Brain Fluxes

In theory, I should be cranking out more materials for my PhD research proposal and/or cranking out more R code to run split-plot ANOVAs, both balanced and un-balanced designs. In practice, I'm letting a bit of pressure out of my brain so my skull doesn't explode. But on my mind: carbon and water fluxes.

The more I read up on various models for both evapotranspiration and carbon flux, the more I realize that there's a lot of stuff we don't know! The below-ground carbon pool, for example, is a huge mystery that everyone's still trying to figure out. For me, the real fun is in trying to bridge the various scales from individual tree/shrub to the regional (on the order of many square kilometers) and how to get a slick, parsimonious model that I can use across different pine forests. I wasn't too shocked when I found out that there's people all over the place doing what I want to do on different ecosystems, but it is a bit of a kick to the ego knowing that my brain actually falls within 2 or 3 standard deviations in some things!

Not too many people seem to be interested in carbon flux and evapotranspiration simultaneously from what I've seen in the literature, but from what I know, those two are pretty closely linked because of all the plant-soil-atmospheric-who knows what else interactions going on too. Doing a coupled ET-CO2 flux model is probably going to be tedious work because of all the unknowns and all, but I think that's somewhere I might be able to put in my little contributions... at least I hope so. And then there's all these cool new algorithms with artificial neural networks (which I'm still trying to wrap my brain around).

And then as if thoughts of coupled CO2-ET models with hyperspectral remote sensing and integrating plant phenology, LiDAR, and stable isotope analyses weren't enough, my brain's also swimming in daydreams of being one with the ecosystems I intend to study... and not just as a system of some sort, but with the plants, soil, and animals. Admittedly some of the daydreams also involve joining the ranks of various predators and hunting various critters, particularly invasives and anything that needs some help in population control. And then my brain is also tinkering with the idea of competing at some of the larger archery competitions and at least holding my own in them. Let's just hope that I can keep the Ranger in check long enough to make sure I can do what I set out to do!