Did you know- Soil microorganisms in coastal, wetland soils are responsible for a large part of the methane naturally emitted to the atmosphere? However, the impacts of sea-level rise and other changes in water level (river divergence, climate) will have an uncertain impact on these microbes and their methane cycle.
Our team of CSU scientists, along with our collaborators from USGS and the University of Lafayette, spent last week sampling the swamps and marshes of coastal Louisiana. Our research will illuminate the microbial contributions to methane production from these at-risk ecosystems now and as they change. The video is an action shot of graduate students Bridget McGivern and Djennyfer Ferreira sampling soil cores so we can study the microbes, and soil chemistry in more detail back in the lab.