This $300,539 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) supports research at Oregon State University to investigate the impacts of wildfire ash deposition on surface ocean biology and carbon/energy transfer. The key products and services to be delivered include:
Mechanistic studies to quantify the physiological responses (e.g. growth, productivity, cellular stoichiometry) of phytoplankton and bacterioplankton to different types of wildfire ash. This will involve characterizing the inorganic and organic content of ash collected from the field and generated in the lab, then conducting seawater incubation experiments to assess how ash composition affects microbial production and growth.
The findings from this 2-year project will contribute to improved predictive models of how wildfire-driven material transfer from land to ocean impacts carbon and energy flow in marine food webs. The research team will also broaden participation in ocean science by providing undergraduate research experiences and developing educational content for a high school microbiology summer camp.