Date of Award

Summer 7-29-2020

Semester of Degree

May

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering

Department

Environmental Resources Engineering

Major Professor

Timothy Morin

Steering Committee Member

Timothy Volk

Steering Committee Member

Anthony EallonardoNA

Abstract

Wetlands promote carbon sequestration through saturated, anoxic soils. However, the persistent presence of water results in reduce conditions, which promotes methane (CH4) production. The climatological variables responsible for the source/sink behavior are still unclear. This study quantifies temporal changes in the empirical drivers of the carbon fluxes of a constructed inland salt marsh in Camillus, New York. The mean CH4 (0.328 μmol·m-2 ·s-1 ) and carbon dioxide (CO2) (0.195 μmol·m-2 ·s-1 ) emissions from June 27, 2019 to November 11, 2019 show the site’s slight carbon source behavior. Latent heat flux had the strongest relationship with CH4 and gross primary production (GPP), while air temperature best explained ecosystem respiration (Re). The lag responses of Re (3-hours) and CH4 (5-hours) from air temperature are likely attributed to the lag response between the air and soil temperature. Whereas the lag response of GPP (1-hour), Re (2-hours), and CH4 (1-day) from rainfall events are likely a reflection of an increase in dissolved oxygen and soil moisture content.

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