. | . |
The fingerprints of coastal carbon sinks by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Nov 06, 2017
Did you know carbon comes in blue? Blue carbon refers to the carbon in oceans and coastal areas. These ecosystems are excellent carbon sinks - they can efficiently absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere. And with global emissions of carbon dioxide topping 35 billion tons in 2016, carbon sinks are more important than ever. A new study highlights a technique that could be used to accurately measure levels of soil carbon in coastal carbon sinks, such as mangrove forests. "Being able to measure soil carbon levels accurately and economically is vital for mangrove restoration projects and other conservation initiatives," says Gabriel Nobrega, an author of the new study. In the past, researchers have used the technique - diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, or DRS - to measure carbon in dry soils. "Few studies have tested it in coastal wetland or mangrove soils," says Nobrega, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Researchers have found it challenging to measure exact levels of soil carbon in coastal areas, such as mangrove forests. Traditional methods to measure soil carbon levels were developed for dry soils. Not all of them work in the wet soils of mangrove forests. Nobrega and his colleagues tested DRS on soil samples from three mangrove forests in northeastern Brazil. They found that DRS may be a more accurate and efficient method compared to more conventional approaches to determine carbon levels in mangrove soils. In addition to higher accuracy, using DRS to measure soil carbon levels has other benefits. Conventional methods can be expensive, time-consuming, or toxic. "DRS is fast, non-expensive, and non-toxic," says Nobrega. "That makes it possible to take more measurements and be more precise." DRS technology works in a similar way to how we see. Light from a source, like the sun, hits an object, say a flower. Some part of the light is absorbed, and some part reflected. The light that is reflected is captured by our eyes. Our eyes act like sensors, and, voila, wevoila! We see a blossom. And with DRS? Researchers target a soil sample with light of a known wavelength, usually 350-2500 nanometers. This light interacts with soil compounds, including organic carbon and other elements. Sensors capture the reflected light, which researchers can use to create reflectance fingerprints. These reflective fingerprints are important. "Using these fingerprints, we can study soil properties and measure levels of carbon without having to do chemical analyses," Nobrega explains. DRS may be more accurate than conventional techniques when measuring the carbon content of wet mangrove soils. These soils are often saturated with water. That can lead to relatively low levels of oxygen. The chemical reactions that take place in low-oxygen environments can ultimately throw off carbon measurements made using conventional methods. While the initial results using DRS have been encouraging, Nobrega says there is still much work to be done. For example, mangrove forests across the world are highly variable. Their soils may differ in various characteristics, such as grain size and salt or mineral content. Researchers will have to account for these differences when using DRS to measure levels of carbon. Nobrega hopes to build a library of soil reflectance fingerprints for mangrove soils throughout the world. He doesn't want to stop with mangrove soils, though. "Ultimately, we want to expand to other coastal environments, such as saltmarshes, seagrasses, and tidal flats," he says. Eventually, it might be possible to equip a drone with the required sensors. "Then we could obtain vital information without disturbing sensitive ecosystems," says Nobrega. "We could monitor carbon levels in large, inaccessible areas."
Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Nov 03, 2017 Terahertz radiation has a wide range of uses and can occur in everything from radio astronomy to medicine. The term refers to the electromagnetic waves whose frequencies range from 100 gigahertz to 10 terahertz. Demand for higher bandwidth in wireless communications and depiction for security applications has led to intensified research on systems and components intended for terahertz frequencie ... read more Related Links American Society of Agronomy Carbon Worlds - where graphite, diamond, amorphous, fullerenes meet
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |