水的关键组成部分，并且特别容易受到气候变化的影响。该项目将通过大气沉积（在雪，雨水和尘埃中）（在雪，雨水和尘埃中）检查雪藻抽象的重要但知识的驱动因素。该项目利用并发展了一个跨学科团队的能力，鉴于山雪在全球供水中在供水中的关键作用，涉及教师，博士后，研究生和本科生。总的来说，这些研究将是最早明确测试高山雪藻的营养限制的研究之一，从而显着增强了对养分供应如何驱动冰冻层中大规模生态系统动力学的当前理解。特别是，此信息对于理解和预测雪藻在驱动冰冻圈损失中的作用至关重要，这一过程最终会对海平面上升和淡水供应产生重大影响。项目人员将开发并提供独特的“ Cryosphere生态学”本科阶级，该课程将整合生态系统生态学，微生物学和雪科中的关键主题和概念。公众推广将包括与水资源利益相关者和经理的联系，以及通过现有的公共外展渠道与更广泛的受众进行沟通。这项研究将研究美国西部西部六个研究区域中氮和磷的影响对大气养分梯度的雪藻的影响。该项目有三个重点问题：1）雪藻生物量，生产力和碳：氮：磷比率与美国西部山区的养分（氮，磷）沉积和可用性有关的磷比率如何？ 2）这些雪藻生态系统如何应对实验性营养富集？ 3）营养驱动的雪藻的增殖如何影响雪的反照率特性，从而加速雪融化？为了回答这些问题，该项目将评估雪藻在六个研究区域（使用蒙大拿州立大学的亚零研究实验室的独特能力）中如何在雪藻中增殖，并测试氮和磷的富集如何影响雪藻藻的生长及其对野外和实验室条件下的影响及其对反击和融化的影响。回答这些问题将产生新的基本知识，了解营养限制在雪藻生态系统中的作用，以及养分输入与减少生物学反照率之间的联系，支持更好地预测山区地区的雪层驱动水供应，并为驱动大气污染物的投入和运输的降低过程提供基础。该项目还将支持开发Cryosphere生态学的跨学科课程，涵盖雪科，生物地球化学，微生物学和植物学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估而被认为是珍贵的支持。