This grant supports acquisition of a flow-through imaging system (FloCAM) to support investigations of the dynamics of nuisance algal species blooms in surface waters. The instrument will support PI Diane McKnight and colleagues at the Institute for Arctic & Alpine Research at the University of Colorado. The instrument will support researchers involved in the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) with a focus on the role of dissolved and particulate organic material in a range of dynamic processes occurring from the atmosphere to the top of the water table. Knowledge of the quantity and chemical nature of particulate and dissolved organic matter transported from the landscape via physical and biogeochemical processes is critical to understanding how climate change might impact water quality and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems.
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