Nitrogen transport and transformations: A regional and global analysis

On behalf of the Scientific Committee on Problems in the Environment (SCOPE), we request funds to partially support the final synthesis activities of the SCOPE International Nitrogen Project. This project was established in 1993 to improve our understanding of the global nitrogen cycle via a focus upon changes at the scale of large regions; since that time four regional workshops have been held in the U.S., Chile, Taiwan, and Japan, with a fifth planned for China this October. Here, we describe a two year plan aimed at synthesizing and completing the Nitrogen Project. We have secured funds from the Mellon Foundation for a final symposium and for a book to be published in the SCOPE series. Our request to NCEAS is for support for 3 major activities that will lead up to and/or expand the final symposium and book. These include: 1) a number of small working groups that will focus on specific uncertainties in the global N cycle and will meet at the Center 2-3 times over an 18 month period; 2) a sabbatical as an NCEAS fellow for the co-chair of the SCOPE Nitrogen Project, Bob Howarth; and 3) the creation of a web site at the Center devoted to providing data and information on regional to global scale N cycling.