A major recent thrust in research has focused on ecosystem emission, deposition, and uptake of greenhouse and trace gases. This research is needed because predictions forecast that a doubling of carbon dioxide (CO2) will have a significant impact on ecosystem processes and productivity, and because the natural emission or deposition of gases is critical in regulating air pollution. To achieve understanding of processes in both areas, efforts are being made to evaluate the effect of alteration od ecosystems in the vicinity of industrial, urban, and agricultural areas. As a result, many scientific and government agencies have formed programs to support research on the interaction between the soil, biosphere, and atmosphere in relation to greenhouse and trace gas production, consumption, or deposition. Duke University proposes to develop a mobile laboratory that will be used for both basic and more applied research on the mechanisms of the emission and uptake of gases between the soil-biosphere and the atmosphere. The integrated laboratory will include state-of the art trace gas analyzers, water vapor and CO2 gas analyzers, ultra-sonic anemometers, leaf-level porometery, a geoprobe, time domain reflectometers, xylem heat flux systems, and a wide range of environmental monitoring devices such as net radiometers, short and long-wave radiation sensors. The data from this instrument array will be collected by a central work station within the mobile laboratory. Instruments will be housed in a research vehicle containing two movable towers and a soil probe which will permit a rapid installation of the sensors at remote sites high in tree canopies and deep in the soil regolith. The great advantage of a mobile facility is that it can support research at many experimental s ites and can be used concurrently for several projects, each of which requires periodic gas flux measurements rather than continuous monitoring. With its flexibility and enhanced capabilities, this facility will allow researchers both within the School of the Environment and throughout the research community to address key scientific questions that range across the physical, biological, and chemical sciences in new ways. It will enhance the investigation of such fundamental questions as 1) how environmental conditions (e.g., mean meteorological conditions, energy, and moisture content) control leaf- level gas diffusion, 2) how the air flow inside the forest canopy interacts with the air flow above the car,opy to disperse or deposit greenhouse and trace gases, 3) how atmospheric pressure and subsurface soil processes control gas and moisture storage and flux in a variety of ecosystems. Questions about the amount of biogenic or other trace gases emitted or consumed by ecosystems will be directly measured by the equipment requested for this facility. We believe that the mobile laboratory will have a profound impact not only on the interdisciplinary research but on teaching at Duke University's new School of the Environment. Students interested in ecology, biogeochemistry, ecotoxicology, water resources, air quality, forestry, and wetlands will benefit from the opportunities of using the new technology in research projects and coursework, analyzing data from a wide range of ecosystems, and acquiring experience in multidisciplinary field experiments. These students include undergraduate environmental science majors, young graduate-level environmental management students, mid-career professionals in Duke's continuing education program, and future Ph.D researchers. Finally, we expect that the laboratory will attract further funding from DOE and EPA and open new sources for funding from private industry research interests, the Forest Service, the Agriculture Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
