High rates of atmospheric deposition of beryllium are toxic biologically and are exacerbated by synergistic interaction with aluminum. The Czech Republic is experiencing growing problems, and similar consequences may well soon be experienced in Maine. An expert international research team would pursue parallel pilot studies into the biogeochemical controls on Be fate and transport by examining beryllium biogeochemistry in forested ecosystems. This project funds the work in Maine and travel for international collaboration; the Czechs are supporting the work in their country. The plan for the pilot study is to develop chemical time series for beryllium fluxes into, through, and out of watersheds in a paired study in the Bear Brook Watershed where one watersheds is being artificially acidified with ammonium sulfate. The study evaluates the fluxes of total BE and 7Be at the forest floor, leaving the watersheds, and in litter fall. Be in stream vegetation and sediment is being evaluated before and after acidic discharge events to assess temporary exchangeable pools

Fernandez, Ivan J.

Hess, Charles Thomas

Norton, Stephen A.

English

University of Maine

The University of MaineDigitalCommons@UMaineUniversity of Maine Office of Research andSponsored Programs: Grant Reports Special Collections9-13-1999Beryllium Biochemistry in a Forested EcosystemStephen A. NortonPrincipal Investigator; University of Maine, Orono, norton@maine.eduCharles Thomas HessCo-Principal Investigator; University of Maine, Orono, hess@maine.eduIvan J. FernandezCo-Principal Investigator; University of Maine, Orono, ivanjf@maine.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/orsp_reportsPart of the Forest Biology CommonsThis Open-Access Report is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in University ofMaine Office of Research and Sponsored Programs: Grant Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For moreinformation, please contact um.library.technical.services@maine.edu.Recommended CitationNorton, Stephen A.; Hess, Charles Thomas; and Fernandez, Ivan J., "Beryllium Biochemistry in a Forested Ecosystem" (1999).University of Maine Office of Research and Sponsored Programs: Grant Reports. 228.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/orsp_reports/228Final Report: 9725705Final Report for Period: 03/1998 - 07/1999 Submitted on: 09/13/1999Principal Investigator: Norton, Stephen A. Award ID: 9725705Organization: University of MaineBeryllium Biochemistry in a Forested EcosystemProject ParticipantsSenior PersonnelName: Norton, StephenWorked for more than 160 Hours: YesContribution to Project:Norton was responsible for the overall supervision of all aspects of the research. He was the principal advisor for Kaste's M.S. degree andserves on Pellerin's committee. He has participated in writing four abstracts, coordinated the international exchange between the CzechRepublic, and is coordinating the review article on Be.Name: Hess, CharlesWorked for more than 160 Hours: YesContribution to Project:Hess was responsible for the gamma ray analysis of all samples for 7-Be. He installed a second Ge detctor during the course of our studies toimprove our capabilities. He participated on the trip to the Czech republic, the writing of three abstracts, and will contribute to our summarypaper.Name: Fernandez, IvanWorked for more than 160 Hours: YesContribution to Project:Fernandez was responsible for much of the design of soil sampling. He participated in the supervision of Kaste's thesis, and is the principaladvisor for Pellerin, who also is including Be as part of his soil studies. He has contributed to the writing of three abstracts.Post-docGraduate StudentName: Kaste, JamesWorked for more than 160 Hours: YesContribution to Project:Graduate Research Assistantship, $12,000/year plus tuitionField and laboratory work and preparation and defense of M.S. Thesis.Name: Pellerin, BrianWorked for more than 160 Hours: YesContribution to Project:Field work on soils and laboratory work on soilsSupported by the Department of Plant, Soils, and Environmental SciencesUndergraduate StudentName: Perry, EthanWorked for more than 160 Hours: NoContribution to Project:Measurement of 7-Be in peat, soil, and foliage.Supported by student wages from the proposal, work study funds, and volunteered timeName: Smith, ColbyWorked for more than 160 Hours: NoContribution to Project:Field and laboratory assistant for the graduate students.Supported by student wages from the grantName: Herger, JamesPage 1 of 4Final Report: 9725705Worked for more than 160 Hours: NoContribution to Project:Field and laboratory assistant for the graduate student participants.Supported by wages from the grant.Organizational PartnersCzech Academy of Natural SciencesDr. Petr Skrivan, Geological InstituteCharles UniversityTomas Navratil, graduate student, traveled to visit with us in U.S. and we, in turn, traveled to the Czech Republic. We developed commongoals, exchanged data, and are collaborating on field experiemtns and in the writing of a major manuscript. The Czech collaboration was paidfor partly by International Exchange NSF funds and partly from funds received by the Czech scientists (Vesely and Skrivan) for a proposal totheir Department of Education. Vesely and I wrote the proposal. It was funded in part (1 year) in this country and in total for the Czech part.Czech Geological SurveyDr. Josef Vesely, he has supervised the field and laboratory work on our collaborative research proposal and supervised the graduate student(Tomas Navratil) at Charles University. He spent two weeks here in the United States, along with Navratil. He hosted part of our scientificexchange (Norton, Hess, Kaste)to the Czech Republic in May.Other Collaborators or ContactsActivities and FindingsProject Activities and Findings:The research has been largely empirical. studying the inputs of 7Be and 9Be to forested ecosystems, characterizing and quantifying reservoirsof these nuclides within the ecosystem, and identifying and quantifying the flux(and controls on flux) of Be from compartment to compartmentand ultimately out of the ecosystem. We have focused on three watersheds in Maine, one with low Be in bedrock and one with high.Parallel studies in the Czech Republic have focused on two watersheds, both with high Be concentration in the bedrock, and one receiving highamounts of Be through the atmosphere.The three PIs from the United States (Maine) were supported by NSF to visit the C.R. where we viewed field studies and laboratory facilitiesand discussed data. The two Czech PIs (Vesely and Skrivan) visted our field sites, etc. in May 1999.Project Training and Development:Approximately half of the atmospheric deposition of 7-Be (and thus 9-Be and 10-Be, by inference) is retained by adsorption in the canopy offorested watersheds in Maine. The storage of 7-Be in the canopy reaches steady state within about two months. Thus, throughfall may containless Be than open precipitation. Inventories within the soil vary spatially over distances less than 1 meter because of uneven wet and drydepposition and throughfall. At leaf scenescence, there is a rapid flux of 7-Be, 9-Be, and 10-Be to the forest floor. Be moves rapidly into thesoil, with significant retention in the O horizon, penetrating 5 to 10 cm into the B horizon, probably as a DOC-complex, where it isprecipitated. The residence time of Be there is relatively long, preventing significant migration of 7-Be beyond that point. However, 9-Be (andby inference 10-Be) are leached from acidic soil profiles and translocated along flow paths to points where pH is higher (typically riparianzones). Episodic acidification at this zone mobilizes all available Be nuclides into stream water. Mobilization from Be derived from thechemical weathering of the bedrock and soils is enhanced by higher concentrations of DOC, F-1, and H+. Stream substrates, inorganic andorganic reversibly exchange Be. Be in particulate form in streams with pH between 5 and 6 is commonly associated with Al(OH)3 colloidalmaterial. Partition coefficients for Be vary over several orders of magnitude, depending on the pH, DOC, and the nature of the exchanger, evenwithin the same stream.Research Training:Kaste (graduate student) - Has learned a considerable amount about forest soils, water collection and analysis (AA graphite furnace and ICP),speciation modeling (e.g., MINEQL), and gamma ray analysis. He has given one Geological Society of America oral paper and will give onemore in October, 1999.Pellerin (graduate student) - same as Kaste. He will present a paper at the Soil Science Society of America national meeting in November,Page 2 of 4Final Report: 97257051999.The three undergraduate students have participated in the more straight forward field collections and laboratory analyses, including gamma rayanalysis. One of the undergraduate students is developing a data set on 7-Be in vegetation and will present this material to the GeologicalSociety of Maine annual meeting in April 2000.Outreach Activities:I have developed some ideas and protocols for the collection of large numbers of foliage samples to map atmospheric deposition of 7-Be (andby inference other radionuclides) on a sub-continental scale. I have proposed that the GLOBE NSF program be involved. I was dismayed tohear that there might be resistance to this project because parents and teachers in K-12 might view such a collection procedure as placing theirchildren in harm's way of radioactivity. (This was not the view of NSF personnel). If that indeed is true, one of the most important contributionsI could make as an educator is to demonstrate to students/teachers/parents the existence of many naturally occuring radionuclides in our lives,and how we have managed to survive in spite of this background radiation.Journal PublicationsBooks or Other One-time PublicationsWeb/Internet SitesURL(s):Description:Other Specific ProductsProduct Type:M.S. ThesisProduct Description:Kaste, J. M., 1999, Dynamics of cosmogenic beryllium-7 and bedrock-derived beryllium-9 in forested ecosystems in Maine, U.S.A.: M. S.Thesis, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Maine, 96p.Published Abstracts (Presentations)Kaste, J., Norton, S., Hess, C., and Fernandez, I., 1998, Dynamics of 7Be in forested ecosystems (abs.): Geol. Soc. America, Ann. Mtg.,Toronto.Kaste, J. M., Norton, S. A., Fernandez, I. J., and Hess, C. T., 1999, Delivery of cosmogenic beryllium-7 to forested ecosystems in Maine,U.S.A.: Geol. Soc. America, Ann. Mtg., Denver.Kaste, J. M., Norton, S. A., Pellerin, B. A., Fernandez, I. J., and Hess, C. T., 1999, Sinks and mobilization of cosmogenic beryllium-7 andbedrock-derived beryllium-9 in forested watersheds in Maine, U.S.A. U.S.A.: Geol. Soc. America, Ann. Mtg., Denver.Pellerin, B., Kaste, J., Fernandez, I., Norton, S., and Kahl, J., 1999, Soil cation distribution in the near-stream zone of New England forestedwatersheds: Soil Soc. America Ann. Mtg.Sharing Information:Published abstracts (in print or press)In preparation - invited paper:Norton, S. A., Kaste, J. M., Hess, C. T., and Fernandez, in preparation, invited paper to be included in 'Beryllium: Mineralogy, Petrology, andGeochemistry', Edited by Edward Grew, Mineralogical society of America: Reviews in Mineralogy.Page 3 of 4Final Report: 9725705ContributionsContributions within Discipline:We have expanded knowledge about the flux of 7Be from the atmosphere to forested catchments through various ecological compartments tostreams. We have investigated and shed some light on controls on 7Be mobility within forested catchments. The controls include the acidity ofsoils, flow paths, vegetation, stream substrate interactions with stream water, and total water chemistry. We have enhanced the usefulness of7Be as a tracer for soil-forming processes.Parallel studies of 9Be, originating from the watershed, combined with the 7Be studies have enabled us to make a preliminarymodel of thebiogeochemistry of Be.Contributions to Other Disciplines:By studying 7Be, a nearly perfect surrogate for 10Be, we will be able to refine the use of 10Be in aging soils, and lake and marine sediments.We have also been able to determine a very significant role for vegetation in trapping dry deposition of Be, storing it, and then relasing it duringleaf senescence.Contributions to Human Resource Development:James Kaste spent one year reseraching various aspects of 7Be and 9Be and produced and defended his M. S. thesis in 1999. He is nowenrolled in the PhD program at Dartmouth College.Graduate student Brian Pellerin has gathered considerable data for Be in forested soils in Maine and has developed a model of how Be (amongothers) is distributed in soil profiles and released to stream waters. He will complete his M.S. thesis in 2000.Three undergraduates at the University have participated in various aspects of this research.One graduate student at Charles University (Czech republic), Tomas Navratil, has collaborated with us and performed parallel studies ondifferent systems in the C.R.Contributions to Science and Technology Infrastructure:Partly as a result of this research, the University of Maine has invested in additional gamma laboratory counting facilities, increasing our samplethroughput and improving detection limits.Beyond Science and Engineering:Categories for which nothing is reported:Any JournalAny BookContributions: Beyond Science or EngineeringPage 4 of 4

Beryllium Biochemistry in a Forested Ecosystem

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1235&amp;context=orsp_reports

Beryllium Biochemistry in a Forested Ecosystem

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Maine