Rivers and streams cover only about half a percent of the Earth’s land surface, but they play a substantial role in sustaining life on the planet. In addition to supporting complex food webs, strengthening biodiversity and maintaining water quality, river networks are a key participant in the global cycling of carbon.
As atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, global temperatures rise and lands adjacent to watersheds change or are repurposed, scientists are uncertain of the impacts on stream and river ecosystems. To start understanding the effects, scientists like Lauren Koenig, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE) says we need to first learn more about how rivers and streams transport, transform and store carbon.
“We are specifically focused on primary production and respiration,” says Koenig. “Just like you and I are breathing, rivers do that, too. Rivers and streams create and respire organic carbon. It’s part of a collection of processes we call metabolism. We want to know how they maintain that function to understand the ways climate change and land use changes affect those processes.”
Part of Koenig’s research relies on statistical analysis and computer modeling to create computer-generated river networks. By compiling information about carbon and oxygen content, water temperature and barometric pressure from sites throughout a watershed, she merges these data into a detailed map. From there, she can apply specific modifications, such as raising the temperature of the water, and determine the probable effects to entire fluvial network.
