Ecosystems & Biogeochemical Dynamics Laboratory - Current and Past Projects - Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences - Purdue University Skip to main content

Current and Past Projects

Current Projects

TundraPEAT

Duration: 08/1/2018- 07/30/2023
Funding: NSF - NNA

MSB-FRA: NSF - NNA: Collaborative Research: MSB-FRA: Peat Expansion in Arctic Tundra - Pattern, Process, and the Implication for the Carbon Cycle (TundraPEAT)

(PI in collaboration with Julie Loisel, Texas A&M University; Philip Camill, Bowdoin College; Steve Frolking, University of New Hampshire; Zicheng Yu, Lehigh University)

Award: $304,493


FIRE-C

Duration: 08/05/2021- 08/04/2024
Funding: NASA

The role of boreal wildfires in the global carbon budget: A process-based analysis using satellite-derived fire burn severity data

(PI in collaboration with Nancy French at Michigan Tech. and Ron Prinn at MIT)

Award: $675,583


LandAquatic

Duration: 11/01/2022- 10/31/2025
Funding: NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program

Role of linked hydrological, permafrost, ground ice, and land cover changes in regional carbon balance across boreal and arctic landscapes

(Lead PI in collaboration with Tamara Harms at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mark (Torre) Jorgenson at Alaska Ecoscience and Neal Pastick at USGS)

Award: $913,015


FAA-LSC

Duration: 9/1/2022 – 8/31/2024
Funding: Federal Aviation Administration

Direct and indirect land use change emissions due to SAF and PTL Pathways: Data and model improvements and role of soil organic carbon

(Qianlai Zhuang, CoPI in collaboration with Taheripour, Farzad; van der Mensbrugghe, Dominique; Armstrong, Shalamar; Singh, Shweta; Corong, Erwin; Chepeliev, Maksym; Lusk, Jayson)

Award: $ 789,688


NN2O

Duration: 01/2021 - 08/2026
Funding: Finnish Academy of Science

Microbial mechanisms regulating N2O metabolism in above-ground vegetation - significant northern N2O sink?

(Dr. Zhuang as Collaborator with PI Dr. Henri Siljanen at University of Eastern Finland)

Award: Dollar Amount of the Project


LakeM

Duration: 03/2020 - 02/2023
Funding: UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Past methane from lakes in Alaska: Integrating proxy records and models

(Dr. Zhuang as Collaborator with PI Dr. Maarten van Hardenbroek at Newcastle University,  Co-I: Dr. Jessica Whiteside and Prof. Mary Edwards)

Award: Dollar Amount of the Project


Past Projects

PeatAmazon

Duration: 05/01/2014 – April/30/2017
Funding: NSF

Collaborative Research: Forest Productivity and Hydrological Patterns Regulate Methane Fluxes From Peatlands in the Amazon Basin

(Principal InvestigatorQianlai Zhuang, in collaboration with Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz at Arizona State University and Joost van Haren at University of Arizona)

Award: $103,000 out of $729,999


PEATMODEL

Duration: 08/2012-07/2015.
Funding: DOE.

Understanding the Mechanisms Underlying Heterotrophic CO2 and CH4 Fluxes in a Peatland with Deep Soil Warming and Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment

(Qianlai Zhuang in collabration with: Scott Bridgham (University of Oregon) and Jason Keller (Chapman University))

Award: $124,370.


QCBP

Duration: 09/2011-08/2014.
Funding: DOE.

Quantifying Climate Feedbacks of the Terrestrial Biosphere under Thawing Permafrost Conditions in the Arctic

(Qianlai Zhuang in collabration with: C. A. Schlosser at MIT, J. M. Melillo at MBL, Woods Hole MA, and K. Anthony Walter at UAF)

Award: $540,000 out of $1,620,000.


NSF-CDI-Type II

Duration: 09/2010-08/2014
Funding: NSF

Collaborative Research: A Paradigm Shift in Ecosystem and Environmental Modeling: An Integrated Stochastic, Deterministic, and Machine Learning Approach

(Prof. Zhuang is Lead PI in collaboration with M. Crawford, H. Zhang, D. Xiu, J. Zhang at Purdue, J. Melillo at MBL, Woods Hole MA, J. Reilly at MIT)

Award: $1,591,428 out of $1,941,424


CAMHoT

Duration: 08/2009 - 07/2012
Funding: NSF

Impacts of Climate Seasonality on Carbon Accumulation and Methane Emissions of Alaskan Ecosystem during the Holocene Thermal Maximum

(Purdue University, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Agronomy: Qianlai Zhuang
In collabration with: Z. Yu, B. Felzer, and M. Jones)

Award: $202,918 out of $602,386


Impacts

Duration: 09/2008 - 08/2013
Funding: Department of Energy / Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Investigation of the Magnitudes and Probabilities of Abrupt Climate Transitions

(Purdue University, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Agronomy: Qianlai Zhuang
In collabration with: Bill RIley, Mac Post, and Margaret Torn)

Award: $75,000


IHAQ

Duration: 04/2009-03/2012
Funding: NASA Land-Use and Land-cover Change Program

Changes of Land Cover and Land Use and Greenhouse Gas Emission in Northern Eurasia: Impacts on Human Adaptation and Quality of Life at Regional and Golden Scales

(Purdue University, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Agronomy: Qianlai Zhuang
In collabration with: J. M. Melillo, D. Kicklighter, J. Reilly, A. Shvidenko, N. Tchebakova, E. Parfenova, A. Peregon, A. Sirin, S. Maksyutov, and G. Zhou)

Award: $824,701


PDCAR

Duration: 01/2007 - 12/2011
Funding: National Science Foundation

Collaborative Research: Impact of Permafrost Degradation on Carbon and Water in Boreal Ecosystem

(Lead Institution - Purdue University: Qianlai Zhuang
The United States Geological Survey (USGS - Menlo Park): Dr. Jennifer Harden
The United States Geological Survey (USGS - Denver): Dr. Robert Striegl
University Alaska Fairbanks: Dr. Yuri Shur
Alaska Ecological Surveys: Dr. Torre Jorgenson)

Award: $756,578 out of $1,693,883


QCFACH

Duration: 07/2008 - 07/2011
Funding: Department of Energy

Quantifying Climate Feedback From Abrupt Changes in High-Latitude Trace-Gas Emissions

(Purdue University, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Agronomy: Qianlai Zhuang
MIT: A. Schlosser
Marine Biological Laboratory: Jerry Melillo
University Alaska Fairbanks: K. Walter)

Award: $89,999 to $560,000


AGEEB

Duration: 09/2007 - 09/2010
Funding: Department of Energy

Analysis of Global Economic and Environmental Impacts of a Substantial Increase in Bioenergy Productions

(Purdue University: Qianlai Zhuang
Purdue University: Wally Tyner
Purdue University: Thomas Hertel)

Award: $209,900 out of $659,783


ImBio

Duration: 09/2007 - 09/2010
Funding: NASA

Improving a Process-based Biogeochemistry Model Using an Atmospheric Transport Chemistry Model and In-Situ and Remotely-Sensed Terrestrial and Atmospheric Data

(Lead Institution - Purdue University: Qianlai Zhuang, Jinyun Tang)

Award: $84,000


SWAMPI

Duration: 01/2006 - 12/2008
Funding: National Science Foundation

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Towards an adequate quantification of CH4 emissions from land ecosystems: Integrating field and in-situ observations, satellite data, and modeling

(

Purdue University
Qianlai Zhuang, qzhuang at purdue.edu

Marine Biological Laboratory
Jerry Melillo, jmelillo at mbl.edu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ron Prinn, rprinn at mit.edu

University of Alaska Fairbanks
David McGuire, ffadm at uaf.edu

)

Award: $103,350


SASS

Duration: 08/2005 - 09/2008
Funding: National Science Foundation

Collaborative Research: Synthesis of Artic System Carbon Cycle Research through Model-data fusion studies using atmospheric inversion and process-based approaches

(

Purdue University
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Marine Biological Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
)

Award: $245,883 out of $1,179,591


GBIOS

Duration: 01/2007 - 12/2007
Funding: The Energy Center, Discovery Park, Purdue University

Global Biomass and Bioenergy Supply in a Coupled Natural and Human System

(Purdue University, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Agronomy
Qianlai Zhuang
Purdue University, Agricultural economics
Dr. Wally Tyner)

Award: $50,000


QCAR

Duration: 01/2007 - 12/2007
Funding: The Center for Environment, Purdue University

Quantifying Carbon Sequestrations across Indiana's Forest Landscapes

(EAS- Qianlai Zhuang
ENR- Guofan Shao
Phillip Pope
Charles Michler
School of Civil Engineering-Melba Crawford)

Award: $30,000


AKCH4

Duration: 12/2013-12/2015
Funding: USGS

Assessing Wetland Methane Emissions in Alaska

(PI: Qianlai Zhuang )

Award: $156,159.00


NASA -LCLUC

Duration: 04/2014-03/2017
Funding: NASA

Regional and Global Climate and Societal Impacts of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change in Northern Eurasia: A Synthesis Study Using Remote Sensing Data and An Integrated Global System Model

(Principal Investigator: Qianlai Zhuang, Co-Investigators: Jerry Melillo, John Reilly, Andrei Sokolov, David Kicklighter, Sergey Paltsev,Erwan Monier. Collaborators: Nadejda Tchebakova, Andrey Sirin, Elena Kukavskaya, Krasnoyarsk, Mikhail Glagolev)

Award: $855,934


PEATMODEL2

Duration: 08/01/2015-07/31/2018
Funding: DOE

Understanding mechanistic controls of heterotrophic CO2 and CH4 fluxes in a peatland with deep soil warming and atmospheric CO2 enrichment

(Qianlai Zhuang (PI) in collabration with: Scott Bridgham (University of Oregon) and Jason Keller (Chapman University))

Award: $416,551 out of $1,495,783


NASA-MDI

Duration: 9/2016-8/2019
Funding: NASA

High-resolution mapping of dynamic inundation in boreal wetlands for carbon and hydrological studies on seasonal to interannual scales

(Qianlai Zhuang, PI in collaboration with: Seung-bum Kim (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory))

Award: $152,909 out of $450,280


GlobalM

Duration: 07/1/2017- 06/30/2020
Funding: NASA/U. of Colorado, Boulder

Process-level investigation of revised global methane budget based on in situ and remote sensing of atmospheric composition and the land surface

(PI in collaboration with Stefan Schwietzke, Sourish Basu; Lori Bruhwiler; Owen Sherwood; John Miller; Gabrielle Petron; Sylvia Englund Michel; Ed Dlugokencky; Pieter Tans; Giuseppe Etiope; Martin Schoell; Bell, Jennifer)

Award: $490,679 out of $1,282,569


CH4OX

Duration: 91/2017-8/31/2020
Funding: NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship

High Affinity Methanotrophs are an Important Overlooked Methane Sink in the Pan–Arctic Methane Budget

(PI for Youmi Oh)

Award: $135,000


USGS

Duration: 07/10/2017 – 07/09/2019
Funding: USGS

Quantifying Alaskan Landscape Changes and Their Impacts on Greenhouse Emissions of Carbon Dioxide and Methane

(PI in collaboration with A. D. McGuire and H. Genet)

Award: $140,000