Experiments are a core component of PIE-LTER research, as they increase our understanding of natural systems.
Sulfur hexafluoride concentration in the Parker River Estuary on successive high tides during a gas-exchange experiment.
An experiment to determine how different levels of dissolved organic matter
and dissolved inorganic nutrients alter food web dynamics and how much
of the dissolved organic material supported higher trophic levels. Mesocosms
were used with four different nutrient and organic matter applications
C additions to trace the sources of carbon from one trophic
level to another.
For a further description and discussion of this experiment, see "What Feeds the Fish? Understanding the Links Between Land Use and Coastal Food Webs": STPMesocosm
Direct Measurement of Gas Exchange Rates in
the Parker River Estuary
Ecosystem processes such as respiration, denitrification, and methanogenesis
may be quantified by measuring the flux of gases such as oxygen, carbon
dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. These fluxes must be corrected for
the non-biological or diffusive flux of the gas of interest between the
water and the atmosphere. This study directly measured the gas exchange
rates in the Parker River Plum Island Sound Estuary.
For a further description and discussion of this experiment, see "Direct Measurement of Gas Exchange Rates in
the Parker River Estuary": PHYSF6Description
LMER Food Web Intercomparison Workshop
Organic matter budgets, C and N economies, stable isotope data for
food web functional groups, and model predictions for estuaries with varying
organic matter sources.