The focus of this work is on developing a better understanding of the biogeochemical cycle of the trace gas carbonyl sulfide (COS) in the atmosphere. The goal is to investigate the use of COS measurements as a proxy for gross primary productivity. COS and carbon dioxide are taken up at the same rate by the same plant photosynthetic enzymes and are coupled at the leaf scale via the key enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA). The Principal Investigator will identify the class of CA involved in atmospheric COS consumption, determine the diversity of COS-consuming microorganisms in the soil, and identify the metabolic pathways associated with COS consumption.
The use of COS as a tracer for the global carbon cycle has the potential to enable partitioning of large global carbon sources and sinks for the assessment of ecosystem carbon fluxes and process-level responses to climate forcing.
