UCI receives $1 million climate study grant

November 9, 2004

By Gary Robbins

UC Irvine ecologist Michael Goulden has received $1 million in federal funds to calculate how much carbon from the burning of fossil fuels lingers in the air of California and how much of it is absorbed by ecosystems.

The study, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is meant to produce more accurate estimates of California's "carbon budget," a term that refers to the distribution of carbon in the air, sea and on land. The estimates will be used in climate modeling.

Part of Goulden's work involves examing tree rings to see if carbon is increasing or decreasing. He will look at such trees as the Ponderosa pines of the San Jacincto Mountains.

Goulden's collaborators include UCI researchers Susan Trumbore and Jim Randerson, and scientists at UC Santa Barbara and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.