The 20th annual Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

Methods for Analyzing Carbon Sequestration on Degraded Lands and U.S. EPA Superfund Remediation Sites
Norris 100, 8:30 AM

Lisa  Anderson,   '09 1
   Major: Chemistry
   Hometown: Cadillac, MI

Sponsor(s): Andrew French
Support: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Network for Environmental Management Studies Program

Abstract: 
Carbon is an essential chemical element that exists in different allotropes that form the basis of all life on Earth. Carbon is stored in soil in the form of Soil Organic Matter (SOM). When a land is disturbed, carbon is released into the atmosphere by the oxidation of SOM. The most common forms of carbon release include deforestation and agricultural practices that involve tilling. Therefore, degraded lands serve as great carbon sinks for increasing the amount of terrestrial carbon sequestration. Degraded lands and Superfund sites can be remediated and revitalized with high SOM soil amendments such as biosolids. High SOM soil amendments also provide a nutrient rich surface for vegetation growth, which also sequester carbon. The compilation and comparison of analytical methods for carbon in soil and biomass can be used to identify which analysis is appropriate to quantify the potential carbon sequestration at disturbed lands that have been remediated and restored using soil amendments. Conventional methods such as dry/wet combustion, although more time consuming, labor intensive, and limiting, will be the most likely method to be used in the near future. The emerging technologies of Light Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Inelastic Neutron Scattering provide means of increasing our understanding of soil carbon but the field instruments are not yet commercially available. Also, it is suggested for the purposes of determining Total Organic Carbon, high temperature combustion after the removal of inorganic carbonates, if present, is recommended.

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