Extra Cool Scientist: Blair McLaughlin

Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2004 1:07 am

Another member of the Lab 4 Crew is Blair McLaughlin, a graduate student-to-be at University of California at Santa Cruz.

Blair enjoys ANOTHER nice day in paradise with Troy (on Blair’s right), a geophysicist, and Josh (on Blair’s left), a soil scientist.

Blair’s job is NOT to pretend that she’s a Jedi knight (though she might in her spare time on weekends…everyone here is interested in science; their other hobbies are as diverse as the day is long.)

She is in fact in charge of taking readings and maintaining the eddy flux tower, and using a spectrometer to measure the productivity of plants.

The eddy flux tower is a giant stake in the tundra with lots of sophisticated equipment attached to it. It measures wind speed, direction, rainfall, heat exchange, and solar radiation absorption, and most importantly, how much carbon dioxide the plants on the tundra use to grow (photosynthesis), and how much carbon dioxide is being released (respiration).

Who cares? Everyone who knows.

What do they know? The Arctic tundra ecosystems hold approximately 14% of the earth’s terrestrial (earth-based) carbon (as opposed to carbon in the air or in the water). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and is used by plants to grow. If a plant is buried, the carbon that the plant used to grow is buried. If a plant breaks down or is burnt, the carbon is released back to the environment Too much carbon dioxide leads to global warming (Venus is 800*C and has an atmosphere of 95% carbon dioxide; Mars is usually very cold and has a very thin atmosphere.)

Plants in the Arctic break down very slowly because the average annual temperature is relatively low. (NOTE: It’s not always cold! We haven’t seen night in the entire time we’ve been here; I am wearing shorts as I write this post.) If the temperature in the Arctic were to rise, scientists predict that the carbon trapped in the buried plants would be released, resulting in warmer temperatures, resulting in more carbon being released, resulting in warmer temperatures…. You get the idea. The positive feedback loop may intensify global warming effects on the whole planet!

Blair likes to think of the Eddy Flux Tower as a way to monitor the tundra’s breathing.

In addition to the Eddy Flux Tower, Blair also uses a spectrometer to measure how much light is absorbed by the earth and how much is reflected back into the atmosphere. The spectrometer can measure visible light (light we can see) through the near infrared (light we can’t see unless we wear infrared goggles or are the Terminator). The spectrometer data can tell us about the productivity and health of the plants in the area surveyed.

Interesting Facts to Make You Smarter:
One of the dangers of being caught in a fire is suffocation; fires release LOTS of carbon dioxide because plants (like the trees that used for lumber) use a lot of carbon to grow.

There are three primary colors of light: blue, red and green. Plants absorb blue and red pigment, and reflect green light…. That’s why they look green.

Venus has an atmosphere of 95% carbon dioxide; it’s hot enough to melt lead on the surface. Mars has an atmosphere with almost no carbon dioxide and has a chilly average temperature of -50*C. Earth is, for us, just right.

http://www.grida.no/climate/vital/01.htm

Editor’s note:
Special thanks to Blair for providing the pictures and the information about her project.