The impact of the erosion of continental biomass on the Earth’s thermostat

Two major terrestrial processes remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere: drawdown by the chemical reactions involved in silicate weathering, and the erosion and burial of continental biomass as particulate organic carbon (POC). Recent work suggests that this second process (still poorly understood) could be an important component of the global carbon cycle, especially in active mountain belts.

My research aims to better understand the initial stages of this process, in particular the ways in which POC is stored, mobilized and transported in different tectonic and geomorphic settings. I will use geochemical proxies including C and N concentrations and isotopic compositions, 14C measurements and biomolecular analysis of soil, vegetation and river sediment to investigate these complex processes. My current work is focused on the headwater catchments of the Alptal in Switzerland, in collaboration with Jens Turowski, Patrick Schleppi and others at WSL. At a later stage, I hope to extend my fieldwork to include larger (but still anthropogenically undisturbed) catchments in at least one additional extra-tropical mountainous region.

I am jointly funded by a NERC studentship and a grant from the British Geological Survey's research funding arm, BUFI. My supervisors are Albert Galy and Niels Hovius at Cambridge, and Andy Tye at the BGS.


Last updated on 22-Jun-10 09:56