Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(
Allen and Gillooly 2009
) and interactions at multiple scales of biological and ecological
organization. These theories are appealing for this purpose, because each expresses ecologi-
cal functions and interactions using primary currencies of ecosystem science: energy (meta-
bolic theory of ecology) and matter (ecological stoichiometry; see Chapter 5). Despite these
recent advances, considerable research is still necessary to develop and incorporate a com-
prehensive theoretical framework capable of transcending levels of biological and ecological
organization. Such a framework can certainly be used by ecosystem science to determine
changes in ecosystems associated with anthropogenic pressures or global change.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
The invention and adoption of new technology allows ecosystem scientists to make
new measurements and inspires new directions of research. Examples include the use of
molecular genetic markers to describe new communities and functions of organisms,
stable isotopes to describe how nutrients and energy flow through food webs, and
remotely deployed cameras, sensors, and robot aircrafts to collect images and samples
in hard-to-reach or extreme environments. In this section, we show a few examples of
promising technologies that may change the direction of ecosystem science in the future.
Sensors
The rapid development of new technology such as environmental sensors has provided
scientists with ways to examine environmental processes and explore data at new tempo-
ral and spatial scales. The rich output provided by sensors has become increasingly impor-
tant in detecting subtle changes that could not be previously observed and has aided
in new discoveries. For example, sensors made it possible to identify the reduction of
ozone in the stratosphere and its causes, and have helped to discover life in extreme envir-
onments by recording output of gases from hot pools, deep sea thermal vents, and under
glaciers. Local and global budgets of the production and consumption of atmospheric
gases like CO
2
and NO
x
have been monitored for years with a growing worldwide net-
work of atmospheric flux measurement towers and oxygen sensors in freshwater and the
ocean. The analysis of these data will play an important role in understanding climate and
weather patterns, and the biological response to changes in these gases. New low-cost sen-
sors capable of detecting micropollutants in real time and at high resolution will greatly
enhance our ability to understand short- and long-term processes as well as their drivers,
and eventually to protect environmental integrity and human health. For example, the
ability to simultaneously detect new emerging compounds of concern such as pesticides,
toxins, and endocrine disruptors in water at the resolution of seconds to minutes may
uncover unknown sources and promote smart environmental decisions such as improving
the design of water treatment facilities.
Remote sensing is a specific example of sensor development that will likely lead to new
discoveries in ecosystem science. This term refers to the acquisition and interpretation of
