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Integrating tide-driven wetland soil redox and biogeochemical interactions into a land surface model
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  • Benjamin N Sulman,
  • Jiaze WANG,
  • Sophia LaFond-Hudson,
  • Teri O'Meara,
  • Fengming Yuan,
  • Sergi Molins,
  • Glenn Edward Hammond,
  • Inke Forbrich,
  • Zoe Cardon,
  • Anne Giblin
Benjamin N Sulman
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Jiaze WANG
University of Maine
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Sophia LaFond-Hudson
University of Wisconsin
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Teri O'Meara
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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Fengming Yuan
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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Sergi Molins
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
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Glenn Edward Hammond
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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Inke Forbrich
University of Toledo
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Zoe Cardon
Marine Biological Laboratory, MA
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Anne Giblin
Marine Biological Laboratory
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Abstract

Redox processes, aqueous and solid-phase chemistry, and pH dynamics are key drivers of subsurface biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems but are typically not included in terrestrial carbon cycle models. These omissions may introduce errors when simulating systems where redox interactions and pH fluctuations are important, such as wetlands where saturation of soils can produce anoxic conditions and coastal systems where sulfate inputs from seawater can influence biogeochemistry. Integrating cycling of redox-sensitive elements could therefore allow models to better represent key elements of carbon cycling and greenhouse gas production. We describe a model framework that couples the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) Land Model (ELM) with PFLOTRAN biogeochemistry, allowing geochemical processes and redox interactions to be integrated with land surface model simulations. We implemented a reaction network including aerobic decomposition, fermentation, sulfate reduction, sulfide oxidation, and methanogenesis as well as pH dynamics along with iron oxide and iron sulfide mineral precipitation and dissolution. We simulated biogeochemical cycling in tidal wetlands subject to either saltwater or freshwater inputs driven by tidal hydrological dynamics. In simulations with saltwater tidal inputs, sulfate reduction led to accumulation of sulfide, higher dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations, lower dissolved organic carbon concentrations, and lower methane emissions than simulations with freshwater tidal inputs. Model simulations compared well with measured porewater concentrations and surface gas emissions from coastal wetlands in the Northeastern United States. These results demonstrate how simulating geochemical reaction networks can improve land surface model simulations of subsurface biogeochemistry and carbon cycling.
05 Sep 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
11 Sep 2023Published in ESS Open Archive