The Exploration of Coastal Hydrobiogeochemistry Across a Network of Gradients and Experiments (EXCHANGE) program is a consortium of scientists that aims to improve understanding of how the two-way exchange of water between estuaries or large lake lacustuaries and the terrestrial landscape influence the state and function of ecosystems across the coastal interface. This consortium emphasizes community-driven open science.
There is a hierarchical structure to spatial variation in ecosystem structure and function at the coastal TAI that is set first by the depth and duration of soil saturation (a function of elevation and coastal water exposure), second by the abundance of redox-sensitive elements, and third by their interactions with plant traits which vary along transverse, river-estuary, alongshore, and geomorphic gradients.
Sub-Hypotheses Intent:
- Vascular plant-derived organic matter stability across gradients under “baseline” conditions (EXCHANGE Campaign 1 (EC1))
- Rapid Hydrological Events (e.g. Floods) (EXCHANGE Campaign 2 (EC2))
- Water soluble organic matter experiments across gradients (EXCHANGE Campaign 3 (EC3 or EC1 archives))
Email coastal.exchange@pnnl.gov or allilewis@lbl.gov
EXCHANGE is a sub-activity of the DOE-BER funded Coastal Observations, Mechanisms, and Predictions Across Systems and Scales - Field Measurements and Experiments (COMPASS-FME) project. COMPASS-FME is a multi-institutional effort led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with a decadal vision to dramatically enhance predictive understanding of coastal systems, including their response to short- and long-term changes.