Join the Coastal Rainforest Margins Research Network Seminar on November 16 from 11:oo AM to 12:30 PM AKST to hear the latest from coastal margins researchers on terrestrial and marine processes in the North Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest.
Register for this virtual event.
11:00-11:20 AM – Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Predict Harmful Algal Blooms in a Changing Climate
John Harley, Research Assistant Professor, Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, Juneau, Alaska
Since 2016 the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research network has been monitoring harmful algal blooms (HABs) in communities across coastal Alaska. By incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into machine learning algorithms we can hope to describe the expanding role of HABs in a changing climate.
11:20-11:40 AM – Improving Spatial Estimates of Soil Carbon in Forested Ecosystems Through Lidar-Derived Wetland Modeling
Anthony Stewart, PhD Candidate, University of Washington
We use topographic metrics derived from lidar digital elevation models to create a wetland identification tool that classifies the landscape as a continuum from upland to wetland. We then sample across this continuum to gather soil carbon data which we use to produce an improved spatial estimate of landscape carbon stocks.
11:40- 12:00 PM – Seasonality of Terrestrial, Intertidal, and Marine Particulate Organic Matter Contributions to Surface Waters of the North Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest Region
Kyra St. Pierre, Postdoc, University of British Columbia and Hakai Institute
Using a four-year dataset of particulate organic matter chemical composition, we examine the relative contributions of terrestrial materials, intertidal primary producers, and marine phytoplankton to surface (0-10 m) waters at 11 stations along the Central Coast of British Columbia. We will discuss differences between the stations that represent fjord, shallow non-fjord estuary, sheltered channel and well-mixed environments, as well as seasonal contrasts.
12:00-12:20 PM – Soil Weathering and Organic Carbon Dynamics of Spodosols in the Coastal Temperate Rainforest of SE Alaska
Diogo Spinola, Postdoc, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Pacific Northwest Research Station
The formation of well-developed soils in the uplands of southeast Alaska is reflected by the loss of nutrients, mainly Mg, K, Ca, and Na, and the precipitation of secondary minerals (i.e. clays and Iron oxides). The formation of secondary minerals potentially plays an important role in soil organic carbon dynamics due to the formation of strong chemical and physical bonds with organic compounds.
12:20-12:30 PM – Questions and Discussion
The Coast Between 