CRMRN Scientists help support research at the Terrestrial – Aquatic Interface

Coastal Margins scientists and collaborators David Butman (University of Washington), Miguel Goni (Oregon State University), and Heida Diefenderfer (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)) took part in the first STAR workshop supported by PNNL in Richland, WA.  STAR, or System for Terrestrial-Aquatic Research, represents an exciting new area of supported research designed to connect land to the sea from the perspective of biogeochemical cycling.  Supporting development of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Biological and Environmental Research program, the participants of this workshop were charged to summarize the current state of knowledge on the flows of materials in coastal tidal ecosystems into a framework that will help inform the next generation of Earth System Models. The Coastal Rainforest Margins Research Network is a core partner in connecting science collaborations to the STAR efforts at DOE! A critical message from the workshop is that there is so much we don’t know, and that we don’t really know how to measure yet, in tidally influenced ecosystems.  Anyone with interest can reach out to David (dbutman@uw.edu) or Heida (Heida.Diefenderfer@pnnl.gov) to find ways to get involved.