TEMPEST

One of the cool things about my job is that we don't just do modeling. I have scientists on my staff that do real field research, and I finally got a chance to visit the TEMPEST (Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments) experiment that they run at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) as part of the COMPASS-FME project. Since I was the first senior manager from PNNL visiting the experiment, the director rolled out the proverbial red carpet to give me a proper tour. The experiment is at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) site on the Rhode River, and I was visiting during 'flood week.' They have three large plots at the TEMPEST site – a control, and two flood sites, one that they artificially flood with fresh water and one that they artificially flood with brackish water pumped from the Chesapeake. The sites are wired to the gills with experiments generating millions of datapoints to understand how freshwater and saltwater floods may alter soil biogeochemical cycles and vegetation in a deciduous coastal forest. 

The cool personal connection for this is that the Rhode River is one of the memorable spots we anchored during the two week long Chesapeake sailing adventure I did with Dad and friends back in 1998. We anchored between three small islands and swam to one of them that was actually part of the SERC site. Today that island is submerged beneath the waters, and recounting that story to the director was a great way to talk about the changes they've observed over the years. To add onto the connections, the Rhode River is also the site of Camp Letts where the kids did sleep away camp and it is near Hartge's Marina where Don keeps his boat Innisfree! Finally, it turns out that the Smithsonian Women's Committee that Mom Mom has served as President of is a long time supporter of SERC and has funded many of their student scientists over the years. 

(Click here for all the pictures)